Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tamsin Phillipa Paige, Senior Lecturer, Deakin University

Sea Shepherd founder and anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has been arrested in Greenland and awaits potential extradition to Japan.

The arrest relates to incidents in the Southern Ocean in February 2010. The charges against Watson include “accomplice to an assault” and “ship trespass”. Both relate to the boarding of the Japanese vessel Shonan Maru No 2 by Pete Bethune, who was captain of the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil. Bethune was detained on the Shonan Maru No 2 and returned to Japan for trial, where he received a suspended sentence. An international arrest warrant was issued for Watson in 2012.

At the time of the recent arrest on July 21, Watson’s ship had stopped for refuelling while en route to intercept a Japanese whaling vessel, the Kangei Maru. He was on board the John Paul DeJoria, owned by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation he founded two years ago.

Watson left Sea Shepherd in 2022, following disputes with directors over the value of direct action and confrontation. He originally founded Sea Shepherd after falling out with Greenpeace for similar reasons.

His arrest brings the issue of whaling back to the fore. Despite a flurry of activity in the courts a decade ago, the issue hasn’t gone away. That’s because Japan withdrew from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and its decision-making body in 2019 and resumed commercial whaling.

What is an international arrest warrant?

An international arrest warrant, also referred to as a “Red Notice”, is a request to law enforcement all over the world to locate and provisionally arrest a person.

The Red Notice for Watson is based on an arrest warrant or court order issued by Japan. Importantly, a Red Notice is not a finding of guilt and the presumption of innocence still applies.

Now the arrest has been made, Japan is seeking extradition. The request went to Denmark because Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory.

What is the basis for the charges?

Two international treaties provide Japan with a legal basis for the charges laid against Watson.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, Japan can grant its nationality to ships, as it did with the Shonan Maru No 2. Nations have exclusive jurisdiction over ships flying their flag when that ship is on the high seas (international waters). This means Japan can treat the boarding of the Shonan Maru No 2 as if it happened on Japanese territory.

Japan may also argue the boarding of the Shonan Maru No 2 was an act of piracy. Under the convention, Japan would need to show the boarding was a case of:

illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed […] on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship.

The sticking point for Japan may be whether or not the boarding can be considered to be for “private ends”.

The convention for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime navigation may also apply. In short, this grants jurisdiction over certain types of offences when they occur on board a ship flying the nation’s flag. For example, Japan may argue the alleged conduct of Watson and/or his colleagues was “an act of violence against a person on board a ship if that act is likely to endanger the safe navigation of that ship”.

Will Denmark extradite?

Extradition is often governed by a specific extradition agreement between two nations, as well as by a nation’s own domestic law. For example, the Extradition Act in Denmark permits extradition in certain circumstances. However, it also has limitations on that power, including to prevent double prosecutions, where a person faces trial more than once for the same conduct.

Extradition will not apply to prosecutions of crimes that are not also an offence in Denmark, abandoned prosecutions, or where a court accepts there is a risk that the person concerned:

will be subjected to persecution affecting his life or freedom or otherwise of a serious nature because of his or her origin, membership of a particular ethnic group, religious or political beliefs or otherwise because of political circumstance.

The relevant court in Denmark can also decide that extradition is temporarily suspended on serious humanitarian grounds.

Extradition is as much political as legal

In many ways, extradition is a fusion between “executive power” and the powers of the courts and the prosecutors, as well as involving foreign policy considerations. For this reason, it can be as much political as legal. This is why we have seen calls from other countries, such as France, for Denmark to abandon the arrest and not agree to extradition.

Political pressure can sometimes be effective in such cases, particularly in countries where there is ministerial discretion around whether to extradite.

What next?

Ultimately, Japan may choose to abandon its interest in prosecuting a warrant that is more than ten years old.

Or it may choose to exercise its full legal power in pursuing Watson, with the goal of deterring anti-whaling advocacy. However, this would likely attract criticism from other nations, given very few support whaling activity, and reduce willingness to cooperate with Japan on other extradition matters.

Either way, the tension between environmental advocacy and other commercial and legal interests is obvious. The law can – and should – find better ways to balance these interests, especially in the midst of an environmental crisis.

Tamsin Phillipa Paige has previously received funding from the Australian Government.

Danielle Ireland-Piper 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. Former Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson arrested on a Japanese warrant from 2012 – what next? – https://theconversation.com/former-sea-shepherd-captain-paul-watson-arrested-on-a-japanese-warrant-from-2012-what-next-235965

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Cross, Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching) Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology

For many, tax time is an exciting part of the year – there’s the potential for a refund. However, it’s also an attractive time for fraudsters looking for ways to get money and deceive unsuspecting victims.

Each year Australians lose large amounts of money to scams. In 2023, Australians reported losses of more than A$2.7 billion. While this is a slight reduction from the $3.1 billion in 2022, there are still millions of victims who’ve suffered at the hands of scammers.

Impersonation scams are one common approach. Scamwatch reports that in 2023, 70% of reports to them involved impersonation.

A large number of these were linked to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and myGov.

What is an impersonation scam?

Impersonation scams are what they sound like: when an offender pretends to be someone or something they are not. Offenders may pretend to be family members or friends in our contact lists.

In many cases, they will say they’re from an organisation such as a bank or a well-known retailer, or a government department – like the ATO.

Offenders take on the identity of a known and trusted organisation to increase the chances of success. While we may ignore communications from unknown entities and strangers, we’re more likely to engage with what’s familiar.

Additionally, the ATO has a powerful status as a government agency, and we are unlikely to ignore its messages – especially at tax time.

What are they trying to get out of my myGov account?

myGov is the gateway to a range of government services, including Medicare, Centrelink, My Health Record, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and of course, the ATO.

Being able to log in to myGov gives offenders access to a wide range of your personal details. This can help them build a fuller profile of you to potentially commit identity theft (such as opening new accounts in your name).

There’s also the potential for direct fraud. With access to myGov, offenders can change your bank account details and redirect any refunds into their accounts, whether from the ATO or other linked services.

They can even submit false tax returns, medical claims or other forms to obtain fraudulent funds. As the legitimate owner of the account, you may not immediately notice this.

What does a myGov scam look like?

In most instances, a myGov scam will look like one of the many phishing attempts we all receive on a daily basis. While each approach can be worded differently, their desired outcome is the same: to acquire your personal information.

Fraudsters are sending text messages and emails pretending to be from the ATO, advising you there’s a refund available if you click the provided link.

Another approach is to flag a “problem” with your tax return or bank account, and direct you to take immediate action via a link. Creating a sense of urgency can trick users into acting in the moment, without thinking through the request.

The text or email may also be very neutral, simply stating there’s a new message waiting – with a link to where you can read it.

Regardless of what the message says, the goal is to direct you to a website that looks genuine, but is fake. If you enter your myGov details into such a fake site, the offender can capture your login details and use them to log into your actual myGov account.

What to do if you’ve been a victim?

If you have clicked on a scam link and provided your personal details, there are steps you can take.

Change your password and review your account settings if you still have access to your myGov account.

Check your bank accounts, to see what, if anything, has been lost. Contact your bank or financial institution immediately if you notice any withdrawals or suspicious transactions.

Contact any other organisation linked to your myGov account to see if any unauthorised actions have been taken.

For anyone who has lost personal information and experienced identity crime, IDCARE is the national support centre for identity crime victims. They will be able to assist with a personalised response plan to your specific situation.

How do I keep my account safe?

Never click on links in text messages or emails that direct you to log in to your accounts. Always access your accounts independently, through details you have found independently of any text or email.

Review your security settings. There have been recent reports of people’s myGov accounts being targeted with repeated login attempts. Using your unique eight-digit myGov username for logging in can be safer than using your email address.

Enable multi-factor authentication where possible. myGov uses two-factor authentication in the form of a text message in addition to an online login. While this is not foolproof, it offers an additional layer of protection and can stop offenders accessing your account with only partial pieces of your information.

Be vigilant on all communications. Always keep in mind that all may not be what it seems and the person you are communicating with may not be who they say they are. It is okay to be sceptical and do your own checks to verify details of what is presented to you.

Remember, fraudsters thrive on the silence and shame of those who respond or fall victim to their scams. We need to communicate openly about these schemes and talk to family and friends, to increase everyone’s knowledge and awareness.

Cassandra Cross has previously received funding from the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre.

– ref. It’s tax time and scammers are targeting your myGov account. Here’s how to stay safe – https://theconversation.com/its-tax-time-and-scammers-are-targeting-your-mygov-account-heres-how-to-stay-safe-235785

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Campbell, Lecturer, Performing Arts, UniSA Creative, University of South Australia

A blind dinner date in a small high-rise apartment between a blandly dressed neat-freak with a professed admiration for alt-right male online celebs, and a colourful gender studies grad with a strong sense of social justice is falling apart.

It is about to be over – when an unnamed emergency causes the building and city to go into lockdown.

We follow the hilarious consequences of these two political polar-opposites being thrust together, with surprising outcomes.

The Questions is a gorgeous and joyful piece of new Australian musical theatre. Van Badham (book and lyrics) and long-term collaborator Richard Wise (music and lyrics) have created a stunning two-hander about an ultimate first-date disaster and finding connection despite differences.

Nestled amid the many hilarious moments in the rom-com musical are profound questions about what is really needed for two seemingly opposite people to really connect.

A beautiful construction

As “Visitor” and “Resident”, Chaya Ocampo and Charles Wu are a delight. They are adorable and mesmerising as the ill-met-by-lockdown odd couple. Their voices are stunning, and their playful and feisty engagement is electric.

They build the relationship between the two mismatched Gen Xers with an unwavering sense of playful connection: their development of the gradual intimacy and resulting fights and flare-ups is wonderful to observe.

The band is located onstage in an adjoining apartment. As the neighbours/house-and-band-mates, musicians Sam Lau (keys, guitar), James Bannah junior (keys) and Jackson Mack (drums) are just fabulous. Their playing and backing vocals are sharp, lively and well woven through the play.

Badham and Wise’s lyrics are delicious and devilishly clever with clever rhymes and quirky metaphors. They have a razor-sharp sense of the pulse of pop culture, and the songs and dialogue revel in those moments. The sudden moments of intimacy and of conflict are a joy.

Badham’s book is beautifully constructed with hilarious twists and starkly honest observations about the reality of dating when someone else is doing the matching – whether friend, app or random noodle server.

There are moments of recognition of the world of dating in an online world; sparks and sparring; the awkward and euphoric.

Navigated with energy and ease

The musical takes its title from the “36 questions to fall in love” developed by psychologist Arthur Aron in 1997. The device of the questions is used sparingly, the spotlight given to examining the developing relationship between the Resident and the Visitor.

Wise’s music effortlessly conveys the exciting-but-nervous first-date energy, pressure-cooker arguments and vulnerable, deep truth moments of love.

Wu’s solos have moments of breath-taking lyricism. His excellent voice and phrasing give nuance and depth to each moment.

Ocampo’s voice changes effortlessly from overexcited patter to reflective to no-holds-barred excitement or anger. Everything she sings is right in the middle of the note and sparkles with clarity and intention. They both navigate the often complex vocal lines with ease.

Mitchell Butel directs with wit and verve. His sense of the joy and fun of this piece is evident. His skill at conveying the sense of energies exploding in the contained space, while also giving the characters room to expand and steer their storytelling, is masterful.

The set by Jeremy Allen is a wonderful realisation of the world of Nordic-inspired neutrals, the interior of tiny, densely packed modern apartments repeated ad-infinitum. The slightly cartoonish style of the high-rises in the background (complete with lighted windows) evokes manga and keeps us located in the world of musical comedy.

The band’s room is a tiny glass box encroaching on the living room space of the Resident’s apartment. Clever use of micro venetians as actual room blinds screens the band from the action. The proximity of the neighbours and their observation of everything that happens in the fishbowl apartment next door is used to wonderful comic effect by the actors.

Gavin Norris’ lighting creates beautiful moments, isolating the actors during a solo, or abruptly changing the mood during a tense moment. The lighting gives the neutral tones of the set depth and colour, reflecting the changing moods of the characters and their inner emotions.

State Theatre Company South Australia has nurtured and developed this premiere piece with such care and joy. I left the theatre completely elated and my heart was full of beautifully made music and lyrics. I wanted to go back in and see it all again.

The Questions is at the State Theatre Company of South Australia until August 17.

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

– ref. The Questions is a gorgeous and joyful piece of new Australian musical theatre – https://theconversation.com/the-questions-is-a-gorgeous-and-joyful-piece-of-new-australian-musical-theatre-235105

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrienne O’Neil, Professor, Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University

Around 3.2 million Australians live with depression.

At the same time, few Australians meet recommended dietary or physical activity guidelines. What has one got to do with the other?

Our world-first trial, published this week, shows improving diet and doing more physical activity can be as effective as therapy with a psychologist for treating low-grade depression.

Previous studies (including our own) have found “lifestyle” therapies are effective for depression. But they have never been directly compared with psychological therapies – until now.

Amid a nation-wide shortage of mental health professionals, our research points to a potential solution. As we found lifestyle counselling was as effective as psychological therapy, our findings suggest dietitians and exercise physiologists may one day play a role in managing depression.

What did our study measure?

During the prolonged COVID lockdowns, Victorians’ distress levels were high and widespread. Face-to-face mental health services were limited.

Our trial targeted people living in Victoria with elevated distress, meaning at least mild depression but not necessarily a diagnosed mental disorder. Typical symptoms included feeling down, hopeless, irritable or tearful.

We partnered with our local mental health service to recruit 182 adults and provided group-based sessions on Zoom. All participants took part in up to six sessions over eight weeks, facilitated by health professionals.

Half were randomly assigned to participate in a program co-facilitated by an accredited practising dietitian and an exercise physiologist. That group – called the lifestyle program – developed nutrition and movement goals:

• eating a wide variety of foods
• choosing high-fibre plant foods
• including high quality fats
• limiting discretionary foods, such as those high in saturated fats and added sugars
• doing enjoyable physical activity.

The second group took part in psychotherapy sessions convened by two psychologists. The psychotherapy program used cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the gold standard for treating depression in groups and when delivered remotely.

In both groups, participants could continue existing treatments (such as taking antidepressant medication). We gave both groups workbooks and hampers. The lifestyle group received a food hamper, while the psychotherapy group received items such as a colouring book, stress ball and head massager.

Lifestyle therapies just as effective

We found similar results in each program.

