Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marine Gouezo, Postdoctoral research fellow, Southern Cross University

New photographic technology has allowed scientists to dive beneath the ocean’s surface and peer into the hidden world of baby corals, to learn how these tiny organisms survive and grow in their crucial first year of life.

In a study just published, researchers from Southern Cross University and CSIRO describe how advanced imaging techniques offer new ways to monitor baby corals.

Corals provide vital habitat for a large variety of marine life. So it’s useful to better understand how baby corals select and attach to reefs, establish themselves and grow into adult corals.

This knowledge is particularly important if we want to help reefs recover from devastating events such as mass bleaching and cyclones.

The secret life of corals

The life of a coral begins in an annual, synchronised spawning event. Coral colonies release millions of tiny eggs and sperm into the water at the same time. They all rise to the surface where the eggs are fertilised, developing into embryos and then later, into larvae.

Over days or weeks, the millions of larvae disperse with ocean currents. If things go according to nature’s plan, the larvae eventually fall through the water, attach to a reef and grow into adult corals. This process is known as coral “recruitment”.

In healthy coral reefs, this recruitment occurs naturally. But as coral reefs become more degraded – such as through coral bleaching brought on by climate change – fewer coral larvae are produced. This often means recruitment slows down or stops, and natural recovery weakens.

Scientists are working on ways to ensure coral larvae attach to and grow on reefs. This includes collecting coral spawn from the ocean, rearing embryos in floating nurseries and releasing larvae onto damaged reefs.

Coral larvae are less than one millimetre in size, so recruitment occurs on a tiny scale, invisible to the human eye. To better understand the process, researchers traditionally attach artificial plates to the reef. Once corals have established themselves, the plates are taken back to the lab to be inspected under a microscope.

This method can provide valuable insights, but it does not replicate the natural reef environment. That’s where our research comes in. Essentially, we brought the lab to the reef.

Read more:
Safe havens for coral reefs will be almost non-existent at 1.5°C of global warming – new study

Capturing the reef in incredible 3D detail

Our new study explores the development and application of an innovative imaging approach known as underwater “macrophotogrammetry”.

The technology combines macrophotography – photographing small objects close-up, at very high resolution – and photogrammetry – taking measurements from photos. In this case, we used photogrammetry to “stitch” photos together to recreate three-dimensional models, such as the one below.

The three round objects in the model are “targets” we placed to help the software stitch the photos together. Look closely, and you’ll see a nail head to the left of each target. To give you an idea of the scale of the model, the nail head is 2.8mm in diameter.

Reef-scale photogrammetry can be a valuable tool to track changes in coral cover and growth over time. However, it does not provide the detailed resolution needed to identify and observe tiny new corals.

Macrophotography provides this incredibly detailed scale. The coupling of the technologies also enables a comprehensive understanding of the entire ecosystem, from the smallest processes to the largest.

We conducted macrophotogrammetry surveys near Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef. We marked several 25cm x 25cm locations on the reef. We then captured hundreds of photographs taken at different angles using high-resolution cameras.

Photogrammetry software was used to process the photos, creating precise 3D models that represent the small sections of reef at very high resolution.

The models were examined to find where baby corals settle, to mark their location and measure their size. They reveal the complexity in the reef micro-structure, including tiny crevices, where coral larvae often settle.

The models also reveal diverse micro-organisms such as small turf algae or invertebrates, which interact with corals during the recruitment process.

Macrophotogrammetry surveys can be conducted at the same reef locations over time. This allows us to monitor the survival and growth of baby corals, and observe changes in the organisms living near them.

Read more:
Record coral cover doesn’t necessarily mean the Great Barrier Reef is in good health (despite what you may have heard)

Looking ahead

Complementary techniques may increase the potential of macrophotogrammetry even further. For example, coral larvae can be dyed various colours before release, making them more visible when they swim to and settle on the reef. This could be captured in 3D models to allow even better tracking of larval restoration efforts.

The use of macrophotogrammetry will deepen our understandings of why some larvae settle and survive on reefs, and others do not. This knowledge can help support our efforts to improve the overall conservation and recovery of coral reefs.

Its application need not be limited to coral reef ecosystems. We are excited about the potential of the technology to drive marine research more broadly.

Read more:
Thousands of photos captured by everyday Australians reveal the secrets of our marine life as oceans warm

Marine Gouezo works as a Postdoctoral researcher at Southern Cross University and CSIRO and is involved with the Moving Corals subprogram of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation

Christopher Doropoulos is a Research Scientist at CSIRO. He co-leads the Moving Corals and EcoRRAP Subprograms as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). RRAP is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

– ref. Through the magnifying glass: how cutting-edge technology is helping scientists understand baby corals – https://theconversation.com/through-the-magnifying-glass-how-cutting-edge-technology-is-helping-scientists-understand-baby-corals-210372

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hickey, Professor of Communications and Cultural Studies, University of Southern Queensland

Media outlets across Australia have carried headlines about a “youth crime crisis” in recent months. While drawn from actual events, often involving serious criminality and antisocial behaviour, these often sensational reports have the same narrative subtext. The story is one of “bad kids” doing bad things in otherwise “good communities”.

Our understanding, as a society, of who we are is informed in part by the media. What the youth crime crisis is and who we understand young offenders to be corresponds with media framings of these individuals and their actions.

More often than not, the reports present a “good-bad” binary: where “bad” young people who do bad things should be locked up to protect “good” people. It’s a basic, albeit understandable, reaction that makes sense in terms of a logic of punishment and retribution.

For the Youth Community Futures research project, we have been working with groups of young people to explore how they engage with the community and how they feel about it. Our young people have said they are increasingly fearful and are conscious of being perceived negatively. They do not feel accepted by others or their communities.

In short, these young people feel they are viewed as “bad” because they are young. And when young people feel marginalised, the outcomes include withdrawing and becoming socially isolated. It also increases the potential for problematic anti-social behaviour – including crime.

Read more:
The NT’s tough-on-crime approach won’t reduce youth offending. This is what we know works

Fuelling the fear of’folk devils’

There is, of course, far more to the situation. Research shows young people who engage in criminal activity are likely to have been victims themselves. The lives of many young offenders are complicated. Yet rarely are these situations and backgrounds factored into the media reports.

Beyond the circumstances of young offenders themselves, a further problem exists. When young people, as a defined social category, are presented in the media in such narrow terms, it becomes difficult to see them as anything other than threatening and dangerous.

Stanley Cohen’s seminal sociology of British youth from the 1960s demonstrates the ways that public sentiment often divorces from the facts of situations to create “folk devils”. When portrayals of young people, including those in the media, present them as threatening and menacing, it follows that public sentiment will be cast in similar ways.

Read more:
Three ways teenagers are misrepresented in society

Blinding us to the complexities

The challenge then is that it becomes difficult to understand the complexities of the situation and show empathy. This applies not only to “bad” young people, but to others who aren’t engaged in such problematic behaviour but who are caught within the narrow perceptions of who young people are.

This forms the central claim in our argument: the current youth crime crisis is as much a media-generated problem as it is a criminological problem. The way we understand and position young people as “folk devils” runs the risk of invoking fear and trepidation. Such fears lead the public to categorise all young people in problematic ways while failing to understand the complex challenges young people encounter.

More complex social narratives are required if we are to avoid a situation in which young people feel marginalised.

Read more:
‘I go for the food’: what children and young people told us about why they steal from houses

So, what is the solution?

We need to develop deeper and more accurate understandings of who our young people are. This applies particularly to those who are caught up in criminality and anti-social behaviour.

Most young people do not set out in life to be “bad”. Their problematic behaviours are likely to be the result of complex challenges. Once we accept that, we have a responsibility to seek deeper understandings of the situations our young people face.

Sensationalist headlines that feed on public fears are not helpful. These might sell newspapers, but they do not make us stronger as a society. They create folk devils out of young people who probably require support, and they produce a fearful community.

We need to move beyond easy explanations and simple distinctions. While it is horrendous that homes are being broken into and cars stolen, understanding that the young people engaged in these activities are likely also victims themselves is important for realising that we, as a society, have an obligation to all individuals.

We need to ask why young offenders are in this situation. Once we acknowledge the importance of a better understanding of their circumstances, we can start to meaningfully resolve these social problems before they occur.

Andrew Hickey receives funding from the Queensland government. The authors acknowledge the contributions to the research by Stewart Riddle, Alarnah McKee, Danika Skye and Celmara Pocock.

Rachael Wallis receives funding from the Queensland government.

– ref. Why the media aren’t helping to solve the ‘youth crime crisis’ they’re reporting – https://theconversation.com/why-the-media-arent-helping-to-solve-the-youth-crime-crisis-theyre-reporting-208947

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roy Green, Emeritus Professor & UTS innovation adviser, University of Technology Sydney

This week’s appointment of Wayne Swan’s former chief of staff Chris Barrett to head the Productivity Commission puts the annual Trade and Assistance Review it released this month under a more searching spotlight than usual.

Remarkably, the Commission used the review to target one of the key policies on which the Albanese government was elected. With Chalmers signalling plans for a “new focus”, it might turn out to have been one of the last chances for the “old” Productivity Commission to say (again) what it thinks.

The Commission doesn’t like (and has never liked) industrial policy – the idea of governments supporting industries in order to help them grow, and where possible to participate in global markets and value chains.

Its Trade and Assistance Review suggests it regards the government’s approach to tackling climate change and the energy transition as an industrial policy in all but name. It wants it subject to its gold standard scrutiny for any misallocation of resources.

Climate change and energy sticking points

How disappointing it must have been to have nothing as ambitious to scrutinise under the previous government. Except of course for the $7.9 billion a year diesel fuel tax rebate, primarily for mining companies, which the Commission’s review studiously omits to treat as support.

The Commission takes particular issue with the government’s intention to promote battery manufacturing in Australia, an idea with merit given Australia produces 50% of the world’s lithium, has abundant energy to process it, exports almost all of it, and captures as little as 0.53% of its final value.

The thinking is that Australian industry might for once move up the value chain and begin the task of diversifying our narrow trade and industrial structure, based as it is on the export of unprocessed raw materials.

Read more:
Chris Barrett becomes new head of the Productivity Commission, as Jim Chalmers flags fresh focus

In a world where the biggest gains from trade are in knowledge-driven goods and services, a resources dependent industrial structure lacks the economic complexity to achieve these gains, and is increasingly vulnerable to supply chain shocks.

Australia has fallen to 91 out of 133 countries in the Harvard economic complexity ranking, which measures the diversity and research intensity of a nation’s export mix, just ahead of Namibia.

Australia’s economic complexity is sinking

The problem is that while successive commodity booms made Australians richer through appreciation of the dollar, the higher dollar also made a good deal of Australian manufacturing uncompetitive, both domestically and globally.

This is what’s known as “Dutch disease”, a term coined to represent the impact of North Sea gas on Dutch manufacturing in the 1970s, and later, the impact of the UK’s discovery of North Sea oil.

Australia’s de-industrialisation is not as much a case of “market failure”, a possibility the Productivity Commission occasionally acknowledges, as one of abject policy failure.

Norway did things differently

In contrast, Norway took a public stake in its North Sea oil and gas, imposed a 76% resource rent tax and created the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund.

Norway is now able to take part in global manufacturing supply chains in a way Australia is not, and is able to build a net zero emissions economy using world-leading research and innovation.

Such an idea is heresy in the parallel universe of the Productivity Commission, which appears to believe Australia should double down on its status as the world’s most efficient quarry and repudiate efforts to add value, as they would supposedly cost more than the benefits they produced.

The remarkable feature of this Productivity Commission approach is that it appears not to be based on evidence.

Battery manuafcture is worth investing in

In the case of batteries, experts have calculated that domestic manufacturing would boost gross domestic product by $55 billion a year, for a total investment of $35 billion through to 2035, and produce a tax take over two years of $30 billion.

Batteries are an example of how to turn a comparative advantage based on natural endowments into a “competitive advantage”, based on knowledge and ingenuity.

The fundamental problem with the Commission’s approach comes back to reliance on a “static equilibrium” model of the economy, where the assumptions themselves give rise to predictable winners and losers.

Read more:
Don’t blame workers for falling productivity: they’re not holding it back

The fact productivity growth has stalled in Australia for two decades, and is now accompanied by wage stagnation, might not be due to governments ignoring the Commission’s recommendations, as some like to argue, but rather due to it implementing them.

Meanwhile, industrial policy elsewhere around the world is devised as part of a dynamic model of growth and innovation, preparing nations for the industries and technologies of the future.

As it is, the Productivity Commission is ill-equipped for the challenges Australia is about to face. Barrett’s task is a formidable one.

Roy Green 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. Chris Barrett has a formidable job ahead as the new Productivity Commission chief – https://theconversation.com/chris-barrett-has-a-formidable-job-ahead-as-the-new-productivity-commission-chief-210454

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam "Ben" Rohrlach, Mathematics Lecturer and Ancient DNA Researcher, University of Adelaide

From the remains of nearly 100 ancient individuals, we have reconstructed two extensive prehistoric family trees from a 6,700-year-old cemetery in France, revealing fresh insights into a Stone Age community.

Our new results, published today in Nature, show a group of prehistoric farmers who lived within a network of other communities. This group even brought with them the bones of a “founding father”, establishing a lasting, male-dominated lineage.

Difficulties looking into the past

Around 9,000 years ago, during the late Stone Age period, the “Neolithic way of life” spread from Anatolia (the large peninsula made up mostly of today’s Türkiye) into Western Europe.

Instead of hunting and gathering, people began farming. With the ability to produce and store extra food, Neolithic people developed new social customs built on wealth, land ownership and access to resources, therefore forming social hierarchies.

Ancient burials can tell us a lot about how prehistoric people treated their dead. But figuring out how these societies behaved on a day-to-day basis has always been challenging for researchers. These challenges are due to a lack of written records, and physical data that can be hard to interpret.

These problems are even more complicated during the Neolithic in the Paris Basin in Northern France, where the French cemetery site of Gurgy “les Noisats” was discovered.

Why? The Paris Basin is well known for its massive Stone Age funerary monuments (large objects celebrating important people after their death). These grand monuments functioned like the ancient Egyptian pyramids or the Taj Mahal of their day, in that they were built for the “elite” people in society.

But only a few, much smaller burials have been found that would likely represent the everyday people of the region. Studying these “normal” burials might be the only way to understand the “non-elite”, regular people of the time.

Using new methods for obtaining and comparing ancient DNA, and by sampling nearly every individual from this non-monumental cemetery, our new results reveal two large family trees which open a window into the lives of the people of this prehistoric community.

Read more:
Who owned this Stone Age jewellery? New forensic tools offer an unprecedented answer

A network of communities

At the cemetery of Gurgy, graves didn’t overlap, meaning there may have been some markings on top of the ground (perhaps like gravestones are used today). This also suggests closely related individuals knew where people were buried.

Using specialised ancient DNA techniques and several sources of evidence from the burials, we reconstructed two of the largest ever family trees from a prehistoric cemetery. One family tree connected 63 individuals over seven generations, while another connected ten individuals over four generations.

Exploring these family trees revealed a strong pattern of descent through the male line (called patrilineality). This is a practice where each generation is almost exclusively linked to the previous generation through their biological father.

Our results also suggested the practice of virilocality at Gurgy. This means the sons stayed where they were born, and produced children with women from outside of Gurgy.

Using strontium isotope analyses we confirmed these results by analysing the chemicals in the teeth of these individuals. Interestingly, some of the “new incoming” female individuals were distantly related to each other, meaning they may have come from a network of nearby communities, and even from the same communities.

Lastly, we also observed the adult daughters from Gurgy were not buried at the site, meaning they had likely left Gurgy to join other nearby communities themselves (once they had reached a certain age).

A founding father

We also discovered the grave of the “founding father” at the cemetery: a male individual from whom everyone in the largest family tree was descended.

We noticed this individual was actually brought from wherever he had originally died and was reburied at Gurgy (alongside a female individual we could not get DNA from). Only his long bones – thigh, leg, arm and forearm bones – were brought, and he must have represented an important ancestor to the founders of the new burial place of the community.

We observed an entire group, made up of several generations (children, parents and grandparents), arrived at Gurgy together from the beginning. This group must have left a previous site, leaving behind any previously deceased children (but yet still brought and reburied the founding father).

Similarly, in the final generations of Gurgy we observed many children without parents buried there. Hence, like the founding group, these last generations abruptly departed Gurgy together, leaving behind their own buried children. Hence, Gurgy was probably only used for three or four generations, or approximately 84–112 years.

This research represents a starting point for multidisciplinary studies of the social organisation of prehistoric societies, as these large family trees allow for new interpretations of the lives and practices of ordinary people from prehistoric communities.

As we discover and analyse more and more of these cemeteries, we may be able to compare and contrast social practices across regions and time periods, truly opening the window into our ancient past.

Read more:
DNA study sheds light on Scotland’s Picts, and resolves some myths about them

Maïté Rivollat is affiliated with the MPI-EVA in Leipzig (Germany), Bordeaux University (France), Ghent University (Belgium) and Durham University (UK).

Adam “Ben” Rohrlach 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. In a Stone Age cemetery, DNA reveals a treasured ‘founding father’ and a legacy of prosperity for his sons – https://theconversation.com/in-a-stone-age-cemetery-dna-reveals-a-treasured-founding-father-and-a-legacy-of-prosperity-for-his-sons-206940

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roberta Davidson, PhD student in Genetic Anthropology, University of Adelaide

Standing atop the mountains in the southern highlands of Peru is the 15th-century marvel of the Inca empire, Machu Picchu. Today, the citadel is a global tourist attraction and an icon of precolonial Latin American history – but it was once the royal palace of an emperor.

Our international team of researchers has uncovered the incredible genetic diversity hidden within the ancient remains of those who once called Machu Picchu home. We detail our findings in a study published today in Science Advances.

The puzzling remnants of a royal site

The Inca empire once ruled a vast 2 million square km across the breathtaking Andes mountain range in South America. It was formed in 1438 by the first ruler, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, and reached its height in 1533, before colonisation by the Spanish.

At the heart of the empire was the capital city of Cusco, and nearby was Pachacuti’s majestic palace, Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu was visited by the royal family and guests during the dry season of May to October as a place to feast, dance, sing and hunt. Although these elite Incas were buried in Cusco upon their death, the palace was maintained year-round by a few hundred servants who lived on site. These servants were buried in cemeteries outside the palace walls.

Following Spanish colonisation, knowledge of Machu Picchu was lost to the Western world – only to be rediscovered by adventurers in the early 20th century.

In 1912, the Yale Peruvian Scientific Expedition documented a staggering count of 174 individuals buried on site. These burials were often shallow graves, or were concealed under large boulders or natural rocky overhangs.

While many lacked grave goods, ceramic artefacts were discovered buried alongside some people. These paint a vivid picture of cultural diversity, with styles from coastal and northern regions of Peru, as well as from the highlands of Bolivia near Lake Titicaca.

This was the first clue that Machu Picchu drew people from all reaches of the Inca empire. It suggested the servants who lived at Machu Picchu came from a variety of places, bringing ceramics from their homelands.

However, the artefacts could have also ended up in the area through trade. To find out where these people had come from, we would have to analyse their DNA.

New findings from ancient DNA

We sequenced ancient DNA from the remains of 68 individuals – 34 buried at Machu Picchu and 34 buried in Cusco. Using carbon dating, we dated the remains and found some of these people were buried before the rise of Pachacuti and the Inca empire.

We then compared their DNA with that of Indigenous peoples living in the Andes today (past research has found these genetic lines have continued undisturbed for the past 2,000 years) – as well as to ancestries from more distant regions of South America.

It’s worth noting these “ancestries” are based on DNA and don’t necessarily overlap with the peoples’ cultural identities, although they sometimes would.

