Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Trigg, Research Fellow in Public Health, Flinders University

You’ve dropped your daughter off at her friend’s house and while cleaning the car, you find what looks like a USB drive on the passenger seat. It’s a disposable vape.

You’ve seen the news. Vapes or e-cigarettes are harmful yet increasingly popular with people her age.

You call to ask if the vape’s hers. It is and she’s been vaping occasionally for a few weeks. You say you’ll talk about it later.

But what will you actually say?

Read more:
Should I give my teen alcohol? Just a sip, the whole can, or none at all?

1. Know your facts

It’s important to be across accurate and up-to-date information about vaping. Evidence-based resources for parents and carers in Australia include:

• the Lung Foundation’s evidence-based resources

• factsheets, videos and webinars from NSW Health that help dispel any misconceptions parents might have about vaping. This includes whether vapes are likely to contain nicotine and the accuracy of labelling

• Quit Victoria’s resources for parents and teens, including brief guides that cover the essentials on vaping, including busting a few myths.

A common theme across such resources for parents is to bring home the reality of vaping in terms of how many teens are actually doing it, what current health evidence shows, and why it’s more than just media coverage of incidents at schools.

In a nutshell, vapes are easy to access, teen vaping is common and it’s becoming normalised in this age group.

Our own unpublished research with young people aged 16-26, provides some insights. We’ve heard vaping called a “clean alternative” to smoking (it’s not), and a “social activity” at school or parties. One young participant has seen others “nic sick”, or nauseous from vaped nicotine.

There’s mounting evidence pointing to physical health harms and unknown mental health risks from vaping. There’s no reason for a teen to be vaping, even if adults might take this approach in quitting smoking. Many vapes contain nicotine, whatever the label says, with the potential for dependence or addiction.

Read more:
How can we reverse the vaping crisis among young Australians? Enforce the rules

2. Listen more than speak

It might be tempting to deliver a lecture on the dangers of vaping. But conversations are more likely to be effective if they are clear, open, and constructive, with thought about how to focus on discussing health harms.

So use some of these tips, based on ones from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation:

• approach the conversation calmly, during a shared activity, such as walking the dog

• consider questions your teen may ask, and how you want to respond

• don’t assume, avoid accusations, show trust

• no judging; really listen to their perspective (listen more than speak) and respect they have a different and unique worldview and opinions. Understand their social life and create an environment where they can discuss this with you

• don’t exaggerate, just stick to the facts. Remember, your teen may have already received vaping and health resources from school and be aware of the health impacts and uncertainties about long-term health risks of vaping

• tailor your discussion based on whether your teen vapes occasionally, is addicted and/or wants support to quit

• respect their privacy

• show that their health is your focus.

Read more:
A parent’s guide to why teens make bad decisions

3. Support quitting

But what if it’s gone beyond trying vaping, and your teen feels they have a dependency or addiction?

Services such as Quitline, which traditionally provide counselling for people wanting to stop smoking, are increasingly receiving calls from teens struggling with vaping-related nicotine dependence.

Parents can also call Quitline (phone: 13 78 48) to plan the conversation with a teenager about vaping. They can also contact a GP to help their teen treat nicotine dependence and related effects.

Extra resources about vaping for parents and teens are available in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Australia Capital Territory and Northern Territory.

Joshua Trigg receives funding from the Medical Research Future Fund, Flinders Foundation and The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre. He is a member of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs and Public Health Association of Australia. He has previously worked for Cancer Council South Australia.

Billie Bonevski receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, NSW Ministry of Health, the Hospital Research Foundation SA, Flinders Foundation. She is currently on the Executive Board of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) as Member Delegate for Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America.

– ref. My teen’s vaping. What should I say? 3 expert tips on how to approach ‘the talk’ – https://theconversation.com/my-teens-vaping-what-should-i-say-3-expert-tips-on-how-to-approach-the-talk-196205

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ivor Stuart, Fisheries ecologist, Charles Sturt University

With widespread La Niña flooding in the Murray-Darling Basin, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) populations are having a boom year. Videos of writhing masses of both adult and young fish illustrate that all is not well in our rivers. Carp now account for up to 90% of live fish mass in some rivers.

Concerned communities are wondering whether it is, at last, time for Australia to unleash the carp herpes virus to control populations – but the conversation among scientists, conservationists, communities and government bodies is only just beginning.

Globally, the carp virus has been detected in more than 30 countries but never in Australia. There are valid concerns to any future Australian release, including cleaning up dead carp, and potential significant reductions of water quality and native fish.

As river scientists and native fish lovers, let’s weigh the benefits of releasing the virus against the risks, set within a context of a greater vision of river recovery.

Read more:
Pest plants and animals cost Australia around $25 billion a year – and it will get worse

A house of horrors for rivers

Carp are a pest in Australia. They cause dramatic ecological damage both here and in many countries. Carp were first introduced in the 1800s but it was only with “the Boolarra strain” that populations exploded in the basin in the early 1970s.

Assisted by flooding in the 1970s, carp have since invaded 92% of all rivers and wetlands in their present geographic range. There have been estimates of up to 357 million fish during flood conditions. This year, this estimate may even be exceeded.

Carp are super-abundant right now because floods give them access to floodplain habitats. There, each large female can spawn millions of eggs and young have high survival rates. While numbers will decline as the floods subside, the number of juveniles presently entering back into rivers will be stupendous and may last years.

The impacts of carp are like a house of horrors for our rivers. They cause massive degradation of aquatic plants, riverbanks and riverbeds when they feed. They alter the habitat critical for small native fish, such as southern pygmy perch. And they can make the bed of many rivers look like the surface of golf balls – denuded and dimpled, devoid of any habitat.

Read more:
Before and after: see how bushfire and rain turned the Macquarie perch’s home to sludge

Most strikingly, this feeding behaviour contributes to turbid rivers, reducing sunlight penetration and productivity for native plants, fish and broader aquatic communities.

Carp truly are formidable “ecosystem engineers”, which means they directly modify their environment, much like rabbits. Their design leads to aquatic destruction of waterways.

We know when their “impact threshold” exceeds 88 kilograms per hectare of adult carp, we see declines in aquatic plant health, water quality, native fish numbers and other aquatic values. At present, we expect carp to far exceed this impact threshold. For river managers, the challenge is to keep numbers below that level.

The carp herpes virus

The carp virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 3) represents one of the only landscape-scale carp control options, although there are some exciting genetic modification technologies also emerging.

Mathematical modelling suggests the carp virus could cause a 40-60% knockdown for at least ten years, which may help tip the balance in favour of native fish. Certainly, there have been some well documented virus outbreaks in the United States resulting in large-scale carp deaths.

The risks and benefits of a potential Australian release of a carp virus are transparently addressed under the federal government’s National Carp Control Plan, released last year. This plan provides some sorely needed leadership in the carp management space.

Risks the plan identifies include:

• major logistic challenges in cleaning up dead carp
• potentially serious short-term deterioration in water quality
• potential native fish deaths due to poor water quality.

On the other hand, the benefits of releasing the virus include:

• recovery of aquatic biodiversity populations – fish, plants and invertebrates
• major long-term improvements to water quality
• improved social amenity of inland waterways.

As carp continue to destroy Australia’s riverine heritage, it’s time to lay our cards on the table and have a serious conversation about the carp virus. Managing expectations is a key and the confidence of stakeholders and the community is vital for its success.

Like rabbits and other vertebrate pests, carp are emblematic of our inability to deal with entrenched pest animals. There are no silver bullets.

Read more:
Australia’s smallest fish among 22 at risk of extinction within two decades

How else can we manage carp?

Rolling out the carp virus is only one potential pathway away from carp. If we truly want to reduce carp numbers and impacts in the long-term then we need to examine all the roles humans play supporting them.

For example, the series of weir pools in the lower Murray create perfect conditions for carp because they give fish access to floodplains year round.

Strategically lowering and removing weir pools to re-create flowing water habitats would be one solution to help Murray cod and other flowing water specialists, such as silver perch, river snails and Murray crays. This is one of many integrated actions that could help tip the balance against carp.

Also, floodplain structures (which create artificial “floods”) generate static, warm-bathtub conditions that carp, being from Central Asia, prefer, contributing to huge numbers especially in dry years. Few medium or large native fish benefit from these conditions.

Another pathway is to seek guidance from increasingly sophisticated environmental modelling, which can identify optimal population trajectories for native fish over carp.

Now the floods have returned, we need to move away from local decisions at the site-scale and instead manage ecosystems across the entire Murray-Darling Basin.

The present flooding also reminds us of the huge potential increases in the numbers of golden perch, frogs, yabbies and water birds. Animals that eat carp (Murray cod, golden perch, pelicans, cormorants) should all be as fat as can be.

Read more:
Floods can be a disaster for humans – but for nature, it’s boom time

Looking beyond carp

Just like the huge numbers of dead native fish from the Darling River fish kills in 2018-2019, the huge numbers of carp is a big wake-up call on the poor state of rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin and how we’re managing them.

Perhaps what has been missing from the whole conversation is a vision for what our rivers should look like in ten or 20 years time. We don’t want to leave a legacy of degraded rivers for future Australians.

River health is an issue all Australian’s, country and city, need to engage with. If we don’t identify a common purpose, then we will likely continue to remain in lock-step with the great armies of carp and rivers of fish kills for generations to come. We need to do better than this. The future of our rivers depends on it.

Ivor Stuart is a fisheries researcher at the Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University. He receives funding from the Australian Government to undertake fisheries research in the Murray-Darling Basin. Ivor worked on a national carp biomass estimate as part of the National Carp Control Plan.

John Koehn is an Adjunct Professor at the Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University. He currently receives no funding in relation from any organization in relation to this topic but has received funding for ecological research, scientific advice and population modelling for both carp and native fish in the past.

Katie Doyle is a Research Scientist within the Inland Fisheries Research Group, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University and receives funding from the Australian government through the Next Generation Water Management Hub to conduct research into pest fish management and the impacts of water infrastructure on freshwater ecosystems.

Lee Baumgartner is the Executive Director of the Gulbali Institute at Charles Sturt University. He receives funding from the Australian government and various private donors to undertake research into fisheries sustainability in the Murray-Darling Basin and the Lower Mekong region. He also serves as leader of the Inland Fisheries Research Group and director of the Next Generation Water Management Hub.

– ref. Exploding carp numbers are ‘like a house of horrors’ for our rivers. Is it time to unleash carp herpes? – https://theconversation.com/exploding-carp-numbers-are-like-a-house-of-horrors-for-our-rivers-is-it-time-to-unleash-carp-herpes-198067

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Stanford, Economist and Director, Centre for Future Work, Australia Institute; Honorary Professor of Political Economy, University of Sydney

A long overdue public debate has started in Australia about “free riding” in industrial relations – when non-union members benefit from collective agreements negotiated by union members without contributing (through membership dues or other payments) to their negotiation and administration.

Several union leaders want rules to stop free riding. Without this, they argue, union membership will keep falling, imperilling collective bargaining.

The issue has been given impetus by the latest data on union membership rates. The proportion of employees belonging to a union is now a record low 12.5%. In the private sector it’s just 8%.

In the 1980s more than half of the Australian workforce was unionised. Since then Australia has experienced the most dramatic deunionisation of any major industrial country.

That, at least in part, is by design. The Howard government passed laws in the late 1990s and 2000s prohibiting union preferences in hiring, bargaining fees or other structured supports for union membership.

But the idea workers can get something for nothing – enjoying the benefits of collective bargaining, without contributing to its costs – ignores both economic theory and reality.

Read more:
A new way to give an old TB vaccine proves highly effective in monkeys

The economics of free riding

Economists have long grappled with the problem of free riders in many areas of economic life.

The textbook case involves “public goods” – things to which access cannot be limited to paying customers. Examples are clean air and water, infrastructure, policing and national defence.

With public goods, conventional market mechanisms (based on “rational” individual choice) do not work. If something is “free to all”, there will be some people prepared to voluntarily contribute to its cost, and others that won’t.

To address this market failure, economists endorse policy interventions that deliberately interfere with individual “choice”. For government-provided public goods, this usually relies on compulsory contributions (taxes).

Why pay when you get it for free?

Other industries and ventures also encounter free rider problems, and laws have evolved to address them.

For example, unit owners in a residential strata don’t have “free choice” to refuse monthly strata fees. They are required to contribute to the collective costs of running their shared building. The power of the strata to set and collect monthly fees is provided for in Australian law. If strata fees were voluntary, the whole system of strata ownership would collapse.

Nor can individual shareholders in a corporation choose to withhold their share of payments approved by the corporation’s duly elected directors. These provisions are recognised and protected in law.

When it comes to collective bargaining, however, Australian law not only tolerates but effectively encourages free riding.

Under the Fair Work Act, any benefit or entitlement (from higher wages, to working conditions, to rostering systems) negotiated through enterprise bargaining must be equally available to all workers covered by an agreement.

A narrowly “rational” individual might understandably ask why they should join the union when they can get all the benefits of a union-negotiated contract anyway.

Left to individual “choice” in this context, it’s not surprising union membership has fallen.

How other nations deal with the problem

I have catalogued six distinct approaches used by other nations to address this market failure and establish a viable foundation for collective bargaining. All are founded on the presumption that collective bargaining is socially beneficial and should be encouraged.

One approach, informed by traditional conceptions of property rights, is to “close off” access to union-negotiated wages and benefits to dues-paying members only. Varieties of this strategy have been tried in the United States and in New Zealand.

This has generally not worked, however, because employers can still undermine unions by voluntarily offering equal improvements to non-members. It also damages worker solidarity, critical to any collective organisation.

Britain, Canada, India and Japan (among others) allow “closed shop” or “agency shop” arrangements. In any workplace that has been unionised (through some kind of majority decision, like a ballot or petition), all covered workers pay dues to reflect the benefits they receive from the collective agreement. In a closed shop they must join the union. In an agency shop they don’t have to join the union but do have to pay the same fees.

The Philippines, South Africa and the US are among those with a modified agency shop system called “bargaining fees”. Everyone covered by an enterprise agreement (which must be ratified by affected workers) contributes something (usually less than full union dues) to the direct costs of negotiating and administering that agreement.

France and Brazil are among several countries that directly support collective negotiations with public subsidies. Like paying taxes for public goods, this approach directly allocates resources to fund a service (collective bargaining) deemed to be essential for a healthy labour market. New Zealand is taking a similar approach with its new Fair Pay Agreements (in effect since December 2022).

In Germany, Italy and many other European countries, collective bargaining is mandated by law, with employers above a certain size required to establish a workers council and cover the costs. Workers don’t have to join the union but, with such a well-funded infrastructure, collective bargaining remains strong.

In the Nordic countries and Belgium, extra support for collective bargaining is provided through union sponsorship of income support and social programs (like unemployment insurance and pensions). Workers are attracted to join their union to get better access to these services. This provides unions with resources and leverage for collective bargaining.

Developing an Australian-made fix

So there is a wide choice of specific ways to fix the free rider problem in industrial relations.

In Australia, however, the right to free ride is fully protected, even celebrated. The result (as intended) has been the steady erosion of union membership. Australia is now quickly converging with the US as one of the least unionised nations in the OECD.

