Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myles Murphy, Postdoctoral research fellow, Physiotherapy, Edith Cowan University

Kids are back at school, playgrounds, sport and general mucking around. This can lead to two things: happy children and injuries.

Up to 50% of boys and 40% of girls will break a bone during childhood and adolescence. Around 50,000 children and young people are hospitalised due to fractures in Australia each year and the rates of fractures in children appear to be increasing.

But it is not just broken bones that can hamper your children’s Olympic dreams – or just disrupt their play. What are the differences between strains, sprains and fractures? And how can you identify and manage these injuries?

Read more:
What makes kids want to drop out of sport, and how should parents respond?

Different doesn’t mean better or worse

Sprains, strains and fractures are all different types of injuries – and the type doesn’t necessarily indicate the severity.

Sprains are injuries to ligaments and joints. So even a complete anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture (when one of the ligaments of the knee is torn through) is technically a sprain.

Strains are injuries to the muscle. So whether you just pull the muscle (where the muscle is inflamed but not torn) or cause a bad tear, it is referred to as a muscle strain.

Finally, a fracture means any injury to bone. In children, whose bones are more bendy, this can vary from a small crack in the bone (sometimes called a buckle or Greenstick fracture) to a completely broken bone.

Kids are at increased risk

Children seem to be at a relatively high risk of breaking a bone (particularly of their forearm) as their bones are rapidly lengthening due to growth, and with that there is a reduction in the overall bone strength.

ACL ruptures are also common in children, with the highest rise in ruptures among 5–14-year-old females in Australia, increasing by 10.4% from 1998 to 2018.

Children’s formal sporting commitments may have a role to play in why injury rates are increasing. Some kids are not getting so much as a single physical recovery day per week and are training more than elite athletes while their bodies are still lanky, uncoordinated and developing. We also see fractures from trampoline play, skateboarding, and extreme sports such as BMX riding.

In addition to muscle, tendon and bone injuries, children are also at risk of concussion and clear guidelines now exist to inform management of this condition.

Read more:
Concussion in sport: why making players sit out for 21 days afterwards is a good idea

With all that energy and commitment going into sport and play, it’s not surprising some kids hurt themselves. Here’s what to do next …

5 ways to assess the severity of an injury

1. What does it look like?

Is there an obvious visual deformity or huge amount of swelling? Injuries with bigger changes in physical appearance will be much more severe.

2. Can they move it?

If they are unable to bend a joint or they are “guarding” the area and refusing to move it, it is a sign of more severe injury. Sometimes fear will prevent a child from moving the injured area – it’s important not to try to force movement in the early stages, even if you think fear is an issue.

3. Can you touch or press on the injured area?

Obviously, the more severe the injury the more likely your child will recoil with pain when being touched – or not let you anywhere near them.

4. Can your child bear weight on the injured area

For leg injuries this means can they stand or walk. For arm injuries can they use the arm to push up off the floor or out of a chair. More severe injuries prevent people from being able to bear weight. You should not try to force your child to stand or walk – but if you note them doing so, you can be more reassured the injury is less likely to be serious.

5. Is the injury improving over time?

If the injury does not seem to be changing or getting better within 24 hours it may be a more severe injury, even if the previous pointers do not suggest it is.

Read more:
Hot pack or cold pack: which one to reach for when you’re injured or in pain

Now what? Top tips to manage injury

• Do the basics well. No matter how severe an injury may be – the RICE protocol will be useful. RICE stands for rest, ice (with a pack or cold water if no ice is available), compression (with a bandage or fitted fabric) and elevation (position the body so the injury is above the level of the heart)

• if your child has an obvious deformity of the bone, joint or muscle, seek medical attention as quickly as you can. The best thing to do is take them to an emergency department for assessment. They will likely need imaging (an X-ray or CT scan) to assess the bone and joint. Treatment should happen as soon as possible as injuries are often very painful and may need relocation or splinting

• if your child is struggling to move the injured area, you are unable to touch the sore spot or they cannot tolerate taking weight on the injured area, a review with your GP or physiotherapist as soon as possible is your best course of action

• if your child is not improving within 24 hours, but pain levels are not too high, an appointment with a GP or physiotherapist can still be a good idea. The injury may not be that severe, but if your child is needing to walk in an unusual way or not using their arm we want to get them back to normal as fast as possible

• talk to your child and see what they want to do. If the problem is lingering and they are worried about getting back to sport or play, an assessment by someone qualified (usually the GP or physio) can be very reassuring.

Read more:
Is netball actually bad for knees and ankles? What does the research say?

Myles Murphy receives funding from the Raine Medical Research Foundation, Western Australian Department of Health, Perth Wildcats, Western Australia Police Force, Defence Science Centre of Western Australia.

– ref. Is it broken? A strain or sprain? How to spot a serious injury now school and sport are back – https://theconversation.com/is-it-broken-a-strain-or-sprain-how-to-spot-a-serious-injury-now-school-and-sport-are-back-222141

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daswin de Silva, Deputy Director of the Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition, La Trobe University

In recent days, the “right to disconnect” has entered Australia’s legislative agenda. It refers to employees’ rights to refuse unreasonable after-hours contact from their employer.

In a work landscape where employees are constantly available after hours thanks to smartphones and portable devices, and employers are competing in global markets and operating on tight deadlines, concerns about disconnecting from work are valid on both sides.

Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants in the workplace are touted as a potential solution to this “availability creep”. But they may not be the silver bullet, despite what big tech wants us to think.

Read more:
Flexibility makes us happier, with 3 clear trends emerging in post-pandemic hybrid work

A crushing digital debt

“Digital debt”, a term introduced by Microsoft in its work trend index, fittingly describes the vast volume of communication and coordination tasks that minimally contribute to workplace productivity.

The index surveyed 31,000 full-time knowledge workers – people who work with ideas, rather than goods – in 31 countries, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and others.

It reveals that 57% of the average workday is spent on communications and 68% of respondents couldn’t find uninterrupted blocks of time to focus during the workday.

The origins of digital debt can be traced back to the “productivity paradox” from the late 20th century, where increasing technology investments had led to decreasing workplace productivity.

This paradox has re-emerged (and been renamed) mainly due to the abundance of data that organisations and employees have to manage in the current market.

For communication alone, most employees are having to manage one or two email addresses, calls and chats on Zoom, Slack or Teams channels, WhatsApp and LinkedIn messaging, and multiple diaries to synchronise meetings. This is easily more than 1,000 data points every day.

Left unattended, digital debt accrues “interest”, with damaging effects on both employee and employer. This is the tipping point at which the boundary between work and personal life blurs, and the after-dinner compulsion to tidy up the inbox sets in.

AI assistants to the rescue?

Microsoft – OpenAI’s partner of choice for scaling up its industry-leading AI tech – has somewhat conveniently used the same work trend report to position its AI assistant, Microsoft Copilot, as the bona fide solution to digital debt.

There are obvious financial gains for big tech providing AI tools. But the capabilities of these AI assistants are fittingly at the intersection of digital debt, the deluge of data, and the right to disconnect. So, they warrant further investigation.

In the broadest sense, generative AI (think ChatGPT) produces new and meaningful content in response to prompts from a human operator. AI assistants generalise this capability for goal-oriented complex tasks. There’s no shortage of these subscription-based services now, including Copilot, Google’s Gemini, Amazon Q, Anthropic’s Claude and others.

An AI assistant can summarise all new emails, detect and prioritise those requiring a response, draft responses and highlight gaps that require human input. Then, the assistant can send the emails off and schedule meetings for subsequent chats.

Among other knowledge work tasks, an AI assistant can also draft and revise text for various documents, generate graphs from data in spreadsheets, or generate images for text-heavy presentation slides.

A needy assistant that needs supervision

Unfortunately, early user feedback on the technical performance of AI assistants is lacklustre.

This is primarily because of how generative AI is trained. By learning from past data and not through lived experiences, it lacks factual knowledge of the world. This means it can’t validate the outcomes of the tasks completed.

Therefore, the human using the AI must “peer review” all of the assistant’s output to avoid potential errors and misrepresentations.

In most workplaces where we are expected to “do more with less”, such needy AI assistants would create an additional layer of work. It could also easily get overlooked when time pressures kick in.

Read more:
AI and the future of work: 5 experts on what ChatGPT, DALL-E and other AI tools mean for artists and knowledge workers

The looming ethics problem

It is no secret AI also has an ethics problem, and this extends to AI assistants.
The mediocre attitude of big tech AI providers towards transparency and governance, as demonstrated by the sacking and rehiring of the CEO of Open AI, as well as Microsoft’s layoff of its ethics team, are further reasons to be wary of the much-hyped opportunities of generative AI.

There are efforts to regulate AI based on the risks it poses, but the challenge is that the risk itself is dynamic.

For example, menial office tasks could go horribly wrong if politically sensitive, tone deaf or workplace-inappropriate content is produced and circulated by an AI.

Given that large AI models are likely to continue training on live data, organisations must protect their confidential and sensitive information through stringent governance and classification protocols.

In summary, AI assistants can help ease our digital debt and provide after-hours business continuity. This could chart a course towards a right-to-disconnect landscape that is agreeable to everyone.

But this course is riddled with challenges. They include organisational readiness, AI literacy skills, AI governance, accountability framework, mandatory peer review and cost-effective subscriptions.

Against the mounting digital debt and deficit of work-life balance, our investment in AI must be measured and responsible, to ensure the returns are sustainable.

Daswin de Silva 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. Drowning in ‘digital debt’? AI assistants can help – but we must use them carefully – https://theconversation.com/drowning-in-digital-debt-ai-assistants-can-help-but-we-must-use-them-carefully-223436

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shukla Poddar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney

To reach the goal of 82% renewable energy in Australia’s grid by 2030, we’ll need to build a lot more solar.

But even as we accelerate the rate at which we install solar on our rooftops and in grid-scale farms, the world keeps getting hotter and extreme weather arrives more often.

Solar panels have to be outside, exposed to all weather. They’re built to endure heat, snow, rain and wind. But they have limits. Climate change will mean many panels can degrade faster.

Our new research examines which areas of Australia will have the worst conditions for solar degradation out to 2059 – and what it will do to the cost of energy. We found solar in Australia’s hot, humid north will degrade fastest, while solar in the arid interior and more moderate climates down south will fare better.

What makes solar panels degrade?

When you’re looking to install solar on your rooftop, the warranty will likely be a factor in your eventual choice. Most solar manufacturers offer a 25-30 year warranty, where they guarantee power output will drop by less than 20% over that time.

The reason the power output drops at all is that solar panels slowly degrade over time. But different climates, different materials and different manufacturing techniques can lead to faster or slower degradation.

At present, the dominant solar technology is silicon. Silicon modules degrade due to stress from the environment, voltage changes and mechanical stresses, as silicon wafers are quite stiff and brittle. Environmentally, humidity, ultraviolet radiation and temperature are the main causes of damage.

Read more:
Climate change will affect solar power and grid stability across Australia – here’s how

Hotter, more humid conditions can accelerate degradation in several ways. The map below combines four types of degradation we predict will worsen under climate change. These are:

1. delamination: heat and humidity can cause the bonds holding the different layers of the cell together to lose adhesion

2. discoloured encapsulant: intense sunlight and extra moisture can damage or discolour the encapsulant, the polymer used to adhere layers within the solar cell together

3. ribbon corrosion: if it’s more humid more often, it increases the chances moisture can accumulate and begin corroding the internal ribbon connections of the cell

4. internal circuit failure: solar cells experience regular temperature fluctuations, daily and seasonally. These temperature changes can over time cause circuits to fail. A hotter world will add extra stress to internal circuits, leading to a higher chance of failure.

What will climate change do?

Our results predict degradation rates will increase across Australia out to 2059 under both high and low emissions scenarios laid out by the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change.

Under a high emissions scenario, solar would degrade twice as fast as it would under a lower emission scenario due to the extra heat. Solar farms would be able to produce less power and might have to replace panels due to failure more often. On average, this would mean losing about 8.5% of output due solely to extra degradation by 2059. Under a high emissions scenario, this would mean energy could cost 10-12% more.

But the effects wouldn’t be felt equally. Our results show solar built across the hot and humid north of Australia will degrade at especially high rates in the future compared to the arid centre, where conditions are hot but dry.

What should we do?

Heat is the main way solar panels degrade and break in Australia. As the world heats up, it will go from annoyance to very real problem.

At present, very few solar developers are taking climate change into account when they buy their panels. They should, especially those operating in humid areas. They can be more careful while selecting a new solar farm location to ensure their modules have lower chances of failure due to degradation.

To fix the problem, we’ll need to incorporate new ways of cooling panels and improve the materials used. We also need to improve manufacturing processes and materials so we can stop moisture from accumulating inside the panels.

These issues can be fixed. The first step is to understand there is a problem.

Read more:
The sunlight that powers solar panels also damages them. ‘Gallium doping’ is providing a solution

Shukla Poddar 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. As the world heats up, solar panels will degrade faster – especially in hot, humid areas. What can we do? – https://theconversation.com/as-the-world-heats-up-solar-panels-will-degrade-faster-especially-in-hot-humid-areas-what-can-we-do-221990

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacob Prehn, Associate Dean Indigenous College of Arts, Law, and Education; Senior Lecturer, Social Work, University of Tasmania

When approaching how to support the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, there is a tendency in favour of strengthening and empowering mothers, rather than fathers.

While this emphasis on maternal support is undoubtedly justified (in fact, there probably needs to be more supports that are culturally appropriate), it raises the question of why specialist assistance is not similarly prioritised for fathers.

For instance, within what is arguably the core Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy in Australia, Closing the Gap, there is no mention of initiatives specifically for Indigenous fathers or men more broadly.

We analysed data from around 150 First Nations fathers about the support they needed. Here’s what they had to say.

Read more:
‘Emu Men’: a new way to recognise and celebrate Indigenous fathers

Doing away with negative stereotypes

Western society can portray some groups of fathers in a less favourable light and offer limited support.

In Australia, there has been a particularly cruel characterisation of Indigenous fathers as deviant, distant, and/or drunkards.

These harmful characterisations were reflected in a 2016 cartoon by Bill Leak of an Aboriginal man unable to recall the name of his son.

These representations are not true of many Indigenous fathers. They are often disciplined, devoted and sober, and want to be positive role models for their children. A great example of this is in the social media movement that sprung up in the wake of the cartoon, called #IndigenousDads.

Read more:
We studied 100 years of Australian fatherhood. Here’s how today’s dads differ from their grandfathers

In light of this social climate, we wanted to know what Indigenous fathers need in order to enhance their experience of fatherhood. We drew the responses from data of 149 Indigenous fathers from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC), a large Australian dataset administered by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services. That study asked them “if you could have something to make it easier to raise your child, what would it be?”. We analysed the results.

More support needed

Our research found more than 60% of Indigenous dads surveyed indicated needing further support.

There were several areas that came up most frequently. These were finances, social services, housing, and the ability to spend more time with their children.

Of the ten themes we observed across the comments from Indigenous fathers in response to this question, nearly all were related to socioeconomic and cultural factors. One of the fathers expressed frustration at the lack of available social services, wanting more support in general. Another father shared how finances affected his role, saying:

I would like to have a decent paying job; I had to stop working to help and care for my children and partner.

Other fathers mentioned wanting housing that was appropriately sized to accommodate a family, and not wanting to rent. Additionally, fathers wished they had the ability to invest more time in engaging in activities with their children.

Collectively, these desires are reflective of men striving to be involved and nurturing fathers, not deviant or distant, as illustrated in harsh stereotypes. This is highlighted in their courage in openly asking for help.

What needs to be done?

Our research shows policies about and for Indigenous men and fathers need to directly address the areas in which they’ve expressed the most need. This includes looking at their social determinants of health. This means examining the social and economic circumstances that can affect a person’s life, from their housing situation through to feeling included in society.

As we mentioned earlier, the Closing the Gap strategy does not presently do this. It is important for this policy, and other relevant government strategies, to target these areas and concerns specifically.

Further, urgent attention is needed for greater research funding to support Indigenous dads and men more broadly. One study shows the minimal amount of Indigenous-specific research funding awarded by Australia’s two central funding bodies. The Australian Research Council (ARC) has provided 1.46%, and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has given a concerning 0.29%. There is a pressing need for additional investigation into how best to support Indigenous fathers and Indigenous men.

Read more:
Young dads are painted as feckless or absent – but they’re working to change perceptions

Giving Indigenous fathers the support they need is crucial in reducing the well-documented challenges experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. There are also positive flow-on effects to others, as found by researchers Lyndon Reilly and Susan Rees:

If you have strong Indigenous fathers, you will have strong Indigenous families. By having strong Indigenous families, you will have strong Indigenous communities.

As of 2021, Indigenous children are more than ten times more likely to be on a care or protection order than non-Indigenous children. Strengthening the role of Indigenous fathers not only makes financial sense for governments, but also contributes to Indigenous family and community wellbeing, reducing care and protection orders for Indigenous children.

We need to listen to First Nations fathers. If we do, we can deliver services that play to their strengths, rather than seeking to address perceived deficiencies.

Kootsy Canuto receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council APP1175214 & MRFF APP2006564.

Leonard Collard has previously received funding from organisations such as the Australian Research Council, state and federal as well as other funding bodies. Dr Collard is a member of the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council.

Huw Thomas Peacock, Jacob Prehn, Michael A. Guerzoni, and Mick Adams 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. Indigenous fathers help build stronger communities. Here’s how we can better support them – https://theconversation.com/indigenous-fathers-help-build-stronger-communities-heres-how-we-can-better-support-them-222389

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eyal Mayroz, Senior Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney

Hamas’ vicious attack on southern Israel on October 7 and Israel’s ruthless response have sparked a global campaign for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Palestine’s occupation.

Once the fighting stops, the world’s attention will shift to tough “day after” negotiations, which would necessitate, among other things, painful and risky concessions from both sides.

Given the vast deficits of trust and favour between Israelis and Palestinians, such concessions will be extremely difficult to achieve.

Decades of mutual grievances, tit-for-tat violence, daily rights violations of Palestinians and intergenerational trauma have eroded whatever goodwill may have existed once for the “other side”.

And while learning about the tragedies of others can support healing and reconciliation processes, turning victimhood into a competition has produced polarisation and distrust.

The only hope for peace now is of a plan imposed from the outside.