Were the people buried at Machu Picchu genetically similar to those who had lived in the area since before Pachacuti’s reign? Or were they related to ancestries from more distant regions?

If the latter was true, we could safely assume they (or their parents) had come to Machu Picchu from faraway lands.

Journeying to a life of servitude

Of all the DNA samples we analysed, we found 17 individuals had ancestry from one of the distant sources tested (coloured on the map below). These included all regions of the Peruvian coast and highlands, as well as the Amazon regions of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

Only seven of the buried individuals had ancestry that could be linked to Peru’s vast southern highlands where Machu Picchu and Cusco reside. However, we can’t confirm they were local to Machu Picchu itself.

The remaining 13 individuals had blended ancestry, including from as far away as Brazil and Paraguay. They might have been the offspring of individuals from different lands who met at Machu Picchu – or could be linked to yet unknown South American ancestries.

As for close family relationships, we only discovered one pair: a mother and daughter.

Remarkably, all the individuals were buried together in the major cemeteries, irrespective of their ancestry. This could imply they were considered equal in status to one another, which in turn would suggest they were born elsewhere and arrived at Machu Picchu independently, occasionally forming relationships and having children.

It’s likely these people were from a class of “chosen women” called acllacona, and a similar class of men called yanacona. Individuals in these groups were selected from their homes at a young age and permanently assigned to state, aristocratic or religious service.

After arriving at Machu Picchu, they would have spent the rest of their lives serving the royal estate.

Although we don’t know how much (if any) coercion was involved in the process of these people coming to Machu Picchu, analyses of the bones suggest they lived comfortable lives. Many lived to old age and showed no signs of malnutrition, disease, or injury from warfare or heavy labour.

A diversity hotspot

Importantly, the human remains we found that predated the Inca empire did not exhibit high levels of diversity. This suggests it was indeed the establishment of the Inca empire that led people from far and wide to Machu Picchu.

Further, our examination of individuals from Cusco showed less diversity than at Machu Picchu, but more than other regional sites. This is probably because the extensive highland area had a long history of interactions between different peoples before the rise of the Inca empire.

Our findings paint a captivating picture of Machu Picchu as a true hotspot of diversity within the Inca imperial realm – setting it apart as a culturally rich hub within the ancient landscape.

Read more:
How llamas conquered the world

Roberta Davidson 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. Who lived at Machu Picchu? DNA analysis shows surprising diversity at the ancient Inca palace – https://theconversation.com/who-lived-at-machu-picchu-dna-analysis-shows-surprising-diversity-at-the-ancient-inca-palace-210287

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Weismueller, Doctoral Researcher, The University of Western Australia

Many Australians believe the nation is more politically polarised and divided today than in the past. It’s a divide that has long plagued the United States, but new data show it is increasingly eroding nations’ unity, shared goals, and wellbeing all over the world, including in Australia.

Our research suggests the spread of misinformation on social media is part of the problem. For example, we showed participants misinformation claiming that the “Biden administration lost 20 million COVID vaccines”. In fact, the Biden administration searched for these vaccines because the distribution system established by the Trump administration failed to track the full route they travelled. But this didn’t matter: seeing this misinformation made people angry and polarised their attitudes towards the government.

Surprisingly, responses of anger and polarised attitudes occurred regardless of whether individuals were supporting or opposing the Biden administration and its response to COVID. We found similar results when exposing people to information that may be accurate, but contains extreme partisan viewpoints.

One might assume people would simply dismiss such information as baseless and avoid engaging with it. But our research has revealed a disconcerting trend: these misleading narratives can attract even more attention and interaction than accurate and less extreme information.

Data on the role of misinformation in driving political polarisation remains scarce. However, our findings might not be surprising given the growing awareness of misinformation’s pervasive impact on society. As misinformation continues to shape public debate, the repercussions of a highly polarised society, including
political gridlock and social unrest are increasingly felt.

It is a complex problem that needs a multifaceted solution that includes changing how we engage with information.

So, what do we need to look out for?

Misinformation from political elites

Although misinformation often originates from individuals and private citizens, public figures and political elites also spread misinformation and fuel political polarisation.

Public figures and political elites may wield even greater influence as they are often perceived as trusted sources. Research has demonstrated that the “who” behind a social media post can sometimes hold more significance than the “what” in determining our engagement with content.

During the COVID crisis, many false claims and rumours originated from public figures. More recently, One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson claimed the Indigenous Voice was “Australia’s version of apartheid”.

Read more:
The Voice isn’t apartheid or a veto over parliament – this misinformation is undermining democratic debate

The media are in on it too

Information from partisan media outlets might not be strictly false, but these outlets often skew their reports to disparage opposing viewpoints. In the United States, extreme partisan viewpoints are expressed by media outlets such as Breitbart and AlterNet. In Australia, many media outlets overwhelmingly express conservative or liberal viewpoints too.

For example, instead of discussing the Voice to Parliament referendum in a neutral manner that shows the strength and weaknesses of the “yes” and “no” campaign, these outlets mainly focus on one side. Often they not only report in a partisan manner but also support false claims from political elites.

Although fact-checking could assist journalists in identifying false claims, many tend to concentrate solely on whether the statements made by political elites align with the views of their audiences. In this way, they facilitate an even wider spread of misinformation leading to further political polarisation.

Read more:
Journalists reporting on the Voice to Parliament do voters a disservice with ‘he said, she said’ approach

What does that mean for Australians?

Our research focused on sources of misinformation and extreme partisan information in the United States. However, the findings also have important implications for public political debate in Australia.

With the looming Voice referendum, the significance of this matter cannot be overstated. Indeed, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has argued the referendum comes at a time of increasing polarisation, when democracy needs to be protected.

The choices made by citizens during this referendum could be heavily swayed by the information they consume on social media platforms. This means awareness around these dynamics and fundamental change in how we consume information has never been more important.

What next, then?

Curbing political polarisation needs to come from a variety of stakeholders, including social media platforms, policymakers, and educators. Social media platforms have implemented many changes throughout the years.

However, it appears that sensationalism is still prioritised over accuracy. While content moderation can be a dangerous tool, deprioritising potentially damaging content can serve as a first line of defence against misinformation and political polarisation.

At the same time, non-profit organisations and educational institutions can initiate programs that develop digital literacy and a shared understanding of responsible engagement online.

Read more:
Why is it legal to tell lies during the Voice referendum campaign?

We need to change too

It’s important that social media users do their part too. Social media users need to use their greater awareness around misinformation to change how they consume and engage with information. This change can include consuming less content but engaging more critically with it and relying on multiple sources.

Especially when dealing with highly emotional content, users should step back and take some time before making a decision to share or otherwise engage with it. Using the tools that social media platforms provide is just as crucial. Such tools include, for example, X’s community notes feature, which allows users to see or provide additional context to information they encounter.

Social media platforms can facilitate the spread of misinformation and a resulting increase in political polarisation. But the power to fuel this vicious cycle lies firmly in the palms of their users.

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

– ref. Misinformation is rife and causing deeper polarisation – here’s how social media users can help curb it – https://theconversation.com/misinformation-is-rife-and-causing-deeper-polarisation-heres-how-social-media-users-can-help-curb-it-210189

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Moremon, Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies, Massey University

New Zealand’s national security was strengthened this month when the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s newest Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft became operational.

A cutting-edge maritime surveillance aircraft, the P-8A is also operated by Australia, India, Norway, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is now the New Zealand Airborne Surveillance and Response Force’s primary asset.

The NZ$2.436 billion order of four P-8As allowed the retirement of six ageing turbo-prop P-3K Orions. The P-8A’s cruising speed of 470 knots (903km per hour) is 40% better than the P-3K’s, and its 1,200 nautical mile (2,222km) range nearly double.

With a crew of nine (pilots, flight engineers, and air warfare and ordinance specialists), it carries a suite of sensors, satellite communications, data links, and self-protection systems.

As well as search and rescue, the aircraft will conduct maritime surveillance and intelligence gathering, and are capable of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare.

Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Clark describes the plane as “the modern standard in technology” for maritime surveillance. The question is, will it still be enough for the country’s future maritime security needs?

Defence and military priorities

We think of New Zealand as a small country, but geographically it is a large maritime nation. Its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers 4.4 million square km of ocean, a staggering 15 times larger than the land mass.

Intelligence, border security and resources agencies monitor commercial shipping and recreational boating in the EEZs of New Zealand, Niue and Raratonga. They also help other South Pacific neighbours secure their own EEZs.

Read more:
Nukes, allies, weapons and cost: 4 big questions NZ’s defence review must address

Maritime conventions also make New Zealand responsible for search and rescue over an extraordinary 4.5 million square nautical miles (15.4 million square km) of the South Pacific and Southern Ocean.

P-8As will be able to conduct searches and drop life rafts and survival equipment – but they were ordered to meet future defence and security challenges.

The 2018 Strategic Defence Policy Statement warned of military, cybersecurity, transnational crime and terrorism threats. Regional insecurity is also an issue, as rising waters and adverse weather events from global warming threaten Pacific countries. This year’s Strategic Foreign Policy Assessment warns:

In the short to medium term the future looks grim. The global strategic outlook will become more complex, while the Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions will be more contested and less stable.

Best use of resources

The P-8A will be in service for six or seven decades. We are already witnessing increasing need for maritime surveillance with rising geopolitical tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, as foreign investment in submarines and warships increases.

Australian P-8As are currently monitoring two Chinese “spy ships” loitering near naval exercises off Australia.

Read more:
As Australia signs up for nuclear subs, NZ faces hard decisions over the AUKUS alliance

New Zealand’s area of interest is vast, including to the south, where the Antarctic Treaty system is faltering. Several states are stepping up activities on a warming continent that is strategically situated and potentially rich in mineral resources.

New Zealand needs to exert its claim to territorial sovereignty in the Ross Dependency, and monitor and protect the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area.

But the Airborne Surveillance and Response Force is potentially burdened by two past decisions. First, the government approved only four P-8As. Despite its enhanced capabilities, this is still a one-third reduction in aircraft numbers.

Four is a bare minimum, given how servicing or overseas deployment could leave only two locally based functioning aircraft. A future government may need to consider whether the current fleet is enough.

Read more:
Approach with caution: why NZ should be wary of buying into the AUKUS security pact

Second, in 2001, the Labour government’s Maritime Patrol Review found it “hard to justify the retention of a comprehensive military maritime surveillance capability in New Zealand’s sea areas”.

The response was to pare back fighting capabilities and use the P-3K Orions as multi-agency assets. As well as search and rescue and humanitarian duties, they mainly monitored shipping, fisheries and conservation areas. This was seen as value for money for an expensive military aircraft.

Time for a maritime patrol review

Military capabilities were restored after 9/11, with the old Orions deployed to the Middle East and Japan (supporting UN sanctions against North Korea). But multi-agency tasks remain a legacy requirement for the P-8A – a specialised military aircraft with highly trained crews that could be focusing on honing war fighting capabilities.

Given the emerging threat environment, using these expensive aircraft for routine monitoring of shipping, fisheries and conservation areas may not represent value for money in the long term.

Read more:
New Zealand’s maritime territory is 15 times its landmass – here’s why we need a ministry for the ocean

Other air forces don’t divert as many P-8A flying hours to non-military tasks. Australia has 12 P-8As, supplemented by MQ-4C Triton unmanned drones. Its Border Force agency contracts a commercial organisation, Surveillance Australia, to patrol the Australian EEZ for illegal fishing, immigration and quarantine breaches, and human, drug and arms trafficking.

Border Force’s Future Maritime Surveillance Capability Project seeks to update Australian maritime surveillance to be cost-effective, while also meeting the challenges of an evolving and complex national security environment.

New Zealand could also benefit from a fresh review to consider whether the modest fleet of P-8As should continue to be viewed as a multi-agency asset. The 2019 Defence Capability Plan signalled “an advanced air surveillance capability” that could include drones for multi-agency surveillance.

Read more:
With climate change likely to sharpen conflict, NZ balances pacifist traditions with defence spending

Monitoring the EEZ is important to combat transnational crime and fisheries poaching. In the future we may also encounter refugee boats fleeing regional conflict or environmental catastrophe.

But freeing up the P-8As from routine monitoring might actually be more cost-effective, using smaller aircraft, satellites and drones. Drones are cheaper to operate and can enhance flexibility with long-range and long-duration patrols.

This would ensure best-practice military employment of the P-8A in response to national, regional and international defence challenges.

John Moremon 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. Cutting-edge new aircraft have increased NZ’s surveillance capacity – but are they enough in a changing world? – https://theconversation.com/cutting-edge-new-aircraft-have-increased-nzs-surveillance-capacity-but-are-they-enough-in-a-changing-world-209495

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney

The daily use of low dose aspirin has been a mainstay of preventing strokes for decades. While there has always been a risk of bleeding associated with aspirin use, the benefits were thought to outweigh the risk.

Now new research led by Monash University has shown daily, low-dose aspirin doesn’t prevent strokes in relatively healthy people aged over 70. And it increases their risk of bleeding on the brain after falls or other injuries.

But if you’re taking aspirin, it doesn’t mean you should abruptly stop. It may still have a role to play in treating people at high risk of stroke. Or, after talking to your doctor, there might be better options available.

Read more:
Hippocrates and willow bark? What you know about the history of aspirin is probably wrong

Why has aspirin been used to prevent strokes?

Aspirin is an anti-platelet medicine, which is commonly known as a blood-thinner. Platelets are the component of blood primarily responsible for its clotting action. They are what stop you from continuously bleeding any time you have a cut or scrape on your skin.

A stroke is when oxygen can’t get into the brain because of a burst or blocked blood vessel. A blockage can occur when platelets in the bloodstream form a clot and it gets stuck in the artery.

Because aspirin acts on platelets, it can help prevent the clots that can lead to a stroke.

But because aspirin acts on platelets, it can also increase the risk of unwanted bleeding, usually in the stomach. It can also increase your risk of bleeding more when you have another injury, like hitting your head.

Aspirin isn’t just used for the prevention of strokes. It is also the first aid treatment for someone undergoing a heart attack.

Findings of the Monash trial

New research from Australia and the United States reports results from the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial.

The researchers examined the protective use of daily low-dose aspirin (100 mg) in nearly 2,000 people who were aged 70 years and older and had no history of heart disease or stroke and whose blood pressure and cholesterol were well managed.

When compared with placebo, aspirin didn’t reduce or increase the risk of stroke. Of the participants who took the aspirin, 195 or 4.6% had a stroke. Of those who took the placebo, 203 people or 4.7% had a stroke.

But it did statistically increase the rate of non-stroke bleeding in the participants’ brains, for example when they injured their head. Those on aspirin showed a rate of bleeding in the brain of 1.1% (108 participants) compared with 0.8% (79 people) for those on placebo. This is a relatively, low but serious, risk.

Read more:
Daily low-dose aspirin doesn’t reduce heart-attack risk in healthy people

These findings are not entirely new. Research published five years ago based on the same ASPREE trial showed a similar result: a higher rate of bleeding among those taking low-dose aspirin compared with placebo.

However as the study authors note, aspirin continues to be widely used for the prevention of stroke.

What are the study’s limitations?

The researchers examined aspirin in mostly people of white European heritage.

So we don’t know whether the results are translatable to people with different ethnic backgrounds. Genetics and ethnicity can significantly impact the efficacy and safety of some drugs.

The clinical trial only included people who were not significantly at risk of a stroke, and had no history of heart disease.

Younger age groups were not studied either, so we cannot make any conclusions about their use of low dose aspirin to prevent stroke.

It’s also possible the potential benefits and risks are different for those who have underlying heart problems or who have previously had a stroke and are therefore at higher risk of another stroke.

I’m taking aspirin, what should I do?

If you’re taking daily low-dose aspirin and are concerned by the results of the study, it’s important you don’t just stop taking your medicine. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

For people who are at high risk of having a stroke, or have previously had one, low-dose aspirin may remain their treatment of choice despite the slight bleeding risk.

If you’re at high risk of bleeding, for example because of falls and other accidents due to advanced age, frailty, or another underlying condition, your doctor may be able to reduce the amount of aspirin you take by adding in dipyridamole or prescribing a different medicine completely, such as clopidogrel.

Read more:
How do painkillers actually kill pain? From ibuprofen to fentanyl, it’s about meeting the pain where it’s at

Associate Professor Nial Wheate in the past has received funding from the ACT Cancer Council, Tenovus Scotland, Medical Research Scotland, Scottish Crucible, and the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, a member of the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association, and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Nial is the chief scientific officer of Vaihea Skincare LLC, a director of SetDose Pty Ltd a medical device company, and a Standards Australia panel member for sunscreen agents. Nial regularly consults to industry on issues to do with medicine risk assessments, manufacturing, design, and testing.

Associate Professor Tina Hinton has previously received funding from the Schizophrenia Research Institute (formerly Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders). She is currently a Board member of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists.

– ref. Daily aspirin doesn’t prevent strokes in older, healthy people after all – https://theconversation.com/daily-aspirin-doesnt-prevent-strokes-in-older-healthy-people-after-all-210388

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Case, PhD Candidate, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people.

The European violin was initially an imposition on Indigenous culture. But Aboriginal engagement with the violin cannot be exclusively seen as a means of cultural loss.

To only report the brutality and destruction of the British empire in Australia is to miss seeing how Indigenous people engaged, influenced, rejected and survived the forces of empire.

As my new research shows, Indigenous violin playing throughout 20th century Australia saw Aboriginal people adapting the European violin to fit within ongoing cultural practices.

As an Aboriginal violinist, I have always been fascinated by the way Western instruments have been adapted to become an expression of culture and Indigenous identity.

By studying the ways Aboriginal people of this era played the violin, we can better understand how Aboriginal people have responded to interventions in their lives with varying degrees of accommodation and resistance.

Cultural continuation

As colonial governments made more concerted efforts to “civilise” Aboriginal people in 20th century Australia, many were segregated from society on missions or reserves.

Missionaries taught European activities and regularly forbade Aboriginal people from practising traditional customs. Western music was often taught to Aboriginal people as a means of demonstrating civility and as preparation for assimilation into white Australian society.

One of the first missions to explicitly use the violin in attempts to “civilise” Aboriginal people was on the New Norcia Mission, north of Perth, in operation from 1848 until 1974.

Aboriginal people continued to play the violin even when not prescribed. This does not mean the “civilising” mission was a success. Aboriginal people used music in the creation and preservation of individual, cultural and collective identities.

The violin was used on their own terms.

Peter Jetta was a Nyungar man born around 1872 who lived on the New Norcia Mission. Jetta used the violin as a hybrid expression of his own traditional culture.

As historian Anna Haebich writes, Jetta played the violin for local dances, weddings and Nyungar-only campfire gatherings in the bush.

“Old and new songs and dances mingled together reviving flagging spirits with the healing joy of being together as they had for millennia,” she says.

With this fusion of music, Jetta used the violin to enhance and maintain a sense of community.

The need for community would have been particularly acute on missions where many aspects of traditional life had been removed. Community and connection is an intrinsic element of Indigenous culture and its continuity.

Read more:
An Ode To My Grandmother: remaking the past using oral histories, theatre and music

An Aboriginal jazz band

In 1933, the Singleton Argus published a story on the wedding of Robert Silva and Mildred Bartholomew. The couple were living at Yellow Rock, a reserve at the base of the Blue Mountains near Sydney.

Music was provided by an Aboriginal jazz band playing locally made violins, banjos, steel guitars and gum leaves.

This couple walking down the aisle as these musicians played the Wedding March provides a rich evocation of the way western instruments were incorporated into Aboriginal music and events on their own terms.

Violins at a corroboree

An article from the Northern Champion in 1934 recounts a concert and corroboree that occurred in Purfleet, New South Wales, for the local “townspeople”. We can assume many in the audience were white.

