Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Ellis, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Newcastle, University of Newcastle

Public trust and confidence in NSW Police has been sorely tested in the past two weeks. The charging of a police officer with the murders of a Sydney gay couple, Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, has seen shock turn to grief and then anger.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb’s framing of the case as a “crime of passion” downplayed the alleged culpability of the accused, and overlooked the murders as possible domestic violence. The commissioner’s gratitude to the accused for leading police to the location of the remains of the deceased drew further ire.

Yet the most heated debate has been about the appropriateness of the police force’s presence in the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. This focus has brought to the surface a spectrum of viewpoints on diversity and inclusion. Much of this focus has ignored the reasons why there is growing dissatisfaction with NSW police among many LGBTQ+ people. This is amid ten-year lows of public perceptions of police integrity nationally. Emotions have been running high.

But these recent events are part of a long and complicated history of the policing of LGBTQ+ people, and of Mardi Gras in particular.

Read more:
LGBTQ+ people are facing increasing persecution globally, but refugee status is still extremely hard to get

The ongoing stigma of criminalisation

The first Mardi Gras in 1978 was a protest that ended with violence between the police and protesters, and the beating of many of the 53 arrestees while in police custody. The damage was exacerbated by the publication in The Sydney Morning Herald of the names, addresses and professions of those arrested.

The first Mardi Gras was held six years before the decriminalisation of homosexuality in NSW in 1984. That was a time when public attitudes were becoming more accepting of homosexuality. But coming out could still lead to you losing your job, and still can. Acting on your same-sex desire could also get you killed.

The deeper background to the policing of homosexuality in the 1970s was the expansion of laws and penalties against homosexuality amid increased vilification and discrimination against gays and lesbians after the second world war. The legacy of criminalisation continues through stigma that targets gay men, drag queens and transgender women as “child groomers”.

It continues through so-called “conversion” therapies that seek to “correct” same-sex desire, often with catastrophic consequences.

Community responses to the policing of Mardi Gras

A viral video of police’s excessive force at the 2013 Mardi Gras parade resulted in LGBTQ+ community action, and a 2014 memorandum of understanding between Mardi Gras and NSW Police.

Central to that agreement was that Mardi Gras should be policed in a way that is safe and welcoming for all participants and spectators.

The issues with drug detection dogs were documented comprehensively by the NSW Ombudsman in 2006, yet NSW Police continues to use them at Mardi Gras and other festivals.

Read more:
There’s a growing gap between countries advancing LGBTQ+ rights, and those going backwards

This is despite the NSW coroner in 2019 recommending stopping the use of drug detection dogs at music festivals in NSW. This is because, among other things, the presence of the dogs can cause panic ingestion of drugs by party-goers.

NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission investigations into strip searches conducted by NSW police officers found that many of the searches were unlawful.

Apologies only go so far

There have been apologies to the LGBTQ+ community over the years from politicians, police and the media, mainly about the treatment of the “78ers” who marched in the first Mardi Gras.

The most recent apology has come from the NSW police commissioner. The commissioner has apologised to the families of gay hate crime victims whose deaths were not properly investigated by NSW police over four decades from 1970 to 2010.

That apology was foregrounded by Justice John Sackar, who led the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ+ hate crimes in NSW. It handed down its findings in late 2023.

The police commissioner has come under fire for the time and placement of the apology, which was issued as an exclusive to The Sunday Telegraph as the search for Baird and Davies continued. Further, NSW police has not officially responded to the special commission’s recommendations.

Justice Sackar’s overall impression was that “in significant respects”, NSW Police’s engagement with the inquiry was “adversarial or unnecessarily defensive”. The judge noted that police strike forces Macnamir (2013), Parrabell (2015) and Neiwand (2015) failed in their assessment of hate as a motivator in historical homicides of gay men.

Two of these inquiries occurred after the Mardi Gras and NSW Police Force memorandum was established. In 2023, about two-thirds of the Mardi Gras membership voted to withdraw from it.

Community taking back ownership

Mardi Gras is a member-based organisation that champions LGBTQ+ social issues through leveraging the power of arts, culture, partnerships and celebration.

NSW police-branded pride paraphernalia at the festival sits in stark contrast with its invasive and harmful drug detection dog operations, aggressive policing, and ambivalence about addressing historic wrongs.

For many viewers of the Mardi Gras parade, the presence of the police in uniform may suggest the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and NSW Police is a positive one. This is partly true.

Read more:
LGBTIQ+ people are being ignored in the census again. Not only is this discriminatory, it’s bad public policy

The force’s negative reaction to Mardi Gras’ request not to march in the 2024 parade illustrates the symbolic significance to police of marching in the parade, and its public relations value.

Mardi Gras members, and the Mardi Gras board, have decided that police force participation in the event is conditional. Police will now march, but out of uniform.

It remains to be seen whether NSW Police will deliver on greater transparency and accountability. If it decides to do so, the benefits will be realised well beyond LGBTQ+ communities.

Nicole L. Asquith is the Convener of the Australian Hate Crime Network, and in that role was contracted by the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes to provide paid, expert testimony.

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

– ref. The policing of LGBTQ+ people casts a long, dark shadow. Marching at Mardi Gras must be backed up with real change – https://theconversation.com/the-policing-of-lgbtq-people-casts-a-long-dark-shadow-marching-at-mardi-gras-must-be-backed-up-with-real-change-224633

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Jongenelis, Associate Professor, Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, The University of Melbourne

Vaping is on the rise among young Australians. Recent figures from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey show current use of e‑cigarettes among teenagers aged 14–17 increased five-fold from 1.8% in 2019 to 9.7% in 2022–2023. For young adults aged 18–24, use quadrupled from 5.3% to 21% over the same time period.

If these young Australians were using e-cigarettes to quit smoking, perhaps we would have slightly less to worry about. But many young Australians using e-cigarettes do so recreationally and haven’t previously been exposed to nicotine. Although we’re still learning about how vaping will affect health in the long term, we know e-cigarettes are harmful.

Reforms introduced this year by the federal government will be key to reducing rates of e-cigarette use among young Australians, while ensuring those who are genuinely using e-cigarettes to quit smoking have a pathway to do so.

It will take some time to see a reduction in e-cigarette use as a result of these reforms. We need to be patient, and give the laws time to work. Enforcement will be key. But if there’s anything we’ve learnt from decades of tobacco control, it’s that we need a comprehensive approach.

This is where the federal government’s latest initiative – a social media campaign targeting youth vaping – comes in.

Read more:
Young non-smokers in NZ are taking up vaping more than ever before. Here are 5 reasons why

From television to TikTok

Many will be familiar with the anti-smoking TV ads that have aired over the past several decades. Who could forget the “Sponge” campaign featuring tar being squeezed out of a sponge into a jar to represent the tar in the lungs of those who smoke.

Or the hard-hitting testimonial featuring a former smoker named Terrie diagnosed with oral and throat cancer, who had her larynx removed.

But times have changed. Tobacco smoking continues to decline and young Australians spend a lot of their time on social media. For better or worse, platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram have become a source of information for youth.

And so we need to be creative with our campaigns. We need to present information in a fresh way.

The government’s new influencer-led youth vaping campaign aims “to spark a conversation with the next generation of Australians about the harms of vaping and nicotine addiction”.

This campaign will feature a range of influencers seeking to combat the large amount of pro-vaping content on social media platforms. These influencers – people like Ella Watkins (a writer and actor), Ellyse Perry (a cricketer), Zahlia and Shyla Short (surfers), the Fairbairn Brothers (comedians), and JackBuzza (a gamer) – span multiple areas to ensure young Australians with diverse interests are reached. Some have vaped in the past and subsequently quit.

The government hopes these influencers will engage young people using their own unique style and tone, and communicate authentically about the harms associated with e-cigarette use.

Read more:
TikTok promotes vaping as a fun, safe and socially accepted pastime – and omits the harms

The influence of influencers

The campaign capitalises on what can be powerful parasocial relationships: one-sided relationships where a person becomes emotionally connected to a public figure such as a celebrity or influencer. Social media influencers are in our children’s bedrooms, bathrooms, and classrooms. Why not use them to promote healthy attitudes and behaviours?

Emerging research suggests the use of social media influencers in anti-vaping campaigns could be a promising strategy for improving the reach of public health messaging and engagement with the target audience.

In the context of vaccination, the use of social influencers in a campaign promoting the flu vaccine in the United States led to significant increases in positive beliefs about the vaccine and marked decreases in negative attitudes toward it.

Will this campaign be effective?

The use of social influencers to promote a healthy lifestyle is still a relatively new frontier in health communication, and whether this campaign will be effective is a tricky question to answer.

There are several benefits to this approach, such as leveraging the relationships influencers have built with their audience, enhanced authenticity, and meaningful communication of health information.

It also provides an opportunity to shift social norms. In the context of tobacco and vaping control specifically, public health has far fewer resources compared to the tobacco and vaping industries. The strategic use of social influencers can help organisations involved in health promotion to overcome this commercial imbalance.

Read more:
How can I help my teen quit vaping?

But there could also be risks associated with this campaign, such as the lack of control over the content an influencer may choose to share, and their actions and opinions on other topics, which may affect their credibility. Vetting influencers and implementing risk mitigation plans will be crucial steps for the government to take.

Specific details of the campaign are yet to be released, so we don’t know exactly how the influencers will be engaged to combat increasing rates of e-cigarette use among youth. But we will be closely watching this innovative approach.

Michelle Jongenelis currently receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the WA Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway). She is affiliated with the Australian Council on Smoking and Health and the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Tobacco Control Working Group.

Michelle has never received services, assistance, or support (whether monetary or non-monetary in nature) from the tobacco industry and/or e-cigarette industry. Michelle has never provided services, assistance, or support (whether monetary or non-monetary in nature) to the tobacco and/or e-cigarette industry.

– ref. Could messages from social media influencers stop young people vaping? A look at the government’s new campaign – https://theconversation.com/could-messages-from-social-media-influencers-stop-young-people-vaping-a-look-at-the-governments-new-campaign-224621

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynda Goldsworthy, Research Associate, University of Tasmania

On February 1, senior Australian and New Zealand ministers signed a Joint Statement of Cooperation, acknowledging the long history of collaboration between the two nations.

The same week, New Zealand rejected an Australian proposal on sustainable fishing at the annual fisheries meeting of nations that fish in the high seas of the South Pacific. The move has driven a wedge between these traditional allies.

At stake was an agreement by those nations to protect 70% of special and vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as ancient corals, from destructive fishing practices like bottom-trawling.

Until December 2023, NZ was jointly leading the work to implement this agreement with Australia. But New Zealand’s new government, a coalition of conservative parties, rejected the proposed restrictions, citing concerns about jobs and development.

This sudden about-face raises many questions for Australia, and for progress on sustainable fishing more generally. On fishing, Australia must now be prepared to consider New Zealand an opponent rather than ally.

Sustainable fishing alliance no more?

In 2009, Australia, New Zealand and Chile led successful negotiations for a convention governing sustainable fishing in the South Pacific high seas beyond a nation’s marine exclusive economic zones, meaning more than 370km off the coast. The goal was to make sure fish stocks were not fished out and to protect marine ecosystems. (Tuna are not included, as they are dealt with under a separate convention.)

Since then, New Zealand and Australia have led much of the development of regulations governing the sustainable use of deepwater fish species and the conservation of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the South Pacific region. Their work led to the first measures governing deepwater fisheries, science-based catch limits for deepwater species, and a joint assessment of seafloor fishing methods such as trawling.

But the idea of banning or restricting trawling was controversial. Bottom-trawling, in which boats deploy giant nets that scrape along the ocean floor, is very effective – so much so that it can devastate everything in its path.

In 2015, the United Nations’ first worldwide ocean assessment found bottom-trawling causes widespread, long-term destruction to deep-sea environments wherever it is done. Scientists have compared it to clear-felling a forest. The practice is banned in the Mediterranean and in shallow waters of the Southern Ocean, and is increasingly restricted by many nations, including Australia.

The UN has repeatedly called for better protection, as well as specific actions to make it a reality. And many nations and organisations are heeding that call.

Read more:
We now have a treaty governing the high seas. Can it protect the Wild West of the oceans?

The science is clear. But the politics is not. International waters in the South Pacific are one of the few areas where deepwater bottom-trawling is still permitted on seamounts – underwater mountains rich in life – and similar features.

Last year, South Pacific nations agreed to protect a minimum of 70% of marine ecosystems vulnerable to damage from fishing. This agreement came from research done largely by New Zealand.

Other countries pushed for a higher level of protection, but New Zealand insisted on 70% to ensure its fishing could continue. These kinds of compromises are common at meetings like this.

The meeting in February was meant to agree on how to make the consensus decision a reality. But it was not to be. Now that NZ has withdrawn support, the original decision remains but without the mechanisms to make it happen. Bottom-trawling will likely continue in the South Pacific.

Why? The new NZ fisheries minister, Shane Jones, has publicly stated he was “keen to ensure that, number one, we’re looking after our own people, looking after jobs and opportunities for economic development to benefit New Zealand.”

While high seas fishing is an important industry for New Zealand, their bottom trawling activity in the South Pacific is small. One vessel fished the bottom in 2021-2022, catching only 20 tonnes of orange roughy. No bottom trawling has happened since then.

Since coming to power, New Zealand’s new government has questioned 2030 renewable energy targets, promised to “address climate change hysteria”, declared mining more important than nature protection – and supported bottom-trawling.

Many of these changes will be of considerable concern to Australia. For the past 15 years, Australia has taken a prominent leadership role – alongside New Zealand – in sustainable ocean management.

With Pacific island nations, Australia and NZ worked long and hard to progress the High Seas Treaty – a breakthrough opening new legal avenues to protect up to 30% of the unregulated high seas where illegal and exploitative fishing practices are common.

The NZ government’s willingness to jettison long collaborative work, abandon agreed commitments and risk existing agreements bodes poorly for cooperation across the Tasman. Australia must sadly now treat New Zealand as an opponent when it comes to protecting the seas and managing fisheries for the long term.

Read more:
We now have a treaty governing the high seas. Can it protect the Wild West of the oceans?

Lynda Goldsworthy has attended South Pacific regional fisheries meetings as an academic advisor on the Australian delegation for the past 5 years, and provides occasional consultancy advice to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition on high seas conservation issues.

– ref. On fisheries, Australia must be prepared for New Zealand as opponent rather than ally – https://theconversation.com/on-fisheries-australia-must-be-prepared-for-new-zealand-as-opponent-rather-than-ally-223305

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University

Through a nuanced exploration of place, time, and memory, a new video work invites audiences to reflect on landscape and its relationship to the echoes of conflict.

Stanislava Pinchuk’s three-channel installation The Theatre of War uses a diverse range of performers, people and locations, interlacing the introductory passages of Homer’s The Iliad across three films which contend with grief, memory and place.

Read more:
Guide to the classics: Homer’s Iliad

A compelling story

Pinchuk is a Ukrainian-Australian artist who grew up in Melbourne and now resides in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her body of work traces the shifting topographic landscapes of war zones across the world. Her pieces range from large-scale sculpture to data-maps and tapestries, and incorporate drawing, film, tattoo and installation.

At the launch event for this new work on display at ACMI, Pinchuk spoke compellingly of the time the work took to compose, the support she received, and the grief that surrounded it. Commissioned in 2019, the making of The Theatre of War was interrupted by the COVID pandemic, and deeply inflected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Describing the piece as “an odd work that has borne the brunt of my grief”, Pinchuk shared memories of months in combat training with the Ukrainian army, where she and the soldiers would spend one minute of silence each day for those who had died.

A carefully constructed sonic world

In the darkened exhibition space, we sit facing three screens with three films in different locations and contexts.

In a Sarajevo theatre, six female performers in traditional costume take their seats on a stage. At the tomb of Homer on the island of Ios, a long path to a craggy isthmus overlooks the Mediterranean, where two young people perch on the rocky bluff. In a remote and destroyed village in the United Kingdom, masked and armed Ukrainian soldiers engage in very realistic combat training: boots, guns and all.

Each film has its own discrete audio which makes for random or purposeful intersection. The soldiers, in full battle gear, run drills, shouting to clear rubble-filled rooms and firing off automatic weapon rounds as the choir’s singing swells and the wind gusts. Ammunition and cartridge cases clink as the opening lines of the Iliad – “Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles, Peleus’ son!” – are repeated in text and voice across the three screens: from a smiling chorister and then like a radio broadcast to the soldiers as they move through the destroyed landscape.

At times the films synchronise sets of still, detailed images: discarded bullet casings in the dust, a nose ring, a kneeling soldier. Long fingernails holding a mobile phone, a laughing singer, the metal discs of her head piece dangling. A shoe, a necklace, a freighter in the blue mist. The work builds to a sonic crescendo as the sounds of sirens and songs intersect with the bluster of automatic weapon fire echoing across the concrete bunker. At Homer’s grave, the scene is an azure, infinite sea.

Storytelling at the heart

The Theatre of War is rich, resonant and thoughtful. There is an essence of storytelling at its heart which coheres the work, reminiscent of Pinchuk’s interest in Homer’s universal, timeless themes of migration, battle, loss and yearning.

At times, extreme closeups of lines and wrinkles on hands and lips remind us of the resilience and the frailty of the body in war. There is a potent metaphor of landscape in the work: as a geographic descriptor, certainly, but also as a container for memory, and as a way to think about the terrain of bodies.

There is something vulnerable and arresting about the faces, hands and legs in the work, which are variously marked, lipsticked, wrinkled or pierced. We are reminded of the traces that life leaves on our bodies, as well as the traces through time from ancient stories of war to modern, horrific ones: how innocent people become, as Homer describes, “the spoil for dogs and birds of every kind”.

I am struck by my own inadequate set of understandings as I view this work. I feel lucky, privileged, deeply moved. I notice my attention to the details, the physical bodies, the half hidden bits and pieces, but also the challenge established by the artist in the creation of three films viewed concurrently. Where do I look, and for how long? What is important? What might I miss?

Pinchuk has created a work which is somehow serene and gritty in equal measure. A meditation on memory and sadness, it considers, with compassion and courage, the ways in which places bear witness to history. The Theatre Of War asks us, compels us, to look.

Stanislava Pinchuk: The Theatre of War is at ACMI, Melbourne, until June 9.

Read more:
The Russia-Ukraine War has caused a staggering amount of cultural destruction – both seen and unseen

Kate Hunter 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 odd work that has borne the brunt of my grief’: the serenity and the grit of Stanislava Pinchuk’s The Theatre of War – https://theconversation.com/an-odd-work-that-has-borne-the-brunt-of-my-grief-the-serenity-and-the-grit-of-stanislava-pinchuks-the-theatre-of-war-222498

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Enzo Palombo, Professor of Microbiology, Swinburne University of Technology

From the bristles of brushes to the porous surfaces of sponges, your makeup kit can harbour a host of bacteria and fungi.

These potentially hazardous contaminants can originate not only from the cosmetics themselves, but also from the very surface of our skin.

So, how can we keep things hygienic and avoid microbial growth on makeup brushes and sponges? Here’s what you need to know.

Read more:
What is micellar water and how does it work?

How do germs and fungi get in my brushes and sponges?

Germs and fungi can make their way into your makeup kit in lots of ways.

Ever flushed a toilet with the lid open with your makeup brushes nearby? There’s a good chance faecal particles have landed on them.

Perhaps a family member or housemate has used your eyeshadow brush when you weren’t looking, and transferred some microbes across in the process.

Bacteria that trigger a pimple outbreak can be easily transferred from the surface of your skin to a makeup brush or sponge.

And tiny little mites called Demodex mites, which have been linked to certain rashes and acne, live on your skin, as well, and so may end up in your sponge or brushes.

Read more:
Invisible skin mites called Demodex almost certainly live on your face – but what about your mascara?

Bacterial contamination of lip cosmetics, in particular, can pose a risk of skin and eye infections (so keep that in mind if you use lip brushes). Lipsticks are frequently contaminated with bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Low-quality cosmetics are more likely to have higher and more diverse microbial growth compared to high-quality cosmetics.

Brushes exposed to sensitive areas like the eyes, mouth and nose are particularly susceptible to being potential sources of infection.

The range of conditions caused by these microorganisms includes:

• abscesses

• skin and soft tissue infections

• skin lesions

• rashes

• and dermatitis.

In severe cases, infections can lead to invasion of the bloodstream or deep tissues.

Commercially available cosmetics contain varying amounts and types of preservatives aimed at inhibiting the growth of fungi and bacteria.

But when you apply makeup, different cosmetics with unique formulations of preservatives can become mixed. When a preservative meant for one product mixes with others, it might not work as well because they have different water amounts or pH levels.

So preservatives are not foolproof. We also need to observe good hygiene practices when it comes to brushes and other cosmetics applicators.

Keeping brushes clean

Start with the basics: never share makeup brushes or sponges. Everyone carries different microbes on their skin, so sharing brushes and sponges means you are also sharing germs and fungi.

If you need to share makeup, use something disposable to apply it, or make sure any shared brushes are washed and sterilised before the next person uses it.

Clean makeup brushes by washing with hot soapy water and rinsing thoroughly.

How often? Stick to a cleaning routine you can repeat with consistency (as opposed to a deep clean that is done annually). Once a week might be a good goal for some, while others may need to wash more regularly if they are heavy users of makeup.

Definitely wash straight away if someone else has used your brushes or sponges. And if you’ve had an eye infection such as conjunctivitis, ensure you clean applicators thoroughly after the infection has resolved.

You can use bactericidal soap, 70% ethanol or chlorhexidine solutions to wash. Just make sure you wash very thoroughly with hot water after, as some of these things can irritate your skin. (While some people online say alcohol can degrade brushes and sponges, opinion seems to be mixed; in general, most disinfectants are unlikely to cause significant corrosion.)