To encourage faith in the process, mediators will have to demonstrate both fairness and a previously missing commitment to push the parties into making such concessions – on assurances of robust and durable international support.

Even then, changes of leadership will have to take place for any meaningful breakthrough to occur.

How Israelis are viewing the war

The world has largely moved on from the October 7 attacks, with many people’s memories now obscured by the daily footage of the carnage in Gaza. More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, and many more are still under the rubble.

However, Israelis don’t see on their screens what the rest of the world sees. Rather, they continue to relive — through survivors’ testimonies and other stories — the horrors of October 7. These kinds of reports are rarely watched now by others.

Gaza’s destruction and the mass killings of Palestinians – many of them elderly, women and children – are reported by Israel’s mainstream media very selectively, as “unfortunate” but inevitable collateral damage for which Hamas alone should be held accountable.

While relentlessly thrashing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for their failures before, during and after October 7, the Israeli media continue to shield the public from the images of the unimaginable despair coming out of Gaza.

So long as the fighting continues and Israeli troops remain in harm’s way, rallying around the Star of David is considered the right thing to do.

Read more:
Reflections on hope during unprecedented violence in the Israel-Hamas war

A sense of betrayal

The widely reported displays of glee in the hours after the brutal massacres or kidnappings of over 1,400 Israelis – including women, children and elderly people – stunned Israeli society.

In their worst nightmares, Israelis could not imagine or make sense of the support for the Hamas attack, or the widespread denial that atrocities had occurred at all. That it took nearly two months for UN officials and prominent women’s rights organisations to acknowledge the systematic rape that took place during the attack dismayed and enraged the entire country.

Nowhere was the shock felt more acutely than within Israel’s small and now battered peace camp. Some of the victims on October 7 had for years been active members of the peace movement. After years of campaigning, anti-occupation activists felt suddenly betrayed by many progressives in the West who seemed uncaring or oblivious to their pain. In the days following the attack, the pages of the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper were filled with expressions of this anger and raw emotion.

By magnifying old, festering feelings of isolation and victimisation within Jewish society, the callous or insensitive reactions to the October 7 attack ended up inflicting damage on the Palestinian cause, as well.

As emotions in Israel continue to run high, more and more people have been adopting the view that if the world hates us so much (evoking the days of the Holocaust), we will forever have to live by the sword.

Inadvertently fanning the victimisation narrative, the global outrage over Gaza has hardened Israelis’ defiance, as well. Why, many of them are asking, didn’t the same rage manifest over the bloody conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia or Myanmar? Why is Israel being singled out?

These feelings – and the delusional thinking that Hamas could be destroyed and all hostages freed by force – have overwhelmed all other considerations for the Israelis.

For years, public opinion in Israel had significant influence over government policies on the occupied territories. The shock of October 7 may have amplified the importance of these opinions by upending many people’s long-held positions on the Palestinian “problem”. This has been more likely the case on the political left and in the centre, where many people have lost a sense of security and hope.

The arguably more logical lesson of the attack — that peace and security for Israel are inextricably linked to the self-determination of the Palestinian people — has failed to gain many new adherents, at least for now.

As a result, the death toll in Gaza has so far had little impact on the Israeli Jewish public. The only thing animating some calls for a ceasefire deal now is the ongoing risk to the hostages and the sense of national responsibility for their fate.

Read more:
Gaza war: Israelis feel angry at their government and abandoned by the international community

The international campaign for Palestine

For much of the world, the never-ending violations of Palestinians’ rights by Jewish settlers, the Israeli state and Israeli security forces have legitimised the struggle for a free Palestine, many times over.

This accumulation of past wrongs – together with the brutality of Israel’s military operation – have succeeded in placing the Palestinian agenda at the forefront of global attention and keeping it there for months.

However, anger at injustices should not lead to support – or even acquiescence – for the killing of civilians, by either side. No amount of violence will bring a resolution to this conflict. Israel has for decades tried to impose its own solutions on the Palestinians through force and failed. Why would the same means succeed now in the other direction?

The path to a Palestinian state must provide, among other things, a sense of security for the Israelis. Not because this objective is more important than others, but because without it, there will be no end to the occupation.

The ‘day after’ solution

In the days and months to come, international leaders have two major tasks to achieve. In addition to bringing an end to the bloodshed in Gaza (to which the US alone holds the key), they must strive to earn trust on both sides of the fence.

Both Palestinians and Israelis should be able to have confidence in the process and the will of the mediators to keep their concerns and interests at heart in the difficult negotiations over inevitably painful and risky solutions.

Read more:
Defending space for free discussion, empathy and tolerance on campus is a challenge during Israel-Hamas war

Since the events of October 7 have set the prospects for grassroots peace-building back years, solutions imposed from the top down will be necessary to chart a feasible path forward.

Hate comes easily in the face of injustices, as does empathy for the suffering on one own’s side. It is much harder to empathise with the misfortunes of “others” who may or may not have brought their misery upon themselves.

Selective denunciation of atrocities based on one’s support or rejection of a cause — any cause — is not only morally flawed, but counterproductive as well. Resistance to any, and all, atrocities should be proactive, decisive and resolute.

Those who have been severely aggrieved may struggle to apply the same yardstick to others, but the rest of us could and should. We can do better.

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

– ref. Why do Israelis and the rest of the world view the Gaza conflict so differently? And can this disconnect be overcome? – https://theconversation.com/why-do-israelis-and-the-rest-of-the-world-view-the-gaza-conflict-so-differently-and-can-this-disconnect-be-overcome-223188

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Markowitsch, PhD candidate in popular music studies, RMIT University

It has been 50 years since Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Kiss launched their thunderock-doused debut album into the pop culture stratosphere. The eponymous album, released on February 18 1974, became a platform-stacked foot in the music industry’s door.

What followed established Kiss as one of the most memorable hard-rock bands of the 1970s and ’80s, with a globally recognised legacy.

The early days

In 1972, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons shelved their first ever rock outfit following a short stint in a band called Wicked Lester. The pair then hatched a plan to form a far more aggressive and successful rock band. Drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley were recruited, and the new-generation Fab Four renamed themselves Kiss.

By late November of 1973, the band had developed their bombastic live performance style, perfected their makeup and signed a deal with Casablanca Records. Yet they dealt with some rocky beginnings.

Armed with reworked songs from Wicked Lester, Kiss entered New York’s Bell Sound Studios to record their debut. A mere three weeks later the album was complete – but the band quickly realised the studio recordings didn’t capture the essence of their high-energy live shows. As vocalist Paul Stanley told Loudwire:

What was put down on tape was such a timid fraction of what we were in concert. I didn’t understand it because bands who were our contemporaries had much better-sounding albums.

They took another blow while shooting the album cover with Joel Brodsky when, after a mishap with Criss’s makeup, the band were allegedly handed balloons by the photographer since he thought they were clowns.

Then, soon before the album was released, Warner Brothers pulled its financial backing and distribution deal from Casablanca Records after witnessing Kiss play a New Year’s eve show. Although it’s said the band’s makeup was the last straw for the label, the show in question also featured Simmons setting his hair alight shortly after throwing a fireball at a fan’s face.

Despite the blunders, the release of the first album set Kiss on a path to becoming immortalised. As Stanley says in his book Face The Music:

For all the minuses I felt about the sound or the cover, we now had a finished album which was the prerequisite for all the other things we wanted to do. We were in the game now.

The Kiss sound

I first heard Kiss as a teenager. I’d just thrift-scored a pair of ’80s-era roller-skates with the band’s logo scrawled on the heels in glitter glue. The salesperson, responsible for the glitter glue, enthusiastically recounted seeing Kiss play VFL Park (now Waverley Park stadium) in 1980 and made me promise I’d listen to them.

Overwhelmed by the band’s expansive discography, and the possibility that their name stood for Knights In Satan’s Service, I thought it best to begin from the start.

With their reputation of on-stage pyrotechnics and gore, I’d expected something more akin to Black Sabbath’s Paranoid than the jangly riffs of Let Me Know or Love Theme From Kiss. A 1978 review by Gordon Fletcher for the Rolling Stone also noted this rift. Despite calling the album exceptional, Fletcher described its sound as a cross between Deep Purple and the Doobie Brothers.

Stanley and Simmons have spoken freely about borrowing heavily from a number of mid-century legends, so it’s no surprise that sonically the album was nothing new. The Rolling Stones’ influence can be heard in the songs Deuce and Strutter, while Led Zeppelin and Neil Young are present in Black Diamond.

The album initially hadn’t risen higher than #87 on Billboard’s album charts. A studio cover of Bobby Rydell’s Kissin’ Time was released next as the lead single, but the track only bumped them up to #83. This commercial unviability loomed over Kiss until the release of Alive! in 1975.

Success and beyond

As the band’s first live album, Alive! bridged the gap between the audacious intensity of Kiss’s performances and the timidness of their studio recordings. Their early tracks were repurposed to let listeners remotely experience the infamous Kiss live spectacle.

As Rock and Roll All Nite claimed #12 on the Billboard charts, the platform-stacked foot burst through the door to mainstream success.

Fifty years after Kiss first stepped into Bell Sound Studios, the band played their final sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on December 2 2023. The performance served as a crowning jewel on their End of the Road world tour, a four-year effort with more than 250 live shows.

Promised to be their biggest and best shows ever, the farewell became a colossal celebration of the band’s legacy. Theatrical pyrotechnics, fake blood and Stanley’s classic opening line – “you wanted the best, you got the best” – were featured at each performance.

While both Kiss’s anthemic numbers and earlier catalogue were performed in these final shows, the music came second to the celebration of the Kiss live spectacle.

From their carefully designed makeup, to bombastic theatrics and hoards of merchandise, it was Kiss’s brand building that set them apart and embedded them in the heritage bracket of popular culture.

Despite the end of their live shows, Kiss endeavours to stay embedded in public memory. Referring to some of the band’s 2,500 licensed products, Simmons recently spoke on what’s next for Kiss:

Kiss the entity will continue; what’s happening now is a metamorphosis. The caterpillar is dying, but the butterfly will be born.

With a Netflix biopic and holographic avatars on the way, Stanley and Simmons – the band’s two remaining members – have declared Kiss immortal.

Stanley even suggests the Kiss look has become so iconic it’s now bigger than any band member. This means the torch could be passed on to new-generation Kiss members.

Kiss has (quite literally) breathed fire into live rock performance. Now, they’re breathing fire into our expectations of what rock royalty retirement looks like. I have to ask, who – or what – will wear the makeup next?

Read more:
A long-dead soprano has taken to the stage with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Are holograms the future?

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. Kiss’s debut album at 50: how the rock legends went from ‘clowns’ to becoming immortalised – https://theconversation.com/kisss-debut-album-at-50-how-the-rock-legends-went-from-clowns-to-becoming-immortalised-222284

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark John Costello, Professor, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University

Have you ever wondered about the optimal temperature for life on Earth? For humans, 20°C is comfortable. Any warmer and we work less efficiently because releasing heat requires energy.

We know many species can live at much colder or warmer temperatures than humans. But our systematic review of published research found the thermal ranges of animals, plants and microbes living in air and water overlap at 20°C. Could this be a coincidence?

For all species, the relationship with temperature is an asymmetric bell-shaped curve. This means biological processes increase in line with temperature, reach a maximum, and then rapidly decline when it gets too hot.

Recently, a New Zealand research group noticed the number of marine species did not peak at the equator, as has been commonly assumed. Rather, the number dipped, with peaks in the subtropics.

Follow-up studies showed this dip has been getting deeper since the last ice age about 20,000 years ago. And it has been deepening faster due to global ocean warming.

When the number of species was plotted against the average annual temperature, there was a decline above 20°C. A second coincidence?

Read more:
Remote Pacific coral reef shows at least some ability to cope with ocean warming – new study

Biological processes and biodiversity

Research in Tasmania modelled the growth rates of microbes and multi-cellular organisms and found the most stable temperature for their biological processes was also 20°C.

This “Corkrey model” built on other studies showing 20°C was the most stable temperature for biological molecules. A third coincidence?

We teamed up with colleagues from Canada, Scotland, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan to search for general patterns in how temperature affects life. To our surprise, everywhere we looked we kept finding that, indeed, 20°C is a pivotal temperature for many measures of biodiversity, and not only for marine species.

Examples show temperatures warmer than around 20°C result in decreases in various crucial measures:

• marine and freshwater species’ tolerance of low oxygen

• marine pelagic (open water living) and benthic (seabed living) algal productivity and fish predation rates on bait

• global species richness in pelagic fishes, plankton, benthic invertebrates and fossil molluscs

• and genetic diversity.

There were also increased extinctions in the fossil record when temperatures exceeded 20°C.

Increased species richness

Globally, the range of temperatures that reef fishes and invertebrates live at is narrowest among species whose geographic distributions centred on 20°C. The same effect is seen in microbes.

While many species have evolved to live at warmer and colder temperatures, most species live at 20°C. Also, extinctions in the fossil record – including sponges, lamp shells, molluscs, sea mats (bryozoans), starfish and sea urchins, worms and crustaceans – were lower at 20°C.

As species evolve to live at temperatures above and below 20°C, their thermal niche gets wider. This means most can still live at 20°C even if they inhabit hotter or colder places.

The mathematical Corkrey model predicts that thermal breadth should be minimised, and biological processes most stable and efficient, at 20°C. In turn, this should maximise species richness across all domains of life, from bacteria to the multi-cellular plants and animals. The model therefore provides a theoretical explanation for this “20°C effect”.

Read more:
Marine life is fleeing the equator to cooler waters. History tells us this could trigger a mass extinction event

Predicting the effects of climate change

That life seems centred around 20°C implies fundamental constraints that compromise the ability of tropical species to adapt to higher temperatures.

As long as species can shift their ranges to adapt to global warming, the 20°C effect means there will be local increases in species richness up to an annual average of 20°C. Above that, richness will decline.

This means the many marine species that can adapt to global warming by shifting their geographic distribution are unlikely to go extinct due to climate change.

However, land species may not be able to shift their geographic distributions so easily due to landscapes modified by cities, farming and other human infrastructures.

Read more:
Warming oceans may force New Zealand’s sperm and blue whales to shift to cooler southern waters

The 20°C effect is the simplest explanation for the above phenomena, including: trends in species richness and genetic diversity with temperature; extinction rates in the fossil record; biological productivity; optimal growth rate; and marine predation rates.

Despite the complexity of multi-cellular species, it is remarkable that the cellular-level temperature efficiencies are reflected in those other aspects of biodiversity.

Exactly why 20°C is pivotal and energy-efficient for cellular processes may be due to the molecular properties of water associated with cells. These properties may also be why ~42°C seems an absolute limit for most species.

A greater awareness of this 20°C effect may lead to new insights into how temperature controls ecosystem processes, species abundance and distribution, and the evolution of life.

Mark John Costello received funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand-Te Apārangi that contributed to this research..

Ross Corkrey 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. 20°C seems the optimal temperature for life on Earth to thrive – what does this mean in a warming world? – https://theconversation.com/20-c-seems-the-optimal-temperature-for-life-on-earth-to-thrive-what-does-this-mean-in-a-warming-world-214346

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Pattison, PhD Candidate in Music Industry, RMIT University

With Taylor Swift pulling in over half-a-million audience members on her Australian tour, we’ve been thinking a lot about fans. In this series, our academics dive into fan cultures: how they developed, how they operate, and how they shape the world today.

Fans and the internet have a symbiotic relationship. The digital era increased the productivity and visibility of fan culture, which in turn has largely influenced the ways that we all act online.

Fan communities existed long before the internet, but the proliferation of online platforms changed the ways in which they connect and participate.

Here is a brief history of how fan cultures shaped – and were shaped by – the internet.

Early adopters

As early as the 1970s, fans were participating in digital spaces. Some of the first email mailing lists and digital bulletin boards were utilised by Grateful Dead fans, or Deadheads, who came together to create an online archive of lyrics.

In the 1990s, science-fiction fans established online repositories, using Usenet groups for fannish discussion and fan-fiction distribution.

As the adoption of the internet became more widespread, so did fan culture. You could simply search for your favourite TV show or band and find a like-minded community online. This brought on an era of forums and blogs, where fans were quick to jump on sites like LiveJournal to write and build communities.

As social media platforms launched in the 2000s, fans co-opted them for their fan practices. MySpace fans helped launch many music careers; One Direction fans put Tumblr on the map.

When Twitter took off, so too did “Stan Twitter”. As a verb, to stan is to exhibit fandom to an excessive degree. The public nature of Twitter (now X) allowed fans to come together in large groups to start trends and campaign. This collective power has been both praised for digital activism efforts, and criticised for harassment.

The public and the private

Fans move between private and public spaces online, negotiating different identities.

On platforms like Tumblr and LiveJournal, fans often choose a pseudonym, whereas Facebook enforces a real-name policy.

Different platforms offer different privacy settings, which also shapes fan behaviours. Private spaces allow for personal conversations, while fans embrace public channels for sharing fan works and campaigning, for example, for voting or fundraising.

Each platform has different social norms and functionality. Fans adapt and develop their fan practices accordingly.

In doing so, they have shaped the social internet as we know it today.

Fan migrations

The launch of a new platform introduces new ways to participate. Tumblr became the place for ““fuckyeah” fansites, sharing fan works and communicating via GIFs. Fans jumped on TikTok to create video edits, sounds and mashups.

Fans may also choose to leave a platform because it no longer satisfies their needs or the platform goes through significant changes, as when Tumblr announced a ban on adult content, or when Elon Musk bought Twitter.

While the launch of Meta’s Threads provided a possible replacement for stan participation, some fans were hesitant to migrate across. Users must log in to Threads via their Instagram account, a platform many use to stay connected with friends and family.

On Twitter/X, fans expressed they were weary of the new platform, because they did not want their fan activities to be connected to their “real life”.

In cases where existing platforms haven’t met the community’s needs, fans have created their own. Archive Of Our Own (AO3) is a repository for fans to share works inspired by the objects of their fandom, created in response to design and policy changes made on other fan-fiction sites.

Transformations

Fans are known for their creative productivity, transforming and remixing their favourite cultural objects in fan-art, fan-fiction, videos, zines and music remixes.

Technological advancements made creative production easier to master, and the public and networked nature of platforms has allowed fan works to be circulated to a much wider audience. Audio from fan-edits often become trending TikTok sounds.

How fans shape brands

The mainstreaming of fandom across digital platforms has also led to changes in brand behaviour.