The first part of the program was devoted to songs and native dances, followed by a corroboree which illustrated elements of native lore. A gumleaf band and orchestra concluded the program. Each instrument was homemade and included single-string fiddles, violins and ukuleles made from tea chests.

These musicians combined their familiar traditions and cultures with European instruments. They were not only keeping cultural practices alive and carrying traditional knowledge forward, but also educating the broader population.

While some performances by Aboriginal people were organised to protest the repressive governmental policies of 20th century Australia, other performances were organised as a willingness to share cultural diversity to both educate and engage non-Indigenous audiences.

These performances acted as a channel for cultural continuation within changing social and political agendas.

Indigenous players today

These historical violinists are the predecessors of creative and innovative Indigenous string players who enrich our contemporary cultural life today.

Noongar violist, composer and conductor Aaron Wyatt made history in 2022 as the first Indigenous conductor of a state orchestra.

Wyatt’s compositions draw on the tone colour of Western string instruments and Didgeridoo to reflect the beauty of Australian landscapes and convey an Indigenous connection to Country.

Ngiyampaa, Yuin, Bandjalang and Gumbangirr violinist Eric Avery creates starkly original pieces for voice and violin that evoke a powerful connection to his ancestors, culture and identity.

Both Wyatt and Avery exceed and surpass the archetype of classical string playing to create immensely original and modern compositions.

Read more:
A Tasmanian Requiem is a musical reckoning, and a pathway to reconciliation

Laura Case receives funding from the Henderson Postgraduate Scholarship.

– ref. Fusing traditional culture and the violin: how Aboriginal musicians enhanced and maintained community in 20th century Australia – https://theconversation.com/fusing-traditional-culture-and-the-violin-how-aboriginal-musicians-enhanced-and-maintained-community-in-20th-century-australia-208368

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Carter, Professor of Microbiology, University of Sydney

The medicinal value and potent antimicrobial activity of honey has been a topic of considerable interest in recent years, particularly in light of the alarming rise in antibiotic resistance.

While most honey comes from honey bees (Apis mellifera), other insects such as stingless bees, wasps and even ants can produce honey-like products from plant nectar.

One of these insects is the honeypot ant Camponotus inflatus, found throughout the central desert region of Australia. We set out to determine whether its honey might be medically useful.

Our results, published in PeerJ, show the honey has powerful anti-microbial effects, particularly against certain heat-tolerant yeasts and moulds which resist most current antifungal drugs.

Pots of gold

Honeypot ants are social ant species that develop large nests in the soil. Within these colonies, certain worker ants known as “repletes” serve as living food stores.

The repletes are fed by other members of the colony, who forage for nectar and honeydew in the environment. The repletes accumulate a golden honey-like substance in their flexible abdomens.

The repletes become so engorged with honey they are rendered almost immobile. They hang together from the ceiling of the nest, forming a sort of ant pantry.

In times of need, other worker ants visit the repletes and stroke their antennae. The repletes cough up some honey in response, and the other workers then distribute it throughout the colony.

Most honeypot ants live in very dry environments. Their unusual lifestyle has been so successful it has evolved multiple times.

Honeypot ants in First Nations culture

In Australia, Camponotus inflatus is found throughout the central desert region and holds cultural and nutritional significance to local Indigenous people.

Danny Ulrich of the Tjupan language group, operator of Goldfields Honey Ant Tours in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, says

For our people, honey ants are more than just a food source. Digging for them is a very enjoyable way of life. It’s a way of bringing the family together, to connect with each other and nature.

There are also reports of traditional use of honeypot ant honey for treating ailments like colds and sore throats, and possibly as a topical ointment to help keep infections at bay, suggesting potential antimicrobial properties.

Not your usual honey activity

To investigate further, we obtained honeypot ant repletes from Goldfields Honey Ant Tours, collected and pooled the honey from the ants and tested its ability to inhibit various pathogenic bacteria, yeasts and moulds.

We compared this to two well-studied bee honeys with anti-microbial properties: manuka honey from New Zealand, and jarrah honey from Western Australia.

Our results revealed striking differences between the honeypot ant honey and the bee honeys.

Both bee honeys showed broad activity and were able to inhibit every pathogen tested at similar levels. However, the honeypot ant honey showed remarkable potency against certain microbes, but little against others.

Read more:
Science or Snake Oil: is manuka honey really a ‘superfood’ for treating colds, allergies and infections?

Important factors that contribute to the antimicrobial power of bee honey are its high sugar and low water content, which sucks the water out of microbial invaders.

We found honeypot ant honey to have a much higher moisture content than the bee honeys, however, putting it in a range that could support the growth of some microorganisms.

Most bee honeys also contain enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide, a known antimicrobial compound. However, honeypot ant honey retained most of its activity even after we removed all the hydrogen peroxide.

Finally, some honeys contain antimicrobial proteins and peptides that are derived from the honey bee. These can be destroyed by heat, and when we heated the honeypot ant honey to 90℃ for 10 minutes it lost most of its antimicrobial activity.

We therefore think this unique antimicrobial activity is likely due to proteins or peptides, and these are probably derived from the honeypot ant.

Evolution of antimicrobial activity in the insect world

In the natural environment, animals, plants, and the products they make are exposed to a huge range of microorganisms looking for their next meal. Sweet, nutritious honey is an enticing food source for these microbial scavengers and must be vigorously protected, both to prevent its spoilage and to stop invasion of the hive or nest by rapidly growing moulds.

Intriguingly, we found honeypot ant honey was particularly effective against some pathogens we consider to be quite “tough”. These pathogens are well adapted to living in soils and dry conditions, and can also cause very serious infections in people with severely weakened immune systems.

Read more:
Wasps, aphids and ants: the other honey makers

In particular, the ant honey was able to inhibit heat-tolerant yeasts and moulds that are likely to be present in the honey ant nest and surrounding environment. Importantly, these can be very difficult to kill with most currently available antifungal drugs.

We suggest the evolutionary pressure imposed by these soil microorganisms has resulted in the potent, selective antimicrobial activity of honeypot ant honey.

Science catches up with Indigenous knowledge

Our results clearly support the medicinal use of honeypot ant honey by Australian Indigenous communities and provide a new understanding of the intricate relationship between honeypot ants, their environment, and the remarkable antimicrobial activity exhibited by their honey.

Due to the cultural significance of the ants, and challenges with rearing them at a commercial scale, it is not feasible to domesticate honeypot ants for honey production.

However, honeypot ant honey may provide valuable insights for the development of useful new antimicrobial peptides. These may help expand our arsenal of effective antibacterial and antifungal treatments, which are increasingly needed to combat emerging challenges in healthcare.

Dee Carter has received funding to support work on honey bee honey from The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, AgriFutures, the Australian Research Council (Linkage program), and the NSW Government under the Bushfire Industry Recovery Package.

Danny Ulrich is the operator of Goldfields Honey Ant Tours.

Kenya Fernandes conducts research on honey bees and medicinal honey supported by the NSW Government under the Bushfire Industry Recovery Package.

Nural Cokcetin has received funding to support research on honey bees and medicinal honey from AgriFutures Australia and the NSW Government under the Bushfire Industry Recovery Package. She is a member of the NSW Apiarists’ Association.

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

– ref. Australian ant honey inhibits tough pathogens, new research shows – https://theconversation.com/australian-ant-honey-inhibits-tough-pathogens-new-research-shows-209271

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra

Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the second consecutive quarter.

After reaching a 30-year high of 7.8% at the end of 2022, annual inflation as measured by the Bureau of Statistics’ quarterly Consumer Price Index slid to 7% in the March quarter of 2023, and fell further to 6% in the June quarter.

The quarterly results are consistent with the newer monthly measure of annual inflation which has also been falling since hitting a high of 8.4% in December.

The monthly measure slid to 5.4% in June.

Helping bring inflation down were state government electricity rebates and cuts in the prices some households paid for medicines.

The prices of new dwellings grew more slowly as demand eased and problems with the supply of materials improved.

Conversely, there were sharp increases in the prices of insurance and some other financial services.

The bureau’s measure of rents (which covers rents paid in distinction to more widely quoted measures of rents advertised) grew by 6.7% in the year to June, up from 4.9% in the year to March, and the most since 2009.

Underlying inflation down

To get a better idea of what would be happening were it not for some of these unusual and outsized moves, the bureau calculates what it calls a trimmed mean measure of “underlying” inflation.

This excludes the 15% of prices that climbed the most in the quarter and the 15% of prices that climbed the least or fell.

This measure, closely watched by the Reserve Bank, is also falling and is now 5.9%.

The fall in Australia’s inflation is in line with falls in other Western nations including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. They have been brought about by an easing of supply bottlenecks and slowing economic activity in response to increases in interest rates.

An exception is China, which has almost no inflation.

Much of the slide in Australia’s inflation rate reflects weaker economic growth.

The economy grew only 0.2% in the March quarter. The Reserve Bank believes it grew by only that much again in the June quarter.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers was keen to highlight the role of his budget cost-of-living package which he said would help with rent, energy bills and childcare.

Many common medicines would become cheaper from September as a result of the government’s decision to allow some people to buy two months’ worth of supply for the price of a single prescription.

Chalmers said inflation was only 0.8% in the June quarter itself, less than half the rate of the quarterly peak in the March quarter of 2022, just before the 2022 election.

While he would prefer inflation to be falling more quickly, Australia was “making progress”.

What does it mean for my mortgage?

The 6% inflation rate is lower than the 6.3% forecast for June in the Reserve Bank’s Statement of Monetary Policy released in May, although that forecast assumed a lower cash rate than the 4.1% the bank lifted its cash rate to in June.

This makes it look as if inflation is falling fast enough to reach the bank’s 2-3% target band by mid-2025, which is a pace the bank had said was acceptable.

Outgoing governor Phil Lowe defended that pace in April, saying

if we can get inflation back to 3% by mid-2025 and preserve many of those job gains that have been delivered in the last few years, that’s a better outcome than getting inflation back to 3% one year earlier and having more job losses.

Incoming governor Michele Bullock has also argued a faster return to target would likely mean unnecessary job losses, saying:

our judgement is that if we can return inflation to target in a reasonable timeframe – while preserving as many of the employment gains as we can – that would be a better outcome.

Today’s news does not suggest the bank needs to lift rates further. It shows it is still on what Lowe calls the “narrow path” to getting things right.

Read more:
The Lowe road – the RBA treads a ‘narrow path’

It is possible that the broad-based increases in the inflation rate for services, driven in part by faster wage growth, might be a concern for the bank. And it is possible the present low unemployment rate could push up wages growth further.

The bank will be scanning reports from its business liaison program for clues.

But it is likely to take comfort from the fact inflation is falling as it expected it to, and at about the expected pace. It will meet to discuss rates next Tuesday.

It certainly isn’t likely to cut rates for quite some time. At 6%, inflation remains well above its 2-3% target.

John Hawkins was formerly an economic analyst and forecaster in the Reserve Bank and Treasury,

He has a bet with a colleague about whether the Bank will raise rates further; the stake is $2.

– ref. Underlying inflation has slipped below 6%, but is the slide enough to stop the RBA pushing up rates further? – https://theconversation.com/underlying-inflation-has-slipped-below-6-but-is-the-slide-enough-to-stop-the-rba-pushing-up-rates-further-209852

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Sprogis, Adjunct Research Fellow, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia

Sad scenes are unfolding in Western Australia after a pod of pilot whales became stranded on a beach late on Tuesday. According to the latest reports, 51 of the whales have died. Some 46 remain beached and authorities are working desperately to get them back out to sea.

Pilot whale strandings unfortunately occur in WA, and other Australian states, from time to time. In recent years they have also occurred in New Zealand and Scotland. But this stranding is unusual because of the behaviour the whales exhibited prior to becoming beached.

The pod of long-finned pilot whales began congregating in the ocean off Cheynes Beach on Monday evening. They remained in a “huddle” on Tuesday, raising fears a stranding was imminent.

I am a marine biologist who specialises in marine mammals. I am based at the University of Western Australia’s Albany campus, about 70 kilometres from where the stranding occurred. Sadly, the chances of survival for the remaining whales is very low – and time is fast running out.

Understanding pilot whales

There are two species of pilot whales: short-finned (which live mainly in tropical and warm-temperate regions) and long-finned (generally found in colder waters). As the name suggests, the long-finned pilot whales have longer pectoral fins than their counterparts.

The pilot whales stranded at Cheynes Beach are long-finned. They are generally found offshore, in the deep open ocean. We rarely see them close to the coast. This makes the species hard to study.

Pilot whales are, however, known to inhabit Bremer Canyon, a very deep ocean area 70 kilometres off the WA coast.

Read more:
About 200 dead whales have been towed out to sea off Tasmania – and what happens next is a true marvel of nature

What happened at Cheynes Beach?

The group of whales was spotted swimming in shallow waters at Cheynes Beach late on Monday. An official from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions called me on Tuesday morning, and asked about the strange huddling behaviour. I was immediately concerned.

Healthy pilot whales do not form huddles, so something seemed very wrong. The department’s drone footage showed the pod was forming a very tight ball, then moving into a line, then back into the ball shape. And the pod was in very shallow coastal water, which is odd.

We suspected the behaviour was a precursor to a stranding. The department prepared its whale stranding kit and had officials on standby in case a stranding occurred. Unfortunately, it did.

By 4pm on Tuesday, almost 100 whales had beached themselves. Officials monitored them overnight. By Wednesday morning, 51 had died.

This is unsurprising. And sadly, the chance of survival for the remaining whales is very low. Cold, windy conditions means the whales are susceptible to hypothermia. And if they are already sick – as is sometimes the case with beached whales – this combination of factors can be fatal.

What’s more, whales are not used to the pressure of gravity we experience on land. When whales are stranded, their organs can collapse due to the weight of their own body.

In some cases, long-finned pilot whales have been known to survive after being stranded. But time is of the essence.

Why did the whales beach themselves?

In 2015, another pod of pilot whales beached itself in Bunbury, north of Albany. Sadly, 12 died. At the time, I and a colleague conducted necropsies on the pilot whales, but the findings were inconclusive.

Whale strandings cannot be predicted and we do not know exactly why they occur. But in the case of pilot whales, their social behaviour offers some clues.

Pilot whales are similar to elephants in that they live in tight-knit family groups. It’s thought mass strandings may occur when the matriarch of the group is sick and swims into shallow water, and the others follow, or are “piloted”.

Whales may also become stranded due to an external stress. For example, whales use sound to communicate, navigate and search for food. Loud man-made underwater noises can disrupt this system.

Read more:
What causes whale mass strandings?

What next?

Officials at Cheynes Beach are trying to refloat the whales. Researchers are also taking biopsy samples and nasal swabs from the dead whales.

Experts will examine the swabs and samples, to try and understand more about this stranding event. I anticipate they will look for evidence of illness such as influenza or cetacean morbillivirus, as well as stress from underwater noise.

You might also be wondering what everyday people can do to help. If you observe marine mammals behaving unusually or getting stranded, alert authorities. And please stand aside to let authorities and other experts do their work. This is vital for the welfare of the animals and the safety of both helpers and bystanders.

Right now, I feel a bit helpless. I would like to be able to answer everyone’s primary question: why do pilot whales become stranded? It is a long-standing mystery in marine mammal science, and we don’t really know the answer.

More research is needed. Scientists need funding to attend mass strandings, collect and analyse samples and write up the findings. That gives us the best chance of piecing together this complicated puzzle.

Read more:
Whale-watching guidelines don’t include boat noise. It’s time they did

Kate Sprogis 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. An expert explains the stranding of 97 pilot whales in WA and their mysterious ‘huddling’ before the tragedy – https://theconversation.com/an-expert-explains-the-stranding-of-97-pilot-whales-in-wa-and-their-mysterious-huddling-before-the-tragedy-210453

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Sprogis, Adjunct Research Fellow, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia

Sad scenes are unfolding in Western Australia after a pod of pilot whales became stranded on a beach late on Tuesday. According to the latest reports, 51 of the whales have died. Some 46 remain beached and authorities are working desperately to get them back out to sea.

Pilot whale strandings unfortunately occur in WA, and other Australian states, from time to time. In recent years they have also occurred in New Zealand and Scotland. But this stranding is unusual because of the behaviour the whales exhibited prior to becoming beached.

The pod of long-finned pilot whales began congregating in the ocean off Cheynes Beach on Monday evening. They remained in a “huddle” on Tuesday, raising fears a stranding was imminent.

I am a marine biologist who specialises in marine mammals. I am based at the University of Western Australia’s Albany campus, about 70 kilometres from where the stranding occurred. Sadly, the chances of survival for the remaining whales is very low – and time is fast running out.

Understanding pilot whales

There are two species of pilot whales: short-finned (which live mainly in tropical and warm-temperate regions) and long-finned (generally found in colder waters). As the name suggests, the long-finned pilot whales have longer pectoral fins than their counterparts.

The pilot whales stranded at Cheynes Beach are long-finned. They are generally found offshore, in the deep open ocean. We rarely see them close to the coast. This makes the species hard to study.

Pilot whales are, however, known to inhabit Bremer Canyon, a very deep ocean area 70 kilometres off the WA coast.

Read more:
About 200 dead whales have been towed out to sea off Tasmania – and what happens next is a true marvel of nature

What happened at Cheynes Beach?

The group of whales was spotted swimming in shallow waters at Cheynes Beach late on Monday. An official from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions called me on Tuesday morning, and asked about the strange huddling behaviour. I was immediately concerned.

Healthy pilot whales do not form huddles, so something seemed very wrong. The department’s drone footage showed the pod was forming a very tight ball, then moving into a line, then back into the ball shape. And the pod was in very shallow coastal water, which is odd.

We suspected the behaviour was a precursor to a stranding. The department prepared its whale stranding kit and had officials on standby in case a stranding occurred. Unfortunately, it did.

By 4pm on Tuesday, 87 whales had beached themselves. Officials monitored them overnight. By Wednesday morning, 51 had died.

This is unsurprising. And sadly, the chance of survival for the remaining whales is very low. Cold, windy conditions means the whales are susceptible to hypothermia. And if they are already sick – as is sometimes the case with beached whales – this combination of factors can be fatal.

What’s more, whales are not used to the pressure of gravity we experience on land. When whales are stranded, their organs can collapse due to the weight of their own body.

In some cases, long-finned pilot whales have been known to survive after being stranded. But time is of the essence.

Why did the whales beach themselves?

In 2015, another pod of pilot whales beached itself in Bunbury, north of Albany. Sadly, 12 died. At the time, I and a colleague conducted autopsies on the pilot whales, but the findings were inconclusive.

Whale strandings cannot be predicted and we do not know exactly why they occur. But in the case of pilot whales, their social behaviour offers some clues.

Pilot whales are similar to elephants in that they live in tight-knit family groups. It’s thought mass strandings may occur when the matriarch of the group is sick and swims into shallow water, and the others follow, or are “piloted”.

Whales may also become stranded due to an external stress. For example, whales use sound to communicate, navigate and search for food. Loud man-made underwater noises can disrupt this system.

Read more:
What causes whale mass strandings?

What next?

Officials at Cheynes Beach are trying to refloat the whales. Researchers are also taking biopsy samples and nasal swabs from the dead whales.

Experts will examine the swabs and samples, to try and understand more about this stranding event. I anticipate they will look for evidence of illness such as influenza or cetacean morbillivirus, as well as stress from underwater noise.

You might also be wondering what everyday people can do to help. If you observe marine mammals behaving unusually or getting stranded, alert authorities. And please stand aside to let authorities and other experts do their work. This is vital for the welfare of the animals and the safety of both helpers and bystanders.