For some brushes, heating or steaming them and letting them dry may also be an effective sterilisation method once they are washed with detergent. Microwaving sponges isn’t a good idea because while the heat generated by a domestic microwave would kill microbes, it would need temperatures approaching 100°C for a decent period of time (at least several minutes). The heat could melt some parts of the sponge and hot materials could be a scalding hazard.

Once clean, ensure brushes and sponges are stored in a dry place away from water sources (and not near an open toilet).

If you’re having makeup applied professionally, brushes and applicators should be sterilised or changed from person to person.

Should I wash them with micellar water?

No.

Not only is this expensive, it’s unnecessary. The same benefits can be achieved with cheaper detergents or alcohol (just rinse brushes carefully afterwards).

Disinfection methods such as using bactericidal soap, 70% ethanol, or chlorhexidine are all very good at reducing the amount of microbes on your brushes and sponges.

Read more:
What is micellar water and how does it work?

Rosalie Hocking is currently the recipient of an Australian government Future Fellowship.

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

– ref. Why and how often do I need to wash makeup brushes and sponges? – https://theconversation.com/why-and-how-often-do-i-need-to-wash-makeup-brushes-and-sponges-220280

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Windsor, Professor, Director, Generations Research Initiative, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University

“What are the main factors in forming someone’s personality?” – Emma, age 10, from Shanghai

Hello Emma, and thank you for this very interesting question!

Let’s start by exploring what we mean by personality. Have you noticed no two people are completely alike? We all see, experience, and understand the world in different ways.

For example, some people love spending time with friends and being the centre of attention, whereas other people are more shy and enjoy having time to themselves.

Your unique personality is shaped by your genes as well as various influences in your environment. And your personality plays an important role in how you interact with the world.

Read more:
Curious Kids: how did the first person evolve?

The big five

Did you know there are scientists who spend time researching personality? Their research is concerned with describing the ways people differ from each other, and understanding how these differences could be important for other parts of life such as our health and how well we do in school or at work.

There are many different perspectives on personality. A widely accepted viewpoint based on a lot of research is called the five factor model or the “big five”. According to this theory, a great deal of a person’s personality can be summarised in terms of where they sit on five dimensions, called traits:

1. the introversion-extraversion trait refers to how much someone is outgoing and social (extroverted) or prefers being with smaller groups of friends or focusing on their own thoughts (introverted)

2. agreeableness captures how much someone tends to be cooperative and helps others

3. openness to experience refers to how much a person is creative and enjoys experiencing new things

4. neuroticism describes a person’s tendency to experience negative feelings, like worrying about things that could go wrong

5. conscientiousness encompasses how much a person is organised, responsible, and dedicated to things that are important to them, like schoolwork or training for a sports team.

A person can have high, low, or moderate levels of each of these traits. And understanding whether someone has higher or lower levels of the big five can tell us a lot about how we might expect them to behave in different situations.

Read more:
Curious Kids: how does our DNA relate to our personality and appearance?

So what shapes our personalities?

A number of factors shape our personalities, including our genes and social environment.

Our bodies are made up of many very small structures called cells. Within these cells are genes. We inherit genes from our parents, and they carry the information needed to make our bodies and personalities. So, your personality may be a bit like your parents’ personalities. For example, if you’re an outgoing sort of person who loves to meet new people, perhaps one or both of your parents are very social too.

Personalities are also affected by our environment, such as our experiences and our relationships with family and friends. For example, some research has shown our relationships with our parents can influence our personality. If we have loving and warm relationships, we may be more agreeable and open. But if our relationships are hurtful or stressful, this may increase our neuroticism.

Another study showed that, over time, young children who were more physically active were less introverted (less shy) and less likely to get very upset when things don’t go their way, compared to children who were less physically active. Although we don’t know why this is for sure, one possible explanation is that playing sport leads to reduced shyness because it introduces children to different people.

Read more:
Curious Kids: why do some people worry more than others?

While we’re learning more about personality development all the time, research in this area presents quite a few challenges. Many different biological, cultural and environmental influences shape our development, and these factors can interact with each other in complex ways.

Is our personality fixed once we become adults?

Although we develop most of our personality when we are young, and people’s personalities tend to become more stable as they get older, it is possible for aspects of a person’s personality to change, even when they are fully grown.

A good example of this can be seen among people who seek treatment for conditions like anxiety or depression. People who respond well to working with a psychologist can show decreases in neuroticism, indicating they become less likely to worry a lot or feel strong negative feelings when something stressful happens.

Hello, Curious Kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au

Tim Windsor receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Natalie Goulter receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

– ref. Curious Kids: what are the main factors in forming someone’s personality? – https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-are-the-main-factors-in-forming-someones-personality-222264

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Morris, Professor, Institute for Public Policy and Governance, University of Technology Sydney

For people on the long social housing waiting list, getting into secure, affordable housing is life-changing. Our study starkly illustrates what a difference it makes.

We interviewed people who were on the waiting list, and again about a year later. Some had moved into social housing and told us how it had transformed their lives.

The positive impacts included improved mental health, reintegration into society, reuniting with children, access to facilities the rest of us take for granted and greater job opportunities.

A sense of home and security

Julia*, who relies on a Disability Support Pension, had been struggling in the private rental market. When asked “What did it feel like to finally get a house?”, she said:

It was bloody amazing. I don’t have to worry about ever having to move again and I know I’ll always be able to afford the rent […] Inside my house, it just feels like peace […] It just feels so good. I mean, my mental health has improved a heap. I’ve got a bathtub for the pain […] This is my home […] I love it.

When first interviewed, Jade had been couch surfing. Her mental health also benefited from living in social housing.

It just gives you your own security, your own independence. […] It’s wonderful what having your own place can do to your self-esteem. It just really brings you out of that hole.

Moving into social housing was an enormous relief for Yvonne. She had felt intensely vulnerable in private rental housing.

It is just such a weight off my shoulders and knowing that I don’t have to be in a situation where I have had these horrible landlords that try and take advantage of you […] I have landlords now that don’t bother me […] they can’t hold anything over my head anymore: “You come and sleep with me or else I’ll put your rent up,” that sort of thing […] I don’t have to have that anxiety of looking for somewhere […] I can afford. And there’s not many places that you can afford on a disability pension […] I’m enjoying life again.

Jacqui, 65, had lived in her car for over three years.

[Getting into social housing] has impacted every aspect of my life really […] It means everything to be in a home and to have that privacy […] To have somewhere you can go and you know just to be out of sight […] It just makes such an impact on your life and your mental health.

Re-engaging with the world

Jack had been using most of his Disability Support Pension to pay rent.

I did not feel at all secure for another lease, so that was just ongoing stress […] There was a lot of things I couldn’t do or engage with, because there was no permanency […] I became increasingly more isolated, increasingly more disengaged with community activities […] It was just a horrid time.

Moving into social housing has allowed Jack to re-engage with the world.

Pretty much every aspect of your wellbeing is all connected to that simple basic thing, your accommodation […] I’ve got certainty for the future […] Now the goals have changed. It’s changed from just survival to trying to engage with the world, to engage with community, to be getting out of the house again. It feels possible to solve problems because I’ve got the foundation to build on.

Reuniting with children

When Fiona was homeless, her teenage son had to live with his grandmother. Fiona and her son were reunited in social housing.

[S]o you know now I’ve got a place for [him] […] Cos he was in care with his Nan, so they weren’t seeing eye to eye […] being able to […] give him […] a roof over his head as well like makes me feel not so useless […] I love having him here.

Access to facilities

Jacqui emphasised how having a home allowed her to do routine tasks that are extremely demanding when homeless.

Just to have a bathroom, to have a kitchen […] a laundry. All those things I had to drive away to a third-party place and pay for […] It’s such a saver to have all those things, because then you can get on with really living […] You can exist in a car and a tent, but you can’t live in a car and a tent.

Better employment possibilities

The circumstances of many of the people we interviewed had made it difficult to find jobs. Jessica had been in shelters for a long time. After moving into social housing, she started working two jobs.

Well, in a shelter there’s no way I’d be able to work the hours I’m working […] I could have gotten a job but the people that did have jobs at shelters, it was just hell for them because they’re trying to get back on time for curfew […] But having my space […] I know where I can and can’t work […] I can work those fucking late shifts and don’t have to worry.

Not all plain sailing

A few interviewees found the transition from homelessness challenging. Amy’s experience indicates some tenants need continued support.

I was feeling really uncomfortable anxiety and stuff about it, but I knew it [moving into social housing] was for the best […] I was so homeless and in need […] You get used to being in that discomfort zone and living tough.

Now, Amy says:

I love it, I really do […] This is definitely comfort zone for me and I really am very proud of this place and stuff.

In almost all cases, moving into social housing transformed our interviewees’ lives. They were able to lead a decent life.

It’s why governments in a country like Australia must strive to ensure everyone has decent, secure and affordable housing. Ultimately, the benefits for society far outweigh the costs.

* All names used in this article are pseudonyms.

Alan Morris receives funding from the Australian Research Council

– ref. ‘It was bloody amazing’: how getting into social housing transforms people’s lives – https://theconversation.com/it-was-bloody-amazing-how-getting-into-social-housing-transforms-peoples-lives-221972

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic O’Sullivan, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University

This week parliament acted urgently to disestablish the Māori Health Authority. The hurry was to circumvent an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing on whether the proposal breached te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) and its principles.

Te Pāti Maori’s co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, said: “The government’s use and abuse of urgency has created a dictatorship in what should be a Tiriti-led democratic state.”

We have heard a lot about the Treaty “principles” since last year’s election.

But just what these principles are, and how they should be interpreted in law, remain open to contest – including by those who argue the principles actually limit some of the political rights that fairly belong to Māori people.

No rigid rule book

When parliament established the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975, one of its jobs was to “provide for the observance, and confirmation, of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi”.

There isn’t a definitive and permanent list of principles. They have evolved as new problems and possibilities arise, and as different ideas develop about what governments should and shouldn’t do. Te Tiriti, in other words, can’t be a rigid rule book.

But the Treaty’s articles are clear:

• governments should always be allowed to govern (article 1)
• the powers of government are qualified by Māori political communities (iwi and hapu) exercising authority and responsibility over their own affairs (article 2)
• and government is contextualised by Māori people being New Zealand citizens whose political rights and capacities may be expressed with equal tikanga (custom, values, protocol) (article 3).

Perhaps the real question, then, is how to bring these articles into effect. The Waitangi Tribunal, parliament and courts developed the principles over time as interpretative guides. They include partnership, participation, mutual benefit, good faith, reciprocity, rangatiratanga (independent authoity) and kāwanatanga (government).

In 1992 the Court of Appeal said:

It is the principles of the Treaty which are to be applied, not the literal words […] The differences between the [English and Māori] texts and shades of meaning are less important than the spirit.

But the “spirit” of te Tiriti, too, is vague and open to contest.

The Māori text prevails

The English text of te Tiriti says Māori gave away their sovereignty to the British Crown. The Māori text says they only gave away rights of government. But both texts were clear: Māori authority over their own affairs wasn’t surrendered, and government wasn’t an unconstrained power allowing other people to do harm to Māori.

It’s also significant that only 39 people signed the English-language agreement (they didn’t read English and had it explained to them in Māori). More than 500 signed the Māori text. The former chief justice Sian Elias said, “it can’t be disputed that the Treaty is actually the Māori text”.

Read more:
The idea of ‘sovereignty’ is central to the Treaty debate – why is it so hard to define?

The New Zealand First party argues the principles often appear in legislation without clear explanation of their relevance or what they’re intended to achieve. It says they should be clarified or removed.

The ACT party goes further and says the principles are often interpreted to give Māori greater political voice than other New Zealanders. It says the Treaty promised equality, and this should be enshrined in law – through rewritten principles that would limit Māori influence.

Equal political voice

There’s a counterargument, however, that says Māori influence is limited enough already. And it’s the principles that constrain Māori authority over their own affairs and give Māori citizens less than their fair influence over public decisions.

The idea that Māori are the Crown’s partners, rather than shareholders in its authority, seriously weakens Māori influence.

Participation, on the other hand, should strengthen it, and was one of the Treaty principles the Māori Health Authority was established to support. Abolishing the authority overrides that principle. But it also takes decision-making about Māori health away from Māori experts.

This may undermine effective health policy. But it also undermines te Tiriti’s articles themselves. These include the idea that government is for everybody and everybody should share decision-making authority; and the idea that Māori people use their own institutions to make decisions about their own wellbeing.

Ultimately, the question is: if some people can’t contribute to policy-making in ways that make sense for them, then do they really have equal opportunities for political voice?

The problem with ‘race’

The picture is further confused by reference to “race”. In 1987, the Court of Appeal said the “Treaty signified a partnership between races”. It said partnership – a significant Treaty principle – should help the parties find a “true path to progress for both races”.

But te Tiriti doesn’t use the word “race”, or anything similar. It recognised hapu as political communities, and established kawanatanga as a new political body.

Read more:
Why redefining the Treaty principles would undermine real political equality in NZ

So, whether we just focus on the Treaty articles, or find it useful to have principles to help with interpretation, we need to work out what hapu do and what government does, and how they relate to one another.

We don’t need to know what different “races” should do. Race is simply a “classification system” colonial powers use to place themselves above the colonised in a hierarchy of human worth.

Instead, people are born into cultures formed by place, family and language – what Māori call “whakapapa”. Te Tiriti gave settlers a place and a form of government to secure their belonging. It also said Māori continue to belong on their own terms.

There can’t be equality without acceptance of these ideas of who belongs, and how.

A simpler solution

Citizenship tells us who “owns” the state. If partnership implies the Crown represents only non-Māori, it puts Māori people on the outside. It says government really belongs to “us”, and “you” don’t participate in “our” affairs.

The liberal democratic argument, however, is that the state is “owned” equally by each and every citizen. Māori citizens are as much shareholders in the authority of the state as anybody else. They should be able to say the powers, authority and responsibilities of the state work equally well for them.

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

People think and reason through culture. Colonial experiences influence what people expect politics to achieve. This is why it’s fair to insist that Māori citizenship is exercised with equal tikanga.

The Treaty principles can be critiqued from many perspectives. They change because they are only interpretive guides that can be accepted, rejected, challenged and developed.

So, rather than refer to these principles in legislation, and leave them for courts and the Waitangi Tribunal to define, maybe there’s a simpler solution.

Each act of parliament could simply state: “This Act will be interpreted and administered to maintain and develop rangatiratanga, and otherwise work equally well for Māori as for other citizens.”

The principle of equality would be established. And it would be for Māori citizens to determine what “equally well” means for them.

Dominic O’Sullivan 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. Do the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi really give Māori too much power – or not enough? – https://theconversation.com/do-the-principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-really-give-maori-too-much-power-or-not-enough-224728

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Kerry, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University, Australia and Senior Marine and Climate Scientist, OceanCare, Switzerland, James Cook University

The United Nations Environment Assembly this week considered a resolution on solar radiation modification, which refers to controversial technologies intended to mask the heating effect of greenhouse gases by reflecting some sunlight back to space.

Proponents argue the technologies will limit the effects of climate change. In reality, this type of “geoengineering” risks further destabilising an already deeply disturbed climate system. What’s more, its full impacts cannot be known until after deployment.

The draft resolution initially called for the convening of an expert group to examine the benefits and risks of solar radiation modification. The motion was withdrawn on Thursday after no consensus could be reached on the controversial topic.

A notable development was a call from some Global South countries for a “non-use agreement” on solar radiation modification. We strongly support this position. Human-caused climate change is already one planetary-scale experiment too many – we don’t need another.

A risky business

In some circles, solar geoengineering is gaining prominence as a response to the climate crisis. However, research has consistently identified potential risks posed by the technologies such as:

• unpredictable effects on climate and weather patterns

• biodiversity loss, especially if use of the technology was halted abruptly

• undermining food security by, for example, reducing light and increasing salinity on land

• the infringement of human rights across generations – including, but not limited to, passing on huge risks to generations that will come after us.

Here, we discuss several examples of solar radiation modification which exemplify the threats posed by these technologies. These are also depicted in the graphic below.

A load of hot air

In April 2022, an American startup company released two weather balloons into the air from Mexico. The experiment was conducted without approval from Mexican authorities.

The intent was to cool the atmosphere by deflecting sunlight. The resulting reduction in warming would be sold for profit as “cooling credits” to those wanting to offset greenhouse gas pollution.

Appreciably cooling the climate would, in reality, require injecting millions of metric tons of aerosols into the stratosphere, using a purpose-built fleet of high-altitude aircraft. Such an undertaking would alter global wind and rainfall patterns, leading to more drought and cyclones, exacerbating acid rainfall and slowing ozone recovery.

Once started, this stratospheric aerosol injection would need to be carried out continually for at least a century to achieve the desired cooling effect. Stopping prematurely would lead to an unprecedented rise in global temperatures far outpacing extreme climate change scenarios.

Read more:
Trying to cool the Earth by dimming sunlight could be worse than global warming

Heads in the clouds

Another solar geoengineering technology, known as marine cloud brightening, seeks to make low-lying clouds more reflective by spraying microscopic seawater droplets into the air. Since 2017, trials have been underway on the Great Barrier Reef.

The project is tiny in scale, and involves pumping seawater onto a boat and spraying it from nozzles towards the sky. The project leader says the mist-generating machine would need to be scaled up by a factor of ten, to about 3,000 nozzles, to brighten nearby clouds by 30%.

After years of trials, the project has not yet produced peer-reviewed empirical evidence that cloud brightening could reduce sea surface temperatures or protect corals from bleaching.

The Great Barrier Reef is the size of Italy. Scaling up attempts at cloud brightening would require up to 1,000 machines on boats, all pumping and spraying vast amounts of seawater for months during summer. Even if it worked, the operation is hardly, as its proponents claim, “environmentally benign”.

The technology’s effects remain unclear. For the Great Barrier Reef, less sunlight and lower temperatures could alter water movement and mixing, harming marine life. Marine life may also be killed by pumps or negatively affected by the additional noise pollution. And on land, marine cloud brightening may lead to altered rainfall patterns and increased salinity, damaging agriculture.

More broadly, 101 governments last year agreed to a statement describing marine-based geoengineering, including cloud brightening, as having “the potential for deleterious effects that are widespread, long-lasting or severe”.

Read more:
What we know about last year’s top 10 wild Australian climatic events – from fire and flood combos to cyclone-driven extreme rain

Balls, bubbles and foams

The Arctic Ice Project involves spreading a layer of tiny glass spheres over large regions of sea ice to brighten its surface and halt ice loss.

Trials have been conducted on frozen lakes in North America. Scientists recently showed the spheres actually absorb some sunlight, speeding up sea-ice loss in some conditions.

Another proposed intervention is spraying the ocean with microbubbles or sea foam to make the surface more reflective. This would introduce large concentrations of chemicals to stabilise bubbles or foam at the sea surface, posing significant risk to marine life, ecosystem function and fisheries.

No more distractions

Some scientists investigating solar geoengineering discuss the need for “exit ramps” – the termination of research once a proposed intervention is deemed to be technically infeasible, too risky or socially unacceptable. We believe this point has already been reached.

Since 2022, more than 500 scientists from 61 countries have signed an open letter calling for an international non-use agreement on solar geoengineering. Aside from the types of risks discussed above, the letter said the speculative technologies detract from the urgent need to cut global emissions, and that no global governance system exists to fairly and effectively regulate their deployment.

Calls for outdoor experimentation of the technologies are misguided and detract energy and resources from what we need to do today: phase out fossil fuels and accelerate a just transition worldwide.

Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity, and global responses have been woefully inadequate. Humanity must not pursue dangerous distractions that do nothing to tackle the root causes of climate change, come with incalculable risk, and will likely further delay climate action.

James Kerry is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at James Cook University, Australia, and Senior Marine and Climate Scientist for the non-governmental organisation, OceanCare, Switzerland.

Aarti Gupta is a professor of global environmental governance at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and a signatory to the academic Open Letter calling for an ‘International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering’.

Terry Hughes receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. Not such a bright idea: cooling the Earth by reflecting sunlight back to space is a dangerous distraction – https://theconversation.com/not-such-a-bright-idea-cooling-the-earth-by-reflecting-sunlight-back-to-space-is-a-dangerous-distraction-223353

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Poole, Associate Professor in Physiology, UNSW Sydney

You were probably taught that we have five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. This is not quite right: “touch” is not a single sense, but rather several working together.

Our bodies contain a network of sensory nerve cells with endings sitting in the skin that detect an array of different physical signals from our environment. The pleasant sensation of a gentle touch feels distinct from the light pressure of our clothes or the hardness of a pencil gripped between our fingers, and all of these are quite different from the pain of a stubbed toe.

Read more:
How do you feel? Your ‘sense of touch’ is several different senses rolled into one

How do these sensory neurons communicate such a wide range of different inputs?

In new research published in Science, the two co-authors of this article and our colleagues have found a force-sensing molecule in nerve cells called ELKIN1, which is specifically involved in detecting gentle touch. This molecule converts gentle touch into an electrical signal, the first step in the process of gentle touch perception.

How we sense gentle touch

Sensing gentle touch begins with tiny deformations of the skin due to a light brush. While they may not seem like much, these deformations generate enough force to activate sensory molecules that are found in specialised nerve endings in the skin.

These molecular force sensors form a pore in the surface of the cell that is closed until a force is applied. When the cell is indented, the pore opens and an electrical current flows.

This electrical current can generate a signal that moves along the sensory nerve to the spinal cord and up to the brain.

Our new research, led by Gary Lewin and Sampurna Chakrabarti from the Max Delbruck Center in Berlin, showed the force sensor ELKIN1 is necessary for us to detect very gentle touch.