Some brands have started to act like fans online, learning from fans’ behaviours to form an affiliation with these engaged audiences.

On TikTok, brands are participating in fan-based trends, tapping into community-specific knowledge and jokes.

The Empire State Building has leaned into #swifttok, regularly creating content that demonstrates their love of Taylor. One of their most successful videos is a fan-edit professing their love for the Eiffel Tower, set to a sped-up version of Wildest Dreams.

Brands are also adopting fan language and tone in their captions and comments. Take a look at the comments on one of Taylor Swift’s recent TikToks and you’ll find brands like DuoLingo, Spotify, The Natural History Museum and Peter’s Pasta using words like “blondie”, “mother” and “ICON”.

On Twitter/X, cookie brand Chips Ahoy! regularly posts about trending fan-culture moments, demonstrating insider knowledge.

On Threads, the official Star Wars account is stanning favourite characters, adopting a fannish persona. And on TikTok, Penguin Books Australia is “shipping” Draco and Hermione to promote Tom Felton’s new book.

In my ongoing PhD research, I’ve found fans are working as social media managers for brands, leveraging their expertise to connect with fan audiences.

Given the widespread adoption of fan culture and practices across platforms, it makes sense that a fan’s digital literacy can be beneficial to brands.

As one Harry Styles fan that I interviewed explained:

I think if you’re a brand who wants to be tapped into culture, you need to hire people who are engaging in it. If you’re wanting to jump on trends […] talking to people in their own language, in that social first native language, you need to be hiring people who were already speaking in that way.

Kate Pattison 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. From Deadheads on bulletin boards to Taylor Swift ‘stans’: a short history of how fandoms shaped the internet – https://theconversation.com/from-deadheads-on-bulletin-boards-to-taylor-swift-stans-a-short-history-of-how-fandoms-shaped-the-internet-210970

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Laurenceson, Director and Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney

Australia’s research institutions are targets for nefarious actors, from China and elsewhere. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has publicly tabled an “awareness” of various attempts to compromise the sector.

What are we doing about it? Not enough, according to critics.

One recent charge is that Australia “lags behind” its allies and partners in responding to threats to “research security” such as espionage, foreign interference and theft of intellectual property, emanating overwhelmingly from China.

This is far from the case. On the contrary, Australia’s flexible and proportionate response to the threat of foreign interference manages the risks without hampering the international collaboration that is essential to research in the 21st century.

Laggards or leaders?

Do research institutions really face a unique threat of foreign interference, compared with other sectors? And has Australia’s response really lagged behind that of other countries?

In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry in late 2020, ASIO contended that the research sector does not face a unique level of risk. Rather, it is “just one of several sectors that is vulnerable”.

And far from Australia being a laggard, ASIO’s current director-general, Mike Burgess, told the same inquiry in March 2021 that, in his view,

Australia is generally ahead of the curve when it comes to identifying and managing this risk.

Similarly, the Department of Home Affairs submitted that local efforts had attracted “significant interest from international counterparts” precisely because Australia was “leading and shaping international approaches to countering foreign interference, in the education and research sectors”.

A changing landscape

Australia’s response to the risk of foreign interference has developed rapidly over the past five or six years.

In January 2018, Vicki Thomson, chief executive of the Group of Eight coalition of leading universities, insisted the group had “not been provided with any direct evidence of overt influence in our universities”.

Read more:
Universities must act to prevent espionage and foreign interference, but our national laws still threaten academic freedom

Around the same time, Michael Spence, then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, recounted an earlier meeting between a group of university leaders and ASIO. He said they had asked directly whether there was “any hard evidence” that foreign interference in universities was happening. The answer, according to Spence, was “no”.

The landscape has changed sharply since then. ASIO’s understanding of foreign interference has progressed, as have the briefings given to universities and the collective response by government and research institutions.

A collaborative taskforce

In 2019, the Universities Foreign Interference Taskforce was set up as a collaboration between government agencies and research institutions. The taskforce has crafted best-practice guidelines for managing the risks.

In Senate Estimates hearings in March 2021, Burgess was asked whether universities were now “listening” to his agency’s warnings of foreign interference risks targeting the sector. He replied, “They are, very much so.”

The same month, Burgess said he was “comfortable” that the outcomes of the taskforce were effective, and that he was “not predisposed to create some new agency or body”. Two months later, in another Estimates hearing, he commended universities for having been “very cooperative and collaborative working with government”.

A year later, Burgess judged the challenges were still being “well managed” and once again commended universities for their “excellent work”.

Senior Home Affairs officials have also noted that engaging with universities via the taskforce had increased their own understanding of the research sector, which previously was “not familiar to them as much as others are”.

A proportionate response

In August 2023, the Department of Education released a report on how universities are putting the Universities Foreign Interference Taskforce’s guidelines into practice. The report “confirmed an understanding of the threats posed by foreign interference, and progress in implementing advice in the Guidelines”.

The report also said the “extent and maturity” of implementation varied across the sector, but this was by design. The core principle behind the guidelines was to take “a sensible approach that is proportionate to risk”.

Not all universities face the same risks. Some universities have “gone beyond what is outlined in the Guidelines, understanding they may be more susceptible to certain risks”.

Essential collaborations

Taking a prescriptive and mandatory “one-size-fits-all” approach would have imposed unnecessary costs on research institutions. What’s more, it may well have stunted Australia’s capacity for innovation in the process.

This is why ASIO urges that efforts to increase research security be “well balanced”. They should not get in the way of the international collaboration that is essential for research institutions to perform their role.

Read more:
The Thousand Talents Plan is part of China’s long quest to become the global scientific leader

In 2024, China is a peer of the US in research and knowledge creation. In many sectors where Australia has grand ambitions, such as the extraction and processing of critical minerals, China is the technology leader.

We must be clear-eyed about threats to “research security”. But a one-eyed focus on China, and adopting a simplistic and heavy-handed approach to managing these threats, will only leave Australia worse off.

James Laurenceson 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. Research espionage is a real threat – but a drastic crackdown could stifle vital international collaboration – https://theconversation.com/research-espionage-is-a-real-threat-but-a-drastic-crackdown-could-stifle-vital-international-collaboration-223555

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Dandy, Associate Professor, Centre for People, Place & Planet, and School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University

Big environmental changes mean ever more Australians will confront the tough choice of whether to move home or risk staying put.

Communities in the tropical north are losing residents as these regions become hotter and more humid. Repeated floods have communities along the east coast questioning their future. Others face rising bushfire risks that force them to weigh up the difficult decision to move home.

However, the decision-making process and relocation opportunities are not the same for everyone. Factors such as socio-economic disadvantage and how we are attached to a place influence decisions to move or stay, where people go and how they experience their new location.

Our research, working with other researchers at Edith Cowan University’s Centre for People, Place & Planet and Curtin University, seeks to document when and why people stay or go, and what this means for places and communities. In particular, our research suggests who is more likely to go may leave those who remain even more vulnerable.

Read more:
The world’s tropical zone is expanding, and Australia should be worried

We’ve been slow to adapt to increasing impacts

Climate change is global in scale and has compounding effects. It is increasing the frequency and intensity of disasters and extreme weather events such as heatwaves, fires, storms and floods. It is also accelerating environmental changes such as soil erosion, salinisation of waterways, loss of biodiversity, and land and water degradation.

Both sudden disruptions and gradual pervasive decline have impacts on the places where we live, work and play. So far, there has been little effective government action to improve climate change adaptation in Australia.

As we have seen in recent times in Lismore, New South Wales, and northern Victoria, for example, living in some flood-prone locations will become unaffordable due to insurance costs or simply uninsurable.

In other locations, different reasons will force residents to leave. It might be because environmental change threatens their livelihoods, or they can’t tolerate new conditions such as more long heatwaves or less reliable freshwater supplies. Others might not be able to endure the threat of another disaster.

In sum, living in the place they called home will not be sustainable.

Read more:
It’s time to come clean on Lismore’s future. People and businesses have to relocate away from the floodplains

What factors affect the decision to stay or go?

Not everyone can relocate to cooler or safer places. Systemic inequalities mean some people are more at risk from environmental change and have less capacity to respond than others. These vulnerable people include children (both before and after birth), women, older people, people on low incomes and/or with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other cultural and/or linguistic minorities.

In addition, housing is more affordable in areas that are hotter or flood-prone. This makes it more likely to be owned or rented by people with fewer financial resources, compounding their disadvantage.

For First Nations peoples and communities, connections to and responsibilities for places (Country) are intimately intertwined with identity. For them, the impacts of climate change, colonisation and resettlement interact, further complicating the question of relocation.

Read more:
Why Pacific Islanders are staying put even as rising seas flood their homes and crops

Place attachment – the emotional bond between people and their environment – might suppress the urge to move. But environmental change might fundamentally alter the characteristics that make a place unique. What we once loved and enjoyed has then disappeared.

This sort of change impacts human health and results in feelings of loss and grief. It can prompt people to decide to leave.

Read more:
Urban planning is now on the front line of the climate crisis. This is what it means for our cities and towns

So who stays and who leaves?

In our research, we found that when residents imagined the loss of what they valued about Perth’s environment this significantly increased their intentions to move away and significantly decreased place attachment. They nominated bushland, beaches, fauna and flora, and the climate/weather as characteristics they valued and feared changing or losing as climate change progressed. One study participant wrote:

It would be hotter and much more unpleasant in summer. I would miss the trees, plants and birds. I would hate living in a concrete jungle without the green spaces we have here. I would miss being able to cycle or walk to the local lakes to connect to nature and feel peaceful.

But social factors matter too. We found people who valued characteristics of Perth such as social relationships and lifestyle were more likely to stay as they tended to have less reduction in their place attachment.

We also found place attachment was associated with people acting to protect that place, such as protesting environmentally destructive policies. Yet people who were more likely to take such actions were also more likely to leave.

This could make the remaining community more vulnerable to further unwanted change. That’s because those who can afford to relocate are usually the ones with the resources – psychological, social, political and financial – to take action to protect their homes, neighbourhoods and cities.

Read more:
‘Climigration’: when communities must move because of climate change

Proper planning for adaptation is long overdue

Climate change impacts everyone. It causes significant economic and non-economic losses for both individuals and communities.

Many locations are becoming unliveable. A changing climate and inappropriately built or located housing interact to create conditions where some people can or should no longer stay.

Some will be prompted or forced to move, but not everyone has that capacity. Furthermore, relocation pressures have environmental, infrastructure and social consequences for the places to which they move.

The housing crisis in Australia adds to resource constraints and their impacts for individuals and communities. Relocating can also disrupt psychological, emotional, social and cultural connections that are crucial for people’s wellbeing.

We need co-ordinated, well-governed, long-term planning for people to move in the face of environmental change to ensure equitable and positive transitions for individuals and communities.

The authors wish to acknowledge the following contributors to this research: Professor Pierre Horwitz and Dr Naomi Godden (Centre for People, Place & Planet, ECU), Dr Deirdre Drake (School of Arts and Humanities, ECU) and Dr Francesca Perugia (School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University).

Justine Dandy received funding for this work from the Centre for People, Place and Planet, Edith Cowan University.

Zoe Leviston received funding for this work from the College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University

– ref. Climate change is forcing Australians to weigh up relocating. How do they make that difficult decision? – https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-forcing-australians-to-weigh-up-relocating-how-do-they-make-that-difficult-decision-221971

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University

The just-released report of the inquiry into price gouging and unfair pricing conducted by Allan Fels for the Australian Council of Trades Unions does more than identify the likely offenders.

It finds the biggest are supermarkets, banks, airlines and electricity companies.

It’s not enough to know their tricks. Fels wants to give the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission more power to investigate and more power to prohibit mergers.

But it helps to know how they try to trick us, and how technology has enabled them to get better at it. After reading the report, I’ve identified eight key maneuvers.

1. Asymmetric price movements

Otherwise known as Rocket and Feather, this is where businesses push up prices quickly when costs rise, but cut them slowly or late after costs fall.

It seems to happen for petrol and mortgage rates, and the Fels inquiry was presented with evidence suggesting it happens in supermarkets.

Brendan O’Keeffe from NSW Farmers told the inquiry wholesale lamb prices had been falling for six months before six Woolworths announced a cut in the prices of lamb it was selling as a “Christmas gift”.

2. Punishment for loyal customers

A loyalty tax is what happens when a business imposes higher charges on customers who have been with it for a long time, on the assumption that they won’t move.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has alleged a big insurer does it, setting premiums not only on the basis of risk, but also on the basis of what a computer model tells them about the likelihood of each customer tolerating a price hike. The insurer disputes the claim.

It’s often done by offering discounts or new products to new customers and leaving existing customers on old or discontinued products.

It happens a lot in the electricity industry. The plans look good at first, and then less good as providers bank on customers not making the effort to shop around.

Loyalty taxes appear to be less common among mobile phone providers. Australian laws make it easy to switch and keep your number.

3. Loyalty schemes that provide little value

Fels says loyalty schemes can be a “low-cost means of retaining and exploiting consumers by providing them with low-value rewards of dubious benefit”.

Their purpose is to lock in (or at least bias) customers to choices already made.

Examples include airline frequent flyer points, cafe cards that give you your tenth coffee free, and supermarket points programs. The purpose is to lock in (or at least bias) consumers to products already chosen.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has found many require users to spend a lot of money or time to earn enough points for a reward.

Others allow points to expire or rules to change without notice or offer rewards that are not worth the effort to redeem.

They also enable businesses to collect data on spending habits, preferences, locations, and personal information that can be used to construct customer profiles that allow them to target advertising and offers and high prices to some customers and not others.

4. Drip pricing that hides true costs

The Competition and Consumer Commission describes drip pricing as “when a price is advertised at the beginning of an online purchase, but then extra fees and charges (such as booking and service fees) are gradually added during the purchase process”.

The extras can add up quickly and make final bills much higher than expected.

Airlines are among the best-known users of the strategy. They often offer initially attractive base fares, but then add charges for baggage, seat selection, in-flight meals and other extras.

Read more:
Junk fees and drip pricing: underhanded tactics we hate yet still fall for

5. Confusion pricing

Related to drip pricing is confusion pricing where a provider offers a range of plans, discounts and fees so complex they are overwhelming.

Financial products like insurance have convoluted fee structures, as do electricity providers. Supermarkets do it by bombarding shoppers with “specials” and “sales”.

When prices change frequently and without notice, it adds to the confusion.

6. Algorithmic pricing

Algorithmic pricing is the practice of using algorithms to set prices automatically taking into account competitor responses, which is something akin to computers talking to each other.

When computers get together in this way they can act as it they are colluding even if the humans involved in running the businesses never talk to each other.

It can act even more this way when multiple competitors use the same third-party pricing algorithm, effectively allowing a single company to influence prices.

7. Price discrimination

Price discrimination involves charging different customers different prices
for the same product, setting each price in accordance with how much each customer is prepared to pay.

Banks do it when they offer better rates to customers likely to leave them, electricity companies do it when they offer better prices for business customers than households, and medical specialists do it when they offer vastly different prices for the same service to consumers with different incomes.

It is made easier by digital technology and data collection. While it can make prices lower for some customers, it can make prices much more expensive to customers in a hurry or in urgent need of something.

8. Excuse-flation

Excuse-flation is where general inflation provides “cover” for businesses to raise prices without
justification, blaming nothing other than general inflation.

It means that in times of general high inflation businesses can increase their prices even if their costs haven’t increased by as much.

On Thursday Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock seemed to confirm that she though some firms were doing this saying that when inflation had been brought back to the Bank’s target, it would be

much more difficult, I think, for firms to use high inflation as cover for this sort of putting up their prices

A political solution is needed

Ultimately, our own vigilance won’t be enough. We will need political help. The government’s recently announced competition review might be a step in this direction.

The legislative changes should police business practices and prioritise fairness. Only then can we create a marketplace where ethics and competition align, ensuring both business prosperity and consumer wellbeing.

This isn’t just about economics, it’s about building a fairer, more sustainable Australia.

David Tuffley is affiliated with the Australian Computer Society (Member).

– ref. Why prices are so high – 8 ways retail pricing algorithms gouge consumers – https://theconversation.com/why-prices-are-so-high-8-ways-retail-pricing-algorithms-gouge-consumers-223310

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

Scott Morrison will say his farewell to parliament the week after next. This timing happens to follow neatly Monday’s final episode in the ABC’s Nemesis series, in which some Coalition figures excoriated their former leader and Morrison defended his record.

For the Liberals, Morrison’s departure is a significant symbolic “moving on” moment. It’s not that he has had any influence, or been disruptive, since the election. But even though he’s been hardly noticed publicly, his presence in the parliamentary party has been a reminder of all that went wrong last term.

The Coalition Morrison is exiting is a mixed bunch, in terms of performance, illustrated by the first weeks of this year.

The opposition could not have avoided being outfoxed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s bold reworking of the tax cuts. But it could have prevented the Liberals’ deputy leader, Sussan Ley, impulsively suggesting a Dutton government would roll back the tax cuts, which a nanosecond of thought would have told her would never happen. It was typical of Ley, and a bone Labor hasn’t stopped chewing.

On the other hand, the row over the ex-detainees – released by the government from immigration detention after a High Court decision last year – has shown how an opposition working effectively can have a minister squirming.

The Liberals used material from this week’s Senate estimates hearing to pound Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in the House of Representatives. Although the issue probably doesn’t have its pre-Christmas resonance with the public, the operation reminded that Liberal Senator James Paterson is one of the opposition’s best-performing frontbenchers. Paterson is on top of a broad national security brief and (regardless of whether you agree with him or not) conveys his points effectively in media interviews.

In contrast, the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, still struggles to cut through. Despite performing better than last year, Taylor is unable to land a blow on Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Given the centrality of the economic debate, this is a serious problem for Peter Dutton.

Taylor is lucky there’s no colleague stalking for his job. Those with long memories will recall Julie Bishop’s fate as shadow treasurer under Malcolm Turnbull. When she floundered, Joe Hockey was there coveting her post and inevitably she had to agree to move.

Finance spokeswoman Jane Hume is diligent, prominent in the media and improving. She does best when she limits the gratuitous political attacks.

Michael Sukkar, shadow minister for housing, seems largely missing in action on the red-hot issue of housing, a crucial battleground for the election. The opposition shouldn’t just be more active in the day-to-day debate – it should be releasing an alternative policy sooner rather than later. A comprehensive housing policy should logically be at the core of an agenda for the “aspirationals” the Liberals like to talk about.