Right now, I feel a bit helpless. I would like to be able to answer everyone’s primary question: why do pilot whales become stranded? It is a long-standing mystery in marine mammal science, and we don’t really know the answer.

More research is needed. Scientists need funding to attend mass strandings, collect and analyse samples and write up the findings. That gives us the best chance of piecing together this complicated puzzle.

Read more:
Whale-watching guidelines don’t include boat noise. It’s time they did

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

– ref. An expert explains the stranding of 87 pilot whales in WA and their mysterious ‘huddling’ before the tragedy – https://theconversation.com/an-expert-explains-the-stranding-of-87-pilot-whales-in-wa-and-their-mysterious-huddling-before-the-tragedy-210453

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Shackell, Sessional Academic, Visitor, Queensland University of Technology

To non-moguls, Elon Musk’s (perhaps temporary) rebrand of Twitter to “X” may seem high risk, amateurish, or even capricious. But it is likely doing exactly what he intended: generating enormous global interest, pushing Twitter closer to his other X brands (SpaceX, Tesla Model X, xAI), and clearing the way for a profitable merging of technologies.

What happened to the blue bird?

Last weekend, Musk began the (reversible) changes by renaming the Twitter platform X on its website and replacing the iconic blue bird logo with a crowdsourced “interim” white “X” on a black background.

Later, Musk posted an image of the character projected on the firm’s San Francisco headquarters and tweeted (or is that “X’d”?) that x.com now redirects to twitter.com.

The X bears a strong resemblance to the Unicode character “mathematical double-struck capital X”, derived from the way bold characters are usually written on blackboards in maths lectures. The logo is still undergoing iterations, with a short-lived thickening of the lines going live on July 26, before Musk announced he didn’t like it and would revert.

Linda Yaccarino, Twitter’s CEO and potential scapegoat if the rebrand goes wrong, also confirmed the launch on Sunday, tweeting, “X is here! Let’s do this.”

Read more:
Elon Musk’s ‘hardcore’ management style: a case study in what not to do

Has a radical rebrand ever succeeded?

In 2021, Facebook rebranded its holding company to Meta. But it kept “Facebook”, gave us the metaverse, and didn’t deprive the world of a cute feathery icon and concept of “tweeting”.

Branding experts around the globe have been quick to condemn the Twitter shakeup as too sudden and destructive of brand capital. That’s perhaps because even slight name changes are known to be risky. Kentucky Fried Chicken officially rebranded to KFC. Pepsi was once Pepsi-Cola. These successful adjustments took time and careful management.

Dramatic renaming of a household name has basically never worked. And there’s no doubt a black “X” replacing “Twitter” is dramatic. It smashes the metaphor of birds updating one another in an idyllic blue-sky ecosystem. Sentimental fans holding out for a return to the good old days have now got the memo: Twitter isn’t for you.

But perhaps that’s the point. To me, X – a symbol that can be a cattle marker or an illiterate signature – seems like a probe to perturb and test the market.

Musk isn’t renaming fast food or soft drinks. Twitter is in the hyper-dynamic business of information. Musk is agile and well armed. So maybe new branding rules are being forged.

Musk’s progressive alienation of Twitter’s traditional users could be an attempt to refresh the platform’s demographic – to draw in those true to his other brands, while shaking off unprofitable sceptics. This would certainly fit with the push X gives towards Musk’s other X brands.

Most commentators have latched onto the idea the change is sudden, irreversible, and complete in one day. But Musk’s past business endeavours suggest he is a strategist. The change will take time to play out and can likely be revised, reversed and adjusted as feedback is generated.

Read more:
What will Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter mean for ‘free speech’ on the platform?

Doesn’t someone else own the “X” trademark?

Trademarking of “X” is probably not pivotal to the Twitter rebrand. But achieving limited ownership of the letter is not as preposterous as it sounds.

Trademarks are granted or refused based on their ability to identify the source of the associated goods or services. This means X can function as a trademark if it clearly identifies Twitter in the minds of the public (provided another Twitter-like service doesn’t currently hold the trademark). Famous brands have advantages: Musk has already garnered enough media attention to ensure X is now a globally recognised term for his company.

Is X a generic term and thus not trademarkable? My own research argues trademarks used by tech firms involved in consumer search and decision making (like Twitter) are inherently generic. But under the 77-year-old Lanham Act that still governs trademarks in the United States, X would have to be a common generic name for all services like Twitter to be refused. It isn’t. It’s mostly just a generic term for the 24th letter of the alphabet.

Speculation about the legality of X as a trademark is one thing. My time writing about trademarks, has taught me the reality in courts and tribunals is another. Both Microsoft and Meta (and many others) have laid claims to X in the past for various goods and services.

Lawsuits over X may be filed, but final determinations could be years in the courts. And if things go badly, Musk has just shown his willingness to pivot.

Read more:
The ‘digital town square’? What does it mean when billionaires own the online spaces where we gather?

What is Musk trying to achieve?

Tech commentators are intrigued by the idea the X rebrand is part of Musk’s plan to create a WeChat-style “everything app” that would converge messaging, search, online shopping and mobile payment. Twitter CEO, Yaccarino, has said as much.

I find that analysis too simplistic, especially given the ongoing focus on antitrust. Musk is arguably in a position to survey (and reshape) the landscape of not just “town square” discourse but space travel, artificial intelligence (AI), transportation and even politics. He operates on a scale incompatible with endgames. I sense the X rebrand is more about a direction of travel. Or even a sacrifice for a greater goal.

The X rebrand could relate to AI (Musk had a role in a data drought this year by restricting Twitter data access). Or it could be testing the waters for a different pivot later in the year. Or it could be an attempt to distract from some other move. There’s no way to know.

Even the phrase “time will tell” is no help. How can we know if an unknown plan succeeds or not? Does Musk care if Twitter disappears? Does he care if he is worth two hundred billion or three hundred billion?

Welcome to the inscrutable world of X.

Cameron Shackell works as a freelance brand and marketing consultant but does not work for any company mentioned in this article. He is a regular contributor to World Trademark Review which is linked to in this article.

– ref. Do rebrands work? Can you trademark an X? An expert answers the burning questions on Musk’s Twitter pivot – https://theconversation.com/do-rebrands-work-can-you-trademark-an-x-an-expert-answers-the-burning-questions-on-musks-twitter-pivot-210377

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madi Day, Lecturer, Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University

During Sydney World Pride the federal government committed to a ten-year action plan for LGBTIQA+ health and wellbeing. This included A$26 million in health research.

In the announcement, the minister for health and aged care, Mark Butler, said:

While many LGBTIQA+ people live happy and healthy lives, others continue to experience discrimination, stigma, isolation, harassment and violence – all of which leads to poorer health and mental health.

Our recent report, co-authored with Professor Bronwyn Carlson and Dr Terri Farrelly, showed this cohort is disproportionately impacted by discrimination and disadvantage. The combined impacts of colonialism, racism, homophobia and transphobia result in poorer health and mental health for this group.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are chronically over-researched. Yet there is insufficient data about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people and mental health. The SB on the end of LGBTQIASB+ stands for Sistergirl and Brotherboy. These are Aboriginal English terms used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander transgender women and men.

Research suggests Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people are at much higher risk of suicide and suicide-related behaviours.

Read more:
What can we learn from the marriage equality vote about supporting First Nations people during the Voice debate?

What did our report find?

Our report found racism, discrimination and violence (including anticipation and fear of violence), social and cultural exclusion, criminalisation, incarceration, and exposure to grief and suicide all heighten the risk of suicide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people.

Both Indigenous people and LGBTQIA+ people experience poorer health outcomes and higher rates of health-impacting behaviours. These can arise from minority stress, social exclusion, discrimination and trauma. On top of this, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people navigate the impacts of colonialism. These include heterosexism within their own communities and racism from non-Indigenous LGBTQIA+ people and services.

The report also found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+-led research, policy, and services are urgently needed to improve mental health and health outcomes for this group.

But when the advisory committee for the national action plan was announced, it included one Aboriginal organisation.

There is very limited data on Indigenous LGBTQIASB+ people

Our report found research and statistics on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ populations are impeded by binary categories of sex. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are primarily categorised as “male” and “female” in health research, rather than in terms of their gender.

Gender refers to a person’s social and cultural self, while sex is medically assigned to people at the time of their birth.

Gender and sex diverse people are often lost in statistics. Even when data is collected on these groups, non-binary sex and gender is often excluded or overlooked due to small sample sizes. This was the case with the 2021 census. Although the census collected responses on non-binary sex, it did not provide meaningful data.

Data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people and suicide-related behaviour is also limited. One factor is that, in Australia, information about sexuality and gender diversity is rarely recorded at death (unless specifically included by a coroner).

When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people participate in national LGBTQIA+ health research, their involvement is merely noted without adequate discussion or action on the implications of their data.

For example, 3.7% of trans young people who were participants in the Telethon Kids Trans Pathway Report identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. This is representative of the overall Australian population. However, there was no in-depth exploration of the experiences of this cohort.

This occurs because most non-Indigenous researchers and organisations are not confident or capable in reporting on Indigenous people. That’s why it is essential Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people are involved at every stage of research. This would ensure data is appropriately captured, interpreted, and reported on.

Read more:
New research shows how Indigenous LGBTIQ+ people don’t feel fully accepted by either community

The impact of racism and discrimination

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people commonly report experiencing racism and discrimination not only in the wider community, but also within LGBTQIA+ communities. They also struggle with acceptance in both Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ spaces.

Our report drew from existing work by Aboriginal LGBTQIASB+ researchers about the difficulties for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people who often have to choose between either Indigenous or LGBTQIA+ services when accessing mental health support. This means choosing between adequate support as an Indigenous person or an LGBTQIA+ person. Very few services successfully do both.

Our research also demonstrates poor health outcomes and increased vulnerability to suicide are outcomes of racism, discrimination, marginalisation, homophobia and transphobia.

Colonialism is the root cause of discrimination and violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people. It is also the cause of poor health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people more broadly.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ communities at the forefront

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people must be treated as a priority group in the national action plan.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people need to be able to design and steer research and policy making at every level. Governments should invest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations to improve capacity to service our communities.

If this doesn’t happen, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people need their own national plan. Improving health and mental health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people is urgent, and we can’t afford another ten plus years at the margins of national LGBTQIA+ policy.

If this article caused distress for readers, these are some available helplines:
13Yarn
Lifeline
QLife

Madi Day received funding from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for a publication included in the Indigenous Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Clearinghouse.

Dameyon Bonson received funding from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare for a publication included in the Indigenous Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Clearinghouse. Dameyon is the Founder of Black Rainbow.

– ref. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must be at the centre, not the margins, of LGBTQIA+ plans and policies – https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people-must-be-at-the-centre-not-the-margins-of-lgbtqia-plans-and-policies-209221

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane McAdam AO, Scientia Professor and Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney

It has been over a decade since Australia revived its offshore processing regime for asylum seekers, yet revelations of the policy’s human and financial failures keep coming.

Last weekend, the Nine newspapers reported that the Department of Home Affairs allegedly oversaw the payments of millions of taxpayer dollars to politicians in the Pacific through a chain of suspect contracts.

The Guardian also revealed that the Morrison government had signed a “confidential bilateral agreement” with Papua New Guinea, which promised an undisclosed amount of money in return for welfare and support services for fewer than 80 refugees who remained trapped there.

In the wake of these reports, the Greens have reiterated their call for a royal commission into offshore processing, supported by independent MP Zali Steggall.

These latest reports add to the large amount of research laying bare the human toll of offshore processing.

Offshore processing has had far-reaching consequences beyond our region as well. In the United Kingdom, a similar policy is unfolding, modelled on Australia’s asylum practices. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has just passed legislation that provides new powers to deport those who seek protection across the Channel.

As the number of people in need of protection grows every year, it is imperative that unlawful and unsustainable efforts to push the problem elsewhere be reversed. Bringing Australia’s offshore processing policy to an end is an important first step.

But Australia must also look ahead to the challenges and opportunities that forced migration will create in the coming decade.

Regional cooperation on asylum

By the end of 2022, there were around 14 million displaced and/or stateless people in the Asia-Pacific region. This included seven million refugees, five million internally displaced people and 2.5 million stateless people.

Violence, conflict and persecution in Afghanistan and Myanmar have produced the largest number of displaced people. Of particular concern are the millions of Rohingya living in extremely precarious conditions in Bangladesh.

Australian policy seems premised on the idea that without strong border controls, all these people would set sail for our shores. The reality, though, is vastly different.

Indeed, since 1975, 90% of refugees displaced in the Asia-Pacific region have stayed as close to home as possible.

However, many lack basic rights to work, health care and education, and are at risk of destitution, detention or exploitation. This means that, without a concerted effort to improve protection for refugees in the region, we will likely see more people in search of their own solutions.

The challenges of displacement are global in nature, and its multi-layered causes mean there are no simple solutions. But we have a better chance of managing displacement with clear-eyed, collaborative and holistic responses, rather than unilateral policies aimed at deterrence and deflection.

Read more:
Rwanda plan is in legal limbo, but history shows such migration deals are unlikely to disappear

What should Australia do?

First, we need to move from a responsibility-shifting to a responsibility-sharing approach.

In recent years, our government has asked countries in the region for help in stopping people from trying to reach Australia. But our credibility and moral authority to promote constructive responses to the problem have been fundamentally undermined by policies such as offshore processing and turning back boats.

Above all, we need to listen, not lecture; to collaborate, not cajole.

By listening to other governments, as well as civil society and refugee-led organisations in the region, we will gain a better understanding of their perspectives and needs.

We need to take a “whole-of-society approach”, engaging a diverse set of stakeholders to meet the needs of asylum seekers collaboratively. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has recently emphasised that countries must also take a “whole-of-route approach”, ensuring protection at every stage of an asylum seeker’s journey.

In the short term, Australia should work with governments in the region to help provide refugees and other displaced people with basic rights and protections. By improving conditions in these countries, we could reduce the need for onward travel to Australia.

There is considerable goodwill right now, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand all signalling a desire to improve their legal frameworks in this area. For instance, Thailand is developing a new “national screening mechanism” to identify refugees, while the Philippines recently revised its systems for determining refugee and statelessness status and has pending legislation on a number of issues.

In return for governments in Southeast Asia adopting reforms, Australia should significantly increase the number of people it resettles from these countries and create other “complementary pathways” to protection. We should also develop more strategic responses in acute crises, just as we did for people fleeing Ukraine last year.

This would be a win–win. More people would be afforded protection in Australia through orderly programs, and those remaining in the region would have basic rights they currently lack.

We also need to engage in diplomatic efforts to encourage other countries in the region, such as New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, to increase their resettlement quotas.

And Australia should provide better resourcing to UNHCR, as well as to local networks and civil society initiatives, such as the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network and the Asia Pacific Network of Refugees.

This is not only the right thing to do, but would also be more effective and efficient than current approaches. It is in our national interest not to ignore or compound the consequences of unresolved displacement in our region.

Read more:
Amid a worsening refugee crisis, public support is high in both Australia and NZ to accept more Rohingya

Achieving better protection outcomes

Over the longer term, we should promote respect for human rights and the rule of law, increase our contributions to aid and development in the region, and work to reduce conflict and the negative effects of climate change.

These efforts could help ease the conditions that force people to leave their homes in search of safety. This could also improve conditions for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of those not in need of protection.

Finally, success should not only be measured by whether a state has ratified a particular refugee treaty or adopted national asylum legislation. Protection outcomes for real people are what matter. In other words, are the needs of displaced people and their host communities being met?

This is why we need to develop a more collaborative approach across the Asia-Pacific to ensure that displaced people can move on with their lives in safety and with dignity – whether that is in Australia or elsewhere in the region.

In so doing, we must ensure the concerns and voices of those most directly impacted are heard and addressed.

Jane McAdam AO receives funding from the Australian Research Council and has provided expert advice to a range of international bodies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Daniel Ghezelbash receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the NSW Government. He is a member of the management committee of Refugee Advice and Casework Services and a Special Counsel at the National Justice Project.

Madeline has provided advice to the Australian and UK governments about the international law implications of offshore processing.

Brian Barbour is a senior refugee protection advisor for Act for Peace.

Claire Higgins receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Tristan Harley receives funding from the Gerda Henkel Foundation and Act for Peace. He has previously worked as a consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network and the Asia Pacific Network of Refugees.

– ref. Our cruel and costly offshore processing system was a failure. We have a better solution on asylum policy – https://theconversation.com/our-cruel-and-costly-offshore-processing-system-was-a-failure-we-have-a-better-solution-on-asylum-policy-210378

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Macpherson, Associate Professor of Law, University of Canterbury

The recent failure of the proposed Kermadec ocean sanctuary is a striking reminder of the need for leadership around New Zealand’s ocean policies.

The “no take” ocean sanctuary was meant to be one of the world’s largest marine protected areas. But last month Te Ohu Kaimoana (which represents Māori fisheries interests) voted against the latest proposal.

Their opposition was on the basis that the government hadn’t consulted iwi, and the proposal would extinguish iwi rights guaranteed in the 1992 Fisheries Deed of Settlement and the Māori Fisheries Act.

The government response was an admission that our marine policy is not working as it should, and that we need new marine protection tools consistent with te ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Our new research suggests a different approach to how New Zealand manages competing uses of the marine environment.

It highlights opportunities to align marine policy and its implementation more closely by considering the ocean as an ecosystem with which people have reciprocal relationships.

New Zealand’s vast ocean territory

Aotearoa is surrounded by a sea territory 15 times the size of its landmass. This extends from the shorelines of the main islands to the Kermadecs (Rangitāhua) in the northwest, the Chathams (Rēkohu) in the east and the subantarctic Campbell Island in the south Pacific ocean.

Two in three New Zealanders live within 5km of the shore and many use the ocean and coasts for recreational and cultural activities. The blue economy provides significant income to New Zealand, including through commercial fisheries, offshore minerals, ports and marinas, maritime transport and coastal tourism.

The Hauraki Gulf alone was recently valued as a NZ$100 billion natural capital asset.

Marine and coastal ecosystems are threatened by climate change, as oceans are acidifying, sea levels rising and sea-surface temperatures increasing. But they are also our best line of defence in buffering extreme events, filtering land runoff and storing “blue carbon”.

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Blue carbon: could a solution to the climate challenge be buried in the depths of fiords?

Māori have cared for their seascapes for generations and have a complex set of reciprocal marine relationships, including protected fishing rights and interests.

But our marine environment is under immense strain. Recent reports highlight a significant decline in marine ecological health, with flow-on impacts for communities.

The range of complex relationships New Zealanders have with the ocean can be difficult to reconcile, especially against an historical context of repeated Crown failures to respect and uphold the rangatiratanga held by iwi and hapū over oceans and fisheries.

À lire aussi :
Why Indigenous knowledge should be an essential part of how we govern the world’s oceans

An ecosystem approach to marine policy

New Zealand’s marine policies are currently dispersed across multiple pieces of legislation and regulatory institutions. They may be working towards different, and sometimes competing, objectives and at various time and geographical scales.

Research conducted within the Sustainable Seas national science challenge looks at ecosystem-based management. This involves managing the marine environment in a way that reconciles competing values without degrading the ocean ecosystem. It also recognises that humans are part of the ecosystem.

A more holistic and relational ecosystem-based approach to managing human activities in the ocean would acknowledge the inter-dependencies between living and non-living marine ecosystem components, including people.

It would move away from siloed or single-sector approaches to instead managing relationships and the cumulative impacts of multiple activities in a way that is flexible and adapts to climate change.

À lire aussi :
Our oceans are in deep trouble – a ‘mountains to sea’ approach could make a real difference

Fundamental principles driving oceans policy

Our research found we already have legal and policy “hooks” (or promising reform initiatives underway) that can support ecosystem-based management across the four key marine policy areas of fisheries, conservation, coastal planning and Māori rights and interests. But these are not always well integrated or aligned.