In December, the Albanese government passed its Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill, aimed at strengthening collective bargaining. If these reforms succeed in broadening collective bargaining coverage, the evidence suggests Australia’s abysmal wage growth will pick up.

That alone should enhance workers’ appreciation of the value of collective action, and indirectly strengthen the incentive for union membership.

Read more:
Employers say Labor’s new industrial relations bill threatens the economy. Denmark tells a different story

Eventually, however, it will need to be recognised that collective bargaining is not free, and is being undermined by a legal framework that pretends it is.
We need to develop a made-in-Australia solution to fix it.

Jim Stanford is a member of the Australian Services Union.

– ref. If you haven’t joined a union, it’s time you paid to benefit from union deals – https://theconversation.com/if-you-havent-joined-a-union-its-time-you-paid-to-benefit-from-union-deals-197992

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Duncan, Associate Professor, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University

Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern on January 19, the New Zealand Labour Party already has a new leader: Chris Hipkins. The handover from Ardern to Hipkins has been achieved with the same efficiency as the handover from Andrew Little to Ardern in 2017. But will it be as successful?

Hipkins entered parliament in 2008 – along with Ardern. Under Ardern’s leadership, he held ministerial portfolios in education, police and public services, and was Leader of the House.

His role as education minister includes a (not altogether successful) centralisation of all the country’s polytechnics under one administrative umbrella – a form of restructuring typical of this Labour government.

He distinguished himself during the COVID pandemic as a hard-working and competent leader who contributed a much-needed clarity and common sense. He’s a dependable and intelligent politician who doesn’t mind being an attack dog when it’s called for.

As leader, however, Hipkins now faces an uphill battle, with his party trailing the opposition National Party in the most recent published polls. But he lacks Ardern’s charisma.

In 2017, there was an instant “Jacindamania” effect when she took the party leadership, and Labour’s polling shot up. One simply can’t imagine a “Chris-mania”, however. But maybe that’s not a bad thing right now.

Game over?

There are two ways this could go now. First, the nightmare scenario for Labour: the government continues to be sniped at over controversial and unpopular policies such as the Three Waters programme and the income insurance scheme, economic problems continue to damage household budgets, the opposition leaders (both National’s Christopher Luxon and ACT’s David Seymour) have a field day.

In head-to-head debates with Luxon once the election campaign begins, Hipkins lacks the fire that Ardern was able to show when she needed it, and becomes political roadkill at the ballot box on October 14. Labour supporters wake up in a cold sweat.

Read more:
‘The shoes needing filling are on the large side of big’ – Jacinda Ardern’s legacy and Labour’s new challenge

With Labour’s ongoing slump in the polls, trailing National by around five or six percentage points, this scenario can’t be ruled out. Following defeat, Labour could go into the kind of spiral it endured after Helen Clark’s loss in 2008, with one unsuccessful leader after another.

We can recall the defeat of Labour’s Phil Goff in 2011 and David Cunliffe in 2014 when up against National’s John Key. And, to be fair, National suffered a similarly bad run after Bill English stood down in 2018 and until Luxon became leader in November 2021.

A new hope?

So is there a dream scenario for Labour? With Ardern’s charismatic – and now rather polarising – personality heading for the exit, the party could turn things around.

New leadership licences a significant cabinet reshuffle and (more importantly) a refresh of policy. Labour could now neutralise (or even dump) some policy proposals that are presently causing public dissatisfaction.

Rather than Hipkins having somehow to fill Ardern’s shoes, he could follow his own path in his own trusty trainers.

Read more:
Ardern’s resignation as New Zealand prime minister is a game changer for the 2023 election

An advantage he has is an apparent unanimity of support from his caucus. This suggests his team is focused on beating National rather than beating one another.

But can Labour win back the support of those middle-ground voters who’ve shifted to the centre-right? It appears many of those who’ve swung away from Labour actually liked Ardern. And Ardern remained on top in preferred prime minister polls right up until days before she resigned.

We could infer from this that a leadership change on its own won’t suffice to woo these voters back. The loss of Ardern could indeed precipitate a further drop in polling for Labour.

Read more:
Jacinda Ardern’s resignation: gender and the toll of strong, compassionate leadership

A policy reset

Late in 2022, Ardern had stated that the government’s focus this year would be the economy. And National will inevitably use the line that they (National) are the more competent when it comes to “managing the economy”.

If Labour is serious about winning the 2023 election, then, they need to convince enough voters of the following:

• they are addressing the real economic concerns that are affecting people presently

• they have taken heed of people’s disquiet over some current policy changes and are prepared to revise them

• and they are not going any further with controversial matters, especially co-governance with Māori, without first seeking a wider public understanding and consensus.

Hipkins is a competent and reliable person. If he has his party’s backing to revise or backtrack on policy, then he may have some success. With less focus on personalities this time around, his best hope may be to convince people his government is serious about resetting the country’s direction.

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

– ref. Chris Hipkins becomes NZ’s new prime minister – there are two ways it can go from here – https://theconversation.com/chris-hipkins-becomes-nzs-new-prime-minister-there-are-two-ways-it-can-go-from-here-198229

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Massey University

“Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”, wrote Shakespeare, way back in the 1500s. It’s not a new idea that top-level leadership jobs are intensely stressful and pose a heavy toll. Extended periods of stress are known to put people at risk of burnout.

Yet probably few of us can ever grasp just how unrelentingly demanding and difficult leading a country actually is. Especially in times of crisis and with our modern media and online environment, every statement and every move a leader makes is subject to extensive scrutiny and commentary.

Increasingly, a troubling feature of the commentary about New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been its abusive, violent, sexist and misogynistic tenor.

While she has not focused on this as a reason for her decision to resign yesterday, being targeted in this way, and knowing her partner and even her child were also targeted, must surely have made an already difficult job so much more challenging.

Read more:
From ‘pretty communist’ to ‘Jabcinda’ – what’s behind the vitriol directed at Jacinda Ardern?

Crises, kindness and courageous decisions

Crises have long been understood as the most intensive tests of a leader’s skill and character. They involve making weighty decisions, at times about matters that quite literally have life and death implications. Decisions have to be made at speed, but often with insufficient information to confidently predict the consequences of the choices made.

Ardern’s premiership has thrown crisis after crisis her way. And time and time again, she has displayed a strength of character and considerable leadership skills in responding to them.

Her handling of the Christchurch terror attacks won global admiration for her composure, compassion and decisive resolve to ensure such heinous acts could not be repeated here.

Her response to the Whakaari White Island eruption garnered similar praise, showing yet again her intuitive grasp that a leader offering support to those caught up in such a distressing event actually makes a difference. That Ardern has sought to combine compassion and kindness with the courage to make tough decisions is a key feature of her style.

Read more:
‘The shoes needing filling are on the large side of big’ – Jacinda Ardern’s legacy and Labour’s new challenge

Unrealistic expectations of a leader

Throughout the pandemic, Arden has repeatedly proved her willingness to make courageous decisions. Combined with her prowess at mobilising the public’s understanding and support for the government’s COVID response, this was critical to the success of the elimination strategy. Many lives and livelihoods have been saved due to her leadership.

When Delta and then Omicron emerged, Ardern sought to continually adapt the government’s policies to a changing context. While tenacity and resilience may number among her many strengths, dogmatism is not one of her weaknesses.

Of course not all decisions proved to be optimal – expecting them to be so would be wildly unrealistic. Some of her decisions have sparked a strong negative response. But it’s foolish to expect perfection from leaders, and the job unavoidably means making tough calls not everyone will agree with.

Rise in sexist and mysogynistic abuse

No leader is omnipotent, especially in a democracy and in a globally interconnected world.

The latest crisis Ardern has been grappling with – the cost of living – is in large measure driven by global forces far beyond the control of any New Zealand prime minister. New Zealand’s situation is better than many other countries, but unfortunately for Ardern this holds little sway for some people.

The reality, then, is that her growing unpopularity has in part been rooted in people having unrealistic expectations of what leaders can and can’t actually do, and needing someone to blame. But there’s also no getting away from the fact that far too much of the criticism directed at her has been coloured by sexist and misogynistic attitudes.

There’s a continuum in how this is expressed. It starts with one C word – Cindy – which is a sexist attempt to belittle her authority and status as an adult woman who is the elected leader of our country.

It ends with the other C word. Research by the Disinformation Project shows its usage is enmeshed within a wider discourse that denigrates other aspects of her identity as a woman and extends to fantasising about her rape and death.

This kind of behaviour is simply inexcusable. It should be to New Zealand’s eternal shame that Ardern has been subjected to this. It cannot be justified by arguing her policies have been controversial and she “deserves” this abuse: that line of reasoning simply replicates the defence long used by rapists and domestic abusers.

Ardern is New Zealand’s third woman prime minister. The glass ceiling for that role is well and truly broken. We now also have equal representation of women within parliament. But the sexist and misogynistic nature of so much of the criticism and abuse directed at Ardern also shows we are a very long way from having equal treatment of women in leadership.

Suze Wilson 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. Jacinda Ardern’s resignation: gender and the toll of strong, compassionate leadership – https://theconversation.com/jacinda-arderns-resignation-gender-and-the-toll-of-strong-compassionate-leadership-198152

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Massey University

“Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”, wrote Shakespeare, way back in the 1500s. It’s not a new idea that top-level leadership jobs are intensely stressful and pose a heavy toll. Extended periods of stress are known to put people at risk of burnout.

Yet probably few of us can ever grasp just how unrelentingly demanding and difficult leading a country actually is. Especially in times of crisis and with our modern media and online environment, every statement and every move a leader makes is subject to extensive scrutiny and commentary.

Increasingly, a troubling feature of the commentary about Jacinda Ardern has been its abusive, violent, sexist and misogynistic tenor.

While she has not focused on this as a reason for her decision to resign yesterday, being targeted in this way, and knowing her partner and even her child were also targeted, must surely have made an already difficult job so much more challenging.

Read more:
From ‘pretty communist’ to ‘Jabcinda’ – what’s behind the vitriol directed at Jacinda Ardern?

Crises, kindness and courageous decisions

Crises have long been understood as the most intensive tests of a leader’s skill and character. They involve making weighty decisions, at times about matters that quite literally have life and death implications. Decisions have to be made at speed, but often with insufficient information to confidently predict the consequences of the choices made.

Ardern’s premiership has thrown crisis after crisis her way. And time and time again, she has displayed a strength of character and considerable leadership skills in responding to them.

Her handling of the Christchurch terror attacks won global admiration for her composure, compassion and decisive resolve to ensure such heinous acts could not be repeated here.

Her response to the Whakaari White Island eruption garnered similar praise, showing yet again her intuitive grasp that a leader offering support to those caught up in such a distressing event actually makes a difference. That Ardern has sought to combine compassion and kindness with the courage to make tough decisions is a key feature of her style.

Read more:
‘The shoes needing filling are on the large side of big’ – Jacinda Ardern’s legacy and Labour’s new challenge

Unrealistic expectations of a leader

Throughout the pandemic, Arden has repeatedly proved her willingness to make courageous decisions. Combined with her prowess at mobilising the public’s understanding and support for the government’s COVID response, this was critical to the success of the elimination strategy. Many lives and livelihoods have been saved due to her leadership.

When Delta and then Omicron emerged, Ardern sought to continually adapt the government’s policies to a changing context. While tenacity and resilience may number among her many strengths, dogmatism is not one of her weaknesses.

Of course not all decisions proved to be optimal – expecting them to be so would be wildly unrealistic. Some of her decisions have sparked a strong negative response. But it’s foolish to expect perfection from leaders, and the job unavoidably means making tough calls not everyone will agree with.

Rise in sexist and mysogynistic abuse

No leader is omnipotent, especially in a democracy and in a globally interconnected world.

The latest crisis Ardern has been grappling with – the cost of living – is in large measure driven by global forces far beyond the control of any New Zealand prime minister. New Zealand’s situation is better than many other countries, but unfortunately for Ardern this holds little sway for some people.

The reality, then, is that her growing unpopularity has in part been rooted in people having unrealistic expectations of what leaders can and can’t actually do, and needing someone to blame. But there’s also no getting away from the fact that far too much of the criticism directed at her has been coloured by sexist and misogynistic attitudes.

There’s a continuum in how this is expressed. It starts with one C word – Cindy – which is a sexist attempt to belittle her authority and status as an adult woman who is the elected leader of our country.

It ends with the other C word. Research by the Disinformation Project shows its usage is enmeshed within a wider discourse that denigrates other aspects of her identity as a woman and extends to fantasising about her rape and death.

This kind of behaviour is simply inexcusable. It should be to New Zealand’s eternal shame that Ardern has been subjected to this. It cannot be justified by arguing her policies have been controversial and she “deserves” this abuse: that line of reasoning simply replicates the defence long used by rapists and domestic abusers.

Ardern is New Zealand’s third woman prime minister. The glass ceiling for that role is well and truly broken. We now also have equal representation of women within parliament. But the sexist and misogynistic nature of so much of the criticism and abuse directed at Ardern also shows we are a very long way from having equal treatment of women in leadership.

Suze Wilson 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. Ardern’s resignation: gender and the toll of strong, compassionate leadership – https://theconversation.com/arderns-resignation-gender-and-the-toll-of-strong-compassionate-leadership-198152

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreea Lachsz, PhD Candidate, University of Technology Sydney

Today marks the (already twice extended) deadline for Australia to meet its international obligation to implement torture prevention bodies. The role of these bodies is to monitor treatment and conditions in places where people are deprived of their liberty, like prisons and detention centres.

This obligation arises from the United Nations’ Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the Australian government voluntarily signed up in 2017. The protocol aims to prevent torture and ill-treatment in places of detention, rather than responding to allegations after an incident.

However, despite Australia initially postponing fulfilling its obligation by three years, then securing a further one-year extension, it has not honoured its commitment. And while there are no formal enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance, there are risks for Australia’s reputation, including its standing as a country with robust human rights protections.

We only deal with torture once it’s actually happened

In Australia, a number of these monitoring bodies have already been appointed at federal, state and territory level. Together they make up what is known as the Australian National Preventive Mechanism. However, this mechanism currently lacks adequate funding and legislation clearly outlining its mission and necessary powers.

Without these things, it will not be feasible for many of the nominated bodies to fulfil their preventive functions. And some governments (Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland) have yet to even nominate their torture prevention bodies.

Read more:
Why has a UN torture prevention subcommittee suspended its visit to Australia?

There are a range of oversight mechanisms which respond to alleged incidents and systemic issues in places of detention. However, these mechanisms focus on action after issues have arisen, rather than prevention. These corrective mechanisms include:

• independent statutory bodies, such as a state ombudsman, which conduct investigations, audits and respond to complaints

• civil litigation, including pursuing compensation (such as the ongoing class action against WA detention centre Banskia Hill) or a particular outcome (like children not being detained at Barwon Prison in Victoria)

• coronial inquests following a death in custody

• systemic inquiries and royal commissions

• criminal prosecutions for alleged wrongdoing by staff who work in places of detention or who have powers to detain

• regulatory bodies, such as those focusing on workplace health and safety for staff, that have coercive and enforcement powers, such as issuing fines.

These mechanisms have varying degrees of efficacy. Their intended function is to seek truth, justice and accountability for ill-treatment. However, they respond after individuals have been harmed or lost their lives.

What would a ‘preventive monitoring body’ actually do?