At the trial’s beginning we gave each participant a score based on their self-reported mental health. We measured them again at the end of the program.

Over eight weeks, those scores showed symptoms of depression reduced for participants in the lifestyle program (42%) and the psychotherapy program (37%). That difference was not statistically or clinically meaningful so we could conclude both treatments were as good as each other.

There were some differences between groups. People in the lifestyle program improved their diet, while those in the psychotherapy program felt they had increased their social support – meaning how connected they felt to other people – compared to at the start of the treatment.

Participants in both programs increased their physical activity. While this was expected for those in the lifestyle program, it was less expected for those in the psychotherapy program. It may be because they knew they were enrolled in a research study about lifestyle and subconsciously changed their activity patterns, or it could be a positive by-product of doing psychotherapy.

There was also not much difference in cost. The lifestyle program was slightly cheaper to deliver: A$482 per participant, versus $503 for psychotherapy. That’s because hourly rates differ between dietitians and exercise physiologists, and psychologists.

What does this mean for mental health workforce shortages?

Demand for mental health services is increasing in Australia, while at the same time the workforce faces worsening nation-wide shortages.

Psychologists, who provide about half of all mental health services, can have long wait times. Our results suggest that, with the appropriate training and guidelines, allied health professionals who specialise in diet and exercise could help address this gap.

Lifestyle therapies can be combined with psychology sessions for multi-disciplinary care. But diet and exercise therapies could prove particularly effective for those on waitlists to see a psychologists, who may be receiving no other professional support while they wait.

Many dietitians and exercise physiologists already have advanced skills and expertise in motivating behaviour change. Most accredited practising dietitians are trained in managing eating disorders or gastrointestinal conditions, which commonly overlap with depression.

There is also a cost argument. It is overall cheaper to train a dietitian ($153,039) than a psychologist ($189,063) – and it takes less time.

Potential barriers

Australians with chronic conditions (such as diabetes) can access subsidised dietitian and exercise physiologist appointments under various Medicare treatment plans. Those with eating disorders can also access subsidised dietitian appointments. But mental health care plans for people with depression do not support subsidised sessions with dietitians or exercise physiologists, despite peak bodies urging them to do so.

Increased training, upskilling and Medicare subsidies would be needed to support dietitians and exercise physiologists to be involved in treating mental health issues.

Our training and clinical guidelines are intended to help clinicians practising lifestyle-based mental health care within their scope of practice (activities a health care provider can undertake).

Future directions

Our trial took place during COVID lockdowns and examined people with at least mild symptoms of depression who did not necessarily have a mental disorder. We are seeking to replicate these findings and are now running a study open to Australians with mental health conditions such as major depression or bipolar disorder.

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

Adrienne O’Neil receives funding support from the National Health and Medical Research Council (#2009295). The CALM Trial was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Medical Research Future Fund – COVID-19 Mental Health Research Australian Government Department of Health (GA133346).

Sophie Mahoney’s position is funded by a Medical Research Future Fund grant (2006296). The CALM Trial was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Medical Research Future Fund – COVID-19 Mental Health Research Australian Government Department of Health (GA133346). Sophie has previously received payment from Red Island.

– ref. Food and exercise can treat depression as well as a psychologist, our study found. And it’s cheaper – https://theconversation.com/food-and-exercise-can-treat-depression-as-well-as-a-psychologist-our-study-found-and-its-cheaper-235952

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity Australia

It’s been a depressing year for regional aviation. Rex airlines has just become the second Australian airline to go into voluntary administration this year, after Bonza’s collapse in April.

Is Qantas’ Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson right – that there simply aren’t enough passengers in Australia to support more than three airlines?

That’s certainly a convenient narrative for the members of our domestic airline duopoly, Qantas and Virgin Australia, who now face even less competition.

Or did Rex fall victim to other airlines’ strategic management to limit the number of airport slots available to them to successfully fly between the capital cities? This practice is known as “slot hoarding”.

On Thursday, the former chair of the the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Rod Sims, seemed to think so, telling ABC radio:

The government outsources the management of the slots at Sydney airport to a company that’s majority-owned by Qantas and Virgin, it is just unbelievable.

It’s certainly not a new allegation. Rex, Bonza, and the ACCC have all previously raised concerns.

So how exactly do airline slots work, and does the system need reform?

Read more:
Rex Airlines’ future up in the air amid questions about viability of small airlines in Australia

What are slots?

Back in the 1970s, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) developed the airline slot system to reduce airport congestion. The aim was to improve the traffic flow during peak travel times at “level 3” high traffic density airports – a category that includes Sydney and Melbourne.

Under the system, airlines are allocated a daily number of slots they can use. Importantly, there is a set amount of slots available, as they represent specific time windows for aircraft to take off or land.

Airlines schedule their slots ahead of time as part of a yield management program. This plan looks across the whole calendar year, taking into account projected peak and off-peak travel times for business and leisure travellers.

An airline owns the time slot it is designated by the airport infrastructure capacity, whether it gets used or not.

The IATA system relies on what’s called the “80/20 rule”, which states an airline must use 80% of its allocated slots or it will loose its unused slots. The 20% is a buffer. But it has been criticised as overly generous.

Airlines can also buy sell or lease, slots they are not using due to slow demand or the need for financial gain. These can sell for huge sums.

Can slots be hoarded?

Broadly speaking, slot hoarding is the practice of booking slots for use only to cancel them in bad faith, preventing other airlines from getting access to premium travel times.

In June last year, Rex’s then-deputy-chairman John Sharp accused Qantas of engaging in the practice:

It’s as plain as the nose on your face that Qantas is hoarding slots by cancelling sufficient flights to remain within the 80/20 rule.

Slot availability is a particular issue for Sydney Airport, because takeoffs and landings are capped at 80 per hour.

Sydney Airport Corporation’s executive general manager of aviation, Robert Wood, as well as the airport’s then-chief-executive Geoff Culbert also both expressed serious concerns about slot use last year.

In February this year, the federal government unveiled a range of reforms for Sydney airport’s slot system. These included requirements for increased transparency on how slots are used, and new independent audits.

Notably though, the government made no change to the 80/20 rule.

What needs to change?

A number of further reforms could help make the airport system friendlier to new entrants and more equitable.

One possibility is to sell a predefined number of slots to the major participating airlines. Airlines would have to make a business case outlining their proposed needs over the next calendar year.

Currently, airlines request slots from the airport slot management team at no cost to the airline, a system which favours established airlines that have met the 80/20 rule.

But a key criticism of this proposal is that the cost of purchasing slots would be passed down to the flying public, likely resulting in higher airfares. Bidding for slots would also add new cost barriers to entry for would-be startup challengers.

Another possibility is to look at slot allocation based on fairness, measuring an airline’s needs against airport infrastructure.

Airlines that had historically used 80% of their allocated slots would be given priority bidding on up to 50% of the following year’s total airport slot allocation.

The remaining 50% of slots could be prioritised for new airlines without an established history, with the goal of awarding them take off and landing times that aren’t necessarily premium, but close enough.

Airlines that didn’t achieve this 80% target or were found to be abusing the slot hoarding rules would be removed from the top-tier fairness status and placed in a slot allocation “sin bin” until their performance measures were brought up to standards.

Australia has challenges ahead for domestic flights that are already at capacity. Government reforms that provide better oversight of airport usage of the 80/20 rule could help mitigate the risk of anti-competitive behaviour.

Australian airlines have the right to compete without feeling unfairly held back, and we as consumers have the right to reasonable airfares.

Read more:
What just happened to Bonza? Why new budget airlines always struggle in Australia

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

– ref. What is ‘slot hoarding’ – and is it locking out regional airlines like Rex? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-slot-hoarding-and-is-it-locking-out-regional-airlines-like-rex-235960

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ana Manero, Research Fellow, Australian National University

Ever since Polynesian pioneers took to the ocean on wooden rafts, people have been hooked on riding waves. Today, surfing is one of the world’s fastest-growing sports and one of the latest additions to the Olympic games.

Surfing is especially valuable to Australia. My new research shows surf-related expenditure contributes nearly A$3 billion to the Australian economy every year. And the mental health benefits to Australian surfers are in the order of $6 billion a year.

Yet many surf breaks are subject to coastal erosion, water pollution and other threats. The surfing event in Tahiti for this year’s Olympics is a case in point: it involved drilling into delicate coral reef to build a new judging tower.

It’s vital to recognise and measure the true benefits of surfing in dollar terms, so decision-makers realise it makes sense to invest in protecting Australia’s surf breaks.

The economics of surfing

Waves are essentially free. All you need is a surfboard and you’re set. Well, you might want to grab yourself a leg rope and a wetsuit too.

If you have a wave virtually at your doorstep, it’s likely you’re paying a real estate premium. Otherwise, you’re probably spending your weekends chasing waves up and down the coast. You may even have your family in tow. The costs soon add up.

Using an online survey of 569 Australian surfers, my team and I explored the influence of recreational surfing on the economy and people’s wellbeing. We found the average Australian surfer spends more than $3,700 a year, within Australia, on surfing-related purchases. Half goes on equipment, while the rest is spent on domestic travel. A further $1,975 is spent on international travel.

There are an estimated 727,000 Australian adult surfers, which brings the total spend to $2.71 billion every year being pumped into the domestic economy. If we factor in flow-on effects, such as business-to-business spending, the overall contribution of recreational surfing comes to $4.88 billion.

Economic impacts can inform government priorities and public decisions affecting coastal management. For example, the 2023 Margaret River Pro drew $8 million and 3,500 visitors to the region. These figures, as well as local and international support, encouraged the organisers to renew the contest until 2028.

Mental health and wellbeing

Besides direct economic impacts, surfing contributes to participants’ wellbeing in multiple ways.

In our survey, more than 94% of respondents reported improvements in their physical and mental health, as well as their ability to deal with stress and difficulty in their lives.

More than 75% of surfers reported an improvement in their sense of belonging to a community and ability to foster positive relationships.

One way to measure wellbeing in economic terms is by comparing workplace productivity and healthcare costs between groups. Previous research has quantified the benefits of being in nature to mental health, using data from national parks visits. When applying this approach to surfing, the researchers found gains in surfers’ mental health worth $7,650 per person per year – or $5.6 billion across Australia’s surfers.

Deadly but delicate

The first-time inclusion of surfing in the 2020–21 Tokyo Olympics was hailed as a landmark recognition of the sport’s cultural significance. A year later, surfing was admitted as a permanent Olympic sport.

But built infrastructure, such as ports and sea walls, human-induced climate change, coastal erosion and water pollution are endangering waves around the world.

The tiny village of Teahupo’o, in Tahiti, is home to one of the world’s “heaviest” waves. But some residents feared the Olympics would irreversibly damage their pristine environment. In response, visitor numbers were capped and construction minimised.

The world-renowned wave of Mundaka, in Spain’s Basque Country, disappeared in 2005 as a result of dredging activity in the nearby rivermouth. The wave eventually came back, but the area had already suffered a slowdown in economic growth, including the cancellation of a professional contest.

In Australia, three surf breaks were lost to construction of Perth’s Ocean Reef marina in 2022. Local residents’ calls for an artificial reef are now being considered.

Protection for a precious resource

Australia is blessed with more than 1,440 surf breaks and a surf-loving culture.

But if we want those waves to exist for future generations, we must look after them now.

A good starting point could be to include surf breaks in the Australia State of the Environment Report. The review already evaluates pressures on recreational fishing, snorkelling and scuba diving – but not surfing, despite it attracting more participants than the other three sports combined.

Form a legal standpoint, only a few of our waves are protected: the iconic Bells Beach in Victoria comes under the Heritage Act 2027. A dozen of “surfing reserves” in New South Wales are safeguarded by the Crown Lands Act 1989. In Queensland, coastal protection policies are being developed for the Noosa and Gold Coast World Surfing Reserves.

Across the world, more countries are adopting protections for surfing’s recreational and environmental values. In Brazil, the waves at Doce River Mouth were recently granted special protection, as a new bill acknowledged the ocean as a living being with intrinsic rights.

The goal to better understand and protect the value of surf breaks is in line with the 2021–30 Oceans Decade, a United Nations initiative to leverage scientific knowledge for ocean sustainability.

It’s often said “only a surfer knows the feeling” of riding a wave, but research quantifying the benefits of surfing can help decision-makers appreciate the need to preserve a truly irreplaceable resource.

Ana Manero is a volunteer with not-for-profit Surfing Mums.

– ref. Save our waves: surfing pumps $2.71 billion into the Australian economy and boosts wellbeing – https://theconversation.com/save-our-waves-surfing-pumps-2-71-billion-into-the-australian-economy-and-boosts-wellbeing-235579

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University

The photo of returning prisoners in an American plane, all grinning from ear to ear, says it all: the joy, the relief and the success of an incredibly complicated mission.

The freeing of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a host of others is the biggest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.

In all, 26 people from seven different countries were freed in a mindbogglingly complex agreement that took years to negotiate. They included 16 imprisoned in Russia: the three Americans, a host of Russian political prisoners, and a 19-year-old Russian-German national jailed for taking photographs of a Russian military base.

In return, eight Russians were also released – the most notorious among them, Vadim Krasikov, a colonel in the Federal Security Service jailed in Germany for murdering a former Chechen rebel in Berlin in 2019.

Freedom for those unjustly imprisoned is indisputably wonderful news, even if it is way overdue, and the Biden administration deserves credit for its work in negotiating the deal. But this case could also set up an international precedent: journalists can be used as geopolitical bargaining chips.

Journalists as leverage

Gershkovich had the highest profile of those detained by Russia. From the day the journalist was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges, it was clear the only way out would be through some kind of negotiation.

From the outset, Russia failed to produce any evidence to validate their claims that he was a spy and not a highly competent journalist simply doing his job. And in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Fox News’s Tucker Carlson:

the special services are in contact with one another. They are talking […] I believe an agreement can be reached.

Because of their role, foreign correspondents are tempting fodder for governments looking for easy victims to use as leverage. Reporters carry cameras and notebooks, talk to political opponents and gather information in ways that are easily presented as espionage.

They are generally high-profile, working for companies with the ability to pressure their own governments to make deals. And their arrest sends a chilling message to other journalists, both local and foreign: challenge the official narrative at your peril.

This was the case with The Washington Post’s Tehran Bureau Chief Jason Rezaian, who was imprisoned in Iran, and the Al Jazeera Three (including myself), detained in Egypt on terrorism charges.