For example, regional councils are responsible for the coastal marine area under the Resource Management Act (which is currently under reform), but the Ministry of Primary Industries is responsible for the regulation and allocation of fishing rights under the Fisheries Act.

Oceans protection is largely the responsibility of the Department of Conservation, while Māori rights and interests are held by iwi and hapū, subject to a wide range of legal regimes and regulation. Each of these policy areas operates on different time and geographic scales and is working towards (sometimes vastly) different policy objectives, with varying budgets and resources.

To overcome this, our research confirmed we need to agree on fundamental marine principles to “anchor” ecosystem-based management and ensure our policy objectives are complementary and consistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We also need to resource this transition – which requires whole-of-government leadership and coordination.

A ministry for the ocean

The current government created a new ministerial portfolio of oceans and fisheries. This doesn’t go far enough.

Marine policy is still spread across multiple laws and institutions working for different purposes. Recent environmental reforms have focused on land-based issues of resource management, conservation and climate adaptation, taking a sector-by-sector approach and overlooking the interconnected threats facing our ocean.

Many have argued we need an oceans agency to support cross-sectoral collaboration and hold the government to account for implementing the rule of law.

We go further and argue Aotearoa needs a ministry for the ocean to match the ministerial portfolio, reflecting the complexity of marine management and departing from the terrestrial bias of our existing laws and institutions. A dedicated ministry could ensure oversight, coordination and alignment of marine policy.

Designing policy and creating institutional arrangements to support ecosystem-based management at central government level is only the beginning. This must also be the catalyst to drive, resource and enable connectivity in governance and management across all levels, to every bay and estuary.

It’s clear the journey for the Kermadec sanctuary is far from over. Te Ohu Kaimoana have proposed an iwi-led Indigenous approach to environmental management – or, as they put it, a relationship with people and nature together, not separated.

It will be interesting to see how this process evolves and whether it might lead to new marine protection tools that reflect our relationships with the ocean for generations to come.

We would like to acknowledge the contribution by Eric Jorgensen, a co-leader of the Sustainable Seas project.

Elizabeth Macpherson receives funding from the Sustainable Seas National Science Challlenge.

Karen Fisher receives funding from the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.

– ref. New Zealand’s maritime territory is 15 times its landmass — here’s why we need a ministry for the ocean – https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-maritime-territory-is-15-times-its-landmass-heres-why-we-need-a-ministry-for-the-ocean-210123

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Tuckerman, Senior Research Officer, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

This winter, we’re having to get our heads around another respiratory virus – RSV.

It’s less well known than COVID or flu, but it’s also responsible for unplanned visits to the GP or emergency department, and days off school, childcare and work.

It’s the most common cause of hospitalisation in infants. Most children have at least one RSV infection by the age of three years and yet, many Australians have not heard of RSV or know little about this potentially serious winter virus.

Read more:
Monday’s medical myth: you can catch a cold by getting cold

What is RSV?

RSV stands for respiratory syncytial (pronounced sin-CITY-al) virus. This common respiratory virus usually causes a mild cold with symptoms such as a fever, runny nose, coughing, decreased appetite and a wheeze.

Adults can be infected infected with RSV but usually recover in a few days.

But in young babies RSV can cause more severe respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis. These cause babies to breathe rapidly, stop breathing for a few seconds (apnoeas) and/or feed poorly. RSV in infancy can also potentially affect a child’s long-term health, increasing their risk of asthma, wheezing and allergies.

In Australia, a wave of RSV infections typically begins in late autumn (April-May) and peaks in June-July. Cases are starting to decline in Australia now.

Because health staff have to report cases of RSV, we can keep track of known cases. But we suspect most go unreported as they are mild and/or doctors don’t always test for the virus.

Read more:
Heard of ‘kindy flu’? There’s no such thing. But kids are at risk this flu season for one simple reason

Who’s most at risk?

Both young and old people are most at risk of severe disease.

For children, those most at risk of severe disease include babies under two months old, premature infants, those with other medical conditions, or ones infected with another virus at the same time. First Nations children are three to six times more likely to be hospitalised with bronchiolitis caused by RSV than non-First Nations children.

Otherwise healthy children under 12 months old (usually under six months old) are the ones most often admitted to hospital. Of children admitted to hospital, about a quarter (26%) will be admitted to intensive care.

Why are we seeing so many cases now?

RSV is spread via coughing and sneezing so it’s easy to see how the virus can spread among children inside during winter months.

But measures earlier in the COVID pandemic limited the spread of RSV.

There was very little RSV circulating in 2020 during the harshest lockdowns. However, in New South Wales and Western Australia (in late 2020) and in Victoria (early 2021) there was an out-of-season re-emergence of RSV, overwhelming hospitals and health-care facilities.

In 2022, RSV settled back into the usual winter peak. However, many states are experiencing a winter surge in cases and hospitalisations attributed to it this year – bigger than before the pandemic.

This may relate to new reporting requirements for RSV and more testing for it.

However, reduced immunity in young infants due to lower maternal and infant exposure may have contributed to the record number of cases.

Read more:
I’ve had COVID and am constantly getting colds. Did COVID harm my immune system? Am I now at risk of other infectious diseases?

Is there a vaccine?

There are no vaccines to protect against RSV in Australia.

Australia’s only currently available preventative medicine is palivizumab, which is a long-acting monoclonal antibody given monthly during the RSV season. Due to its cost, it is reserved for infants at highest risk for severe RSV infection and is usually given in hospital.

However, several new preventative agents are in the pipeline.

In May this year, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the RSV vaccine Arexvy for people aged 60 and over. It is being considered for use in Australia.

Results from clinical trials for RSV vaccines given to pregnant women to protect their baby for the first six months are promising. The maternal Pfizer vaccine has demonstrated greater than 80% effectiveness against severe lower respiratory tract illness in their infants for the 90 days after birth.

However, safety data is being closely examined, including a potential risk of premature birth.

The long-acting monoclonal antibody nirsevimab, (given as a single injection at the beginning of the RSV season) has regulatory approval in Europe and the US. It is currently being considered for Australian children.

Read more:
FDA’s approval of the world’s first vaccine against RSV will offer a new tool in an old fight – 4 questions answered

How can I protect my children in the meantime?

Parents can minimise the risk of RSV by using many of the measures we’ve been using during the COVID pandemic. Encourage children to cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, and regularly wash their hands.

Ensuring kids stay away from school, childcare or other children when sick helps prevent the spread of many viruses, including RSV.

Viral symptoms to watch out for include difficulty feeding, cough, irritability and/or rapid breathing. If parents notice these signs or are worried about their child they should seek urgent medical assessment and not delay.

Jane Tuckerman is an investigator on a project grant sponsored by Industry. Her institution has received funding from Industry (GSK) for investigator led research. She does not receive any personal payments from Industry.

Ashleigh Rak receives funding from NHMRC and the Victorian Government.

Danielle Wurzel receives funding from NHMRC, MRFF and has received honoraria and/or consultancy fees from MSD, Sanofi, GSK which have been paid into her research fund.

Margie Danchin receives funding from NHMRC, MRFF, WHO, DFAT and the Victorian Government. She is chair, Australian Regional Immunisation Alliance.

– ref. RSV is everywhere right now. What parents need to know about respiratory syncytial virus – https://theconversation.com/rsv-is-everywhere-right-now-what-parents-need-to-know-about-respiratory-syncytial-virus-208855

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Kilah, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Tasmania

A potentially dangerous trend has gained prominence on TikTok, with a number of people mixing borax into water and drinking it for supposed health benefits.

This isn’t new. Social media platforms have been host to many dangerous “challenges” – and users have been dosing themselves with questionable substances for years.

There’s no evidence to support the latest claims about borax. So how dangerous is it? And how can we assess the safety of the many other substances we use in daily life?

What is borax?

Borax, or sodium borate decahydrate, is a salt made of a combination of boron, sodium, oxygen and hydrogen. It comes in the form of a colourless crystalline solid that can easily be dissolved in water.

Borax and the related boric acid are commonly used in household products including laundry cleaning products, wood preservers, fertilisers, contact lens solution and ant killers.

Borax crystals are also widely available in supermarkets, hardware stores and garden centres. These products are typically pure borax, but other additives may be present.

Don’t confuse borax with boron

TikTok users posting videos of themselves ingesting borax and water solution have falsely claimed it can help treat inflammation, joint pain, arthritis, lupus and a range of other conditions.

This is yet another hoax “remedy” in a long list of false hope products. Alternative therapies are often touted as being “natural” and therefore supposedly non-toxic.

But while borax is naturally occurring, this isn’t a guarantee of safety. Arsenic, ricin and the toxin responsible for botulism are also 100% natural, but can be highly toxic to humans.

And although the element boron specifically is considered essential for plants and some animals, its role in the functioning of the human body is less clear. Boron can be found in some of the foods we eat, such as grapes and potatoes, but isn’t classified as an essential nutrient. The very small amount of boron your body may need can be safely obtained by eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

How dangerous is borax?

Borax is not considered safe to ingest.

In toxicology, the median lethal dose, or LD50, is the approximate dose required to kill half the animals in a population being studied.

The LD50 for borax in rats is about 5g per kilogram of body weight. This is a relatively large dose, which means acute toxicity causing death is unlikely in humans. But just because a dose won’t kill, that doesn’t mean it isn’t harmful – and it definitely doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

Borax was used extensively as a food preservative in the early 1900s. That was before the work of Harvey Washington Wiley and his poison squad uncovered a range of side effects to consumption, including headaches, nausea, vomiting, gastric discomfort and more.

Borax is also classified as a reproductive toxin, which means it “may impair fertility” and “may cause harm to the unborn child”. It is banned as a food additive in Australia, the United States and several other countries.

Safety first, last and always

A number of dangerous social media challenges have gone viral over the past decade. One notable example was the “Tide pod challenge”, in which users recorded themselves biting or eating laundry pods.

The consumption of laundry pods has caused a number of deaths (although these can’t necessarily be linked to the Tide pod challenge). From 2013 to 2022, poison centres in the US have managed around 10,000 cases each year related to children age five and under being exposed to laundry detergent packets.

Clearly, we shouldn’t be drinking borax or eating laundry pods. Yet such substances can’t always be avoided – so the best protection is to understand the dangers associated with them.

Read more:
People want to use bleach and antiseptic for COVID and are calling us for advice

Apart from reading the generic safety warnings on a product, such as “CAUTION” or “KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN”, consumers can dig a little deeper through the use of resources known as safety data sheets (or SDS).

Every product containing hazardous substances must legally have an SDS. So whether you’re using a shampoo, hand sanitiser, vinegar or borax, there will almost certainly be an SDS available. Here’s the SDS for Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, as an example.

You can find the SDS of a product online by searching the product’s name and “SDS” in Google. These documents follow a standardised format and provide details of hazards associated with a product.

They also include standardised hazard pictograms that represent the associated physical, health and environmental risks. You’ve probably seen these before, such as a “flammable” sign on a deodorant, or a “corrosive” sign on a household cleaner.

As far as borax is concerned, the main product shown in the TikTok videos has an SDS that lists the human silhouette and exclamation mark pictograms. These correspond to the listed hazards of skin irritation, serious eye irritation and potential damage to fertility or an unborn child.

A number of precautionary statements follows – with advice on appropriate personal protective equipment, and how to store and dispose of the product.

Further details go beyond the typical consumer information and include composition, first aid information, toxicological information and fire fighting methods. These are helpful for medical professionals treating patients and fire fighters dealing with chemical spills and fires.

Safety data sheets aren’t perfect, but they are a useful resource. So the next time you see an unusual “miracle cure” on social media, or there’s a chemical in your home you aren’t sure about, consider reading the SDS.

If you have been exposed to a potentially harmful substance, call your local poison information centre or seek medical attention.

Nathan Kilah 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. A new TikTok trend has people drinking toxic borax. An expert explains the risks – and how to read product labels – https://theconversation.com/a-new-tiktok-trend-has-people-drinking-toxic-borax-an-expert-explains-the-risks-and-how-to-read-product-labels-210278

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University

It never quite lived up to its billing as “the right-wing GetUp!” but five years on, an activist group feted by Australia’s most conservative politicians and backed by some rich but reclusive individuals is a vocal opponent of the Voice to Parliament.

While Advance Australia has not matched the profile of its often-reviled left-wing nemesis, it believes the Voice referendum, expected in October, is its best chance of exercising serious political clout.

Formed in 2018 in the wake of the marriage equality reform, Advance Australia was tasked with mobilising a hitherto disparate conservative citizenry whose adherents blame “wokeism” for everything from the declining authority of the Christian church to gender fluidity, environmentalism, and the Voice to Parliament.

But where the nostalgically minded group might have selected a name that, like its progressive counterpart, sounded a call to action – WakeUP! or StandUP! being obvious choices – it opted instead for marketing subterfuge.

“Advance Australia” – now simply called Advance after the word Australia was mysteriously dropped – is a title that hints at progress and modernisation.

Type “advance” into the most popular search engine, Google, and the first listing is a dictionary definition, to wit: a development or improvement; move forward in a purposeful way; make, or cause to make, progress.

Advance’s anti-Voice campaign also exhibits this abstruse nomenclature, cryptically titled “Fair Australia”.

If that’s not confusing enough, Advance, and FA, are fronted by Peter Dutton’s hand-picked shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

Also connected to the FA campaign is Tony Abbott, who is an adviser to Advance – the group having unsuccessfully defended him in his then North Shore electorate of Warringah in 2019.

FA’s linked website declares that a

small band of politicians and activists are trying to wreck your Constitution and threaten your democracy with an ‘Indigenous Voice to Parliament’ so let’s build an army of Aussies willing to take the next step and defend our nation […]

Waging war on ‘woke’

Prime targets for Advance’s contempt are what it sees as elite-captured media (except for News Corp), with a particular emphasis on the ABC.

“Thankfully, not every journalist in this country is a woke, green muppet,” one heading on the website reads introducing a piece written by The Australian’s Greg Sheridan.

This “army” of democratic defenders, however, may be less of a “grassroots” movement than it claims. A glance at the Australian Electoral Commission’s transparency register of Significant Third Parties shows Advance has received substantial repeat donations above the $14,500 declaration threshold.

Some of these come from a small number of high-net-worth individuals as well as larger gifts from more opaque entities such as investment vehicles and holding companies.

Advance and FA are by no means the only voices against the Voice. Others include Recognise a Better Way featuring Warren Mundine and ex-politicians John Anderson and Gary Johns – the latter controversially advocating blood tests to prove Aboriginality.
Former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe is also leading a charge against the Voice on behalf of the “Blak Sovereign Movement”.

Read more:
Why is it legal to tell lies during the Voice referendum campaign?

While the “no” campaign’s loudest advocates rail against elite culture, they are often the beneficiaries of privileged backgrounds and university education themselves. Some enjoy high-level political access; others, significant wealth.

“The hypocrisy of elites railing at elites, however, rarely registers with the target audience,” noted Crikey’s Bernard Keane recently. “Claims of sinister elites working against the interests of ordinary people are a well-tested populist trope.”

While the group’s name might be deceptive, it makes no attempt to disguise its revisionist goals describing its core mission as that of reclaiming the balance of Australian policy “once again” on the political middle-ground.

Borrowed from the US

For all its Australiana atmospherics, Advance’s language, methods, and even its pre-occupations seem more at home in the heated grievance invective of Trumpist America than the more temperate vernacular of Australian political exchange.

This may be the influence of a US-headquartered public relations firm, RJ Dunham & Co, which has had wide experience advising right-wing faith groups and movements in America.

It is one of two PR firms advising Advance – the other being Whitestone Strategic, whose website declares itself “Australia’s conservative campaign consultancy […] Equipping candidates and organisations with the experience, up-to-the-minute technology and campaign clout in the fight for Australian values”.

Advance “influences policy and removes far-left control, so that together, we see our nation centred again on the freedom of mainstream values,” visitors to its website are told. The “freedom of mainstream values” may seem like a contradiction in terms, but it only needs to make sense as political messaging.

This imported “freedom” agenda is ably buttressed by two other headings, security and prosperity.

We believe Australia is a free country. But you wouldn’t know it from the way woke politicians and the inner city elites carry on. From attacks on Australia Day and the Anzacs by the ABC to the brutal pandemic lockdowns […]

Elites, it charges, “forget about the threats of Islamic terrorism and the spectre of the aggressive Chinese Communist Party”.

Read more:
Expertise v 10-point arguments: how the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ camps have sold their messages

Under the heading of prosperity it says mainstream Australia “is under siege by stupid laws and woke ideologies like ‘net zero’ or a ‘retirement tax’, cooked up by elites”. Advance, it says, is fighting back.

A broad-based campaign however, this is not. Signatures on its longest-running public petitions reveal its “fightback” is a more of a boutique rebellion than a popular uprising.

Its most signed petition is “Unlock Australia” with just 54,292 signatures despite appearing to have been on the Advance site since the pandemic lockdowns of 2020-21.

It is closely followed by an exhortation to sign “The Freedom Pledge” against big government after the pandemic experience. It secured a similar (and perhaps overlapping) 45,286 signatures. Another, the nakedly populist “Pay cuts for pollies” campaign also secured 40,702 backers.

Another of Advance’s goals is the removal the Left’s most strident political force, the Greens party.

Its “Expose the Greens as a threat to Australia’s freedom, security and prosperity” petition, however, has secured fewer than 10,000 signatures. This may reflect a prosaic truth widely understood by Australian voters that the best place to opine on policy and performance is the ballot box, not a fringe website.

“The woke-left don’t just hate Australia Day. They hate Australia,” says another statement.

This theme of supposed left hatred for Australia runs through much of its attack on the Voice, yet no evidence is provided. Also prominent is the “straw man” argument that the “left” plans to abolish Anzac Day. “In recent years there has been a concerning push from the radical Left to end ANZAC Day,” its campaign petition states.

One wonders how many of its 25,000 signees actually believe this. The case for changing Australia Day has been widely litigated in public, but Anzac Day?

Such conflations are common in political campaigns where one idea is depicted as the thin end of the wedge, leading to much more dramatic changes down the track.

Advance claims it has been “joined by more than 150,000 supporters” and has achieved much already.

We’ve spent the last three years pushing back against radical ideology, holding powerful elites to account and putting your voice front and centre [..] we stopped Daniel Andrews’ power grab, took on the ABC and stood up to the climate commies and their attempts to turn our children against us.

Climate commies?

With rhetoric like that, Advance reveals itself to be perhaps more “front” than “centre”.

Mark Kenny 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 are ‘Advance’ and ‘Fair Australia’, and why are they spearheading the ‘no’ campaign on the Voice? – https://theconversation.com/what-are-advance-and-fair-australia-and-why-are-they-spearheading-the-no-campaign-on-the-voice-209390

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

Governments have failed to properly share decision-making with Indigenous people to accelerate Closing the Gap, despite formally undertaking to do so, according to a scathing indictment by the Productivity Commission.

The commission says too many government agencies consult Indigenous people “on a pre-determined solution, rather than collaborating on the problem and co-designing a solution”.

The broad-ranging criticism is contained in the commission’s first review of the 2020 “National Agreement on Closing the Gap”.

The Albanese government will use the findings to reinforce its pitch for the Voice – which is that Indigenous people are not being properly heard on what needs to be done to tackle the problems in health, housing, employment, education and other areas of disadvantage.

The review says: “There appears to be an assumption that ‘governments know best’, which is contrary to the principle of shared decision-making in the Agreement.”

The national agreement was put in place in negotiations with the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations. Federal, state, territory and local governments and the Coalition of Peaks share accountability for the agreement’s implementation. Then-prime minister Scott Morrison lauded it as a new collaborative way forward.

