Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Roberts, Professor in Robotics, Queensland University of Technology

In recent years, cafes, supermarkets and online shops have started to trial drone delivery in a handful of locations around the world. More than a dozen drone delivery companies are now running such trials.

Just this week, Wing (owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet) announced a partnership with Australian supermarket giant Coles to deliver small items via drone to customers close to a Gold Coast supermarket. Wing is already operating in parts of Canberra and Logan, Queensland.

Given the technical success of various trials so far, it is worth exploring whether drone delivery might become mainstream and can actually be scaled up geographically.

As you would expect, the answer is “it depends”. There are many issues when considering drones around people, such as safety and infrastructure. For example, a recent crash of a delivery drone on electricity lines in a suburb of Logan left thousands without power.

There is also potential unwanted noise and visual pollution, and a perceived issue around privacy.

Read more:
Privatising the sky: drone delivery promises comfort and speed, but at a cost to workers and communities

Safety first

Adding potentially dozens of small aircraft to the sky above our homes, workplaces and roads each day is a serious business. As you would hope, currently the operation of commercial drones is a highly regulated undertaking in most countries.

In Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has strict regulations that aim to make the operation of drones as safe as possible. They also prohibit drone use if the craft can’t be used safely in a given situation.

In fact, Australia was one of the first countries to have drone regulations. For example, you cannot fly a drone close to an airport, or directly over people.

Commercial operators of drones are acutely aware of this and gain a licence to operate – it is not in anyone’s interest to operate unsafely, and it would be bad for business.

A limited geographic market – for now

To satisfy the requirement of operating drones safely, delivery operators focus on flying drones over unpopulated land, generally very low-density areas, and in particular the urban fringe. These are newer suburbs where drone flight paths can be planned to eliminate or minimise safety issues, such as an unexpected crash.

It is no coincidence Wing has been running drone delivery trials in low-density areas of Southeast Queensland, and outer Canberra suburbs. These places are ideal for drone delivery and a great place to continue to develop this business, even if the odd bird attack can disrupt things.

But drone delivery in dense parts of major cities? This is very unlikely in the medium term, due to extreme difficulty in safely operating drones in dense suburbs.

If you live in an apartment building, where would the delivery take place? On the roof? Maybe, if your building was set up for it. This is where scaling up faces the largest difficulties, and the logistics of running potentially hundreds of drones from a distribution centre become truly challenging.

However, if there was a high demand for it, and the right investments were made, it is feasible that drone delivery to dense city areas could be achieved.

But just because it might be technically possible, doesn’t mean it will happen. The long-term business case would need to make sense, of course. But there is a more critical issue in the near term – the social licence to operate.

A social licence

A social licence is not an official thing, a government body does not issue one. It is more about whether the general public accepts and supports the new thing.

At the end of the day, this social acceptance is what often determines the success or failure of widespread uptake of new technology, such as delivery drones.

Take nuclear power, for example. Many countries have nuclear power and the public there seem happy with that. Other countries had a social licence for nuclear power and lost it, such as Japan. In Australia we do not have a social licence for nuclear power, but that does not mean we won’t gain it in the future.

Read more:
From divestments to protests, social licence is the key

A social licence is an ever-evolving construct based on the pros and cons of a technology, all of which is influenced by its perceived value. Most people are now seemingly comfortable to be tracked 24 hours a day by their smartphones, as they believe the benefits outweigh the potential negative impacts.

It is likely we already have a solid social licence to use drones to deliver emergency life-saving medicine to people in need. In a potential life-or-death situation like that, it is easy to see that normally the benefits outweigh any risks or inconvenience to others.

But delivering a coffee or a tube of toothpaste by drone? I think the social licence for that is up for grabs. At this point in time, it could go either way.

Jonathan Roberts is Director of the Australian Cobotics Centre, the Technical Director of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub, and is a Chief Investigator at the QUT Centre for Robotics. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He was the co-founder of the UAV Challenge – an international drone competition.

– ref. Drone delivery is a thing now. But how feasible is having it everywhere, and would we even want it? – https://theconversation.com/drone-delivery-is-a-thing-now-but-how-feasible-is-having-it-everywhere-and-would-we-even-want-it-193301

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Breen, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

Recent news that thousands of charges have been filed in the Waikato and Auckland youth courts in the past nine months once again put a spotlight on youth crime and our responses to it.

This comes not long after a recent rise in ram raids and smash-and-grab burglaries by young offenders was called a “tsunami” of youth crime by the National Party police spokesperson.

And despite evidence suggesting the number of young people in court had dropped in the year to June 30, opposition calls for a crackdown may well mean it becomes an issue at next year’s general election.

But just how the justice system should deal with children and teenagers remains a complex question – especially when it comes to the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

In fact, New Zealand is among a number of countries criticised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for retaining an unacceptably low age of criminal responsibility.

It’s now more than 60 years since the Crimes Act set the age at ten years. Children younger than that, the law says, are incapable of forming criminal intent. Since that law was written, we have learned a lot more about the brain development of children and adolescents, and how their decision-making abilities differ from adults.

Given this also affects their ability to comprehend the court process itself, and therefore their right to a fair trial, is it time New Zealand revisited the minimum age and the reasons for raising it?

New Zealand out of step

Even politicians calling for a tougher approach to youth crime seem to agree that keeping children out of the criminal justice system should be a priority, particularly for young and first-time offenders.

Currently, children aged over ten but under 14 are subject to the adult criminal justice system. But they may avoid conviction if it can be shown they didn’t know their actions were wrong or illegal.

At the same time, however, the Oranga Tamariki Act allows for children aged ten to 13 years to be charged with serious offences such as murder or manslaughter.

Read more:
Sam Uffindell was lucky to avoid NZ’s criminal justice system as a schoolboy – but it was the right outcome

This puts New Zealand alongside Australia and other Pacific nations where the minimum age of criminal responsibility is ten (with the exception of Papua New Guinea and Tonga where it is seven). And despite calls for change, England, Wales and Northern Ireland also still recognise a minimum age of ten.

But Scotland raised its age of criminal responsibility from eight to 12 in 2019. Elsewhere it is higher: 14 in Germany, 15 in Sweden, 16 in Portugal and 18 in Luxembourg.

Hints of change

International law only goes so far when it comes to establishing common ground. While the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child requires countries to establish a separate justice system for children with a minimum age of criminal responsibility, it doesn’t specify an age.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has sought to fill that gap. Responding to changing trends driven by developments in neuroscience and child development, in 2019 it encouraged states to raise their minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 (the commonest age internationally at that time).

For nearly 20 years, New Zealand has resisted the committee’s call and kept the minimum age at ten. It has offered a range of justifications, including wanting to focus on more effective responses to children’s offending.

However, in 2021 New Zealand indicated some movement, advising the committee that it was monitoring the progress of a working group set up to review the law in Australia.

Read more:
More than 90% of Year 10 teachers don’t know the age of criminal responsibility in Australia

Keeping children out of court

Ideas about a minimum age of criminal responsibility have been evolving since at least the 18th century, when it was decided that, in order to be convicted, children aged between seven and 14 had to understand what they’d done and that it was wrong.

This was reflected in New Zealand’s Criminal Code Act of 1893 and Crimes Act of 1908, and has shifted only by degrees since then.

But while public safety is a legitimate aim of the justice system, including the child justice system, raising the minimum age doesn’t mean children will escape any consequences for their actions.

Read more:
Sending teens to maximum security prisons shows Australia needs to raise the age of criminal responsibility

With more countries now raising their ages of minimum criminal responsibility, New Zealand could comfortably raise its own threshold to 12, or even 14. Given that most youth offending is not serious, and is therefore dealt with outside the criminal justice system, the wider societal impact may not be significant.

But it would reduce the risk of ten-year-olds who have not committed a serious crime ending up in the criminal justice system. This is not to say they would not face any consequences for their actions. Rather, the consequences might be more effective in improving their chances later in life.

Claire Breen 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. 10 is too young to be in court – NZ should raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility – https://theconversation.com/10-is-too-young-to-be-in-court-nz-should-raise-the-minimum-age-of-criminal-responsibility-188969

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

The jury in the Lehrmann trial has been discharged after it was discovered a juror had obtained information outside the evidence presented.

ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said it was unfortunate but indicated she had no option but to abort the trial.

The member of the 12 person jury – which had been deliberating since last Wednesday – had been doing their own research.

Early this week, jurors indicated they had not been able to reach an unanimous verdict, but McCallum urged them to continue to deliberate.

The juror’s material was found during a routine tidying.

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann was charged with raping his then colleague Brittany Higgins in the office of then Coalition minister Linda Reynolds shortly before the 2019 election.