But this deal also makes it more likely that in future, journalists and other civilians will be caught and traded between governments as bargaining chips.

Russia has got what it wanted: the return of what The Economist colourfully described as, “assassins, smugglers, hackers and the deep-cover agents known as ‘illegals’.”

The United States, then, has to live with the fact it helped free people serving time for crimes as severe as murder.

How do governments navigate this?

It is an almost impossible dilemma for governments trying to free innocent detainees. Do they stand firm and refuse to negotiate, risking anger at home for abandoning their own nationals? Or do they do a deal as the US did, and risk more detentions and more negotiations in future?

While the deals are impossibly complex, the long-term solution lies in a straightforward calculus: the price of detaining foreign hostages must ultimately be made higher than the value those hostages represent as prisoners.

The Canadian government has an idea that might just help. In 2021, in typically awkward diplomatic language, it launched, “The Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations”.

In simple terms, the declaration is creating a coalition of states committed to stopping the practice. Currently, it is a rather bland set of bullet points expressing “grave concern about the use of arbitrary arrest or detention by States to exercise leverage over foreign governments, contrary to international law”. It also reaffirms “the fundamental importance of the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, (and) respect for human rights […]”

But behind it lies the seed of a potentially powerful strategy. If enough governments agree to collectively act against any state that grabs a foreign hostage, it raises the price of keeping them while avoiding the need to start one-on-one negotiations.

Those actions don’t need to be dramatic. Placing the status of a hostage at the top of the agenda of every diplomatic meeting is a good start. Making the issue a point of friction in trade deals is another. So too is making visas difficult for official visits.

No single action needs to be expensive for those countries that are part of the coalition, but for a rogue state holding hostages, all those points of pressure add up to make the practice more trouble than it is worth.

The idea can’t guarantee there will never be another innocent like Gershkovich or Whelan unjustly imprisoned for political leverage, but it might reverse an awful trend. As Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly declared:

Hostage diplomacy is an unacceptable and abhorrent practice. It threatens international peace and security and contravenes international law. It inflicts immeasurable harm on victims and their friends and families. It must stop.

Peter Greste is Professor of Journalism at Macquarie University, and the Executive Director for the advocacy group, the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom.

– ref. The US-Russia prisoner swap shows how journalists risk being used as geopolitical bargaining chips – https://theconversation.com/the-us-russia-prisoner-swap-shows-how-journalists-risk-being-used-as-geopolitical-bargaining-chips-236052

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney

Virginia Woolf always maintained that, of all of the great writers, the British novelist Jane Austen “is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness”.

To my mind, the groundbreaking Russian playwright Anton Chekhov gives Austen a close run for her money. He is also, as one tends to find when seeing his work performed live, very hard to get right.

This difficulty stems from the subtlety and nuance of Chekhov’s writing, which, on the surface, appears to trade exclusively in the trivialities and minutiae of everyday existence.

Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.

Chekhov’s genius lies precisely in his ability to achieve a great deal with seemingly very little. He conveys emotional depth and intellectual profundity through subtle, almost imperceptible, shifts in tone and characterisation, all while eschewing conventional dramatic action.

With that in mind, it is heartening to be able to report the Ensemble Theatre’s exceptional and engaging production of Uncle Vanya successfully captures the essence of Chekhov’s work.

A storied history

The history of Uncle Vanya, which was written in 1897 and first staged in 1899, is complex. Born on January 29 1860, Chekhov grew up in Taganrog, a port city in Southern Russia. He started writing in school and finished a full-length play by the age of 17.

In 1879, after moving to Moscow to study medicine, Chekhov supported his family by writing humorous sketches and stories for various journals. This work provided him with a crucial source of income.

At the same time, he continued to hone his skills as a dramatist. In 1888, he began work on what would become his third play, The Wood Demon.

Written in collaboration with his friend and publisher, Alexi Survorin, Chekhov finished the script in October 1889. The play premiered at the Abramov Theatre in Moscow on December 27 1889. It was a resounding flop. The reviews were overwhelmingly negative and the production ground to a halt after only three performances.

Bruised but undeterred, Chekhov kept chiselling away at the play. Nearly a decade in the making, the eventual result was Uncle Vanya, which differs drastically from The Wood Demon in terms of running time, formal structure and tonal affect. While The Wood Demon unfolds across multiple venues, Uncle Vanya, a work about unrequited love and thwarted ambition, is set in a single location.

This change in setting afforded Chekhov the opportunity to intensify his focus on the internal conflicts and interpersonal dynamics of his cast of characters. They represent, as the cultural theorist Raymond Williams says, “a generation whose whole energy is consumed in the very process of becoming conscious of their own inadequacy and impotence”.

Conflicts and comedy

The plot of the tragicomic play centres on a dilapidated rural estate, where the eponymous Vanya and his niece Sonya toil to maintain the property for the benefit of Vanya’s brother-in-law, Professor Serebryakov, whose unexpected visit with his young wife, Yelena, disrupts the daily routine of the disgruntled household.

Tensions mount, passions flare and tempers threaten to boil over.

Adapted by the award-winning Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith and directed by Mark Kilmurry, the Ensemble Theatre’s production excels in rendering these escalating conflicts, leavened by moments of genuine comedy.

This is no mean feat. In many interpretations of Chekhov, as Murray-Smith has acknowledged, “the comedy is missing because it just doesn’t translate to now”.

By the same token, Murray-Smith expresses doubts about pandering to contemporary tastes when it comes to theatrical adaptation:

In a good production of a Chekhov, you really don’t need to make any changes if you don’t want to: you can present it in the world at the end of the 19th century […] I’m not doing very well at selling my own job here, but a lot of the time I think the modernising is completely unnecessary.

Happily, this production – which also makes excellent use of the Ensemble Theatre’s intimate theatrical setting – proves Murray-Smith correct.

The performances are all outstanding. Abbey Morgan gives us a preternaturally stoical Sonya. Chantelle Jamieson’s portrayal of Yelena blends passion and irony. Deftly shifting between satire and sincerity, the cast evokes both laughter and real sympathy from the audience.

When handled with due care and proper attention, as it is here, Chekhov’s play is simultaneously timeless and timely.

It addresses themes of ecological degradation, intergenerational strife and societal upheaval – just as relevant today as it was in 1899.

Uncle Vanya is at Ensemble Theatre, Sydney, until August 31.

Alexander Howard 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. Joanna Murray-Smith’s new adaptation of Uncle Vanya reminds us Chekhov’s play is both timeless and timely – https://theconversation.com/joanna-murray-smiths-new-adaptation-of-uncle-vanya-reminds-us-chekhovs-play-is-both-timeless-and-timely-235201

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Ware, Associate Professor in International & Community Development, Deakin University

Mass protests have rocked Bangladesh over the past few weeks. The military was deployed to the streets with shoot-on-sight orders. News agencies have reported some 266 deaths, with 7,000 people injured and more than 10,000 arrested.

In addition, a near-total communications blackout cut all internet and mobile phone services for more than a week. A nationwide curfew locked down 170 million people, at first for up to 22 hours a day.

These restrictions have eased somewhat, but troops still patrol urban areas and the curfew remains in force for half the day.

For the Rohingya refugees in the country, the security measures and curfew have made their plight even more desperate.

Read more:
Bangladesh protests: brutal security crackdown sparks calls for international probe

Life was already tough for the Rohingya

Nearly 1 million Rohingya have been sheltering in dire conditions in camps since fleeing what the United Nations has described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” across the border in Myanmar.

Despite the initial hospitality of the Bangladeshis, the influx of refugees has put an enormous strain on the country’s social and political systems.

The Bangladesh government has become increasingly impatient with the situation, while locals have become more vocal in expressing their frustration and resentment.

With no international resolution to the refugee crisis in sight, Bangladeshi authorities have progressively increased restrictions on the Rohingya to curtail their movement and prevent them from trying to earn a living in Bangladesh.

With no legal options for paid employment or running a business, World Food Programme vouchers are essential. Yet international aid for the Rohingya refugees has declined sharply, resulting in a US$125 million (A$190 million) shortfall last year. This cut the value of food vouchers to just US$0.27 (A$0.41) per person per day, despite record-high food prices.

People are hungry and desperate, and the shortfall looks worse this year.

Spiralling crime and violence

At the same time, violence has spiralled in the refugee camps. Even before the latest unrest in Bangladesh, armed criminal gangs and insurgent groups had proliferated both inside and surrounding the camps, comprised of both Rohingya and Bengali members.

Drug trafficking, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and murder have been rife. When aid workers and local authorities go home for the evening, the armed gangs inside the camps effectively take control after dark. They are known as the “night government” in the camps.

Repatriation to Myanmar is all but impossible for the Rohingya trapped in Bangladesh. A civil war is raging across the border. The UN said in May that Rohingya had been targeted in reported shootings, beheadings and the torching of villages.

Meanwhile, third countries like Australia, the UK and US have accepted very few Rohingya refugees from the Bangladesh camps. There are currently no pathways for refugees to apply for asylum in another country. It is thus hardly surprising that thousands are turning to people smugglers to try to escape on boats.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has recorded more than 7,700 people boarding 77 boats in the past two years to try to escape to elsewhere in South-East Asia and beyond. Over 800 have been reported dead or missing.

Concerted action by the Bangladeshi authorities and international aid agencies has reduced the number of people trying to flee on boats to just 700 so far this year (with 104 missing or dead). However, the recent unrest in Bangladesh makes the situation in the camps increasingly precarious.

Curfews have trapped the Rohingya

The curfews have not only confined the Rohingya to their tiny huts for up to 22 hours a day, but have also prevented aid workers from entering.

Some crisis support has been provided in the camps, such as emergency health services and food distribution. But otherwise there were almost no aid workers or Bangladeshi authorities present, other than extra security forces.

Some programs are resuming as curfews ease, but the absence of aid workers has made the refugees more vulnerable. Without a doubt, the armed criminal gangs have only strengthened their “night government” power during this period.

Many refugees will likely either turn to people smugglers for a way out or join the armed groups as a way to guarantee security for their families.

Either outcome is dire for the Rohingya, Bangladesh and the region.

What can Australia and other donor countries do?

Australia has been a major donor to the Rohingya, via the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP)—Bangladesh. The government also recently reversed last year’s cuts to aid for the camps.

But Australia and other donor countries can do more. They can:

1) Urgently increase aid in real terms. The recent reversal of cuts is welcome, but significant new funding is urgently needed not only for food and basic services, but also to address crime, people smuggling and security more broadly.

2) Work with Bangladesh to stop people smuggling. It is in Australia’s national interest to stop people smuggling, not just turn back the boats. This will require additional funding to meet the needs of the Rohingya in the camps, guarantee their security and create pathways that provide hope for the future. It is cheaper than keeping asylum seekers in detention once they arrive in Australian waters.

3) Help Bangladesh target crime. Australia can provide more support and co-operation with the Bangladeshi government to target the gangs and crime in and around the camps. Again, this is a significant challenge, but Australia could offer technical and financial support, officer training and expertise, and additional personnel and funding.

4) Guarantee multi-year funding to aid and security programs. Funding to the camps has been disjointed. There have been long gaps between “phases” of aid. This has led to programs ceasing, aid workers finding new jobs and leaving, and discontinuity of support and programs for vulnerable refugees.

Anthony Ware receives funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australian Humanitarian Program-Bangladesh, via Alinea International and Plan International Australia, for work on strengthening everyday peace between the Rohingya refugees and their host community.

– ref. With Bangladesh on a knife’s edge, trapped Rohingya refugees are forced to turn to people smugglers or violent gangs – https://theconversation.com/with-bangladesh-on-a-knifes-edge-trapped-rohingya-refugees-are-forced-to-turn-to-people-smugglers-or-violent-gangs-235676

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brigid McCarthy, Lecturer in Journalism, La Trobe University

Women’s gymnastics is finally ageing.

In fact, four of the five United States athletes who took team gold in Paris were women in their 20s attending their second Olympics.

And after picking up the all-around gold, 27-year-old Simone Biles is the oldest winner in 72 years.

The last time a non-teenager took that title was in 1972. And even then, 20-year-old Soviet Ludmila Turischeva’s win was upstaged by the electric performances of her younger teammate Olga Korbut, aged 17.

Korbut would be the first in a line of “teenage pixies” who emerged after the women’s discipline took an acrobatic turn in the 1970s, favouring a smaller physiology and younger athletes.

The media, ever enamoured with prodigious children, fuelled an enduring cultural fascination with these gymnast wunderkinds.

Young athletes, big pressure

Girls’ acrobatic feats were often seen as charming play or superhuman acts, instead of the product of intense labour undertaken by children.

By the late 1990s, however, journalist Joan Ryan’s book, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, raised significant questions about the treatment and disposable careers of girls in gymnastics and figure skating.

In 1997, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) raised the minimum competitive age from 15 to 16 to protect girls’ health.

Since then, developments in competition formats and training approaches resulted in longer careers.

Despite the gradual rise in the ages of gymnasts since the turn of the century, paternalist attitudes lingered both within and outside of the sport.

One study found coaches and officials were slow to stop viewing gymnasts as children. My own study observed how broadcasters often clung to the cute, disciplined girl-child as a gymnastics behavioural ideal well into the 2000s.

Contrary to this was a “diva” stereotype, used by reporters and commentators to describe athletes who defied the ideal.

Svetlana Khorkina, a hugely successful Russian gymnast who competed into her 20s, was labelled as such for her mercurial, outspoken personality.

In the 2024 Athens games, the 25-year-old was pitted against ponytailed teen Carly Patterson for Olympic gold. Some portrayed it as a battle between youthful zest and aged arrogance.

Later, world champion Aliya Mustafina and her teammates were similarly labelled for their self-assured and headstrong attitudes. These attributes were often treated as factors in losses or mistakes.

At the 2011 American Cup, when Mustafina made a competitive decision against her coach’s advice that didn’t work out, commentators treated it like a cautionary tale.

It was as if autonomy and self-possession were out of place in a sport for little girls.

Then, in 2016, came the sport’s greatest reckoning.

A torrid history of abuse

The Larry Nassar sexual abuse case ignited waves of present and former gymnasts worldwide to speak out about the silencing, abuse and toxic training environments they’d endured.

Over the next few years, athletes recounted the cost of childhood sporting careers.

Coaches were investigated. Independent reviews were undertaken.

Australia, too, confronted its past. A former national coach was sanctioned.