The National Preventive Mechanism should be empowered and resourced to regularly visit places like prisons and detention centres to identify risks of ill-treatment and propose recommendations to authorities to address those risks.

Torture prevention has been described as “focusing on the root causes of torture and the complex factors allowing torture to happen rather than on the individual level of violations.”

With financial and policy support, the National Preventive Mechanism could examine how factors like racism increase risk of ill-treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It could also consider root causes of overcrowding in places of detention, which according to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture “leads to a decline in the standards of detention”.

This mechanism could also consider how changing restrictive bail laws could increase prison numbers, contributing to the disproportionate numbers of Indigenous people in prison.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has stated avoiding imprisonment is “one of the most effective safeguards against torture and ill-treatment”. This statement echoes the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody from more than 30 years ago.

Read more:
Raising the age of criminal responsibility is only a first step. First Nations kids need cultural solutions

Looking at best practices internationally

Raising the age of criminal responsibility, alternatives to imprisonment, and changing current Australian detention practices would offer us the best hope of preventing torture from happening on our shores.

Following the Four Corners report on youth detention at the end of last year, David McGuire, the CEO of NGO Diagrama (an organisation that operates youth detention facilities in Spain), stated “the worst thing you can do to anyone, especially a kid, is to isolate them”.

When I was in Spain, I visited some of the Diagrama-run centres. While I normally focus on issues such as the use of force, restraint and isolation when conducting monitoring visits to places of detention, these did not appear to be issues of concern at these centres.

McGuire explained Diagrama-run centres are

places where young people feel safe and there are very low levels of disruptions […] Therefore, use of restraint and force are uncommon.

What does the UN say about OPCAT implementation in Australia?

In Australia’s recent appearance before the UN Committee Against Torture, the committee concluded Australia should promptly establish its National Preventive Mechanism across all states and territories, and ensure necessary resources for it to function, including access to all places of deprivation of liberty.

While our international human rights reputation might be in jeopardy as a result of this latest missed deadline, it is people deprived of their liberty who will suffer the most. The old adage certainly applies here – prevention is better than cure. So what are we waiting for?

Andreea Lachsz is currently contracted to the ACT government as the ACT National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Coordination Director. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of ACT government, ACT NPM or any extant policy.

– ref. Australia’s twice extended deadline for torture prevention is today, but we’ve missed it again – https://theconversation.com/australias-twice-extended-deadline-for-torture-prevention-is-today-but-weve-missed-it-again-197793

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josh Roose, Associate Professor of Politics, Deakin University

Amid the growing threat of far-right extremism in Australia, Victoria recently became the first state to ban the Nazi swastika, (known as the Hakenkreuz). Publicly displaying the symbol is now a criminal offence and carries a penalty of up to $22,000, or 12 months of imprisonment.

Other states and territories, including NSW, Queensland, the ACT, Tasmania and most recently, Western Australia, are now taking similar steps.

These moves have been praised as a critical step toward depriving far-right extremists the use of a potent symbol associated with hatred, racism and the horrors of the Holocaust to intimidate and spread fear.

Far-right groups in Australia have also sought to leverage the swastika as a recruitment tool, pulling in young men (in particular) who are attracted to its association with hatred and violence.

But these laws banning Nazi symbols do not (yet) cover the other way far-right extremists espouse their hateful ideology in public spaces and online: the Nazi or “fascist” salute.

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

The Nazi salute as a symbol and recruitment tool

The act of raising an arm in salute dates to the Roman Empire where it was used to display respect or allegiance. This was altered in artwork and culture over time in different contexts, including in France and the United States.

More recently, it was appropriated and altered by propagandists among the National Socialists in Germany and fascists in Italy in the early 20th century as a way to both demonstrate commitment to these groups and unity of purpose.

Today, the salute is used to identify oneself as a white nationalist or “Nazi”. It’s also used in public spaces to intimidate and spread fear. There are many instances of this in Australia, most recently by a group of men in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood (a suburb with a high proportion of Jewish residents) and by a far-right extremist leader after his conviction for assault against a Black security officer.

Importantly, the use of the gesture functions as a recruitment device in the same way the swastika is used.

To the often alienated and angry young men attracted to far-right ideologies, photos of groups of men making the Nazi salute offer a sense of a collective and belonging. Far-right extremists groups know this and their online materials feature many photos of members making salutes.

International efforts to ban the Nazi salute

Some countries have specifically banned the salute, such as Germany and others occupied by the Nazi regime during the second world war (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland).

Others, such as Switzerland and Sweden, have broader statutes that capture the salute. Authorities in the United Kingdom have more recently used provisions related to causing racially aggravated harassment, harm and distress to prosecute offenders.

Penalties in these jurisdictions range from up to three years imprisonment in Germany to low-level fines. Arguably as important as the punishment is the recording of a conviction, building a track record of participation in far-right extremist movements.

Challenges of enforcement

The Nazi salute is instantly recognisable and the most common far-right extremist hand sign globally. We know it when we see it and debates about interpretation are arguably moot.

However, a successful prosecution depends on a number of factors, including the wording of the particular laws and the evidence available. If a statute is not precise, or is not able to be readily applied by law enforcement, it can allow offenders to escape conviction. This happened in Switzerland in 2014.

It is also important to consider the way far-right extremists respond to these laws. They can change their tactics to evade prosecution, including using the OK symbol instead of a Nazi salute.

This gesture, made by connecting the thumb and index finger to create a circle and spreading the other three fingers apart, can be interpreted as the letters “W” and “P”, standing for white power. But because it’s a common hand gesture, it also offers some form of deniability to those using it.

There’s been a similar debate in France and Switzerland over the use of the “quenelle” hand gesture, which resembles the Nazi salute but has been used in attempts to circumvent hate laws.

And crucially, a successful prosecution requires evidence, such a video or photograph, that a suspected offender actually made the salute. This is why many far-right extremists making the salute cover their faces in online posts.

Read more:
Why Dieudonné’s quenelle gesture poses challenges for Britain and France

What would a ban in Australia look like?

Any laws targeting the Nazi salute are likely to focus on the public use of the salute to intimidate and threaten members of the community, falling under existing or new legislation combating hate or “prejudice motived” crimes.

Such legislation would likely take a similar approach to the new Victorian law banning Nazi symbols, which requires that a symbol is both intentionally used in a public space and that the person ought to have reasonably known making the salute is aligned with Nazi ideology.

In fact, the Victorian government is now reportedly exploring the possibility of expanding its law to include the salute.

Any new law banning the salute would also likely allow for limited exceptions, for example, in the case of artistic parody.

Read more:
Far-right groups have used COVID to expand their footprint in Australia. Here are the ones you need to know about

A logical next step

The Nazi salute, as with the swastika, is inextricably linked with the horrors of the Holocaust and grounded in extreme hatred and violence. It is a symbol that has maintained its power over many decades and is currently weaponised by far-right extremists in our streets (and online) to both inspire fear and recruit.

Enacting new laws to ban the salute would be both logical and an important step in protecting the Australian community, particularly those specifically targeted by far-right extremist ideologies. There would certainly be challenges to overcome, however, requiring such laws to be written carefully and, critically, the will to enforce them.

Josh Roose receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. Would a law banning the Nazi salute be effective – or enforceable? – https://theconversation.com/would-a-law-banning-the-nazi-salute-be-effective-or-enforceable-198143

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajkishore Nayak, Associate Professor , RMIT University Vietnam

Ever considered the carbon footprint of manufacturing your favourite shirt?

The average cotton shirt produces 2.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide – but a polyester shirt produces over twice as much (5.5 kilograms). It might come as no surprise that the fashion industry is responsible for around 5% of global CO₂ emissions.

Some natural fibres can also take a heavy toll on the environment. Last week, for example, an ABC investigation revealed hundreds of hectares of the Northern Territory’s pristine tropical savanna had been cleared to make way for cotton farms, sometimes without permit.

So, are there more sustainable textiles we should be producing and purchasing instead?

Research, including our own ongoing research, points to certain “non-traditional fibres” as new green alternatives. These include fibres produced from wastes – think coffee waste and recycled plastic bottles – as well as seaweed, orange, lotus, corn and mushroom.

Brands such as Patagonia, Mud Jeans, Ninety Percent, Plant Faced Clothing and Afends are among the brands leading the way in incorporating sustainable fibres into their products. But the true turning point will likely come when more of the biggest names in fashion get involved, and it’s high time they invest.

The problems with traditional fibres

There are two types of traditional fibres: natural and synthetic. Natural fibres, such as cotton and flax, have certain advantages over synthetic fibres which are derived from oil and gas.

When sustainability is considered, natural fibres are preferred over the synthetic fibres due to, for instance, their ability to biodegrade and their availability in the environment.

However, some natural fibres (particularly cotton) need a lot of fresh water and chemicals that are toxic to the environment for harvesting. For example, it takes 10,000 litres of water on average to grow just 1 kilogram of cotton.

In comparison, synthetic fibres consume a significantly lower amount of water (about one hundredth), but a significantly higher amount of energy.

Petrochemical fibres made from fossil fuels – such as polyester, nylon and acrylic – are the backbone of fast fashion. Yet another big problem with such products is that they don’t easily decompose.

As they slowly break down, petrochemical fibres release microplastics. These not only contaminate the environment, but also enter the food chain and pose health risks to animals and humans.

You may have also come across blended fabrics, which are produced with a combination of two or more types of fibres. But these pose challenges in sorting and recycling, as it’s not always possible or easy to recover different fibres when they’re combined.

Read more:
Cotton on: one of Australia’s most lucrative farming industries is in the firing line as climate change worsens

Non-traditional fibres: a potential game changer

Amid the overconsumption of traditional fibres, several global fashion brands have started to adopt new fibres derived from seaweed, corn, and mushroom. This includes Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Patagonia, and Algiknit.

Other emerging natural fibres include lotus, pineapple and banana fibres. Lotus fibres are extracted from the plant stem, banana fibres are extracted from the petiole (the stalk that connects the leaf and stem), and pineapple fibres are extracted from pineapple leaves.

The process of extracting fibres from wastes such as orange peels, coffee grounds, and even from the protein of waste milk, has also been well researched, and clothes have been successfully manufactured from these materials.

All these examples of non-traditional fibres are free from many of the problems mentioned earlier, such as heavy resource consumption (particularly fresh water), use of toxic chemicals, and the use of large amounts of energy (for synthetic fibres).

Read more:
Patagonia’s founder has given his company away to fight climate change and advance conservation: 5 questions answered

Further, these fibres are biodegradable at their end of life and don’t release microplastics when you wash them.

Meanwhile, there has been tremendous growth in the use of recycled synthetic fibres, which reduces the use of virgin materials, energy and chemical consumption. Recycling plastics such as drink bottles to make clothing is also becoming more common. Such innovations can help lower our dependency on raw materials and mitigate plastic pollution.

What’s more, the selection of appropriate colour combinations during recycling and processing for fabrics can avoid the need for dyeing.

What now?

Fashion companies can reduce the load on the environment through seriously investing in producing sustainable fibres and fabrics. Many are still in research stage or not receiving wider commercial applications.

Fashion manufacturers, large fashion brands and retailers need to invest in the research and development to scale-up production of these fibres. And machine manufacturers also need to develop technologies for large-scale harvesting and manufacturing raw materials, such as sustainable fibre and yarn.

At the same time, you, as a consumer, have an important role to play by demanding information about products and holding brands accountable.

Read more:
Consumers are wise to ‘woke washing’ – but truly ‘transformative branding’ can still make a difference

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

– ref. What do oranges, coffee grounds and seaweed have in common? They outshine cotton in sustainable fashion – https://theconversation.com/what-do-oranges-coffee-grounds-and-seaweed-have-in-common-they-outshine-cotton-in-sustainable-fashion-196391

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Olive, Senior Research Fellow & Clinical Psychologist, Deakin University

Nothing clears the mind like going for a surf. With the escapism and simplicity of riding waves, it’s no secret that surfing feels good.

Now our preliminary study in children and adolescents adds to growing evidence that surfing really is good for your mental health.

But you don’t have to have a mental illness to get the benefits. Here’s how you can use what we’re learning from our research to boost your own mental health.

Read more:
Big Wednesday: four decades between surfing and myth making

How surfing is good for you

Evidence showing the mental health benefits of surfing ranges from improving self-esteem and reducing social isolation to treating depression and other mental disorders.

Such evidence mainly comes from specific surf therapy programs. These combine supportive surfing instruction with one-to-one or group activities that promote psychosocial wellbeing.

At their core, most of these programs provide participants with the challenge of learning to surf in an emotionally safe environment.

Any benefits to mental health are thought to arise through:

• an increased sense of social connection

• a sense of accomplishment that people can transfer to other activities

• respite from the day-to-day stressors due to the all-encompassing focus required when surfing

• the physiological response when surfing, including the reduction of stress hormones and the release of mood-elevating neurotransmitters

• exercising in a natural environment, in particular “blue spaces” (on or near water).

Read more:
Why going for a swim in the ocean can be good for you, and for nature

What we did

Our pilot study aimed to see whether the Ocean Mind surf therapy program improved child and adolescent mental health.

We also wanted to see whether participants accepted surfing as a way to address their mental health concerns.

The study involved 36 young people, 8–18 years old, who were seeking help for a mental health concern, such as anxiety, or a neurodevelopmental disorder (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder). They were referred by their mental health provider, GP or school counsellor.

Participants were allocated at random to the Ocean Mind surf therapy program or were placed on a waitlist for it. Those allocated to surf therapy continued with their usual care, which included case management from a mental health provider. Those on the waitlist (the control group) also continued with their usual care.

The surf therapy program ran for two hours every weekend for six weeks. Young people were partnered one-to-one with a community mentor who received training in mental health literacy and surf instruction.

Each session included supportive surf instruction and group mental health support, all conducted at the beach. Sessions were run by the program coordinator who was also trained in mental health and surf instruction.

What we found

By the end of the six-week program, those receiving surf therapy had reductions in depression, anxiety, hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, as well as fewer emotional and peer problems. This was compared with those in the control group, who had increases in these symptoms.

However, any improvements were not sustained six weeks after the program finished.

Those receiving surf therapy also saw it as a suitable, youth-friendly way to manage symptoms of mental ill-health. This was further supported by the high completion rates (87%), particularly when compared with other methods of mental health treatment. For instance, psychotherapy (talk therapy) has been reported to have a 28–75% drop-out rate for children and adolescents.

Read more:
Teen summer reads: 5 novels to help cope with adversity and alienation

It’s early days

These early findings are promising. But given this was a pilot study, more research is needed with larger numbers of participants to confirm these outcomes and see if they generalise to broader populations.

We’d like to identify the best dose of surf therapy in terms of session frequency, duration, and program length.

We also need to understand the factors that maintain these initial positive changes in mental health, so any benefits can be sustained after the program finishes.

The recognition of surfing as a potentially effective and acceptable mental health treatment among young people is also promising. But this finding does not preclude the more conventional clinical treatments, such as talk therapy and medication, which may work better for certain people.

Rather, surf therapy may be seen as an additional form of support alongside these approaches or an alternative for those who do not benefit from more traditional methods.

Read more:
What can parents do about their teenagers’ mental health?

Tempted to try surfing?