But Productivity Commission chair Michael Brennan says while the agreement holds significant promise, “so far we are seeing too much business as usual and too little transformation”.

The report points out the agreement “commits governments to building and strengthening structures that empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to share decision-making authority with governments”. Partnerships are supposed to be the mechanism to achieve this.

“Some governments have demonstrated a willingness to partner and share decision-making in some circumstances, however this is not observed more widely and, in some instances, there is contradictory practice,” the review finds.

“Governments are not yet sufficiently investing in partnerships or enacting the sharing of power that needs to occur if decisions are to be made jointly,” it says.

“It is too easy to find examples of government decisions that contradict commitments in the Agreement, that do not reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s priorities and perspectives and that exacerbate, rather than remedy, disadvantage and discrimination. This is particularly obvious in youth justice systems.”

The report warns: “Without stronger accountability for its implementation across all government organisations, the Agreement risks becoming another broken promise to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.

The commission met with some 200 groups including 121 Indigenous organisations.

It found the policy of governments did not reflect the value of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.

A number of these organisations told the commission “they are sometimes treated as passive recipients of government funding” rather than being recognised by governments as “critical partners in delivering government services tailored to the priorities of their communities”.

The report says the agreement requires transformation of mainstream government bodies “to ensure they are accountable for Closing the Gap and are culturally safe and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.

But there’s a “stark absence” of strategies to drive this transformation.

“We are yet to identify a government organisation that has articulated a clear vision for what transformation looks like, adopted a strategy to achieve that vision, and tracked the impact of actions within the organisation (and in the services that it funds) toward that vision.”

The report says the landscape has changed since the agreement was made. Apart from the agreement, there is now a legislated Indigenous Voice to Parliament in South Australia, legislated Treaty and Truth telling processes in Victoria and Queensland, and the coming constitutional referendum.

“These initiatives may result in new decision-making and accountability structures that could provide a further catalyst for changes to the way
governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But, regardless of the outcomes of these processes, governments still have a responsibility to implement what they committed to in the Agreement.”

This is the commission’s draft report. It will get further feedback and submit a final report by the end of the year.

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

– ref. Governments are failing to share decision-making with Indigenous people, Productivity Commission finds – https://theconversation.com/governments-are-failing-to-share-decision-making-with-indigenous-people-productivity-commission-finds-210392

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lewis Ingram, Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of South Australia

With the rising cost of living, gyms memberships and fitness classes are becoming increasingly unaffordable. But the good news is you can make just as much progress at home.

Cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength and flexibility are the most important components of fitness. And each can be trained with little or no equipment. Let’s look at why – and how – to fit them into your DIY exercise program.

1. Cardiovascular endurance

Cardiovascular endurance exercise (or “cardio”) forces the heart and lungs to increase the supply of oxygen to the working muscles. Heart disease is a leading cause of death and cardiovascular endurance exercise helps keep the heart healthy.

The best thing about cardio is you don’t need any fancy equipment to do it. Walking, jogging and running are great options, as are cycling, skipping rope and swimming.

There are two approaches to maximise cardiovascular endurance:

• high-intensity interval training (HIIT) – short bouts of hard exercise (around 80% to 95% of your maximum heart rate) interspersed with lower intensity recovery periods (around 40% to 50% of your maximum heart rate)

• low-intensity steady-state (LISS) exercise – aerobic activity performed continuously at a low-to-moderate intensity (around 50% to 65% of your maximum heart rate) for an extended duration.

Both are great options. While high-intensity interval training can be more time efficient, low-intensity steady-state training might be more enjoyable and easier to sustain long-term.

No matter what you choose, aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardiovascular exercise each week. For example, you could try 30 minutes, five days per week of low intensity cardio, or 25 minutes, three days per week of high-intensity activity, or a combination of the two.

Read more:
Don’t have time to exercise? Here’s a regimen everyone can squeeze in

How do you know if you’re exercising at the right intensity?

Smart watches that measure heart rate can help to monitor intensity. Or you can rely on the good old-fashioned talk test. During low-intensity activity, you should be able to speak in full sentences. Conversely, short phrases (initially) or single words (towards the end) should be all that’s manageable during high-intensity exercise.

2. Muscle strength

Next is muscle strength, which we train through resistance exercise. This is important for bone health, balance and metabolic health, especially as we age and our muscle mass and strength declines.

Aim for two days per week of whole-body resistance exercise performed at a moderate or greater intensity. Try to build two weekly sessions that target the major muscle groups. This could include:

• squats – lower to the ground from standing by bending the hips, knees, and ankles while keeping the chest up tall before returning to standing by straightening the hips, knees and ankles

• hinges – fold forward at the hips by pushing your bottom back to the wall behind you, keeping your back straight. A slight bend in the knees is fine but aim to keep your shins vertical

• push-ups – if a full push-up is too difficult, you can place your hands on a raised surface such as a step or a chair

• horizontal and vertical pull ups – using something like a portable chin up bar, which you can buy from sports supply stores

• vertical pushes – pushing an object (or weight) vertically from the top of your chest to an overhead position.

Once you have selected your exercises, perform 2–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions at a moderate to greater intensity, with about 90 seconds rest between each set.

As you progress, continue to challenge your muscles by adding an extra set to each exercise, or including dumbbells, changing body position or wearing a backpack with weights. The goal should be to progress slightly each session.

However, if you have any underlying health conditions, disabilities, or are unsure how best to do this, see an exercise physiologist or physiotherapist.

Read more:
Why weightlifting is beneficial before and after the menopause

3. Flexibility

Improved flexibility can increase your range of motion and improve your ability to manage daily life.

While we don’t know the best means of increasing flexibility, the most basic and readily accessible is static stretching. Here, we lengthen the muscle – for example, the hamstrings, until we feel a “stretching” sensation. Hold that position for 15–30 seconds.

While the precise intensity of this stretching sensation remains elusive, around 5–10 minutes per week per muscle group, spread across five days, seems to provide the best results.

How to stick with it?

The best exercise is the one that gets done. So, whatever you choose, make sure you enjoy it. After all, it’s about creating an ongoing commitment to exercise that will deliver long-term health benefits.

It’s also important to ensure you’re ready to exercise, especially if you have any underlying health issues, have been previously inactive, or are unsure how to start. A pre-exercise screening can help you to determine whether you should see a doctor or allied health professional before starting an exercise program and for guidance on the next steps.

Read more:
New study: much of what we’re told about gym exercises and resistance training is from studies of males, by men

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

– ref. Can’t afford a gym membership or fitness class? 3 things to include in a DIY exercise program – https://theconversation.com/cant-afford-a-gym-membership-or-fitness-class-3-things-to-include-in-a-diy-exercise-program-206204

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susanne Becken, Professor of Sustainable Tourism, Griffith Institute for Tourism, Griffith University

Thousands of people on the beach. Children reportedly falling off evacuation boats. Panic. People fleeing with the clothes on their backs. It felt like “the end of the world”, according to one tourist.

The fires sweeping through the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu are showing us favourite holiday destinations are no longer safe as climate change intensifies.

For decades, tourists have flocked to the Mediterranean for the northern summer. Australians, Scandinavians, Brits, Russians all arrive seeking warmer weather. After COVID, many of us have been keen to travel once again.

But this year, the intense heatwaves have claimed hundreds of lives in Spain alone. Major tourist drawcards such as the Acropolis in Athens have been closed. Climate scientists are “stunned by the ferocity” of the heat.

This year is likely to force a rethink for tourists and for tourism operators. Expect to see more trips taken during shoulder seasons, avoiding the increasingly intense July to August summer. And expect temperate countries to become more popular tourist destinations. Warm-weather tourist destinations will have to radically change.

What will climate change do to mass tourism?

Weather is a major factor in tourism. In Europe and North America, people tend to go from northern countries to southern regions. Chinese tourists, like Australians, often head to Southeast Asian beaches.

In Europe, the north-south flow is almost hardwired. When Australians go overseas, they often choose Mediterranean summers. Over the last decade, hotter summers haven’t been a dealbreaker.

But this year is likely to drive change. You can already see that in the growing popularity of shoulder seasons (June or September) in the traditional Northern Hemisphere summer destinations.

Many of us are shifting how we think about hot weather holidays from something we seek to something we fear. This comes on top of consumer shifts such as those related to sustainability and flight shame.

Read more:
European heatwave: what’s causing it and is climate change to blame?

What about disaster tourism? While thrillseekers may be flocking to Death Valley to experience temperatures over 50℃, it’s hard to imagine this type of tourism going mainstream.

What we’re more likely to see is more people seeking “last-chance” experiences, with tourists flocking to highly vulnerable sites such as the Great Barrier Reef. Of course, this type of tourism isn’t sustainable long-term.

What does this mean for countries reliant on tourism?

The crisis in Rhodes shows us the perils of the just-in-time model of tourism, where you bring in tourists and everything they need –food, water, wine – as they need it.

The system is geared to efficiency. But that means there’s little space for contingencies. Rhodes wasn’t able to easily evacuate 19,000 tourists. This approach will have to change to a just-in-case approach, as in other supply chains.

For emergency services, tourists pose a particular challenge. Locals have a better understanding than tourists of risks and escape routes. Plus tourists don’t speak the language. That makes them much harder to help compared to locals.

Climate change poses immense challenges in other ways, too. Pacific atoll nations like Kiribati or Tuvalu would love more tourists to visit. The problem there is water. Sourcing enough water for locals is getting harder. And tourists use a lot of water – drinking it, showering in it, swimming in it. Careful planning will be required to ensure local carrying capacities are not exceeded by tourism.

So does this spell the end of mass tourism? Not entirely. But it will certainly accelerate the trend in countries like Spain away from mass tourism, or “overtourism”. In super-popular tourist destinations like Spain’s Balearic Islands, there’s been an increasing pushback from locals against overtourism in favour of specialised tourism with smaller numbers spread out over the year.

Is this year a wake-up call? Yes. The intensifying climate crisis means many of us are now more focused on what we can do to stave off the worst of it by, say, avoiding flights. The pressure for change is growing too. Delta Airlines is being sued over its announcement to go carbon neutral by using offsets, for instance.

Mountains not beaches: future tourism may look a lot different

You can already see efforts to adapt to the changes in many countries. In Italy, for instance, domestic mountain tourism is growing, enticing people from hot and humid Milan and Rome up where the air is cooler – even if the snow is disappearing.

China, which doesn’t do things by halves, is investing in mountain resorts. The goal here is to offer cooler alternatives like northern China’s Jilin province to beach holidays for sweltering residents of megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

Some mountainous countries are unlikely to seize the opportunity because they don’t want to draw more tourists. Norway is considering a tourist tax.

Forward-thinking countries will be better prepared. But there are limits to preparation and adaptation. Mediterranean summer holidays will be less and less appealing, as the region is a heating hotspot, warming 20% faster than the world average. Italy and Spain are still in the grip of a record-breaking drought, threatening food and water supplies. The future of tourism is going to be very different.

Read more:
We’re in the era of overtourism but there is a more sustainable way forward

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

– ref. Tourists flock to the Mediterranean as if the climate crisis isn’t happening. This year’s heat and fire will force change – https://theconversation.com/tourists-flock-to-the-mediterranean-as-if-the-climate-crisis-isnt-happening-this-years-heat-and-fire-will-force-change-210282

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy-Marie Gilpin, Research Fellow, Ecology, Western Sydney University

Australia’s national parks, botanic gardens, wild places and green spaces are swarming with an invasive pest that is largely flying under the radar. This is yet another form of livestock, escaped from captivity and left to roam free.

Contrary to popular opinion, in Australia, feral colonies of the invasive European honeybee (Apis mellifera) are not “wild”, threatened with extinction or “good” for the Australian environment. The truth is feral honeybees compete with native animals for food and habitat, disrupt native pollination systems and pose a serious biosecurity threat to our honey and pollination industries.

As ecologists working across Australia, we are acutely aware of the damage being done by invasive species. There is rarely a simple, single solution. But we need to move feral bees out of the “too hard” basket.

The arrival and spread of the parasitic Varroa mite in New South Wales threatens to decimate honeybee colonies. So now is the time to rethink our relationship with the beloved European honeybee and target the ferals.

Read more:
Buzz off honey industry, our national parks shouldn’t be milked for money

What makes a hive feral?

European honeybees turn feral when a managed hive produces a “swarm”. This is a mass of bees that leaves the hive seeking a new nest. The swarm ultimately settles, either in a natural hollow or artificial structure such as a nesting box.

With up to 150 hives per square kilometre, Australia has among the highest feral honey bee densities in the world. In NSW, feral honeybees are listed as a “key threatening process”, but they lack such recognition elsewhere.

Feral honeybees have successfully invaded most land-based ecosystems across Australia, including woodlands, rainforests, mangrove-salt marsh, alpine and arid ecosystems.

They can efficiently harvest large volumes of nectar and pollen from native plants that would otherwise provide food for native animals, including birds, mammals and flower-visiting insects such as native bees. Their foraging activities alter seed production and reduce the genetic diversity of native plants while also pollinating weeds.

Unfortunately, feral honeybees are now the most common visitors to many native flowering plants.

Are feral bees useful in agriculture?

Feral honeybees can pollinate crops. But they compete with managed hives for nectar and pollen. They can also be an reservoir of honeybee pests and diseases such as the Varroa mite, which ultimately threaten crop production. That’s because many farms rely on honeybees from commercial hives to pollinate their crops.

So reducing feral honeybee density would benefit both honey production and the crop pollination industry, which is worth A$14 billion annually.

Improved management of feral honeybees would not only help to limit the biosecurity threat, but increase the availability of pollen and nectar for managed hives. It would also increase demand for managed honeybee pollination services for pollinator dependent crops.

Read more:
Hear me out – we could use the varroa mite to wipe out feral honey bees, and help Australia’s environment

What are our current options?

Tackling this issue will not be straightforward, due to the sheer extent of feral colony infestation and limited tools at the disposal of land managers.

If the current parasitic Varroa mite infestation in NSW spins out of control, it may reduce the number of feral hives, with benefits for the environment. Fewer feral hives would be good for the honey industry too.

Targeted strategies to remove feral colonies on a small scale do exist and are being applied in the Varroa mite emergency response. This includes the deployment of poison (fipronil) bait stations in areas exposed to the mite.

While this method seems to be effective, the extreme toxicity of fipronil to honeybees limits its use to areas that do not contain managed hives. In addition, the possible effects on non-target, native animals that feed on the bait, or poisoned hive remains, is still unstudied and requires careful investigation.

Where feral hives can be accessed, they can be physically removed. But in many ecosystems feral colonies are high up in trees, in difficult to access terrain. That, and their overwhelming numbers, makes removal impractical.

Another problem with hive removal is rapid recolonisation by uncontrolled swarming from managed hives and feral hives at the edges of the extermination area.

Taken together, there are currently no realistic options for the targeted large-scale removal of feral colonies across Australia’s vast natural ecosystems.

Where to now?

For too long, feral honeybees have had free reign over Australia’s natural environment. Given the substantial and known threats they pose to natural systems and industry, the time has come to develop effective and practical control measures.

Not only do we need to improve current strategies, we desperately need to develop new ones.

One promising example is the use of traps to catch bee swarms, and such work is underway in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges. However, this might be prohibitively expensive at larger scales.

Existing strategies for other animals may be a good starting place. For example, the practice of using pheromones to capture cane toad tadpoles might be applied to drones (male bees) and swarms. Once strategies are developed we can model a combination of approaches to uncover the best one for each case.

Developing sustainable control measures should be a priority right now and should result in a win-win for industry, biosecurity and native ecosystems.

If there is something to learn from the latest Varroa incursion, it is that we cannot ignore the risks feral honeybees pose any longer. We don’t know how to control them in Australia yet, but it is for lack of trying.

We would like to acknowledge the substantial contribution made by environmental scientist and beekeeper Cormac Farrell to the development of this article.

Read more:
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Amy-Marie Gilpin receives funding from Horticulture Innovation Australia and is a member of the IUCN Wild Bee Specialist Group Oceania.

James B. Dorey is affiliated with Flinders University and the University of Adelaide.

Katja Hogendoorn is a member of the board of the Australian Entomological Society and receives funding from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, HortInnovations, AgriFutures, and the Australian Research Council.

Kit Prendergast is an adjunct at Curtin University and Murdoch University. She has previously received funding from the Federal Government for the Bushfire Recovery Project, from the Forrest Research Foundation for her PhD, and from the Australian Wildlife Society.

– ref. The feral flying under the radar: why we need to rethink European honeybees – https://theconversation.com/the-feral-flying-under-the-radar-why-we-need-to-rethink-european-honeybees-207153

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Kate Hattam, Senior Lecturer at Education Futures University of South Australia, University of South Australia

One of Education Minister Jason Clare’s top priorities for the Universities Accord is encouraging more Australians to go to university. As he notes, “more jobs are going to require a university qualification in the years ahead”.

Alongside this call is the recognition we need to improve access for people from equity cohorts – including Indigenous Australians, those from low socioeconomic and regional and rural backgrounds and people with a disability.

As the accord’s interim report notes, we need a higher education system that no longer prevents “talented people from attaining life-changing qualifications”.

One way to do this is through enabling programs.

Read more:
The universities accord could see the most significant changes to Australian unis in a generation

What are enabling programs?

Enabling programs are run by universities and taught by academics and are also known as “foundation” or “bridging” programs. They are non-award courses (meaning they don’t lead to a degree or other qualification) and aim to prepare students for undergraduate study.

They are not part of secondary school and can run for anywhere between about four weeks to two years. Most students study for about six months.

Many are available both on campus and online, with the option of full-time or part-time study.

The accord interim report calls for funding stability for the university sector for 2024 and 2025. It also says university funding for these years should be “directed towards a range of assistance, such as increased support for students in enabling courses”.

What do they teach?

The programs are designed to build a range of skills and knowledge students need to succeed in further study.

Courses cover a wide range topics, from generalised study skills to preparation for a specific degree.

Enabling programs can teach academic writing, library research, foundational mathematics, study skills and discipline-specific knowledge.

For example, if a student is interested in gaining entry to a nursing degree, they will need academic communication skills, mathematics, anatomy and digital skills. A future psychology student could benefit from skills and knowledge in social science and statistics.

Who are they for?

Enabling programs are for anyone who needs further preparation before starting university. Commonly, this includes students who left school early, did not get a university entrance rank or did not do as well as they hoped in Year 12.

When applying to university, students can preference enabling programs as a viable “plan B” if they don’t receive an undergraduate offer.

Enrolments in enabling programs have grown from 6,490 students in 2001 to 32,579 in 2020. A large proportion of students come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

For example, 32% of students in enabling programs are from low socioeconomic backgrounds, which is double the proportion of undergraduate students.

Of the 48 enabling programs in Australia, 15 are explicitly for Indigenous students, who represent approximately 6% of all enabling program enrolments. This is more than double comparative undergraduate enrolments.

More than a third of enabling course students are from regional and remote areas.

Read more:
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How can you access one?

Universities have enabling programs on their websites and in their program guides for future students.

They are supported by federal funding so they can be offered free to students.

Depending on the program, you can apply directly to the university or through state-based tertiary admissions centres, at the time when you nominate your university preferences.

Why are they so important?

Australian studies show students who complete enabling programs do just as well in undergraduate study as students who enter via traditional pathways, such as directly from high school.

Enabling programs are effective because they are designed to meet the needs of students who want a university qualification but have experienced educational disadvantage. They focus not only on academic skills but also on building confidence to study.

How can we improve them?

In the final Universities Accord report due in December, enabling educators want to see several changes to the way the system works, to make sure anyone who needs this help to go to university can access it.