We don’t hear as much as we should on education from spokeswoman Sarah Henderson. While education is often considered a “Labor” issue, poor results and declining retention rates at school level and key issues facing higher education are meaty areas for debate.

Andrew Hastie is well qualified on defence but not as much to the fore as might be expected. Prominent in the conservative wing of the Liberal Party, Hastie also needs to broaden his profile for the future.

Anne Ruston could make more of her health and aged care remit. There are many questions around the post-pandemic management of COVID, and the long-term sustainability of Medicare. Ruston will soon have a ready-made issue in aged care, when the government finally releases the report it is sitting on, canvassing ways forward for the sector’s financing. The Howard, Hawke and Morrison governments all found aged care perilous.

Among the Nationals, their Senate leader, Bridget McKenzie, has proved very effective this term, notably on Qantas and Qatar Airways.

Jacinta Price was a highly successful “no” campaigner in the referendum, but the harder test will be whether she can find some credible positive answers for improving Indigenous people’s conditions. Her proposed audit of spending might have some merit, but it falls short as a policy.

Dutton needs to reshuffle his frontbench ASAP. He hasn’t even filled the vacancy left by last year’s resignation from parliament of the Robodebt-tainted Stuart Robert, who was shadow assistant treasurer. Marise Payne’s departure left vacant the spot of shadow cabinet secretary.

The frontbench certainly would benefit from some new talent. Constraints such as state representations complicate things, but if merit were the criterion, Zoe McKenzie and Keith Wolahan, both Victorians, are deserving.

Julian Leeser, who stepped down to the backbench to campaign for “yes” in the referendum, now appears to have less chance of a return in a reshuffle than was initially thought. That’s unfortunate, because restoring him as shadow attorney-general would be sensible. Having Michaelia Cash in that job as well as workplace relations is overload on steroids.

In the longer term, the Coalition needs a refresh of talent at the 2025 election. Former minister Linda Reynolds (now on the backbench) announced this week she was not recontesting. Neither is junior frontbencher Nola Marino.

One-time Morrison henchman Alex Hawke (who has preselection) would be among those who don’t have much to contribute in another term. Dutton didn’t put Hawke on his frontbench.

Which brings us to Barnaby Joyce, whose future is a talking point after he was videoed sprawled on a Canberra street following too many drinks that he said interfered with his medication.

Both Dutton and the Nationals’ leader, David Littleproud, have advised Joyce he should take personal leave, Littleproud citing he had “family circumstances”, beyond the first explanation for his behaviour. Despite the advice, Joyce remained in parliament for the rest of this week. The pertinent question, however, is whether Joyce should run for another term.

Once hailed as a great “retail” politician, Joyce at the 2022 election was considered a retail negative in many Liberal seats. Dutton’s priority mightn’t be the recapture of “teal” seats – he’s concentrating on outer suburbia – but he doesn’t want a repeat of the perceived damage Joyce did last time.

Joyce may want to run again, but surely he shouldn’t. While he is in parliament, the Nationals will remain a tinderbox (even though they manage to hold their seats). The party, once known for its unity and discipline, won’t move on until Joyce moves on.

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. Grattan on Friday: Morrison’s departure will help Liberals ‘move on’ but Nationals can’t ‘move on’ until Barnaby does – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-morrisons-departure-will-help-liberals-move-on-but-nationals-cant-move-on-until-barnaby-does-223639

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

The federal government has released its latest implementation plan for Closing the Gap on Indigenous disadvantage.

What are multiple gaps are still vast, with many areas not on track to meet their targets.

After the failed Voice referendum, the government is looking to the next steps for First Nations people. To discuss this week’s policy announcement, the centrepiece of which is a $700 million jobs program for people in remote areas, we’re joined by Malarndirri McCarthy, senator for the Northern Territory and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians.

McCarthy says:

As an Aboriginal woman. I find the discussion around closing the gap incredibly disheartening, but I have a lot of faith in the sense that we are in our areas trying to do what we can.

On what has to be done:

One of the critical areas that came through all responses from the Productivity Commission’s report was the fact that it needed buy-in with First Nations people, that there needed to be systemic change, that there needed to be structural change, to enable First Nations people to be very much a part of the decision making.

On why progress can be so difficult:

I also understand that the politics of Aboriginal affairs is such that it does become a political football. And a lot of the time you do spend much of it seeing it just kicked back and forwards.

On treaty and truth telling, McCarthy urges patience:

As a Yanyuwa Garrawa woman […] treaty to me is still unfinished business for First Nations people and our country, just like truth-telling is. And there’s no rush. We will get there. And, I still say to people: ‘Stay strong’.

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. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Assistant minister Malarndirri McCarthy says there’s ‘no rush’ on treaty and truth-telling – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-assistant-minister-malarndirri-mccarthy-says-theres-no-rush-on-treaty-and-truth-telling-223642

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia

Regional touring festival Groovin’ The Moo has announced its cancellation only eight days after placing tickets on sale, citing low demand.

A mainstay of the summer festival calendar, this follows a series of similar cancellations, including the 2023 edition of Falls Festival, ValleyWays, Coastal Jam and Vintage Vibes, and the “pausing” of Hobart’s iconic Dark Mofo for 2024.

So why are we seeing so many Australian music festivals cancelled? And what will the future of festivals look like?

Growing challenges for festivals

The well-documented cost-of-living crisis is an obvious culprit when it comes to low demand for festivals, as consumers cut down on expenses.

However, other factors are at play here. They include:

1. Higher overheads

Rapidly increasing overheads, such as rocketing public liability insurance costs for both venues and festivals alike, affect the viability of such events.

This problem began with the COVID pandemic, but extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change have compounded these issues as well as affecting the viability of outdoor summer music festivals. In 2022 alone, more than 20 Australian festivals were cancelled because of extreme weather.

Read more:
Climate change is transforming Australia’s cultural life – so why isn’t it mentioned in the new national cultural policy?

2. Slower sales

Prior to the pandemic, concerns regarding the oversaturation of the Australian festival market were already starting to bite. Pre-COVID festival cancellations included the end of the Big Day Out after 20 years in 2014. The annual event began to falter in the preceding years due to issues that have compounded in the decade since.

As the pandemic eased and festival producers rushed back onsite, they have been faced with a fundamental shift in Australian cultural consumption habits, particularly among young people.

People are waiting longer to buy tickets. 2023 was the first time in over a decade that Splendour in the Grass, Australia’s biggest single-ticket festival, didn’t sell out within hours. The trend towards delayed “commitment to purchase” is cause for concern among promoters, who rely on opening-day sales for momentum and capital.

This change can be understood as a response to the rolling cancellations of the pandemic, in combination with rising ticket prices, domestic financial pressures and busy schedules. It is increasingly normal to look for second-hand tickets at reduced prices as an event approaches.

Read more:
Crowded house: how to keep festivals relevant in an oversaturated market

3. Youth avoidance

Industry observers are concerned about a drop in youth attendance. Young people who came of age during COVID missed their key festival-going years and may now have moved on to other cultural experiences – followed by younger siblings. This emphasises the long cultural tail of an event like the pandemic.

The cost-of-living crisis especially affects young people, the core audience for festivals like Groovin’ the Moo. The majority of under-35s say financial pressure is limiting their attendance at arts events.

Read more:
No festivals, no schoolies: young people are missing out on vital rites of passage during COVID

4. The consolidation of taste

While “variety” festivals such as Groovin’ the Moo and Falls Festival – which feature diverse, multi-genre lineups – are struggling, genre-specific festivals and major artist tours continue to perform well.

These include metal and hard rock festivals such as Good Things Festival and Knotfest, and major recent tours by Queens of the Stone Age, Pink, Blink-182 and, of course, Taylor Swift. The media industry and the music industry specifically are experiencing the effects of an increasing siloing and consolidation of taste within specific niches, exacerbated by the digitisation of media via highly curated streaming platforms.

Perhaps “variety” music festivals are heading the same way as the Big Day Out. The struggles of festivals historically backed by Triple J (such as Groovin’ the Moo and Falls) may reveal the national youth broadcaster’s loosening grip on relevance and its inability to appeal to a broad audience in an increasingly hyper-curated media environment.

Read more:
‘I almost feel like stuck in a rut’: how streaming services changed the way we listen to music

Is this anything new?

The factors influencing the success of a given festival are complex, as illustrated by the case of Groovin’ the Moo. The Newcastle date sold out in less than an hour, with reports of strong early sales for the Sunshine Coast edition, yet the overall tour was deemed unable to proceed.

Uncertainty is inherent in the music business, where an oversupply of product meets a market driven by the vagaries of taste.

Festival programmers must “forecast” what will draw a crowd, booking performers up to a year in advance. However, mega-crises, such as the pandemic, climate change and financial shocks, create deeper uncertainties that fundamentally challenge business as usual.

Uncertainty poses a profound threat to live music in particular, which depends on advance planning and investment, with its returns and benefits hinging on the controlled realisation of future events.

Too much uncertainty also stifles innovation and diversity, as the large multinationals that dominate the music industry are better able to withstand its effects.

Music festivals are a leading site of Australia’s engagement with the arts, with significant social and economic benefits. They have also become a focal point for a range of societal challenges, from economic to environmental crises. Sustaining a vibrant, diverse and accessible festival sector will require these challenges to be confronted.

The age of deep uncertainty isn’t going away. For Australia’s diverse festival landscape to survive we need to find new ways – such as financial buffers, government-backed insurance schemes, big ticket levies, tariffs on major international tours, and climate action and mitigation – to ride and survive this uncertainty.

Sam Whiting receives funding from Creative Australia and the Australasian Performing Right Association.

Ben Green receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australasian Performing Right Association.

– ref. Why are so many Australian music festivals being cancelled? – https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-australian-music-festivals-being-cancelled-223559

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University

You might have heard of something called “cryptosporidiosis” recently, closely followed by warnings to stay away from your local swimming pool if you’ve had diarrhoea.

More than 700 cases of this gastrointestinal disease were reported in Queensland in January, which is 13 times more than in January last year. Just under 500 cases have been recorded in New South Wales this year to-date, while other states have similarly reported an increase in the number of cryptosporidiosis infections in recent months.

Cryptosporidiosis has been listed as a national notifiable disease in Australia since 2001.
But what exactly is it, and should we be worried?

Read more:
What lies beneath: the bugs lurking in your swimming pool

What causes cryptosporidiosis, and who is affected?

Cryptosporidiosis is the disease caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium, of which there are two types that can make us sick. Cryptosporidum hominis only affects humans and is the major cause of recent outbreaks in Australia, while Cryptosporidium parvum can also affect animals.

The infection is spread by spores called oocysts in the stools of humans and animals. When ingested, these oocysts migrate and mature in the small bowel. They damage the small bowel lining and can lead to diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, fever and abdominal discomfort.

Most people develop symptoms anywhere from one to 12 days after becoming infected. Usually these symptoms resolve within two weeks, but the illness may last longer and can be severe in those with a weakened immune system.

Children and the elderly tend to be the most commonly affected. Cryptosporidiosis is more prevalent in young children, particularly those under five, but the disease can affect people of any age.

So how do we catch it?

Most major outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis have been due to people drinking contaminated water. The largest recorded outbreak occurred in Milwaukee in 1993 where 403,000 people were believed to have been infected.

Cryptosporidium oocysts are very small in size and in Milwaukee they passed through the filtration system of one of the water treatment plants undetected, infecting the city’s water supply. As few as ten oocysts can cause infection, making it possible for contaminated drinking water to affect a very large number of people.

Four days after infection a person with cryptosporidiosis can shed up to ten billion oocysts into their stool a day, with the shedding persisting for about two weeks. This is why one infected person in a swimming pool can infect the entire pool in a single visit.

Cryptosporidium oocysts excreted in the faeces of infected humans and animals can also reach natural bodies of water such as beaches, rivers and lakes directly through sewer pipes or indirectly such as in manure transported with surface runoff after heavy rain.

One study which modelled Cryptosporidium concentrations in rivers around the world estimated there are anywhere from 100 to one million oocysts in a litre of river water.

In Australia, cryptosporidiosis outbreaks tend to occur during the late spring and early summer periods when there’s an increase in recreational water activities such as swimming in natural water holes, water catchments and public pools. We don’t know exactly why cases have seen such a surge this summer compared to other years, but we know Cryptosporidium is very infectious.

Read more:
Explainer: what is gastroenteritis and why can’t I get rid of it?

Oocysts have been found in foods such as fresh vegetables and seafood but these are not common sources of infection in Australia.

What about chlorine?

Contrary to popular belief, chlorine doesn’t kill off all infectious microbes in a swimming pool. Cryptosporidium oocysts are hardy, thick-walled and resistant to chlorine and acid. They are not destroyed by chlorine at the normal concentrations found in swimming pools.

We also know oocysts can be significantly protected from the effects of chlorine in swimming pools by faecal material, so the presence of even small amounts of faecal matter contaminated with Cryptosporidium in a swimming pool would necessitate closure and a thorough decontamination.

Young children and in particular children in nappies are known to increase the potential for disease transmission in recreational water. Proper nappy changing, frequent bathroom breaks and showering before swimming to remove faecal residue are helpful ways to reduce the risk.

Some sensible precautions

Other measures you can take to reduce yours and others’ risk of cryptosporidiosis include:

• avoid swimming in natural waters such as rivers and creeks during and for at least three days after heavy rain

• avoid swimming in beaches for at least one day after heavy rain

• avoid drinking untreated water such as water from rivers or springs. If you need to drink untreated water, boiling it first will kill the Cryptosporidium

• avoid swallowing water when swimming if you can

• if you’ve had diarrhoea, avoid swimming for at least two weeks after it has resolved

• avoid sharing towels or linen for at least two weeks after diarrhoea has resolved

• avoid sharing, touching or preparing food that other people may eat for at least 48 hours after diarrhoea has resolved

• wash your hands with soap and water after going to the bathroom or before preparing food (Cryptosporidium is not killed by alcohol gels and sanitisers).

Not all cases of diarrhoea are due to cryptosporidiosis. There are many other causes of infectious gastroenteritis and because the vast majority of the time recovery is uneventful you don’t need to see a doctor unless very unwell. If you do suspect you may have cryptosporidiosis you can ask your doctor to refer you for a stool test.

Vincent Ho 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. How worried should I be about cryptosporidiosis? Am I safe at the pool? – https://theconversation.com/how-worried-should-i-be-about-cryptosporidiosis-am-i-safe-at-the-pool-223541

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Noetel, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The University of Queensland

At least one in ten people have depression at some point in their lives, with some estimates closer to one in four. It’s one of the worst things for someone’s wellbeing – worse than debt, divorce or diabetes.

One in seven Australians take antidepressants. Psychologists are in high demand. Still, only half of people with depression in high-income countries get treatment.

Our new research shows that exercise should be considered alongside therapy and antidepressants. It can be just as impactful in treating depression as therapy, but it matters what type of exercise you do and how you do it.

Read more:
Why are so many Australians taking antidepressants?

Walk, run, lift, or dance away depression

We found 218 randomised trials on exercise for depression, with 14,170 participants. We analysed them using a method called a network meta-analysis. This allowed us to see how different types of exercise compared, instead of lumping all types together.

We found walking, running, strength training, yoga and mixed aerobic exercise were about as effective as cognitive behaviour therapy – one of the gold-standard treatments for depression. The effects of dancing were also powerful. However, this came from analysing just five studies, mostly involving young women. Other exercise types had more evidence to back them.

Walking, running, strength training, yoga and mixed aerobic exercise seemed more effective than antidepressant medication alone, and were about as effective as exercise alongside antidepressants.

But of these exercises, people were most likely to stick with strength training and yoga.

Antidepressants certainly help some people. And of course, anyone getting treatment for depression should talk to their doctor before changing what they are doing.

Still, our evidence shows that if you have depression, you should get a psychologist and an exercise plan, whether or not you’re taking antidepressants.

Join a program and go hard (with support)

Before we analysed the data, we thought people with depression might need to “ease into it” with generic advice, such as “some physical activity is better than doing none.”

But we found it was far better to have a clear program that aimed to push you, at least a little. Programs with clear structure worked better, compared with those that gave people lots of freedom. Exercising by yourself might also make it hard to set the bar at the right level, given low self-esteem is a symptom of depression.

We also found it didn’t matter how much people exercised, in terms of sessions or minutes a week. It also didn’t really matter how long the exercise program lasted. What mattered was the intensity of the exercise: the higher the intensity, the better the results.

Yes, it’s hard to keep motivated

We should exercise caution in interpreting the findings. Unlike drug trials, participants in exercise trials know which “treatment” they’ve been randomised to receive, so this may skew the results.

Many people with depression have physical, psychological or social barriers to participating in formal exercise programs. And getting support to exercise isn’t free.

We also still don’t know the best way to stay motivated to exercise, which can be even harder if you have depression.

Our study tried to find out whether things like setting exercise goals helped, but we couldn’t get a clear result.

Other reviews found it’s important to have a clear action plan (for example, putting exercise in your calendar) and to track your progress (for example, using an app or smartwatch). But predicting which of these interventions work is notoriously difficult.

A 2021 mega-study of more than 60,000 gym-goers found experts struggled to predict which strategies might get people into the gym more often. Even making workouts fun didn’t seem to motivate people. However, listening to audiobooks while exercising helped a lot, which no experts predicted.

Still, we can be confident that people benefit from personalised support and accountability. The support helps overcome the hurdles they’re sure to hit. The accountability keeps people going even when their brains are telling them to avoid it.

So, when starting out, it seems wise to avoid going it alone. Instead:

• join a fitness group or yoga studio

• get a trainer or an exercise physiologist

• ask a friend or family member to go for a walk with you.

Taking a few steps towards getting that support makes it more likely you’ll keep exercising.

Read more:
Exercise is even more effective than counselling or medication for depression. But how much do you need?

Let’s make this official

Some countries see exercise as a backup plan for treating depression. For example, the American Psychological Association only conditionally recommends exercise as a “complementary and alternative treatment” when “psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy is either ineffective or unacceptable”.

Based on our research, this recommendation is withholding a potent treatment from many people who need it.

In contrast, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists recommends vigorous aerobic activity at least two to three times a week for all people with depression.

Given how common depression is, and the number failing to receive care, other countries should follow suit and recommend exercise alongside front-line treatments for depression.