If you think surfing might be for you, remember:

• surfing requires complete focus due to the ever-changing conditions of the ocean, making it a great way to step away from day-to-day life and wipe out the effects of stress

• for some people, surfing may reduce barriers to seeking mental health care

• surfing may not be for everyone, nor can it guarantee to reduce your symptoms. Even the best surfers can suffer from depression and may require external support

• don’t worry if you cannot access the ocean or a surfboard. Other nature-based activities, such as hiking and gardening, can also benefit your mental health.

If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

Lisa Olive receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Government Department of Social Services. She does not work for, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, including Ocean Mind, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.

– ref. Why learning to surf can be great for your mental health, according to a psychologist – https://theconversation.com/why-learning-to-surf-can-be-great-for-your-mental-health-according-to-a-psychologist-196946

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Sherratt, Senior Research Fellow in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide

What do you think when you hear the word “rabbit”? Does your mind conjure images of cartoon bunnies eating carrots? Or the fluffy tails and floppy ears of pet bunnies? Maybe you think about their incredible ability to reproduce.

For many Australians, “rabbit” is synonymous with “pest” because of their infamous introduction and subsequent invasion around 164 years ago. The destruction rabbits cause to Australian landscapes is harmful and serious, but there’s a lot more to bunnies when we cast our thoughts overseas.

With the Year of the Water Rabbit starting in the Chinese calendar on January 22, it’s the perfect time to expand your rabbit knowledge across the far reaches of the globe, highlighting several species that really need our support.

What, if anything, is a rabbit?

Called rabbits and hares in some regions, and cottontails and jackrabbits in others, the long-eared animals we tend to call bunnies and the lesser-known pikas (small mountain-dwelling animals from Asia and North America) form a group of animals known as Lagomorpha.

There are in fact about 108 lagomorph species currently recognised by science, found on all continents except Antarctica. They are the evolutionary cousins of rodents and sit very closely to our primate branch in the tree of life.

In 2013, researchers found that more than two-thirds of rabbit species were already threatened by climate change.

Since then, the number of species that are endangered or critically endangered has risen from 13 to 16 on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. The rabbits need our help.

Real-world water rabbits

Water rabbits are not just an astrological fancy. The swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) and marsh rabbit (S. palustris) of North America are adapted to living in wetlands and are known to swim. Luckily these species are marked as least concern on the conservation IUCN Red List.

There’s also the riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis), a majestic, reddish-coloured rabbit from South Africa that inhabits the banks of rivers and streams. Critically endangered, this species faces not just the effects of climate change and habitat destruction, but another unexpected threat – other bunnies.

In this case, camera traps have identified Lepus hares are the problem. When resources become scarce, competition is fierce. The hares are larger and generalist in nature. They can eat a broader diet and adapt to more varied environments, and are competitively displacing the riverine rabbits.

Not all rabbits make endless babies

The breeding capacity of rabbits is notorious, but not all species have the same voracity for reproduction.

On two subtropical islands in southwestern Japan live Amami rabbits (Pentalagus furnessi), sometimes referred to as a “living fossil” because they have primitive characters like small ears and legs better for scurrying than hopping.

Almost black, Amami rabbits inhabit dense tropical forests, and are sadly endangered. This species is unusual among lagomorphs in having only one – rarely two – offspring in a litter. This breeding habit is fitting to an island species with no carnivorous predators (think New Zealand birds). Until, of course, some are introduced.

To combat snakes, Indian mongoose were introduced on the islands in 1979, which inevitably found the rabbits to be a tasty treat. Authorities are now working on a mongoose eradication program to save the endemic rabbits and birds from extinction.

Mountains as refuges in a changing world

While the islands in Japan have proven treacherous for the Amami rabbit, elsewhere mountains may become islands for species facing a changing climate.

In the Annamite Range mountains of Vietnam and Laos lives another endemic rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi), striped in black and reddish-brown. This endangered species is among the least understood rabbits, but we do know it’s under threat from intensive poaching.

In the mountains of Mexico resides another endangered bunny – the volcano rabbit (Romerolgaus diazi). It is one of the smallest rabbit species in the world, in trouble due to the effects of cattle grazing and land conversion for agriculture.

Even the European rabbit is in trouble

Rabbits may be at plague proportions in parts of Australia, but in their place of origin they are struggling.

The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is the only species of rabbit-kind to have been domesticated, and their expansive distribution across the world is a result of hungry humans who used them for food.

But in their native range – the Iberian Peninsula – their numbers are dwindling. In fact, we need conservation action because these rabbits are a keystone prey species for the Iberian lynx, which is making its comeback from being the most endangered cat in the world. The recent European LIFE Iberconejo project has been set up for governance, recognising the need for a balance between rabbits in a healthy ecosystem and rabbits as agricultural pests.

Protecting biodiversity

Many of the endangered lagomorph species have unique traits that are still to be uncovered by scientists. Limited geographical distributions and habitat preferences make them vulnerable to a changing environment and difficult to study.

That is why citizen science is valuable for these species, because local eyes keenly spotting animals is one of the best methods for data collection. So make your Lunar New Year’s resolution to be a bunny advocate.

For example, you can go to the iNaturalist network to familiarise yourself with the diversity of species. And next time you’re on holiday and you see a rabbit, be sure to snap a picture and upload your sighting.

Campaigns like “Begging for Bunnies” by the Endangered Wildlife Trust are also valuable in the effort to preserve our planet’s biodiversity.

Emma Sherratt works for University of Adelaide, is an Honorary Researcher at the South Australian Musueum, and receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the World Lagomorph Society.

– ref. In the Year of the Rabbit, spare a thought for all these wonderful endangered bunny species – https://theconversation.com/in-the-year-of-the-rabbit-spare-a-thought-for-all-these-wonderful-endangered-bunny-species-197797

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil G Sipe, Honorary Professor of Planning, The University of Queensland

With fewer people using public transport and more working from home due to the COVID pandemic, public transport agencies need to do everything they can to encourage more people to use their services. An essential step is to make the ticketing and payment process as easy as possible. That means it needs to keep pace with emerging technology and trends.

Some agencies, such as Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, have done so. Others have not – the myki card system in Victoria falls into this category. The state government has announced a “best practice” system will replace myki when its operator’s contract expires later this year.

Myki represented state-of-the-art technology when it replaced paper tickets a decade or so ago. It’s the ticketing system for travelling on trains, trams and buses in Melbourne, on trains from Melbourne to certain regional destinations, and on buses in major regional centres. However, the system now clearly needs to be updated.

This article outlines what a “best practice” replacement should look like. The new system must overcome the limitations that have emerged with myki, add the best features developed in other cities and build in the flexibility to keep up with the evolution of urban transport.

Read more:
Electric on-demand public transport is making a difference in Auckland – now it needs to roll out further

What’s wrong with myki?

The first problem with myki is its restricted payment options. It does not allow direct payment with a credit or debit card when getting onto a train, tram or bus.

In 2019, the system was updated to allow direct payment for a trip using a digital myki on Android phones, but not Apple phones. This means about half of Victoria’s potential public transport users cannot use their phones to pay for their trip. (Nationally, the split is 54% Android and 46% Apple – no city-level data are available.)

While Apple users can now automatically top up their myki card using their phones, they must still buy a physical myki card for $6, or $3 concession.

Second, while not directly impacting users, the myki terminals at public transport stations and on buses and trams use 3G wireless technology. This wireless network is due to be shut down in June 2024. Terminals will have to be updated to the 5G network.

Third, it is not easy for visitors to Victoria to understand the system. Before they can board public transport, they must first stop to buy a myki card for $6 (available at only some stations and retail outlets) and add money to cover the fare.

Read more:
We subscribe to movies and music, why not transport?

What is current best practice?

Contactless payment with a credit card, smartphone or smart watch is becoming standard practice on public transport. The pandemic accelerated this trend because operators wanted to minimise contact points associated with either cash payments or buying a physical ticket or card.

Two large public transport systems in London and Amsterdam are now contactless and cashless. In Australia, Sydney and Adelaide have contactless payment in place.

Sydney’s example is worth noting because, while upgrading to contactless payment options, it has maintained the use of the Opal card as well as the option of buying a single-trip ticket. Thus, Sydney has kept the payment options as broad as possible so as not to disadvantage any potential users. Many systems lack this flexibility — particularly those that have gone contactless and cashless.

Something that is often overlooked, but is a critical feature of exemplary public transport systems, is a well-designed seamless website or app that supports the payment system. Infrastructure Victoria highlighted this issue in its report, Better Public Transport Fares for Melbourne.

And how will public transport evolve?

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is one of the emerging trends in public transport. The goal is to allow users to have access to a range of transport options in a single app. However, COVID has slowed its progress.

Read more:
All your transport options in one place: why mobility as a service needs a proper platform

Most of the cities that have implemented mobility as a service are in Europe. They include: Vienna, Austria; Antwerp, Belgium; Turku, Finland; the West Midlands region in Britain; the Flanders region of Belgium; and all of Switzerland. Tokyo also has it.

However, many cities across the globe are hopeful of implementing the idea. Among them is Sydney, which is trialling the bundling of transport services – including taxis, ride-share vehicles and e-bikes – in one transaction. Public transport agencies are attempting to provide access to the full range of traditional public transport (trains, trams, buses and ferries) and non-traditional options (taxis, e-bikes, e-scooters, rideshares and so on).

Another innovation being trialled in Singapore is “hands free” ticketing. It uses radio frequency identification technology to detect a commuter’s fare card when passing through a sensor. This will do away with the need for pausing to tap on with a phone, card or watch.

Read more:
For Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to solve our transport woes, some things need to change

3 things Victoria’s new system must deliver

Victoria’s next public transport ticketing contract should deliver the following:

1. multiple payment options, including smartphones, smart watches, bank cards and single-ticket cash purchases, so users who don’t have smart devices or credit cards aren’t disadvantaged (though this represents a small minority of riders, they are often the most dependent on public transport)

2. 5G wireless technology to connect the ticketing network

3. the flexibility to accommodate a MaaS model that allows third-party integration with a single interface where users can pay for all their transport options.

Only a system that does all of the above will deliver on the promise of a “best practice” replacement for myki.

Neil G Sipe has received funding from the Australia Research Council.

– ref. Victorians won’t miss myki, but what will ‘best practice’ transport ticketing look like? – https://theconversation.com/victorians-wont-miss-myki-but-what-will-best-practice-transport-ticketing-look-like-197620

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandy Hagstrom, Senior Lecturer, Exercise Physiology. Director of Teaching and Education, School of Health Sciences, UNSW Sydney

People asking for exercise advice are usually looking for a simple answer. Do this over that. Do this many of that thing, for this long. Get these gains. In reality, things are never that simple.

That’s certainly true for the age old question of how often one should change up one’s exercise routine. Unfortunately, there’s no single, perfectly designed study that answers this question exactly; much depends on things such as how fit you already are, your goals and how you train.

But if you’re thinking about changing your routine, here are some factors to consider.

Read more:
Lift heavy or smaller weights with high reps? It all depends on your goal

Progressive overload and diminishing returns

The notion you should mix up your exercise routine likely comes from the concepts of progressive overload (where you need stimulus to get continued improvements) and the principle of diminishing returns (where the more experienced you are at something, the less you progress with a given stimulus).

One way people people try to incorporate these principles into training is via something called “periodisation”.

That’s where you manipulate certain aspects of a training program, such as exercise volume, intensity and frequency.

Periodisation models typically keep a consistent exercise selection for a designated period of time, usually an eight to 12 week program.

The two main periodisation models are linear and undulating. Linear periodisation involves gradual increase of a variable. For example, over an eight week program, the loads may get heavier but the amount of sets or reps you do gets lower.

Undulating periodisation involves manipulating different variables (usually volume and intensity) on different days. So, Monday you might do some heavy lifting, then Tuesday’s focus would be on higher repetitions, then have an explosive or speed priority for the next day.

Research shows periodised programs seem to outperform their non-periodised counterparts, with no difference between undulating and linear models.

Even if you aren’t knowingly doing a periodised plan, most exercise programs tend to be eight to 12 weeks long and incorporate some of the standard linear progressions mentioned above.

It depends on your goals

What about mixing up the actual exercises themselves? Research has shown people gain comparative or greater muscle strength and size when they opt for variable exercise selection compared to fixed exercise selection.

Variable exercise selection is where you don’t always stick to using the same exercise for the same muscles groups. For example, you might swap between a squat, and a leg press the next session. Alternatively, fixed selection means for the duration of your program, you stay with the same exercise (say, the squat).

And using a varied selection can improve motivation.

Conversely, excessive rotation of exercises appears to have a negative influence on muscle gains.

When it comes down to it, many movements are skill-based; by not practising as much, you may not progress as fast. This is likely only applicable to complex multi-joint exercises such as those performed with a barbell (as opposed to, say, gym machines).

Does this matter? If you have a performance-related goal to lift a certain amount, or something similar, then maybe it does. But if you are training for health and wellbeing, it may not be a factor for you.

What about running?

Many of us run the same loop, at the same pace, for weeks and years on end. Is that a problem?

Some researchers recommend increasing your training stimulus after six months of endurance exercise, as most of the benefit occurs between three and six months, then tends to plateau without changing training regimes.

But is it enough for health? Our current national physical activity recommendations do not mention the need to progress or vary exercise. They simply state the amount, intensity, and type of exercise for health benefits. Exercising for performance or ongoing improvement seems to be a different story.

If thinking about how frequently we should be changing up our exercise, consider the time it takes for the body to adapt following exercise.

Research has show muscle growth can occur as early as three weeks into a resistance training program and plateaus at approximately three months in previously untrained people.

Adaptations to cardiovascular fitness can occur as early as approximately one week into a training program but have been shown to plateau within three weeks if no additional progressive overload is applied.

Even following a progressive longer term aerobic program, measurements of cardiovascular fitness tend to plateau around nine months into training.

Do what you enjoy and can stick to

So what do we make of all of the evidence above?

Adaptation occurs quickly, but also plateaus quickly without ongoing stimulus.

Even so, we do all have a “ceiling” of adaptation, beyond which it will take significant effort to progress.

This comes back to the principle of diminishing returns, where the more you train, the less able you are to improve.

All things considered, the traditional approach of changing your program every 12 weeks might actually make sense in order to prevent plateaus. However, there is no hard and fast rule about how often you should mix it up.

Perhaps the best approach is to do what you are most likely to stick to and what you enjoy the most.

After all, you can’t get gains if you don’t actually do the work.

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

– ref. How often should you change up your exercise routine? – https://theconversation.com/how-often-should-you-change-up-your-exercise-routine-194905

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Bateman, Associate professor, Curtin University

You might think evolution is glacially slow. At a species level, that’s true. But evolution happens every time organisms produce offspring. The everyday mixing of genes – combined with mutations – throws up new generations upon which “selection pressure” will act.

This pressure is popularly known as survival of the fittest, where fittest means “best adapted” individuals. Tiger snakes with a mutation for a larger head can eat larger prey. Evolution is the zoomed-out version, where species change – or evolve into new ones, better adapted to the environment they find themselves in.

Evolution acts over millennia. But given the right conditions, it can also work surprisingly rapidly. Australia’s isolation produced our distinctive animals. But until recently in a geological sense, it had no camels, cats, toads and dogs. Now it does. Millions of feral animals, birds and amphibians now call Australia home. And their new home is beginning to change them in turn.