This means fee-free places need to be demand-driven, with flexible funding to match fluctuations in student enrolments and allowing universities to increase enabling places as demand grows.

In addition to existing payments such as Austudy and ABSTUDY, there should be further financial support for disadvantaged students doing these courses. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are over-represented in enabling programs, and struggle find adequate study time while balancing family and financial commitments.

We would also like to see enabling qualifications included in the Australian Qualifications Framework, which regulates education and training qualifications.

This would ensure formal recognition of a student’s achievement and then give them flexibility about which university they enrol in, because it would be recognised Australia-wide.

Read more:
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Sarah Kate Hattam a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia.

Charmaine Davis is an executive member of the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia.

Tanya Weiler 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 are enabling programs? How do they help Australians get to uni? – https://theconversation.com/what-are-enabling-programs-how-do-they-help-australians-get-to-uni-210269

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jasmin Pfefferkorn, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne

For the first time in 60 years, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) are simultaneously facing off against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The key points of contention? Working conditions, adequate pay, and the increasing encroachment of artificial intelligence (AI) into their professions.

The use of AI in the film and television industry isn’t new. Many common post-production techniques use AI technology in special effects, colour grading, animation and video editing.

Not only was the Lord of the Rings trilogy a defining moment of the early 2000s, it also illuminated how AI could be used in film production. The Battle of Helm’s Deep features computer-generated AI armies to create one of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history.

But in the current strike, the specific concern is a subset of AI known as generative AI. It is crucial that an equilibrium is reached between protections for creative professionals, and the application of generative AI as a useful tool.

Read more:
How Ronald Reagan led the 1960 actors’ strike – and then became an anti-union president

Remind me, what is generative AI?

Like all AI, a generative AI model is fed existing data (content), using algorithms to process this data, identify patterns and produce outputs – such as an image or a piece of writing. What is significant about generative AI is the capacity to undertake the so-called “learning” process relatively autonomously and to generate original content.

Many of us are most familiar with generative AI as the technical process that gives us increasingly sophisticated deepfakes.

The now infamous image of Pope Francis wearing an oversized puffer jacket? Courtesy of a 31-year-old construction worker using the AI image generator Midjourney.

Generative AI has taken off in the mainstream through companies such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Meta and OpenAI. The latter is now infamous for its large image model Dall-E and large language model ChatGPT.

So what is happening in Hollywood?

Hollywood workers have valid reason for their unease. The fear is AI will not only be used for supporting technical jobs such as colour grading or adding characters in the far background, but it will also replace creative jobs.

For both the WGA and SAG, there is also a legitimate worry that entry level jobs (such as writers’ assistants and background extras on sets) will be largely replaced by AI.

This would significantly reduce opportunities for people entering the workforce to gain necessary expertise in their craft.

With the staggering improvements in each ChatGPT iteration, screenwriters have also been grappling with the possibility they will be sharing creative control over scripts with large language models.

Questions arise around how these works would be attributed, who or what would be given credit, and consequently how payment would be allocated.

These unions aren’t entirely against the use of AI. The WGA has proposed a model for human-AI collaboration where generative AI could produce early versions of a script which human screenwriters will then refine. But many experts and industry professionals see this proposal as alienating writers from the creative process, repositioning writers as copy editors.

One of the most dystopian scenarios to be put on the table by big studios has been termed “performance cloning”. This involves paying background actors a one-off fee to scan their likeness. This likeness can then be owned and used by companies in perpetuity.

While creating a regressive payment model, it also raises issues of consent: what happens if your AI body double is used in a way you would never agree to?

It’s also a question of copyright

With generative AI, consent is closely bound together with issues of copyright.

Comedian Sarah Silverman is currently suing OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement. She alleges their AI models were trained on her work without her consent, and were consequently able to roughly reproduce her comedy style.

That her oeuvre is part of the machine learning dataset is unsurprising. This dataset encompasses billions of data points – essentially all that has made its way onto the internet.

Though generative AI is said to produce original content, a better way to view this content is as a remix. These models regurgitate what they have been trained on.

If they become foundational to the film and television industry, the originality of our cultural products is up for debate.

Streaming services have already primed audiences in the algorithmic curation of taste. Generative AI extends this existing trajectory. If studios become overly reliant on these technologies, chances are the “new” content offered to us will only echo what has come before. It may even move us further away from equality in representation, with the bias of these AI models well-documented.

Read more:
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We need collaboration without exploitation

As workers fight for industry regulation to ban the replacement of humans by AI, it is important to reiterate this is not a call to ban the technology outright. Generative AI has already been used in valuable and compelling ways in film.

An early example is David France’s 2020 documentary Welcome to Chechnya, which explores the persecution of LGBTQ+ people in Russia. France did extensive post-production work using AI, producing synthetic voices and superimposed faces to protect his subjects’ anonymity while retaining their humanity.

The question at the heart of copyright – how we balance protecting the rights of creatives with the openness needed for cultural production – resurfaces in this context. We need regulatory measures that enable creative collaboration with generative AI while ensuring creative workers are not exploited to further centralised power.

In June, the Directors Guild of America won protection against being replaced by AI tools in a new labour contract with producers. The hope is that protections will be extended to screenwriters and actors.

Otherwise, in Hollywood, AI might just steal the show.

Read more:
The exploitation of Hollywood’s writers is just another symptom of digital feudalism

Jasmin Pfefferkorn 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. Computer-written scripts and deepfake actors: what’s at the heart of the Hollywood strikes against generative AI – https://theconversation.com/computer-written-scripts-and-deepfake-actors-whats-at-the-heart-of-the-hollywood-strikes-against-generative-ai-210191

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Renwick, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Lincoln University, New Zealand

Supermarket customers around New Zealand are noticing gaps in the grocery aisles that have nothing to do with the global pandemic or Ukraine war. It’s clear domestic food supply chains have been increasingly challenged by natural disasters and the ongoing impact of climate change.

Countdown recently warned customers that certain foods would be in short supply due to flooding on the East Coast. Time and again, we have seen such shortages and significant increases in the price of certain foods, particularly fresh produce.

The question is whether we have just been unlucky, or are these disruptions a result of deeper issues in the New Zealand food system? Are we more vulnerable than other countries, and if so, what does this mean for our food security?

Over the decades, New Zealand has centralised its food system and increased the risk that a single regional event could reverberate nationally. But it’s not too late to diversify and increase resilience across our food supply system.

Efficiency over resiliency

Modern food supply chains have largely been optimised for economic efficiency rather than resilience to supply-side shocks.

The agricultural sector has seen a process of increasing scale and specialised production – primarily to increase profitability. In part, this has been driven by land suitability.

The outcome is a relatively small number of large-scale processing factories and the concentration of enterprises in specific regions. For example, around 32% of New Zealand’s horticultural products come from the Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay.

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At the retail end of the chain, large, centralised distribution centres and “just in time” delivery systems keep costs low for the two dominant supermarket chains, which account for between 80% and 90% of the food we consume. Food is brought to just a handful of distribution centres before being dispersed across their networks of stores.

But disruptions in one region can affect the entire country. In the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, the distribution centres serving the entire South Island were damaged. Supermarkets were forced to ship supplies from their North Island hubs.

A recent study from the Timaru District Council found that while South Canterbury describes itself as the food bowl of New Zealand, 95% of the commercially-bought food in the district comes from outside the region.

Over-dependence on roads

The current supply chain model is totally reliant on the uninterrupted movement of products across the country through our transport network – in theory, comprised of road, rail, sea and air links.

In practice, just under 93% of freight goes by one mode – road. This compares with 72% in Germany.

Topography coupled with low population densities mean many regions are served by only one or, at most, two main roads suitable for freight trucks. We are nearly totally reliant on roads but our road networks are particularly vulnerable to climatic events and other natural disasters.

Our food distribution system seems to be better set up to get exports out or imports in through ports and airports than to move food around New Zealand. The vast majority of our agricultural products are exported rather than consumed in New Zealand.

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Resilience in uncertain times

All the evidence suggests climate change is going to increase the challenges in our food system, with more frequent and intense weather events. Projected sea-level rise will also put more strain on our already vulnerable food system at the farm and processing levels, as well as our ability to move it around the country.

Regional councils are clearly concerned, and there is increasing discussion of the concepts of food resilience and local food networks.

But what does a food system designed around resilience rather than optimisation look like? Does it simply mean less choice and higher prices? Or can it tackle other challenges, such as diet and health, environmental concerns and broader food security?

Two possible and compatible paths are evident. The first relates to local food networks and involves diversification of the products produced within each region, at both the farm and processing and manufacturing levels.

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The idea of distributed manufacturing – basically mini-factories dispersed through the country – has been discussed in the forestry sector in New Zealand but could equally be considered for food.

Some emerging technologies that reduce dependence on the local climate for production, such as vertical farming, could be important in local food networks. Aquaponics (farming both fish and plants together), or algae production in ponds, could also diversify local food resources.

The idea of “circularity” could help reduce dependence on external inputs. Food waste products, for example, could be turned into energy as well as fertiliser.

From supply chains to systems

Alternatively, we could keep the potential benefits of national scale production, but invest to reduce the vulnerabilities in our transport networks. As recent research highlights, there could be multiple benefits to reducing reliance on roads.

And we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Only 6% of freight is transported by rail – this could be increased to diversify shipping options.

There may also be opportunities to make more out of coastal shipping routes. At the moment, this largely comprises the movement of bulk products such as fertiliser and cement.

However we tackle the increasing vulnerabilities in our food supply chain, we need to think of it as a food system and not simply a supply chain. The complex interactions in our food system mean changes to one part are likely to have wider economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts.

Tackling our potential vulnerability to climate change needs to be undertaken in the context of a wider strategy for the entire food system.

Alan Renwick 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. Climate extremes make NZ’s supply chains highly vulnerable – it’s time to rethink how we grow and ship food – https://theconversation.com/climate-extremes-make-nzs-supply-chains-highly-vulnerable-its-time-to-rethink-how-we-grow-and-ship-food-209023

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

One of the things still worrying me about robodebt was the attention to detail.

By that, I am not referring to the crude system by which hundreds of thousands of Australians on benefits received letters between 2016 and 2019, wrongly demanding they repay Centrelink money they did not owe.

I am referring to the care with which the robodebt letters were designed – and the so-called science behind those devastating design decisions.

‘Nudging’ people to pay at all costs

What Centrelink wanted was for the recipients to quietly pay up, or go online and provide years of payslips they probably didn’t have, rather than jam up its switchboards asking questions.

The robodebt royal commission heard that details as specific as the colours of the letters were decided on after receiving advice from “experts in behavioural science”. (In the end, Centrelink went with black and white.)

So it made what Royal Commissioner Catherine Holmes found was a “conscious decision” not to include a phone number recipients could use to find out more.

That’s right, the letter didn’t include a phone number – a decision Holmes found was made “with the intention of forcing recipients to respond online”.

Where did the idea come from?

Holmes found it came from “behavioural insights”.

Separately, the royal commission also heard one of the members of the Centrelink team had just come from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he had been running its behavioural science team.

The human toll of powerlessness

People left with nowhere to turn and without ready access to, or familiarity with, using the internet felt powerless.

Witnesses told Holmes they wanted to end their lives. Holmes devotes an entire chapter to those who did.

Holmes found that while “behavioural insights” were sought, “no outside parties with an interest in welfare were consulted in order to understand how the scheme might actually affect people”.

Holmes wrote:

The effect on a largely disadvantaged, vulnerable population of suddenly making demands on them for payment of debts, often in the thousands of dollars, seems not to have been the subject of any behavioural insight at all.

And that’s the problem with the relatively new technocratic-sounding science of behavioural economics.

‘Choice architects’ shaping policy

That Centrelink used specialists in behavioural science ought not be surprising.

A year before robodebt began, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull set up what he called a Behavioural Economics Team Australia (BETA) unit in his department. It was modelled on the so-called “nudge units” set up by President Barama Obama in the United States and Prime Minister David Cameron in the UK.

A “nudge” is a change destined to get someone to do something, sometimes also known by the Orwellian-sounding name “choice architecture”.

Cass Sunstein helped invent both those terms, coauthored the book Nudge, and headed Obama’s Nudge Unit. In 2015, Sunstein launched Turnbull’s unit.

I was a fan of behavioural economics, back when Turnbull set up his nudge unit.

Now, after robodebt, I’m starting to suspect much of it is no science at all.

Hollow science

A real science examines not only cause and effect, but also develops a theory of the mechanism by which that effect takes place. That’s another way of saying a real science examines more than correlations.

Psychology is one such real science; economics is (usually) another.

But the more I’ve looked at it, the more often behavioural economics seems hollow: not concerning itself enough with what needs to happen for results to be achieved.

The Behavioural Economics Team Australia is still active in the prime minister’s office. Its website is full of dozens of projects that look useful: how to lift organ donation rates, how to make energy bills easier to understand, how to get people to take part in the census.

Yet – and I am aware of the irony – even the best known choice architects have sometimes lacked insight into their own work.

One of the most famous findings in behavioural economics, in a 2012 paper, was that people who signed an honesty declaration at the beginning of a form rather than the end were less likely to lie.

Two years ago the paper was retracted amid allegations the data was false.

Blind to empathy

So widespread are behavioural economics “findings” that cannot be replicated, the prime minister’s BETA unit has done a podcast on that “replication crisis”.

And now, under the Albanese government, there’s another unit. This one is being set up in Treasury under the eye of Competition Minister Andrew Leigh and will be called the Australian Centre for Evaluation (ACE).

Its brief, a bit like BETA, will be to find out what works.

But if it only does that, without examining how it works, it risks being as blind to the potential costs on real people as the “behavioural insights” that shaped the robodebt letters.

Read more:
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Peter Martin 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. Behavioural ‘experts’ quietly shaped robodebt’s most devilish details – and their work in government continues – https://theconversation.com/behavioural-experts-quietly-shaped-robodebts-most-devilish-details-and-their-work-in-government-continues-210369

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucy Nicholas, Associate professor Sexualities and Genders / Sociology, Western Sydney University

In the Barbie movie, we open with a picture of a perfect Barbieland where (almost) everyone is happy, diversity and sisterhood are embraced, and Barbies hold all positions of power.

The Kens however, reflecting the popularity of the dolls in the real world, play a mainly decorative role.

Spoilers for Barbie follow.

In the film, we see a disgruntled Ken (played hilariously by Ryan Gosling) follow “Stereotypical” Barbie (Margot Robbie) to the real world where she has to find her human owner. This is all to fix an error that is allowing the real world to seep into Barbie land, with symptoms such as Barbie having an existential crisis.

In the real world, Ken discovers the concept of the patriarchy. This sees him take a journey that is clearly influenced by, and pokes fun at, many aspects of contemporary anti-feminist men’s rights culture.

Barbieland and the matriarchy

It has been proposed that Barbieland is a matriarchy, but I would argue that their attitude to Kens is instead indifference.

Ken was aggrieved that Barbie didn’t notice him and reciprocate his affections. This is not dissimilar to the grievances of some real-life men under contemporary feminism. Why don’t women’s lives revolve around them? And what can they do to address this perceived injustice?

The movie cleverly parallels the emotions, narratives and logics that lead men to extreme antifeminist and misogynistic thinking, and in doing so exposes the flimsiness of their foundations.

Having undertaken research on online antifeminist discourses, Ken’s journey from aggrievement to masculine “enlightenment” parallels themes we found in Men’s Rights Activist spaces.

Radicalisation into this world is often motivated by a feeling among boys and men of being left behind by a feminist world or system that doesn’t value them. This then leads them to long for an imagined natural order of patriarchy where women are back in their place and men regain their entitlements.

These logics underpin incel culture, a movement that is increasingly understood as a terror threat, and has been associated with various acts of terror, such as the 2022 Aotearoa New Zealand Epsom crash case.

The manosphere and MRAS

The “manosphere” can be understood as a loose coalition of antifeminist online subcultures.

This includes MRAs (Men’s Rights Activists) who claim reverse discrimination and that feminism has gone too far, and Redpillers who claim to have swallowed the “red pill” to see the truth about feminism’s dominance. PUAs (Pick up Artists) teach men how to manipulate the women they feel they are entitled to, to give them sex; and MGTOWs (Men Going Their Own Way), who are antifeminist separatists (from women).

Some of the most well known members of the manosphere are incels (involuntary celibates) a misogynistic community of self identified “beta-males” who want an end to women’s rights which prevent them from getting sex.

Read more:
Life in plastic, it’s fantastic? How Barbie reimagines a childhood icon through a feminist lens

Ken’s grievances

Like many MRAs, Ken struggles with a sense of entitlement romantically (rather than sexually in genital-free Barbieland), and in attitudes to power and respect.

Ken was being “friend-zoned” by Barbie, who despite being “boyfriend and girlfriend” wouldn’t let him stay over at the Dream House, because “every night is girl’s night”.

This is coupled with a feeling of not being special, as Ken is essentially interchangeable with any other Ken. He is also “alpha’d” by other Kens: in the language of the manosphere, Barbie is a “Stacy” and the other Ken is an alpha “Chad” preventing him from getting what he wants.

In our data we found women are often described as “overlords”, man-haters, misandrists and “feminazis”. Among other concerns, men perceive economic loss due to women’s participation in the workplace, and crucially a lack of men’s sexual access to women brought about by the gains of feminism such as the awareness raised around consent by the #metoo movement.

These men all share a starting point of grievance at women and their perceived indifference towards them.

When Ken goes to the real world, he discovers patriarchy and he LOVES it. He has been “redpilled”. Patriarchy explains his aggrievement, and affirms his feelings. He takes patriarchy back to Barbieland and transforms it to Kendom, where the men change it to a society oriented around men and their power (and horses…).

Redpilled ken

This redpilled Ken is a hilarious parody of the “neomasculinity” of the pick up artist (PUA) movement, that seeks to restore a masculine-centred world.

Neomasculinity is about a belief in biological difference, traditional masculinity and heteronormative gender roles.

The amusing depiction of the Kens trying to perform traditional hypermasculinity and needing their egos stroked – such as in a hilarious scene where the Kens are serenading the Barbies on the beach with an acoustic rendition of Matchbox Twenty’s Push (“I wanna push you around … I wanna take you for granted”) – brilliantly shows the extent to which toxic masculinity is learned.

Additionally, the competition among the Kens (that the Barbies ultimately stoke to overturn the Kentriarchy) is the perfect illustration of the damage toxic models of masculinity does to men. As Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell has long argued, almost no men can live up to masculine ideals, resulting in negative outcomes not just for women but also for men themselves.

Finding the real Ken

The movie ends with Barbie, her human (America Ferrera), “Weird Barbie” (Kate McKinnon) and Allan (Michael Cera) deprogramming the brainwashed Barbies and turning the Kens against each other.

But what of Just Beach Ken? And what can we learn from this for preventing or managing radicalisation of this feeling of aggrievement in real men or boys?

Well, Barbie and Ken reach a middle ground. Barbie encourages Ken to work out who he is outside of his relation to Barbie, and to learn being Just Ken is enough.

This isn’t dissimilar to the methods of men’s behaviour change programs and counselling for men who use violence, which use trauma-informed motivational interviewing, reflect on challenging gender norms and breaking down rigid thought processes, and developing emotional literacy and communication strategies.

But it also illustrates that men and boys need alternative narratives to make sense of themselves in the world, and alternative communities for affirmation, before it gets to this stage.

In our report, we recommended:

Providing alternative narratives and considering how far-right [or MRA] groups provide men with emotional support networks, with a view to providing better alternatives.

Feminism has consistently been about separating attributes from their gendered associations, breaking down the Barbie/Ken binary. So if there is one thing we can take away from the Barbie movie, it is that hierarchy and rigid gender benefits nobody, and power and social roles have nothing to do with the genitals you are born with.