They found mice lacking the ELKIN1 molecule did not appear to sense a cotton bud being gently drawn across their paw. The mice retained their ability to sense other environmental information, including other types of touch.

Different molecules for different kinds of touch

This new finding reveals one reason we can sense multiple types of “touch”: we have multiple, specialised force-sensing proteins that can help us distinguish different environmental signals.

ELKIN1 is the second touch-receptor molecule discovered in sensory neurons. The first (PIEZO2) was found in 2010 by Ardem Patapoutian, who was later awarded the Nobel Prize for the work. PIEZO2 is involved in sensing gentle touch, as well as a sense known as “proprioception”. Proprioception is the sense of where our limbs are in space that helps us regulate our movements.

Identifying these force-sensing molecules is a challenge in itself. We need to be able to study nerve cells in isolation and measure electrical currents that flow into the cell while simultaneously applying controlled forces to the cells themselves.

Do cells feel?

While much of our research studied mouse neurons, not all scientific data obtained from mice can be directly translated to humans.

With team members at the University of Wollongong, one of us (Mirella Dottori) tried to determine whether ELKIN1 worked the same way in humans. They reprogrammed human stem cells to produce specialised nerve cells that respond to “touch” stimuli. In these human cells, ELKIN1 had similar functional properties of detecting touch.

While this research expands our understanding of how we make sense of the world around us, it also raises an additional, intriguing possibility.

ELKIN1 was first identified by one of us (Kate Poole) and her team at UNSW, with Gary Lewin and his team, while studying how melanoma cells break away from model tumours and “feel” their way through their surroundings. This could mean these tiny molecular force sensors give not only us, but our individual cells, a nuanced sense of touch.

Future research will continue to search for more molecular force sensors and endeavour to understand how they help our cells, and us, navigate our physical environment.

Kate Poole receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and the US Air Force Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development

Mirella Dottori receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund, Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance and Friedreich Ataxia Research Association.

– ref. We discovered a ‘gentle touch’ molecule is essential for light tactile sensation in humans – and perhaps in individual cells – https://theconversation.com/we-discovered-a-gentle-touch-molecule-is-essential-for-light-tactile-sensation-in-humans-and-perhaps-in-individual-cells-224494

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Rees, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CSIRO

Foxes and cats kill about 2.6 billion mammals, birds and reptiles across Australia, every year. To save native species from extinction, we need to protect them from these introduced predators. But land managers tend to focus on foxes, which are easier to control. Unfortunately this may have unintended consequences.

We wanted to find out how feral cats respond to fox control. In one of the biggest studies on this issue to date, we worked with land managers to set up 3,667 survey cameras in a series of controlled experiments. We studied the effects on cat behaviour and population density.

Our research shows feral cats are more abundant and more brazen after foxes are suppressed.

In some regions, cats need to be managed alongside foxes to protect native wildlife.

Read more:
1.7 million foxes, 300 million native animals killed every year: now we know the damage foxes wreak

Could feral cats benefit from fox control?

Foxes and cats were brought to Australia by European colonisers more than 170 years ago. They now coexist across much of the mainland.

While foxes are bigger than cats, they compete for many of the same prey species.

But most wildlife conservation programs in southern Australia only control foxes. That’s largely because controlling foxes is relatively straightforward. Foxes are scavengers and readily take poison baits. Feral cats, on the other hand, prefer live prey. So they’re much more difficult to control using baits.

Consequently, foxes have become the most widely controlled invasive predator in Australia, while feral cat control has been relatively localised.

Some native species have thrived following fox control or eradication, but others have continued to decline. For example, one study found numbers of common brushtail possums, Western quolls and Tammar wallabies increased following fox control in southwest Western Australia. However, seven other species crashed: dunnarts, woylies, southern brown bandicoots, western ringtail possums, bush rats, brush-tailed phascogales and western brush wallabies.

People suspected controlling foxes could inadvertently free feral cats from competition and aggression, particularly if there were no dingoes around.

Experimenting with fox control

To investigate how cats respond to fox control programs, we worked with land managers to run two large experiments in southwest Victoria. Foxes are the top predator in these forests and woodlands, because dingoes have already been removed.

We studied cat behaviour and population density before and after fox control in the Otway Ranges. In a separate study, we compared conservation reserves with and without fox control in the Glenelg region.

We put out 3,667 survey cameras over seven years. The cameras photograph animals as they walk by, allowing us to analyse where and when invasive predators and native mammals are active.

From these photographs, we were also able to identify individual feral cats based on their unique coat markings.

When multiple photographs of one cat were taken by several different cameras, we could track their movement. Combining information on the tracks of all the cats in an area allowed us to estimate cat population density.

It was a painstaking process. We went through almost 1.5 million images manually to check for animals, eliminate false triggers and identify individual cats.

Future research is exploring using artificial intelligence to streamline the process, but the computer still needs to be taught what to look for.

What we found

We found sustained, intensive baiting for foxes worked. Areas with more poison baits had fewer foxes. Replacing baits regularly was also worthwhile.

Feral cat density was generally higher in areas with fox control. The strength of this effect varied with the extent and duration of fox management. We found up to 3.7 times as many cats in fox-baited landscapes.

Productive landscapes also supported more cats. There was about one feral cat per square kilometre in wet forests, compared with less than half as many in dry forests.

Feral cat behaviour also varied with fox control and forest type, including how visible cats were, how far they moved, and what times of day they were active.

Feral cats appeared more adventurous where fox populations were suppressed. In dry forests, for example, foxes were largely nocturnal, as were most native mammals. Feral cats became more active at night when there were fewer foxes, potentially giving them access to different prey species.

We found some threatened species, such as long-nosed potoroos, were doing much better in areas with long-term fox control, although others, such as southern brown bandicoots, showed no improvement.

We don’t know how fox control affected smaller native rodents and marsupials, which are likely to be most at risk from increased cat predation.

A conservation balancing act

Broad-scale fox control is an important tool in the ongoing battle to protect Australia’s wildlife. Fox baiting is relatively simple and effective. But we have to balance the known benefits of fox control against potential unintended consequences.

Our study reinforces the need to carefully consider what could happen if you only control one pest animal, and to monitor carefully rather than assume that fox control will benefit all native species. We are not saying people should stop fox baiting, because there are clear benefits to species such as long-nosed potoroos. But we need to keep an eye on the cats and might need to also manage their impacts on native prey.

As feral cats are notoriously difficult to control lethally, indirect management may also be helpful. For example, promoting dense understorey vegetation for native prey to hide in or removing other sources of food that boost cat numbers such as pest rabbits.

Integrated pest management is challenging and expensive but likely needed, especially where feral cats or other pests are thriving alongside foxes.

Read more:
10-year feral cat plan brings us a step closer to properly protecting endangered wildlife

Matthew Rees receives funding from the Australian Government, Parks Victoria, Victorian Government Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, University of Melbourne, Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, Conservation Ecology Centre and the Grains Research and Development Corporation. He is affiliated with the Queensland Conservation Council.

Bronwyn Hradsky receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Government Department of Energy, Enviroment and Climate Action, Parks Victoria and Zoos Victoria. She is a member of the Australian Wildlife Management Society and volunteers with Mange Management

– ref. Baiting foxes can make feral cats even more ‘brazen’, study of 1.5 million forest photos shows – https://theconversation.com/baiting-foxes-can-make-feral-cats-even-more-brazen-study-of-1-5-million-forest-photos-shows-223352

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Doyle, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Griffith University

Australia’s National Rugby League will launch its 2024 season in Las Vegas this weekend, in the boldest attempt yet to capture the hearts and wallets of Americans.

It’s been tried before.

In the 1930s, legendary League administrator Harry Sunderland took the game to France and offered to take it to the United States as manager of the 1929–30 Kangaroos.

He told the San Francisco Examiner the team was “willing to line up, with eleven men, against a regular American football team, and to see what would happen”.

Later, in 1954, Australia and New Zealand played exhibition matches in Long Beach and Los Angeles on the US west coast. Only 1,000 people turned up at Long Beach and 4,554 at Los Angeles.

Australia did better at Long Beach in 1987, putting on a State of Origin match between New South Wales and Queensland in front of 12,349 fans.

Film star Russell Crowe tried again in 2008, staging an exhibition match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and UK Super League champions Leeds in Florida, attended by 12,500.

Will Rugby League Commissioner Peter V’landys be able to succeed this time, in a nation where his predecessors have failed to make much headway?

I think the odds are good. This is why.

No helmets, no pads, no timeouts

The potential reach of the NRL, promoted as football with “no helmets, no pads, no timeouts”, is vast, extending to the 309 million Americans who own a smartphone rather than the few thousand who might turn up.

And after the H-shaped posts leave Allegiant Stadium and the NRL’s branding is taken down from New York’s Times Square, the league’s presence will continue.

It has reportedly committed to five years of season openers in Las Vegas.

During those five years the NRL will attempt to build and sustain familiarity with the US public, as well as scout out US athletes about making the switch to rugby league.

There are 520,000 student-athletes in the US, many of whom are trying to get into the US National Football League. But the NFL can only accommodate 1,696 active players.

V’landys has turned the game around

During COVID lockdowns three years ago, the NRL was “three to four months” from being insolvent, according to V’landys.

He and chief executive Andrew Abdo say the league is now in the best financial position it has ever been in.

Its 2023 annual report outlines key reasons why:

• 9% growth in grassroots participation in schools and clubs

• 40% growth in video views on YouTube

• ten clubs vying for the women’s championship in a final watched by more than a million viewers

• expanding representation in the men’s game with the admission of the Dolphins

Clearly, the NRL do not think their work is done.

This time it might work

Sports research has mapped the processes that create fans for a sport.

The first pivotal step is awareness. Potential fans need to know about the sport in order to sign up. That’s the objective of the Las Vegas round and the advertising in Times Square.

The second is something that allows them to like and then identify with it. The advertisements point out rugby league’s similarities to the NFL, saying it’s “football, but not as you know it”, while at the same time emphasising the crucial and hopefully enticing differences.

My own work has pointed to the role key individuals play in developing sport fans. And this could be the ace in the hand of the NRL.

“The Beckham Effect” is a term coined to explain the uplift in support when David Beckham joined Major League Soccer in the US in 2007.

Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi achieved a similar feat when he joined MLS club Inter Miami in 2023.

Closer to home, the Gold Coast Suns cemented their legitimacy when they signed football legend Gary Ablett Jnr (and rugby league player Karmichael Hunt) to their inaugural AFL squad in 2011.

Big names build recognition

It’s not a strategy that can easily be applied to the US, but a raft of Australians familiar to US audiences including actors, fashion designers, media moguls, businesspeople and musicians are doing what they can.

Currently independent from the NRL, plans are also underway to establish a ten-team American league with proposed ownership stakes being offered to figures such as wrestling and global movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

If Las Vegas is a success, other US stars might just grab a franchise of their own.

Las Vegas is certainly a roll of the dice, but if the NRL succeeds in grabbing even a small slice of America’s vast sports market, it will have hit the jackpot.

Jason Doyle is a co-founder of SPRTER.

– ref. On Sunday the National Rugby League goes to Vegas. It might just hit the jackpot – https://theconversation.com/on-sunday-the-national-rugby-league-goes-to-vegas-it-might-just-hit-the-jackpot-224735

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cherine Fahd, Associate Professor Visual Communication, University of Technology Sydney

It’s hard to believe March is here. Where did the time go?

By now many of us will be well into our regular routine at work or school. Perhaps life’s demands are starting to catch up and you’re already dreaming of your next break.

Fret not. Our experts have a range of new streaming suggestions. From the heartfelt romance One Day, which has already been in Netflix’s top ten list for three weeks – to a captivating Aussie drama centred on a local mosque community – there’s plenty to let off some steam.

House of Gods

iView

House of Gods is a gripping new Australian TV drama. It reveals the inner workings of an imam’s family and community, and the corrupting effects of power, ambition and secrets on family and faith.

Set in Western Sydney, the saga commences on election day at The Messenger mosque. Sheikh Mohammad (Kamel El Basha) is a progressive, charismatic contender for the esteemed position of head cleric. But he is embroiled in controversy when a young woman unexpectedly plants a kiss on his cheek while posing with him for a selfie.

The seemingly harmless gesture swiftly snowballs into a scandal that sparks a clash of ideologies within the mosque’s tight-knit community.

Fadia Abboud’s direction is enriched by her deep understanding of the Arabic community, lending genuine realism to every scene. The inclusion of Arab, Middle Eastern and Muslim actors adds an authentic touch to the drama. Their performances capture the cultural and social subtleties reminiscent of my own Arabic family and community.

Integrity shines through the costume and set design and in the meticulous portrayal of Muslim dress and architecture. These elements reflect a profound understanding of how faith influences the transition between private and public life, adding credibility to the storytelling.

For many in the Australian Arabic community, including Abboud, seeing a project created and written by Arabs, and featuring Arabs as lead characters, is an exciting and welcome development.

– Cherine Fahd

Read more:
ABC’s House of Gods: a bold and compelling exploration of contemporary life in an Australian imam’s family

Five Blind Dates

Prime

If the balance of Five Blind Dates is occasionally a little off, it is nonetheless a lovely film, one I could see becoming a comfort watch for a lot of people – it’s as warm and familiar as the cups of tea purveyed by its heroine.

Lia (Shuang Hu, also the cowriter) runs a traditional Chinese tea shop in Sydney, but is in Townsville for the wedding of her sister (Tiffany Wong).

The film’s premise is established very quickly when, at one of the pre-wedding events, Lia is told by a fortune teller she will meet her soulmate on one of the next five dates she goes on. And then, when she re-encounters her ex-boyfriend Richard (Yoson An) at Alice’s engagement party, Lia ends up on a mission to go on these five dates as fast as possible so she can bring her soulmate to the wedding – and thus show up Richard, who is the best man.

While there is nothing particularly surprising in Five Blind Dates, it is nevertheless a really refreshing film. We don’t have a lot of rom-coms set in Australia, much less ones that centre on Chinese Australian characters. It’s a playful, joyful film with a likeable and layered heroine which doesn’t outstay its welcome (it clocks in at under 90 minutes).

– Jodi McAlister

Read more:
New Aussie rom-com Five Blind Dates could become your next comfort watch

Lessons in Chemistry

Apple TV

Fashion, cars and 1960s politics provide an engaging context for Lessons in Chemistry, a miniseries based on Bonnie Garmus’ best-selling novel. Those who loved the book might see shortcomings in the series, such as the dog’s role being downgraded. Yet it is entertaining and succeeds on its own terms.

Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson) and Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman) are totally engrossed by science; their every waking moment involves contemplating it. This makes them social outsiders who aren’t especially interested in others – something used productively to motivate story arcs. A meeting of minds and shared passion for the field quickly becomes love and mutual respect. Calvin supports Elizabeth to work as a chemist – no small feat for a woman in the era. Together, they outshine everyone around them.

The story stands out due to its ardent portrayal of a woman who is so passionately absorbed in her work.

Eventually, unfair circumstances lead to Elizabeth – who also loves to cook and applies science to achieve the perfect recipe – becoming a hugely popular cooking show host. From this platform she motivates her female fans to step into their aspirations, whatever they may be.

– Lisa French

Feud: Capote vs The Swans

Apple TV

Just in time for Mardi Gras, Feud: Capote versus The Swans is a delightfully bitchy yet subtly nuanced portrait of friendship between gay men and straight women, a topic I tackled in a documentary I recently produced.

When famed writer and high-society insider Truman Capote publicly airs the dirty laundry of his ultra-rich gal pals, the knives come out in an oh-so-fabulous way.

Based mostly on facts, the FX television series is set against a historically accurate 1960s and ‘70s North American milieu, but takes a few liberties. In my favourite episode so far, pioneering documentarians Albert and David Maysles capture Capote’s 1966 Black and White Ball at the Plaza Hotel – the ball happened but the Maysles Brothers never recorded the glamorous event in actuality.

Sumptuous production design, a dazzling cast (most notably Naomi Watts as New York socialite Barbara “Babe” Paley and Tom Hollander as Capote), and deft directing from queer provocateur Gus Van Sant all add up to a quality television viewing experience that prises open privilege in all its beautiful ugliness.

– Phoebe Hart

One Day

Netflix

At first glance, Netflix’s decision to adapt David Nicholls’s beloved novel One Day may seem strange after the 2011 film bombed so cataclysmically.

However, the book’s episodic structure lends itself beautifully to television resulting in a highly bingeable romance. Like its source material, the series depicts 20 years of friendship and a “will they, won’t they” angst between working-class Northerner Emma (Ambika Mod) and wealthy golden boy Dexter (Leo Woodall).

Each episode takes place on July 15, beginning with the unlikely duo’s booze-fuelled graduation night in 1988. This central conceit provides the narrative structure for the 14-part series, an unusually long runtime in today’s streaming market.

Arguably overly leisurely at times, One Day’s slower pacing ultimately creates space for old hurts and yearnings to wane, fester and reignite. It is ably helped along by compelling performances from Mod and Woodall. Mod brings warmth to Em’s prickly sarcasm, while Woodall infuses Dex’s privileged arrogance with enough genuine charm to make both Emma – and by proxy, us – forgive him.

One Day isn’t perfect, particularly regarding its superficial treatment of race and class. But its combination of 1990s nostalgia (hamburger phones! Eagle Eye Cherry! Portishead!) and swoony romance makes it a tissue-sodden winner.

– Rachel Williamson

True Detective, season four

Binge

The fourth season of True Detective, titled Night Country, has been created by showrunner Issa López, who notably directed the incredible film Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017).

This season is a terrifying exploration of ecological and First Nations justice. The lead detectives are Jodie Foster playing the gruff Police Chief Liz Danvers, and relative newcomer Kali Reis as the more junior trooper Evangeline Navarro. Also starring is the incredible Fiona Shaw as a spiritual woman living on the edge of town.

In the opening episode, several members of the nearby research station go missing, presumed dead. Navarro believes the disappearances are connected to the death of a First Nations woman several years ago, and the powerful Silver Sky mining company.

The series is notably different to previous seasons of True Detective in that López employs both magical realism (also used in Tigers Are Not Afraid) and folk horror to push this whodunit into horror territory. The shift has angered some fans, but I think it would do the show a disservice simply to repeat what came before.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, López shared that she sees this as an inverse of the first season:

Where True Detective is male and it’s sweaty, Night Country is cold and it’s dark and it’s female.

– Stuart Richards

Read more:
Black comedy, political drama and a documentary about a cult: what we’re streaming this February

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. Chemical attraction, a whodunit murder mystery and tensions at the mosque: what we’re streaming this March – https://theconversation.com/chemical-attraction-a-whodunit-murder-mystery-and-tensions-at-the-mosque-what-were-streaming-this-march-224267

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Montgomery, Faculty of Health Research Associate, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Recent reports by the Chief Ombudsman, the Independent Children’s Monitor and the Auditor General have detailed the grim state of affairs for children and whānau in Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) care.

The ombudsman called for “change on a scale rarely required of a government agency”, and said Oranga Tamariki has lost the public’s trust.

He highlighted the story of a young person who spent years in a secure “care and protection” residence. He also acknowledged the harmful effects of residential care on young people.

Care and protection residences provide a secure living environment for children aged 12-16, when it’s considered unsafe for them to live at home or in their community. The ombudsman said these sorts of facilities should only be used as a last resort for the shortest time possible.

But care and protection residences are increasingly being used as a default solution for young people with the most complex needs. What needs to change to ensure they become a therapeutic safe space for children in need, rather than a dumping ground for “bad kids”?

Secure, locked environments

Care and protection residences are at the most intensive, institutional end of the state care continuum. They bear a striking similarity to prisons.

Young people are placed in these residences when they are considered to be at serious risk of physical or mental harm from others, or towards themselves, and cannot be placed in the community.

The length of time a young person spends in residence is largely unregulated and is often related more to a lack of community placement options than need.

Oranga Tamariki currently operates two care and protection residences, Epuni in Wellington and Puketai in Dunedin, as well as a care and protection “hub” in Auckland, Kahui Whetū. A third Oranga Tamariki residence, Te Oranga in Christchurch, remains “non-operational”, following serious concerns about staff conduct. Barnardos operates Te Poutama, a specialised, contracted residence in Christchurch.

Read more:
Racism alleged as Indigenous children taken from families – even though state care often fails them

For almost four decades, the state-run residences have been subject to extensive media coverage and institutional examination. This includes the Puao-te-Ata-tu report in 1988, and more recent reports from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, the Independent Children’s Monitor, the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency and the advisory board of the Minister for Children.

The Oranga Tamariki Rapid Review was released in September 2023 and highlighted significant, systemic and longstanding issues with the residences and the need for urgent change.

In 2021, Oranga Tamariki announced plans to close these residences by 2022 and “replace them with smaller purpose-built homes”. But residences continue to operate and are chronically under-resourced.

Traumatising effects of residential care

Youth in care and protection residences make up 2% of all children in state care.

While Māori, Pasifika and rainbow youth are generally over-represented in care, rangatahi (young) Māori represent 57% of youth in residences.

The consistent over-representation in rangatahi Māori in state care connects with deep historical and intergenerational trauma for Māori.

Residential care claims to provide intensive and specialist support. But in reality, it has significant negative impacts for young people.

The number of children in residential care experiencing serious physical, sexual or emotional harm by staff or other young people in residence is increasing dramatically.

Read more:
Why NZ law should require everyone to report known or suspected child sexual abuse

Part of the problem is the lack of specialist staff. Residences are predominantly staffed by support workers who have no minimum level of professional qualifications, skills or regulation. They have minimal support or supervision to address the complex needs of young people in residences.

The role of meeting the mental health needs of those in residences tends to be outsourced to already oversubscribed public mental health services.