Can evolution run fast?

We’ve long thought evolution grinds slowly. But given the right conditions, pressure can bring change much faster. A recent study found evolution acting up to four times faster than previous estimates. On average, species in the study saw an 18.5% increase per generation in their ability to survive and reproduce. This remarkably rapid change suggests many species (not all) may be well able to adapt to rapid environmental changes.

Australia’s feral animal species all arrived through human efforts. Dogs came first through by contact between First Nations peoples and traders from what is now Indonesia. Cats came next, accompanying European colonists in the 1700s (and maybe earlier). Camels in the 1840s. Cane toads came in the 1930s. That’s to say nothing of deer, horses, goats, pigs, water buffalo, mynahs, foxes and rabbits.

Once here, dogs, camels and cats rapidly gave up domestication, becoming dingoes, feral camels and feral cats. With each generation, these animals have become better adapted to their new environments. They are now evolving in Australia.

Read more:
So you want to cat-proof a bettong: how living with predators could help native species survive

Dog or dingo?

The status of the dingo has been heavily contested and we even argue about what to call it. Given it can interbreed with domestic dogs, it’s not a separate species. Recent research suggests it’s an intermediary between wolves and domestic dogs. Dingoes have been implicated in the thylacine’s extinction on the mainland.

Given the dingo’s closest relative is the New Guinea singing dog, which howls like a wolf with overtones of whalesong, the dingo may have already evolved away from its ancestors. There’s certainly evidence of unique selection pressures but nowhere near enough to be considered a separate species. Similarly, dingoes tend to have broader heads than domestic dogs and more flexible joints. They don’t woof but howl.

An Australian camel?

It’s a similar story for camels. Australia’s one-humped dromedaries were imported from Afghanistan and Pakistan because of their ability to live in arid environments. It’s no surprise they have thrived. Hundreds of thousands now roam the Red Centre. We may now have the largest wild population of dromedaries in the world. Given their numbers, in time, we may have a uniquely Australian camel.

Though we have a huge population of camels, they have low genetic diversity as they came from a small original population. Low diversity usually means a species is less able to adapt to changes in the environment.

Read more:
Wild animals are evolving faster than anybody thought

Cats are getting larger

Domestication sits lightly on cats, with the difference between a pet cat and a feral just a couple of missed meals.

Cats are one of the most invasive species globally. In Australia, they have done the worst damage, killing everything from native mice to wallabies with abandon and pushing many to the brink of extinction.

Ferals are getting bigger, with reports of 7 kilogram cats now common, well up from their domestic range of 4–5kg. Tales of panther-like felines may well be huge feral cats. Some have been estimated at 12–15kg. Take the estimated 1.5 metre feral killed in 2005 – double the nose-to-tail length of a domestic cat.

What’s going on? One reason is feral cats aren’t desexed, meaning toms can grow as large as a small dingo. But it also seems selection pressures are favouring larger cats. We don’t know if it’s due to genetic changes or the rich diet of endangered animals. Normally, gigantism – where species grow to larger than usual sizes – is associated with islands. Think of the giant Komodo dragon, or of the extinct dodo – in reality, a giant pigeon.

Cane toads: phase shifters with longer legs

In 1935, the infamous cane toad was brought in to eat the cane beetles plaguing sugar plantations. As we know, cane toads soon figured out there was a lot more to eat. Protected by poisonous glands on their back, they have spread across the tropical north to the Kimberley and down the east coast approaching Sydney.

Toads at the front of the invasion have developed longer legs, making faster travel possible. Remarkably, in some shady gorges in the Kimberley, some have switched from being nocturnal to diurnal.

Adaptation is under way – but will we actually see new species?

Consider too Darwin’s famous Galápagos finches. On these isolated islands, finches calved off into separate species. Seed-eaters evolved thicker beaks, while the vampire finch evolved to drink blood from larger birds.

So could it happen here? Yes – if conditions are right. Let’s speculate that natural selection keeps pushing feral cats to get larger and larger.

Eventually, these giant cats would see any domestic cats fleeing from farms or homes not as mates – but as prey. Once the gene flow from smaller cats was cut off, the gene pool would be limited – and we would be on track for a new species. Perhaps one day, we will have a uniquely Australian cat alongside our uniquely Australian dog.

Read more:
Let’s give feral cats their citizenship

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

– ref. Could feral animals in Australia become distinct species? It’s possible – and we’re seeing some early signs – https://theconversation.com/could-feral-animals-in-australia-become-distinct-species-its-possible-and-were-seeing-some-early-signs-197522

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kaya Barry, Senior Lecturer & ARC DECRA Research Fellow, Griffith University

Alice and Scott* have been running their two-storey pub-turned-backpacker hostel in Queensland’s Wide Bay region, north of Brisbane, for more a decade. Over the years they’ve provided accommodation for thousands of backpackers and itinerant workers who come to the region for fruit-picking jobs.

Before the pandemic, the hostel bustled with backpackers – “mostly from Europe, some Asian backpackers” too, Alice explains. Now they cater exclusively for Pacific Islanders on temporary visas.

We’re sitting in the hostel’s backyard watching a group of men still in their high-vis work gear, barbecuing their dinner. They’re from Vanuatu, Scott says. They’ve been at the hostel for many months. The yard is enclosed by a high wooden fence now. “We had to put that up to stop people looking in, abusing our workers,” Alice says. “People still think these foreigners are taking Aussie jobs.”

They’re not. Australia has had a huge shortage of farm workers since borders were closed in March 2020 and backpacker numbers dried up. Backpacker numbers have not rebounded since the border reopened. In 2019, more than 140,000 young people on the Working Holiday Maker visa flocked to Australia. In 2022, less than half that number had arrived.

Read more:
Australia’s borders are open, so where are all the backpackers?

In response, the federal government has been offering more and more work visas under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM), a federal government program that allows farmers (and other eligible employers – in July 2022 the federal government expanded the scheme to the services sector) to recruit workers from nine Pacific Island nations as well as Timor Leste.

In 2019, under the PALM scheme’s predecessor policies, there were 6,753 temporary migrants from Pacific Island nations in Australia. By the end of 2022 it was almost 24,000. By the end of this is year it is expected to be 40,000.

But the switch from dependence on backpackers to Pacific Islanders has been bumpy.

Cultural differences fuel misunderstandings

For a new report published by Griffith University on the state of seasonal farm work in Australia, I interviewed more than 40 stakeholders in business, government and the community sectors about the challenges of farms shifting from backpackers to Pacific Island workers.

It’s a familiar story of the problems that arise with the arrival of a new group of migrants into a community.

Assumptions about “cultural differences” fuel misunderstandings in regional communities. Several pubs in farming towns have imposed blanket bans on Pacific Islanders (on the grounds of excessive drinking and unruly behaviour), whereas backpackers and other workers are still allowed.

Shifting cohorts of migrant workers also change the role of accommodation providers like Alice and Scott. Backpackers would stay for no more than a few months, and could move on when they liked, being free to chose who they worked for. PALM workers can stay for up to nine months on “seasonal” visas and up to four years on long-term visas, and they are bound to their sponsoring employer. This means they need long-term accommodation.

Read more:
New Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme offers more flexibility … for employers

With this change, hostels like Alice and Scott’s are also providing more than just housing. They often facilitate the daily transport, supermarket runs, airport pick-ups, as well as providing social activities, general care, and what Alice called “lending an ear”.

“When they first arrive we have to show them everything,” Alice said. “Settle them in, show them how things are done here in Australia. It’s totally different to where they’re from.”

Another hostel manager told me: “We take them to church – there’s three different churches we drop them to at the weekend. Then they go to the local rugby team.”

Informal responses

These informal support services filling a void in formal services.

The PALM scheme does require sponsoring employers to provide “cultural support” – vaguely defined as cultural, social and religious activities – but there are no formal provisions to ensure those employing Pacific Islanders understand the type of cultural support their workers need.

My research indicates those signing up to the scheme are unsure about their obligations and are fumbling through the process.

“There’s no induction, you just get a bunch of Islanders arrive at your doorstep, fresh off the plane,” one hostel operator said. “I had no idea what church they go to, or even how I should refer to them. Can I say ‘Islander’? Is that appropriate?”

With Pacific Islanders becoming an increasingly crucial component of Australia’s rural workforce, building cultural awareness shouldn’t be an afterthought. My report argues that making cultural education part of the PALM scheme can help mitigate tensions and misunderstandings.

Training, awareness and information should be implemented by Pacific people here in regional communities. They know their cultural and social responsibilities, and can ease local Australian businesses and newly arrived Pacific Island workers into meaningful, long-term relationships. As one support service representative said:

Leadership must come from Pacific people themselves, not Australians.

If we are serious about nurturing our “Pacific Family” we can’t expect local businesses to erect high walls around their backyards, sealing off these workers from divided communities.

* Names have been changed.

Dr Kaya Barry works for Griffith University. She is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Award (project number DE220100394) funded by the Australian Government.

– ref. Reaping what we sow: cultural ignorance undermines Australia’s recruitment of Pacific Island workers – https://theconversation.com/reaping-what-we-sow-cultural-ignorance-undermines-australias-recruitment-of-pacific-island-workers-197910

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey University

Well, no one saw that coming. For those in New Zealand relieved that Christmas is over because it means politics resumes, this week held the promise of a cabinet reshuffle, the possible unveiling of some meaty new policy and, if we were really lucky, the announcement of the date of this year’s general election.

We got the last of these (it will be on October 14). What we also got, however, was the announcement that in three weeks’ time one of the most popular – and powerful – prime ministers in recent New Zealand history will be stepping down.

It isn’t difficult to divine why Jacinda Ardern has reached her decision. As she herself put it:

I believe that leading a country is the most privileged job anyone could ever have but also one of the more challenging. You cannot and should not do it unless you have a full tank plus a bit in reserve for those unexpected challenges.

She has had more than her fair share of such challenges: a domestic terror attack in Christchurch, a major natural disaster at Whakaari-White Island, a global pandemic and, most recently, a cost-of-living crisis.

On top of that, of course, she has had to chart a way through the usual slate of policy issues that have bedevilled governments for decades in this country, including the cost of housing, child poverty, inequality and the climate crisis. Clearly, the Ardern tank is empty.

Read more:
From ‘pretty communist’ to ‘Jabcinda’ – what’s behind the vitriol directed at Jacinda Ardern?

But it isn’t just about the policy. Along with other women politicians, Ardern faces a constant barrage of online and in-person abuse – from anti-vaxxers, misogynists and sundry others who simply don’t like her.

As others with direct experience of this have written, the deterioration in civic discourse in New Zealand has been profound and disturbing, especially since the violent occupation of the parliamentary precinct in early 2022.

Ardern has spent the past two years right on the frontline of this sort of toxicity. This has taken a toll – on her, on her family, on those close to her – and has played a part in her decision.

A tale of two legacies

In time, however, what people will remember most about Ardern’s term in office is the manner of her response to serious crises. She has faced more than any other New Zealand prime minister in recent history and, in the main, has responded with calmness, dignity and clarity.

There are always competing points of view on these matters, of course. But her refusal to engage in the rhetoric of abuse or disparagement (her recent reference in parliament to an opposition MP as an “arrogant prick” aside), which has become the stock-in-trade of too many elected representatives, has marked her out in a world in which abuse has become normalised in politics.

Read more:
NZ election 2020: Jacinda Ardern promised transformation — instead, the times transformed her

Critics may deride this as “mere performance”. But politics is – above all else – a matter of controlling the narrative. And for a long time Ardern and her team were very good at this.

That said, there is plenty she hasn’t achieved. She came to power promising transformation, but inequality and poverty remain weeping sores on the body politic. Her Labour government hasn’t been able to alleviate the chronic shortage of public housing that has existed for many years, and workforces in public health, education and construction face challenges no future government will relish.

No obvious successor

Attention now turns to Labour’s leadership and the party’s caucus vote this Sunday. A majority of 60% plus one more vote is required to secure the position, and Labour will be hoping this is what happens.

If not, the party’s constitution requires it to establish an electoral college comprising the caucus (which gets 40% of the total vote), the wider party membership (40%) and affiliate members (20%). This would be time-consuming, potentially divisive and a distraction. Look for a clear-cut decision to be announced on Sunday.

The other big surprise has been finance minister and Ardern’s deputy Grant Robertson ruling himself out of the contest. Many people assumed he was the logical successor, but his decision opens the field wide.

Even including Ardern’s inner circle of David Parker, Chris Hipkins and Megan Woods, the bench is not that deep, and none of the candidates has anything like Ardern’s wattage. The shoes needing filling are on the large side of big.

Mixed news for National

Unsurprisingly, Ardern’s announcement has dominated the news cycle in New Zealand, leaving no room for consideration of another important event this week – the National Party’s first caucus of the year.

One might imagine that on hearing news of Ardern’s resignation there might have been jubilation in some sections of the party. Labour’s polling has been falling for some time now, while support for centre-right parties National and ACT has been climbing.

Ardern is still significantly more popular than National’s leader, Christopher Luxon, and he will likely be quietly pleased he won’t have to face Ardern on the campaign trail. She was good at that stuff; he is still learning.

Read more:
Anniversary of a landslide: new research reveals what really swung New Zealand’s 2020 ‘COVID election’

National will be thinking, too, that some of the support for Labour that is tied to Ardern herself – including the support Labour received in 2020 from people who habitually vote for National – can now be peeled off and brought home.

Wider National heads will counsel caution, however. As the COVID years have rolled by, Ardern has become an increasingly polarising figure. By stepping aside now she gives her party plenty of time to instal a new leadership group that can draw a line under the past three years and focus on the future.

It’s far too soon to tell, of course, if the country will buy a new narrative in which Ardern is not the key character. But she is giving Labour every chance of having a decent crack at it.

Leaving on her own terms

Are there broader lessons in all of this for international audiences? Depressingly, perhaps the key one concerns the price paid by elected representatives in these times of polarisation and the normalisation of abuse. Around the world, women politicians in particular have borne the brunt of the toxicity and there are many who will see in Ardern’s departure a silencing of a woman’s voice.

On the upside, perhaps there are also things to be learned about the exercise of political leadership. Ardern has chosen the time and manner of her leaving – she has not lost the position because of internal ructions or because of an election loss.

Her reputation will be burnished as a result, and if anything it will generate even more political capital for her – although whether or not she chooses to distribute that currency on the international stage remains unclear. But you rather suspect she might at some point.

For now, though, she will be looking forward to walking her child to school and finally being able to marry her long-term partner. After a tumultuous and more-than-testing time in office, that may yet be reward enough.

Richard Shaw 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 shoes needing filling are on the large side of big’ – Jacinda Ardern’s legacy and Labour’s new challenge – https://theconversation.com/the-shoes-needing-filling-are-on-the-large-side-of-big-jacinda-arderns-legacy-and-labours-new-challenge-198148

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Xiujian Peng, Senior Research Fellow, Victoria University

China’s National Bureau of Statistics has confirmed what researchers such as myself have long suspected – that 2022 was the year China’s population turned down, the first time that has happened since the great famine brought on by Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1959-1961.