Higgins’ sensational allegation, which she made public in the media in early 2021, fuelled a debate about a toxic culture in the Parliament House workplace and created serious and ongoing political problems for then Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was widely accused of mishandling the fallout.

The trial saw Higgins face extensive questioning from the defence counsel and also heard evidence from Reynolds and another former minister, Michaelia Cash, for whom Higgins worked after leaving the Reynolds office.

Read more:
Why was the Brittany Higgins trial delayed, and what is ‘contempt of court’? A legal expert’s view on the Lisa Wilkinson saga

Reynolds denied her main concern when she first discussed the incident with Higgins was that if it came out it would harm the government at the imminent election.

The jury also heard from witnesses who were ministerial and parliamentary security staff at the time.

Higgins accused Lehrmann of assaulting her on a couch in the parliamentary office of Reynolds, who was defence industry minister at the time, in March 2019, after a night out drinking in two Canberra bars.

Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to a charge sexual intercourse without consent.

Higgins spoke with police in 2019 but decided not to pursue the matter. In 2021, after giving two media interviews, she went ahead with a complaint.

She told police in February 2021 that she had been drinking with defence industry contractors and staffers, including Lehrmann, at The Dock in Kingston and 88mph on the evening of March 22, 2019.

Read more:
The Jenkins review has 28 recommendations to fix parliament’s toxic culture – will our leaders listen?

Higgins and Lehrmann agreed to share an Uber, but he said he “had to pick something up from Parliament House,” she said.

They arrived there at about 1.40am on March 23, and were let in to the Reynolds office by security.

Higgins, who described herself as highly intoxicated, said she fell asleep in Reynolds’ office.

“The next thing I remember is being on the couch as he was raping me,” she said. “I couldn’t get him off me. I was crying throughout the entire process. I said ‘no’ at least half a dozen times, he did not stop.”

Higgins was later found asleep and naked on the couch by a parliamentary security officer.

According to parliamentary security guard Mark Fairweather, Lehrmann left the building at 2:33am. Higgins departed several hours later, putting a jacket from a charity bag of clothes over her white dress.

Read more:
Morrison says ‘sorry’ to Higgins for ‘terrible things’ that happened

The court heard Higgins told her former partner, Ben Dillaway, that she’d woken “half naked” in Reynolds office and was “barely lucid”.

“I really don’t think it was consensual at all,” Higgins texted Dillaway on March 26, 2019. Dillaway subsequently said he would speak to someone in the prime minister’s office on her behalf.

In his interview with police after the allegations went public, Lehrmann said the pair had no sexual contact. He described it as “an innocuous sort of night” with colleagues.

Lehrmann said when they entered the ministerial suite he went to his desk while Higgins entered Reynolds’ office. He said he did not see her again before he left.

Lehrmann was quickly dismissed after the late night visit, for “serious misconduct”, with Reynolds citing his entering her ministerial suite for non-work purposes and being dishonest about his reasons (telling security he was there for official business).

Higgins, under cross examination, denied falsifying the allegations because she was worried about losing her job. “I’m not a monster, I would never do something like that,” she told the court.

Read more:
In 2021 #MeToo finally made it to #Auspol – what happens next?

Concluding her evidence – which was broken by an interval of several days when she was “unavailable” – Higgins addressed Lehrmann directly, declaring “nothing was fine after what you did to me, nothing”.

It was revealed during Reynolds’ evidence that the former minister had asked Lehrmann’s legal team for transcripts of Higgins’ evidence and also suggested text messages between Higgins and another of her former staffers, who was friendly with Higgins, “may be revealing”. As well, Reynolds’ partner sat in court during the case.

Reynolds, who had been told her contacts were inappropriate, denied the claim by prosecutor Shane Drumgold that she had been “attempting the coach the cross-examination”.

Summing up at the end of the trial, Drumgold posed five questions he said the jury had to consider: Was Lehrmann attracted to Higgins? Why did he go to parliament house? Did he have sex with Higgins? Did Higgins consent? Was Lehrmann reckless as to whether Higgins consented?

Drumgold described Higgins as an “inherently credible witness”. “When she couldn’t recall something, she said so … when she didn’t know an answer, she made it plain,” he said. She “didn’t seem to embellish her account of rape at all”.

He also said “there were clearly strong political forces at play in the period immediately after the events, through the election and beyond. These forces were at play for the almost two years [Higgins] worked for Senator Cash”.

In his summing up defence barrister Steven Whybrow said “Lehrmann has no onus to prove anything”.

“We can probably sum up this case in the kindest way to Ms Higgins … and just say she doesn’t know what happened,” he told the court. “What we do know for a fact [is] that Ms Higgins passed out, fell asleep in the minister for defence industry private office and is seen by a security guard naked.”

Read more:
The missing women of Australian politics — research shows the toll of harassment, abuse and stalking

He allowed Higgins might now be convinced of what she alleged. “She doesn’t know what happened and she’s reconstructed events to the point she now genuinely believes they’re to be true.

“That doesn’t mean they are true. If she’s convinced herself in the witness box this has happened it might be entirely genuine.”

In her directions to the jurors, McCallum told them: “It’s important that you are satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the witness is both honest and accurate in the account she has given”. In considering her evidence, “you may like to see whether it’s supported by other evidence”.

Urging them to assess the evidence clinically, McCallum said: “You would have seen the number of journalists in court every day. They’re practically hanging from the rafters.

“You are not answerable in this trial to public opinion no matter which way you think it sways.”

McCallum said there were three questions to be considered: whether sexual intercourse happened, which was the “principal issue”; whether consent was given by Higgins (it can’t be given if a person is unconscious, asleep or too intoxicated), and whether Lehrmann was reckless towards whether Higgins was consenting.

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

– ref. Lehrmann trial aborted after juror accessed own information – https://theconversation.com/lehrmann-trial-aborted-after-juror-accessed-own-information-192396

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan C Evans, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow, UNSW Sydney

This week’s federal budget reiterated the government’s plan to establish a new scheme for encouraging private investment in conservation, called a biodiversity market (now, rebranded to a “nature repair” market).

A biodiversity market would see landholders granted certificates for restoring or managing local habitats. Landholders could then sell these certificates to, for instance, businesses.

But the effectiveness of such schemes overseas and in Australia can at best be described as mixed. Whether biodiversity markets can actually improve the dire trajectory of our native plants and animals depends heavily on two things:

1. whether they reward environmental stewardship, which delivers overall benefits for biodiversity or
2. whether they rely on the use of “offsets”, and the loss of biodiversity elsewhere, to generate market demand.

Unfortunately, the government is sending mixed messages on this critical issue. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has said while the market “is not designed to be an offset scheme”, companies could still buy certificates to compensate for damage they cause to nature.

In submissions to the recent public consultation on the proposed market, we and other experts argued the scheme should explicitly rule out the use of certificates as compliance offsets for biodiversity damage. Here, we give three major reasons why this is important.

What sort of market?

The term “biodiversity market” refers to a range of approaches that can operate quite differently.

For example, “environmental stewardship schemes” reward land managers who benefit native ecosystems, such as by planting trees and restoring rivers.

“Biodiversity offset schemes” similarly offer financial incentives to land managers, but with a critical difference: on-ground work to benefit nature is used to offset, or compensate for, biodiversity losses elsewhere.

This means offsets don’t usually result in overall improvements to nature, but rather maintain existing declines.

The government hopes voluntary private sector demand will drive this biodiversity market. This is because the government says it cannot afford the A$1-2 billion a year needed to adequately protect Australia’s natural environments and reverse biodiversity decline.

This sounds like a lot, but let’s put $1 billion into perspective.

It’s about one-tenth of the public money spent every year subsiding fossil fuel extraction in this country. It’s about a fifth of the cost of cancelling the submarine contract with France.

And it’s about a 25th of the annual cost of the stage three tax cuts promised in this week’s federal budget.

Read more:
We pay billions to subsidise Australia’s fossil fuel industry. This makes absolutely no economic sense

It is completely unknown, however, whether businesses will want to voluntarily purchase enough biodiversity certificates purely for corporate social responsibility to make the market work.

On the other hand, allowing businesses to use the certificates for legally-required offsets now – or sometime in the future – will certainly generate more immediate market demand. But this would open up the market to a host of problems, and ultimately undermine its very purpose: to improve biodiversity.

Three reasons to rule out offsets

First, almost all biodiversity offsets in Australia are legally required as conditions of approving new developments, under environmental policies and laws. These policies have strict requirements – and for good reason.

For example, offsets must be “like for like”. In other words, the compensation must be for the same type of biodiversity as the loss.

Such like-for-like requirements limit the number of possible trades in a market, but are crucial to protect Australia’s most threatened species. Otherwise, for instance, allowing replanted koala habitat to count as compensation for the loss of cassowary habitat simply means cassowaries are more likely to become extinct.