An Australian Human Rights Commission review concluded a “win at all costs” culture created “unacceptable risks” to young athletes.

The national governing body, Gymnastics Australia, apologised to survivors of abuse.

Age is by no means the only factor in vulnerability to abuse, but research shows that age and international-level training are significant risk factors in forms of interpersonal violence.

There are also child labor concerns, as well as health and wellbeing risks — something figure skating has been forced to grapple with following a doping case involving a 15-year-old at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In this context, the newfound emergence of older gymnasts is reassuring. But what is more reassuring is that athletes are now being treated as adults.

A change in attitude

Before the Paris games began, USA Gymnastics technical lead Chellsie Memmel told reporters Biles would have the option to not compete on every apparatus during the team competition.

“If that’s what she needs to continue to be at her best for her team and for herself, then that’s what we’re going to do,” Memmel said of their highest scorer.

In 2021, Biles also chose to withdraw mid-competition during the Tokyo games for mental health and safety reasons.

Read more:
How to win on your own terms: Simone Biles claims her eighth Olympic gold on her Paris 2024 ‘redemption tour’

For longtime gymnastics followers, the notion of gymnasts being able to decide how and when they compete is still alien and refreshing.

So too is gymnasts eating pizza (an act former US Olympian Aly Raisman once feared might cost her career) and making sideline TikToks in Paris.

It’s a world removed from gymnastics’ recent, oppressive past.

A seismic outcome of gymnastics’ reckoning has been a culture change that appears to finally privilege autonomy. Choice may be becoming these athletes’ new normal.

Brigid McCarthy 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 ‘teenage pixies’ to a grown woman’s domain – Olympic gymnastics is finally evolving for the better – https://theconversation.com/from-teenage-pixies-to-a-grown-womans-domain-olympic-gymnastics-is-finally-evolving-for-the-better-235581

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

A majority of Australians voted “no” to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. But if we dig deeper into the data from the 2023 referendum, there is more to learn, especially about the health of Indigenous Australians living in communities with strong opposition to the Voice.

It is a picture both striking and urgent.

In research published today we show for the first time that Indigenous Australians living in regions more strongly opposed to the Voice had poorer health.

When we mapped community-level opposition to the Voice to Australians’ health, we found Indigenous Australians were more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to report poorer general and mental health. But Indigenous Australians were less likely to access health care. These inequalities were larger in areas with higher opposition to the Voice.

Our results likely reflect underlying negative attitudes towards Indigenous Australians and fewer culturally sensitive options for accessing health care in some regions. Both impact Indigenous Australians’ health in numerous ways.

What we did and what we found

We started with the national map of voting patterns to identify
regions with the highest level of opposition to the Voice (defined in this study as regions of Australia where more than 72% of community members voted “no”).

Next, we compared regions with high versus lower levels of opposition to the Voice with Australians’ health. We did this using a 2021 national survey, which included information on self-reported general health, mental health, and use of health care in the past year.

Our study showed that compared to Indigenous Australians living in areas with low opposition to the Voice, Indigenous Australians living in communities with the highest opposition to the Voice were more likely to report poor general and mental health, and were less likely to have visited any health care provider in the past year.

We did not see the same disparities for non-Indigenous Australians.

For example, in areas with the greatest support for the Voice, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians reported similar levels of poor mental health (16% for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous). Whereas in areas with the strongest opposition to the Voice, 27% of Indigenous Australians reported poor mental health compared with 15% of non-Indigenous Australians.

In areas with the greatest support for the Voice, the proportion of Indigenous Australians who had seen any health care provider was 78%, which was higher than the proportion for non-Indigenous Australians, at 71%. But in areas with strongest opposition to the Voice, the proportion visiting any provider was markedly lower for Indigenous Australians (54%) but not for non-Indigenous Australians (68%).

Altogether, this suggests that despite being in poorer health, Indigenous Australians living in areas with stronger opposition to the Voice are less likely to access health care.

Why is this happening?

There are several possible explanations for these results.

A strong possibility, which aligns with recent research, is community-level opposition to the Voice could capture underlying negative attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. So what we’re seeing may reflect the impact of such negative attitudes over time on people’s health.

This aligns with much international research showing how community-wide stigma and discriminatory environments lead to poorer health among minority and historically marginalised groups. Generally, we see this play out in higher rates of smoking and drinking, and reduced access to health care.

These attitudes could impact Indigenous Australians’ experiences of health care. For example, we know previous experiences of racism while accessing health care deters Indigenous people from engaging with mainstream health care. Alternatively, there may not be enough culturally safe health care options in regions with the highest opposition to the Voice.

Indigenous leaders in Australia have continued to share their experiences of racism before, during and after the Voice referendum. While the direct impact of racism is evident in the testimony of these individuals, relatively little attention has been paid to the impact of structural racism at the community level.

But we cannot say from our research what motivated people to vote “no” and a “no” vote cannot be taken as evidence of racism. But whatever the motivation for voting “no”, it is Indigenous Australians’ health that is uniquely impacted in these high-opposition regions.

Where from here?

Our results suggest that when it comes to future health policy and programs, we need to consider multiple, community-level solutions. In particular, we should pay particular attention to areas where there was greater opposition to the Voice, as these are the areas associated with the worse health and less use of health care.

In these areas, in particular, we need more culturally safe health care, tailored care that is inclusive and free of racism. This is so patients can access relevant and appropriate health services to improve their health.

We also need to look more broadly to change community attitudes about Indigenous Australians if we are to reduce systemic racism, stigma and its impacts on health.

Our results are just a snapshot

The Voice referendum opened our eyes to the fundamental struggle Indigenous Australians face in advancing Indigenous self-determination as the ultimate way to improve life opportunities and health.

But our findings reflect just one moment in time. So we need more research to better understand the systemic nature of the observed health disparities.

Health and social policy needs to account for these systemic issues and ultimately place greater attention on how community-level attitudes can shape the health of Indigenous Australians.

Karinna Saxby has previously received funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care.

Luke Burchill draws strength and pride from his Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, and English Australian heritage. He co-leads Darak for the Australian Stroke Alliance, which embeds Indigenous governance in Indigenous health research. In 2021, he played a leading role in Australian physicians voting in favour of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori people, receiving constitutional recognition within the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He receives funding from National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia and currently works as an adult congenital heart disease specialist at Mayo Clinic.

Yuting Zhang receives funding from the Australian Research Council (future fellowship project ID FT200100630), Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Victorian Department of Health, and National Health and Medical Research Council. In the past, Professor Zhang has received funding from several US institutes including the US National Institutes of Health, Commonwealth fund, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Zoe Aitken receives funding from the Australian Research Council (Early Career Industry Fellowship IE230100561), the National Health and Medical Research Council (2010290), the Medical Research Future Fund (2024940 and 2022600), and Suicide Prevention Australia. She has previously received funding from the Department of Social Services and the Department of Health and Aged Care.

– ref. We found opposition to the Voice is linked to poorer Indigenous health. And in some regions, the link is striking – https://theconversation.com/we-found-opposition-to-the-voice-is-linked-to-poorer-indigenous-health-and-in-some-regions-the-link-is-striking-235410

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Mason, Adjunct Senior Fellow in Renewable Energy Systems Engineering, University of Canterbury

The recent failure of a deal to deliver hydrogen-powered trucks to New Zealand, and the removal of a NZ$100 million government rebate scheme for green hydrogen users in the 2024 budget, make a transition to the much-lauded energy technology increasingly less certain.

The government had invested $6.5 million for the purchase of up to 25 heavy freight hydrogen trucks as part of a wider energy strategy due by the end of the year. But the US company Hyzon, which makes hydrogen fuel-cell trucks and had been modifying diesel trucks to use hydrogen, pulled out at short notice.

Nonetheless, interest in hydrogen for future transport and energy systems has soared globally, and New Zealand is no exception. But we argue that critical voices have been largely missing from the debate here.

In New Zealand, green hydrogen (which is produced with electricity from renewable sources) has attracted government support of $186.3 million from 2017 to 2023. This provided funding for a hydrogen refuelling network, vehicle conversions and purchases, research, and the establishment of the New Zealand Hydrogen Council (now Hydrogen New Zealand).

Proponents of green hydrogen argue it is essential for fuelling economic sectors they believe will be hard to decarbonise by direct electrification. As well as heavy road transport, this includes shipping and fertiliser production.

But opinions differ considerably on which sectors to focus on, and whether hydrogen is the best choice.

Evolution of the narrative

In the wake of the previous government’s ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration, the 2019 H2 Taranaki roadmap outlined a vision for the region as a leader in hydrogen production.

Former energy minister Megan Woods reinforced this, indicating her government would be interested in any associated economic opportunities. This largely positive narrative continued in two further government reports.

The first, A Vision for Hydrogen in New Zealand, suggested the case for hydrogen was already settled:

Hydrogen is poised to fulfil its potential as a clean alternative to hydrocarbons in the global pursuit of decarbonisation to address climate change.

Development of green hydrogen was largely implicit in the second report, the Interim Hydrogen Roadmap, which aimed to:

optimise the potential for green hydrogen to contribute to New Zealand’s emissions reductions, economic development, and energy sector to the extent compatible with our broader electrification goals.

We analysed these reports using a content analysis approach focused on identifying how often strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats are mentioned. This revealed the words “opportunities” and “challenges” were used frequently, while “weaknesses” and “threats” were absent.

The use of “strengths” was confined to perceived advantages of New Zealand as a location for hydrogen production. Where difficulties were identified, they were framed as challenges rather than weaknesses.

This optimistic tone is generally reflected in descriptions of several government-funded projects, including green hydrogen research at GNS Science, and international collaborations such as the German-NZ Green Hydrogen alliance.

Media reports have typically reflected the enthusiastic narrative. Of 83 articles on green hydrogen published in New Zealand between 2019 and 2023, only 15 (18%) contained any critical analysis.

Critical voices need to be heard

While some experts have voiced serious concerns about green hydrogen, this has not featured prominently in the debate in New Zealand.

For example, research by University of Cambridge engineering expert David Cebon shows battery electric vehicles are superior to hydrogen vehicles for heavy transport.

The emergence of fast (five minutes or less) automated and manual battery-swap systems, which provide an alternative to high-powered fast-charging systems, supports this point.

Climate and energy strategist Michael Barnard, who covers the green hydrogen debate extensively, writes:

Since 2000, application after application of hydrogen has found it to be inefficient, ineffective and expensive compared to obvious alternatives.

A German rail company which launched the world’s first hydrogen line last year has since opted for cheaper all-electric trains. Rising costs have also forced one Austrian state to abandon plans to introduce hydrogen buses.

Recent research suggests developments in battery-run and fast-charging electric trucks could soon make hydrogen fuel cells superfluous in road transport in most cases.

UK energy analyst Michael Liebreich has quantified the immense scale, significant impracticalities, enormous subsidies and costs associated with green hydrogen.

Liebreich’s “hydrogen ladder” ranks both actual and potential uses. It provides an evidence-informed guide on where to best focus attention and resources. Based on this, the previous government’s funding for the manufacture of green fertiliser (for which hydrogen is an input) was a sensible allocation.

In New Zealand, a 2019 report sponsored by industry and the government, and a letter from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, have both provided some critical analysis of the potential for green hydrogen.

Towards a new narrative

The previous government’s commitment to finalise New Zealand’s hydrogen strategy, and to deliver an overall energy strategy, remains in place. But we need a more nuanced perspective.

This must start with an acknowledgement that hydrogen is an energy carrier (which has to be produced from other sources of energy), and not an energy resource like solar radiation, wind or hydro.

We need an approach that can continue to adapt to changes in “hard to abate” sectors of the energy system. Critiques of green hydrogen need to enter the discussion if we are to make informed choices.

Government policy on this topic must be informed by independent advice free from commercial interests. A new green hydrogen narrative will enable us to focus our limited resources on applications with the best chance of delivering on New Zealand’s decarbonisation and sustainability aspirations.

This could include key New Zealand industries switching from fossil fuels to hydrogen to produce green steel, green ammonia and fertiliser and green methanol.

The authors are grateful to Paul Callister for his helpful comments and suggestions.

Ian Mason is affiliated with the NZ Offshore Wind Working Group.

Robert McLachlan 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. Hope or hype? NZ needs to be realistic about the clean energy potential of green hydrogen – https://theconversation.com/hope-or-hype-nz-needs-to-be-realistic-about-the-clean-energy-potential-of-green-hydrogen-234137

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Teagan Goolmeer, PhD Candidate, The University of Melbourne

Globally, many Indigenous people want to help protect their traditional lands and waters, drawing on knowledge stretching back millenia. Indigenous people have an obligation to look after species and habitat which are culturally important to them.

But how can Indigenous voices be supported to make land management decisions? And how do we ensure the process is Indigenous-led and culturally safe? New research by myself and colleagues can help.

We engaged Indigenous people from Bundjalung Country on Australia’s east coast. In a process they led, the Bundjalung people identified which culturally significant species they considered priorities for “collaborative management” – that is, management built on mutual respect for both Western science and Indigenous knowledge systems.

We hope this process might be used elsewhere, to give Indigenous people a genuine say in decisions about managing Country.

‘They hold the stories’

Bundjalung Country stretches from Grafton in northern New South Wales to the Logan River in Queensland and inland to Warwick.

The term Country describes the lands, water and seas to which Indigenous people are connected. Country contains complex ideas about lore, custom, language, spiritual belief, culture, material sustenance, family and identity.

For Indigenous Australians, some plants, animals and habitats hold special cultural significance. This may be, for example, because they are used in ceremonies, they feature in Creation stories or are used as a traditional food source.

The importance of this concept was was summed up during our project by Bundjalung man Oliver Costello, who said:

[Culturally significant entities] are the teachers of Country, they hold the stories and are the indicators for the health of Country. If you look after Country, it will look after you.

Our study set out to establish a process by which Indigenous people can come together to identify culturally significant species. The list of priority species would then be used to inform collaborative land and sea management with governments, conservation groups and others.

The process should be led by Indigenous people themselves, and aligned with their obligations and values.

We partnered with the Bundjalung-owned Jagun Alliance. This was crucial to ensuring the project was conducted in a culturally safe manner and developed with an Indigenous lens.

Our project adhered to cultural protocols and protected Indigenous cultural and intellectual property at all times.

What we did

First, we convened a meeting of five non-Bundjalung Indigenous experts with extensive experience in Indigenous-led work biodiversity work.