Unlike the famine, whose effects were temporary, and followed by steady population growth, this downturn will be long-lasting, even if it is followed by a temporary rebound in births, bringing forward the day the world’s population peaks and starts to shrink.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday that China’s population fell to 1.412 billion in 2022 from 1.413 billion in 2021, a decrease of 850,000.

The Bureau reported 9.56 million births in 2022, down from 10.62 million in 2021. The number of births per thousand people slid from 7.52 to 6.77.

China’s total fertility rate, the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime, was fairly flat at an average about 1.66 between 1991 and 2017 under the influence of China’s one-child policy, but then fell to 1.28 in 2020 and 1.15 in 2021.

The 2021 rate of 1.15 is well below the replacement rate of 2.1 generally thought necessary to sustain a population, also well below the US and Australian rates of 1.7 and 1.6, and even below ageing Japan’s unusually low rate of 1.3.

Calculations from Professor Wei Chen at the Renmin University of China, based on the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics data on Tuesday, put the 2022 fertility rate at just 1.08.

Births declining even before COVID

In part, the slide is because three years of strict COVID restrictions reduced both the marriage rate and the willingness of young families to have children.

But mainly the slide is because, even before the restrictions, Chinese women were becoming reluctant to have children and resistant to incentives to get them to have more introduced after the end of the one-child policy in 2016.

Read more:
China’s population is about to shrink for the first time since the great famine struck 60 years ago. Here’s what it means for the world

One theory is that the one-child policy got them used to small families. Other theories involve the rising cost of living and the increasing marriage age, which delays births and dampens the desire to have children.

In addition, the one-child policy left China with fewer women of child-bearing age than might be expected. Sex-selection by couples limited to having only one child lifted the ratio of boys to girls to one of the highest in the world.

Deaths growing, even before COVID

The number of deaths, which had roughly equalled the number of births in 2021 at 10.14 million, climbed to 10.41 million in 2022 under the continued influence of population ageing and COVID restrictions.

Importantly, the official death estimate for 2022 was based on data collected in November. That means it doesn’t take into account the jump in deaths in December when COVID restrictions were relaxed.

China might well experience a rebound in births in the next few years as a result of looser COVID restrictions, an easing of the pandemic and enhanced incentives to have more children.

But any such rebound is likely to be only temporary. When the total fertility rate is as low as China’s has been for a long time, without substantial inward migration, a decline in population is inevitable.

Population prospects bleak

Last year the United Nations brought forward its estimate of when China’s population would peak by eight years from 2031 to 2023.

My calculations suggest that if China was to quickly lift its total fertility rate back to the replacement rate of 2.1 and keep it there, it would take 40 or more years before China’s population began to consistently grow again.

And bringing fertility back to 2.1 is most unlikely. Evidence from European countries, which were the first to experience fertility declines and ageing, shows that once fertility falls below replacement it is very hard to return it to 2.1.

Read more:
Scrapping the one-child policy will do little to change China’s population

If China was instead merely able to lift fertility to 1.3 by 2033, then gradually to 1.49 by the end of this century as the United Nations assumed last year, China’s population would continue to decline indefinitely. That central UN projection has China’s population roughly halving to 766.67 million by the end of the century.

Just as likely is that China’s total fertility rate will slip even lower. The Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences experts a drop to 1.1, pushing China’s population down to 587 million in 2100.

A more severe scenario, put forward by the United Nations as its low case, is a drop in total fertility to around 0.8, giving China a population of only 488 million by the end of the century, about one third of its present level.

Such a drop is possible. South Korea’s total fertility rate fell to 0.81 in 2021.

China’s population drives the globe’s population

China has been the world’s biggest nation, accounting for more than one sixth of global population. This means that even as it shrinks, how fast it shrinks has implications for when the globe’s population starts to shrink.

In 2022 the United Nations brought forward its estimate of when the world’s population will peak by 20 years to 2086. The Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences forecasts for China would mean an earlier peak, in 2084.

India is likely to have overtaken China as the world’s biggest nation in 2022. The UN expects it to have 1.7 billion people to China’s 1.4 billion in 2050.

Forecasting when and if the global population will shrink is extraordinarily difficult, but what has happened in China is likely to have brought that day closer.

Xiujian Peng works for/consults to/owns shares in the Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University. She receives funding from Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences from 2017 to 2019.

– ref. China’s population is now inexorably shrinking, bringing forward the day the planet’s population turns down – https://theconversation.com/chinas-population-is-now-inexorably-shrinking-bringing-forward-the-day-the-planets-population-turns-down-198061

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Duncan, Associate Professor, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University

New Zealanders will have a new prime minister by February 7 and will go to the polls on October 14, after two-term Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation to spend more time with her family.

“For me, it’s time,” she said, speaking from the Labour Party’s retreat. “I just don’t have enough in the tank for another four years.”

Ardern said she would stay on until April as a local MP.

Beyond that, I have no plan. No next steps. All I know is that whatever I do, I will try and find ways to keep working for New Zealand and that I am looking forward to spending time with my family again – arguably, they are the ones that have sacrificed the most out of all of us.

Ardern’s resignation will come as a shock to many New Zealanders, and especially to people overseas – given the international reputation she earned as prime minister over the past five years.

But this is less of a surprise for close watchers of New Zealand politics. Back in November 2021, I wrote in The Conversation: “Might Jacinda Ardern stand down?”, after Labour changed its rules to make it easier for the party’s leader to be replaced.

A game changing move before the election

Ardern’s rise to power in 2017 was a game changer in New Zealand politics. Now she’s surprised everyone again with today’s decision to stand down, this could be a game changer for the October election.

Ardern is still higher in the preferred PM polls, ahead of National’s Christopher Luxon. So it’s not imperative for Labour to change their leader. But up until this moment, everyone has been picking a likely change in government to a National/Act coalition later this year.

Now that Labour is starting to trail in the polls, having a refresh of the leadership doesn’t necessarily ruin the party’s chances of winning in October. The social and economic fallout of the pandemic has been so profound that having a fresh new face could help Labour’s chances.

Former National Prime Minister John Key did a similar thing back in 2016, invoking the same “not enough in the tank” line as Ardern today, when he surprised everyone and stood down, handing over to Bill English. English and National actually did well in the following year’s election, gaining 44% of the vote. It was only because of overall arithmetic that National was unable to form government and that Ardern went on to become prime minister.

Read more:
Labour makes it easier to change leaders, but Jacinda Ardern has no reason to go – yet

Ardern’s replacement could be known within days

Ardern made herself world famous for her management of the pandemic, and she did an extremely good job as a leader over that period.

But COVID-19 also completely derailed her prime ministership, meaning she was stymied in pursuing many of the key social objectives such as child poverty and housing that she would have liked to put more effort into.

I know Ardern personally, and what you see on TV is what you get in real life. She is a genuine person and politician, and you can understand the reasons she’s given about wanting more time with her fiancé and daughter.

My sense is that Labour knows who will take over. Front runners to be leader could be Minister of Justice Kiri Allan – who could be the first Māori PM, though she is relatively new to politics – and Minister for Education and Leader of the House Chris Hipkins, who was a high-profile MP during COVID.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson won’t be contesting the election, and Labour caucus has agreed that a vote will happen in three days’ time, on January 22.

A successful candidate will need more than 60% of the caucus vote, otherwise they’ve got to go to a primary-style process with the Labour membership, which could be messy, so they will want to avoid that.

Grant Duncan 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. Ardern’s resignation as New Zealand prime minister is a game changer for the 2023 election – https://theconversation.com/arderns-resignation-as-new-zealand-prime-minister-is-a-game-changer-for-the-2023-election-198149

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland

If Australia is to decarbonise our energy system by 2050, we need to start the transition to electric vehicles very soon. Cars sold in the 2030s will mostly still be on the road in 2050, so we have to make sure most of them are electric. But electric cars (including plug-in hybrids) currently account for only 3.5% of new car sales in Australia.

The world leader is Norway, where 87.6% of new cars (including 4.8% plug-in hybrids) are electric. Australia’s figure is also far lower than in Europe (27.7%, including 10.4% plug-in hybrids), China (35%, 25% fully electric) or even the United States (7.1%, 5.8% fully electric).

However, even in Norway the proportion of cars on the road that are electric – although impressive compared to the rest of the world – is still only 20%. This difference reflects the time it takes to replace an existing fleet of internal combustion engine cars.

Read more:
Australia is failing on electric vehicles. California shows it’s possible to pick up the pace

Why are sales so low in Australia?

Why has Australia done so badly? The overt hostility of the previous government to electric vehicles can’t have helped. Prime Minister Scott Morrison even claimed Labor wanted to “abolish the weekend” with its electric vehicle policy.

But the Morrison government has been gone for the better part of a year now and electric vehicle sales, while growing, remain very low.

The two core issues faced by Australians wanting to buy electric vehicles are affordability and lack of availability. Despite some recent modest price reductions, Teslas are priced out of reach of most private car buyers. They also face long delivery delays. Would-be buyers of many other brands face similar problems.

Australian governments have done little, if anything, to encourage the transition to electric vehicles. Almost uniquely among developed countries, Australia has neither a carbon price nor vehicle fuel-efficiency standards.

Read more:
Why electric vehicles won’t be enough to rein in transport emissions any time soon

The Victorian state government even taxes electric and hybrid vehicles for their road use. South Australia had a similar tax, but has abolished it.

There have been a few positive measures, mostly at the state level. Although the federal government has legislated an exemption from fringe benefits tax, it offers no direct benefit to individual car buyers. The government’s development of a national EV strategy may lead to other initiatives.

But incentives don’t make much difference if it is impossible to buy a vehicle. Until recently, delivery delays could be explained as part of general COVID-related disruptions and restrictions introduced to control the pandemic.

But those restrictions are mostly gone now, and remaining supply disruptions haven’t stopped millions of European and Chinese buyers from getting behind the wheel.

Read more:
New electric cars for under $45,000? They’re finally coming to Australia – but the battle isn’t over

Industry’s structure is a barrier

A critical problem is that the Australian retail motor industry has a structure designed for the 20th century, when a small number of locally made cars, powered by internal combustion engines, dominated the roads. Retailers, typically franchisees for one of the major manufacturers, provided not only a distribution channel, but highly profitable after-sales service.

With the end of Australian manufacturing, this no longer makes a lot of sense. The requirement to buy through an authorised dealer, like other systems of this kind, allows overseas producers to raise car prices for Australian consumers, with few offsetting benefits. They can also supply the market with fuel-inefficient models.

Read more:
Who’s holding back electric cars in Australia? We’ve long known the answer – and it’s time to clear the road

The problem is even worse for electric vehicles. Compared to vehicles with internal combustion engines, electric vehicles have many fewer moving parts and much less need for costly servicing.

The most important component, the battery, has an estimated life of up to 20 years. There’s no transmission, spark plugs, timing belt or air filter to worry about. Profits on all of these items enable car dealers to reduce the sticker price on fossil-fuelled vehicles, making them much easier to sell.

Parallel importing is part of the solution

One step towards solving this problem would be to allow consumers to import new and used cars from overseas suppliers. This is known as “parallel importing”.

Consumers have already seen the benefits of parallel importing for items including books, music and a wide variety of consumer goods. In some cases, such as that of books, parallel importing can be done only by individual consumers; in others it is open to firms that wish to compete with existing distribution channels.

Australia is far behind the rest of the world in the transition from fossil-fuelled vehicles. To avoid falling further behind, we need to change the kinds of vehicles we import.

A fuel-efficiency standard would discourage the dirtiest of our current vehicles. While increasing the upfront sale price, it would save drivers money in the long run.

Read more:
A rapid shift to electric vehicles can save 24,000 lives and leave us $148bn better off over the next 2 decades

Parallel importing would increase competition in the market for new and used electric vehicles overnight. Manufacturers would have to reconsider their supply and pricing strategies for Australia.

Allowing independent importation would also promote the development of a skilled workforce to service the cars. It could even allow the development of local manufacturing of electric vehicle components.

John Quiggin is a former Member of the Climate Change Authority

Flavio Menezes 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. Let buyers jump the queue for electric cars by importing them directly – https://theconversation.com/let-buyers-jump-the-queue-for-electric-cars-by-importing-them-directly-197614

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

You may have seen the news Qantas flight 144 from Auckland landed safely in Sydney yesterday after the pilot was forced to shut down an engine and issue a mayday call while flying over the Pacific Ocean.

The plane was reportedly a ten-year-old, twin-jet Boeing 737 and was carrying 145 passengers, all of whom disembarked normally after landing yesterday afternoon.

These events do, unfortunately, happen occasionally in aviation – I myself have lost an engine while flying – but the good news is it’s extremely rare. That makes aviation the safest form of transport in the world.

These are highly trained pilots who spend a lot of time in full-motion simulators going over events exactly like this.

When you’re down an engine and you have lot of water under you, you have a process to follow.

It becomes rote; you don’t panic, you don’t go off the rails, you remember your training, and that’s what happened here.

Read more:
Here’s the real reason to turn on aeroplane mode when you fly

Can planes fly on just one engine?

Absolutely. That is what they are designed to do.

By law, planes have to be able to fly from point A to point B, over water, on just one engine. The guidance set by safety regulators in Australia mandates that any plane that takes off with the intention of getting to a certain destination has to be able to get there on one engine – based on the departure loads determined before takeoff.

That rule ensures that even if one engine goes down – as appears to have happened here – the plane can still arrive safely. It can fly until it runs out of fuel. Basically, these planes are built to fly as well on one engine as they can on two.

Having just one engine operating means you won’t have the maximum thrust power for take off, but you’d be able to fly and land just fine.

But while a plane can fly on one engine, it is very rare for an engine to go down in the middle of a flight.

Airline maintenance procedures are meticulous and technicians are licensed at the same level and quality as pilots. Typically you have someone do the maintenance on a plane on the ground, but they have someone come after them and inspect it and test it to make sure it is operating at 100% performance.

There are ground tests and flight tests and certification processes that need to be followed before a plane can take passengers. That’s why these events are so unusual.

A bang and air-con shutdown

Passengers said they heard a bang during the Qantas flight yesterday.

Details on what exactly happened are yet to emerge, but it’s certainly possible for engine failure to make a sound. It depends on the type of failure. If it was a section within the engine breaking, that could make a noise loud enough for passengers to hear it.

But normally if the pilot needed to isolate the engine and could see pressure fluctuation or engine temperature exceeding normal levels, then the pilot could choose to shut it down even before they heard a bang.

Reports the plane’s air conditioning subsequently stopped working suggests to me the crew probably had to turn off some systems to achieve their goal of landing successfully back in Sydney.

Anatomy of a crisis

When an event like this happens, pilots have a process for scanning their instrumentation to isolate and figure out what’s happening.

Once they do, we have what’s known as a Quick Reference Handbook to consult. It lists all the potential emergency situations that might happen on a plane. The pilots then follow that handbook to analyse each step and each possibility, which helps isolate and solve the problem.

In this case, it appears the solution was to shut that engine down.

For the sake of precaution, aviators announce a mayday call when we have a situation we think means we need priority help. The mayday call clears out the airspace to permit this plane to be number one in the queue for priority; all other aircraft have to get out of the way.

The air traffic controllers put everyone else in the air in a holding pattern or give them a big turn to keep them out of the area.