Read more:
Can we really restore or protect natural habitats to ‘offset’ those we destroy?

The problem is that biodiversity certificates will certify activities (such as tree planting or fencing), rather than specific outcomes (such as increased population size) for particular species or ecosystems.

So it’s not clear how these certificates could be used to compensate for biodiversity losses in line with the national environmental law.

Second, the new biodiversity market is sold as a good news story: willing land managers creating benefits to nature that the private sector wants to support, to help turn around Australia’s atrocious environmental record.

But in practice, offsets have never been a good news story, with scheme failure, misapplication and abuse regularly making headlines. Including offsets in the mix might scare off buyers and sellers.

Third, offsets are legal requirements, so a market that encourages a land manager to supply them achieves no additional benefit for the environment through that trade. It may become cheaper for businesses to acquit their current or future compliance obligations – but it would be a zero sum game for biodiversity.

A better way forward

The proposed biodiversity market is a central response to Australia’s damning State of the Environment report earlier this year.

But previous government attempts to attract private investment to encourage biodiversity have fallen flat, so it would be wise to learn from these experiences.

A better way to stimulate market demand is for the federal government to make an initial public investment in protecting biodiversity to boost private sector confidence. The Queensland government did this in 2020, when it announced a $500 million Land Restoration Fund.

Read more:
Labor’s plan to save threatened species is an improvement – but it’s still well short of what we need

Another source of risk is that the government proposes the Clean Energy Regulator would be responsible for the biodiversity market, as well as for Australia’s carbon credit scheme. It seems wise to await the findings of the current independent review into Australia’s carbon scheme before loading complex new responsibilities onto the carbon market regulator.

We argue that instead, the biodiversity market should be administered by a specialised regulator – such as the proposed new Environmental Protection Agency.

This market is not a silver bullet. It is also no substitute for adequate public investment or law reforms needed to stop nature declining in the first place.

But if it’s carefully designed, with an initial investment from the federal government as a kick-start, a biodiversity market for genuine additional benefits to nature could prove its worth.

Read more:
Labor’s biodiversity market scheme needs to be planned well – or it could lead to greenwashing

Megan C Evans receives funding from the Australian Research Council through a Discovery Early Career Research Award and has previously been funded by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, WWF Australia, and the National Environmental Science Program’s Threatened Species Recovery Hub.

Martine Maron has received funding from various sources including the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program, and advises both state and federal government on offset policy. She is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, President of BirdLife Australia, and a Governor of WWF-Australia.

– ref. The government hopes private investors will help save nature. Here’s how its scheme could fail – https://theconversation.com/the-government-hopes-private-investors-will-help-save-nature-heres-how-its-scheme-could-fail-193010

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Buys, Professor of Healthy Ageing, Australian Catholic University

Why do people get old? – Emily, 8 years old, Victoria

That’s a great question, Emily!

Who do you think is old? Is it anyone older than you, like an annoying older brother or sister? Is it your mum? Your grandpa? Anyone with wrinkly skin?

Or is it someone who might have had lots of birthdays and still has lots of fun?

Maybe you know an older person who likes using TikTok. Maybe they like dancing or riding a bike? Or maybe they laugh at the same jokes you do.

You see, being old means different things to different people. If someone has had a lot of birthdays, they may not actually feel old.

The government might call them old and expect them to stop working. Even then, they don’t feel old.

In fact, some people who have had a lot of birthdays, learn new things, never stop working, and have years of great adventures.

Of course, some older people, just like some younger people, can feel lonely. Or perhaps they have a few health problems. Maybe they have sore knees and can’t walk as far and as fast as they used to.

But mostly, they can do things they want and live long, healthy and happy lives.

So, we’ve covered a lot. The word “old” means different things to different people. Not everyone feels or acts “old”. But some do.

Read more:
Curious Kids: why do older adults get shorter?

Great, but why do people get old?

I’ll give you two answers.

I could say getting old is all about your body. When people get older, their body’s cells might not work in the same way. This could explain why some older people get diseases like cancer. Or I could say some of their body parts wear out a little, and may not work as well. That’s why some older people don’t hear so well.

But there’s another answer I’d like you to think about.

We know most older people are busy doing things and often help out with their families. Your grandparents might even pick you up from school or teach you to make yummy cakes.

So maybe the reason why people get old, after all those birthdays, is to share all the amazing things they’ve learned along the way.

Maybe the real reason why people get old is to be there to help young people as they grow old.

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

Laurie Buys receives funding from Australian Research Council and industry partners.

– ref. Curious Kids: why do people get old? – https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-people-get-old-190142

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab, Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University

Australians will soon vote in a referendum on a First Nations Voice – a constitutionally guaranteed body empowering Indigenous communities to advise parliament and government on Indigenous affairs, as advocated by the Uluru Statement.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released a draft constitutional amendment requiring parliament to establish the Voice.

However, some critics have raised concerns about “judicial activism”. They worry the High Court might interpret the provisions in unpredictable ways, creating legal uncertainty.

Careful constitutional drafting can address such concerns by making the amendment “non-justiciable”.

Non-justiciable constitutional clauses respect parliamentary supremacy. It means courts don’t get involved.

A constitutionally guaranteed First Nations Voice is intended to be non-justiciable.

The amendment can now be perfected to remove any doubt that parliament will be charge of its operation, not judges.

Read more:
Putting words to the tune of Indigenous constitutional recognition

What’s been proposed

The government’s draft constitutional amendment reads:

1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to parliament and the executive government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
3. The parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

This is modest and reasonable, but can be refined.

Clause two could be revised to read (bolding is author’s addition):

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to parliament and the executive government on proposed laws and matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Adding “proposed laws” will confirm and signpost non-justiciability. It will fortify the amendment against criticism. It will help answer concerns about uncertain judicial interpretation.

Constitutional clauses referring to “proposed laws” are considered unenforceable by the courts. This is because the High Court deals with laws, while “proposed laws” are parliament’s business.

Australia’s first chief justice and founding father of the Constitution, Samuel Griffith, explained in 1911 that parliament’s internal affairs are “not subject to […] review by a court of law”.

As former High Court judge Edward McTiernan once said, “Parliament is master in its own household.”

Why ‘proposed laws’ is a key phrase

The “proposed laws” suggestion is not new.

Back in 2014, Indigenous leaders and constitutional conservatives – experts anxious to protect the Constitution from judicial activism – collaborated on how to achieve the empowering constitutional recognition Indigenous peoples sought, without creating High Court uncertainty.

The solution was a constitutionally guaranteed Indigenous advisory body, which would work through political dialogue, rather than through the courts.

Constitutional law expert Professor Anne Twomey suggested an amendment in 2015. It used the phrase “proposed laws”, which she noted was:

deliberately employed to indicate that this is an internal parliamentary process that cannot be interfered with or enforced by the courts.

Legal scholars Professors Megan Davis and Gabrielle Appleby recently recalled how Twomey’s 2015 suggestion informed the First Nations dialogues that culminated in the Uluru Statement’s 2017 call for a constitutionally guaranteed First Nations Voice.

In its 2017 final report, the government-appointed Referendum Council affirmed the Voice amendment must be non-justiciable, noting:

The proposed Voice would not interfere with parliamentary supremacy, it would not be justiciable, and the details of its structure and functions would be established by parliament through legislation that could be altered by parliament.

However, the “proposed laws” approach only works with standalone provisions that do not limit parliament’s law-making power.

Those suggesting a “duty to consult” within an Indigenous head of power as a more modest constitutional change should be commended for engaging productively, but are on the wrong track. These formulations limit parliament’s power, creating uncertainty for courts to resolve.

The government’s approach is more modest and workable, and should be refined.

Better than other proposals

The intent to keep the Voice amendment away from the courts and under the purview of parliament sets it apart from all other options for Indigenous recognition.

An earlier proposal for a constitutional ban on racially discriminatory laws would enable courts to strike down parliament’s laws.

Proposals for a new preamble acknowledging Indigenous peoples could yield unpredictable judicial interpretations of the whole Constitution. Constitutional conservatives oppose a symbolic insertion for this reason.

By contrast, a constitutionally guaranteed Voice intends to keep policy matters out of the courts for resolution through political processes. It is the most legally sound and constitutionally compatible solution.

On the question of scope

Non-justiciability also means those trying to excessively limit the issues on which the Voice can provide advice are missing the point. If properly drafted, scope issues would be resolved by parliament through legislation.

And why would politicians want to unnaturally limit the Voice’s ability to give non-binding advice on matters that are important to Indigenous communities? Environmental laws, for example, might not directly target Indigenous people but may yield negative consequences for economic development on Indigenous land. Indigenous communities may wish to alert government to the impacts of such policies.