I would like to acknowledge my colleagues Taren Sanders, Chris Lonsdale and the rest of the coauthors of the paper on which this article is based.

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

Michael Noetel receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, Sport Australia, and the National Health and Medical Research Council. He is a director of Effective Altruism Australia.

– ref. Running or yoga can help beat depression, research shows – even if exercise is the last thing you feel like – https://theconversation.com/running-or-yoga-can-help-beat-depression-research-shows-even-if-exercise-is-the-last-thing-you-feel-like-223441

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Copland, Honorary Fellow in Sociology, Australian National University

Debate around doxing is raging in Australia after the leak of a WhatsApp chat group called “Jewish Australian creatives and academics”. While the group was formed as a supportive space, some of its conversations focused on challenging media critiques of Israel.

The leakers have stated they acted in the public interest, because they claim the chat group was coordinating actions to target pro-Palestinian activists.

The Australian government has reacted to this episode with a move to criminalise doxing and introduce jail terms for culprits.

But was this leak actually doxing? Terms like this are always up for debate, but the government’s own definition throws up questions about this case.

Personal information

According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, doxing is the “malicious release” of someone’s personal information without their consent.

The first question here is one of personal information. Was any personal information actually leaked?

Early media reports stated the leak contained a transcript of chat discussions, a spreadsheet of links to social media accounts and people’s photographs.

Those who released the information say they scrubbed any details that could be used to track people down, such as phone numbers and email addresses. They also say no private photographs were released, nor any photos of children.

Read more:
What is doxing, and how can you protect yourself?

This is very different to other high-profile doxing events. For example, in 2018, men’s rights activists ran a campaign called #ThotAudit in which they tried to report online sex workers to the US Internal Revenue Service.

Some participants compiled a detailed database of sex workers, containing more than 166,000 entries, which included full names, locations, links to wish lists, types of payment processors and bios. This campaign was part of a long history of sex workers being publicly exposed, and resulted in significant, personalised harassment of those on the list.

Some will say that releasing a list of names is itself doxing. But this is very murky. If participants need to be anonymous to join a cause – for example, for their own safety – there might be a case. But many of the participants in this WhatsApp chat were already high-profile people.

Therefore, this seems less like a case of doxing, and more like a leak of how groups organise around their political agendas. Similar leaks have exposed the links between Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party and the US National Rifle Association, and connections between Pentecostal Christian churches and politicians.

I would argue this action was more in line with whistleblowing, not doxing. Whistleblowing is the release of information revealing activities that are deemed to be illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent.

These terms are also very much up for debate, but the publishers of this list believed the activity within to be immoral, and therefore within the public interest.

Read more:
Doxing or in the public interest? Free speech, ‘cancelling’ and the ethics of the Jewish creatives’ WhatsApp group leak

Malicious intent

This leads to the second question, which is one of intent. The government claims the leak was done with malicious intent, and this claim has been backed by the opposition and organisations such as the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

Yet the malicious intent is also up for debate. The release of this chat cannot be isolated from its content. This was, by and large, not simply a group of people having friendly conversations.

Some people in the group were high-profile supporters of Israel in Australia. Members also used the chat to organise politically, with some conversations allegedly centred on ways to target pro-Palestinian activists.

This creates a clear political reason for the release of the information. There is of course a reasonable debate here as to which private discussions of political issues are fair game, and everyone will have a different view.

But the political nature of the chat moves this incident closer to being a political leak or whistleblowing rather than doxing.

This does not mean the leakers are immune to criticism, either. There were harms associated with their actions. Members of the WhatsApp chat have reported they have been subjected to harassment, including death threats. This includes some who were not actively participating in the chat, and have since disowned the group’s conversations.

This fallout can and should be pursued by authorities under current anti-harassment legislation. Yet we must be careful about blaming those who leak material for this behaviour.

Read more:
The government wants to criminalise doxing. It may not work to stamp out bad behaviour online

Other examples of politically charged doxing help to illustrate this point. In the wake of the 2017 white supremacist Charlottesville riots in the United States, many anti-fascist organisers tracked down and released the names and details of participants using photographic evidence. In some instances this included details of where participants lived or worked.

This clearly meets the first part of the government’s definition of doxing. But it is debatable whether the anti-facist campaign was malicious or not.

While there were problems with this campaign, particularly as some people were wrongly identified, there is an ethical case to be made: people participating in violent white supremacist riots should be exposed so their community is aware of their actions. This made the Charlottesville leak political, rather than personally malicious.

This is where the risk lies in banning doxing if the definition of what that means is left too broad. By the government’s current definition, the WhatsApp leak seems more like an act of whistleblowing.

A legislative ban could therefore have a much broader impact than criminalising the release of personal information. Instead, it could result in further crackdowns on political activities, and serve to weaken the accountability of people with power.

Read more:
Australia is in desperate need of a Whistleblower Protection Authority. Here’s what it should look like

Simon Copland has signed a statement of solidarity with Palestine from academics in Australian universities.

– ref. The Jewish creatives’ WhatsApp leak was more whistleblowing than doxing. Here’s why – https://theconversation.com/the-jewish-creatives-whatsapp-leak-was-more-whistleblowing-than-doxing-heres-why-223552

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Turney, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research, University of Technology Sydney

Last year, the world experienced the hottest day ever recorded, as we endured the first year where temperatures were 1.5°C warmer than the pre-industrial era. The link between extreme events and climate change is clearer than ever. But that doesn’t mean climate misinformation has stopped. Far from it.

Misleading or incorrect information on climate still spreads like wildfire, even during the angry northern summer of 2023. Politicians falsely claimed the heatwaves were “normal” for summer. Conspiracy theorists claimed the devastating fires in Hawaii were ignited by government lasers.

People producing misinformation have shifted tactics, too, often moving from the old denial (claiming climate change isn’t happening) to the new denial (questioning climate solutions). Spreading doubt and scepticism has hamstrung our response to the enormous threat of climate change. And with sophisticated generative AI making it easy to generate plausible lies, it could become an even bigger issue.

The problem is, debunking misinformation is often not sufficient and you run the risk of giving false information credibility when you have to debunk it. Indeed, a catchy lie can often stay in people’s heads while sober facts are forgotten.

But there’s a new option: the prebunking method. Rather than waiting for misinformation to spread, you lay out clear, accurate information in advance – along with describing common manipulation techniques. Prebunking often has a better chance of success, according to recent research from co-author Sander van Linden.

How does prebunking work?

Misinformation spreads much like a virus. The way to protect ourselves and everyone else is similar: through vaccination. Psychological inoculation via prebunking acts like a vaccine and reduces the probability of infection. (We focus on misinformation here, which is shared accidentally, not disinformation, which is where people deliberately spread information they know to be false).

If you’re forewarned about dodgy claims and questionable techniques, you’re more likely to be sceptical when you come across a YouTube video claiming electric cars are dirtier than those with internal combustion engines, or a Facebook page suggesting offshore wind turbines will kill whales.

Inoculation is not just a metaphor. By exposing us to a weakened form of the types of misinformation we might see in the future and giving us ways to identify it, we reduce the chance false information takes root in our psyches.

Scientists have tested these methods with some success. In one study exploring ways of countering anti-vaccination misinformation, researchers created simple videos to warn people manipulators might try to influence their thinking about vaccination with anecdotes or scary images rather than evidence.

They also gave people relevant facts about how low the actual injury rate from vaccines is (around two injuries per million). The result: compared to a control group, people with the psychological inoculation were more likely to recognise misleading rhetoric, less likely to share this type of content with others, and more likely to want to get vaccinated.

Similar studies have been conducted on climate misinformation. Here, one group was forewarned that politically motivated actors will try to make it seem as if there was a lot of disagreement on the causes of climate change by appealing to fake experts and bogus petitions, while in fact 97% or more of climate scientists have concluded humans are causing climate change. This inoculation proved effective.

The success of these early studies has spurred social media companies such as Meta to adopt the technique. You can now find prebunking efforts on Meta sites such as Facebook and Instagram intended to protect people against common misinformation techniques, such as cherry-picking isolated data.

Read more:
YouTube: how a team of scientists worked to inoculate a million users against misinformation

Prebunking in practice

A hotter world will experience increasing climate extremes and more fire. Even though many of the fires we have seen in recent years in Australia, Hawaii, Canada and now Chile are the worst on record, climate misinformation actors routinely try to minimise their severity.

As an example, let’s prebunk claims likely to circulate after the next big fire.

1. The claim: “Climate change is a hoax – wildfires have always been a part of nature.”

How to prebunk it: ahead of fire seasons, scientists can demonstrate claims like this rely on the “false equivalence” logical fallacy. Misinformation falsely equates the recent rise in extreme weather events with natural events of the past. A devastating fire 100 years ago does not disprove the trend towards more fires and larger fires.

2. Claim: “Bushfires are caused by arsonists.”

How to prebunk it: media professionals have an important responsibility here in fact-checking information before publishing or broadcasting. Media can give information on the most common causes of bushfires, from lightning (about 50%) to accidental fires to arson. Media claims arsonists were the main cause of the unprecedented 2019-2020 Black Summer fires in Australia were used by climate deniers worldwide, even though arson was far from the main cause.

3. Claim: “The government is using bushfires as an excuse to bring in climate regulations.”

How to prebunk it: explain this recycled conspiracy theory is likely to circulate. Point out how it was used to claim COVID-19 lockdowns were a government ploy to soften people up for climate lockdowns (which never happened). Show how government agencies can and do communicate openly about why climate regulations are necessary and how they are intended to stave off the worst damage.

Misinformation isn’t going away

Social media and the open internet have made it possible to broadcast information to millions of people, regardless of whether it’s true. It’s no wonder it’s a golden age for misinformation. Misinformation actors have found effective ways to cast scepticism on established science and then sell a false alternative.

We have to respond. Doing nothing means the lies win. And getting on the front foot with prebunking is one of the best tools we have.

As the world gets hotter, prebunking offers a way to anticipate new variants of lies and misinformation and counter them – before they take root.

Read more:
7 ways to avoid becoming a misinformation superspreader

Chris Turney receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a scientific adviser and holds shares in cleantech biographite company, CarbonScape. Chris is affiliated with the virtual Climate Recovery Institute, is a volunteer firefighter with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (the NSW RFS), and is a Non-Executive Director on the boards of the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and deeptech incubator, Cicada.

Sander van der Linden consults for or has received funding from Google, the EU Commission, the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Alfred Landecker Foundation, Omidyar Network India, the American Psychological Association, the Centers for Disease Control, UK Government, Facebook/Meta, and the Gates Foundation.

– ref. Can we be inoculated against climate misinformation? Yes – if we prebunk rather than debunk – https://theconversation.com/can-we-be-inoculated-against-climate-misinformation-yes-if-we-prebunk-rather-than-debunk-215815

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Beckett, Lecturer in Media and Communications, The University of Melbourne

This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the government was seeking to strengthen laws to combat doxing. Its ongoing review into Australian privacy law will now be expanded to include doxing, as will other laws covering hate crime and hate speech.

Doxing (sometimes doxxing) is shorthand for “document drop” and is the act of publishing identifying material about someone publicly, without their consent.

Doxing someone can lead to real-life harms, potentially including job loss, violence against the person, their family members and pets, and serious mental health issues.

What any legislation from that review will look like is hard to say at this point. But how has it worked internationally, and would it work here?

Read more:
Doxing or in the public interest? Free speech, ‘cancelling’ and the ethics of the Jewish creatives’ WhatsApp group leak

What are other countries doing?

New laws around doxing came into effect in The Netherlands at the start of the year. This makes it illegal for Dutch citizens to obtain and share other people’s personal information without their permission and then use it to harass or target them.

Dutch conspiracy theorist Huig Plug was arrested earlier this month under the new legislation for allegedly doxing a member of the public prosecutor’s staff.

In the United States, laws like this are state-based. California has a special part of its law around so-called “indirect cyber harassment”, which is defined essentially as doxing.

In both of these examples, the doxer has to have intent to harm. They are posting the information because they want someone to, say, lose their job or be opened up to harassment.

The Dutch law goes slightly further in that it is also an offence to make someone’s job harder, as opposed to causing them to lose their job completely. The Dutch laws also carry harsher punishments for doxing people such police, lawyers and politicians.

From a legal perspective, showing intent to do someone harm can actually be a harder bar to pass than people might think. So, if Australian law follows this pattern, it could be difficult for plaintiffs to prove that being doxed has caused them genuine harm.

Not a new problem

Doxing isn’t a new phenomenon and there have been some high-profile doxing cases over the past few years.

Read more:
What is doxing, and how can you protect yourself?

One of the most famous global events was the Ashley Madison data breach in 2015, which resulted in job losses and suicides. The current discussion, however, hinges around the sharing of information from a private WhatsApp group of 600 people and in the context of the ongoing war in Gaza.

We’ve seen the hasty introduction of legislation in these types of circumstances in the past, most notably the Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material Act, which legal scholars criticised at the time for a lack of detail and it’s rushed introduction to parliament.

We saw similar concerns when the Morrison government introduced anti-trolling laws in 2021. I wrote at the time the law wouldn’t help victims that much, partly because it was practically impossible to police.

While the current discussion into changes in the law around doxing are happening, it’s worth revisiting some of these issues.

How can we police the internet?

The first thing to note is that it’s really hard to police what happens on the internet. There are several reasons for this.

The main one is that the internet is what we call inter-jurisdictional. There’s a mess of different laws around the world, and no real way to use them if you’re in a different country. This means if someone in The Netherlands doxes you in Australia, you can’t sue them under their laws, because you aren’t a citizen there. You also can’t do anything under Australia’s laws, because the perpetrator is not a citizen here. In short, to make this work, we would need global cooperation akin to Interpol.

The second reason is because Australian laws apply only to people currently in the country, there are many ways to get around them online. People can use anonymous accounts and virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide and make it hard to trace exactly who the culprit is and where they are.

The third comes down to the definition of what’s considered “public”. For example, a lot of doxing is done in smaller private groups with the express purpose of that community attacking specific people. That private information is still being shared without the consent or knowledge of the victims. In fact, as the journalist Ginger Gorman notes this is the type of behaviour that “predatory trolls” often engage in.

Read more:
Trolling and doxxing: Graduate students sharing their research online speak out about hate

Finally, do we really need these laws when existing ones already cover many of the behaviours associated with doxing?

The biggest of these are found in the federal criminal code, a piece of legislation that deals with the use of telecommunications for crimes. It outlines the “use a carrier service” to threaten, harass or menace someone. This includes “hoax threats”. Penalties for these behaviours range from five to ten years in jail. There’s similar wording in the Online Safety Act.

While it’s great to see the government working to reform and strengthen existing legislation, I’m not convinced that these types of laws will have much impact given the complexity of policing online behaviours.

Jennifer Beckett receives funding from the Australian Research Council, through the Discovery grants scheme for work on online hostility in Australia.

– ref. The government wants to criminalise doxing. It may not work to stamp out bad behaviour online – https://theconversation.com/the-government-wants-to-criminalise-doxing-it-may-not-work-to-stamp-out-bad-behaviour-online-223546

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Lindsey, Malcolm Smith Professor of Asian Law and Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, The University of Melbourne

Controversial former general Prabowo Subianto, the former son-in-law of long-time authoritarian leader Soeharto, looks set to be Indonesia’s next leader after securing what appears to be a convincing victory in this week’s election.

It may be a month before official results are confirmed, but exit poll “quick counts” from Indonesia’s well-regarded polling companies show Prabowo winning close to 60% of the vote, which would be a landslide victory. There will likely be no need for a run-off election in June.

The runner-up, Anies Baswedan, appears to have secured around 24 to 25% of the vote, while Ganjar Pranowo is sitting on just 17%.

Prabowo is therefore the clear choice of Indonesia’s voters, even though he was rejected three times in previous bids for the presidency or vice presidency; there are claims of human rights abuses against him (including alleged kidnappings, forced disappearances and war crimes by troops under his command); and his campaign was marred by accusations of unethical conduct and collusion.

How did he achieve this remarkable turnaround, and what kind of leader will he be for the country?

Read more:
Cute grandpa or authoritarian in waiting: who is Prabowo Subianto, the favourite to win Indonesia’s presidential election?

Prabowo’s winning alliance with Jokowi

A key reason for Prabowo’s convincing victory is the fact he was not running against the immensely popular incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who had defeated him in two previous elections and still enjoys approval ratings of well over 70%.

Jokowi was barred by a two-term limit from running again. So, this time – to the surprise of many – he decided to throw his very considerable electoral weight behind his former rival, Prabowo.

Although Jokowi claimed to be neutral in the campaign and never explicitly endorsed any candidate, his position became clear when it was announced that Prabowo’s vice-presidential running mate was Jokowi’s oldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Their bid was controversial from the start due to a heavily criticised Constitutional Court decision that made Gibran eligible to run and allegations that Jokowi had encouraged improper campaign support for Prabowo and Gibran from government agencies. This led to many protests against the Prabowo-Gibran ticket in civil society, and even the release of a viral documentary called Dirty Vote.

However, it appears much of the electorate was unmoved by these scandals. After all, misbehaviour by the political elite is nothing new in Indonesia.

Moreover, most of Indonesia’s voters are too young to remember Prabowo’s dark past. Instead, they seemed captivated by the images of Prabowo as a cute grandpa and Gibran as cool, which had saturated the campaign.

Most importantly, many saw a vote for the pair as a vote for the continuance of Jokowi’s policies and even his political influence – the next best thing for them to a third term for Jokowi.

A major political shake-up

This meant a large block of votes that had previously gone to Jokowi shifted to Prabowo, ensuring his victory.

Because Jokowi is a member of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri’s PDI-P party, his supporters would normally have backed PDI-P’s presidential candidate, Ganjar. But Jokowi sabotaged Ganjar’s campaign by implicitly supporting his rival, leaving Ganjar to run a distant third.

Early indications suggest that while PDI-P will remain the largest party in the national legislature, its share of the vote may slide from 20% to 18%. This matters because the next-biggest parties look to be two that backed Prabowo – Golkar and Gerindra. Both received around 14% of the vote in the “quick count”, up from the last election in 2019.

In short, Jokowi has delivered a humiliating blow to Megawati and her party, which many will see as pay-back for Megawati’s arrogant treatment of Jokowi as a mere “party functionary” during his time in office.

It is a particularly galling outcome for Megawati, as Prabowo was her running mate when she lost the presidential election in 2009.