However, sometime after the pilot on QF144 issued a mayday call, it was downgraded to what’s known as a PAN – that stands for Possible Assistance Needed.

A PAN is a less extreme event; it still signals it is an emergency, and meant yesterday there were emergency vehicles on the runway and the plane retained its priority status in the queue. But it is not quite as serious as a mayday.

From here, a very thorough review will help shed light on what happened. The pilots typically go through drug and alcohol testing and there will be a full investigation to ensure nothing was missed and help Qantas return to normal operations.

Remembering your training

I wasn’t there on the flight deck yesterday and can only infer from what I have heard and read that the pilots on this plane did exactly what they are trained to do.

Airlines spend a lot of money on training so pilots and crew can handle events like this.

As we begin the conversation toward single pilot planes and autonomous aircraft, it’s worth asking how AI and autonomous systems might respond to circumstances that are not normal events.

Read more:
What happens to your body on a long-haul flight?

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

– ref. Qantas flight mayday: can a plane normally fly on just one engine? An aviation expert explains – https://theconversation.com/qantas-flight-mayday-can-a-plane-normally-fly-on-just-one-engine-an-aviation-expert-explains-198142

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Hemsley, Professor of Speech Pathology, University of Technology Sydney

If you’re one of the 1.2 million Australians with communication disability or among the 44% of Australian adults with low literacy, you may soon find helpful, automated communication assistance online.

The chat bot ChatGPT – based on GTP3, a large language model – is a disruptive technology designed to “provide human-like responses” to user input. It is a form of artificial intelligence (AI), boosted by machine learning, is used by more than one million people and is impressing educators.

It responds to the user’s questions and commands, and can draw upon its billions of words to process and generate text, appearing informative and knowledgeable.

Described somewhat poetically as producing “fluent bullshit”, its unchecked outputs may be plausible enough to score a pass mark on assignments and tests, while bypassing plagiarism detection software.

If it becomes accessible for everyone, AI of this type could do more than disrupt exams. It could help people with communication disability and others who struggle with text, and could also significantly enhance rate of communication. People using speech generating devices are often limited to laboriously entering a mere 10 words per minute with word prediction only increasing that to 12-18 words per minute.

Read more:
The ChatGPT chatbot is blowing people away with its writing skills. An expert explains why it’s so impressive

Communication disability can leave you lost for words – and excluded

There are many types of communication disability impacting a person’s ability to speak, understand, or write.

Impairments of speech, language and social communication are associated with a wide range of conditions including cerebral palsy, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and motor neurone disease. Communication disabilities can impact the clarity of your speech and what you can say, your ability to understand others or express yourself, and your skills in reading and writing.

A communication disability can mean you need to economise on what you say, as each word takes more effort and time to produce or write. If you have limited literacy, you’ll need text simplified to make sense of it. You’re also more likely to encounter more barriers to completing training, getting a job, forming relationships, managing your own health and life decisions, and participating in social networks.

How technology like ChatGPT could help

AI like ChatGPT can help pull information together in a neat text, and it can turn written text into a summary for readers with low literacy.

We already know that AI assistants like “Alexa” and “Siri” can help people with intellectual disability and speech impairments to communicate and speech-recognition software is improving.

But ChatGPT looks like it will be more inclusive of diversity by being able to understand poorly written commands, or sentences with several grammar or spelling errors. It can reportedly “read” poorly structured input, re-write and improve imperfect writing, and simplify complex texts into simpler summaries for early-stage readers. ChatGPT could be considered an “assistive technology” if it assists people with communication disability to get their message across more efficiently or effectively.

Read more:
The dawn of AI has come, and its implications for education couldn’t be more significant

A user perspective

As a qualified lawyer and a person with cerebral palsy and no speech, co-author Fiona Given relies on assistive communication technologies, including augmentative and alternative communication speech-generating devices. Fiona says:

[…] each word and message that I compose takes me substantially more time and effort than a person who speaks. So I economise on that, and my written messages using current assistive technologies are often short and to the point. This can cause many problems, as I may be perceived as curt, if not rude, and I’m also not fully explaining what I mean.

Having tested the system, Fiona says ChatGPT could be particularly useful in adding the polite parts of emails and letters.

It can save me time and effort whilst maintaining my professionalism. One day, AI like ChatGPT may be installed into my speech-generating device. Yes, it raises questions of authorship and brings in doubt over who did the writing. That’s the case also with word prediction software – who thought of the word first? I see it as a type of co-authorship, and people like me will still need to be able to read and check it reflects what they want to say and edit and authorise the output accordingly.

AI technologies like ChatGPT may help people with communication disability to:

• expand on short sentences, saving time and effort
• draft or improve texts for emails, instructions, or assignments
• suggest scripts to practice or rehearse what to say in social situations
• model how to be “more polite” or “more direct” in written communication
• practice conversations, including asking and answering questions
• correct errors in texts produced for a range of purposes
• write a complaint letter, including nuance and outcomes of not taking action
• help with making that first approach to a person socially.

Future AI must be inclusive and accessible

Given its potential for text-based assistance, it is important to know if people with communication disability will be able to access chatbots like ChatGPT.

We don’t know how many of the one million users testing the ChatGPT system now have problems with literacy, written expression, or spelling. But so far it looks like a game changer to help people produce texts with little or less effort.

The experiences of people with communication disability in using AI like ChatGPT are vital in the future co-design of assistive technologies. We need to know more about their views on acceptability, usability, and authenticity of the messages produced. With a screen reader, the ChatGPT output could become the user’s “voice”. So being able to check, edit, and confirm or reject AI writing is vital. Any incremental improvements to chat bots, that take into account what helps and hinders access and inclusion, are important if people with communication disability are going to benefit from advancements in AI.

Read more:
From glasses to mobility scooters, ‘assistive technology’ isn’t always high-tech. A WHO roadmap could help 2 million Australians get theirs

Bronwyn Hemsley has received research grant funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality & Safeguards Commission for work unrelated to this article.

Emma Power receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council and the Medical Research Future Fund.
She is a member of Speech Pathology Australia.

Fiona Given 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. Will AI tech like ChatGPT improve inclusion for people with communication disability? – https://theconversation.com/will-ai-tech-like-chatgpt-improve-inclusion-for-people-with-communication-disability-196481

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Baker, Professor of Public Health, University of Otago

Imagine it is 2030. Doctors in a regional hospital in country X note an expanding cluster of individuals with severe respiratory disease. Rapid whole-genome sequencing identifies the disease-causing agent as a novel coronavirus.

Epidemiological investigations suggest the virus is highly infectious, with most initial cases requiring hospitalisation. The episode bears a striking resemblance to the COVID outbreak first detected in December 2019.

Regional and national health authorities are notified quickly. The national contact point for the International Health Regulations 2024 (a major revision to the current IHR 2005) sends a description to the World Health Organization (WHO). After an intense exchange of information and risk assessment, it declares a public health emergency of international concern.

The outbreak is assigned a response strategy of “elimination”. This designation initiates a well-rehearsed procedure, including mobilising expertise and resource stockpiles.

The elimination response results in localised quarantine measures at the epicentre and its surrounds and a travel freeze across a wide radius within country X and at its borders. It also prompts intensified local and international surveillance. Case numbers rise rapidly but plateau after three weeks, and then fall until no new cases are detected in the community.

After eight weeks of intensive efforts the outbreak is over – similar to the experience of New Zealand, which terminated its initial COVID outbreak in eight weeks using an elimination strategy. The outbreak had spread regionally within country X, but not internationally.

This is how we propose, in The Lancet, the world should respond to future pandemic threats.

À lire aussi :
China’s COVID cases may have hit 900 million. What’s headed our way?

An upgraded pandemic response to eliminate at source

The process by which the WHO currently decides whether to declare a public health emergency of international concern (under the International Health Regulations 2005) has drawn criticism for being too slow.

The upgraded response framework we propose would enhance the existing risk assessment by routinely requiring WHO to assign a high-level response strategy for managing this risk. For potential pandemics, we consider this strategy should be elimination rather than suppression or mitigation, which have been the usual default options in the past. In simple terms, “if in doubt, stamp it out”.

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‘We suppressed our scientific imagination’: four experts examine the big successes and failures of the COVID response so far

The idea of eliminating novel emerging infectious diseases at the earliest possible stage is intuitively appealing and not new. It has been proposed for eliminating novel pandemic influenza outbreaks.

This approach successfully eliminated and then eradicated the SARS pandemic in 2003 (caused by SARS-CoV). It also proved successful in China during early containment of COVID in Wuhan.

We have described this concept previously. Whether this approach could have eliminated and ultimately eradicated COVID, if pursued early and in a co-ordinated way globally, remains a topic of speculation.

An elimination strategy also slows the spread of infection

There is a second broad reason for the WHO assigning an explicit strategic goal of elimination to pandemic diseases with sufficient severity. It can also slow or interrupt the global spread of a new infectious disease. This action buys time for interventions to be developed, building on rapidly accumulating scientific knowledge.

Some countries in the Asia-Pacific region adopted elimination and strong suppression strategies. This approach largely prevented widespread COVID circulation for the first one to two years of the pandemic, keeping mortality rates low.

It allowed time for vaccine development and roll-out and for jurisdictions to prepare their health systems for managing large numbers of infected people. Notable examples are New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. They have been able to keep their cumulative mortality low by international standards.

If elimination is ultimately not successful or justifiable, an organised transition to another strategy (suppression or mitigation) should be considered. Processes for managing these transitions can draw on experience from the current pandemic.

À lire aussi :
How should New Zealand manage COVID from now – limit all infections or focus on preventing severe disease?

Elimination makes sense for other potential pandemics

The most recently declared public health emergency of international concern is mpox (formerly known as monkeypox). Under our proposed change to the International Health Regulations, the WHO would have been required to assign a response strategy to this disease.

Elimination again makes sense as a default approach. That is what countries around the world have effectively been doing. And this approach appears to be working.

The other current public health emergency of international concern is poliomyelitis. Unlike COVID and mpox, this disease is already subject to a global eradication goal.

A further benefit of the elimination strategy is that it supports strengthening of health system infrastructure in low and middle-income countries. This capacity building has contributed to the elimination of periodic Ebola outbreaks in Africa, which have been designated as public health emergencies of international concern in 2014-16 and 2019-20. It could also support elimination of mpox, an increasing threat in Africa.

Upgraded International Health Regulations could stimulate a huge global investment in infrastructure to stop epidemics at source and improve surveillance capacity. These capacities are critical given the range of future pandemic scenarios, including the threat from bioweapons with advances in synthetic biology.

Let us hope that when the world is next confronted by the spark of a new emerging infectious disease with pandemic potential, the WHO rapidly declares a public health emergency of international concern and assigns an elimination strategy. And the international community reacts vigorously to extinguish the spark before it becomes an inferno.

Michael Baker’s employer, the University of Otago, receives funding for his research on Covid-19 and other infectious diseases from the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the New Zealand Ministry of Health.

David Durrheim, Li Yang HSU et Nick Wilson ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.

– ref. The costly lesson from COVID: why elimination should be the default global strategy for future pandemics – https://theconversation.com/the-costly-lesson-from-covid-why-elimination-should-be-the-default-global-strategy-for-future-pandemics-197806

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

For the first time in a long time, a year can begin with a realistic assessment that Australia-China relations are on an upward trajectory again.

After winning last May’s federal election, the new Albanese government set “stabilisation” as the objective for Canberra’s relations with Beijing.

Rather than reaching for something loftier, “stabilisation” made sense given the new Labor government was inheriting a relationship in its worst state since 1972, the year the Whitlam government moved to recognise Beijing (instead of Taipei) as China’s sole legal government.

Under the previous Morrison government, there had been no senior-level political dialogue for more than two years. Disputes between the two governments had spilled over to hurt other parts of the bilateral relationship, like trade and investment.

The Albanese government should feel satisfied the “stabilisation” objective has now been achieved in just nine short months.

This was punctuated by a meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping last November, followed by a formal visit to Beijing by Foreign Minister Penny Wong just before Christmas. Wong’s trip resulted in a commitment by both sides to pursue a wide-ranging dialogue agenda, even extending to defence issues.

Trade blockages are being removed, too. Earlier this month, the first order of Australian coal to China since 2020 was booked by a Chinese company, to be shipped soon.

The Australian lobster trade looks like the next to be revived.

And in another sign of deescalating tensions, both Canberra and Beijing are talking up the prospect that tariffs on Australia’s barley and wine exports to China might be addressed through bilateral discussions rather a drawn-out legal process at the World Trade Organization.

Last weekend, Albanese raised his sights even more, insisting “it is in both countries’ interests to continue to develop more positive relations”. This upbeat aspiration was widely reported and welcomed in Chinese state media – a sharp departure from the caustic tone the media had taken toward Australia in recent years.

Read more:
Albanese-Xi meeting won’t resolve Australia’s grievances overnight. But it is a real step forward

Why differences will not ‘hijack’ the thawing relationship

To be sure, Canberra-Beijing relations will not be completely smooth-sailing going forward.

Two of my colleagues at the Australia-China Relations Institute have laid out five major issues that could derail an improvement in official ties this year.

One problem could be the way Beijing interprets expected announcements by Australia related to its military posture and new defence acquisitions (such as nuclear-powered submarines) in the wake of the 2021 AUKUS pact with the US and UK. Beijing may see this as evidence Canberra is lining up with Washington to confront China militarily.

And trade blockages are just one problem needing resolution. As long as Australian citizens like journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun remain detained in China on unclear grounds, any improvement in relations will only be able to run so far.

But neither will Canberra and Beijing be keen to quickly return to the lose-lose state of relations in recent years. Both sides are also embarking on re-engagement with grounded expectations.

Last week, the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, acknowledged, “we do have differences, in certain respects. We even have disputes”. But he then emphasised a further important point:

we can address the differences in a way that will not allow the differences to hijack the overall relationship.

Importantly, Australia-China relations are about more than just diplomatic relations between the capitals. Extensive business links and people-to-people ties have long given the broader relationship ballast, even as the diplomatic relationship has historically waxed and waned.

In fact, last year, the total value of Australia’s goods exports to China hit the second-highest level ever, despite all of the trade disruptions, and Australian companies becoming more sensitive to risks stemming from exposure to the Chinese market. This followed a new record high set in 2021.

Reasons for hope: clean energy, education and tourism

And even amid the political challenges of recent years, new areas of win-win cooperation are opening up.

China has rapidly emerged as the global production hub for manufactured goods essential to the world’s net-zero emissions transition, such as electric vehicles. This has been a bonanza for resources companies around the world.

Australia’s exports of raw lithium (used to make batteries for electric vehicles) have gone from just A$1 billion in 2020 to A$16 billion now – with China buying more than 90% of it.

Chinese companies have also transferred their world-leading lithium processing technology to Australia via joint ventures, allowing Australia to move up the value chain beyond mining.

Beijing’s abandonment of its “dynamic COVID zero” policy last December and the re-opening of China’s borders this month will give another shot in the arm to the broader relationship.

In the year ending September 2019, Australia hosted 1.3 million Chinese visitors, collectively injecting $10.2 billion into the local economy. By last year, these numbers had plummeted to just 62,120 and $1.3 billion.

The uncertain state of China’s economy, coupled with the Australian government requirement that arrivals from China must submit evidence of a negative COVID test, will likely dampen the appetite for long-haul travel to Australia in the near-term.