To prohibit such advice would undercut a key practical benefit of the Voice. Flexibility and common sense are needed here.

Equally, those seeking to constitutionalise a broad scope should remember the Referendum Council’s directive: as the final report made clear, scope issues should be resolved by parliament, not judges.

Let’s work together

Experts should keep non-justiciability firmly in mind when suggesting improvements to the government’s draft constitutional amendment.

We need an efficient bipartisan process to refine and agree on the Voice amendment.

The phrase “proposed laws” should be included to confirm parliament will be in charge, not the courts.

Read more:
Creating a constitutional Voice – the words that could change Australia

Shireen Morris is Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, which was established with generous support from Foundation Donors, Henry and Marcia Pinskier. Dr Morris advises Cape York Institute on constitutional reform. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party.

– ref. A constitutional Voice to Parliament: ensuring parliament is in charge, not the courts – https://theconversation.com/a-constitutional-voice-to-parliament-ensuring-parliament-is-in-charge-not-the-courts-193017

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Martin, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin University

New details have emerged on the severity of the Medibank hack, which has now affected all users. Optus, Medibank, Woolworths, and, last Friday, electricity provider Energy Australia are all now among the household names that have fallen victim to a data breach.

If it seems like barely a week goes by without news of another incident like this, you would be right. Cybercrime is on the rise – seven major Australian businesses were affected by data breaches in the past month alone.

But why now? And who is responsible for this latest wave of cyber attacks?

In large part, the increasing number of data breaches is being driven by the growth of a global illicit industry that trades in your data. In particular, hackers known as “initial access brokers” specialise in illegally gaining access to victim networks and then selling this access to other cyber criminals.

The cyber crime ecosystem

Hackers and initial access brokers are just one part of a complex and diversifying cyber crime ecosystem. This ecosystem contains various cyber criminal groups who increasingly specialise in one particular aspect of online crime and then work together to carry out the attacks.

For example, one of the fastest-growing and most damaging forms of cyber crime – ransomware attacks – involves malicious software that paralyses a victim’s device or system until a decryption key is provided following payment of a ransom.

Read more:
What is ransomware and how to protect your precious files from it

Ransomware attacks are big business. In 2021 alone, they earned cyber criminals more than US$600 million. The huge amounts of money to be made in ransomware, and the rich abundance of targets from all around the world are fostering the development of a vast ransomware industry.

Ransomware attacks are complex, involving up to nine different stages. These include gaining access to a victim’s network, stealing data, encrypting a victim’s network, and issuing a ransom demand.

Specialist criminals

Increasingly, these attacks are carried out not by lone cyber criminal groups, but rather by networks of different cyber crime groups, each of which specialises in a different stage of the attack.

Initial access brokers will often carry out the first stage of a ransomware attack. Described by Google’s Threat Analysis Group as “the opportunistic locksmiths of the security world”, it’s their job to gain access to a victim’s network.

Once they have compromised a victim’s network, they typically sell this access to other groups who will then steal data and deploy the ransomware that paralyses the victim’s computer systems.

There is a massive and growing underground market for this type of crime. Dozens of online marketplaces on both the dark web and surface web offer services from initial access brokers.

Their access to companies can be purchased for as little as US$10, although more privileged, administrator-level access to larger companies often commands prices of several thousands of dollars or more.

Responding to the growing cyber threat

Over the past month, we have seen several instances of cyber criminals forgoing actual ransomware. Instead, they sought to directly extort companies by threatening to publicly release any data they have stolen.

While not as devastating as a ransomware attack, data breaches can cause serious financial and reputational damage to an organisation (just ask Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin), not to mention major problems for any customers or clients who now have their private information released online.

Read more:
I’ve given out my Medicare number. How worried should I be about the latest Optus data breach?

In the final six months of 2021, more than 460 data breaches were reported to government authorities. Even more worryingly, this number is almost certainly an underestimate.

While companies with a turnover of more than AU$3 million are required by law to report data breaches involving personal information, most small businesses are not subject to mandatory reporting laws. Therefore, they have little incentive to report a data breach that could scare off customers and damage their brand.

Taking action against cyber crime

So what can we do about it? In the first instance, companies need to rethink their approach to data. Data should be treated not simply as an asset that can be freely held and traded in, but also as a liability that needs to be carefully protected.

Some experts are calling for Australia to follow the European Union’s approach and to introduce stricter corporate regulations that better protect consumer data.

This week the federal government also introduced plans to fine companies that do not maintain sufficient cyber security and suffer repeated data breaches.

Read more:
After the Optus data breach, Australia needs mandatory disclosure laws

Reforms like this could help, particularly in preventing relatively unsophisticated data breaches, like the one that recently affected Optus.

On the other hand, punitive fines towards victims could further strengthen the hand of entrepreneurial cyber criminals – they could try to leverage these fines to further extort their victims.

There is no silver bullet to solving the threats posed by cyber criminals. At a minimum, both government and industry must continue to work together to improve our cyber defences and resilience. Through research, we must also work to better understand the global cyber crime ecosystem as it continues to evolve.

James Martin receives funding from the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre.

Chad Whelan receives funding from sources for related work, including the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre.

– ref. Why are there so many data breaches? A growing industry of criminals is brokering in stolen data – https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-so-many-data-breaches-a-growing-industry-of-criminals-is-brokering-in-stolen-data-193015

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgia van Toorn, Research fellow, UNSW Sydney

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has announced a review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, amid claims of a cost blowout, heightened by budget forecasts.

The review will look at ways to improve access to and delivery of the NDIS, including its operations and financial sustainability.

The announcement follows last year’s failed attempt by the Morrison government to limit scheme spending, using algorithmic tools and processes to scrutinise the cost of funded plans for individual recipients. As a result of pushback by disability advocates, independent assessments of NDIS eligibility, or “roboplanning”, is now officially dead.

But algorithmic technologies have already become a central component of NDIS assessment, planning and review processes. Unless they are repurposed to address the concerns of people with disability and their families, these automated technologies will continue to undermine trust and confidence in the scheme.

Read more:
NDIS fraud reports reveal the scheme’s weakest points

The algorithm behind NDIS budget cuts

Every year, NDIS participants undergo a review of their plan to assess whether their supports are “reasonable and necessary”.

According to the most recent NDIS quarterly report, 25% of participants had their funding cut by more than 5% between 2021 and 2022.

In the second half of 2021, 34% experienced cuts of more than 5%. This was 3% more people than the year prior, and 10% more than the year before that (2019–20).

The impact of these measures is reflected in the explosion of appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which reviews federal government decisions. Since 2016, appeals against decisions made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), which oversees the scheme, have risen by more than 700%. Shorten has appointed an independent taskforce to address the backlog of appeals, a situation he described as “repellent and repugnant”.

Behind the planning process sits an opaque system of automated decision-making. This system uses a set of actuarial and predictive tools that guide NDIS planning and reviews.

The process rests on an automatically generated plan, called a “typical support package”. The plan is informed by the NDIA’s long-term modelling, which predicts a cost profile for each participant based on their age, disability and level of function.

Data related to individual characteristics are entered into a computer program. Participants are profiled to estimate the support they need, based on a statistical average of what people in that category, with those characteristics, typically receive.

The plan is adjusted manually if it is judged not to meet specific needs. Finally, at the end of the process, an NDIA delegate approves the support package.

Automating judgement, misjudging need

There are two major problems with this system of automated decision-making.

First, it assumes people with similar disabilities, or levels of functioning, all share similar needs and preferences for support. In other words, it stereotypes them by putting them in a “box” based on a prescribed set of allowable supports and services.

In Australia, people with disability have fought hard against such a tick-a-box approach. In the case of roboplanning, for example, disability groups argued it was discriminatory and demeaning, and undermined disabled people’s right to self-determination.

Automated approaches can be especially problematic for Indigenous Australians and Australia’s large culturally and linguistically diverse disability community, whose experiences of disability and support needs are shaped by complex social and cultural factors.

Second, automated processes conceal political decisions about the allocation of public funds.

According to the NDIA, the automatically generated plans are the crucial “link between the scheme’s overall funding and the allocation to each individual participant”. In other words, these plans are essentially benchmarks, which can be adjusted in line with budgetary concerns and cost-cutting imperatives.

All this happens in the “back end” of the NDIA’s computer systems, away from public scrutiny. All participants and families can see are the end results of automated adjustments, in the form of seemingly arbitrary cuts to people’s funding when they apply or go for review.

Read more:
A disabled NDIA chair is a great first move in the NDIS reset. Here’s what should happen next

The future of NDIS automation

The Albanese government faces significant challenges in balancing the need for financial sustainability with the NDIS’s social and human rights objectives.