Young people who enter care and protection residences have experienced disproportionately high rates of trauma and mental health challenges compared to the overall population.

This may be due to a range of complex and challenging life experiences in childhood. The experience of being uplifted and placed in a residential care environment can also be traumatic for youth and whānau.

Children in care and protection residences are often negatively labelled and subjected to misdiagnoses and inappropriate or inadequate interventions.

They are also more likely to experience extremely poor life outcomes and follow a pipeline into Youth Justice and the prison system.

No clear model of care

Despite Oranga Tamariki’s intentions to develop a trauma-informed, system-wide framework, there is no clear or consistent model of care to guide practice, policies or service delivery in care and protection residences.

Trauma-informed models of care recognise how trauma affects the neurodevelopment, health, behaviour and functioning of young people and whānau. These models also create safe environments and emphasise stable, predictable relationships.

But care and protection residences utilise an outdated and detrimental behavioural reward-and-punishment model. Contrary to international human rights law, seclusion and restraint continues to be used in residences, with rangatahi Māori experiencing higher rates of seclusion.

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

With the report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care due this year, we must listen to the experiences young people, whānau and youth advocacy groups like Voyce Whakarongo Mai, to avoid the mistakes of the past and prevent future traumatisation in care.

Key recommendations to transform Oranga Tamariki include increasing leadership and staffing expertise, service improvement investment, and collaborative inter-agency approaches. It is also recommended Oranga Tamariki devolve care to community partners and develop a therapeutic, trauma-informed model of care.

Healing from trauma is possible when a young person belongs to a strong network of people who enable them to feel loved, cared for and part of a community. Every young person deserves this.

Jennifer Montgomery received a Career Development Award with associated funding from the Health Research Council to complete this research.

– ref. Care and protection, or containment and punishment? How state care fails NZ’s most vulnerable young people – https://theconversation.com/care-and-protection-or-containment-and-punishment-how-state-care-fails-nzs-most-vulnerable-young-people-224629

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

Next week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be back on the international stage – while standing firmly on home ground. The foreign stage is coming to him, with a three-day special summit in Melbourne celebrating 50 years of dialogue partnership between Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Monday-to-Wednesday gathering will have a leaders’ plenary session and retreat, and activities focusing on trade and investment, climate and clean energy, maritime cooperation, and long-term challenges.

Albanese relishes opportunities to rub shoulders with other leaders, and it’s a big deal for Australia to host this meeting, which affords an opportunity to spruik our middle-power credentials.

But the prime minister’s private mood as he greets leaders on Monday will be influenced by the outcome of a strictly domestic weekend event in Melbourne: the byelection in the bayside Labor seat of Dunkley.

On one level, nothing earth-shattering hangs on the Dunkley outcome. Labor could lose the seat and still have a narrow parliamentary majority. Albanese’s leadership would remain rock solid.

But on another level, the byelection result could affect the political dynamic for months.

The government has become more jittery about Dunkley in the past couple of weeks.

A Labor loss would be dramatic, sending the government into a spin and the media into a feeding frenzy. With an election a little over a year away, the normally quiescent caucus would be agitated. Extra pressure would be put on the framing of the May budget, with calls amplified for the government to do more to address the cost of living, the major issue in the Dunkley campaign.

If Labor holds the seat but only just, the angst will be immediate but limited. A win is a win. Nevertheless, that result would be seen in classic terms, as a “wake-up call”. The Liberals have been urging voters to send a protest message.

A big swing against Labor would call into question whether Albanese had really got away with compromising his integrity by breaking his word over the Stage 3 tax cuts. National polling suggests he has, even though the new tax regime has not given Labor a positive bounce. But a bad Dunkley result could raise longer-term worries for Albanese on the trust issue.

The announcement of the reworked tax package was timed for Dunkley, despite Albanese’s denials. The government has relentlessly pushed the tax cuts in parliament’s question time, slicing and dicing their rewards for teachers, nurses, police, women and every other conceivable cohort (even plumbers in Antarctica). Most voters in Dunkley will benefit, compared with where they’d have been under the old Stage 3 plan. But it’s unclear how much they will reward the government.

A Labor setback would probably bring a sharper focus on Albanese’s style. Already some in Labor believe he should cut back on the high-profile fun events he’s seen at. Eyebrows went up last weekend when, after attending a Friday night Taylor Swift concert, he went on Saturday to a celebrity bash at packaging magnate Anthony Pratt’s Raheen mansion in the Melbourne suburb of Kew.

Albanese could say he gave a speech to food-and-beverage industry people there, but with US pop star Katy Perry brought in at large expense to perform, this was undeniably a party.

Incidentally, this is the second time the billionaire has managed to lure a prime minister into a situation that didn’t play entirely well for him. When Scott Morrison was in the US in 2019, Pratt invited him and the then President Donald Trump to the opening of his $500 million paper mill in Ohio. But the event took on the hue of a Trump rally, which was awkward for Morrison.

A Liberal flop in Dunkley – a failure to get a substantial swing – wouldn’t be the end of Peter Dutton’s leadership. Last year’s loss of the Liberal seat of Aston seemed devastating at the time, yet a few months later Dutton had revived, with the defeat of the referendum and Labor in a slump. The suggestion that if Dutton can’t win Dunkley he should be replaced is overblown, not least because there is no viable alternative anyway.

Nevertheless, a bad Liberal result would be a notable knock for the opposition leader, because Dunkley is the prototype of the seats he’s targeting for the 2025 election.

In the final week, both sides have tried to manage expectations ahead of a result they’ve found hard to predict. They’ve set their own benchmarks for what “swing” figure is relevant.

Dunkley sits on a margin of 6.3%. Albanese has painted this as a flimsy buffer, by pointing to a 7.1% average byelection swing against governments in government-held seats since 1984. By contrast, the opposition casts 6.3% as a mountain to climb, saying since the second world war, the average swing against a government in a federal byelection has been only 3.6%, and even less against a first-term government. Dutton says a 3% swing would be “bad for the government”.

ABC election analyst Antony Green says there have been 52 byelections since the election of the Hawke government in 1983, 28 of them traditional two-party contests like Dunkley. Across these, the average anti-government two-party preferred swing was 3.5%.

One uncertainty is what the “Peta Murphy” effect will be. Murphy, the popular local member whose death prompted the byelection, won the seat from the Liberals in 2019. She increased her margin in 2022, picking up some who deserted the Liberals for various reasons. Will they now return to the Liberals? Labor has been trying to hang onto the “Murphy vote” by saying that backing its candidate, Jodie Belyea, a Murphy protege, would be a way of carrying on Murphy’s legacy.

Another unknown is what effect the extensive anti-Labor campaign by the advocacy group Advance will have. Advance, which styles itself as committed to the “fight for mainstream Australian values”, had a big presence in the Voice referendum. It is for the political right what GetUp! has in the past been for the left. With a big war chest, it has been very active on social media. If the Dunkley outcome and the post mortems were to attribute significant influence to the Advance campaign, the group would be emboldened for the 2025 election.

Labor will have spent about $1 million on its Dunkley campaign. The Liberals declined to say what they’ve spent. Labor national secretary Paul Erickson says:“We estimate the Liberals have easily matched this, and then Advance have (according to Advance) spent a further $300,000 on top of that. So, the combined efforts of the Liberal Party and Advance put the Liberals at a distinct advantage. The campaign to defeat Labor has been 30% larger than Labor’s campaign to retain the seat.”

After the tension of the Dunkley battle, there’s relief on both sides that Labor has flagged it is unlikely to fight the byelection that follows Scott Morrison vacating Cook.

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

– ref. Grattan on Friday: The voters of Dunkley have government and opposition in a guessing game – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-the-voters-of-dunkley-have-government-and-opposition-in-a-guessing-game-224732

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Walker-Munro, Senior Lecturer (Law), Southern Cross University

Last night, ASIO boss Mike Burgess made another powerful public statement in delivering the Annual Threat Assessment for 2024. Burgess stated that ASIO has seen “terrorists and spies […] talking about sabotage, researching sabotage, sometimes conducting reconnaissance for sabotage”.

He also highlighted the increasing focus on cyber (online methods) as a way that sabotage might be conducted. He said:

ASIO is aware of one nation state conducting multiple attempts to scan critical infrastructure in Australia and other countries, targeting water, transport and energy networks.

This would seem to align with recent reports of Chinese hackers spending up to five years in US computer networks before being detected.

But what exactly is sabotage, and should we be worried?

The legal definition

“Sabotage” is a French term originally used to refer to deliberate acts by workmen to destroy machinery during the Industrial Revolution. Since then, “sabotage” has been used to describe acts that undermine military power without a battle – such as destroying train lines, cutting telephone wires, or setting fuel dumps on fire.

However, the legal definition is a bit bigger than that.

In Australia, sabotage is both a federal crime under the Criminal Code and also a crime under state and territory laws. At the federal level, sabotage has three key elements:

1. engaging in conduct that results in “damage to public infrastructure”
2. intending to or risking the act will “prejudice Australia’s national security” or “advantage the national security of a foreign country”
3. an act on behalf of, in collaboration with, or with funding from a “foreign principal” (that is, a foreign government or one of its authorities, such as their intelligence service).

“Public infrastructure” is a broad concept, and includes anything belonging to the Commonwealth, defence and military bases and equipment, and telecommunications.

Read more:
Research espionage is a real threat – but a drastic crackdown could stifle vital international collaboration

In some circumstances, it could also include banks, supermarkets, food, farms and other services provided to the public. Essentially, pretty much anything needed to run the country could be “public infrastructure”.

These are already considered “critical infrastructure”, and must meet strict physical security and cybersecurity guidelines.

New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory also have specific sabotage offences. Those offences capture deliberate acts to damage or destroy public facilities, where the person intends to cause major disruption to “government functions”, major disruption to the “use of services by the public” or major “economic loss”.

So what is ASIO doing?

ASIO’s annual threat assessment mentioned that sabotage has increasingly been discussed between agents of foreign countries, spies and would-be terrorists. While Burgess did not name which countries have been involved, ASIO has been watching China, perhaps because a hacking group called “Volt Typhoon” has been named as allegedly working on behalf of the Chinese government.

It also appears ASIO is watching “nationalist and racist violent extremists advocating sabotage”. This would also fit with recent increases in counter-extremist investigations by the AFP and changes to Defence vetting procedures.

Yet, there have been very few cases of sabotage pursued in the courts.

Unfortunately, there can be several barriers to prosecuting foreign agents who engage in espionage, foreign interference and/or sabotage. These include gathering the necessary evidence that might reveal how the spies were detected, in turn potentially compromising ASIO’s ability to operate in the future.

However, foreign agents can still be deterred from engaging in this kind of activity. Just last year, Burgess detailed how a Russian spy ring was expelled rather than prosecuted. In this year’s threat assessment, Burgess also said ASIO often puts foreign agents on notice – that ASIO knows what they’re up to – or it shines a “disinfecting light” on Australia’s adversaries so the public is aware of what they’re up to.

However, one of the cases mentioned by Burgess in the assessment – a politician alleged to have “sold out Australia” for a foreign nation – probably won’t be identified. That’s strange on its own, as Burgess’ usual approach in these cases seems to be to “name names” – in going public, ASIO removes the one thing foreign agents need to operate: anonymity.

What more is needed?

ASIO will need to continue (and possibly even ramp up) its surveillance operations in Australia. That in turn will require the attorney-general to step up the review of Australia’s surveillance laws, which is yet to get started.

That said, the Albanese government has started consultation on its 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy, which will make sure our cybersecurity laws are up to scratch. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has also already put boards and chief executives on notice that they will prosecute companies for cybersecurity failures.

There are some niche areas in the law that might need some tweaking. Last year, we published research that demonstrated Australia’s laws might not protect an act of sabotage that was aimed at our natural environmental assets such as the Great Barrier Reef.

However, we may not need more laws – we just need to better use the ones we have. As Keiran Hardy argues in the context of counter-terrorism laws:

Australia’s counter-terrorism laws are already extensive […] If a criminal offence or power is needed to combat terrorism, Australia already has it and more.

Read more:
Does Australia need new laws to combat right-wing extremism?

More broadly, Australia needs to confront its “this won’t happen to us” attitude to national security. Chris Taylor, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Statecraft and Intelligence Program, recently revived the words of Harvey Barnett (a former boss of ASIO) when he said:

With the simple self-confidence which living in an island state breeds, Australians are sometimes doubtful that their country might be of interest to foreign intelligence services. “It can’t really happen here” is a stock attitude. It has, it does, it will.

Those words should resonate with us all.

The views contained in this article are those of the individual author, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation, department or agency with which the author may be affiliated.

This article was written in Sarah Kendall’s personal capacity as a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland School of Law. It does not reflect the views of any organisation with which the author is affiliated.

– ref. Explainer: what is sabotage and why is the ASIO chief worried about it? – https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-sabotage-and-why-is-the-asio-chief-worried-about-it-224731

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steph Kershaw, Research Fellow, Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney

Methamphetamine, also known as ice or meth, is the drug Australians most associate with a drug problem and the drug they’re most concerned about, according to the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey.

Yet the survey, released today, shows recent use of methamphetamine has been declining. It’s at its lowest in more than a decade, with 1% of Australians using methamphetamine in the past 12 months.

So why are Australians still worried about this drug, and why does it matter?

There’s a global trend in viewing drug use as a health rather than criminal justice issue. The Australian Capital Territory recently decriminalised methamphetamine and a range of other illicit drugs for personal use. Other states are considering whether to take this step, which means the public’s opinion is increasingly important.

Let’s take a look at the reasons why some drugs are viewed more negatively than others (such as alcohol and cannabis). We know it’s not always to do with the level of harm they cause.

Read more:
History, not harm, dictates why some drugs are legal and others aren’t

How do we develop attitudes about drugs?

Messages conveyed by news media and government advertising affect public beliefs and attitudes about many important social and health issues including alcohol and other drugs.

Media reports about drug use tend to focus on the negative aspects of illicit drugs rather than presenting it as a health or social issue. People who use methamphetamine are framed as criminal, deviant or dangerous. A review of articles in print media found stories about methamphetamine were disproportionately focused on crime or justice-related topics.

Methamphetamine use, especially the use of the crystal form (ice), has been called a “crisis” and an “epidemic”.

Interaction with people who have experience of drug use has been shown to decrease stigmatising attitudes, but with such a low rate of use, most Australians wouldn’t know anyone who uses methamphetamine.

As a result, many Australians hold misconceptions about methamphetamine and its effects. A survey of 2,108 Australians found more than half (57.4%) thought methamphetamine was the most popular illicit drug in Australia and one-quarter (25.5%) believed most teenagers had used methamphetamine.

But methamphetamine use is low compared with other drugs such as cannabis (11.5%), cocaine (4.5%) and ecstasy (2.1%). The most commonly used drugs among young people are alcohol, cannabis and cocaine.

Methampehtamine use has short-term effects including increasing heart rate and body temperature, disrupting sleep, and making you feel alert or agitated. Long-term use of methamphetamine can lead to heart or lung problems, exhaustion and dependence. But most people who try methamphetamine don’t go on to use it regularly.

The National Drug Strategy Household Survey also found Australians in poorer areas were more likely to have used crystal methamphetamine, while those in wealthier areas were more likely to use its powdered form, or speed.

Read more:
How does ice use affect families and what can they do?

Why do attitudes to illicit drugs need to change?

Negative attitudes lead to stigma, isolation and unfair treatment of people who use drugs, and their friends and family.

Stigma toward people who use crystal methamphetamine is common in Australia, with one in three people who use crystal methamphetamine reporting they have felt discriminated against by other people (for example, community members or health workers) because of their drug use.

Stigma leads to psychological distress for people who use drugs and has been linked with low self-worth and shame. We know stigma is a barrier to help-seeking and treatment. This can make the problem worse because people who need help aren’t able to get it, and continue to use drugs. According to one participant in a study by Cracks in the Ice:

There’s this big stigma around drug use, especially with crystal methamphetamine. Because of that, you tend to hide a lot of what you’re going through.

Reducing stigma is important as often the sooner someone gets help, the better the outcome is and the better for the community (for example, less absences from work, less crime, and fewer visits to health care). The harms and costs of drug use are higher for people dependent on drugs.

So, what can we do to change people’s attitudes?

We know accurate information improves knowledge and understanding, and can lead to more empathetic attitudes.

A number of free evidence-based resources are available for all Australians, such as the Cracks in the Ice toolkit. When it was evaluated, people who visited the website knew more about crystal methamphetamine and held less negative or stigmatising attitudes towards people who use it.

The media also have an important role to play by not sensationalising drug use. Guidelines such as those from Mindframe set out advice for accurate and non-stigmatising reporting on suicide, mental health and alcohol and other drugs.

These include Mindframe guidelines specifically developed for methamphetamine reporting. Using Mindframe guidelines has been shown to be effective in improving media reporting.

Similarly, AOD Media Watch highlights examples of good and stigmatising reporting in the media.

Language is really important in reducing stigma. If we talk about drugs openly, focusing on health and wellbeing rather than crime, it provides better support for people to make informed decisions and improves access to help when people need it. This in turn helps reduce the problems associated with methamphetamine and other drugs.

For free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drugs, call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.

Steph Kershaw receives funding from The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and is affiliated with the Cracks in the Ice online toolkit.

Cath Chapman is Director of Research Development and Strategy at The Matilda Centre, The Universoty of Sydney. She receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Government, Paul Ramsay Foundation and other research organisations. She is affiliated with Cracks in the Ice, Positive Choices and OurFutures and is Chair, The Mental Health Services Learning Network (TheMHS).

Maree Teesson is Chair of Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank which is funded by the BHP Foundation. She is Director of The Matilda Centre, The University of Sydney. She receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund, the Australian Government, BHP Foundation, Paul Ramsay Foundation and other research organisations. She is co-director and co-founder of OurFutures Institute a not-for-profit company established to distribute evidence resources to education organisations.

Nicole Lee works as a paid consultant in the alcohol and other drug sector. She has previously been awarded grants by state and federal governments, National Health and Medical Research Council and other public funding bodies for alcohol and other drug research. She is a Board member of drug checking organisation The Loop Australia. She is CEO at Hello Sunday Morning, which receives funding from the Australian Government.

– ref. Meth use is declining in Australia – but the public still sees it as the most worrying drug – https://theconversation.com/meth-use-is-declining-in-australia-but-the-public-still-sees-it-as-the-most-worrying-drug-224620

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stan Karanasios, Associate Professor, The University of Queensland

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are supercharging the problem of misinformation, disinformation and fake news. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and various image, voice and video generators have made it easier than ever to produce content, while making it harder to tell what is factual or real.

Malicious actors looking to spread disinformation can use AI tools to largely automate the generation of convincing and misleading text.

This raises pressing questions: how much of the content we consume online is true and how can we determine its authenticity? And can anyone stop this?

It’s not an idle concern. Organisations seeking to covertly influence public opinion or sway elections can now scale their operations with AI to unprecedented levels. And their content is being widely disseminated by search engines and social media.

Read more:
What is Sora? A new generative AI tool could transform video production and amplify disinformation risks

Fakes everywhere

Earlier this year, a German study on search engine content quality noted “a trend toward simplified, repetitive and potentially AI-generated content” on Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo.

Traditionally, readers of news media could rely on editorial control to uphold journalistic standards and verify facts. But AI is rapidly changing this space.

In a report published this week, the internet trust organisation NewsGuard identified 725 unreliable websites that publish AI-generated news and information “with little to no human oversight”.

Last month, Google released an experimental AI tool for a select group of independent publishers in the United States. Using generative AI, the publisher can summarise articles pulled from a list of external websites that produce news and content relevant to their audience. As a condition of the trial, the users have to publish three such articles per day.

Platforms hosting content and developing generative AI blur the traditional lines that enable trust in online content.

Can the government step in?

Australia has already seen tussles between government and online platforms over the display and moderation of news and content.

In 2019, the Australian government amended the criminal code to mandate the swift removal of “abhorrent violent material” by social media platforms.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) inquiry into power imbalances between Australian news media and digital platforms led to the 2021 implementation of a bargaining code that forced platforms to pay media for their news content.

While these might be considered partial successes, they also demonstrate the scale of the problem and the difficulty of taking action.

Our research indicates these conflicts saw online platforms initially open to changes and later resisting them, while the Australian government oscillated from enforcing mandatory measures to preferring voluntary actions.

Ultimately, the government realised that relying on platforms’ “trust us” promises wouldn’t lead to the desired outcomes.

Read more:
Why Google and Meta owe news publishers much more than you think – and billions more than they’d like to admit

The takeaway from our study is that once digital products become integral to millions of businesses and everyday lives, they serve as a tool for platforms, AI companies and big tech to anticipate and push back against government.

With this in mind, it is right to be sceptical of early calls for regulation of generative AI by tech leaders like Elon Musk and Sam Altman. Such calls have faded as AI takes a hold on our lives and online content.

A challenge lies in the sheer speed of change, which is so swift that safeguards to mitigate the potential risks to society are not yet established. Accordingly, the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risk Report has predicted mis- and disinformation as the greatest threats in the next two years.

The problem gets worse through generative AI’s ability to create multimedia content. Based on current trends, we can expect an increase in deepfake incidents, although social media platforms like Facebook are responding to these issues. They aim to automatically identify and tag AI-generated photos, video and audio.

Read more:
The OpenAI saga demonstrates how big corporations dominate the shaping of our technological future

What can we do?

Australia’s eSafety commissioner is working on ways to regulate and mitigate the potential harm caused by generative AI while balancing its potential opportunities.

A key idea is “safety by design”, which requires tech firms to place these safety considerations at the core of their products.