Given the controversies behind the Prabowo campaign, the losers are likely to challenge the result in the Constitutional Court. This is common after elections in Indonesia, and sometimes leads to recounts and even re-voting in some electorates.

However, Prabowo’s huge lead means an upset is unlikely. And, of course, Jokowi’s bother-in-law remains one of the nine judges on the Constitutional Court.

So, what’s next?

What can we expect from the new president? First, Prabowo will not take over immediately. Under the Indonesian system, he must wait until October to be sworn in. In the meantime, Jokowi will remain in office.

This means the next eight months will be a time of intense horse-trading, pay-offs and political deals, as the political and business elite – including Jokowi – manoeuvre to build a new regime and secure their places in it.

Oligarchs who backed Prabowo’s campaigns can expect to have cabinet seats and lucrative appointments given to them or their supporters, while Prabowo’s rivals will have to be placated or isolated.

Read more:
200 million voters, 820,000 polling stations and 10,000 candidates: Indonesia’s massive election, by the numbers

These negotiations will take some time, not least because Megawati and her PDI-P will still be a force to be reckoned with. Prabowo will probably work with Jokowi to try to recreate the sort of grand alliance of parties that Jokowi constructed to control the national legislature. However, this time, PDI-P may choose to go into opposition. This would force Prabowo to make a major political recalibration.

Second, the democratic regression that marked Jokowi’s decade in office is only likely to increase under Prabowo. Under Jokowi, core democratic institutions like the Constitutional Court and the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) were undermined, restrictions on freedom of speech were strengthened, and critics of the government were targeted for prosecution.

Although he was reticent during the campaign, Prabowo has been very clear in the past that he thinks the democratic reforms that followed the fall of Soeharto in 1998, should be wound back. He is unlikely to do this immediately, but as he settles into office, a further gradual dismantling of democratic checks and balances, institutions and individual freedoms is very likely. Critics of Prabowo have good reason to be concerned.

Third, while the alliance with Jokowi was central to Prabowo’s victory, Prabowo has waited a very long time to finally claim the office he has sought for decades. He is 72 and a proud man in a hurry, meaning he is unlikely to be willing to be anyone’s puppet – or even partner – for long.

If he eventually breaks with Jokowi, it could force another major – and turbulent – reconfiguration of Indonesia’s political elite.

Read more:
Even with a 30% quota in place, Indonesian women face an uphill battle running for office

Implications for the West

Dealing with all this will create challenges for the West, but there are other problems that diplomats will have to confront.

The human rights abuses Prabowo is alleged to be responsible for as a former Special Forces commander – including in East Timor and Papua – are serious. They meant he was denied a visa to the US for many years, and could lead to protests if he visits Western countries as president.

Prabowo never faced trial, although several of his men were tried and convicted. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Prabowo’s carefully styled “cute grandpa” image will probably not last long, and Western democracies may find his more usual military-style strongman style much more difficult to deal with. He is a politician who is happy to take hardline, even fiery, nationalist positions when it suits him. He is also notoriously temperamental and quick to anger.

However, Prabowo spent time overseas as a child and during his army career and is more at ease internationally than many of his colleagues. And he is clever, strategic and often pragmatic, as his decision to ally with Jokowi demonstrates.

Many democratic countries managed to work effectively with Prabowo as Jokowi’s defence minister for the last five years. These leaders will likely take a deep breath, remember the strategic importance of Indonesia, and continue to do so for the next five, far more difficult, years.

Tim Lindsey receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. Prabowo Subianto is likely to succeed in lifelong quest to become Indonesia’s president. What kind of leader will he be? – https://theconversation.com/prabowo-subianto-is-likely-to-succeed-in-lifelong-quest-to-become-indonesias-president-what-kind-of-leader-will-he-be-223637

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Theo Evans, Associate Professor, The University of Western Australia

A new pest attacking Perth’s trees threatens to spread across Australia, damaging crops and native forests as well as our urban forest. To control its spread, the Western Australian government is chopping down hundreds of established trees. But these losses may be in vain.

Originally from southeast Asia, the polyphagous (meaning “many-eating”) shot-hole borer has invaded several countries. It attacks more than 400 tree species, including crops such as apple, avocado, macadamia and mango. Trees grown for timber, such as ash, elms and oaks are not safe either. And with every new country it invades, it threatens an increasingly large number of native trees.

Australia plans to eradicate this pest using one method: felling established trees. But the borer has been eradicated only once – in isolated tropical glasshouses in frosty Europe – demonstrating the difficulty of eradication from larger agricultural and natural ecosystems.

To achieve this worthy but difficult goal, everyone will need to work together. We need a wide range of experts to fully evaluate all available control methods, and consider the most appropriate time frame for eradication. Understanding the impacts of both the pest and its management will ensure we get the best possible outcomes in both the short and long term.

Read more:
Trees in South Africa are under attack. Why it’s proving hard to manage

The nature of the beast(s)

The borer probably arrived in Australia as a stowaway with untreated wood and remained undetected until August 2021, when a concerned resident of East Fremantle noticed unusual holes in her backyard maple trees. Now more than 80 suburbs in 25 councils are affected. Fortunately, the pest has not yet been detected outside the Perth metropolitan area.

The borer attacks so many tree species because it has an accomplice, in the form of a fungus. The two live in a mutually dependent “symbiotic” relationship.

The borer creates a Swiss cheese-like matrix of tunnels through the wood. The fungus feeds on the wood lining the tunnels as it grows, and the borer eats the fungus.

The tunnels weaken the structure of the wood, but tree death occurs when the fungus invades and blocks the flow of water and sap between roots and leaves.

The borer’s small size likely limits its natural rate of spread, however we don’t know how far it can fly. There is a risk of human-assisted spread over long distances as the borer can survive in small pieces of wood for weeks. To make matters worse, a single female borer can produce offspring without a mate.

Responding to the threat in Australia

The threat to Australia can be estimated from the experience in other invaded locations. As in Perth, the invasion usually begins in cities, then spreads into the surrounding countryside, attacking horticulture and forests, including avocado production in Israel and California and stone fruit in South Africa. This overseas experience has informed models of potential impacts for WA.

But local effects are hard to predict. Figs and eucalypts not susceptible in California and Israel, yet figs are preferred and some eucalypts are susceptible in WA.

The national biosecurity response led by WA has allocated A$41 million to eradicate the borer. This funding was based on an assessment of what it should cost. But there is only a short window of opportunity to effectively deploy these resources to achieve eradication.

The response includes trapping and surveillance to determine the spread of the pest. More than 1.5 million trees on more than 50,000 properties have been inspected and some 3,000 traps laid.

These traps catch flying beetles, which fly just once in their lives, so there’s a low catch probability. This makes it hard to detect false negatives, when no beetles are trapped but there are beetles in the area. This can be improved with alternative trap designs and chemical lures.

When infested trees are found in WA, the response is “removing infested trees to save healthy trees”. This could mean hundreds of trees at popular public locations such as Perth Zoo, Lake Claremont, Kings Park and Hyde Park will be felled and chipped.

Continuing with the one control method, felling trees, will leave us with fewer trees, particularly if the eradication campaign runs for many years. Reduction of the urban tree canopy could be profound, and Perth already has the sparsest urban tree canopy in the nation.

The flow-on consequences could mean even higher urban temperatures and poorer human health.

Urban trees are also valued for their beauty, shade and habitat for animals. All these benefits can be assigned a significant monetary value, which would be even higher if intrinsic or cultural value could be included.

Waging war on the shot-hole borer

Although felling and chipping entire trees is necessary, there are other effective control methods. Alternatives may include removing and chipping infested branches only, which may be more cost-effective than felling entire trees, to injecting at-risk but uninfested trees, and slowing infestations in trees or spraying repellents onto uninfested trees. In California, traps were developed into an attract-and-kill strategy to tackle the borer in avocado orchards.

While a rapid response is crucial for eradication, we need to keep improving on this, using the most effective methods available. Relevant solutions from around the world suggest broader community engagement, beyond Perth, would be beneficial.

It is unclear what has been learned so far from efforts in WA. Is it still feasible to eradicate the pest completely? We need more experts to evaluate and advise on the response as it continues.

Making the right response choices will be crucial. Just consider other threatening invaders such as the red imported fire ant, the honey bee varroa mite, and myrtle rust.

As the borer has only been detected in Perth, the window of opportunity is open now. Let’s make sure we have the best plan of attack so we can achieve eradication.

Australians pride themselves on working together to get things done. If we can bring everyone together to rapidly tackle this insect invasion, the whole nation will benefit.

Read more:
Citizen scientists collect more nature data than ever, showing us where common and threatened species live

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. Australia’s shot-hole borer beetle invasion has begun, but we don’t need to chop down every tree under attack – https://theconversation.com/australias-shot-hole-borer-beetle-invasion-has-begun-but-we-dont-need-to-chop-down-every-tree-under-attack-222610

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of Technology

The government’s move to remove legal aid funding for what are commonly known as cultural reports at sentencing has been wrapped up in rhetoric about restoring “personal responsibility”, reducing “discounts” or “reductions” on sentences, and saving money.

This may be popular, even populist, but it carries the risk of not achieving any of those purported goals. In fact, court hearings may become longer and more expensive.

To understand why, we need to look at the entire process of sentencing. It is governed by the Sentencing Act 2002, which requires judges to take into account many factors when considering a sentence.

Based on the facts of a case, judges must decide on the purpose of sentencing. For example, should it be for punishment, deterrence or rehabilitation?

Judges must also take into account various principles, including the seriousness of the offence, the defendant’s level of culpability, and any circumstances that make a sentence particularly severe.

There are also various aggravating and mitigating factors, such as the motive for the offence, the level of planning, and whether the defendant has any intellectual restrictions.

What judges must take into account

Take a simple offence such as shoplifting. There is a difference between someone who shoplifts expensive items to sell them, and so is in the business of shoplifting, and someone who steals food for their family.

Even within the former group, there is a difference between someone who has been persuaded to be involved because they are suggestible, and someone who has no such impairment.

Read more:
The rule of law is fundamental to a free society – so why don’t NZ courts always uphold it?

Judges also need to be aware of the likely effect of a sentence. Will a person be particularly vulnerable in prison, for instance? Will prison lead to a cycle of re-offending, maybe from gang recruitment? Is there any other action more likely to prevent re-offending?

In short, judges need a lot of information to help reach a proper sentence. This may have to come from experts, including reports from psychiatrists or psychologists when there is a mental health or impairment issue, as is often the case.

Similarly, reports about alcohol or drug use that cause a disproportionate amount of offending can be introduced from relevant specialists.

Reasons for offending

Probation officers are one source of information under section 26 of the Sentencing Act. They may provide material relating to the cultural and social circumstances of an offender and make recommendations.

But probation officers have limits: they may not have much time and may not have the necessary expertise. This is where section 27 of the Sentencing Act comes in. It provides for an additional source of this information, which has been available for almost 40 years.

When parliament passed the Criminal Justice Act 1985, section 16 allowed a request for the court to hear from someone about a person’s “ethnic or cultural background”, how that might be relevant to the reason for offending, and how it might help avoid further offending. Any offender could use this provision.

Read more:
NZ’s new government is getting tough on gangs – but all the necessary laws already exist

When the Sentencing Act 2002 was introduced, this provision was continued and expanded. The offender may now ask for someone to address their “personal, family, whanau, community, and cultural background”.

More particularly, they can address how that might have been part of the offending, how it might be relevant to any sentence, and how support might help prevent further offending. Again, any offender can use this provision.

Its significance is underlined by the provision that the court can only refuse to hear the information if “special reasons” make it “unnecessary or inappropriate”. And if no request is made, the judge may suggest it.

The right to a fair trial

To be clear, there is no proposal to remove this long-standing right to use section 27 reports. The only proposal is that legal aid will not fund them.

It is true that the cost to legal aid has risen significantly in recent years. But this is partly because it has been clarified that legal aid was the correct funding mechanism for cultural reports.

Read more:
New Zealand’s legal aid crisis is eroding the right to justice – that’s unacceptable in a fair society

The Ministry of Justice used to pay for them because they were considered a court report. But this was stopped and the reports became a disbursement for legal aid.

Also, senior judges have been clear these reports can contain useful information, meaning other judges have become more willing to consider them. The fundamental right to a fair trial includes a fair sentencing hearing, with the judge having all information that is useful.

Shifting costs elsewhere

Without legal aid funding for section 27 reports, then, what will happen? Obviously, those rich enough not to rely on legal aid will be able to use them.

On one level, therefore, there will be an additional barrier to equal justice for those who are poorer. Since Māori make up over 50% of the prison population, this inequity will also have an ethnic component.

But this obvious unfairness is something judges and lawyers will try to avoid.

Read more:
10 is too young to be in court – NZ should raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility

Defence lawyers have a professional responsibility to make sure all relevant information is put before the court. If this cannot come in the form of a report prepared by someone with the relevant expertise, the lawyer will have to look elsewhere.

So, we can expect lawyers to ask other experts, including drug counsellors or psychiatrists, to collate and include relevant information.

Lawyers may also request information from child welfare agency Oranga Tamariki, or from medical notes, to collate and put before a judge. Expect more oral evidence to be called – from social workers who might have had a role in the offender’s background, for example.

In short, expect longer court hearings and more time put in by lawyers. This will potentially cost a lot more than any savings to legal aid from not funding section 27 reports.

Kris Gledhill is currently working on a project relating to the Sentencing Act 2002 the expenses for which are funded by the Borrin Foundation. He is also a co-opted member of the Criminal Bar Association’s Executive Committee. The views expressed in this article are his own.

– ref. Ending legal aid for cultural reports at sentencing may only make court hearings longer and costlier – https://theconversation.com/ending-legal-aid-for-cultural-reports-at-sentencing-may-only-make-court-hearings-longer-and-costlier-223627

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brooke Nickel, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, University of Sydney

Corporations have used feminist language to promote their products for decades. In the 1980s, companies co-opted messaging about female autonomy to encourage women’s consumption of unhealthy commodities, such as tobacco and alcohol.

Today, feminist narratives around empowerment and women’s rights are being co-opted to market interventions that are not backed by evidence across many areas of women’s health. This includes by commercial companies, industry, mass media and well-intentioned advocacy groups.

Some of these health technologies, tests and treatments are useful in certain situations and can be very beneficial to some women.

However, promoting them to a large group of asymptomatic healthy women that are unlikely to benefit, or without being transparent about the limitations, runs the risk of causing more harm than good. This includes inappropriate medicalisation, overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

In our analysis published today in the BMJ, we examine this phenomenon in two current examples: the anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) test and breast density notification.

The AMH test

The AMH test is a blood test associated with the number of eggs in a woman’s ovaries and is sometimes referred to as the “egg timer” test.

Although often used in fertility treatment, the AMH test cannot reliably predict the likelihood of pregnancy, timing to pregnancy or specific age of menopause. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists therefore strongly discourages testing for women not seeking fertility treatment.

Despite this, several fertility clinics and online companies market the AMH test to women not even trying to get pregnant. Some use feminist rhetoric promising empowerment, selling the test as a way to gain personalised insights into your fertility. For example, “you deserve to know your reproductive potential”, “be proactive about your fertility” and “knowing your numbers will empower you to make the best decisions when family planning”.

The use of feminist marketing makes these companies appear socially progressive and champions of female health. But they are selling a test that has no proven benefit outside of IVF and cannot inform women about their current or future fertility.

Read more:
Don’t believe the hype. ‘Egg timer’ tests can’t reliably predict your chance of conceiving or menopause timing

Our recent study found around 30% of women having an AMH test in Australia may be having it for these reasons.

Misleading women to believe that the test can reliably predict fertility can create a false sense of security about delaying pregnancy. It can also create unnecessary anxiety, pressure to freeze eggs, conceive earlier than desired, or start fertility treatment when it may not be needed.

While some companies mention the test’s limitations if you read on, they are glossed over and contradicted by the calls to be proactive and messages of empowerment.

Breast density notification

Breast density is one of several independent risk factors for breast cancer. It’s also harder to see cancer on a mammogram image of breasts with high amounts of dense tissue than breasts with a greater proportion of fatty tissue.

While estimates vary, approximately 25–50% of women in the breast screening population have dense breasts.

Stemming from valid concerns about the increased risk of cancer, advocacy efforts have used feminist language around women’s right to know such as “women need to know the truth” and “women can handle the truth” to argue for widespread breast density notification.

However, this simplistic messaging overlooks that this is a complex issue and that more data is still needed on whether the benefits of notifying and providing additional screening or tests to women with dense breasts outweigh the harms.

Read more:
What causes breast cancer in women? What we know, don’t know and suspect

Additional tests (ultrasound or MRI) are now being recommended for women with dense breasts as they have the ability to detect more cancer. Yet, there is no or little mention of the lack of robust evidence showing that it prevents breast cancer deaths. These extra tests also have out-of-pocket costs and high rates of false-positive results.

Large international advocacy groups are also sponsored by companies that will financially benefit from women being notified.

While stronger patient autonomy is vital, campaigning for breast density notification without stating the limitations or unclear evidence of benefit may go against the empowerment being sought.

Ensuring feminism isn’t hijacked

Increased awareness and advocacy in women’s health are key to overcoming sex inequalities in health care.

But we need to ensure the goals of feminist health advocacy aren’t undermined through commercially driven use of feminist language pushing care that isn’t based on evidence. This includes more transparency about the risks and uncertainties of health technologies, tests and treatments and greater scrutiny of conflicts of interests.

Health professionals and governments must also ensure that easily understood, balanced information based on high quality scientific evidence is available. This will enable women to make more informed decisions about their health.

Read more:
Young women won’t be told how to behave, but is #girlboss just deportment by another name?

Brooke Nickel receives fellowship funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). She is on the Scientific Committee of the Preventing Overdiagnosis Conference.

Tessa Copp receives fellowship funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). She is also on the Scientific Committee of the Preventing Overdiagnosis Conference.

– ref. Feminist narratives are being hijacked to market medical tests not backed by evidence – https://theconversation.com/feminist-narratives-are-being-hijacked-to-market-medical-tests-not-backed-by-evidence-220282

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Lee, PhD Candidate, Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland

Reports have recently emerged that solariums, or sunbeds – largely banned in Australia because they increase the risk of skin cancer – are being rebranded as “collarium” sunbeds (“coll” being short for collagen).