So far, it has taken steps in the right direction, by appointing several people with lived experience of disability to the NDIA’s senior leadership. Since May, the government has halved the number of NDIS participants waiting on the outcome of an appeal.

Yet it remains to be seen how Labor will make good on its election promise to “fix the planning process so people with disability have real choice and control”.

This is, after all, the ultimate goal of the scheme: to place disabled people in control of the decisions, resources and supports that are necessary for them to lead fulfilling and flourishing lives.

The review needs to consider whether algorithmic technologies are fit for this purpose.

Read more:
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Bill Shorten on NDIS reform and the Optus fallout

Georgia van Toorn receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making & Society.

Karen Soldatić receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is a Non-Executive Director for Diversity Arts Australia.

Jackie Leach Scully 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. NDIS plans rely on algorithms to judge need – the upcoming review should change that – https://theconversation.com/ndis-plans-rely-on-algorithms-to-judge-need-the-upcoming-review-should-change-that-193106

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Sherry, Professor and Co-director, Sport Innovation Research Group, Swinburne University of Technology

High-profile Australian athletes and supporters across sports such as cricket, netball and Australian Rules football have recently called for their sports to reconsider their partnerships with fossil fuel or mining companies.

Our report, released today, is the first research to quantify the number and value of fossil-fuel sponsorships in Australian sport. It reveals coal, gas and oil companies spend A$14 million to A$18 million each year sponsoring 14 high-profile leagues and sports in Australia.

We identified 51 such partnerships. The major fossil-fuel sponsors of sport include companies such as Santos, Alinta, BHP and Woodside.

The money these sponsors spend on sport is at least partly an investment in “greenwashing” their images. Fossil fuel corporations are major sources of the emissions that drive climate change, but through sports sponsorship they leverage the positive image of sport and fan loyalty associated with teams.

The association of these sponsors’ names and logos with popular sports and athletes can sanitise the image of fossil fuel companies. When sports embrace high-polluting brands, they help normalise those companies’ contributions to the climate crisis.

But many Australian sport organisations are starting to take action to reduce their carbon footprint. They are also leveraging their media profiles to promote environmentally positive behaviours. As they do so, coal, oil and gas sponsorships and partnerships are coming under increasing public scrutiny.

Read more:
Should athletes just shut up and play ball? No – society is changing and sport sponsorship must too

Why does this matter for sport?

Sport is part of the Australian cultural identity. Millions of Australians watch and play sport. Hundreds of thousands volunteer every week to do the work needed to bring community sport to life.

Sport is integral to the social fabric of communities. It provides well-documented mental and physical health benefits as well as social benefits for participants. Sport also contributes around $50 billion a year to the Australian economy.

However, climate change is both an immediate and future threat to sport in Australia.

Increasing heat as a result of climate change is a problem for sport. The viability of iconic sporting events such as cricket’s MCG Boxing Day Test and the Australian Open tennis could be threatened by heatwaves reaching highs of 50℃ by 2040. Extreme heat poses a risk for community sport too.

Higher temperatures are also driving longer and more intense bushfire seasons, exposing athletes and spectators to dangerous air pollution.

In this context, accepting sponsorship from coal, gas and oil corporations creates reputational risks for Australian sport.

Read more:
In a climate crisis, how do we treat businesses that profit from carbon pollution?

Which sports are favoured?

Our report, Out of bounds: coal, gas and oil sponsorship of Australian sports, was prepared by Swinburne University of Technology’s Sport Innovation Research Group for the Australian Conservation Foundation. We identified 51 partnerships (3.5% of all partnerships) between 14 top-tier sporting organisations and coal, gas and oil companies. We found oil and gas companies tend to sponsor Australian Rules football, rugby union and rugby league, while fossil-fuel energy retailers favour partnerships with cricket, soccer and netball.

While not a small level of investment, we suggest these 14 sports could, over time, replace the $14 million to $18 million they receive each year.

The benefits that associating with sport provides to these corporations would be much more difficult for them to replace.

Read more:
Sportswashing: how mining and energy companies sponsor your favourite sports to help clean up their image

What can sports do?

There is a solution to this challenge for the Australian sport industry. Sport organisations have a history of having to move away from corporate sponsors due to growing public concern about their impact on individual and community health and wellbeing. Tobacco, alcohol and gambling are just some industries that have faced regulation to control their involvement with sport as a promotional platform.

Cricket Australia has already announced it is parting ways with Alinta Energy when its nearly $40 million, five-year sponsorship deal ends in 2023.

The road away from coal, oil and gas company sponsorship of sport, as well as wider environmental approaches, can be either direct or indirect. Directly, organisations or brands can end or reject coal, oil and gas sponsorship. They can also actively advocate or illustrate sports’ role in a more sustainable future.

Indirectly, sports organisations may “signal an intent” by signing a climate-related agreement or join an environmental association as an institutional member. For some sport organisations these commitments appear at odds with their sponsorship partnerships with oil, coal and gas companies.

Global and national concern about the impacts of climate change on human health and the environment is growing. Sports fans are increasingly likely to question sponsorship arrangements with corporations that extract or sell coal, gas and oil.

Sporting competitions and clubs should actively work to avoid such reputational risks. They need to recognise the influence their brand has on society, especially as it relates to the climate crisis that’s also threatening the viability of sport.

Emma Sherry consults to many Australian sport and non-profit organisations. She receives funding from the Australian Conservation Foundation. She is affiliated with Sport Inclusion Australia and the Australian Sport Innovation Centre of Excellence.

Brian P. McCullough receives funding from external governmental agencies and sport organizations to conduct research on sport and the natural environment. He is affiliated with the Center for Sport Management Research and Education, Laboratory for Sustainability in Sport, and the Sport Ecology Group.

Olivia Bramley 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. Out of bounds: how much does greenwashing cost fossil-fuel sponsors of Australian sport? – https://theconversation.com/out-of-bounds-how-much-does-greenwashing-cost-fossil-fuel-sponsors-of-australian-sport-192720

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Penny Allan, Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Technology Sydney

“We are […] sandbagging the state”, New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke declared on Saturday. And so we endure the third La Niña season with this waiting-for-the-next-disaster attitude.

After heavy rain and repeated floods across Australia’s eastern states over the past three years, it’s worth considering what we have and haven’t learned.

A good way to improve flood readiness is to understand how floods work, and then to examine adaptive solutions developed by communities facing similar situations in other countries. Every river behaves differently and responses should site-specific. However, the following approaches may be relevant to local conditions and are likely to improve flood protection.

Read more:
La Niña, 3 years in a row: a climate scientist on what flood-weary Australians can expect this summer

Work with nature, not against it

Flooding is complex. Factors such as climate variability, soil saturation, loss of vegetation cover in key parts of catchments, the growth of urban areas and their hard surfaces, the failure of early-warning systems, the erosion of community self-reliance, and inadequate governance all influence the risks.

Complex unpredictable conditions call for an integrated suite of responses to manage the risk.

Engineered infrastructure, such as dams and levees, has encouraged us to live on floodplains with little regard for the impacts of climate variability. Dams and levees work within predicted parameters, but we can’t expect that predictability anymore.

And planning regulations that restrict building on floodplains can be useful but are only part of the solution.

Many effective “nature-based” solutions run counter to traditional engineering works. For example, rather than engineer a river channel to make water move more quickly through an area, nature-based solutions modify or multiply river channels to accommodate variable water volumes. These approaches spread out and slow the flow of water and encourage it to soak into the ground before reaching the river.

Overseas, China makes “sponge cities” with urban wetlands and revegetated waterways. The Netherlands has removed dykes and widened river corridors as part of its Room for the River program.

Read more:
I lived through Hurricane Katrina and helped design the rebuild – floods will always come, but we can build better to prepare

These strategies often require land to be rezoned and buildings removed. That’s a brave move in the face of urban growth pressures.

But these strategies also offer an opportunity to refocus cities, towns or even regions, by reintegrating nature and opening up new spaces for recreation, environmental regeneration and biodiversity. The independent 2022 NSW Flood Inquiry recognised just such an approach. Its report called for floodplains to be thought of as assets serving environmental, recreational and community uses while allowing space for flooding.

In agricultural regions, allowing farmland to flood temporarily can help relieve pressure on urban infrastructure downstream. On the US west coast, for example, wetlands have been incorporated into crop-rotation cycles. In times of flood these farmlands draw down excess water from the river while improving soil quality, fertility and ecosystem health. In the Tisza Valley in Hungary, farmland has been adapted as slow-release wet-season reservoirs.