They identified six objectives for decision-making around culturally significant species. The objectives involved not just environmental values, but also social, spiritual, economic and cultural values.

We hosted several on-Country workshops with Bundjalung people and distributed an online survey, to determine which species might be prioritised for collaborative management. Of the responses we received, 32 yielded usable data.

The culturally significant plant and animal species identified as the top priority by Bundjalung respondents were:

• koalas
• goannas
• platypuses
• echidnas
• wedge-tailed eagles
• coastal emus
• pipis
• long-necked turtles.

Participants were also asked which habitats were most important for collaborative management. Some 70% identified wetlands, followed by grasslands and big scrub (a mosaic of lowland rainforest, swamp forest and wet eucalypt forest extensively cleared by colonists).

Once the results were in, Bundjalung knowledge-holders identified threats to these species, as follows:

• the lack of Bundjalung decision-making in land management actions
• lack of cultural burns
• impacts on Country such as dams, roads, housing and farming
• invasive species
• climate change.

The Bundjalung also identified management actions which should be integrated into Western management under a collaborative approach:

• community gathering on Country, such as holding ceremonies and harvesting traditional resources
• regular cultural burns
• releasing water into catchments to support cultural objectives
• active management of cultural sites and pathways.

Unlike the current threatened species approach, which largely manages only parts of the problem, the actions identified by Bundjalung people were holistic and landscape-wide. This means these actions can benefit many species and habitats.

Bundjalung people were then invited to a meeting to share findings from the work. This provided an opportunity to heal from past trauma over a shared vision for Country.

Spotlight on the koala

In Bundjalung language, the koala is known as the boorabee.

The boorabee is the only culturally significant species identified by Bundjalung people with an active “national recovery plan”. This plan guides and coordinates conservation efforts by governments and others.

The koala recovery plan calls for Indigenous-led action, which offers Bundjalung people an avenue for collaborative management. Likewise, many management actions proposed by the Bundjalung are clearly aligned with the plan.

The koala and coastal emu are listed as threatened species under various pieces of state and federal legislation. However, a species need not be imperilled to be central to Indigenous-led management.

Where to now?

Our process helped a group of Bundjalung people agree on their conservation priorities, and how to act on them.

It’s important to note, however, that the Bundjalung community consists of ten clans – it is not a homogeneous group. As such, our findings may not be supported by all Bundjalung people.

We hope our findings help policymakers understand what Indigenous-led action could look like, if integrated into biodiversity management. The structured process we undertook may benefit other groups – although applied elsewhere, it may involve different objectives, modes of engagement and results.

Indigenous Australians are ready to sit at decision-making tables to improve the management of Country. They intimately understand our precious environment – and their contribution could be transformative.

Teagan Goolmeer receives funding from the Resilient Landscapes Hub of NESP. She is affiliated with Biodiversity Council and the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.

– ref. Indigenous Australians want a seat at the table when it comes to conservation. Here’s how we might get there – https://theconversation.com/indigenous-australians-want-a-seat-at-the-table-when-it-comes-to-conservation-heres-how-we-might-get-there-235954

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Seyedali Mirjalili, Professor, Director of Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Optimisation, Torrens University Australia

In the world of artificial intelligence (AI), a battle is underway. On one side are companies that believe in keeping the datasets and algorithms behind their advanced software private and confidential. On the other are companies that believe in allowing the public to see what’s under the hood of their sophisticated AI models.

Think of this as the battle between open- and closed-source AI.

In recent weeks, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, took up the fight for open-source AI in a big way by releasing a new collection of large AI models. These include a model named Llama 3.1 405B, which Meta’s founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, says is “the first frontier-level open source AI model”.

For anyone who cares about a future in which everybody can access the benefits of AI, this is good news.

The danger of closed-source AI – and the promise of open-source AI

Closed-source AI refers to models, datasets and algorithms that are proprietary and kept confidential. Examples include ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude.

Though anyone can use these products, there is no way to find out what dataset and source codes have been used to build the AI model or tool.

While this is a great way for companies to protect their intellectual property and their profits, it risks undermining public trust and accountability. Making AI technology closed-source also slows down innovation and makes a company or other users dependent on a single platform for their AI needs. This is because the platform that owns the model controls changes, licensing and updates.

There are a range of ethical frameworks that seek to improve the fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy and human oversight of AI. However, these principles are often not fully achieved with closed-source AI due to the inherent lack of transparency and external accountability associated with proprietary systems.

In the case of ChatGPT, its parent company, OpenAI, releases neither the dataset nor code of its latest AI tools to the public. This makes it impossible for regulators to audit it. And while access to the service is free, concerns remain about how users’ data are stored and used for retraining models.

By contrast, the code and dataset behind open-source AI models is available for everyone to see.

This fosters rapid development through community collaboration and enables the involvement of smaller organisations and even individuals in AI development. It also makes a huge difference for small and medium size enterprises as the cost of training large AI models is colossal.

Perhaps most importantly, open source AI allows for scrutiny and identification of potential biases and vulnerability.

However, open-source AI does create new risks and ethical concerns.

For example, quality control in open source products is usually low. As hackers can also access the code and data, the models are also more prone to cyberattacks and can be tailored and customised for malicious purposes, such as retraining the model with data from the dark web.

An open-source AI pioneer

Among all leading AI companies, Meta has emerged as a pioneer of open-source AI. With its new suite of AI models, it is doing what OpenAI promised to do when it launched in December 2015 – namely, advancing digital intelligence “in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole”, as OpenAI said back then.

Llama 3.1 405B is the largest open-source AI model in history. It is what’s known as a large language model, capable of generating human language text in multiple languages. It can be downloaded online but because of its huge size, users will need powerful hardware to run it.

While it does not outperform other models across all metrics, Llama 3.1 405B is considered highly competitive and does perform better than existing closed-source and commercial large language models in certain tasks, such as reasoning and coding tasks.

But the new model is not fully open, because Meta hasn’t released the huge data set used to train it. This is a significant “open” element that is currently missing.

Nonetheless, Meta’s Llama levels the playing field for researchers, small organisations and startups because it can be leveraged without the immense resources required to train large language models from scratch.

Shaping the future of AI

To ensure AI is democratised, we need three key pilars:

• governance: regulatory and ethical frameworks to ensure AI technology is being developed and used responsibly and ethically
• accessibility: affordable computing resources and user-friendly tools to ensure a fair landscape for developers and users
• openness: datasets and algorithms to train and build AI tools should be open source to ensure transparency.

Achieving these three pillars is a shared responsibility for government, industry, academia and the public. The public can play a vital role by advocating for ethical policies in AI, staying informed about AI developments, using AI responsibly and supporting open-source AI initiatives.

But several questions remain about open-source AI. How can we balance protecting intellectual property and fostering innovation through open-source AI? How can we minimise ethical concerns around open-source AI? How can we safeguard open-source AI against potential misuse?

Properly addressing these questions will help us create a future where AI is an inclusive tool for all. Will we rise to the challenge and ensure AI serves the greater good? Or will we let it become another nasty tool for exclusion and control? The future is in our hands.

Seyedali Mirjalili 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. Meta just launched the largest ‘open’ AI model in history. Here’s why it matters – https://theconversation.com/meta-just-launched-the-largest-open-ai-model-in-history-heres-why-it-matters-235689

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynette Cheah, Professor and Chair of Sustainable Transport, University of the Sunshine Coast

With the rise in e-commerce, 161 billion parcels were delivered worldwide in 2022, doubling in just four years. In Australia, more households are shopping online than ever before. In 2023, 5.6 million households made a monthly online purchase. This implies millions of parcels are being shipped each month.

High-emitting diesel vans or trucks undertake almost all last-mile or doorstop parcel deliveries. In cities, these vehicles add to traffic congestion, parking pressures, carbon emissions and air pollution. So how can we reduce the environmental impact of all these deliveries?

Using low-emission vehicles, such as electric delivery vans powered by renewable energy sources, can certainly help. However, electric delivery vans and trucks are still uncommon. Their global sales share in 2023 was just under 5%. Increasing the numbers of vehicle chargers powered by renewable energy will also take time.

To complement the transition to cleaner vehicles, shorter-term solutions can include optimising the organisation of deliveries, as well as more novel ideas. One of these ideas is crowdshipping.

The concept applies crowdsourcing to delivery services. Members of the public elect to deliver parcels in the course of their journeys. In this way, crowdshipping integrates passenger and freight transport to streamline movement in cities.

How does crowdshipping work?

Crowdshipping taps into “the crowd” to fulfil parcel deliveries. Instead of having dedicated couriers, we can match people with parcels bound for destinations close to where they are already headed, with minimal detours.

The concept leverages existing transport capacity. “Crowdshippers” are already travelling privately in their own vehicles or by public transport, or even cycling or walking. Through a service-matching platform, such as Roadie or DoorDash, crowdshippers can be paid for taking a parcel along their way.

In cities with good public transport and high levels of use, passengers can hand-carry small parcels across the network. Automated parcel lockers installed at stations can serve as mini distribution centres, where passengers pick up and drop off parcels.

What are the benefits?

We modelled crowdshipping in Singapore. The city has an excellent public transport system used by nearly 60% of commuters.

Algorithms were developed to match a selection of parcels to available passengers, considering their origins and destinations. The simulation used real-world datasets on daily parcel deliveries from the Singapore road network and public transport journeys.

The simulation showed crowdshipping can have multiple benefits. By outsourcing only 11% of parcel deliveries to crowdshippers riding public buses, an e-commerce carrier will require fewer delivery vehicles. Delivery vehicle distances fall by 20%, with matching cuts in emissions.

And even after paying crowdshippers, the carrier will enjoy cost savings.

What practical obstacles must be overcome?

There are several practical considerations.

For a start, would passengers be willing to deliver parcels? A survey of potential crowdshippers had a positive response.

Motivated by being able to earn some income while travelling, most passengers polled said they were willing to serve as crowdshippers. They were especially keen if paid one to two times their transport fare.

Next, might transporting parcels on public transport cause extra congestion or delay during peak-hour commutes? We should avoid adding more loads on crowded buses or trains.

We explored limiting crowdshipping to off-peak hours and found good availability of potential crowdshippers to deliver parcels. Many public transport systems tend to have excess capacity at these times, so making use of this to move parcels is feasible.

Finally, there’s a need to assure parcel shippers, carriers and receivers that the service is reliable. The service platform should be designed to develop and maintain accountability and trust among users. The system would have to be able to verify identity and track parcel status.

Crowdshipping using public transport would be ideal for cities with good public transport networks and high passenger numbers. Similar to outsourcing to a logistics provider, carriers can explore using people movements to complement their regular deliveries.

Cities need new solutions to make urban mobility sustainable. Integrating passenger and freight transport could make city logistics operations more efficient. By carrying out data-driven transport modelling and simulation, we can explore ideas such as crowdshipping, develop trials to test them and bring them closer to realisation.

This article draws on research conducted with Dr Meijing Zhang from Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Lynette Cheah receives funding from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. She previously received funding from the Singapore National Research Foundation, Ministry of National Development, Land Transport Authority, Public Transport Council, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), and Daimler Mobility.

– ref. Ride a bus, take a package with you – how crowdshipping reduces the impacts of millions of deliveries – https://theconversation.com/ride-a-bus-take-a-package-with-you-how-crowdshipping-reduces-the-impacts-of-millions-of-deliveries-234556

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jua Cilliers, Head of School of Built Environment, Professor of Urban Planning, University of Technology Sydney

It’s been a rainy winter in many parts of Australia, wreaking havoc on kids’ sporting competitions. As mums, it has been frustrating to see so many of our kids’ sport matches (and training sessions) cancelled because of waterlogged grounds.

When footy, rugby, league tag, soccer or netball get cancelled because of ground closures, our kids miss out on valuable exercise and growth opportunities. It means less time to develop sport skills, practise teamwork, boost resilience and mental health, engage with positive role models and play with friends. It often means more time on the couch, and parents lamenting the money they spent on registration fees and sports uniforms.

With climate change predicted to bring more intense rainfall events, this situation isn’t going away. The good news is a growing body of research offers insights into how we can address this problem through smarter urban design and green infrastructure.

What’s green infrastructure?

The term “green infrastructure” can mean many things but in this context it refers to nature-based infrastructure we can build to better filter and absorb rainwater.

The fundamental principle is that concrete doesn’t absorb water. Rain that falls on it just gets channelled to stormwater drains (which can quickly overflow), or to the nearest bit of green space. Often, that’s the local sporting field.

The solution? Create more soil-based or nature-based spaces that allow for rainwater to be absorbed into the earth well before it gets to the local sports grounds.

This can include:

• green roofs and rooftop farms, which use roof space to grow plants and food

• green walls, where the walls of buildings are repurposed as places to support plants

• urban forest projects

• urban parks

• planting and preserving more street trees, which help absorb rainwater through their roots

• using less concrete in our urban spaces

• rain gardens, which are specially designed gardens that can rapidly absorb rainfall during wet weather

• special vegetated channels called swales, which absorb rainwater.

Green infrastructure doesn’t just reduce flooding. It can also make our urban spaces more sustainable, cut urban heat, lower noise pollution and even reduce people’s stress.

Some cities and suburbs have made great strides in installing and tending to green infrastructure.

But why aren’t these principles of urban design more widely implemented?

Yes, it costs money – but it’s worth it

Too often, governments do not advocate for investment in green infrastructure. According to the World Economic Forum, less than 0.3% of current urban infrastructure spending goes to nature-based solutions.

Yes, green infrastructure requires investment but our current concrete-based approach to cities is also enormously expensive. One study found:

Nature-based infrastructure costs around 50% less than equivalent built infrastructure while delivering the same — or better — outcomes. As well as the lower initial costs, nature-based infrastructure tends to be cheaper to maintain and more resilient to climate change.

Research has also found green infrastructure can deliver broader health benefits to the community that may represent savings to the public health bill.

New South Wales already has a planning framework, released last year, that aims to:

provide a standardised, robust and comprehensive approach to identify, quantify and monetise common costs and benefits associated with green infrastructure and public spaces.

That’s a strong start. But more could be done to embed green infrastructure principles into development application processes. This could encourage the development of green infrastructure that can absorb rain. That, in turn, could mean fewer closures of waterlogged sports grounds.