Other countries like the US are further ahead with the regulation of AI. For example, US President Joe Biden’s recent executive order on the safe deployment of AI requires companies to share safety test results with the government, regulates red-team testing (simulated hacking attacks), and guides watermarking on content.

We call for three steps to help protect against the risks of generative AI in combination with disinformation.

1. Regulation needs to pose clear rules without allowing for nebulous “best effort” aims or “trust us” approaches.

2. To protect against large-scale disinformation operations, we need to teach media literacy in the same way we teach maths.

3. Safety tech or “safety by design” needs to become a non-negotiable part of every product development strategy.

People are aware AI-generated content is on the rise. In theory, they should adjust their information habits accordingly. However, research shows users generally tend to underestimate their own risk of believing fake news compared to the perceived risk for others.

Finding trustworthy content shouldn’t involve sifting through AI-generated content to make sense of what is factual.

Stan Karanasios receives funding from Emergency Management Victoria, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity, and the International Telecommunications Union.
Stan is a Distinguished Member of the Association for Information Systems.

Marten Risius is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Australian Discovery Early Career Award (project number DE220101597) funded by the Australian Government.

– ref. Algorithms are pushing AI-generated falsehoods at an alarming rate. How do we stop this? – https://theconversation.com/algorithms-are-pushing-ai-generated-falsehoods-at-an-alarming-rate-how-do-we-stop-this-224626

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Thomasson, Associate Lecturer of Law, The University of Western Australia

This week, Queensland Supreme Court Justice Glenn Martin declared the state’s COVID vaccine mandate for police officers was unlawful. Martin also found the director-general of Queensland health did not have the power to make vaccine mandates for ambulance service workers.

Those who are critical of vaccine mandates have been pleased by the decision. Clive Palmer, who funded the case, touted it as a “great victory” and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said it was vindication for those who opposed vaccine mandates introduced around Australia during the pandemic.

But the ruling doesn’t mean vaccine mandates are inherently flawed. Here’s what the ruling actually found – and what this means for future legal challenges to vaccine mandates across Australia.

What was the case about?

A group of Queensland police employees, ambulance officers and a nurse initiated Supreme Court proceedings against, among others, the Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll and the then Queensland health director-general John Wakefield. The applicants sought a declaration that the vaccine mandates to which they were subjected were unlawful.

The mandates the police commissioner and director-general imposed were very similar. Each required employees of the police and ambulance services to receive doses of an approved COVID vaccine by a specified deadline.

The mandates rendered vaccination against COVID a condition of employment. Anyone who refused to be vaccinated could therefore be subject to disciplinary proceedings, including dismissal.

Read more:
Unfair dismissal rulings show personal circumstances matter in vaccine refusals

By the time the case went to trial, the mandates had already been revoked. This meant there were limited practical remedies available to the applicants. They had already held onto their jobs, at least temporarily – Martin made orders in the early stage of proceedings restraining the commissioner and director-general from dismissing any of the applicants from their jobs.

What did the court find?

When it comes to the broader impacts on policy, the main takeaways from the 115-page judgement are:

1) the police mandates were unlawful

The police commissioner failed to give proper consideration to relevant human rights that would be affected by the mandates. Martin found it was “more likely than not that the commissioner did not consider the human rights ramifications” of the mandates.

This does not mean there was anything wrong with the mandates themselves – the problems lay in the process.

2) the mandates affecting ambulance service workers were unlawful for a different reason

The director-general did not have the power to make the health mandates under employment and contract law.

The director-general claimed the employment contracts covering those who brought the case against the mandates contained an implied term that the director-general may give lawful and reasonable directions to employees.

However, the director-general did not provide sufficient evidence about the terms of the applicants’ employment contracts and therefore could not show the mandate was a reasonable direction.

Read more:
Tomorrow’s COVID safety guidelines will be different from today’s – but that doesn’t mean yesterday’s were wrong

3) only one human right was limited by the mandates

Queensland has human rights legislation recognising, among other rights, a person’s right not to be subjected to medical treatment without full, free and informed consent (section 17(c) of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)).

Martin concluded the vaccine mandate limited this right, in the sense that the consent was not “free”. However, that limitation was “reasonable and demonstrably justified” (or proportionate), as required by the act, in the context of the pandemic.

We can read this as a conclusion that it was acceptable for policymakers to place limits on consent to vaccination in the face of other pressing considerations created by the pandemic. Policymakers had to weigh up the risk of infection for their populations, including the risk of being infected by those providing essential services, and how best to keep their health and governance systems functioning, against the requirement that consent be full, free and informed.

In summary, the police commissioner failed to turn her mind to the human rights affected by her decision. The director-general made an oversight in failing to submit sufficient evidence to the court. But the requirement to consider human rights did not mean the mandates were unjustified.

What does this mean for policymakers?

There are lessons for policymakers in future pandemics: attention to detail is important when making and defending vaccine mandate policies. It is important to consider the people a vaccine mandate is going to affect directly.

The legal necessity to consider human rights in Queensland is only one example. Deep in the pandemic, the Fair Work Commission overturned a private-sector vaccine mandate imposed at a BHP site. The basis for this decision was that the mandate was not reasonable: BHP had not sufficiently consulted with affected workers as required under the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

Considering and involving affected populations in the process is the right thing to do. It is also prudent for protecting vaccine mandates from legal challenges.

Read more:
If you’re going to mandate COVID vaccination at your workplace, here’s how to do it ethically

Will we see more legal challenges to mandates?

In future, a vaccine mandate may be challenged on a range of technical or legal bases, unrelated to the mandate’s substance or legitimacy.

Previous legal challenges to Australian state and territory vaccine mandates have largely been unsuccessful, particularly in the discrimination and industrial relations contexts.

Two similar cases brought by police officers in Western Australia were unsuccessful (although both applicants have appealed). There is considerable breadth of powers and discretion afforded to the police commissioner by the Police Act 1892 (WA). This includes making directions to employees.

Only Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland have human rights legislation, so similar challenges may only be possible in those jurisdictions.

Previous plaintiffs tried to challenge New South Wales’ vaccine mandates on the basis that they infringed the common law right to bodily integrity. They failed.

This week’s decision in Queensland is a landmark case, but probably not for the reasons vaccine mandate opponents hope.

It will be instructive for policymakers seeking to protect vaccine mandates from legal challenge in the future. The public will benefit when this prompts more careful consideration of affected populations when imposing vaccine mandates.

But the decision is unlikely to be be the death knell of workplace vaccine mandates.

Amy Thomasson is part of the Mandate Evaluation (MandEval) project, which is partially funded by the Medical Research Future Fund.

Katie Attwell receives institutional research funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) for the Mandate Evaluation (MandEval) project which she leads. She has previously received research funds paid to her institution from Australian Research Council and the Government of Western Australia. She is a special advisor to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

– ref. Queensland ruling doesn’t mean all COVID vaccine mandates were flawed. Here’s why – https://theconversation.com/queensland-ruling-doesnt-mean-all-covid-vaccine-mandates-were-flawed-heres-why-224646

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Sweetman, Research Fellow, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University

The health of Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce is in the news again, this time with a diagnosis of a sleep disorder made while filming a TV documentary.

Joyce’s diagnosis of insomnia plus sleep apnoea arose while filming Australia’s Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley in 2023. SBS has confirmed episode three, in which my Flinders University colleagues reveal his sleep disorder, is set to air on March 20.

I was not involved in the program and have no knowledge of Joyce’s ongoing health care. But I was part of the research team that in 2017 coined the term COMISA (co-morbid insomnia and sleep apnoea), the official name of Joyce’s on-screen diagnosis. Since then, I’ve led research into this common sleep disorder.

Here’s why it’s so important to diagnose and treat it.

Read more:
View from The Hill: How does David Littleproud handle the latest Barnaby Joyce embarrassment?

What was Joyce’s diagnosis?

People can be diagnosed separately with insomnia or sleep apnoea.

Insomnia includes frequent difficulties falling asleep at the start of the night or difficulties staying asleep during the night. These can result in daytime fatigue, reduced energy, concentration difficulties and poor mood. Over time, insomnia can start to impact your mental health and quality of life.

Sleep apnoea (specifically, obstructive sleep apnoea) is when people experience repeated interruptions or pauses in breathing while they sleep. This reduces oxygen levels during sleep, and you can wake up multiple times at night. People with sleep apnoea may be aware of loud snoring, gasping for air when they wake up, or feeling exhausted the next morning. However, not all people have these symptoms, and sleep apnoea can go undiagnosed for years.

But in Joyce’s case, both insomnia and sleep apnoea occur at the same time.

We’ve known this could happen since the 1970s, with evidence growing over subsequent decades. Since then, sleep researchers and clinicians around the world have learned more about how common this is, its consequences and how best to treat it.

Read more:
A short history of insomnia and how we became obsessed with sleep

How do you know if you have it?

Many people seek help for their sleep problems because of fatigue, exhaustion, physical symptoms, or poor mood during the day.

If you think you have insomnia, a GP or sleep specialist can talk to you about your sleep pattern, and might ask you to complete brief questionnaires about your sleep and daytime symptoms. You might also be asked to fill in a “sleep diary” for one to two weeks. These will allow a trained clinician to see if you have insomnia.

If you or your GP think you may have (or are at risk of having) sleep apnoea, you may be referred for a sleep study. This normally involves sleeping overnight in a sleep clinic where your sleep patterns and breathing are monitored. Alternatively, you might be set up with a recording device to monitor your sleep at home. A trained medical professional, such as a sleep and respiratory physician, will often make the diagnosis.

Up to 50% of people with sleep apnoea report symptoms of insomnia. About 30–40% of people with insomnia also have sleep apnoea.

Read more:
Health Check: here’s what you need to know about sleep apnoea

What are the consequences?

Insomnia and sleep apnoea (individually) are associated with reduced sleep quality, mental health and physical health.

Importantly, people with both at the same also tend to experience worse sleep, daytime function, mental health, physical health and quality of life, compared with people with no sleep disorder.

For instance, we know having both conditions comes with an increased risk of diseases of the heart.

In three studies, we found people with both insomnia and sleep apnoea have about a 50–70% higher risk of dying early from any cause, compared with people with neither sleep condition. People with insomnia alone and sleep apnoea alone did not have an increased risk of dying early.

However, there are effective treatments to reduce these health consequences.

Read more:
Sleep apnoea can be scary. But here’s what happened when First Nations people had a say in their own care

How is it treated?

In general, it is best for people to access evidence-based treatments for both disorders. These treatments vary according to the patient and the severity of their condition.

For instance, wearing a CPAP mask while sleeping improves breathing during sleep and reduces many of the daytime consequences of obstructive sleep apnoea. However, other effective treatments may be recommended based on each person’s symptoms, such as weight management, avoiding sleeping on your back, oral devices (which look a bit like a mouthguard), or surgery.

The most effective treatment for insomnia is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, also known as CBTi. About four to eight sessions often lead to improvements in sleep, daytime function and mental health that are maintained for many years. This can be delivered by trained therapists such as psychologists, nurses or GPs, as well as via online programs.

Last year, we drew together evidence from more than 1,000 people with both conditions. We found CBTi is an effective treatment for insomnia in people with treated and untreated sleep apnoea.

Read more:
My snoring is waking up my partner. Apart from a CPAP machine, what are the options?

New treatments and approaches

We and other teams internationally are developing and testing new ways of delivering CBTi.

Several groups are testing devices, which stimulate the tongue muscles during sleep, to treat sleep apnoea in people with both disorders.

And we’re still working out the best order for patients to access treatments, and the best combination of treatments.

Read more:
How can I get some sleep? Which treatments actually work?

The power of TV

Joyce’s public diagnosis of both insomnia and sleep apnoea will no doubt raise awareness of what we suspect is an underdiagnosed condition.

Based on how common insomnia and sleep apnoea are in Australia, we estimate Joyce is one of about 5–10% of Australian adults to have both at the same time.

The Conversation contacted Joyce’s spokesperson for comment but did not hear back before deadline.

Alexander Sweetman is a Senior Program Manager at the Australasian Sleep Association, the peak sleep health scientific and advocacy body in Australia and New Zealand, and has academic status at Flinders University. Alexander Sweetman reports previous research funding and/or consultancy work for; the National Health and Medical Research Council, The Hospital Research Foundation, Flinders University, Flinders Foundation, ResMed, Phillips, Cerebra, Re-Time, Sleep Review Mag, and Australian Doctor.

– ref. Why Barnaby Joyce’s TV diagnosis of insomnia plus sleep apnoea is such a big deal – https://theconversation.com/why-barnaby-joyces-tv-diagnosis-of-insomnia-plus-sleep-apnoea-is-such-a-big-deal-224616

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gareth Evans, Distinguished Honorary Professor, Australian National University

When Cambodia’s new prime minister, Hun Manet, visits Melbourne next week for the ASEAN Australia Summit, he may seem a welcome change from his long-serving authoritarian father Hun Sen. But hopes for a democratic and human rights renaissance in this genocide-ravaged and long-misgoverned country remain sadly misplaced.

Hun Sen, who had ruled Cambodia for 38 years, transferred power to his son, the 45-year-old Hun Manet, last August.

In Australia next week, the soft-spoken, Western-educated and technocratically savvy Hun Manet will likely present himself as the face of a modern, developing Cambodia, talking the talk of economic reform and more effective governance. However, his father’s talk back home is jail for his critics. And his father continues to call the shots that matter.

Hun Sen, still only 71, remains president of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and is in practical control of what effectively remains a one-party state. And he is, for good measure, the de facto constitutional head of state, as well.

As the expected new president of the Senate, he will act for King Norodom Sihamoni when he is out of the country – as the king often has been, not least when controversial legislation has been signed into force.

The governing CPP has successfully used broad defamation laws to prosecute government critics in the courts. Last year, an opposition leader, Son Chhay, a dual Cambodian-Australian citizen, was ordered to pay $US1 million (A$1.5 million) in damages for saying the CPP bought and stole votes. Jail awaits if he cannot pay.

Commenting on this case, the deputy head of one of the country’s leading NGOs, Soeng Sengkaruna, said the CPP should stop using the courts to silence the opposition. This led the party to sue him this month, too, seeking US$500,000 (A$770,000) in damages. Knowing the prospect of the courts defying the CCP’s wishes, he and his family have now fled the country.

Power concentrated in one family

With Hun Sen doing the heavy lifting in controlling the political environment, Hun Manet has been able to concentrate on managing government departments and delivering public services, keeping one step away from allegations of human rights abuses. This has encouraged some media and diplomats to dream he will grant liberal freedoms when given the opportunity.

But there is no reason to believe a few years studying in America and Britain will lead Hun Manet to discard the authoritarian and paternalistic culture in which he has been immersed for most of his life.

This is a political culture, much influenced by Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore, where family trumps the individual, economic rights trump political rights, liberal freedoms need to be constrained lest they brew discord and disorder, and wise rulers should not be held back by the separation of powers.

Read more:
Cambodian strongman Hun Sen wins another ‘landslide’ election. Will succession to his son be just as smooth?

However, a great many Cambodians, including reportedly some in the CPP itself, have not been persuaded that family values justify so many powerful roles being occupied by Hun Sen and his progeny. In addition to Hun Manet now serving as prime minister:

• Lieutenant General Hun Manith (middle son) is chief of the Defence Ministry’s Intelligence Department

• Hun Many (youngest son) is a new deputy prime minister, the minister for civil service and president of the CPP’s youth wing

• daughters Hun Mana and Hun Maly hold interests in a swathe of companies, including Cambodia Electricity Private that sells electricity to the government, as well as television, radio and newspaper outlets

• and Hun Mana’s husband, Dy Vichea, is deputy national police chief. He is also one of many powerful party figures who hold multi-million dollar commercial and residential assets in Australia.

Cambodia is growing economically and the cityscape is now gleaming with skyscrapers. But it ranks 158th out of 180 countries for corruption. And a country where one family dominates government and commerce, and leaders are appointed because of their family connections, is at profound risk of kleptocracy.

Cambodia’s democratic and human rights deficit remains profound, with:

• opposition parties dissolved or excluded from elections and their members threatened with arrest

• mass surveillance strengthened

• independent media outlets shuttered.

The government’s obsession with control extends to the diaspora: Cambodian-Australians joining protests in Melbourne may put their families back home at risk of visits by the authorities.

Australia should use its leverage

Australia should continue to support the economic and social development of Cambodia, but also those Cambodians who are striving for democracy and freedom of expression. Targeted sanctions against those accused of human rights violations can and should be applied.

Australia recently consulted with 14 Cambodian ministries on its new Development Partnership Plan for Cambodia – but no alternative civil society voices. We have leverage, and should use it – not just to promote economic development, but the decent governance so many Cambodians want and deserve.

Read more:
Does Australia have the political will – or leverage – to support change in Cambodia?

The CPP has called liberal democracy unattainably “pure and perfect”. However, Cambodia’s own constitution – accepted as part of the peace process following the civil war, in which Australia played a prominent part – says this is exactly what the country should be.

The millions of Cambodians who vote when they can, rally for human rights and risk jail to protest abuses show that belief in true democracy is not a minority aberration. Australia should be standing with them.

Gareth Evans was Australia’s foreign minister (1988–1996) and played a leading role in initiating the Paris Peace Agreements that ended Cambodia’s civil war.

I am an acquaintance of Soeng Senkaruna, mentioned in the article, and am currently in contact with him. He features frequently in my book A Tiger Rules the Mountain – Cambodia’s Pursuit of Democracy

– ref. Cambodia’s new leader may sound like a reformer in Australia next week, but little has changed back home – https://theconversation.com/cambodias-new-leader-may-sound-like-a-reformer-in-australia-next-week-but-little-has-changed-back-home-224726

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Rentz, Adjunct Professorial Research Fellow, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University

In recent weeks, Melburnians have reported thousands of crickets showing up in large numbers after dark, flying into homes and shops and taking up residence.

The insect in question is the widespread, native black field cricket (Teleogryllus commodus).

Some media reports have described the swarms as a “plague”. This is not quite accurate, because scientists in Australia reserve that term for serious pests such as mice and some locusts. It’s best to call the present phenomenon an “outbreak”.

So what triggers these outbreaks, and how can we best live alongside insects as they go through these cycles of boom and bust?

Why the crickets moved to Melbourne

Black field crickets are not usually pests – the insects belong here and their song is that of the Australian bush. Crickets are a valuable food source for birds, reptiles and mammals.

Males sing every night by rubbing their wings together. They can easily be distinguished from females by the absence of the needle-like organ called an ovipositor that the females use for laying eggs.

Black field crickets are notorious for breeding in large numbers then flying to new sites at night.

Recent unseasonal and persistent rain fostered the growth of plants and insects, supplying ample food for the crickets. This is the most likely trigger for the extraordinarily large numbers we’re seeing.

The crickets may have flown in on persistent winds, or maybe the city lights attracted them. Nocturnal insects use light to work out which way is up, so they find artificial light confusing.

Cooler weather will help keep crickets in their natural habitat, where they belong. The hot weather would have stimulated their movement and spurred them on, because crickets are more active when it’s warm.

Tips for dealing with the crickets

Crickets are naturally attracted to light sources during the night. This can lead them to enter indoor spaces – often through small openings such as cracks around doors, or through windows or vents.

Keeping crickets out of your home can be challenging. Start by turning off outdoor lights and closing curtains and blinds. Seal entry points and install insect screens.

Changing outdoor lights from bright white to yellow will also help to deter insects.

If crickets do enter your home, they can easily be caught in a jar and taken outside.

A lack of humidity means crickets don’t survive indoors for more than a few days. Females require soil to lay their eggs, which means they won’t breed inside the home.

As an aside, if you fancy a cricket as a pet, they can be kept alive for a few weeks in a takeaway plastic container with some air holes. Captive crickets should be provided with a source of water such as a wet cotton ball in a jar lid. They can be fed muesli and a bit of apple, which provides another source of moisture. The water and the moist food raises the humidity to a suitable level.

Read more:
Australian endangered species: Schayer’s Grasshopper

Other insects swarm, too

Rain often triggers insect outbreaks.

In Far North Queensland, where I live, we had almost 2 metres of rain in less than a week during Cyclone Jasper. And the rain persists. This has caused some insects that normally occur in small numbers to reproduce abnormally.

Cairns is a favoured destination for multiple grasshopper species that thrive in warm, wet conditions. They have been known to trouble Cairns Airport, but authorities there now have a good Wildlife Hazard Management Plan in place.

In Canberra, huge numbers of bogong moths have been known to infiltrate Parliament House for few weeks en route to the Australian Alps, where they spend the summer. The moths reproduce during wet years and the following season, they migrate in great numbers.

The widespread little Upolu meadow katydid (Conocephalus upoluensis) also breeds in large numbers after good rain. Adults fly to lights, often in their hundreds, and can be seen at outback petrol stations and cafes. As with most of these outbreaks, their presence is shortlived.

Read more:
Australian endangered species: Katydids

Looking ahead

Under climate change, plagues of some insects such as locusts are expected to worsen as a result of increased heat and extreme rains.

However, climate change is also expected to lead to declines in some insect species. This compounds other harms caused by humans such as habitat loss and pollution.

Those pressures mean insect populations may be moving into new, populated areas in search of more favourable conditions.

All that said, we can expect insect outbreaks to happen again. My advice for those in Melbourne is just to wait until the crickets move on – and in the meantime, enjoy the spectacle of nature.

Read more:
A great year to be a cabbage white butterfly: why are there so many and how can you protect your crops?

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

– ref. From crickets in Melbourne to grasshoppers in Cairns, here’s what triggers an insect outbreak – https://theconversation.com/from-crickets-in-melbourne-to-grasshoppers-in-cairns-heres-what-triggers-an-insect-outbreak-224338

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University

On this day, February 29, conversations the world over may conjure the name of Pope Gregory XIII – widely known for his reform of the calendar that bears his name.