Lucy Nicholas receives funding from the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety.

– ref. Ken’s rights? Our research shows Barbie is surprisingly accurate on how ‘men’s rights activists’ are radicalised – https://theconversation.com/kens-rights-our-research-shows-barbie-is-surprisingly-accurate-on-how-mens-rights-activists-are-radicalised-210273

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Cobb, Research Fellow, Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne

Puppies! Goats! Kittens! A quick online search suggests you can take a yoga class with just about any cute animal you like.

Operators provide the animals, room and an instructor – people pay to come and enjoy. Don’t forget the obligatory cute post to your socials, or it didn’t happen.

So far, so good. But what do the animals make of it?

As an animal welfare scientist, yoga with animals rings some alarm bells for me: it often seems to be focused on human wellbeing, with animal welfare an afterthought. But research shows how animal-assisted activities like this can be improved, and how we can all play a role in making animal welfare a higher priority.

Ethical issues exposed

The ethics of animal yoga have been a hot topic since a a recent investigation in the United Kingdom exposed distressing practices.

Puppies as young as six weeks old were denied sleep and water while working in puppy yoga sessions. Classes took place in hot rooms for hours at a time, with no capacity for the young pups to opt out of interactions.

People attending the classes were given no guidance on safely handling puppies, and video footage shows squirming young puppies dropping awkwardly to the ground.

Early socialisation can build dogs’ long-term confidence in interactions with people and the world. Bad experiences during this time can influence them to be anxious or fearful.

Similar practices appear to be common in the growing yoga-with-animals industry. An Australian friend told me about a recent goat yoga session:

it left me feeling awful for those poor goats, being grabbed at, chased around the room, and cuddled against their will.

How can science help?

My research centres around understanding the animal experience and using this evidence to inform good practice and policies.

It’s widely agreed animals such as dogs, goats and birds are sentient, which means they experience good and bad feelings – and that matters to their individual wellbeing.

Read more:
Here’s what the science says about animal sentience

With that understanding comes a moral obligation for us to care for animals in a way that includes their mental experiences as well as their physical needs.

Social licence pressure

In modern societies we often expect the animals we rely on will have good lives, not just protection from harm and suffering. When we learn people are failing to safeguard animal wellbeing (for example, through media investigations), there is a public reaction.

These reactions can affect entire industries. A recent example in Australia and New Zealand is the interruption to live export of sheep by sea.

The impact of community attitudes is sometimes called “social licence pressure”. When communities trust and accept that an operator is acting ethically and responsibly, the industry or individual has a “social licence to operate”.

This isn’t a physical licence that can be granted legally or politically. It’s a term from industries such as forestry and mining, where community approval underpins their ongoing operations.

Increasingly, the idea of social licence is becoming relevant to our interactions with animals in contexts such as racing, farming, and now animal yoga.

In many ways, concerns about puppy yoga align with those observed in other animal-assisted practices, such as education, therapy and other allied health settings. Rapidly growing but minimally regulated, these practices generally claim to have positive impacts on people’s lives.

However, the need for animal welfare to be monitored, evaluated and prioritised is often overlooked.

Animal welfare assurance

One approach to make animal-assisted activities more ethical is through “one health” and “one welfare” initiatives, which focus on the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental wellbeing.

For animal-reliant operations to be sustainable, they need be transparent and proactive in assuring the public that animal wellbeing is a priority. This may require considerable change to historical practices.

Research on human–animal interactions is often limited by a lack of funding for studies of animal experience, which can be used to inform regulation and policy.

The five domains of animal welfare

When assessing indicators of animal welfare, scientists increasingly use the “five domains” framework.

The first four domains are nutrition, physical environment, health, and behavioural interactions (with people, other animals and the environment). All of these directly influence the fifth domain: the animal’s mental state.

For example, a puppy deprived of water in a hot room may feel thirsty, tired and dizzy. A young animal whose sleep is interrupted may feel worried, have reduced concentration, and be more prone to illness. The risk of illness is greater if they are not fully vaccinated, or are exposed to a place visited by many animals. A dropped or mishandled puppy may feel pain and fear, and learn that people should be avoided.

Animals should also have agency – the ability to choose their actions, including whether to interact with people or withdraw.

How to make change

In the UK, the ITV News investigation has led to a rapid escalation of the issue. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Kennel Club have condemned the yoga classes, and called on the parliamentary group that monitors animal welfare to ban the practice.

This shows the power of social licence pressure. Closer to home, we can all exert this kind of pressure through the choices we make.

By staying informed about what makes a good life for animals, and not supporting practices that fail to align with it, we can fulfil our moral obligation to animals that rely on us.

Mia Cobb 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. Puppy yoga? Goat meditation? An animal welfare scientist explores what these activities might mean for the cute creatures – https://theconversation.com/puppy-yoga-goat-meditation-an-animal-welfare-scientist-explores-what-these-activities-might-mean-for-the-cute-creatures-209396

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

A national Resolve poll for Nine newspapers, conducted July 12–15 from a sample of 1,610, had “no” to the Indigenous Voice to parliament leading in a forced choice by 52–48 (51–49 in June). Initial preferences were 42% “no” (up two), 36% “yes” (down six) and 22% undecided (up five). I covered voting intentions and other results from this poll last Friday.

Here is an updated graph of the 2023 Voice polls by pollster that I first published two weeks ago.

To be successful, a referendum requires at least four of the six states as well as a national majority in favour. Based on June and July Resolve polls from a combined sample of 3,216, “no” is now ahead in four states. The average of the June and July polls should be a three-point national lead for “no”, but rounding could affect this calculation.

“No” led by 58–42 in Queensland and by 51–49 in Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales. “Yes” led by 52–48 in Victoria and 54–46 in Tasmania (but Tasmania’s figure is unreliable owing to a small sample size).

There are two glimmers of hope for “yes” in this poll. The first is that the rate of national fall has slowed, with “no” only up a point since June after gaining four points from May to June and five from April to May.

The second glimmer of hope is that only Queensland (58–42 “no”) is way below the national figure for “yes”. If “yes” wins a national majority, it’s plausible they would carry all states except Queensland, and win the referendum. But it’s unlikely “yes” wins a national majority.

I previously wrote that just one of 25 Labor-initiated referendums have succeeded, as the Coalition is nearly always opposed. While not succeeding, Labor-initiated referendums have performed much better when held with a general election than as a standalone referendum.

Read more:
While the Voice has a large poll lead now, history of past referendums indicates it may struggle

By 47–31, respondents expected “no” to win (38–30 expected “yes” to win in June). By 44–29, respondents thought it inappropriate for big business to take a side in the Voice campaign, after being told several large companies will either campaign for or donate to the “yes” campaign.

On the Ukraine war, respondents were given a summary of recent developments and Australia’s military support for Ukraine. On Australia’s level of support, 45% thought it should be maintained, 31% increased and 9% decreased or withdrawn.

National Essential poll: Albanese’s ratings slump

In a federal Essential poll, conducted July 19–23 from a sample of 1,150, Labor led by 50–45 on Essential’s two party measure that includes undecided (51–44 last fortnight). This is Labor’s equal lowest lead in Essential this term, tying with a 49–44 lead in March.

Primary votes were 32% Coalition (steady), 31% Labor (down one), 14% Greens (steady), 7% One Nation (down one), 1% UAP (steady), 9% for all Others (up one) and 6% undecided (up one).

Anthony Albanese’s ratings were 48% approve (down six since May) and 41% disapprove (up six), for a net approval of +7, down 12 points. This is his worst net approval in Essential since the 2022 election. Peter Dutton’s net approval improved three points since May to -6.

Politicians ranked last on trust in six professions tested, behind doctors, accountants, lawyers, bankers and journalists.

Of 2023 international sport tournaments, the men’s Ashes had the highest level of “very interested” respondents, but more had some interest in the women’s soccer world cup. This was followed by the women’s Ashes, men’s rugby world cup and women’s netball world cup in interest levels.

By 59–26, respondents thought equal prize money should be awarded for the men’s and women’s soccer world cups. By 41–36, they approved nationally of the Victorian government’s cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, but this question doesn’t ascertain whether respondents thought Victoria was right to offer to hold the games in the first place.

WA poll: massive swing to Liberals since May puts them ahead

The Poll Bludger reported Sunday on a WA state poll by Utting Research for The West Australian. The Liberals led by 54–46, a huge 15-point swing to the Liberals since the May Utting poll that was taken soon after Mark McGowan announced his retirement as WA premier and member for Rockingham.

Primary votes in this poll were 37% Liberals (up nine), 6% Nationals (up one), 32% Labor (down 20), 10% Greens (up two) and 15% for all Others (up eight). This poll was taken by robopolling from July 18–20 from a sample of 1,000.

Current Labor Premier Roger Cook’s ratings were 37% disapprove (up 11 since May) and 27% approve (down 15), for a net approval of -10, down 26 points. Liberal leader Libby Mettam’s ratings were 31% approve (steady) and 24% disapprove (down nine), for a net approval of +7, up nine points.

There will be a WA state byelection on Saturday in McGowan’s former seat of Rockingham. At the March 2021 WA election, McGowan won Rockingham by an 87.7–12.3 margin, from a primary vote of 82.8%. If this WA state poll is accurate, we would expect a huge swing to the Liberals at the byelection.

In a Voice question from this WA-only poll, “no” led by 58–29. Other polls, such as Resolve, have only had “no” just ahead in WA, so this is evidence of a sample heavily biased to the right in this poll.

If the poll is accurate, I believe the most important reason for Labor’s crash is the retirement of the very popular McGowan. Labor has now governed for six years in a state that normally votes for the Coalition at federal elections (though 2022 was an exception). Concerns about high inflation and interest rates are probably hurting Labor.

Tories lose 2 of 3 UK byelections; right fails to win majority in Spain

Byelections occurred last Thursday in three United Kingdom Conservative-held seats. The Conservatives lost two with very large swings, to Labour and the Liberal Democrats, but held former PM Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge. I covered these byelections for The Poll Bludger.

At Sunday’s Spanish election, the conservative People’s Party and far-right Vox combined won 169 of the 350 seats in the lower house, short of the 176 needed for a majority. The governing centre-left Socialists and left-wing Sumar won 153 seats, with regionalists, who are mostly left-wing, holding the remainder. The right had been expected to win an outright majority.

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

– ref. Voice support slips again in national Resolve poll; massive swing in WA puts Libs ahead – https://theconversation.com/voice-support-slips-again-in-national-resolve-poll-massive-swing-in-wa-puts-libs-ahead-210252

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey University

The headline job loss figures from New Zealand’s university funding crisis are in the public domain: over 100 gone at Otago University, with as many as 250 potentially about to go from Te Herenga Waka–Victoria and Massey. But these are only the losses we know of.

Behind the institutional veil, academic and administrative staff are quietly upping sticks for other, more secure working environments.

The proffered reasons for the proposed cuts include the loss of international students during the COVID-19 years, a steep reduction in the value of the public subsidy for domestic students over the past decade, and a funding model that encourages competition in a shrinking demographic pool.

More broadly, the sector-wide retrenchment is also framed around accountability to the taxpayer. What has not been interrogated more deeply is what price the notional taxpayer will pay over the long term if cuts of this magnitude occur.

The threat to the country’s research and development strategy from underfunded science departments is perhaps clearer. But the risks from losing more staff in the humanities and social sciences (where I work) are arguably less well appreciated.

Thinking critically

Essentially, studying social sciences and humanities subjects is about making sense of things: oneself, the societies in which we live, the connections between past, present and future.

If that sounds a little “ivory tower”, it is in fact a statutory obligation of tertiary institutions to be a “critic and conscience of society”. That is, to enable people to think for themselves, challenge received wisdoms and ask questions of those in positions of power.

Read more:
With campus numbers plummeting due to online learning, do we need two categories of university degree?

More practically, the attributes and dispositions imparted in the humanities and social sciences – the capacities to think critically, synthesise complex information and hold contradictory ideas in balance – are extremely useful in today’s rapidly changing labour market.

Unfortunately, it has been fashionable (at least in New Zealand, less so in more mature societies) to deride the bachelor of arts degree as one that won’t get you far. The old joke that BA stood for “bugger all” never seems to get old.

Business and the humanities

And yet, the hard-headed world of business and commerce is increasingly aware of the value of just such an education. Maybe most famously in New Zealand, the highly successful international property developer Bob Jones has long expressed a preference for employing arts rather than business graduates.

More recently, the former CEO of Westpac Institutional Bank, Lyn Cobley, spoke about the need for the kinds of diverse skills an arts degree can provide:

We’re not focusing as much on the traditional skillset that we once thought was necessary in banking – financial modelling, accounting, commerce – but rather we’re looking for people who display diversity of thought, critical thinking skills, cultural awareness, communication and collaboration skills.

Paul Newfield, philosophy graduate and now CEO of infrastructure company Morrison & Co, is another who is acutely aware of the importance in business of diverse views and backgrounds:

The magic for us is being a culture where people respect different perspectives, and really engage in debate and in the ideas, and then you get good answers.

In other words, workplace-specific skills can be taught on the job. But that’s a lot easier to do when you’re working with curious people possessed of good, nimble minds – the kind of minds fostered in the arts disciplines.

Read more:
Starved of funds and vision, struggling universities put NZ’s entire research strategy at risk

No technical fixes

The sense-making skills cultivated in the humanities and social sciences are valued by employers. But they are even more important in the wider context of a world facing numerous challenges.

Highly complex issues – the climate crisis, the emergence of artificial intelligence, disinformation and political extremism, race and gender prejudice, and social inequality – are not wholly amenable to technical fixes.

Each has fundamentally to do with human behaviour and interactions. And therefore each requires the sorts of practices cultivated in the arts disciplines: careful thought, calm deliberation and meaningful collaboration.

Read more:
NZ music schools under threat: we need a better measure of their worth than money

And this isn’t simply special pleading from those within the threatened disciplines and departments.

Robert May, president of the Royal Society, member of the House of Lords and Chief Scientific Adviser to the British government, put it this way:

I think many of the major problems facing society are outside the realm of science and mathematics. It’s the behavioural sciences that are the ones we are going to have to depend on to save us.

The proposed reductions in staffing within those disciplines in New Zealand universities run counter to that sentiment. Public policy, functioning democracy and social cohesion are all at stake in the longer term.

Archaic assumptions about the “value” of the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences need to be put to rest. We need to acknowledge their importance to the economy and society.

Filling a hole in this year’s budget may only mean the price we pay in years to come will be far larger.

Richard Shaw is a member of the Tertiary Education Union.

– ref. A changing world needs arts and social science graduates more than ever – just ask business leaders – https://theconversation.com/a-changing-world-needs-arts-and-social-science-graduates-more-than-ever-just-ask-business-leaders-210194

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Graham, Chief economist, CSIRO energy, CSIRO

Addressing climate change means enduring some economic pain in the early part of this century to avoid worse outcomes in the long run. But recently the narrative has shifted from pain to opportunity.

In Australia, there’s much talk of this nation emerging from the net-zero transition as a clean energy superpower.

But many other countries are also racing to expand their renewable energy production. This got us wondering: Australia’s renewable resource potential is vast, but will we actually become the world’s biggest energy exporter?

Analysis by CSIRO examined this question. We found Australia was near the top of the pack on factors such as the quality of renewable resources. But we are not the world’s best, and others are nipping at our heels. There’s still much work to be done.

A superpower-in-waiting

Australia has always been rich in energy. We export far more in the form of gas and coal than we use domestically. And a lot of energy used in Australia goes towards producing goods for export such as minerals and metals.

The threat of climate change means the world must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. That requires less burning of Australia’s abundant fossil fuels.

Economic modelling produced by federal treasury in 2008 and 2011 revealed a gloomy outlook. It showed key industrial sectors such as coal mining, aluminium and steel would all be significantly smaller in a world that takes action to address climate change.

But a reprieve was in sight. Australia has vast amounts of the cheapest climate change solution available: renewable electricity. And between 2010 and 2020, the cost of electricity generated from wind and solar globally fell by 56% and 85%, respectively.

This turned the issue of addressing climate change from challenge to opportunity. Australia is now touted as a future clean energy superpower. There’s even talk of exporting renewable energy – either in the form of “green” hydrogen, or directly via undersea electricity transmission cables.

Much of the opportunity will come from supplying renewable energy to industry. That’s because electricity is the cheapest way to strip emissions from this polluting part of the economy.

And the opportunity goes deeper. The global transition to low-emissions technology entails an exponential increase in wind and solar plants, energy storage, and the transmission infrastructure to get the energy where it’s needed. Manufacturing this technology requires the production of minerals such as aluminium and lithium, of which Australia has large reserves.

So demand for Australia’s minerals and metals is expected to grow. And these producers will have access to cheap home-grown renewable electricity to power their operations, making them more internationally competitive.

Read more:
Dutton wants Australia to join the “nuclear renaissance” – but this dream has failed before

But how competitive are we?

So far, so good. But many countries are developing a renewable energy capacity. Those that can produce renewable energy at least cost will come out on top. That comes down to three factors:

1. the quality of renewable resources, for example, how windy or sunny a place is

2. the cost of installation (which is determined by labour costs and government regulation)

3. the existence of a low-cost backup energy supply, such as gas or hydro, for when renewables production is low.

So how does Australia fare? To find out, we studied 194 locations around the world in 13 regions. We determined where renewable energy could be produced most cheaply and how costs varied across the land mass.

Based on the lowest cost site in each region, we estimate the three most competitive global regions for producing renewable energy will be India, Western Europe and China. This applies both in 2030 and 2050.

Australia is ranked a close fourth in 2030. But this rank could slip one place in 2050, if Africa can make better use of its good solar sites by then.

So why did three regions rank above Australia? It partly reflects their lower labour costs and the quality of renewable resources. It’s also due to lower costs for companies installing renewable energy technologies. (Cheaper installation can also be the result of lower labour costs or, as in the case of Western Europe, a more competitive installation sector.)

We don’t know why other countries with comparable labour costs can install technologies more cheaply. But it may reflect economies of scale, or more companies competing for work.

We also calculated the average of costs across the land mass of each region. On that measure, Australia’s ranking improves to third place in both 2030 and 2050.

This indicates the deep quality of Australia’s renewable resources: it’s a windy and sunny place, which helps offset Australia’s relatively higher installation costs.

It’s worth noting, however, that other top-ranked countries face risks that Australia does not. In China and India, for example, labour costs are likely to rise faster as their economies develop.

In addition, these nations have much larger populations and so may need to reserve some renewable resources to meet domestic energy needs.

Read more:
The earth might hold huge stores of natural hydrogen – and prospectors are already scouring South Australia for it

Staying competitive

Australia’s potential to produce renewable energy at globally competitive prices promises to negate the economic pain of the energy transition. But we can’t rest on our laurels. Other nations have competitive advantages that outweigh our bounty of wind and sun.

So how does Australia stay at the top of the global pack? The main priority is to make our installation sector more competitive. This may develop naturally as the scale of clean energy deployment grows, attracting more companies to the sector.

We must also identify the necessary workforce skills and produce sufficient labour and training, to ensure Australia keeps pace with the global transition.

Read more:
Australia is facing a 450,000-tonne mountain of used solar panels. Here’s how to turn it into a valuable asset

Paul Graham has been an energy economist for 27 years and during that time has received funding from the Commonwealth government, nearly every state government and many major mining, finance, generation, distribution, transmission, fuel and technology companies as well as non-profit organisations.

– ref. Australia is touted as a future clean energy ‘superpower’ – but research suggests other nations will outperform us – https://theconversation.com/australia-is-touted-as-a-future-clean-energy-superpower-but-research-suggests-other-nations-will-outperform-us-209397