Commercial tanning and beauty salons in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria are marketing collariums, with manufacturers and operators claiming they provide a longer lasting tan and stimulate collagen production, among other purported benefits.

A collarium sunbed emits both UV radiation and a mix of visible wavelength colours to produce a pink or red light. Like an old-school sunbed, the user lies in it for ten to 20 minute sessions to quickly develop a tan.

But as several experts have argued, the providers’ claims about safety and effectiveness don’t stack up.

Why were sunbeds banned?

Commercial sunbeds have been illegal across Australia since 2016 (except for in the Northern Territory) under state-based radiation safety laws. It’s still legal to sell and own a sunbed for private use.

Their dangers were highlighted by young Australians including Clare Oliver who developed melanoma after using sunbeds. Oliver featured in the No Tan Is Worth Dying For campaign and died from her melanoma at age 26 in 2007.

Read more:
There’s no such thing as a safe tan. Here’s what’s happening underneath your summer glow

Sunbeds lead to tanning by emitting UV radiation – as much as six times the amount of UV we’re exposed to from the summer sun. When the skin detects enough DNA damage, it boosts the production of melanin, the brown pigment that gives you the tanned look, to try to filter some UV out before it hits the DNA. This is only partially successful, providing the equivalent of two to four SPF.

Essentially, if your body is producing a tan, it has detected a significant amount of DNA damage in your skin.

Research shows people who have used sunbeds at least once have a 41% increased risk of developing melanoma, while ten or more sunbed sessions led to a 100% increased risk.

In 2008, Australian researchers estimated that each year, sunbeds caused 281 cases of melanoma, 2,572 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (another common type of skin cancer), and $3 million in heath-care costs, mostly to Medicare.

How are collarium sunbeds supposed to be different?

Australian sellers of collarium sunbeds imply they are safe, but their machine descriptions note the use of UV radiation, particularly UVA.

UVA is one part of the spectrum of UV radiation. It penetrates deeper into the skin than UVB. While UVB promotes cancer-causing mutations by discharging energy straight into the DNA strand, UVA sets off damage by creating reactive oxygen species, which are unstable compounds that react easily with many types of cell structures and molecules. These damage cell membranes, protein structures and DNA.

Evidence shows all types of sunbeds increase the risk of melanoma, including those that use only UVA.

Some manufacturers and clinics suggest the machine’s light spectrum increases UV compatibility, but it’s not clear what this means. Adding red or pink light to the mix won’t negate the harm from the UV. If you’re getting a tan, you have a significant amount of DNA damage.

Collagen claims

One particularly odd claim about collarium sunbeds is that they stimulate collagen.

Collagen is the main supportive tissue in our skin. It provides elasticity and strength, and a youthful appearance. Collagen is constantly synthesised and broken down, and when the balance between production and recycling is lost, the skin loses strength and develops wrinkles. The collagen bundles become thin and fragmented. This is a natural part of ageing, but is accelerated by UV exposure.

The reactive oxygen species generated by UVA light damage existing collagen structures and kick off a molecular chain of events that downgrades collagen-producing enzymes and increases collagen-destroying enzymes. Over time, a build-up of degraded collagen fragments in the skin promotes even more destruction.

While there is growing evidence red light therapy alone could be useful in wound healing and skin rejuvenation, the UV radiation in collarium sunbeds is likely to undo any benefit from the red light.

What about phototherapy?

There are medical treatments that use controlled UV radiation doses to treat chronic inflammatory skin diseases like psoriasis.

The anti-collagen effects of UVA can also be used to treat thickened scars and keloids. Side-effects of UV phototherapy include tanning, itchiness, dryness, cold sore virus reactivation and, notably, premature skin ageing.

These treatments use the minimum exposure necessary to treat the condition, and are usually restricted to the affected body part to minimise risks of future cancer. They are administered under medical supervision and are not recommended for people already at high risk of skin cancer, such as people with atypical moles.

Read more:
Thinking about trying collagen supplements for your skin? A healthy diet is better value for money

So what happens now?

It looks like many collariums are just sunbeds rebranded with red light. Queensland Health is currently investigating whether these salons are breaching the state’s Radiation Safety Act, and operators could face large fines.

As the 2024 Australians of the Year – melanoma treatment pioneers Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer – highlighted in their acceptance speech, “there is nothing healthy about a tan”, and we need to stop glamorising tanning.

However, if you’re desperate for the tanned look, there is a safer and easy way to get one – out of a bottle or by visiting a salon for a spray tan.

Katie Lee receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Anne Cust receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and Medical Research Future Fund.

– ref. What are ‘collarium’ sunbeds? Here’s why you should stay away – https://theconversation.com/what-are-collarium-sunbeds-heres-why-you-should-stay-away-223192

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate – Social Media and Communication, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney

Taking selfies to document daily life is now a completely normalised activity across all ages and demographics.

At the same time, however, selfies are often maligned – particularly in specific contexts such as at places of worship, sacred sites, or when animals are made unwitting participants.

It’s easy to see why taking selfies could be considered inappropriate in such cases. But there’s been much debate about their acceptability in a more casual and frequented arena: the gym.

Lately, gyms the world over have been pushing back against selfies and influencer-culture taking over their spaces, citing a risk of injury to patrons, among other concerns.

When considered alongside a rise in toxic influencer culture and widespread body-image insecurity, it could be argued banning gym selfies is a positive step.

Self-obsession in the digital age

People’s obsession with their own image is ancient. One of the most famous Greek myths is that of Narcissus, who gave us the word “narcissist”.

This is the tale of a young man captivated by his own image. Like many Greek myths, the story was meant to serve as a lesson for immoral behaviour.

Yet research shows narcissism is not only very prevalent in the modern age, in many cases it’s lucratively rewarded. This explains the rise of social media influencing.

The potential rewards of “influencer-level” fame push many people to take risks for social media content. This can sometimes lead to injury or even death, to the point that it’s now considered a public health problem.

Various travel destinations are banning tourists from taking selfies in popular spots to reduce issues of safety and overcrowding.

Read more:
Dangerous selfies aren’t just foolish. We need to treat them like the public health hazard they really are

Gyms push back against selfies

Gym selfies can be tied particularly closely to influencer culture. They have a long history on Instagram, the platform that gave birth to fitness influencers. Influencers posting gym selfies will typically gain a lot of views and likes, and in some cases may attract mass followings.

A popular gym chain in Melbourne recently complained of influencers engaging in “entitled and selfish behaviour” that “should not be tolerated”. Much of this has stemmed from these patrons seemingly concentrating more on generating social media content than their actual performance in the gym.

This particular gym is now giving members the option to buy a “media pass” if they wish to take photos while working out. The rules primarily target influencers who film their workouts, rather than regular gym-goers who exercise for themselves.

Other chains around the world have also banned the use of tripods, which could be considered a tripping hazard. Some have prohibited taking photos or videos on gym premises altogether.

These establishments often cite safety and privacy concerns. For instance, we’ve seen several examples of regular gym-goers, often filmed without their consent, fall on the receiving end of abuse or public shaming when they’ve ended up in gym selfies or videos posted online.

Research shows gym selfies can also influence people’s motivations for exercising. Study participants reported becoming more conscious of their own bodies when they saw gym selfies online.

Self-care in the social media age

Banning selfies and influencer behaviour at gyms marks a shift away from the previous encouragement of self-promotional and performative behaviour that many gyms became famous for on Instagram. It suggests people are beginning to acknowledge the detrimental aspects of such anti-social exhibitionism.

In today’s world, the line between personal and performative action is becoming increasingly blurred. And social media are a potent driver of the latter. In a sense, social media’s pervasive presence in our lives has turned many of us into marketers who live our lives out for public consumption.

Online, many of us face near-constant comparisons with others. This promotes an obsession with self-image and pushes us to reach social media-worthy levels of muscularity or leanness.

Research shows adolescents in particular can have negative mental health outcomes as a result of self-image comparisons on social media.

These comparisons have led to a culture that promotes (often risky) body modification and enhancement behaviours, including steroid use and exercise addiction.

Cosmetic procedures such as botox, fillers and reconstruction surgery have also boomed in popularity. An even darker side reveals an increase in eating disorders and body dysmorphia, particularly among young women and adolescent boys.

Exercising for ourselves

We’re seeing a growing number of fitness influencers leverage their online social capital to monetise their bodies. At the same time, these individuals wield significant power within communities (both online and offline) and have an opportunity to shape norms around fitness and body image.

Recently, a very popular bodybuilding influencer called the Liver King – who had claimed to be “natural” – was found to be taking steroids.

This scandal underscores the need for strategies to reduce harm, and increase public health messaging within digital fitness culture. Banning selfies and harmful influencer antics in the gym might be a start.

It’s not just about preventing accidents such as trips and falls; it could have the added benefit of making influencers rethink their behaviours, tone down self-promotion and reinvigorate a sense of camaraderie among gym-goers.

It might just be the beginning of people exercising for themselves and nobody else.

Samuel Cornell receives funding from Meta Platforms, Inc. His research is also supported by a UNSW University Postgraduate Award funded by the Australian Government.

Timothy Piatkowski is a Lecturer and Researcher at Griffith University. He is also affiliated with Queensland Injectors Voice for Advocacy and Action.

– ref. Why banning gym selfies could do us all a lot of good – https://theconversation.com/why-banning-gym-selfies-could-do-us-all-a-lot-of-good-223187

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Bargh, Professor, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Many of the speakers at Kingi Tūheitia’s Hui a Motu in Tūrangawaewae last month talked of their desire for a flourishing Aotearoa. A place where Māori knowledge and leadership is embraced and where the universal benefits of te Tiriti o Waitangi are understood.

But it is clear from our current discourse on the Treaty that we are falling short of this goal.

Hui speakers spoke of the importance of knowing New Zealand’s history. And they discussed steps already being taken by communities across the country in support of a nation of peace and respectful political relationships.

Other speakers questioned how politicians could be querying the terms of te Tiriti o Waitangi when so many discussions on the topic have already taken place. These discussions are happening in community centres, marae, universities, councils and in the courts.

But our recent research on political programmes at universities nationwide shows a lack of knowledge about how these systems have come to shape our country. It’s a gap that is fuelling the misinformation.

A gap in Treaty knowledge

A 2023 survey commissioned by the Human Rights Commission found that while 58% of New Zealanders believe they are informed about the Treaty, 32% believed they weren’t. Concerningly, 32% had not read any summary or version of the Treaty at all.

New Zealand politicians have also, at times, shown a poor understanding of the Treaty.

With the current debate over the treaty being fuelled by the Act Party’s Treaty Principles Bill, it is important to reflect on the role and responsibilities of universities as the critic, conscience and educators of society.

Read more:
Waitangi 2024: how the Treaty strengthens democracy and provides a check on unbridled power

As teachers of te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori politics, we have found students keen to learn about, and be part of, a vibrant Aotearoa which upholds its Treaty and embraces working together to benefit us all.

But we have also found these students have little prior exposure to these topics, and have unhelpful views formed by snippets from social media.

However, there is a noticeable shift in some disciplines.

After a recent decision by the New Zealand Council of Legal Education, all university law students enrolling in a legal degree from 2025 onwards must be equipped with an understanding of tikanga Māori (incorporating practices and values from Māori knowledge) as a source of law in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This mandate follows decisions by the Supreme Court of New Zealand recognising the foundational importance of tikanga Māori in the law. The Law Commission has also produced a study paper examining tikanga in New Zealand’s legal landscape.

Politics students and the treaty

But can the same be said for students of politics?

Our research looked at how well politics programmes around Aotearoa might be equipping students for the landscape of an Aotearoa of peace and respectful political relationships.

Unfortunately, we found there is still quite some way to go.

Our review showed there continues to be very little engagement by the discipline with Māori politics. In fact, we found only around 1% of content taught in politics programmes appeared to be focused on Māori politics. And only around 1% of lecturers teaching in politics programmes were Māori.

Read more:
Who are the ‘kōhanga reo generation’ and how could they change Māori and mainstream politics?

The same result also appeared in our review of New Zealand’s Political Science journal, where we found only around 1% of the articles published could be considered kaupapa Māori (written by Māori about Māori politics).

Although there is Māori political content taught in other parts of universities, largely through Māori Studies courses, it is concerning that students studying politics in New Zealand receive very little exposure to Māori politics.

Aotearoa has a unique political experience, one founded and shaped by Māori through iwi and hapū politics, and more recently by the British Crown through imposed colonial political structures. As such, all aspects of politics in Aotearoa must be understood as we continue to work together in making inclusive political systems that benefit all.

Catching up with the rest of the country

Expanding on what is taught across the political science discipline aligns with the commitments that universities have made to being Tiriti-led educational environments.

Massey University describes itself as a “Tiriti o Waitangi-led institution”. And in 2021 the University of Canterbury created a treaty partnership office and committed to a “genuine partnership with mana whenua” and strengthening Māori leadership.

Students have come to expect a university education that upholds te Tiriti and actively promotes critical engagement with mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge).

Read more:
History and myth: why the Treaty of Waitangi remains such a ‘bloody difficult subject’

In the past two months, thousands of people from across Aotearoa have demonstrated their commitment to te Tiriti o Waitangi by supporting and attending Māori-led political events.

The Kīngitanga Hui a Motu, the yearly political debates at Ratana, and large turnouts to Waitangi day celebrations illustrate the diversity and vibrancy of Māori politics.

Iwi and hapū politics are the longest enduring political systems in Aotearoa. It is time for politics programmes in New Zealand universities to recognise this to create a more collaborative and flourishing Aotearoa.

Maria Bargh receives funding from the ‘Adaptive Governance and policy’, Biological Heritage, National Science Challenge.

Annie Te One 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 political systems are the oldest in Aotearoa – it’s time university politics courses reflected this – https://theconversation.com/maori-political-systems-are-the-oldest-in-aotearoa-its-time-university-politics-courses-reflected-this-223447

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anya Phelan, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Griffith University

After the memorable collapse of Australia’s largest soft plastic recycling program REDcycle in late 2022, a new scheme is emerging. It’s remarkably similar, albeit on a much smaller scale.

The trial underway in 12 Melbourne supermarkets intends, once again, to provide customers with an in-store option for recycling “scrunchable” food packaging.

It’s estimated Australia uses more than 70 billion pieces of soft plastic a year. Most of it still ends up in landfill or blows into streets and waterways, polluting our rivers and oceans. So 12 stores won’t cut it in the long term.

But starting small is a good idea. REDcycle collapsed under its own weight, stockpiling recyclable material with nowhere to go. The new scheme will feed new, purpose-built waste processing facilities so it has much better prospects.

Read more:
REDcycle’s collapse is more proof that plastic recycling is a broken system

What do we know about the new scheme?

Australia’s Soft Plastics Taskforce is behind the new trial. The taskforce is a coalition of the three major supermarkets: Woolworths, Coles and Aldi. It was established in the wake of REDcycle’s demise and is chaired by the federal government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

The taskforce assumed responsibility for roughly 11,000 tonnes of soft plastic, formerly managed by REDcycle, across 44 locations across Australia.

Addressing the lack of soft plastics recycling infrastructure in Australia is a top priority. This is the main reason REDcycle was unable to process the mountains of soft plastics it had stored around the country.

Much like the original REDcycle scheme, the new small-scale trial in Victoria has identified several potential end markets for used soft plastic. After treatment, it could become an additive for asphalt roads, a replacement for aggregate in concrete, or a material for making shopping trolleys and baskets.

To be a successful and lasting solution, the scheme must be cost-effective and suitably located, with established markets for the recycled products.

Why are soft plastics so difficult to recycle?

Recycling soft plastic packaging is particularly challenging, for several reasons.

Plastic packaging is typically made from the petrochemicals polyethylene or polypropylene, and often contains a mix of materials, including various types of plastics and additives for flexibility and durability. This blend of materials makes it difficult to separate and recycle effectively.

To make matters worse, soft plastics readily absorb residues from food, grease and other substances. This causes contamination, reducing the quality of the recycled material.

There’s also less demand for recycled soft plastics, compared to other plastics. Many manufacturers prefer using brand new or “virgin” plastics or recycled rigid plastics instead, such as recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), leaving limited avenues for recycled soft plastics to find new uses.

Soft plastics can get tangled or stuck in machinery at recycling or waste-processing facilities, causing inefficiencies and disruptions in the process.

Read more:
3 little-known reasons why plastic recycling could actually make things worse

Finding local solutions

We need to make it economically viable to recycle low-value plastics such as soft plastic packaging. Placing recycling facilities closer to communities and transport can save money and reduce emissions. So local, decentralised, small-scale recycling or reprocessing infrastructure is the way to go.

Fit-for-purpose facilities can develop the specialised processing and manufacturing techniques needed to handle soft plastics. This takes care of the contamination problem and creates new options for developing recycled products.

Local recycling initiatives also foster community engagement and awareness. We need to encourage individuals to participate actively in recycling efforts, and foster local businesses focused on resource recovery. To this end, we are currently exploring innovative enterprise-based recycling solutions in remote First Nations communities in Queensland.

The high cost of cheap packaging

Soft plastics are lightweight, flexible and inexpensive to produce. This has made them popular choices for packaging. But this ignores the problems of disposal, including harm to nature and people. There has to be a better way.

Recycling soft plastic packaging does face numerous obstacles. These stem from complex composition, contamination risks, sorting and processing challenges, scarce recycling infrastructure and limited demand for the end product.

Tackling these challenges requires collaborative efforts from industry players, policymakers, consumers and researchers. We need to develop innovative local solutions and reduce consumption of single-use plastic.

Holding producers accountable for the end-of-life management of their products is paramount. In the meantime, local, decentralised recycling infrastructure offers a promising solution to improve the efficiency and sustainability of soft plastic recycling, while empowering communities to contribute to a circular economy.

The trial in Victoria raises hopes of a working solution for post-consumer soft plastic. This time they are starting on a small scale. That should make it easier to manage the volume of material available for recycling and avoid secret stockpiles. Ultimately this approach could see “micro-factories” cropping up across the country, turning what was once waste into viable, useful products.

Read more:
We need a global treaty to solve plastic pollution – acid rain and ozone depletion show us why

Anya Phelan 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. Soft plastic recycling is back after the REDcycle collapse – but only in 12 supermarkets. Will it work this time? – https://theconversation.com/soft-plastic-recycling-is-back-after-the-redcycle-collapse-but-only-in-12-supermarkets-will-it-work-this-time-223232

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie P. Smith, Honorary Associate Professor, Australian National University

Childcare is probably Australia’s largest industry, most of it unpaid.