Agricultural practices that improve soil quality, prevent erosion, slow runoff and encourage water to soak into the ground can also make a difference. These practices include strip cropping – alternating rows of two or more crops – to redirect and dissipate floodwaters, gully planting, and fencing and planting riverbanks.

What can communities do?

Elsewhere, early-warning systems are drawing on citizen science to make communities less vulnerable.

In Jakarta, a low-lying city that regularly floods, Indonesian researchers capitalised on the intensity of flood-related social media posts. They developed an app to integrate and geolocate those posts across the catchment. The app gives residents access to alternative real-time data, allowing them to make their own decisions about timely preparation and evacuation.

Read more:
Some councils still rely on outdated paper maps as supercharged storms make a mockery of flood planning

The March 2022 floods in Lismore, NSW, show the need for such systems. The Bureau of Meteorology did not consider local rainfall measurements scientific enough to be counted as evidence and some of its data-sensing tools were faulty. This type of communication failure is quite common.

Houses in flood-prone areas can be modified to cope with floodwaters. Typical measures include raising them on stilts and retrofitting interiors using materials that don’t absorb water. They can then be hosed down during clean-up.

Governments can provide support to minimise vulnerability. This might include funding neighbourhood resources such as boats with motors, kayaks and floodproof containers to store valuables. Water and power can be provided to designated local evacuation areas on high ground.

And then there’s relocation

If all else fails, there is always managed retreat. This involves relocating a town to high ground.

Recent research reviewing all known cases of managed retreat in the United States over the past 140 years suggests this approach has had mixed results. It’s enormously expensive and exhausting. Typically, the shift benefits developers and government rather than the vulnerable communities.

If communities are to move, another study suggests the move needs to be planned well in advance. It should be done outside the time frame of a flood event when affected communities are already vulnerable.

Read more:
‘Building too close to the water. It’s ridiculous!’ Talk of buyouts after floods shows need to get serious about climate adaptation

Draw on all available knowledge

In Australia, there have been increasing calls for Traditional Owners to take a leading role in exploring how our policies, planning and practices might better incorporate Indigenous practices of managing land, including catchment and river systems.

Our heavy reliance on sandbagging suggests we really don’t understand the river landscapes we inhabit. Learning to live with floods, especially in the face of the uncertainties of climate change, requires us to learn from our own past as well as the successes and failures of others.

Any suite of solutions will have to be tailored to the unique conditions of a river, its landscape systems, land uses and settlement patterns. A single solution would be nice, but that is never going to be the reality.

UTS is planning an exhibition of flood strategies in Lismore, NSW, in late November.

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

– ref. Beyond a state of sandbagging: what can we learn from all the floods, here and overseas? – https://theconversation.com/beyond-a-state-of-sandbagging-what-can-we-learn-from-all-the-floods-here-and-overseas-193011

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide

Imagine you’re in a food court and spoilt for choice. How will you choose where to eat? It might be the look of the food, the smell, or even the chatter of satisfied customers.

Marine animals do the same thing when choosing a good place to live. Even seemingly simple creatures such as marine larvae use sight, smell and sound as navigational cues. Once we understand these cues, we can use them to help nature recover faster than it would on its own.

In our new research, we amplified the natural sounds of the sea through underwater speakers. We were testing if sound cues would draw baby oysters to swim to the locations where we are trying to regrow oyster reefs. It worked better than we’d hoped. Many thousands more larvae swam to our locations than control areas and settled on the bare rocks.

Why can’t these reefs return naturally?

Oyster reef restoration is gaining momentum in Australia and globally as a way to restore healthy ecosystems. Reefs of shellfish reefs filter and clean vast volumes of water as they feed, while their shell piles provide habitat for fish. Oysters are also food for many marine species.

These highly productive shellfish reefs once spanned thousands of kilometres of Australian waters, but more than 90% were dredged up for food and or to use their shells as lime for cement during the early colonial years.

Read more:
The surprising benefits of oysters (and no, it’s not what you’re thinking)

When we try to restore these reefs, however, we hit a problem. Free-swimming baby oysters need to find the boulders we drop onto sandy seafloors at our restoration sites.

That’s where our siren songs come in. Many marine animals use sound like we use sight on land. Think of whalesong, which lets whales communicate over long distances. Sound is more useful than sight or smell underwater because it can carry information a long way – much further than you can see – and without getting pushed about by ocean currents.

If you’ve snorkelled on a coral or rocky reef, you’ll know healthy reefs are surprisingly noisy. As you float over the reef, you hear a cacophony of sound: crackles and pops from fish as they feed and invertebrates like snapping shrimp.

If this soundscape is present, it tells oyster larvae it’s a healthy habitat. And because sound travels so well, the soundscapes are broadcast a decent distance. That’s why it’s such a useful cue if you’re a baby oyster looking for a rock to settle on and begin growing your shell.

To test if this works outside the laboratory, we recorded sounds from the healthy Port Noarlunga Reef in South Australia. Then we played these sounds underwater near two large reef restoration sites offshore from Adelaide and the Yorke Peninsula.

This attracted up to 17,000 more oysters per square metre to our restoration sites. Not only that, but over the next five months, close to four times more large oysters grew in our test areas, which accelerated habitat growth. By contrast, the areas where we played ambient sound from oyster-free areas produced only stunted habitat with few oysters settling.

Read more:
The world’s most degraded marine ecosystem could be about to make a comeback

Hang on, oysters can hear?

The way we hear is based on the pressure of soundwaves hitting our eardrums. Marine mammals like seals and dolphins hear this way too. But fish and marine invertebrates such as oysters are different.

Oyster larvae are brainless and earless, but they are certainly not clueless. Like fish, they hear by detecting and interpreting the movement of water particles stirred up by soundwaves as they pass. Soundwaves alternately squish and stretch water particles, sending vibrations in the direction the soundwave is moving. Oysters sense this motion with tiny sensory hairs, or with statocysts, sensory organs used for balance and orientation.

Despite being only the width of a human hair themselves, larval oysters use these organs to follow these vibrations back towards the healthy reef producing the sound. In adult oysters, the tiny statocyst is near impossible to find. But swimming oyster larvae project their statocysts out in front of them, presumably to improve navigation and interpret marine sounds.

The reefs are alive with the sound of music

Researchers and community groups around the world are launching restoration efforts to repair some of the damage we’ve done. In Queensland, for instance, fishing communities in Moreton Bay offshore from Brisbane plan to restore 100 hectares of oyster reef over the next decade.

While exciting, success isn’t guaranteed. It can be hard to restore ecosystems which haven’t existed for a century. And it can be expensive to get large stocks of larvae.

This technique – and others like it – could help improve how many baby oysters or other keystone species actually make it to their new homes and start the great task of reef-building.

Researchers have discovered fish can be attracted to coral reef sites by playing healthy reef noises, and it has long been known that birds can be drawn to specific nesting sites by playing their social calls.

In science, there’s no such thing as a silver bullet and there are potential downsides. It wouldn’t help if we drew all larval oysters to our sites at the expense of others – or if we attracted predators in large numbers.

But if we do this carefully, these techniques could help re-establish the invisible acoustic highways of the sea – and turn the deathly quiet of many coastal waters back into vibrant, noisy and healthy oyster reefs.

Read more:
Once the fish factories and ‘kidneys’ of colder seas, Australia’s decimated shellfish reefs are coming back

Dominic McAfee receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Sean Connell receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

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

– ref. Playing sea soundscapes can summon thousands of baby oysters – and help regrow oyster reefs – https://theconversation.com/playing-sea-soundscapes-can-summon-thousands-of-baby-oysters-and-help-regrow-oyster-reefs-188006

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

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says of his first budget: “Inflation is the dragon we need to slay”. Chalmers’ worry about inflation was reinforced by Wednesday’s release of the September quarter CPI, which showed inflation at 7.3%.

In this podcast, we talk to Chalmers, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, and the head of the Grattan Institute Danielle Wood. Among the topics we canvass are the budget’s broad fiscal settings, the huge increases in power prices it forecasts, the pressures for tax and spending reforms in future budgets, the government’s housing initiative, and the implications of the childcare policy for women’s workforce participation.

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

– ref. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Jim Chalmers, Angus Taylor and Danielle Wood on the budget – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-jim-chalmers-angus-taylor-and-danielle-wood-on-the-budget-193335

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Hodgson, Professor, Curtin Law School and Curtin Business School, Curtin University

The Labor federal government promised it would make women central to its first budget.

The inclusion of an evidence-based women’s budget statement shows a greater awareness of the systemic challenges, particularly to women’s economic security. The statement sets out a number of systemic issues that must be addressed to ensure women achieve economic equality.

But the policies still need work.

The headline items: childcare and paid parental leave

In a year when dealing with inflation has taken priority over supporting low-income Australians, the headline items are increased access to childcare and paid parental leave.