Read more:
How the pandemic has changed China’s economy – perhaps for good

But airlines are already ramping up their China-Australia offerings in anticipation of a positive shift in their fortunes. China Southern Airlines, for example, has announced it will begin flying daily services between Sydney and Guangzhou by the end of this month, up from just once a week.

Adding to their confidence ledger is the fact the number of Chinese students enrolled at Australian education providers has remained remarkably resilient. As of last October, there were still 119,107 Chinese citizens holding student visas, nearly double the 67,975 from India in second place.

In the second half of 2022, new visa applications by prospective Chinese students reached 38,701, not far off the previous peak of 42,526 in 2019.

Investment bank JPMorgan estimates there’s potential for a boost in tourism and education links with China to add one percentage point to Australian economic growth over this year and next.

Bring on the Year of the Rabbit.

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

– ref. Bring on the Year of the Rabbit: why there’s new hope and prosperity tipped for Australia-China relations – https://theconversation.com/bring-on-the-year-of-the-rabbit-why-theres-new-hope-and-prosperity-tipped-for-australia-china-relations-197892

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leon Lack, Professor of Psychology, Flinders University

People describe the sound of a dripping tap in the middle of the night as anything from annoying to torture. Others sleep through, seemingly oblivious.

But if this common sound is keeping you awake, you can do something about it.

Here are some tips of how to rethink the sound of your leaking tap, which should help bring you a decent night’s sleep.

Read more:
Why do we wake around 3am and dwell on our fears and shortcomings?

Taps, snoring, roosters, traffic

Dripping taps, a partner snoring, the neighbour’s roosters, traffic noise. All can be the nemeses of the land of nod.

Unwanted light can also interrupt our sleep but we can close our eyes to block it out. We cannot close our ears to silence these disruptive noises.

So unless we wear ear plugs or very expensive noise-cancelling headphones, sounds at night will vibrate our ear drums, be converted to nerve impulses and wend their way up to the brain.

So we can hear these sounds if we are awake. If we’re asleep already, they may wake us.

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Clicks, bonks and dripping taps: listen to the calls of 6 frogs out and about this summer

Why are some sounds more likely to wake us?

Sounds that are loud, variable, unpredictable and meaningful are most likely to wake us.

We analyse meaning in the top or “smart” part of the brain, the cerebral cortex. This receives the information from the ears, even when we are asleep, and assesses the importance of the sound.

We are much more likely to awaken to the sound of our own name than another name. A baby’s cry at night can wake us to feed it. Unusual sounds, possibly indicating danger, are more likely to wake us. Loud sounds, usually indicating something is getting very close, will wake us.

It is perhaps a good thing we cannot close our ears when we fall asleep. Having our ears “open” to potential danger while asleep may have been helpful for our ancestors, improving their chances of survival and our own subsequent existence.

How deeply we’re sleeping also affects if sounds wake us. Our sleep pattern is like a roller coaster. We first descend into deep sleep then ascend into light sleep about every 90 minutes. During phases of light sleep, we are much more likely to be awoken by noises, even if they are soft and regular.

These light phases of sleep have probably served as brief “sentry” points across the sleep period. They may have helped our ancestors survive any night-time threats.

Sounds that are soft, regular, familiar, predictable and unimportant are not likely to awaken us.

We can also become used to regular or predictable sounds, such as a dripping tap, refrigerator or fan. That’s because over time our brain predicts the regular pattern, gets used to it, and doesn’t perceive it as a threat.

But a change in the pattern of the sound, such as when it suddenly stops, can wake us.

We have completed a large sleep study of the effects of wind farm noise. We found no objective disturbance to sleep of typical intensity wind farm noise, which is a soft noise and regular.

To our surprise, even people who reported they found the wind farm noise annoying at home and felt it disturbed their sleep were not, in fact, woken by it. Nor was there any disruption of the objectively measured quality of their sleep.

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OK, so how about taps?

Sounds that represent a possible threat or challenge are much more likely to wake us. They are also more likely to stop us from falling asleep even when they are at low intensity and regular, such as a dripping tap.

The tap might be a challenge because it represents a job needing to be done, or a waste of water. But the strongest threat of the dripping tap on our sleep may be the belief that it will keep us awake and therefore affect how we function the next day.

The nightly association of the sound of the dripping tap with worry about our sleep and its “downstream” effects can trigger an anxious “fight or flight” response. This further delays us falling asleep. It can also develop into an “alert” habit, contributing to developing insomnia.

What can I do about it?

Cognitive/behaviour therapy for insomnia is a very effective treatment.

This cognitive approach may involve re-interpreting the meaning or threat the dripping tap poses.

Depending on its rate, you could interpret the dripping noises positively as someone’s heart beating regularly. If it drips at a slower rate, you could synchronise your breathing in a meditative-type practice to relax.

Alternatively, it may be quicker to wear earplugs, or fix the tap.

If you have insomnia, the dripping tap is unlikely to be the only trigger. So behavioural therapies can be used to increase your drive for sleep and ensure sleep, regardless of annoying noises.

A GP is a good place to start discussions about the option of referring you to a sleep psychologist to treat severe, chronic insomnia.

Read more:
Explainer: what is insomnia and what can you do about it?

Leon Lack receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

– ref. Drip, drip, drip. Why is my leaking tap keeping me awake at night? – https://theconversation.com/drip-drip-drip-why-is-my-leaking-tap-keeping-me-awake-at-night-194733

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasim Saman, Emeritus Professor of Sustainable Energy Engineering, University of South Australia

Soaring electricity prices have made 15% of Aussies think about installing solar panels, a recent survey found. Another 6% were already weighing up the move, on top of the 28% who had panels.

With costs falling, the average system size is growing rapidly. Households now typically install 8-10kW solar systems, often with a battery – roof area often limits the system’s size.

But does that guarantee no future electricity costs? No, some are still paying stubbornly high bills.

This is because they are often feeding energy into the grid during peak sunshine hours, when retailers pay low feed-in tariffs of five cents per kWh or less (a response to surging rooftop solar generation). To encourage customers to use energy at these times, retailers offer generous time-of-use (“solar sponge”) tariffs.

But the cost doubles during peak demand periods (around 6-10am and 3-11pm) when solar output is low or zero. Most rooftop solar owners are still paying for the electricity they use then.

Read more:
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The solution is a matter of getting three things right:

1. choosing efficient appliances

2. using smart technology or simple timers to run them during times of ample solar generation

3. choosing a retail electricity plan that best matches your use.

How much difference can appliances make?

To cut energy costs, the starting point is to understand your usage patterns.

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Heating and cooling account for 30-45% of typical home energy use. Our testing at the University of South Australia suggests air conditioners use more energy as they age. Yet many homes have air conditioners older than ten years with 2-3 star ratings. Modern split systems with 6 stars use less than half as much electricity.

Users can program or control air conditioners remotely with a mobile phone to run for an hour or two before getting home. They then use cheap solar electricity to create a comfortable home. Smart and affordable controllers can also reduce cooling or heating when they sense a room is unoccupied or windows are open.

Typically, another quarter to a third of energy use is for water heating. Ample solar electricity and soaring gas prices make heat pump water heaters the best option. With government subsidies, their initial cost is similar to conventional gas or electric systems and they typically use a third of the energy.

Again, they can be programmed to heat water at times of peak solar generation and store it, thus providing almost free hot water when needed.

Read more:
Heat pumps can cut your energy costs by up to 90%. It’s not magic, just a smart use of the laws of physics

Many other smart appliances and lights are available. Induction cooktops deliver fast and impressive results using little electricity. Along with the microwave, air fryer and pressure cooker, they can reduce energy use. Ovens and slow cookers can be programmed to use solar power and have meals ready when we get home.

As well as having options with high star ratings, appliances to wash and dry clothes and dishes can easily be set to run during sunshine hours.

Energy-efficient fridges also cut costs. However, while people are happy to buy such fridges, our research survey found some keep the old one, using three to four times the electricity, for drinks.

Homes with swimming pools or spas are notorious for having the highest electricity bills. A pool will typically use 2,000-3,000kWh of electricity per year (depending on type of pump, hours of use and whether the pool is heated), at a cost of A$700-1,200. Solar pool heaters are an excellent alternative. A simple timer switch can ensure most power is consumed during sunshine hours.

A typical outdoor spa uses 5kW for water heating and circulating. Much heat is lost to the surroundings if you let the thermostat keep it warm all the time. By installing a timer switch, you can use solar power for heating and have the spa ready for use after working hours.

Use smart technology to control time of use

The key to making the best use of your solar output is avoiding energy wastage and matching the timing of energy supply with household demand. An affordable smart control system – for the whole home or individual appliances – can do this.

This system can set seven-day schedules for all appliances. It can turn off lights and air conditioning after you leave home. On a hot day, it can lower blinds and switch on the ceiling fan and air conditioner before you return, then adjust the bedroom temperature for comfortable sleep.

With improved energy supply and demand forecasting and artificial intelligence, future controllers will provide the optimal energy options with little human intervention. If smart gadgets are not for you, simple timer switches start at less than $10.

Energy storage remains a key technology for enabling use at night and on days of no sunshine. A recent Conversation article discussed home batteries.

Read more:
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Another emerging technology is thermal batteries for heating and cooling. During sunshine hours a reverse-cycle air conditioner generates heat or cool to store in the thermal battery (commonly as hot or chilled water) for later use.

Electric vehicles that connect to the grid will go a long way towards making better use of rooftop electricity and storing it for evening use. Their battery capacity is several times that of home batteries.

Find the best energy plan for your home

With 45 energy retailers in southern and eastern Australia, each offering multiple tariffs, it’s no wonder consumers are confused about which one to choose. The Australian Energy Regulator provides the most reliable guide. By uploading a few basic details, including the National Meter Identifier (NMI) shown on your bill, you can find the best offers based on your recorded electricity use.

Using this site, my son, who had paid an $800 quarterly bill despite having a large solar system, achieved a potential annual bill below $1,500 simply by switching retailers. Installing a timer switch so their outdoor spa uses solar electricity, instead of paying 33c/kWh, is likely to further save up to $5 a day. Their goal of no electricity bills is becoming a reality.

We are seeing the emergence of a new Australian dream of living in a well-designed home with rooftop solar, an electric car and smartly controlled energy-efficient appliances. It will enable most single/double-storey households to be carbon-neutral while living in comfort without a big hit to their hip pockets.

Wasim Saman has received multiple federal and state research grants from the Australian Research Council, government departments, the CRC for Low Carbon Living and several industry partners for research into low carbon housing.

– ref. How to maximise savings from your home solar system and slash your power bills – https://theconversation.com/how-to-maximise-savings-from-your-home-solar-system-and-slash-your-power-bills-197415

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy W. Jones, Associate Professor in History, La Trobe University

Recently, a number of people have questioned or critiqued the use of the word “queer” to describe LGBTIQA+ folk. One writer to the Guardian claimed that the “q-word” was as derogatory and offensive as the “n-word”, and should not be used.

While there is a clear history of the word being used in aggressive and insulting ways, the meaning(s) and uses of queer have never been singular, simple or stable.

The origin of the word ‘queer’

Queer is a word of uncertain origin that had entered the English language by the early 16th century, when it was primarily used to mean strange, odd, peculiar or eccentric. By the late 19th century it was being used colloquially to refer to same-sex attracted men. While this usage was frequently derogatory, queer was simultaneously used in neutral and affirming ways.

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The examples provided in the Oxford English Dictionary show this semantic range, including instances of homosexual men using queer as a positive self-description at the same time as it was being used in the most insulting terms.

Compare the neutral:“Fourteen young men were invited […] with the premise that they would have the opportunity of meeting some of the prominent ‘queers’” (1914); the insulting: “fairies, pansies, and queers conducted […] lewd practices” (1936); and self-affirmed uses: “young men who call themselves ‘queers’” (1952).

In the 1960s and 1970s, as sexual and gender minorities fought for civil rights and promoted new ways of being in society, we also sought new names for ourselves. Gay liberationists began to reclaim queer from its earlier hurtful usages, chanting “out of the closets, into the streets” and singing “we’re here because we’re queer”.

Their newsletters from the time reveal sustained questioning of the words, labels and politics of naming that lesbian and gay people could and should use about themselves. Some gay libbers even wanted to cancel the word homosexual because they felt it limited their potential and “prescribes a whole system of behaviour […] which has nothing to do with my day-to-day living”.

In Australia, camp was briefly the most common label that lesbian women and gay men used to describe themselves, before gay became more prominent, used at that time by both homosexual men and women.

The evolving use of the word queer

In the early 1990s, gay had come to be used more typically to refer to gay men. Respectful and inclusive standards of language evolved to “lesbian and gay”, and then “LGBT”, as bisexuals and transgender people sought greater recognition.

Queer began to be used in a different way again: not as a synonym for gay, but as a critical and political identity that challenged normative ideas about sexuality and gender.

Queer theory drew on social constructionism – the theory that people develop knowledge of the world in a social context – to critique the idea any sexuality or gender identity was normal or natural. This showed how particular norms of sexuality and gender were historically contingent.

Thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Michael Warner, Judith Butler, Eve Kosofsky Sedgewick and Lauren Berlant were enormously influential in the development of this new idea of queer. Some people began to identify as queer in the critical sense, not as a synonym for a stable gender or sexual identity, but to indicate a non-conforming gender or sexual identity.

Activists in groups such as Queer Nation also used queer in this critical sense as part of their more assertive, anti-assimilationist political actions.

Queer as an umbrella term

From the early 2000s, it became more common to use queer as an umbrella term that was inclusive of the spectrum of sexual and gender identities represented in the LGBTIQA+ acronym.

Today, queer is included among the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender diverse, intersex, asexual, brotherboy and sistergirl, recognised in style guides as the most respectful and inclusive way to refer to people with diverse sexualities and genders.

Of course, the different usages and meaning of words such as queer have often overlapped and have been hotly contested. Historical usages and associations persist and can sit uncomfortably next to contemporary reclamations.

Queer as a slur?

Contemporary concerns with queer’s historical use as a slur seem odd to me. The heritage report A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects (which I co-authored), surveys the complexity of language use in historical and contemporary society.

It is notable that almost all of the words that LGBTIQA+ people use to describe ourselves today have been reclaimed from homophobic or transphobic origins.

In fact, it could be said that liberating words from non-affirming religious, clinical or colloquial contexts and giving them our own meanings is one of the defining characteristics of LGBTIQA+ history.

While queer does have a history of being used as an insult, that has never been its sole meaning. Same-sex attracted and gender diverse folks have taken the word and have been ascribing it with better meanings for at least the past 50 years.

Queer’s predominant use today is as an affirming term that is inclusive of all people in the rainbow acronym.

At a time when trans and gender diverse folk are facing particularly harsh attacks, I’m all for efforts to promote inclusion and solidarity. Respectful language use doesn’t require us to cancel queer, but rather to be mindful of its history and how that history is experienced by our readers and listeners.

Timothy W. Jones receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Government. He is currently also the president of the Australian Queer Archives.

– ref. Reviled, reclaimed and respected: the history of the word ‘queer’ – https://theconversation.com/reviled-reclaimed-and-respected-the-history-of-the-word-queer-197533