The need for calendar reform was driven by the inaccuracy of the Julian calendar. Introduced in 46 BC, the Julian calendar fell short of the solar year – the time it takes Earth to orbit the Sun – by about 12 minutes each year.

To correct this, Gregory convened a commission of experts who fine-tuned the leap-year system, giving us the one we have today.

But the Gregorian calendar isn’t the only legacy Pope Gregory left. His papacy encompassed a broad spectrum of achievements that have left a lasting mark on the world.

Rise to papacy

Born in 1502 as Ugo Boncompagni, Gregory made many contributions to the life of the Catholic Church, the city of Rome, education, arts and diplomacy.

Before ascending to the papacy, Boncompagni had a distinguished career in law in Bologna where he received his doctorate in both civil and canon law. He also taught jurisprudence, which is the theory and philosophy of law.

His intellectual influence positioned him as a trusted figure in legal and diplomatic circles even before his election as pope in the 1572 conclave. Upon being elected he adopted the name Gregory, in honour of Pope Gregory the Great who lived in the sixth century.

Movement in the Church

One of Gregory’s major undertakings was reforming the Catholic Church in response to the Reformation, a movement which established a distinct new branch of Christianity, Protestantism, separated separate from the Catholic Church.

Read more:
Revisiting the Reformation: how passions sparked a religious revolution 500 years ago

Gregory aimed to implement the decisions of the Council of Trent, which met between 1545 and 1563, and defined key Christian doctrines and practices, including scripture, original sin, justification, the sacraments and saint veneration. Its outcomes directed the church’s future for centuries.

Gregory’s administrative reforms were aimed at centralising church governance and its operations. As pope, he relished the practice of law, personally engaging in judicial deliberations and surprising his contemporaries with his legal acumen.

His papacy also marked a revision of Gratian’s Decretals, a collection of 12th-century church laws that served as a textbook for lawyers. Gregory aimed to correct numerous errors and unify the various versions of this foundational text of canon law. This culminated in the publication of an amended edition in 1582.

Gregory’s dragon

Pope Gregory lived at a time when emblematic and symbolic interpretations were central to the political and cultural discourse. In particular, monsters were interpreted as omens or divine signs and played a significant role in religious and political debate.

Gregory’s coat of arms, the heraldic emblem of the Boncompagni family, featured a dragon. As such, it drew criticism from Protestant propaganda.

Anti-Catholic publications featured the Boncompagni dragon as an emblem of the Antichrist, drawing on the seven-headed monster in the Book of Revelation.

Rooted in biblical and mythological references, the negative imagery of Gregory’s dragon became a focal point for debates over the nature of papal authority, the legitimacy of Protestant criticisms, and the broader struggle to define truth and meaning in a rapidly changing world.

A legacy enshrined in art

Gregory’s legal legacy is celebrated in art, particularly in the Sala Bologna of the Vatican Palace, which commemorates his and other popes’ contributions to the study and codification of law.

Gregory XIII’s pontificate (term of office) was marked by a comprehensive effort to renew and beautify Rome, improving both the city’s functionality and aesthetics. He had a particular focus on the Capitoline Hill, the political and religious heart of Rome since the Antiquity.

Gregory’s initiatives – which included restoring essential infrastructure such as gates, bridges and fountains – were part of a broader vision to emphasise the centrality of law in Rome’s history and culture.

This is demonstrated by him being honoured by a statue in the Aula Consiliare of the Senator’s Palace. This hall was designed to showcase the importance of judicial proceedings.

Alongside his urban planning initiatives, Gregory’s commissioning of artworks and architectural projects showcased his commitment to fostering a city that was not only the spiritual centre of Catholicism, but also a beacon of Renaissance culture.

In the Sala Regia hall in Vatican City, he commissioned a series of mural frescoes showcasing the triumph of Christianity over its enemies. He also commissioned an entire map gallery for the Apostolic Palace, to demonstrate the extent of Christianity’s spread over the world.

Reforming the calendar

Because the Julian calendar fell short by about 12 minutes each year, it was increasingly out-of-sync with the solar year. By the time Gregory’s reign began, this discrepancy had accumulated to more than 10 days.

To correct this, Gregory convened a commission of experts. Their work led to the publication of a formal papal decree in the form of the bull Inter Gravissimas on February 24 1582.

This decree not only fine-tuned the leap-year system, but also mandated the elimination of ten days to realign the calendar with the solar year.

The Gregorian calendar reform signified a monumental shift in timekeeping. In 1582, October 4 was followed directly by October 15, correcting the calendar’s alignment with astronomical reality.

This adjustment, slowly adopted by Protestant nations, has had a lasting impact on how the world measures time.

Faith, intellect and reform

In St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, you will find a remarkable funerary monument to Pope Gregory XIII. Completed in 1723 by Milanese sculptor Camillo Rusconi, it incorporates representations of both Religion and Wisdom, personified by two statues flanking the pope.

Wisdom is shown drawing attention to a relief beneath the enthroned pope which illustrates the promulgation of the new calendar – the pope’s most significant achievement. At the base of the monument, a dragon crouches unapologetically.

It’s a fitting tribute to a pope whose tenure was characterised by the interaction of faith, intellect and reform – and which can now be marked as a cornerstone in European history.

Darius von Guttner Sporzynski 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. Pope Gregory XIII gave us the leap year – but his legacy goes so much further – https://theconversation.com/pope-gregory-xiii-gave-us-the-leap-year-but-his-legacy-goes-so-much-further-223093

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Themiya Nanayakkara, Senior Scientist at the James Webb Australian Data Centre, Swinburne University of Technology

About 400,000 years after the Big Bang, the cosmos was a very dark place. The glow of the universe’s explosive birth had cooled, and space was filled with dense gas – mostly hydrogen – with no sources of light.

Slowly, over hundreds of millions of years, the gas was drawn into clumps by gravity, and eventually the clumps grew big enough to ignite. These were the first stars.

At first their light didn’t travel far, as much of it was absorbed by a fog of hydrogen gas. However, as more and more stars formed, they produced enough light to burn away the fog by “reionising” the gas – creating the transparent universe dotted with brilliant points of light we see today.

But exactly which stars produced the light that ended the dark ages and triggered this so-called “epoch of reionisation”? In research published in Nature, we used a gigantic cluster of galaxies as a magnifying glass to gaze at faint relics of this time – and discovered that stars in small, faint dwarf galaxies were likely responsible for this cosmic-scale transformation.

What ended the dark ages?

Most astronomers already agreed that galaxies were the main force in reionising the universe, but it wasn’t clear how they did it. We know that stars in galaxies should make a lot of ionising photons, but these photons need to escape the dust and gas inside their own galaxy to ionise hydrogen out in the space between galaxies.

It hasn’t been clear what kind of galaxies would be able to produce and emit enough photons to get the job done. (And indeed, there are those who think more exotic objects like big black holes may have been responsible.)

Read more:
Looking back toward cosmic dawn − astronomers confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen

There are two camps among adherents of the galaxy theory.

The first thinks huge, massive galaxies produced the ionising photons. There were not many of these galaxies in the early universe, but each one produced a lot of light. So if a certain fraction of that light managed to escape, it might have been enough to reionise the universe.

The second camp thinks we are better off ignoring the giant galaxies and focussing on the huge number of much smaller galaxies in the early universe. Each one of these would have produced far less ionising light, but with the weight of their numbers they could have driven the epoch of reionisation.

A magnifying glass 4 million lightyears wide

Trying to look at anything in the early universe is very hard. The massive galaxies are rare, so they are hard to find. Smaller galaxies are more common but they are very faint, which makes it difficult (and expensive) to get high-quality data.

We wanted a look at some of the faintest galaxies around, so we used a huge group of galaxies called Pandora’s Cluster as a magnifying glass. The enormous mass of the cluster distorts space and time, amplifying the light from objects behind it.

As part of the UNCOVER program, we used the James Webb Space Telescope to look at magnified infrared images of faint galaxies behind Pandora’s Cluster.

We first looked at many different galaxies, then chose a few particularly distant (and therefore ancient) ones to examine more closely. (This kind of close examination is expensive, so we could only look at eight galaxies in greater detail.)

The bright glow of hydrogen

We selected some sources which were around 0.5% of the brightness of our Milky Way galaxy at that time, and checked them for the telltale glow of ionised hydrogen. These galaxies are so faint they were only visible at all thanks to the magnifying effect of Pandora’s Cluster.

Our observations confirmed that these small galaxies did exist in the very early universe. What’s more, we confirmed they produced around four times as much ionising light as we would consider “normal”. This is at the highest end of what we had predicted, based on our understanding of how early stars formed.

Because these galaxies produced so much ionising light, only a small fraction of it would have needed to escape to reionise the universe.

Read more:
Unlocking the mystery of the first billion years of the universe

Previously, we had thought that around 20% of all ionising photons would need to escape from these smaller galaxies if they are to be the dominant contributor to reionisation. Our new data suggests even 5% would be sufficient – which is about the fraction of ionising photons we see escaping from modern galaxies.

So now we can confidently say these smaller galaxies could have played a very large role in the epoch of reionisation. However, our study was only based on eight galaxies, all close to a single line of sight. To confirm our results we will need to look at different parts of the sky.

We have new observations planned which will target other large galaxy clusters elsewhere in the universe, to find yet more magnified, faint galaxies to test. If all goes well, we will have some answers in a few years.

Themiya Nanayakkara receives funding from Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship FL180100060.

– ref. What ended the ‘dark ages’ in the early universe? New Webb data just brought us closer to solving the mystery – https://theconversation.com/what-ended-the-dark-ages-in-the-early-universe-new-webb-data-just-brought-us-closer-to-solving-the-mystery-224525

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Saman Khalesi, Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Nutrition, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity Australia

According to social media, carbs come in various guises: naked carbs, net carbs, complex carbs and more.

You might be wondering what these terms mean or if all carbs are really the same. If you are into “carb counting” or “cutting carbs”, it’s important to make informed decisions about what you eat.

Read more:
Stop hating on pasta – it actually has a healthy ratio of carbs, protein and fat

What are carbs?

Carbohydrates, or “carbs” for short, are one of the main sources of energy we need for brain function, muscle movement, digestion and pretty much everything our bodies do.

There are two classifications of carbs, simple and complex. Simple carbs have one or two sugar molecules, while complex carbs are three or more sugar molecules joined together. For example, table sugar is a simple carb, but starch in potatoes is a complex carb.

All carbs need to be broken down into individual molecules by our digestive enzymes to be absorbed. Digestion of complex carbs is a much slower process than simple carbs, leading to a more gradual blood sugar increase.

Fibre is also considered a complex carb, but it has a structure our body is not capable of digesting. This means we don’t absorb it, but it helps with the movement of our stool and prevents constipation. Our good gut bacteria also love fibre as they can digest it and use it for energy – important for a healthy gut.

What about ‘naked carbs’?

“Naked carbs” is a popular term usually used to refer to foods that are mostly simple carbs, without fibre or accompanying protein or fat. White bread, sugary drinks, jams, sweets, white rice, white flour, crackers and fruit juice are examples of these foods. Ultra-processed foods, where the grains are stripped of their outer layers (including fibre and most nutrients) leaving “refined carbs”, also fall into this category.

One of the problems with naked carbs or refined carbs is they digest and absorb quickly, causing an immediate rise in blood sugar. This is followed by a rapid spike in insulin (a hormone that signals cells to remove sugar from blood) and then a drop in blood sugar. This can lead to hunger and cravings – a vicious cycle that only gets worse with eating more of the same foods.

Read more:
I want to eat healthily. So why do I crave sugar, salt and carbs?

What about ‘net carbs’?

This is another popular term tossed around in dieting discussions. Net carbs refer to the part of the carb food that we actually absorb.

Again, fibre is not easily digestible. And some carb-rich foods contain sugar alcohols, such as sweeteners (like xylitol and sorbitol) that have limited absorption and little to no effect on blood sugar. Deducting the value of fibre and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrate content of a food gives what’s considered its net carb value.

For example, canned pear in juice has around 12.3g of “total carbohydrates” per 100g, including 1.7g carb + 1.7g fibre + 1.9g sugar alcohol. So its net carb is 12.3g – 1.7g – 1.9g = 8.7g. This means 8.7g of the 12.3g total carbs impacts blood sugar.

Does it matter though?

Whether or not you should care about net or naked carbs depends on your dietary preferences, health goals, food accessibility and overall nutritional needs. Generally speaking, we should try to limit our consumption of simple and refined carbs.

The latest World Health Organization guidelines recommend our carbohydrate intake should ideally come primarily from whole grains, vegetables, fruits and pulses, which are rich in complex carbs and fibre. This can have significant health benefits (to regulate hunger, improve cholesterol or help with weight management) and reduce the risk of conditions such as heart disease, obesity and colon cancer.

In moderation, naked carbs aren’t necessarily bad. But pairing them with fats, protein or fibre can slow down the digestion and absorption of sugar. This can help to stabilise blood sugar levels, prevent spikes and crashes and support personal weight management goals. If you’re managing diabetes or insulin resistance, paying attention to the composition of your meals, and the quality of your carbohydrate sources is essential.

A ketogenic (high fat, low carb) diet typically restricts carb intake to between 20 and 50g each day. But this carb amount refers to net carbs – so it is possible to eat more carbs from high-fibre sources.

Read more:
How much protein do I need as I get older? And do I need supplements to get enough?

Some tips to try

Some simple strategies can help you get the most out of your carb intake:

• reduce your intake of naked carbs and foods high in sugar and white flour, such as white bread, table sugar, honey, lollies, maple syrup, jam, and fruit juice

• opt for protein- and fibre-rich carbs. These include oats, sweet potatoes, nuts, avocados, beans, whole grains and broccoli

• if you are eating naked carbs, dress them up with some protein, fat and fibre. For example, top white bread with a nut butter rather than jam

• if you are trying to reduce the carb content in your diet, be wary of any symptoms of low blood glucose, including headaches, nausea, and dizziness

• working with a health-care professional such as an accredited practising dietitian or your GP can help develop an individualised diet plan that meets your specific needs and goals.

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. ‘Naked carbs’ and ‘net carbs’ – what are they and should you count them? – https://theconversation.com/naked-carbs-and-net-carbs-what-are-they-and-should-you-count-them-223731

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Badenhorst, Senior Lecturer, Massey University

New Zealand girls and young women, as well as nonbinary persons who bleed every month, have a limited understanding of menstruation. This lack of knowledge about their own bodies is affecting their overall health and wellbeing.

Our ongoing research, currently under peer review, looks at the menstrual health literacy of premenopausal females between 20 and 34 years old (in this article the term “female” is used to refer to individuals with the reproductive organs and hormones that enable menstruation. However, the authors do acknowledge that sex is not binary). We examined how people understood the purpose of hormonal changes and health outcomes (acute and long-term) associated with the menstrual cycle.

The results are concerning in a country where more than half the population is female, and where health education starts in the first year of school.

But this lack of knowledge is not just a health issue. Anxiety over menstruation, what is normal and what isn’t, spills over to every element of a person’s life, affecting participation in activities such as sport, work, and school.

If New Zealand wants to encourage equal participation in life, then we need to start by properly educating females about how their bodies work.

A lack of general understanding

We used a 25-question survey to test menstrual cycle literacy. The questions were divided into four categories: the menstrual cycle, menstruation, symptoms and health outcomes. The final online survey was shared online and completed by 203 females aged 16-40 years.

We found the overall knowledge score for functional menstrual health literacy was low (less than 50%). This means more than half of menstruating individuals may not have an understanding of how hormones within their body can affect them and what symptoms are associated with menstrual cycle changes or disruption.

In particular, we have found a gap in knowledge around the second key hormone governing a person’s menstrual health. While respondents were familiar with estrogen and its effects on the body, few were aware of how the second key reproductive hormone progesterone affects their bodies.

Read more:
From rags and pads to the sanitary apron: a brief history of period products

Progesterone is a key hormone for fertility and has roles in maintaining bone health, body fluid regulation and body temperature. It is also the first hormone to change when there is a subtle menstrual cycle disruption.

Failing to understand the importance of this hormone means most females are unaware of how to identify these subtle disruptions. They would most likely miss a lot of the initial warning signals from their body.

Approximately 38% of survey respondents were not aware of what is considered a normal length of the menstrual cycle. This may be associated with increased stress and anxiety commonly experienced with the “unexpected” arrival of their period.

Interestingly, we noted that females tended to score higher on questions where they could use or refer to personal experience (for example, menstrual cycle symptoms and menstruation).

But even here only 50% of females could correctly quantify normal or heavy menstrual blood loss values. Only 10% knew of the changes to cervical mucous that occur with ovulation and are recommended for fertility tracking.

Missing the danger signs

The lowest health literacy was reported for the awareness of adverse health outcomes associated with menstrual cycle disruption.

The majority (65%) were unable to correctly identify adverse health and wellbeing outcomes.

High stress, dieting, substantial weight loss and over-training are factors that independently and cumulatively have been found to increase the risk of menstrual cycle disruptions.

These changes in the menstrual cycle will often result in increased gastrointestinal upset, decreased immune response – and in severe cases increase the risk of bone stress injuries.

But the majority (95%) of survey participants only selected “increased risk of bone stress injuries”, the most severe outcome. They were unable to identify any of the other common negative health outcomes that may present first.

It is not uncommon for females to see multiple health or medical professionals when they are concerned with their reproductive health.

The lack of knowledge about what is happening in their body means there can be diagnostic delays or lack of diagnosis. In New Zealand, the average time for a endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis is between two and eight years.

Read more:
Lydia Ko’s ‘time of the month’ comment showed how far sportswomen have come – and how much still has to change

Similarly, the majority of females were unable to identify all the factors that could affect the menstrual cycle. Most selected exercise as a key factor responsible for any menstrual cycle disruption.

As a result, most females reported that stopping exercise was what was needed to help menstrual cycle health.

This perception may be a contributing factor to the participation in sports gap between young females and males – rising from a 17% gap in sport activity per week at age 16 to a 28% gap at 17.

Talking about what is (and isn’t) normal

Our survey results show a pervasive knowledge gap in menstrual cycle health. Most females we surveyed were not aware of what is “normal” for their menstrual cycle, nor did they have a good understanding of the health outcomes associated with menstrual cycle disruptions.

There is a high risk that many females may have a poor quality of life, health and wellbeing due to not being able to access, understand or communicate menstrual health information when it is needed.

This ongoing research is the first step to understanding this pervasive knowledge gap in menstrual cycle health within New Zealand. More research is required to quantify menstrual health literacy in adolescent girls and peri- and post-menopausal women.

Understanding the gaps will give researchers, advocates and educators insight into where we can help improve this basic knowledge – and achieve better outcomes for all those who bleed.

Claire Badenhorst has received funding from the Health Research Council.

Stacy T. Sims 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. There is a knowledge gap around menstruation in NZ – and this puts people at risk – https://theconversation.com/there-is-a-knowledge-gap-around-menstruation-in-nz-and-this-puts-people-at-risk-224257

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laure Poncet, Research officer, UNSW Sydney

Fire. Flood. Fire and flood together. Double-whammy storms. Unprecedented rainfall. Heatwaves. Climate change is making some of Australia’s weather more extreme. In 2023, the country was hit by a broad range of particularly intense events, with economy-wide impacts. Winter was the warmest in a record going back to 1910, while we had the driest September since at least 1900.

We often see extreme weather as distinct events in the news. But it can be useful to look at what’s happening over the year.

Today, more than 30 of Australia’s leading climate scientists released a report analysing ten major weather events in 2023, from early fires to low snowpack to compound events.

Can we say how much climate change contributed to these events? Not yet. It normally takes several years of research before we can clearly say what role climate change played. But the longer term trends are well established – more frequent, more intense heatwaves over most of Australia, marine heatwave days more than doubling over the last century, and short, intense rainfall events intensifying in some areas.

What happened in 2023?

January. Event #1: Record-breaking rain in the north (NT, WA, QLD)

The year began with above-average rainfall in northern Australia influenced by the “triple-dip” La Niña phase.

Some parts of the country were already experiencing heavy rainfall even before Cyclone Ellie arrived. From late December 2022 to early January 2023, Ellie brought heavy rainfall to Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, resulting in a one-in-100-year flooding of the Fitzroy River. Interestingly, Cyclone Ellie was only a “weak” Category 1 tropical cyclone. So why did it cause so much damage? In their analysis, climate scientists suggest it was actually low wind speeds in the mid-troposphere which allowed the system to stall and keep raining.

February–March. Event 2: Extreme rain and food shortages (NT, QLD)

Climate scientists observed the same behaviour from late February to early March 2023, when a persistent slow-moving low-pressure system known as a monsoonal low dumped heavy, widespread rain over the Northern Territory and north-west Queensland. The resulting floods cut transport routes in the NT, and led to food shortages.

June–August. Event 3 and 4: Warmest winter, little snow (NSW)

After a wet start to the year, conditions became drier and warmer in southern and eastern Australia. New South Wales experienced its warmest winter on record, with daily maximums more than 2°C above the long-term average.

The unusual heat and lack of precipitation translated into the second-worst snow season on record (the worst was 2006).

September. Event 5: Record heatwave (SA)

In September, South Australia faced a record-breaking heatwave. Temperatures reached as high as 38°C in Ceduna. As warming continues, scientists suggest unusual heat and heatwaves during the cool season will become more frequent and intense.

September also saw El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole declared by the Bureau of Meteorology. When these two climate drivers combine, we have a higher chance of a warm and dry Australia, particularly during late winter and spring.