The childcare measures are fulfilling an election promise. Legislation is already before parliament to increase the rate of the childcare subsidy from 85% to 90% for a family with one child where the family income is less than $80,000.

The changes to paid parental leave were also announced ahead of the budget. This proposal will increase paid parental leave from 20 to 26 weeks, with an extra two weeks being available each year from July 1 2023 to July 1 2026. The Morrison government’s March 2022 budget proposed some changes, but the increased time is a new measure.

Read more:
Paid parental leave extended to 26 weeks by 2026, with pressure on dads to share more early caring

The current government has acknowledged that the former government’s proposals for flexibility would reinforce stereotypical gender roles. It has stated there will be a use-it-or-lose-it allocation for dads and partners, but has not identified how the increased allocation will be shared between parents. This has been referred to the Womens’ Economic Equality Taskforce for further advice.

While the use-it-or-lose-it component is important to promote shared parenting, the rate of payment, at minimum wage, is a further deterrent to dads taking advantage of the scheme. There’s no proposal to increase the rate of payment to a rate closer to replacement wage, and again there’s no commitment to pay superannuation on paid parental leave.

The changes to childcare and paid parental leave are welcomed as necessary to retain women’s attachment to the paid labour market during the critical period of family formation: following childbirth and before the children attend school.

However, there’s little support for other families in this budget, particularly those families who will be doing it tough as inflation and interest rate rises erode their take-home income.

About $1.7 billion has been allocated to women’s safety over four years. Respect@Work initiatives have been allocated $42.5m, new “working women’s centres” have been allocated $32m, and there’s $65m for consent and respectful relationships education in schools.

The National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children has been allocated $1.3 billion. The detail of these measures is still thin as the underlying action plan is under development, but prevention measures must be included.

Funding for the national plan illustrates the approach the government has taken to reviewing programs from the previous government with funding from those measures being redirected to new, “better targeted” commitments.

A first step

The women’s budget statement piloted gender impact analysis to identify policies that affect women negatively compared to men. Gender impact analysis is an important step toward gender responsive budgeting. It can identify how mainstream programs can be designed to be inclusive and take account of the needs of women, as well as where a gender specific program is needed.

Read more:
Applying a gender lens to the budget is not about pitting women against men

The Office for Women piloted gender impact analysis in several policy areas including the housing needs of women, apprenticeship and training data, and the child care reforms.

For example, gender impact analysis was applied when writing the government submission to the Fair Work Commission for the Aged Care Work Value Case.

This budget goes on to include gender equity as an object of the Fair Work Act, and to establish Pay Equity and Care and Community Sector expert panels at the Fair Work Commission. This will focus attention on the issues around pay rates in the care sector which has a predominantly female workforce. Improving pay rates will also increase the rate of male employment resulting in a more gender balanced workforce.

However, the matter of how to fund higher wages in the care sector hasn’t been specifically addressed in this budget. While the service provider will pay the increased wages cost, this will create a cost pressure point in the system.

Budget Paper 1 included a statement on “Measuring What Matters”, which discusses how to develop a framework for wellbeing budgeting. It’s important gender indicators are taken into account in developing the wellbeing budget framework, but the work on gender responsive budgeting must also continue.

The women’s budget is headed in the right direction, but there needs to be capacity building across the public service to ensure systemic issues are addressed across portfolios.

Helen Hodgson has received funding from the ARC, AHURI and CPA Australia. Helen is the Chair of the Social Policy Committee and a Director of the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) and on the Gender and Career Progression Committee of CPA Australia (WA Division). Helen was a Member of the WA Legislative Council in WA from 1997 to 2001, elected as an Australian Democrat. She is not a current member of any political party. She is a Registered Tax Agent and a member of the SMSF Association, CPA Australia and The Tax Institute.

– ref. The women’s budget is headed in the right direction. But the policies still need work – https://theconversation.com/the-womens-budget-is-headed-in-the-right-direction-but-the-policies-still-need-work-193100

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Warwick Smith, Research economist, The University of Melbourne

It was billed as Australia’s first wellbeing budget. But, five months into a new government, with so many economic fires to fight, Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ first budget was never going to be that.

Instead, he’s taken the first step: to get a sense of what we want for society and measuring how we’re doing. The budget papers refer to this as “measuring what matters”:

Indicators that measure broader quality of life factors should be considered in addition to, not instead of, traditional macroeconomic measures. When policy processes consider these outcomes, they facilitate more holistic discussions of the type of economy and society Australians want to build together.

The main commitment is to produce a “Measuring What Matters Statement” in 2023 that will lay out the government’s proposed wellbeing measures, drawing on international frameworks established over the past half-century.

A holistic wellbeing approach enables us to look at the root causes of problems, instead of simply devising policies to treat the symptoms (vital though that is in the short term).

For example, measurable improvements in mental health can have profound implications for the justice system, and mental health in turn is affected by circumstances such as poverty, domestic violence and joblessness.

Reforms based on a wellbeing approach would look to reorient the economy so that poverty, domestic violence and joblessness are reduced. This would reduce the need for police, courts, prisons, mental health support and welfare.

Treasury is thankfully moving slowly on this. I say “thankfully” because establishing an effective wellbeing approach is complex and will take time – particularly if ordinary people are to be included in the process.

Read more:
Jim Chalmers’ 2022-23 budget mantra: whatever you do, don’t fuel inflation

Consulting diverse communities

The initial consultation on the Measuring What Matters Statement announced by Treasury is so far restricted to written submissions. Such a process will attract the usual suspects: think tanks, academics, unions, social services organisations, and so on.

Ideally, the process will be broadened, with officials going to a diverse range of communities to learn what’s important to people and places.

The Australian Capital Territory government ran consultations like this in 2019 and 2020 when developing its Wellbeing Framework. The Victorian Council of Social Services this year conducted a Listening Tour of 12 communities with similar goals in mind.

Building from this, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation has published How to create a wellbeing economy, which explains the systemic changes to which a wellbeing budget can contribute. Closing the Gap is another relevant Australian framework that can inform Treasury’s work.

Learning from others

It is encouraging the budget papers focus on the lessons we can learn from wellbeing budgets and wellbeing economy frameworks internationally.

Rather than starting from scratch, Australia can build on what has been developed by the OECD and governments such as Scotland, New Zealand, Wales and Canada, avoiding their mistakes and emulating their successes.

Read more:
Australia’s wellbeing budget: what we can – and can’t – learn from NZ

One of the key lessons from these international efforts is that measurement alone does not bring about change. We also need high-level goal-setting and explicit plans for how government agencies can contribute to achieving those goals.

What makes a wellbeing budget

The Albanese government’s first budget contains many measures that may contribute to increased wellbeing.

These include resurrecting the gender budget statement (introduced by the Hawke government in 1984 but discontinued in 1997 under the Howard government), increasing paid parental leave and child care subsidies, resourcing for a referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament and a truth-telling process, and funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

But a budget containing items that improve wellbeing does not make a wellbeing budget. A genuine wellbeing government approach will have the following characteristics:

• It will take a holistic approach to policy development, assessment and implementation. This means breaking down silos between government departments and between levels of government.

• It will take a long-term view. Wellbeing approaches consider not just the wellbeing of people alive today but also future generations. This means considerations of wellbeing inherently include environmental sustainability and nature conservation.

• It considers upstream drivers of wellbeing rather than treating the symptoms caused by an economy that is not serving the interests of people and planet.

But immediate action is needed too

This “upstream” approach to policy design and service delivery has the potential to improve wellbeing and reduce the need for public expenditure in many spheres.

Chalmers’ first budget is an encouraging beginning of what is hopefully a meaningful journey to reform. A new measurement framework will inform systemic change.

There is, however, much that can be done right now to improve the lives of millions of people in Australia.

Read more:
5 charts on Australian well-being, and the surprising effects of the pandemic

At its most basic level, wellbeing requires safety, food, health care, housing, connection to community and opportunity to contribute. We know many who lack these basics. They include those surviving on JobSeeker paymments, well below the poverty line, forced to skip meals and live in their cars. They include Indigenous women lacking basic physical safety.

A wellbeing approach, looking at the drivers of these problems in an attempt to reorient society and the economy so they do not occur, must be coupled with more immediate action.

Hopefully the next budget can deliver both progress towards a more complete wellbeing framework as well as immediate action that will improve the wellbeing for those in dire need.

Warwick Smith is Wellbeing Lead at the Centre for Policy Development and Co-founder and Director at the Castlemaine Institute.