It is also possible to improve drainage on existing sports grounds. Managers of the Maryland SoccerPlex in the United States, for example, used a green infrastructure technique known as “sand slit drainage” – which involves installing special pipes and adding sand to the field – to vastly upgrade drainage. This allows people to play sports throughout the rain season.

Can’t we just make sports grounds out of artificial grass?

Sure, fake grass sports grounds would allow fields to accommodate some games when real grass fields wash out – but it would be a huge loss for biodiversity, quality of life, our health and the broader sustainability of our neighbourhoods.

Residents in some parts of NSW have already voiced concerns artificial grass can radiate heat on very warm days. It also produces plastic pollution.

Instead, we need to rethink the design of sport fields. We should view them as valuable green spaces. They are part of the green infrastructure network and help regulate urban temperatures and enhance ecological systems in and around our cities.

They should be seen as sponges to absorb rainwater – but they cannot be the only ones. Without more green infrastructure in our cities, our sports ground sponges will quickly become overloaded and waterlogged.

Jua Cilliers is the president of the Commonwealth Association of Planners. She is the Director of the UTS Green Infrastructure Lab.

Mehrafarin Takin is currently a PhD candidate at University of Technology Sydney. She has a research scholarship from Australian government.

– ref. Kids’ sport always cancelled due to rain-soaked grounds? Green infrastructure can help – https://theconversation.com/kids-sport-always-cancelled-due-to-rain-soaked-grounds-green-infrastructure-can-help-235109

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

We have just received the long-awaited response from the Australian government to the disability royal commission’s final report.

One of the most controversial aspects of the final report was a split between the commissioners on the issue of school segregation – or students with disability being sent to special schools.

The three commissioners with close experience of disability recommended the phasing out of special schools. They said segregation is “inherently linked with the devaluation of people with disability”. The three commissioners without such experience said we should retain a dual-track system, with more interaction between special and mainstream schools.

In its national response, released on Wednesday, the federal government sidestepped this debate, noting schools are the responsibility of states and territories. That said, it then opened the door to keeping the current system by acknowledging “differing views”, as well as the “ongoing role” for special schools and the importance of families having a choice.

What does this mean for inclusive education (having all children in the same classrooms with support and adjustments) in Australia?

Read more:
‘Lacklustre’ and ‘disappointing’ – experts react to the government’s disability royal commission response

‘On an equal basis’

While running schools is indeed a state responsibility, this does not mean the federal government has nothing to do with students with disability.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says signatories need to ensure an “inclusive education system at all levels”.

It also says

children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary education, on the basis of disability.

This should be “on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live”.

Importantly, a child’s right to an inclusive education is not subordinate to a parent’s right to choose the type of school they attend.

In ratifying the convention in 2008, the Australian government agreed to uphold these rights. And yet, in 2024, it has not even provided an aspirational statement about special schools – it passed the issue to the states.

What do the states and territories say?

The states and territories have also responded individually to the royal commission. Here we have a range of responses, with most jurisdictions pointing back to the national response (which notes the different community views).

In Western Australia, the government said it would give the issue of phasing out segregated schools “further consideration”. It talks positively of change and says it will set up “timelines” and supports “fully inclusive” education.

The response from Queensland also keeps options open, saying it wants to strengthen inclusive education in all Queensland state schools and “provide a real choice for parents”.

At the other end of the spectrum is Victoria, which has the highest number of students in special schools of all the states and territories (unlike New South Wales, it does not have segregated support classes in mainstream schools). Victoria categorically said it does “not accept” the call to end special schools and “values” their role in its education system.

NSW also said special schools play a “crucial role” in meeting the diverse needs of students, in a sign it does not support a change.

What happens now?

Researchers have long noted the importance of leadership when it comes to inclusive education. This typically places focus on school principals, but they are limited by the political and policy context in which they work. So we also need political leadership, at both the federal and state levels.

During the royal commission hearings we heard a lot about the failure of the status quo – the current situation is not working for people with disability. And genuine inclusive education is crucial because it is the gateway to employment, independence and inclusion later in adult life.

But as this response to the issue of special schools shows, we are in danger of being stuck with the status quo.

It is very difficult to make the mainstream school system inclusive when human and financial capital is flowing to another system. And as long as there is another system to take “those kids”, there isn’t a real incentive for local schools to get inclusion right. And there isn’t a genuine choice for families.

Linda J. Graham receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Queensland government’s Education Horizon scheme.

– ref. The federal government has only ‘noted’ a call to end special schools. What does this mean for students with disability? – https://theconversation.com/the-federal-government-has-only-noted-a-call-to-end-special-schools-what-does-this-mean-for-students-with-disability-235958

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dodd, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne

Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to continue controlling his company from beyond the grave would be better labelled Project Hegemony, than Harmony, because it’s designed to cement one sibling’s dominance over the others and shield the business from possible progressive reform.

But, in attempting to revoke the “irrevocable” family trust that sets out the company’s governance after his death, Murdoch has laid bare his own business. He has exposed what many observers have long suspected about the company, and revealed just how much is now at stake. Most of the revelations are not pretty, but some hint at a very different future for the global media empire.

We can now be certain that Rupert believes the company’s future is dependent on remaining trenchantly right-wing. This is most apparent in the US, where Fox News dominates cable TV ratings because it is the voice of MAGA Republicans. Murdoch now sees no other way to maintain that edge than by aligning with the reactionary wing of the party.

He wavered for a while when his New York Post championed Ron De Santis as an alternative Republican nominee to Donald Trump. But when the Florida governor failed in the early primaries, News Corp quickly circled back, fully committed to the Trump cause. Now Murdoch knows wavering could erode the loyalty of Fox viewers, perhaps sending a significant number to rival conservative media channels like NewsMax.

So much for Murdoch driving the right or steering the agenda. The 93-year-old has come to realise that if he was ever in charge, he isn’t anymore.

He may have lit the spark of reactionary politics and fanned the flames of anger in his audiences, but now it’s a movement and it’s raging like a Californian wildfire. In a sense, Murdoch has become captive to the masses who demand that their prejudices remain unchallenged. He has learnt that to lead he must follow.

Lachlan, and only Lachlan

All of this means there’s only one person in Rupert’s mind who can ensure the company’s ongoing success, and that’s his eldest son, Lachlan. In turn, this confirms at least one of two things; either Lachlan really is the most right-wing of Rupert’s four oldest children, or he is the most in sync with the company’s business model of serving up whatever content the audience demands to keep watching.

It appears Rupert thinks Lachlan is both.

Yes, many have long suspected Lachlan’s leanings, given his guidance of Fox in the lead-up to the January 6 insurrection. Lachlan was in charge when the network condoned the conspiracy-mongering and the big lie in the wake of Trump’s election loss in 2020.

He did little to curb the transphobia across the organisation or its obsession with “wokeism” as the latest frontier in the culture wars. He watched on as News smeared climate scientists and ridiculed Australian firefighters who linked the 2019/20 bushfires to climate change. The company’s coverage and support of Trump finally led James Murdoch to walk away from News in 2019.

Even though this much is known, it’s still shocking to realise that Murdoch has seen it too and that, after weighing up his children’s political views, has gone and driven a wedge between them because three of them aren’t right-wing enough.

Murdoch plans to rewrite the trust to “consolidate decision-making power in Lachlan’s hands and give him permanent, exclusive control”, even when he is in a minority of one against siblings Elizabeth and James and half-sister Prudence, who share power under the existing deed.

The Nevada probate commissioner has ruled that Murdoch can amend the trust if he can demonstrate he’s acting in good faith for the sole benefit of his heirs. When the matter goes to court next month, Murdoch will argue everyone will benefit because changing the trust will prevent endless power struggles resulting from the “lack of consensus” between the four children. If unchecked, Murdoch believes, the fighting “would impact the strategic direction at both companies including a potential reorientation of editorial policy and content”.

One suspects it’s not the endless fighting that worries Murdoch, so much as the fact that, without amendment, Lachlan may be quickly outvoted and ousted from company control.

The arrangement Murdoch wants is no less democratic than the provisions that have given the Murdochs control of the company with only 39% of the stock. But again, it’s shocking to see Murdoch wants to enshrine something so brazen within what is still essentially a family business.

On the other hand, similar rules already exist to shut out third wife Wendi Deng’s two children, Chloe and Grace. They hold equal shares in the company’s equity but don’t get a vote.

A more interesting question is what this tells us about Murdoch’s deepest fears. Has the emeritus chairman been spending sleepless nights fretting about Prudence, James and Elizabeth ganging up to relegate Lachlan to a non-executive role? Is he really worried that James will sack some of the many climate deniers who lurk around his publications? If so, he won’t need to sack the leading one in Australia, as Andrew Bolt has already promised to go of his own accord if James ends up in charge.

What is it that’s really driving Rupert?

If he’s thinking along these lines, then perhaps the three siblings are too. Perhaps they have gamed what they would do when – not if – they join forces? Maybe they’ve begun to imagine a different News Corp, based on a fresh business model, where balanced journalism is reinstated and respected and actually practised?

Now that’s an endlessly fascinating question, especially in this age of media disruption. Can a pluralist news outfit that practises good journalism create profits on the same scale as an outlet like Fox, which thrives commercially by serving one section of the market and dispensing with journalistic standards?

It’s not media economics that prevents reform. A channel like Sky News in Australia could easily alter its line-up so that after dark a wider range of views are canvassed and challenged. That would not imperil its bottom line, but it would make for better programming. Sky wouldn’t even have to stop being right-of-centre, it would just have to remember to be respectful to the other half of the population that has completely different views.

Another view is that Rupert just doesn’t want the empire he spent a lifetime building being broken up. Perhaps he thinks one-person rule will ensure it remains cohesive.

But what we know about Rupert suggests he is pragmatic on such questions and is prepared to merge and divest whenever it’s strategic or opportune. The fact that his business is now housed in two companies, Fox and News Corp, is testament to that.

If it’s not about the bottom line or the cohesion of the empire, then what is driving Rupert to act like this in his twilight years? This is a variation of the question Murdoch-watchers endlessly ask: why does Rupert do what he does, is it the money or the power? Some speculate it’s both, because making money creates ways to exert influence, which in turn lead to more ways to make money, and so on.

Keeping a winning formula, even beyond the grave

But impending mortality changes that equation. Even Murdoch knows his money won’t be much use to him after his death. Instead, this is about ensuring the legacy that now most matters to him.

He has spent seven decades building a reactionary force across three continents and he likes the effects it continues to create. Yes, it isn’t what it once was and sometimes the issues get away from him, but at least the debates are happening, and the so-called elites and the establishment continue to be rattled.

He watches his acolytes in action, such as Fox presenters Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld and columnists Miranda Devine and Bolt, and he likes what he sees. He likes that they sow division. He likes that they mock people who are progressive and bolster those who are cruel. He doesn’t agree with all their conspiracy theories, but he kind of likes that they’re out there creating hegemony, undermining harmony.

He likes it all and he doesn’t want it to end. Not now. Not even when he’s dead.

Andrew Dodd 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. Rupert Murdoch’s succession plan reveals a lot about his empire – and most of it is not pretty – https://theconversation.com/rupert-murdochs-succession-plan-reveals-a-lot-about-his-empire-and-most-of-it-is-not-pretty-235583

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed to inflict “harsh punishment” on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of the top Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.

Haniyeh’s killing is a critical escalation in the already volatile and increasingly hostile region. But the severity of Iran’s response to Israel will depend on a number of factors. An all-out war is not a sure thing.

A strong, but calculated response

Ever since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, Iran and Israel have demonstrated significant restraint towards one another, drawing nuanced red lines in their proxy conflict.

Neither side has wanted to escalate the tensions into a full-scale war that could engulf the entire region. Instead, they have sought to flex their muscles to avoid appearing weak, while stopping short of provoking a major conflict.

This was evident in April when an apparent Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria killed senior Iranian military commanders. Iran retaliated with a direct drone and missile strike against Israel. The attack was seemingly intentionally designed to not cause major casualities or harm to Israel. It was also telegraphed in advance, allowing Israel and its allies to shoot down the weapons.

Iran has mostly relied on its regional allies to keep the pressure on Israel as the Gaza war has continued. These allies include Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and its proxy militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Israel, by contrast, has followed a dual strategy: responding forcefully to Iran’s allies and confronting Iran directly on its soil in targeted strikes.

The assassination of Haniyeh will necessitate retaliation from Iran and its proxies. Khamenei tweeted that avenging his death is Iran’s “duty”.

However, it’s unlikely this act has reached the point of justifying an open war. Iranian foreign policy has adopted a high level of pragmatism, carefully calculating the military’s actions and avoiding anything that might launch a costly war with economic, political and security implications.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be a strong response. Iran’s allies, in particular Hezbollah, possess the capability of inflicting serious damage on Israel, far exceeding what they have demonstrated so far. Their attacks could intensify significantly.

A balancing act for Iran’s new government

Iran has also recently elected a new moderate government under the presidency of Masoud Pezeshkian. He has said he wants to prioritise reforming Iran’s foreign policy to create a more amicable environment in the region. This could also pave the way for better relations with Western powers, including the United States.

His administration has signalled its intention to revive the nuclear deal that then-US President Donald Trump scrapped in 2018. Iran wants relief from the international sanctions that have significantly harmed its economy and the lives of the Iranian people.

However, the assassination of Haniyeh has created a precarious situation for Iran’s government. It must balance the need for a robust response with the desire to pursue diplomatic and economic reforms. There are two important aspects to this.

First, the attack occurred in Tehran, which compels the government to issue a strong response. Pezeshkian’s tweet after the incident demonstrates this:

Iran will defend its territorial integrity and honour and make the terrorist invaders regret their cowardly action.

Any retaliation would likely increase tensions with Western countries and could hinder Pezeshkian’s diplomatic aims.

Second, Iran’s hardliners will seize this opportunity to criticise the new government, questioning its policy of reconciliation with the West. They will argue that such policies are ineffective and advocate for a more confrontational stance, thereby undermining the government’s reformist agenda.

A tactical win for Israel with potential downsides

Even though Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government may view it as a tactical win. It continues to showcase Israel’s ability to target high-profile adversaries.

Israel has either confirmed it has (or is believed to have) eliminated other Hamas leaders, such as deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chief of military operations Marwan Issa and potentially the commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif (though his death has not been confirmed).

This week, Israel also claimed responsibility for killing a senior Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in a strike in Lebanon.

However, given the significance of Haniyeh to Hamas and the fact the killing occurred in Tehran, it comes with significant risks and potential downsides.