Read more:
2023’s extreme storms, heat and wildfires broke records – a scientist explains how global warming fuels climate disasters

October. Event 6, 7 and 8: Fire-and-flood compound event (VIC), compound wind and rain storms (TAS), unusually early fires (QLD)

Dry conditions gave rise to an unseasonably early fire season in Victoria and Queensland. In October, Queensland’s Western Downs region was hit hard. Dozens of houses and two lives were lost in the town of Tara.

The same month, Victoria’s Gippsland region was hit by back-to-back fires and floods, a phenomenon known as a compound event.

While it’s difficult to attribute these events to climate change, scientists say hot and dry winters make Australia more prone to early season fires.

Also in October, a different compound event struck Tasmania in the form of successive low-pressure systems. The first dumped a month’s worth of rain in a few days over much of the state, while the second brought strong winds. The rain from the first storm loosened the soil, making it easier for trees to be blown down.

Scientists say the combined effects were more severe than if just one of these events occurred without the other. Such extreme wind-and-rain compound events are expected to occur more frequently in regions such as the tropics as the climate continues to change.

November. Event 9: Supercell thunderstorm trashed crops (QLD)

In November, a supercell thunderstorm hit Queensland’s south-east, destroying A$50 million worth of crops and farming equipment. Initial research suggests extreme winds and thunderstorms may become more likely under climate change, but more work is needed.

December. Event 10: Unprecedented flooding from Cyclone Jasper (QLD)

In mid-December, Tropical Cyclone Jasper made landfall as a Category 2 tropical cyclone in north Queensland. The system weakened into a tropical low and then stalled over Cape York. The weather system’s northerly winds drew in moist air from the Coral Sea, which collided with drier winds from the south-east. This caused persistent heavy rainfall over the region – up to 2 metres in places. Catchments flooded across the region, causing widespread damage to roads, buildings and crops. Similar to ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie, most damage occurred after landfall as the system stalled and dumped rain.

Climate change can make extreme weather even more extreme

It’s generally easier to identify and understand the role of human-caused climate change in large-scale extreme events, particularly temperature extremes. So we can say 2023’s exceptional winter heat was probably intensified by what we have done to the climate system.

For smaller-scale extremes, it is often harder to determine the role of climate change, but there’s some evidence short, intense rainfall events are getting even more intense as the world warms. Early-season bushfires and low snow cover are consistent with what we expect under global warming.

There’s also an increasing threat from the risk of compound events where concurrent or consecutive extreme events can amplify damage.

Australia’s intense weather events during 2023 are broadly what we can expect to see as the world keeps getting hotter and hotter due to the heat-trapping greenhouse gases humanity continues to emit.

Read more:
Global heating may breach 1.5°C in 2024 – here’s what that could look like

Laure Poncet receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Andrew King receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Environmental Science Program.

– ref. What we know about last year’s top 10 wild Australian climatic events – from fire and flood combos to cyclone-driven extreme rain – https://theconversation.com/what-we-know-about-last-years-top-10-wild-australian-climatic-events-from-fire-and-flood-combos-to-cyclone-driven-extreme-rain-224614

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Treadwell, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Auckland University of Technology

If journalism in Western democracies has been on a roller coaster in recent decades, in Aotearoa New Zealand this week it threatened to come right off the rails.

Today’s shocking announcement by owners Warner Bros Discovery of the closure of Newshub by the end of June will leave only state-funded TVNZ and Whakaata Māori providing public-interest, free-to-air broadcast news.

The impact on the country’s already shrinking and fragile public sphere will be considerable, as yet another tranche of sacked New Zealand journalists goes looking for work.

Up to 350 jobs will go, about 200 of which are from the news operation.

The brutal nature of the decision, and the apparent disregard for affected staff, echoes the closure last year of Mediaworks’ Today FM radio station. It should be yet another wake-up call about the vulnerability of the country’s precious and struggling news media to global investment priorities.

Diversity and competition

The news media is core infrastructure for a democracy. Any attempt at a self-governing society requires a well-informed and, to some degree, unified public.

Today, we understand this to mean media that act as the conduit for a significant plurality of voices, ideas and political arguments. And a healthy and diverse media ecosystem is required to enable this.

Read more:
Closures, cuts, revival and rebirth: how COVID-19 reshaped the NZ media landscape in 2020

Yes, television is now less central to our wider, mobile-based news consumption. But to have just one prime-time mainstream television news service for the entire country is a disaster.

TVNZ on its own will not be able to reflect the complex, multicultural and socially diverse country New Zealand is. Neither will it have the competition essential to doing its best work on behalf of the public.

And yet, despite warnings sounded since the internet began to erode news media income, the public sphere has been left to the vagaries of global markets – even more than other socially critical sectors such as education and health.

Loss of trust

Discovery New Zealand made after-tax losses in 2022 of more than NZ$34 million, up $800,000 on the previous year. Hence the decision of its owner, global media behemoth Warner Bros Discovery, to take out another foundation of the already teetering local news industry.

Politicians murmur about how terrible it is, but argue they can do nothing to save Newshub. The impacts of that impotence are as significant as any other challenge the local media face.

Broadcasting minister Melissa Lee today said there would be no loss of plurality in the national conversation because of the closure. She said most New Zealanders now get their news on mobile phones.

Read more:
Is Winston Peters right to call state-funded journalism ‘bribery’ – or is there a bigger threat to democracy?

But television news also relies on social media, not just the airwaves, for its dissemination. If people are looking on their phones for news, the stories from one of the country’s most impactful newsrooms will no longer be there.

Emergency funding through the government’s $55 million public-interest journalism fund helped during the pandemic lockdowns. But it also triggered allegations from right-wing pundits and politicians that the media had been bought.

Research conducted at the Centre for Media, Journalism and Democracy (JMAD) shows public trust in news is falling dramatically in Aotearoa New Zealand. Early results from this work in 2024 show that decline is accelerating.

The reasons for this loss of trust are complex and are under further study at JMAD. Indeed, the news media itself must look long in the mirror as it works through its trust issues. How did it lose the audience so badly?

But any attempts at rebuilding that trust and its role in a functioning democracy will be futile if the public perceives the production of news to be now largely controlled by self-interested global corporates.

Read more:
‘Let them watch Netflix’ – what can be salvaged from the wreckage of the failed TVNZ-RNZ merger?

Journalism as a public good

Poor media literacy, active conspiracy theorists, and decades of underfunding of journalism have likely all contributed to the increasing rejection of mainstream news media.

However, it would be foolish to think trust in democratic media can be rebuilt when the industrial forces behind it have only a financialised interest. If news is the daily record of human life, how can it be left to something as remote and disinterested as a global corporation?

None of this is to say the mainstream media should be viewed as entirely trustworthy. Some scepticism of everything, including news, is healthy in a democracy. We need critically thinking and politically active citizens challenging many things, including mainstream media news agendas.

But those serious about democracy understand the mainstream is where society is anchored, stable and productive.

The dangers of an increasingly fragmented and reduced mainstream media are real. It includes leaving open ground for radicalised actors to occupy and facilitate further social disharmony. If things fall apart and the centre cannot hold, as the poet Yeats put it, “mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”.

The time to restore journalism as a public good and not simply a plaything for shareholders and other investors is overdue. The news in Aotearoa New Zealand today simply confirms that.

Dr Greg Treadwell is a former journalist who works at Auckland University of Technology and is a researcher in its Centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy. He is currently vice-president of the Journalism Education Association of New Zealand.

– ref. With the end of Newshub, the slippery slope just got steeper for NZ journalism and democracy – https://theconversation.com/with-the-end-of-newshub-the-slippery-slope-just-got-steeper-for-nz-journalism-and-democracy-224625

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania

Victorians were braced for the worst on Wednesday amid soaring temperatures and gusty winds, creating the state’s worst fire conditions in years. Authorities have declared a “catastrophic” fire risk in some parts of the state.

At the time of writing, the Bayindeen bushfire near Ballarat was still burning out of control, almost a week after it began. It had razed 21,300 hectares, destroyed six homes and killed livestock. And more than 30,000 people in high-risk areas between Ballarat and Ararat had reportedly been told to leave their homes.

This statewide emergency is noteworthy for several reasons. First, it represent a big test of Australia’s updated fire danger rating system. The new version adopted in 2022 dictates that if a fire takes hold under catastrophic conditions, people should leave an area rather than shelter in place or stay defend their homes.

The second point to note is the timing: late February, when many Australians probably thought the worst of the bushfire season was over. Climate change is bringing not just more frequent and severe fires, but longer fire seasons. That means we must stay on heightened alert for much longer than in the past.

Under catastrophic conditions, leave

The current Australian Fire Danger Rating System was implemented in September 2022. It’s a nationally consistent system based on the latest scientific research.

Authorities hope the system will more accurately predict fire danger. It was also designed to more clearly communicate the danger rating to the public. For example, it involves just four danger ratings, compared to the previous six under the old Victorian regime.

“Catastrophic” fire danger – previously “code red” in Victoria – represents the worst conditions. The main message for the public under these conditions is:

If a fire starts and takes hold, lives are likely to be lost. For your survival leave bushfire risk areas.

Under catastrophic conditions, people are advised to move to a safer location early in the morning or even the day before. Authorities warn “homes cannot withstand fires in these conditions. You may not be able to leave, and help may not be available”.

Lessons from Black Saturday

Australia’s previous fire danger rating system was developed in the 1960s and was formally known as the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index. It initially comprised five risk levels ranging from low-moderate to extreme. However, states were free to adapt the system to their needs, including adding extra categories.

The devastating 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria killed 173 people. Many people died after staying to defend their properties.

The tragedy prompted scrutiny of the fire danger ratings system in Victoria and the “code red” category was added. The message under those conditions was that those living in a bushfire-prone area should leave. The first code red was declared in 2010, then another in 2019.

That system was replaced by the national system in 2022.

Read more:
Our planet is burning in unexpected ways – here’s how we can protect people and nature

Don’t stay and defend

Under the current fire danger rating system, catastrophic conditions mean everyone should leave an area. The leave orders currently issued in Victoria cover many thousands of people, and represent a big test of this advice.

We don’t yet know how many people will heed the advice of authorities. However, at least some people have reportedly decided to stay and defend their properties.

If thousands of others do flee, what will result? Will rural roads be blocked? Do we have the infrastructure to temporarily house all those evacuees? Whether or not the fire situation escalates on Wednesday, there will be much to learn about how we deal with such threats.

Certainly, it’s prudent for people in high-risk areas to leave. In hot, windy conditions, a fire could erupt and take hold in minutes. The collapse of electricity transmission towers in Victoria last week showed the vulnerability of such infrastructure in high winds. It doesn’t take long for downed power lines to ignite the surrounding bush.

Is there an potential alternative to the mass relocation of people in response to a major fire risk? Yes: building communities that are sufficiently fire-proofed to withstand catastrophic fire weather.

This could be achieved through adaptation measures such as building fire bunkers and specially-designed houses. It would also involve carefully managed bushland and creating fire breaks by planting non-flammable plants. It may also include targeted cultural burning by Traditional Owners. These options require further discussion and research.

Read more:
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Our fire seasons are getting longer

The current emergency in Victoria shows how Australia’s fire seasons are changing.

It’s late February and summer is almost over. The kids are back at school and the adults are back at work. It seemed southeast Australia had escaped the bad fire summer that many had feared. Few people expected this late-season emergency.

But as climate change escalates, we must expect the unexpected. In a fire-prone continent such as Australia, we can never relax in a warming world. We must be in a constant, heightened state of preparedness.

That means know your risk and prepare your home. Draw up a bushfire survival plan – think about details such as what to do with pets and who will check on vulnerable neighbours. And please, heed the advice of authorities.

David Bowman receives funding from the Australian Research Council, New South Wales Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre and Natural Hazards Research Australia.

– ref. Victoria’s fire alert has knocked Australians out of complacency. Under climate change, catastrophic bushfires can strike any time – https://theconversation.com/victorias-fire-alert-has-knocked-australians-out-of-complacency-under-climate-change-catastrophic-bushfires-can-strike-any-time-224636

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland

If you believe Newspoll and the Australian Financial Review, Australia wants to go nuclear – as long it’s small.

Newspoll this week suggests a majority of us are in favour of building small modular nuclear reactors. A poll of Australian Financial Review readers last year told a similar story.

These polls (and a more general question about nuclear power in a Resolve poll for Nine newspapers this week) come after a concerted effort by the Coalition to normalise talking about nuclear power – specifically, the small, modular kind that’s meant to be cheaper and safer. Unfortunately, while small reactors have been around for decades, they are generally costlier than larger reactors with a similar design. This reflects the economies of size associated with larger boilers.

The hope (and it’s still only a hope) is “modular” design will permit reactors to be built in factories in large numbers (and therefore at low cost), then shipped to the sites where they are installed.

Coalition enthusiasm for talking about small modular reactors has not been dented by the failure of the only serious proposal to build them: that of NuScale, a company that designs and markets these reactors in the United States. Faced with long delays and increases in the projected costs of the Voygr reactor, the intended buyers, a group of municipal power utilities, pulled the plug. The project had a decade of development behind it but had not even reached prototype stage.

Other proposals to build small modular reactors abound but none are likely to be constructed anywhere before the mid-2030s, if at all. Even if they work as planned (a big if), they will arrive too late to replace coal power in Australia. So Opposition Leader Peter Dutton needs to put up a detailed plan for how he would deliver nuclear power in time.

Read more:
Is nuclear the answer to Australia’s climate crisis?

So why would Australians support nuclear?

It is worth looking at the claim that Australians support nuclear power. This was the question the Newspoll asked:

There is a proposal to build several small modular nuclear reactors around Australia to produce zero-emissions energy on the sites of existing coal-fired power stations once they are retired. Do you approve or disapprove of this proposal?

This question assumes two things. First, that small modular reactors exist. Second, that someone is proposing to build and operate them, presumably expecting they can do so at a cost low enough to compete with alternative energy sources.

Unfortunately, neither is true. Nuclear-generated power costs up to ten times as much as solar and wind energy. A more accurate phrasing of the question would be:

There is a proposal to keep coal-fired power stations operating until the development of small modular reactors which might, in the future, supply zero-emissions energy. Do you approve or disapprove of this proposal?

It seems unlikely such a proposal would gain majority support.

Read more:
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Building nuclear takes a long time

When we consider the timeline for existing reactor projects, the difficulties with nuclear power come into sharp focus.

As National Party Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie has pointed out, the most successful recent implementation of nuclear power has been in the United Arab Emirates. In 2008, the UAE president (and emir of Abi Dhabi), Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, announced a plan to build four nuclear reactors. Construction started in 2012. The last reactor is about to be connected to the grid, 16 years after the project was announced.

The UAE’s performance is better than that achieved recently in Western countries including the US, UK, France and Finland.

In 16 years’ time, by 2040, most of Australia’s remaining coal-fired power stations will have shut down. Suppose the Coalition gained office in 2025 on a program of advocating nuclear power and managed to pass the necessary legislation in 2026. If we could match the pace of the UAE, nuclear power stations would start coming online just in time to replace them.

If we spent three to five years discussing the issue, then matched the UAE schedule, the plants would arrive too late.

Read more:
Dutton wants Australia to join the “nuclear renaissance” – but this dream has failed before

It would take longer in Australia

Would it be possible to match the UAE schedule? The UAE had no need to pass legislation: it doesn’t have a parliament like ours, let alone a Senate that can obstruct government legislation. The necessary institutions, including a regulatory commission and a publicly owned nuclear power firm, were established by decree.

There were no problems with site selection, not to mention environmental impact statements and court actions. The site at Barakah was conveniently located on an almost uninhabited stretch of desert coastline, but still close enough to the main population centres to permit a connection to transmission lines, access for workers, and so on. There’s nowhere in Australia’s eastern states (where the power is needed) that matches that description.

Finally, there are no problems with strikes or union demands: both are illegal in the UAE. Foreign workers with even less rights than Emirati citizens did almost all the construction work.

Despite all these advantages, the UAE has not gone any further with nuclear power. Instead of building more reactors after the first four, it’s investing massively in solar power and battery storage.

Read more:
Climate minister Chris Bowen says replacing coal-fired power stations with nuclear would cost $387 billion

Time to start work is running out

The Coalition began calling for a “mature debate” on nuclear immediately after losing office.

But it’s now too late for discussion. If Australia is to replace any of our retiring coal-fired power stations with nuclear reactors, Dutton must commit to this goal before the 2025 election.

Talk about hypothetical future technologies is, at this point, nothing more than a distraction. If Dutton is serious about nuclear power in Australia, he needs to put forward a plan now. It must spell out a realistic timeline that includes the establishment of necessary regulation, the required funding model and the sites to be considered.

In summary, it’s time to put up or shut up.

John Quiggin 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. Dutton wants a ‘mature debate’ about nuclear power. By the time we’ve had one, new plants will be too late to replace coal – https://theconversation.com/dutton-wants-a-mature-debate-about-nuclear-power-by-the-time-weve-had-one-new-plants-will-be-too-late-to-replace-coal-224513

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Blythe Worthy, PhD Candidate, The University of Sydney, University of Sydney

In Justine Triet’s French legal drama Anatomy of a Fall, novelist Sandra Voyter (Sandra Hüller) is on trial for murdering her husband, Samuel (Samuel Theis), after he falls to his death from the attic of their Grenoble home.

During an early interview with her lawyer Vincent (Swann Arlaud), Sandra holds up her hand abruptly and utters “stop”. She’s a successful writer, used to being in control of the story – and she’s stopping this one before it goes any further.

Sandra’s hand hovers in front of Vincent, and it shakes with emotion. “I did not kill him,” she asserts. “That’s not the point,” her lawyer replies.

Vincent’s suggestion that the truth of Samuel’s death is unimportant is a tragic forecast. As Anatomy of a Fall unfolds and Sandra is scrutinised in court, Triet channels a forensic evisceration of the patriarchy against the backdrop of the French legal system to explore anti-feminist backlash and the rising tensions around gender parity in the modern family.

Finding the story underneath

Sandra is a strikingly unique character. As her trial progresses, Sandra’s grief is overlooked as Vincent and the court probe her personal life. Often, when she is pressed on her relationship, Sandra loudly clears the phlegm from her throat to mask rising emotion.

Rushed into her defence and not able to grieve, Sandra struggles with her emotions, concealing them whenever possible. When comforting her bedridden son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), she appeals to his sense of reason instead of emotion – despite speaking with a wavering voice. When nothing elicits a reaction, she shrugs and allows his godmother Monica (Sophie Fillières) to take her place.

Sandra is unabashed about prioritising her ambition alongside domestic labour and family responsibilities. She also places her own emotional wellbeing first. During the year her son is recovering from an accident which leaves him partially blind, she is revealed to have had several affairs with women in order to stay afloat emotionally. Speaking about these infidelities in court, Sandra is matter-of-fact, unremorseful about hurting her husband to protect herself.

Hüller plays Sandra with a naturalism aided by minimal makeup and simple costuming. Triet developed the script for the actress, and calls Hüller “honest” and her portrayal of Sandra “ungraspable”. This slipperiness – in portrayal and characterisation – shows Sandra as a dynamic, flawed creature. Triet showcases this nuanced portrayal via strategically shallow lensing and the occasional close up when framing Hüller, foregrounding the drama of her micro-expressions.

In one scene, blood rushes up Sandra’s neck and face during an argument with Samuel. He insists he performs the majority of their domestic labour and can’t focus on his writing. Her expression ripples, muscles in her neck contorting. She labels him a victim of his own making, before striking him on the face.

Read more:
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A woman’s place

Anatomy of a Fall begins with Samuel being found dead by Daniel. Police retrieve damning audio of an argument between the couple from Samuel’s computer, and Sandra is arrested for murder.

Placed on trial opposite a formidable state prosecutor, played by Antoine Reinartz, Sandra’s initial suggestion that Samuel died by suicide is dismissed. The prosecutor attempts to discredit Sandra as a selfish and unfeeling partner who cuckolded her husband and stole his ideas for her novel.

The trial begins with a thorough examination of Sandra’s sexual orientation and maternal instinct in order to isolate her. The prosecutor signals doubt over Daniel’s testimony, attempting to separate Sandra from her only ally.

Despite its firm feminist history, sexism is on the rise in France. Triet explores this issue through the sustained attacks male characters direct at Sandra’s nontraditional lifestyle choices. The state prosecutor, defending his right to speak for Samuel’s absent voice, reiterates Samuel’s accusations surrounding Sandra’s success that verge into gaslighting.

The case reaches its crescendo via the audio recording of the fight, in which a tearful Samuel demands Sandra take more domestic responsibility to give him time to write. Stoic, she refuses.

The prosecutor frames Sandra as a time-greedy novelist with disdain for her family obligations. But Triet suggests another perspective: Sandra is a woman who has been dragged from her beloved London by the man she loves and stuck in an isolated house in a country where she doesn’t speak the language. She helps to take care of her son, and enjoys her work because she’s good at it and it makes her happy. Why should she give it up?

The gendered lens of domestic labour

Triet flips the traditional roles in Anatomy of a Fall. Samuel is the homemaker while Sandra performs traditionally masculine roles as the more confident, career-focused family member.

Through the inversion of these roles, Triet explores the persistence of patriarchal attitudes to women in the labour market. The director critiques the traditional notion of a woman’s place as being in the home via Sandra’s disinterest in playing the self-sacrificial role of homemaker Samuel seems desperate for her to take.

While one might initially see Sandra as an overworked mother in a co-parenting relationship with the usual financial and time management problems, she is slowly revealed as the less skillful parent: Samuel is more suited to homeschooling, comforting and supporting their son, no matter the extenuating circumstances. His distaste at this role reveals the incongruity of insisting Sandra take his place.

Especially in the post-COVID era, where so many now work from home, Triet’s reversal of the familiarly gendered lens of domestic labour forms a timely critique. When viewed from this perspective Sandra’s earlier “stop” hand signal feels less like a threat than a plea for clemency.