We know this because of Australian Bureau of Statistics time use surveys. Since 1992 these surveys have recorded what thousands of Australians say they do with their time in diaries kept for 48 hours.

But if the Bureau of Statistics proceeds with its current plans for scaling down the survey we soon won’t be able to tell.

Australia has not only led the world in recording time use, but also in recording simultaneous activities – what Australians do when they multitask.

In 1997 the survey found that whereas the average time spent on childcare as a main activity was about two hours per day, the average when simultaneous activities were taken into account was closer to seven hours per day. Among the simultaneous activities were preparing meals and washing clothes.

In 2013 the scheduled five-yearly update was shelved to make budget savings. It wasn’t revived until 2020-21, but amidst the chaos of COVID, physical diaries were replaced with online diaries without an expectation they be completed in real time.

Online, without context

Now the bureau wants to keep it that way. It has told a meeting of stakeholders it plans to conduct the survey each year instead of once every five years, but online rather than via diaries in order to make it less tiring for respondents. It would be cheaper too.

It also wants to exclude simultaneous activities.

This means we will no longer get a good read on the total amount of childcare and other domestic activities we are doing. Our surveys will also no longer be directly comparable to those of other countries.

Missing as well would be contextual information such as who else is present, location, mode of transport, and use of mobile phones and other devices.

Time-use expert Lyn Craig of the University of Melbourne says that without the contextual data the bureau proposes to leave out we won’t be able to capture the full dimensions of care work, including whether the breakdown by gender is changing.

Michael Bittman, who was seconded to the ABS for the first national time use survey and has chaired United Nations committees on time-use methodology, says the proposed changes will “take Australia from being a leader to a laggard”.

Lighter than the world’s lightest

The International Labour Organisation has designed a light one-day time use survey that will take just 15 minutes to complete, intended for poor countries.

What Australia’s bureau is proposing looks as if it will take even less time, making it one of the poorest time use surveys on the planet.

The survey needn’t be annual, as year-on-year changes are usually small. A substantial survey conducted once every five years would be much better.

Where the bureau thinks a survey is important, it conducts it face-to-face. That’s what it does with Australia’s six-yearly Household Expenditure Survey, the one used to determine what Australians spend their money on, which forms an input to the consumer price index.

It’s a question of priorities

That expenditure survey requires far more work on the part of the respondent than the time use survey, including access to mortgage documents and piles of bills.

If the bureau remains committed to doing the time use survey online, it should do it in a way consistent with the best practice in the rest of the world.

International researchers are developing an electronic light diary that collects information about secondary activities and contexts. It has been approved for use in nine countries.

Those who specialise in time-use research say the bureau’s current plan is destined to fail. There’s a good deal of women’s unpaid work it won’t capture.

In 1988 New Zealand economist Marilyn Waring wrote a famous book called Counting for Nothing about how women and the environment were invisible in policymaking.

If the bureau proceeds as planned, it will take us back toward those days.

Read more:
A decade after the arrival of the smartphone, we’re about to find out how we use our time

Julie Smith is a member of the ABS Time Use Expert Reference Group.

Marian Sawer 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. If the ABS guts Australia’s time use survey, women’s work will count for little – https://theconversation.com/if-the-abs-guts-australias-time-use-survey-womens-work-will-count-for-little-223453

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

Tasmanian Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff today announced the Tasmanian election would be held on March 23, more than a year early. The election was called early owing to disagreements between the Liberals and former Liberal MPs Lara Alexander and John Tucker. The Liberals had lost their parliamentary majority when these two MPs defected in May 2023.

Tasmania uses the proportional Hare Clark system for its lower house elections. At this election there will be 35 members elected, up from 25 previously. Tasmania uses the same five electorates for state and federal elections, with seven members to be elected per electorate, up from five previously. The quota for election will be one-eighth of the vote or 12.5%, down from one-sixth or 16.7%.

Tasmania’s upper house has elections every May for two or three of its 15 seats, with members serving six-year terms. The upper house will not be contested at this election.

The two most recent polls were an early January YouGov poll and a late November EMRS poll. The YouGov poll gave the Liberals 31%, Labor 27%, the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) 20%, the Greens 15% and independents 7%. If this poll were repeated at an election, the JLN would hold the balance of power.

The EMRS poll was far better for the Liberals, suggesting they had recovered from a slump in May. The Liberals had 39%, Labor 29%, the Greens 12% and all Others 19%. This poll did not ask for the JLN. The Liberals would still fall short of a majority if this poll were repeated at the election.

Tasmania is the only Australian jurisdiction that is currently governed by the conservative parties. However, the Liberal National Party is likely to win the October Queensland election, so even if Labor takes power in Tasmania, unified Labor government probably won’t last long.

Federal YouGov poll: 69% support tax changes but Albanese’s ratings drop

A national YouGov poll, conducted February 2–7 from a sample of 1,502, gave Labor a 52–48 lead, unchanged from the mid-January YouGov poll. Primary votes were 36% Coalition (down one), 32% Labor (steady), 14% Greens (up one), 8% One Nation (up one) and 10% for all Others (down one).

Albanese’s net approval was down three points to -16, while Dutton’s net approval was up three points to -8. Albanese led Dutton by 45–38 as preferred PM, a narrowing from 45–35 in January.

On the changes to the stage three tax cuts, 69% supported the changes while 31% supported the original stage three proposal. Supporters of all parties favoured the changes, including 55% of Coalition voters.

Labor gains in Essential poll

In a national Essential poll, conducted February 7–11 from a sample of 1,148, Labor led by 50–46 including undecided (48–46 two weeks ago). This is Labor’s largest lead in Essential since early October.

Primary votes were 34% Coalition (steady), 31% Labor (down one), 14% Greens (up one), 7% One Nation (steady), 1% UAP (down one), 9% for all Others (up two) and 5% undecided (steady). Preference flows favoured Labor more than last fortnight.

Respondents were asked to rate Albanese and Dutton from 0 to 10. Scores of 0–3 were counted as negative, 4–6 as neutral and 7–10 as positive. Albanese was at 35–33 negative (37–32 in December), while Dutton was at 33–32 negative (37–28 in December).

By 56–16, voters supported the revised stage three tax cuts when told there would be more benefits for lower and middle-income earners, and less to higher-income earners. However, by 53–47, they thought it is never acceptable to break an election promise over it being acceptable if circumstances change.

By 59–15, voters supported employees’ “right to disconnect”. On Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour in Sydney and Melbourne, 76% said they weren’t interested in seeing her, 21% wished they were going to see her, 3% were seeing her and 3% didn’t know who she was.

Labor down in a Redbridge poll

A national Redbridge poll, conducted January 30 to February 7 from a sample of 2,040, gave Labor a 51.2–48.8 lead, a 1.6-point gain for the Coalition since the last Redbridge poll in December. Primary votes were 38% Coalition (up three), 33% Labor (steady), 13% Greens (steady) and 16% for all Others (down three).

Despite the narrow Labor lead on voting intentions, Labor held a 32–28 lead on economic management, which is usually a relative strength for the Coalition.

On negative gearing, 39% said it should be left alone and 39% said it should be phased out or scrapped immediately. By 60–22, voters supported the changes to the stage three tax cuts, but by 51–33 voters agreed that if Labor breaks the promise to deliver the original cuts, I can’t trust them in the future.

Morgan and Dunkley byelection polls

I previously covered a national Morgan poll that gave Labor a 50.5–49.5 lead. Labor’s lead increased to 53–47 in last week’s Morgan poll that was conducted January 29 to February 4.

In this week’s Morgan poll, conducted February 5–11 from a sample of 1,699, Labor led by 52–48. Primary votes were 37% Coalition (steady since last week), 34.5% Labor (up 1.5), 12% Greens (steady), 4.5% One Nation (down 0.5) and 12% for all Others (down one).

The federal byelection to replace the deceased Labor MP Peta Murphy will be held on March 2. A uComms poll of Dunkley for The Australia Institute, conducted February 5–6 from a sample of 626, gave Labor a 52–48 lead from primary votes of 40.1% Labor, 39.3% Liberal, 8.2% Greens, 1.6% Libertarian and 10.8% for all Others.

Preferences were respondent-allocated, and Labor would be higher if the previous election preferences were used. Labor won Dunkley by 56.3–46.7 at the 2022 election, so this poll suggests a 4% swing to the Liberals. Seat polls are unreliable. Eight candidates will contest the Dunkley byelection.

In other byelection news, the South Australian state byelection in Dunstan to replace former Liberal premier Steven Marshall will be held March 23. Marshall won Dunstan at the 2022 election by 50.5–49.5 against Labor.

The Poll Bludger reported Monday that uComms polls for The Australia Institute in the teal independent held seats of Kooyong, Mackellar and Wentworth, conducted February 5 from samples of 602 to 647. In Kooyong, teal MP Monique Ryan led the Liberals by 56–44, in Mackellar teal MP Sophie Scamps led by 54–46 and in Wentworth teal MP Allegra Spender led by 57–43.

US Democrats gain federal House seat at byelection

I covered the United States federal byelection for New York’s third congressional district for The Poll Bludger. Democrats easily gained from the Republicans. I also covered the latest presidential primaries that show both Donald Trump and Joe Biden cruising to their parties’ nominations.

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

– ref. Jacqui Lambie Network could win balance of power at Tasmanian election; Labor lead steady in federal polls – https://theconversation.com/jacqui-lambie-network-could-win-balance-of-power-at-tasmanian-election-labor-lead-steady-in-federal-polls-223097

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Eccleston, Professor of Political Science; Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania

After months of speculation about an early election and a battle to keep minority government alive, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff – Australia’s last remaining Liberal Premier – has called an election for March 23, three years into a four-year term.

In making the announcement, Rockliff said he wanted the stability of majority government.

“I’m not going to allow myself or my government to be held to ransom for the next 12 months. It’s bad for Tasmania, it’s bad for Tasmanians.”

What issues are likely to dominate the campaign? What is the likely outcome, and will it have any implications beyond the shores of Australia’s island state?

What’s been going on?

The Tasmanian Liberals have governed since 2014, but recently Rockliff has had to manage a series of ructions.

There have been seven reshuffles since the 2021 election, sparked in some cases by high profile ministerial resignations.

In mid-May 2023, two government back benchers quit the party to sit on the cross bench, citing a range of grievances.

Lara Alexander and John Tucker’s agreement with Rockliff to guarantee supply and confidence in the House lasted until early February when the premier issued a second ultimatum effectively demanding the rebel MPs support all government legislation.

Given neither of the independents were willing to cede their independence an early election became inevitable. Now, the real question is whether Tasmanian voters will blame the premier or the rebel MPs for taking them to the polls a year early?

Read more:
How the Tasmanian AFL team turned into a political football

Due to Tasmania’s 25-seat Lower House (which has been restored to 35 members for this election), these events have stretched Rockliff’s talent pool and contributed to a feeling among voters that the government is approaching its used by date.

Rubbing salt in the wound, Labor and the Greens have relished pointing out that a party which had promised to deliver stable majority government was now in minority. Indeed, Jeremy Rockliff cited
the need restore majority government and avoid “governing with one hand tied behind my back” as a justification for going to the polls a year early.

Given Tasmania’s proportional Hare Clark electoral system, where candidates only need to secure about 15% of the vote after preferences to win a seat, it seems inevitable that forming government will require some form of power sharing or coalition arrangement.

This is reinforced by polling data that suggests Tasmanian voters are turning their backs on both major parties. A YouGov poll conducted in January had both Liberal and Labor polling around 30% (31% Liberal, 27% Labor), with the Jacquie Lambie Network (20%), Greens (15%) and other independents (7%) sharing the remaining 40%.

The key issues

This all suggests that well established campaign strategies will once again be trotted out.

The government will talk up the strong (but slowing) economy and run a scare campaign against
minority government. This approach has served the Liberals well in the past, but their current minority status may undermine the pitch.

Labor, the Greens, independents, and the Jacqui Lambie Network will all point to the failure to address persistent housing, hospital, and transport challenges, as well as growing concerns about transparency and accountability.

One wildcard is government support for Hobart’s proposed waterfront AFL stadium. Most Tasmanians want an AFL team, but many have concerns about the mooted funding
model in which the government covers most of the cost – and the financial risk.

Finally, the rise and dominance of hyper-local issues is making it hard for parties to develop and deliver a cohesive long-term strategy for the state. History shows that laundry lists of election promises don’t provide the basis for good government.

Read more:
Tasmania’s reached net-zero emissions and 100% renewables – but climate action doesn’t stop there

Federal eyes on the campaign

Mainland pundits will be watching the election closely for two main reasons.

Firstly, the March poll will be an early test of electoral support for a more conservative Liberal party in Tasmania and beyond. While Rockliff is a moderate, the conservative faction of the Tasmanian Liberals is in the ascendancy with former long-serving federal senator Eric Abetz seeking to make a comeback in the state seat of Franklin.

Abetz will likely be elected, but it remains to be seen whether this occurs despite a broader swing against the Liberals.

If the party can retain government in Tasmania, it may provide an early indication that the national political tide is turning.

Secondly, the election may provide further evidence of fragmentation in Australian politics.

If significant numbers of Tasmanians, particularly those from regional and less well-off communities, vote for independents or minor parties, the major parties will have some serious soul searching to do. They’ll need to rethink their strategies for future state and national elections.

What does the crystal ball say?

Tasmanian elections are notoriously hard to predict.

Given the most likely outcome will be some form of coalition or power-sharing arrangement, negotiations after polling day will be just as important and interesting as the vote itself.

Will the Liberals be willing to form a minority government, and would Jeremy Rockliff be prepared to lead it?

Read more:
‘Nothing left in the tank’: resigning Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein deserves credit on COVID and economics

After ten years in the wilderness (not such a bad place to be in this part of the world!) Labor is desperate to govern, but will be reluctant to enter into an agreement with the Greens due to past experience. They may, however, be willing to govern with the support of the Jacqui Lambie Network and/or independents.

Tasmanian politics has always had a unique and interesting dynamic, and the March election is unlikely to disappoint. The real test is whether members of the next Tasmanian Parliament are able to put the interests of the community above petty politics to deliver the good government Tasmanians deserve.

Richard Eccleston is an appointed a member of two public advisory boards providing advice to the Tasmanian government.

Robert Hortle 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. Tasmania is going to an early election. Will the country’s last Liberal state be no more? – https://theconversation.com/tasmania-is-going-to-an-early-election-will-the-countrys-last-liberal-state-be-no-more-216533

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mitchell Lyons, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland

The world’s coral reefs are close to 25% larger than we thought. By using satellite images, machine learning and on-ground knowledge from a global network of people living and working on coral reefs, we found an extra 64,000 square kilometres of coral reefs – an area the size of Ireland.

That brings the total size of the planet’s shallow reefs (meaning 0-20 metres deep) to 348,000 square kilometres – the size of Germany. This figure represents whole coral reef ecosystems, ranging from sandy-bottomed lagoons with a little coral, to coral rubble flats, to living walls of coral.

Within this 348,000 km² of coral is 80,000 km² where there’s a hard bottom – rocks rather than sand. These areas are likely to be home to significant amounts of coral – the places snorkellers and scuba divers most like to visit.

You might wonder why we’re finding this out now. Didn’t we already know where the world’s reefs are?

Previously, we’ve had to pull data from many different sources, which made it harder to pin down the extent of coral reefs with certainty. But now we have high resolution satellite data covering the entire world – and are able to see reefs as deep as 30 metres down.

We coupled this with direct observations and records of coral reefs from over 400 individuals and organisations in countries with coral reefs from all regions, such as the Maldives, Cuba and Australia.

To produce the maps, we used machine learning techniques to chew through 100 trillion pixels from the Sentinel-2 and Planet Dove CubeSat satellites to make accurate predictions about where coral is – and is not. The team worked with almost 500 researchers and collaborators to make the maps.

The result: the world’s first comprehensive map of coral reefs extent, and their composition, produced through the Allen Coral Atlas.

The maps are already proving their worth. Reef management agencies around the world are using them to plan and assess conservation work and threats to reefs.

Where is this hidden coral?

You can see the difference for yourself. In the interactive slider below, red indicates the newly detected coral in reefs off far north Queensland.

This infographic shows the new detail we now have for the Tongue Reef, in the seas off Port Douglas in Far North Queensland.

Our maps have three levels of detail. The first is the most expansive – the entire coral reef ecosystem. Seen from space, it has light areas of coral fringed by darker deeper water.

Then we have geomorphic detail, meaning what the areas within the reef look like. This includes sandy lagoons, reef crests exposed to the air at low tide, sloping areas going into deeper water and so on.

And finally we have fine detail of the benthic substrates, showing where you have areas dominated by coral cover.

Coral can’t grow on sand. Polyps have to attach to a hard surface such as rock before they can begin expanding the reef out of their limestone-secreting bodies.

Some of our maps include fine detail of benthic substrates, meaning where coral is most likely to be and the substrates (seafloor) available to the polyps, such as existing coral, sand, rubble, or seagrass.

It’s a crucial time for the world’s coral reefs. We’re discovering the full extent of shallow water reefs – while other researchers are finding large new black coral reefs in deeper water.

But even as we make these discoveries, coral reefs are reeling. Climate change is steadily heating up the sea and making it more acidic. Coral polyps can’t handle too much heat. These wonders of biodiversity are home to a quarter of the ocean’s species.

In good news, these maps are already leading to real world change. We’ve already seen new efforts to conserve coral reefs in Indonesia, several Pacific island nations, Panama, Belize, Kenya and Australia, among others.

Read more:
How do coral reefs thrive in parts of the ocean that are low in nutrients? By eating their algal companions

Mitchell Lyons receives funding from Australian Research Council and Australian Commonwealth Government. Mitchell Lyons works for the University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales.

Stuart Phinn receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Queensland and New South Wales state governments, Geoscience Australia and other Commonwealth agencies, and SmartSAT CRC. He works for the University of Queensland and was the founding director of Earth Observation Australia and Australia’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN).

– ref. The world’s coral reefs are bigger than we thought – but it took satellites, snorkels and machine learning to see them – https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-coral-reefs-are-bigger-than-we-thought-but-it-took-satellites-snorkels-and-machine-learning-to-see-them-223322