The assassination will almost certainly hinder the ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. This will complicate efforts to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. The Israeli public is already deeply divided, with the government facing criticism for its security failures in the October 7 attack and its inability to bring the hostages home.

Cracks have also begun to emerge between Israeli military leaders and the government over the war in Gaza.

In this context, the assassination of Haniyeh is unlikely to unite Israelis. Instead, it may exacerbate existing divisions, particularly if it leads to more conflict.

Where does Hamas go from here?

Haniyeh had a significant role in Hamas’s leadership. He facilitated strategic relationships with influential regional players, including Iran, Turkey and Qatar. He also played a crucial role in mediating between different factions within Hamas, and between Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups.

This is especially important due to the recent agreement struck in China between 14 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and its main rival, Fatah. This deal aims to unite them to create a strong political entity to pursue a potential peace process with Israel.

His absence will undoubtedly affect Hamas. However, it is not the first time Hamas has lost prominent leaders; Israel assassinated Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin in 2004, among others.

Despite these losses, Hamas has maintained strong leadership and regional backing, particularly from Iran, Turkey and Qatar.

It is still too early to determine who will replace Haniyeh, but his successor will need to possess a similar level of regional connections and public support.

A likely candidate could be someone like Khaled Mashal, who has previously held leadership roles within Hamas and has substantial regional influence.

Ali Mamouri 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. Iran has vowed ‘harsh punishment’ for Ismail Haniyeh’s killing, but how likely is all-out war with Israel? – https://theconversation.com/iran-has-vowed-harsh-punishment-for-ismail-haniyehs-killing-but-how-likely-is-all-out-war-with-israel-235896

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gemma Blackwood, Lecturer, Media, University of Tasmania

Even if you weren’t lucky enough to spot the aurora light shows visible across southern Australia this week (and which may potentially reappear in coming days), you probably did encounter the onslaught of online news articles and photos that followed.

Just 35 years ago, however, this wouldn’t have been the case. Even digital cameras weren’t easily available until the mid-1990s, which means any dazzling aurora sightings would have been a privileged view for a select few.

Read more:
Our obsession with taking photos is changing how we remember the past

According to Photutorial founder Matic Broz, about 1.94 trillion photographs will be taken globally over 2024 – with more than 90% of these taken by smartphones.

Taking photos is also increasingly becoming a part of our experience of the natural world. What was once just stargazing has branched off into the massive field of astrophotography. Our cameras enable a new way of experiencing nature that’s far-removed from how earlier generations would do so.

New technology brings new opportunities

In the case of auroras and other forms of astrophotography, night-friendly photo settings have allowed us to see the world after dark.

Improvements in “night mode” technologies have been in development since smartphones were invented. That said, Google could be considered the first company to have released technology that enables simple astrophotography, with its introduction of “night sight” for Pixel phones in 2018.

Then, in 2019, Apple released a similar “night mode” setting for the iPhone 11 – and for many smartphone users, the need to manually apply exposure settings on a camera suddenly disappeared.

In one of Apple’s night mode ads released in 2020, we see a montage of “before and after” images highlighting the difference in quality when the mode is applied. The montage is set against the Smashing Pumpkins song We Only Come Out At Night, as an aurora photo appears in the set.

Today, there are numerous official and unofficial guides (and even entire books) to help people harness their smartphone camera’s capabilities.

In her book The Aurora Chaser’s Handbook: In Search of Tasmania’s Southern Lights, author Margaret Sonnemann provides a how-to for “photographing the aurora on a mobile phone”. She suggests using apps to enhance the visual settings and switching to “night” or “astro” mode.

Is nature enhanced through the artificial lens?

There are several reasons why you might want to capture the beauty of nature through your smartphone.

For one thing, doing so helps “democratise” our collective experience of the natural world. Sharing photos of nature gives many more people the ability to come across incredible natural sights. This is especially valuable for those who may be financially or physically unable to travel to the distant lands where these sights are found.

Then there’s the fact that photos and video allow us to watch and rewatch natural phenomena. Apart from being a cool thing to do, this provides opportunities for education and analysis of the natural world. Indeed, sharing photos to increase public interest in nature could even be considered a form of environmental communication.

Technology also helps “enhance” our view of the natural world. Aurora photos, for instance, use prolonged exposure times to greatly enhance colours and lights in a way that can’t be seen by the naked eye. This provides an additional incentive to whip out your phone if you do come across one.

Similarly, prolonged exposure times allow us to take “flowing” photographs of waterfalls and surf waves. And time-lapse settings let us create stop-motion videos of slow-moving nature, such as cloud movements or flower buds opening.

Is nature tainted through the artificial lens?

As aurora photography and similar forms become increasingly common, we should also ask the following question: how is this new way of interacting with nature impacting our relationship with it?

Digitally enhanced images literally change what we would otherwise see with the naked eye. Might this distort our ideas of nature?

Many widely shared photos of auroras may not even be real. Post-editing techniques are often used to further enhance aurora shots, or to add an aurora to a shot that never even had one. Some striking images that circulated earlier this year were deliberately faked.

The increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence will only make it harder to distinguish between the truly phenomenal and the phony. As such, the large set of photographs that appear on social media carry with them a whole new set of representational concerns.

Visual culture professor Nicolas Mirzeoff suggests we are compelled to take photos as a “key part of our effort to understand the changing world around us and our place within it”. But photos risk becoming visual commodities when they are extraneously edited (or faked) and plastered online in the millions.

And then there is the concern that a cultural obsession with photographing nature might divert our focus from what’s truly in front of us, taking us out of the magical moment. So, as these new photo technologies enable new ways of connecting with nature, so too do we need to consider how they might be distracting or removing us from it.

Gemma Blackwood 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. Smartphones allow us to capture nature like never before – but are they also distorting our view? – https://theconversation.com/smartphones-allow-us-to-capture-nature-like-never-before-but-are-they-also-distorting-our-view-230550

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shane Keating, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney

There has been plenty of rain, sweat and tears shed at the Paris Olympics this week. But the pool at the heart of La Defénce Arena has suffered a drought of world records that has athletes and officials scratching their heads.

After five days, Paris 2024 has seen only a single world record fall in a swimming event. That compares with six new swimming world records set at Tokyo in 2021 and eight at Rio in 2018. Even the much-hyped women’s 400 metre freestyle – billed as the “race of the century” – failed to topple any personal bests from the three most recent world-record holders, Ariarne Titmus (Australia), Summer McIntosh (Canada) and Katie Ledecky (United States).

To earn a spot on the winners’ podium, of course, place – not pace – is what matters. But the near-absence of the letters WR alongside any of the finishing times on the Olympic scoreboard has coaches, competitors and commentators searching for a culprit.

Several athletes, including Titmus, have pointed to problems with the accommodation, food and transport at the games. And some are pointing to the Olympic pool itself with cries of “J’accuse…!”

The slow pool theory

It is undeniable that the pool at La Défence Arena is shallower than at recent Olympics. It’s 2.15m deep – deeper than the required minimum of 2m but quite a bit shallower than the standard 3m used at the Tokyo and Rio games.

Why would this make a difference? Well, when swimmers dive into the pool and power through the water, they naturally create waves that radiate outwards. Some of these waves will propagate along the surface of the pool and be damped by gutters at the edge. Others will travel downward, bounce off the bottom of the pool, and return to the surface to create turbulence.

Turbulence can slow a swimmer down in two ways. First, it creates a choppy pool surface that can disrupt a swimmer’s rhythm and reduce their speed.

Second, turbulence increases the effect of water drag by dissipating the swimmer’s momentum – the water motion literally “sucks” the speed from the swimmer.

The slow pool theory says the shallower pool means more waves bounce back to the surface, creating more turbulence and slowing swimmers down. But does it hold water?

Not according to Roberto Colletto, chief executive of the Italian company that constructed the pool in Paris. “On the technical side, there is no problem with the pool,” he told French broadcaster RMC Sport.

And scientifically speaking, the theory has some holes. One problem is that the waves bouncing off the pool bottom are quite different from the ones that travel across the surface. Subsurface waves are essentially sound waves generated by differences in water pressure.

Sound waves travel at about 1,500m per second in water. In a 2.15m-deep pool, a sound wave takes a little under 3 milliseconds to bounce off the bottom and return to the surface, compared with 4 milliseconds in a 3m pool. This millisecond difference in travel time likely has a negligible effect on the generation of turbulence at the pool surface.

On the surface

Water depth does have an effect on the waves at the pool surface, however. Surface waves travel more slowly in shallow water – which is why you see ocean waves piling up and breaking as they approach the beach.

So the waves the swimmers are creating at the surface of the competition pool in Paris will be travelling marginally more slowly than the waves in a 3m-deep pool.

Elite swimmers can take advantage of the surface waves they generate in the pool. By adjusting their swimming speed, they can create a wave that has a wavelength close to their own body length. This means the swimmer can position themselves between two crests to effectively “surf” the wave.

This critical speed, known as “hull velocity”, is well known in sailing. For elite middle- and long-distance swimmers, swimming at their own personal hull velocity can save energy – and win races.

Because the competition pool at the Paris Olympics is shallower than a standard 3m pool, the hull velocity of each swimmer will be slightly slower. So it is possible that some of the swimmers – especially in middle-distance races such as the 400m freestyle – may unconsciously be adjusting their pace to match the slower hull velocity. But, since the effect is the same for all competitors, no one will have an unfair advantage.

That’s only one possible explanation for the dreaded “slow pool”. It’s also possible that the perception of a slow pool has a larger effect than the reality.

As some have pointed out, the Australian Olympic Trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre resulted in a new world record in the women’s 200m freestyle – despite the pool being only 2m deep.

Faster, higher, stronger

It’s also possible swimmers are approaching the limits of human performance – at least until we work out how to break those limits once again.

New technology, improved nutrition and training, and greater access to clubs and coaches have boosted elite performance. But each toppled record reduces the likelihood of another, even better performance.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the rate of record-breaking performances will decrease over time.

In marathon running, for example, the men’s world record fell by 12 minutes over the 1950s and ‘60s. But further progress has been slow: it has only dropped another 8 minutes in the past 60 years, and now stubbornly hovers just above the two-hour mark. A statistical study published in 2019 predicted there is only a 1 in 4 chance anyone would beat the two-hour threshold in a competitive event by 2027.

Compared to track events, swimming seems to still have plenty of capacity to shatter records.

At Tokyo in 2021, the winning times in three-quarters of the swimming events were faster than at the Beijing Games in 2008. This was despite the use of swimming suits in the Beijing games that were later banned by the sport’s governing body. Over the past decade, swimming world records have been broken 43% more often than in Olympic track races.

The desire to push our limits, to break the unbreakable barrier, is at the heart of the Olympic motto: “Faster, higher, stronger.”

It just might take a little longer to get there.

Shane Keating receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the NSW Defence Innovation Network. He has also receives funding from industry and government partners including the Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and Naval Group Pacific.

– ref. Is the shallow pool in Paris really slowing Olympic swimmers down? Here’s what the science says – https://theconversation.com/is-the-shallow-pool-in-paris-really-slowing-olympic-swimmers-down-heres-what-the-science-says-235884

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Mesagno, Senior Lecturer – Sport and Exercise Psychology, Research Fellow – Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University

Australia’s soccer team entered Paris with high hopes of notching their first Olympic medal but those aspirations came crashing down with defeat to the United States.

Even without star striker Sam Kerr, the Matildas – who enjoyed a famous run to finish fourth at the 2023 FIFA World Cup – were considered medal fancies but couldn’t progress past the group stage.

It was a devastating loss – but how do these athletes (and others who don’t achieve their goals in Paris) rebound from the disappointment?

The pressure of performing

Every four years, billions of viewers around the world unite in awe of the skill and perseverance of Olympians and Paralympians.

The athletes fortunate enough to compete in Paris 2024 will have done their best to put years of dedicated preparation into their performances.

Many will have performed well and some achieved their goal of claiming a medal. Others, though, will finish the games with the feeling they did not fully realise their potential when it counted most.

This leaves many athletes finishing the games with crushing disappointment.

Famously, legendary swimmer (and now retired) Cate Campbell experienced this after her results at the Rio Olympics, which led to awful abuse and harassment from a portion of the Australian public.

Research has shown that many athletes report lower wellbeing after returning from the Olympics, including a sense of loneliness, disappointment, and lack of direction.

One of the reasons Olympic disappointment is so difficult is the deep ways in which an athlete’s identity gets wrapped up in their performance.

That is, after years of being seen as “an athlete”, many begin to feel who they are as a person is dependent on how they perform.

Athlete mental health and the role of self-criticism

The mental health challenges faced by many athletes are now well recognised. Research here in Australia has found elite athletes show rates of mental ill-health at similar, if not greater, numbers than the general public. Major performance disappointments are well known contributors to this.

Perhaps adding salt to the wound, one of the ways that elite athletes deal with disappointment is through self-criticism. This can include hostile ways of relating to oneself, which can lead to feelings of worthlessness and inferiority.

Being self-critical is seen in many pursuits as the only way to get ahead, in an attempt to remove weakness and demand self-improvement.

However, research repeatedly shows that most forms of self-criticism are associated with symptoms of mental ill-health. Moreover, harsh forms of internal judgement are far less effective at motivating growth and development than we might think.

Athletes, like the rest of us, need to find another way to handle the inevitable setbacks and disappointments as they arise.

A role for compassion

A growing body of research and practice has suggested self-compassion might fit the bill.

Compassion can be defined as the sensitivity to suffering in self and others, with a commitment to try to reduce or prevent the suffering.

It can be directed to others, received from others, or directed internally (self-compassion).

For an athlete experiencing post-Olympic distress, showing self-compassion involves turning towards that distress rather than avoiding, judging, or criticising, and then identifying what they need to address it.

This is harder than it may seem.

One of the reasons self-compassion is so difficult is because it goes against many of the ways in which we have learned to self-motivate. Indeed, many athletes will report a common worry: that being self-compassionate might lower their standards.

That’s just not the case. Research has shown self-compassion can motivate self-improvement and athletes with higher levels of self-compassion show positive performance outcomes in sport. This is in contrast to self-criticism.

Research has also shown athletes who engage in more self-compassion tend to report a range of benefits including better mental health, and more helpful responses to disappointment.

For this reason, there is a growing focus within clinical and sport psychology to help develop self-compassion among athletes as a resource for resilience.