Read more:
How Anatomy of a Fall reversed French art cinema’s box office decline

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

– ref. What is the role of the mother? At the heart of Anatomy of a Fall is a critique of anti-feminist backlash – https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-role-of-the-mother-at-the-heart-of-anatomy-of-a-fall-is-a-critique-of-anti-feminist-backlash-224139

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Maxwell, Associate Professor in Performance Studies, University of Sydney

Over five engaging and enjoyable hours, the Lewis Trilogy, three works by Lewis Nowra, works insistently to convince its audience it is about love. Love that overcomes, that transcends, that is everything. And there certainly is a lot of love in the room.

Love for outsiders: battered and ruined families scraping sullen lives in the post-war badlands of a northern Melbourne housing commission estate; the dislocated, disjointed patients of a psychiatric institution muddling their way through rehearsals for Mozart’s Cosi fan tutti; flotsam and jetsam misfits carving out a place to belong in the front bar of a harbourside hotel.

Love for theatre: the sharing of stories in a strange little room, an irregular rhomboid set between the steep rakes of benched seating: 120 souls packed in tight, thankful for the companionship (and air conditioning), celebrating the work.

The love of a playwright for his characters. And the love of a man for a woman. Or for many women: “I was”, the narrator reflects at one point, “between divorces”.

Read more:
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A dream to do something

Louis Nowra is one of the most significant Australian playwrights of the past 40 years. His work stretches form and convention beyond realism towards a heightened theatrical lyricism, never losing sight of the textures and cadences of the world.

Under the direction of Declan Greene, each play in the trilogy has been trimmed to around 90 minutes. Summer of the Aliens (1992) is first: a coming-of-age drama, a guileless theatre à clef narrated by William Zappa’s warmly-rendered old Lewis, unfolding on the appropriately arid, unadorned boards of the stage, over which looms a flickering cinema hoarding touting a Cold War sci-fi alien invasion film.

The action centres on the friendship of the young Lewis (Philip Lynch) with the precociously worldly — and, as we discover, sexually-abused – Dulcie (Masego Pitso), starting with play wrestling and culminating in a booze-fuelled break-in at the local RSL club. Both dream of something more: to sprout angel wings, to be kidnapped by aliens, to get away.

To do something, to be somewhere other than there.

The second play, Cosi (1992), is the most conventionally accomplished of the three. Young Lewis is now an arts graduate and sometime political activist, taking on his first job: directing an opera in an asylum.

Nowra’s writing here is at its most assured. Even in the relatively shortened form, the dramaturgy is assured, the dramatic arc solid. The chaotic menagerie of recovering junkies, pyromaniacs, narcissists and all but catatonics resolves into a sublime, show-stopping set-piece performance of operatic highlights.

Finally, the most explicitly reflexive and formally adventurous of the plays, 2017’s This Much is True.

A more-than-affectionate love letter, a late-in-life coming of age story, as the old Lewis (Zappa again) finds his people: a picaresque assemblage of character sketches (the pub itself one of them) and story shards woven into a narrative of loss, yearning, betrayal and redemption.

Old Lewis, now a full-blown character in the world he narrates, explains: when people know that you are a writer, they bring their stories to you. It’s almost an apology for the frenetic, episodic magic realism that has unfolded. This perhaps unreliable narrator assures us, though, that the stories were the ones he had heard about and experienced:

Some of you may think they’re exaggerated, but we locals think otherwise.

A span of life

As relentless as the insistence on love is the insistence of time. The five hours are bracketed by repeated tones, a metabolic rhythm as implacable as a metronome, the tympanic beating of an angiogram. A coiling: love and time; time and love. Themes of death, loss and regret press and surge, pushing back, hard, against the simplicity of the promise of love.

The plays chart a span of life; spending a day in the theatre with the plays redoubles the palpability of time itself. We – the audience – dwell in the power of theatre to immerse us in place and time. Between plays we sit on the kerb outside, have a coffee at a local café, a bowl of pasta or salad, return and smile at our fellow audience members. We move around the theatre, choosing different seats for each play.

We follow the actors as they move through different roles, catching echoes and tensions across the casting: Paul Capsis tears it up as a series of wild-eyed clowns; Thomas Campbell finds pathos and subtle variations through a motley collection of blokes (and others).

Ursula Yovich is utterly compelling, first as young Lewis’ grandmother, then as an adoring psychiatric patient, and finally as a standover man. Her presence on stage gently but unmistakably alerts us to the absence of First Nations people in a play cycle so concerned with place, community and belonging.

Lynch is extraordinary as the young Lewis in the first two plays: a glorious portrait of a young man finding his feet.

Pitso, though, has the toughest gig: first as young Dulcie, then as a recovering junkie, and finally as a philosophy student working as a barmaid in the Rising Sun Hotel. The burden of Lewis’ yearning, regret and, yes, love, falls on these characters’ shoulders.

In a rewriting of the final scene, Nowra has crafted a more emphatic narrative arc, binding the trilogy all the more tightly together: Dulcie, old Lewis explains, was something like the one true love. It was always Dulcie for whom he was looking, who he needed to save.

A neat piece of dramaturgy, but, for me, something of a deflation after an otherwise deeply, resonatingly rich immersion.

The Lewis Trilogy is a Griffin Theatre Company until 21 April.

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

– ref. The Lewis Trilogy is ultimately about a love for theatre: the sharing of stories in a strange little room – https://theconversation.com/the-lewis-trilogy-is-ultimately-about-a-love-for-theatre-the-sharing-of-stories-in-a-strange-little-room-222153

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily O’Hara, Senior Lecturer, Spatial Design + Temporary Practices, Auckland University of Technology

If you find it intriguing that February 28 will be followed this week by February 29, rather than March 1 as it usually is, spare a thought for those alive in 1582. Back then, Thursday October 4 was followed by Friday October 15.

Ten whole days were snatched from the present when Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull to “restore” the calendar from discrepancies that had crept into the Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE.

The new Gregorian calendar returned the northern hemisphere’s vernal equinox to its “proper” place, around March 21. (The equinox is when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, and is used to determine the date of Easter.)

The Julian calendar had observed a leap year every four years, but this meant time had drifted out of alignment with the dates of celestial events and astronomical seasons.

In the Gregorian calendar, leap days were added only to years that were a multiple of four – like 2024 – with an exception for years that were evenly divisible by 100, but not 400 – like 1700.

Simply put, leap days exist because it doesn’t take a neat 365 days for Earth to orbit the Sun. It takes 365.2422 days. Tracking the movement of celestial objects through space in an orderly pattern doesn’t quite work, which is why we have February – time’s great mop.

Time and space

This is just part of the history of how February – the shortest month, and originally the last month in the Roman calendar – came to have the job of absorbing those inconsistencies in the temporal calculations of the world’s most commonly used calendar.

There is plenty of science, maths and astrophysics explaining the relationship between time and the planet we live on. But I like to think leap years and days offer something even more interesting to consider: why do we have calendars anyway?

And what have they got to do with how we understand the wonder and strangeness of our existence in the universe? Because calendars tell a story, not just about time, but also about space.

Our reckoning of time on Earth is through our spatial relationship to the Sun, Moon and stars. Time, and its place in our lives, sits somewhere between the scientific, the celestial and the spiritual.

Read more:
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It is notoriously slippery, subjective and experiential. It is also marked, tracked and determined in myriad ways across different cultures, from tropical to solar to lunar calendars.

It is the Sun that measures a day and gives us our first reference point for understanding time. But it is the Moon, as a major celestial body, that extends our perception of time. By stretching a span of one day into something longer, it offers us a chance for philosophical reflection.

The Sun (or its effect at least) is either present or not present. The Moon, however, goes through phases of transformation. It appears and disappears, changing shape and hinting that one night is not exactly like the one before or after.

The Moon also has a distinct rhythm that can be tracked and understood as a pattern, giving us another sense of duration. Time is just that – overlapping durations: instants, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, lifetimes, centuries, ages.

The elusive Moon

It is almost impossible to imagine how time might feel in the absence of all the tools and gadgets we use to track, control and corral it. But it’s also hard to know what we might do in the absence of time as a unit of productivity – a measurable, dispensable resource.

The closest we might come is simply to imagine what life might feel like in the absence of the Moon. Each day would rise and fall, in a rhythm of its own, but without visible reference to anything else. Just endless shifts from light to dark.

Nights would be almost completely dark without the light of the Moon. Only stars at a much further distance would puncture the inky sky. The world around us would change – trees would grow, mammals would age and die, land masses would shift and change – but all would happen in an endless cycle of sunrise to sunset.

Read more:
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The light from the Sun takes eight minutes to reach Earth, so the sunlight we see is always eight minutes in the past.

I remember sitting outside when I first learned this, and wondering what the temporal delay might be between me and other objects: a plum tree, trees at the end of the street, hills in the distance, light on the horizon when looking out over the ocean, stars in the night sky.

Moonlight, for reference, takes about 1.3 seconds to get to Earth. Light always travels at the same speed, it is entirely constant. The differing duration between how long it takes for sunlight or moonlight to reach the Earth is determined by the space in between.

Time on the other hand, is anything but constant. There are countless ways we characterise it. The mere fact we have so many calendars and ways of describing perceptual time hints at our inability to pin it down.

Calendars give us the impression we can, and have, made time predictable and understandable. Leap years, days and seconds serve as a periodic reminder that we haven’t.

Emily O’Hara 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. Leap of imagination: how February 29 reminds us of our mysterious relationship with time and space – https://theconversation.com/leap-of-imagination-how-february-29-reminds-us-of-our-mysterious-relationship-with-time-and-space-224503

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Digital Literacy and Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University

Smartphone ownership among younger children is increasing rapidly. Many primary school children now own smartphones and they have become the norm in high school.

Parents of younger children may occasionally (or routinely) look at their child’s phone to check it’s being used responsibly and safely.

But as children mature into teens, parental inspections will likely feel like an invasion of privacy. Many would not ask for a high schooler’s diary, yet phones hold even more personal information.

So, what do parents need to consider when making the “phone rules” for their children as they get older?

Read more:
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Early smartphone ownership

Parents get their younger children phones for many reasons. Some feel it will help keep kids safe when, for example, travelling on their own to and from school. Others have bought one after intense pressure from their child or worry their child will be left out socially if all their friends have a phone.

In my own research with parents, some also tell me they are reluctant to let their child use the parents’ phone for fear of risking important work files or information stored on the phone.

But many parents also worry getting a phone early might encourage phone addiction, or that a child might be accessing adult content.

Parental guidance for this age group tends to focus on safety, which usually includes checking the child’s phone activity (with or without the child’s knowledge), restricting access through passwords or time limits.

Parents understandably want their children to be safe. Monitoring may be part of this, but it’s not the whole story. Most important is our role in equipping children to make good, independent and responsible decisions with their phone.

This means teaching children a broader set of skills about how to use phones safely and in a way that maximises potential for learning, connection and self-expression.

Education and open dialogue about phone safety should begin the day your child gets their phone and continue as they grow.

The focus should be on problem-solving together and respectfully. This is what will empower them to self-regulate appropriately as they grow.

A phased approach: laying the groundwork early

In the first year of a younger child owning a phone, the focus should be on safety.

This may include controls, restrictions and monitoring, but does not necessarily need to include phone checking. Establishing the rules on safety and wellbeing for using the phone is key.

This means talking to your children about how and when they use their phone, why they shouldn’t answer unknown texts and calls, beware of giving out personal information online, and about being kind online. Let your children know they can always talk to you if they have a weird or bad experience online.

Parents should also focus on bigger picture safety and digital habits education. This can include, for example:

• reviewing privacy and app settings together

• understanding screen time features and how to use them

• learning how routines such as reaching for the phone when you wake can have a negative impact.

Look for quality apps together that your child may enjoy or benefit from, such as productivity apps, creative or problem solving games, music or science-based games or other apps that will help develop their interests and life skills.

Trial and test apps or games together with your child to see how they work.

Adapting the approach as children mature

As children mature, parental guidance also needs to change alongside it.

After about 12 months of the child’s phone ownership (give or take), checking phones needs to fade, and ongoing open communication needs to become the mainstay.

At this older stage, parents should have frequent, open discussions with their children about online safety, respect and responsibility. Ask your child questions about their phone experiences and always encourage them to ask for help in difficult situations.

Parents may also trial new ways of using the phone or certain apps together with their child. For example, the child and parent can use the screentime feature to discuss, and be aware of, their developing phone habits. It may also include learning to use the camera and its features well or trying new apps (such as a creative drawing app) that allow them to explore a new interest.

Help your child work out which habits work for them and which ones seem to cause stress. For example, if your child is on a WhatsApp group with friends and classmates, is that causing stress or worry? Talk to them about how they can handle it if they or a classmate are being talked about in the group chat.

The risk of routinely checking a teen’s phone is that it may end up fostering mistrust between parent and child. Regular conversations about phone and online safety, and discussing news articles on the topic are two ways of keeping safety front and centre. This helps promote good communication and trust.

Alleviating fear and worry

Taking a phased approach helps your child develop the skills and values they need to be able to make good, independent decisions.

Some children may need more or less than 12 months in the stricter hands-on initial phase. Much depends on their maturity, the home environment and their social world.

But taking a broader and adaptable approach will also help a parent better understand their child as a phone user.

This can help alleviate the fear and worry many parents have about phones and kids.

Read more:
Kids’ screen time rose by 50% during the pandemic. 3 tips for the whole family to bring it back down

Joanne Orlando receives funding from Office of eSafety Commissioner for funded research on online safety for 10–13 year olds.

– ref. Should you be checking your kid’s phone? How to know when your child is ready for ‘phone privacy’ – https://theconversation.com/should-you-be-checking-your-kids-phone-how-to-know-when-your-child-is-ready-for-phone-privacy-223190

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University

Independent MP for Indi Helen Haines has introduced a private member’s bill to crack down on pork-barrelling.

Haines has argued pork-barrelling is happening right now ahead of the Dunkley byelection on March 2, where Labor is splashing out money hoping to retain the seat.

Without government or opposition support, the bill is unlikely to pass. But it puts the issue of pork-barrelling in the public eye. So would the proposed measures work?

How common is pork-barrelling in Australia?

Pork-barrelling involves governments channelling public funds to seats they hold and wish to retain, or seats they would like to win from an opponent, as a way of winning voters’ favour. This means the money is used for political purposes, rather than proper allocation according to merit.

We have been inundated with pork-barrelling scandals in recent years. This includes the car park rorts scandal, where 77% of the commuter car park sites selected were in electorates held by the then Coalition government, rather than in areas of real need with congestion issues.

This followed close on the heels of the “sports rorts” scandal. Bridget McKenzie resigned from cabinet following allegations she had intervened in the sport grants program to benefit the Coalition government while in a position of conflict of interest.

Read more:
The ‘car park rorts’ story is scandalous. But it will keep happening unless we close grant loopholes

My journal article shows pork-barrelling is an intractable problem across multiple governments over many decades and takes different forms based on electoral systems.

Australia has a single-member electorate parliamentary system, which makes it more susceptible to pork-barrelling than multi-member electorates such as Norway or Spain.

The belief is that politicians who “bring home the bacon” for their constituents are electorally rewarded for doing so.

This means a government has an incentive to strategically apportion benefits to marginal electorates to increase prospects of electoral success. There is also an incentive to bias the apportionment of funds towards electorates held by the party in power.

In short, rorts scandals keep happening because governments believe channelling money to marginal and government electorates will win them elections.

Read more:
Pork-barrelling is unfair and wasteful. Here’s a plan to end it

What does the Haines bill do?

The Haines bill requires all grant programs to have clear and publicly available, merit-based selection criteria and guidelines.

Second, the bill ensures robust reporting to the parliament about what grants are awarded, to whom and why. This includes requirements for ministers to report to parliament in a timely manner when they’ve gone against official advice from government departments about who should receive grants.

Third, the bill creates a new Joint Parliamentary Committee on Grants Administration and Investment Mandates. This committee would oversee grants administration, including compliance with guidelines.

Will this bill fix our broken system?

My article has argued that stronger legal accountability is needed to hold ministers responsible for the biased allocation of grants.

The bill seeks to enhance transparency by requiring stronger parliamentary disclosure of the allocation of grants.

A joint parliamentary committee would also increase scrutiny and accountability over grants administration.

But the bill does not go far enough in terms of enforcement. There should be penalties for breaches of grant rules. And these should be enforceable by an external scrutineer, such as an independent commissioner.

Without strong enforcement, existing laws will be deficient in preventing, deterring and punishing governments that allocate grant funding in a partisan fashion, rather than on merit.

Ensuring proper use of public money is crucial to preserving public trust in Australian democratic institutions. To improve accountability for the use of public funding, we need stronger and legally enforceable rules and regulations.

Yee-Fui Ng 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. Independent MP Helen Haines has a plan to stamp out pork-barrelling. Would it work? – https://theconversation.com/independent-mp-helen-haines-has-a-plan-to-stamp-out-pork-barrelling-would-it-work-224514

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Peterie, Research Fellow, Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, University of Sydney

Have you ever felt a sudden pang of sadness? A bird seems to stop and look you in the eye. A photo drops out of a messy drawer from long ago, in the mundanity of a weekend spring clean.

Your day is immediately derailed, unsettled. You are pulled into something you thought was past. And yet, in being pulled back, you are grateful, reconnected, and grief-stricken all over again.

“You’ll get over it”. “Give it time”. “You need time to move on”. These are common cultural refrains in the face of loss. But what if grief doesn’t play by the rules? What if grief is a different thing altogether?

We talked to 95 people about their experiences of grief surrounding the loss of a loved one, and their stories provided a fundamentally different account of grief to the one often presented to us culturally.

Read more:
Not all mourning happens after bereavement – for some, grief can start years before the death of a loved one

Disordered grief?

Grief is often imagined as a time-bound period in which one processes the pain of loss – that is, adjusts to absence and works toward “moving on”. The bereaved are expected to process their pain within the confines of what society deems “normal”.

The DSM-5 psychiatric manual says if grief drags on too long, in fact, it becomes a pathology (a condition with a medical diagnosis). “Prolonged grief disorder” is the name given to “persistent difficulties associated with bereavement that exceeded expected social, cultural, or religious expectations”.

While there can be value in clinical diagnostic categories such as this, the danger is they put artificial boundaries around emotions. The pathologisation of grief can be deeply alienating to those experiencing it, for whom the pressure to “move on” can be hurtful and counterproductive.

The stories we gathered in our research were raw, complex and often fraught. They did not sit comfortably with commonsense understandings of how grief “should” progress. As bereaved daughter Barbara told us:

Grief is not in the little box, it doesn’t even come close to a little box.

Grief starts early

The tendency is to think of grief as something that happens post death. The person we love dies, we have a funeral, and the grief sets in. Then it slowly subsides with the steady march of time.

In fact, grief often begins earlier, often in a clinical consultation where the words “terminal” or “nothing more we can do” are used. Or when a loved one is told “go home and get your life in order”. Grief can begin months or even years before bereavement.

Read more:
Friday essay: homesick for ourselves – the hidden grief of ageing

As the people we interviewed experienced it, loss was also cumulative. The gradual deterioration of a loved one’s health in the years or months before their death imposed other painful losses: the loss of chosen lifestyles, the loss of longstanding relational rhythms, the loss of shared hopes and anticipated futures.

Many participants felt their loved ones – and, indeed, the lives they shared with them – slipping away long before their physical deaths.

Living with the dead

Yet the dead do not simply leave us. They remain with us, in memories, rituals and cultural events. From Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos to Japan’s Opon, festivals of the dead play a key role in cultures around the world. In that way, remembering the dead remains a critical aspect of living. So too does the ongoing experience of grief.

Events of this kind are not merely celebratory. They are critical forms through which life and death, joy and grief, are brought together and integrated. The absence of remembering can hold its own trouble, as our participants’ accounts revealed. As bereaved wife Anna explained:

I just find it really frustrating and I do get quite angry and upset sometimes. I know that life goes on. I’d be talking to girlfriends and stuff like that and it’s like they’ve forgotten that I’ve lost my husband. They haven’t, but nothing really changed in their life. But for me, and my family, it has.

Part of the problem, here, is the ambivalent role grief plays in advanced industrialised societies like ours. Many of our participants felt pressure to perform resilience or (in clinical terms) to “recover” quickly after loss.

But whose interests does a swift recovery serve? An employer’s? Friends who just want to get on with a death-free life? And, even more importantly, mightn’t ongoing connections with the dead enable better living? Might bringing the dead along with us actually make for better deaths and better lives?

Many of our participants felt their loved ones remained with them, and experienced their “absent presence” as a source of comfort. Grieving, in this context, involved spending time “with” the dead. Anna described her practice as follows:

I had a diary, so I just write stuff in it about how I’m feeling or something happened and I’ll say to [my deceased husband], it’s all to [my deceased husband], “Do you remember, blah, blah, blah.” I’ll just talk about that memory that I have of that particular time and I find that that helps.

Read more:
‘Why did he Leve Me?’ 5 things grieving children want to know about the death of a loved one

Caring for those who grieve

Grief does not begin at death, but neither do relationships end there.

To rush the bereaved through grief – to usher them towards “recovery” and the more comfortable territories of happiness and productivity – is to do them a disservice.

And, perhaps more critically, ridding our lives of the dead and grief may, in the end, make for more limited and muted emotional lives.

Michelle Peterie receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Alex Broom receives funding from the Australian Research Council

– ref. We talked to dozens of people about their experience of grief. Here’s what we learned (and how it’s different from what you might think) – https://theconversation.com/we-talked-to-dozens-of-people-about-their-experience-of-grief-heres-what-we-learned-and-how-its-different-from-what-you-might-think-223848