Building self-compassion

So, how can athletes (and the rest of us) build an ability to be self-compassionate?

There are lots of ways. A great start is using our inner wisdom to recognise how we would offer compassion to another person we care for, and then directing it inwards.

Perhaps ask yourself: “how would I respond to a close friend in this situation?”

Other strategies aim to trigger a soothing response in our bodies which can affect both our psychology and physiology. For example we can actively change the tone of our inner thoughts and outward facial expression to be friendly rather than neutral or hostile.

Additional practices involve mental imagery (or visualisation) to develop our “compassionate self”, which we can then learn to step into. These practices make up some of the key ingredients to compassionate mind training and compassion-focused therapy, which have been shown to reduce depression and self-criticism.

In this way, athletes can offer themselves the support they need to get through the difficulties of Olympic and Paralympic disappointment.

More than self-compassion

Just as important as an athlete’s self-compassion is the receiving of compassion from others.

After her Rio disappointment, Cate Campbell said

Australians love winners — I felt like the only way I could endear myself to the Australian public was to come back with one of those shiny gold medals.

So during and after these Olympic and Paralympic Games, let’s come together and support our athletes, no matter their result.

For more on this topic, check out episode one of PsychTalks, a podcast by the University of Melbourne’s School of Psychological Sciences.

Courtney Walton receives funding through an MSPS Academic Fellowship at the University of Melbourne. He has advised a number of elite sports codes and organisations nationally.

Christopher Mesagno 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. Despair after four years of pressure: how do Olympians deal with disappointment? – https://theconversation.com/despair-after-four-years-of-pressure-how-do-olympians-deal-with-disappointment-227904

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Phillips, Associate Professor in Education, The University of Queensland

In recent years, the climate emergency has sparked a global response from children and young people. The School Strikes for Climate movement is a prominent example.

Through this activism, children express their frustration at political systems that exclude their voices. This situation is particularly important because children will bear the brunt of future climate catastrophes.

It seems their message might be getting through. Our recent research demonstrates adults in Australia and New Zealand generally support children being heard in government decisions about the environment.

So what has prompted this support, and how can it be turned into action?

Our study

Despite ongoing political debate about whether and how children’s voices should be incorporated in environmental decisions, we know surprisingly little about general public attitudes.

To address this, we added a question to national surveys in both New Zealand and Australia as part of the 2020 International Social Survey Programme. The surveys included roughly 1,000 respondents each, and sampling weights were applied for the results to be nationally representative.

We asked how strongly respondents support children and young people’s views being included in government decision-making about the environment. The question was asked in relation to four different age groups: 3–5-year-olds, 6–10-year-olds, 11–14-year-olds and 15–18-year-olds.

What we found

We found a majority of surveyed adults in both countries support 11–14-year-olds (62% in Australia and 59% in New Zealand) and 15–18-year-olds (79% in Australia and 80% in New Zealand) having opportunities to influence government decisions on the environment.

Our analyses also revealed that various population groups agreed more than others to children’s voices being included in environmental decisions. For example, across all child age groups, women were consistently more likely than men to express support.

Historically, women have felt the brunt of exclusion from political participation, while also being key in nurturing children via mothering and teaching roles. This context may mean greater respect and empathy from women and therefore greater support for children’s views being heard.

Green party voters, members of environmental organisations and 18–30-year-olds were also more likely than other population groups to support children’s views being included.

Attempts to be heard

Our finding of a high degree of public support for young people being heard aligns with lobbying to lower the voting age to 16 in both countries.

Young people in Australia launched the “Make it 16” campaign in June 2023. In New Zealand, the current National-led coalition government recently rejected steps to progress legislation to extend the voting age. This had been introduced by the previous government in response to a successful Supreme Court case taken by the New Zealand Make it 16 campaign to legislate to extend the voting age.

Rejecting this ruling is an undemocratic breach of human rights, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The UN published a “comment” in response to children’s calls for action. It clearly outlines what governments must do. It states that governments must ensure that children’s views are heard at all stages of environmental decision-making processes. This applies to decisions being made at the local, national and international level.

Winds of change

Our findings indicate the public in Australia and New Zealand is responsive to calls for greater involvement of children in environmental decision-making.

Indeed, our results reflect greater levels of public support than those observed in earlier research study focused on a broader question seeking adult views on children and young people’s involvement in government decision-making.

School climate strikes may be having a positive influence on adult attitudes towards including children in the political sphere. Media coverage of young people being politically active could also be shifting adults’ beliefs on young people’s political engagement.

In other words, the more adults hear and see stories of children and young people’s concerns and restorative actions for the environment, the greater potential there is for adults to understand and support their perspectives.

The way forward

How can we move towards greater consideration of children’s views in government decisions regarding the environment? There are some foundational courses of actions that could be pursued.

Members of parliament could do this by listening to children and youth in their electorates. Early childhood education centres, schools and arts, cultural and sports centres can support MPs’ access to child and youth forums.

Further, youth parliamentary programs such as the YMCA program could be officially embedded in the Australian parliamentary system. This would ensure that bills that youth table are heard and voted on. Similarly, the parliamentary system in New Zealand could take more heed of the triennial Youth Parliament.

Children and young people deserve to have their concerns heard and influence policies that will greatly impact their future lives – well beyond those of current politicians.

Louise Phillips receives funding from Australia Research Council, Queensland Education Department, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Spencer Foundation and Swedish Research Council. She is the Vice-President of the Australian Council for Human Rights Education. Louise acknowledges the significant work of the Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research in conducting the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) 2020 survey. The views expressed here are not intended to represent those of any of these organisations.

Jenny Ritchie is a Research Associate with the Child Poverty Action Group, Aotearoa and with He Whenua Taurikura | A Land at Peace. She is a past co-president of the New Zealand Association for Research in Education. Jenny has previously received research funding from the New Zealand Teaching and Learning Research Initiative, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the Spencer Foundation, and the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO. She gratefully acknowledges support of COMPASS at Auckland University Waipapa Taumata Rau in conducting the New Zealand iteration of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). The views expressed here are not intended to represent those of any of these organisations.

Francisco Perales 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. Are young climate activists finally being heard? Our research shows adults support youth voice to parliament – https://theconversation.com/are-young-climate-activists-finally-being-heard-our-research-shows-adults-support-youth-voice-to-parliament-235409

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Schunker, ARC Future Fellow, University of Newcastle

Few sights in the night sky are as awe-inspiring as aurora. The vibrant dancing lights – usually seen close to the planet’s poles – are produced by a wind of charged particles streaming from the Sun into Earth’s atmosphere. The resulting disturbances are called geomagnetic storms.

Earlier in 2024, the world was treated to an exceptional show of aurora borealis (northern hemisphere) and aurora australis (southern hemisphere). A particularly strong geomagnetic storm produced bright auroras visible at latitudes much closer to the equator than usual.

This has reignited public interest in aurora, and you might see more frequent headlines in the media promising auroras are returning to the night skies.

The Sun is going through a particularly active time, so the chances of aurora are good – but forecasting them is tricky business. Here’s how you can stay up to date.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an ‘aurora watch’! What does this mean?

For hopeful aurora chasers in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre issues regional aurora outlooks, watches and alerts:

• aurora outlooks are warnings with lead times of 3–7 days
• aurora watches are warnings with lead times of up to 48 hours
• aurora alerts will follow if visible space weather activity at Earth actually occurs.

You can subscribe to all of these alerts on their website.

I’m checking the alerts – so what’s a K index?

The space weather website has a lot of information, so here’s what you need to look out for.

On the first page you see the “K index”. This is a measure of the disturbance of Earth’s magnetic field, and the first point of info we need for aurora predictions.

The value shown on the page is a three-hour average:

• less than 5 and green in colour means there’s only a mild disturbance to Earth’s magnetic field
• up to 7 and yellow in colour is classified as a moderate geomagnetic storm
• if it reaches 9 and is red in colour, this is a major geomagnetic storm.

Underneath the K index, you will see the current “solar wind parameters”: velocity is the speed of the wind towards Earth, and Bz is the magnetic field strength. If Bz is negative it means it is pointed from north to south, opposite to Earth’s magnetic field.

From the velocity of the solar wind (in kilometres per second) we can calculate when we expect it to reach Earth. From the strength of the solar wind’s magnetic field (in Tesla, T) and direction (positive or negative), we can estimate how it will interact with Earth’s magnetic field.

To put it all together: for a strong geomagnetic storm, the solar wind would have a speed of about 700 km/s and a negative magnetic field with a value something like -20 nT.

So, in this case it would take about 35 minutes to reach Earth and generate a strong geomagnetic storm and aurora activity.

Now, let’s look at the 30 minute forecast

All this data is used to produce the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) 30 minute forecast.

This animation of a green glow surrounding Earth’s poles gives a clear visual idea of where the aurora is likely to be strongest (usually on Earth’s night-time side).

If it’s red, the aurora is forecast to be very strong! The aurora doesn’t have to lie directly over Australia to be visible – you just need to be able to see it on the horizon looking south. This is why Tasmania and southern New Zealand generally have the best chance.

There’s an aurora alert and the 30 minute forecast looks promising. What do I do now?

There are a few other things to consider before you rush outside to see an aurora.

Firstly, it needs to be dark, so a winter’s night in a dark location is ideal. Secondly, as those of us in Sydney and Newcastle are painfully aware, the sky must be clear of clouds.

Lastly, a direct view to the horizon in the south is generally needed for us in the southern hemisphere (it is very rare to see the aurora overhead so close to the equator).

Aurora usually last for between 15 to 30 glorious minutes, but if you’re super lucky this could extend to a few hours. So, plan to be looking south for some time.

I still didn’t see anything! Why?

Space weather forecasts are notoriously difficult. Solar physicists monitor the Sun to predict eruptions that might cause geomagnetic storms and phenomena like aurora, and the Sun’s magnetic field is constantly changing.

We have very few observations between the Sun and Earth, so we rely heavily on models of the solar wind to predict if and when an eruption at the Sun will arrive.

Only when the particles from the Sun reach 1.5 million kilometres from Earth can we actually measure the solar wind speed and magnetic field. This gives only about 30 minutes notice.

Even then, the measurements are made at a single point, known as L1. That measurement may not be representative of all of nearby space.

Researchers in solar physics, space physics and ionospheric physics are working towards piecing together each critical component in the space weather chain to make more precise forecasts. But for the time being, we are essentially limited to “nowcasting”. So keep an eye on social media for live aurora updates, too.

Hannah Schunker receives funding from the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship Award.

– ref. I heard there’s an aurora coming. How do I check? – https://theconversation.com/i-heard-theres-an-aurora-coming-how-do-i-check-235869

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

A diagnosis of life-limiting cancer can be overwhelming and cause feelings of panic and anxiety. But for some people, it provides a license to live life differently, including quitting toxic jobs and becoming more adventurous.

In our recently published research, we sought to understand the impact of a cancer diagnosis and subsequent experiences for cancer survivors.

We talked with 81 New Zealanders (23 Māori and 58 non-Māori) who had lived longer than expected with a life-limiting or terminal diagnosis of cancer (four to 32 years since first diagnosis), and 25 people who were identified as their supporters.

We found there are vastly different ways in which people experience and respond to a cancer diagnosis, but for some it’s a prompt to make significant changes. Of the 81 participants, 26 expressed the view, unsolicited, that cancer had some positive impact on their lives – without downplaying the negative impacts it could have as well.

A licence to change

Being told you only have limited time left to live can undoubtedly be a shock. But it can lead to profound change.

It’s not uncommon for people who receive a serious diagnosis to draw up a “bucket list”. Some people in our study took the opportunity to travel or move to a new home.

For others, the diagnosis provided a chance to rethink their lives and make more significant changes to the way they lived. They decided to be culturally more adventurous and to take up new skills.

Many of these people quit their jobs or changed to jobs that suited them better. Many changed their relationships with the people around them. One talked about showing more affection for his children, another was kinder and stopped fretting over small things.

Some decided to be more selective and no longer be around people who were negative. Others took up new hobbies or crafts which they felt were healing. For one person, the cancer diagnosis provided the impetus to look at things and people differently, which they thought would not have happened otherwise.

Individuals could also undergo a transformation to become what they felt they were meant to be in life. One person, given two months to live, embraced rongoā (Māori traditional healing), including its spiritual side. They now love their “journey” and feel this was what they were “supposed to do”.

For many, a diagnosis of cancer gave them license to be different people and to resist conforming to social norms, including having a job, being thrifty or not taking risks.

Disrupting diagnoses

One person, given only months to live, moved out of her flat, gave away her possessions, quit her job that she described was toxic, and returned home to say goodbye to her family.

Most importantly for her, she worked on experiencing “joy” – after receiving the diagnosis, she realised she had lost it. But she continues to live many years later. After a while, she had to find a new flat, get a new job and the recovery of her joy was challenged:

I had to start working again. And, of course, with working again, joy goes down, time goes down, rest goes down, spirituality goes down.

But not everyone has the opportunity to change. Some peoples’ lives were limited because of the physical effects of the cancer, its treatment, or because of their personal, social or financial resources.

Some go to great lengths to ensure their lives change as little as possible after diagnosis to maintain a sense of normality.

Why we need to know

Given the fear a cancer diagnosis can elicit, it is important to see there are different ways of responding.

It is also worth knowing there are people who live longer than expected. Many people in our study were given just months to live, but one woman was still alive 12 years after being told she had a year left.

Beyond that, this research documents how the disruption produced by a cancer diagnosis can prompt people to breach social norms. Where people have the capacity and resources to change, those around them and their health professionals can support them in taking opportunities to live life differently.

We heard people say they think of their cancer as a friend or an amazing opportunity. Some even felt thankful.

The possibility of cancer providing opportunities for some in no way diminishes the grief or a sense of loss, fear and anxiety that can accompany such diagnoses.

Our research supports a reframing of cancer narratives, to consider ways of tempering the negative impacts of a diagnosis – while remaining cognisant of the struggle that can follow such news, and the variability in people’s capacity to engage with that struggle.

Kevin Dew receives funding from The Marsden Fund..

Alex Broom receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Kerry Chamberlain receives funding from the Marsden Fund.

Chris Cunningham, Elizabeth Dennett, and Richard Egan 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. Cancer diagnosis can be devastating, but for some it gives permission to live more radically – https://theconversation.com/cancer-diagnosis-can-be-devastating-but-for-some-it-gives-permission-to-live-more-radically-233782