– ref. Chalmers hasn’t delivered a wellbeing budget, but it’s a step in the right direction – https://theconversation.com/chalmers-hasnt-delivered-a-wellbeing-budget-but-its-a-step-in-the-right-direction-192840

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, Grattan Institute

“Restraint” – that’s what Treasurer Jim Chalmers claimed as the watchword of Tuesday’s federal budget. Perhaps the claim can be made in general, but when it comes to transport infrastructure, the budget is remarkable not for how different it is to budgets past, but how similar. It has left plenty of opportunities for actual restraint for next time around, in May 2023.

The first similarity to budgets past is how much is being committed to transport infrastructure.

This year the total is about 0.6% of GDP, much like Josh Frydenberg’s budgets of the past three years. That equates to A$13.4 billion this year, rising to about A$15 billion for each of the next three years.

What Frydenberg and Chalmers have in common is that they have presided over a big shift upwards in the total spend, from around 0.4% of GDP under their predecessors Scott Morrison, Joe Hockey and Wayne Swan. It’s hardly “restraint”.

Headline numbers are inflated

The second similarity to budgets past is the irresistible temptation to quote far bigger numbers than are actually committed in the budget.

It’s all very well to say what you plan to deliver in ten years and beyond, but the budget is all about what you’re committing this year and the following three. It’s just like legislating stage 3 tax cuts in 2019; three years and a pandemic later, it’s hard to backtrack.

The problem is exacerbated because the headline number includes projects already committed long ago. The claim in the budget glossy is that the Albanese government “is delivering on its election commitments as part of the more than $120 billion pipeline of investment in transport infrastructure over the next 10 years”.

But what’s actually committed in the budget for additional road and rail is $8.1 billion of new money over ten years. Most of the eye-watering $120 billion predates this government.

For example, New South Wales residents may applaud the promise to spend $300 million on western Sydney roads and $500 million on early works for high-speed rail, and a total NSW commitment of $1.4 billion over ten years. But it’s hard to square that with the infrastructure minister’s promises of $5.25 billion for the Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport, and $1.6 billion for the M12 motorway.

Similarly, Victorians may eagerly anticipate the $125 million for the Barwon Heads Road upgrade and $2.2 billion towards the Suburban Rail Loop. There’s a total commitment of $2.6 billion for the state over ten years. But how does that line up with the minister’s promises of $5 billion for Melbourne Airport Rail, along with $448 million for Gippsland Rail?

Infrastructure Australia bypassed

The third similarity to budgets past is how projects are selected for funding.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is proud of Infrastructure Australia. It’s the body he set up as infrastructure minister in the Rudd government to help elected representatives who, he said, struggled “with the need to take a long-term non-partisan view” of infrastructure. Yet this budget includes billions of dollars for projects that should have gone through an Infrastructure Australia assessment, but haven’t.

The standout is Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop. It’s the signature project of the Andrews state government as it heads into a November election. The project was announced three months out from the previous Victorian election, and a business case wasn’t published until three years after the decision to invest. It’s very controversial.

The state government claims that building the east and north sections of the rail loop and operating them for 50 years will cost $31 billion to $51 billion. In stark contrast, the Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office calculates it will cost $200 billion.

What does Infrastructure Australia think? It considers the project a very long way from investment-ready.

Another standout is a $500 million down payment on high-speed rail. Even without a current business case, the government has declared it is “absolutely committed” to the project. If the numbers run in 2013 were correct, this project will cost at least $130 billion, and will compete with the since-begun Western Sydney Airport.

What does Infrastructure Australia think? Again, it considers that even corridor preservation for the project is a long way from investment-ready.

A third standout is $586 million to upgrade the Bruce Highway through Brisbane’s outer northern suburbs. The Bruce has had a massive program of upgrades over many years. Many sections have been assessed by Infrastructure Australia – but not this one.

None of these decisions could be described as restrained, and there are many similar.

Still waiting for rigorous assessments

Of course, it’s not easy to inherit a swag of major projects from the previous government, many of which are begun or at least anticipated. And it’s to this government’s credit that it has moved $6.5 billion worth of these projects to beyond the budget forward estimates, in recognition that the engineering construction sector is already struggling to keep up with demand. But in this environment, it makes little sense for the government to have thrown its weight behind new commitments, such as east-coast high-speed rail and the Suburban Rail Loop, that will tie its hands for decades to come.

Next time around, the treasurer should insist that each individual project up for funding consideration has been properly assessed by the government’s own independent advisory body. If the project is at too early a stage, the government shouldn’t invest public money in it.

A more rigorous project-by-project assessment would help the government determine how much of the transport spend is really worth it. Let’s hope. When it comes to transport, restraint is hard to find.

Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and Grattan uses the income to pursue its activities. Marion Terrill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any other company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

– ref. Budget restraint? When it comes to transport projects, it’s hard to find – https://theconversation.com/budget-restraint-when-it-comes-to-transport-projects-its-hard-to-find-192848

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jo Caust, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow (Hon), School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne

The first Labor federal budget has come down, but the arts are almost nowhere to be seen.

According to Arts Minister Tony Burke, the government is waiting for its new cultural policy, to be delivered later this year.

Only then will we know if the government is going to take any real action to address the disastrous issues in the arts sector.

Given the emphasis in the budget on addressing issues around “wellbeing”, it is worrisome we have longer to wait before issues in the arts are addressed by the Labor government.

It took the Coalition government more than seven months to announce any real relief to the sector during COVID, by which time many individuals and organisations had given up. Timing is everything when people are desperate.

What are the issues in the arts? Where do we start?

There is the continued funding decline and support of the arts over the past 15 years, the defunding of respected arts organisations by the Australia Council since 2016, the dramatic decline in funding support for individual artists, the dire impact of the pandemic, and the need to recognise that cultural value is not the same as economic value, and both are needed.

Individuals who work in the arts are highly skilled and talented. Acknowledging their labour as important and valuable is just the beginning.

Our artists are another aspect of our national wealth. Australia cannot afford to ignore them.

Read more:
Everything you need to know about Labor’s first budget in 6 charts

The small budget measures

Nevertheless, the government has taken action in some areas.

This budget sees:

• A$83.7 million in restorative funding to the ABC

• $5 million to the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Dance College

• $2.4 million to Bundanon, an organisation providing artist residencies, an education centre, a gallery and other facilities in regional New South Wales

• $5 million to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) to support ongoing delivery of its courses, and

• $2.4 million over four years from 2022-23 to offset the impact of the efficiency dividend on national performing arts training organisations.

The budget also reflects the merging of Creative Partnerships Australia with the Australia Council.

Read more:
Jim Chalmers’ 2022-23 budget mantra: whatever you do, don’t fuel inflation

Creative Partnerships Australia

Creative Partnerships Australia costs the government around $4-5 million a year, so this merging will bring around $15 million to the Council over the next three years.

Creative Partnerships Australia grew out of the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF), an initiative of the Howard government. Its mandate was to promote and facilitate private sector support for the arts and initially it focused on encouraging businesses to engage with the arts.

From 1998 to 2012, AbaF was driven through a council of business representatives, who committed $10,000 each and actively advocated for business partnerships with arts organisations. This council provided a rich resource base of potential benefactors and in its early days was successful at doing this. A separate arts philanthropy organisation, Artsupport Australia, sat under the Australia Council with AbaF support.

In 2012 Simon Crean, then arts minister, decided to excise Artsupport Australia from the Australia Council and re-orientate AbaF by rebranding it as Creative Partnerships Australia. Creative Partnerships Australia since then has had a primary focus on philanthropic support for the arts, and unlike AbaF, also distributes Commonwealth funds through grant programs.

Unlike the Australia Council, Creative Partnerships Australia is based in Melbourne (rather than Sydney), with staff also located in other cities. This means it has more immediate contact with its arts constituents outside Sydney.

The organisation has run many workshops over the years to develop fundraising skills for the arts, and has also been the home of the Australian Cultural Fund, which allows for donations to be given to individual artists and organisations that do not have tax deductibility status.

The loss of this stand-alone entity will likely be felt more by the smaller organisations and individuals than the larger ones. Larger organisations have no difficulty in claiming tax deductibility and greater likelihood of making connections with donors.

The Australia Council is a grant giving body, and has not historically facilitated philanthropy nor been a conduit for tax deductibility. It remains to be seen how these functions will be folded into the Australia Council.

The Labor government has a lot to do to restore confidence in the arts sector and help the sector recover from several terrible years. There is an urgency to this, but this urgency is nowhere to be seen in this budget.

Read more:
Jim Chalmers’ ‘restraint’ budget the first stage of a marathon for the treasurer

Jo Caust has previously received from the Australia Council. She is a member of NAVA and the Arts Industry Council (SA).

– ref. This was supposed to be a ‘wellbeing budget’ – so why does it feel like the arts have been overlooked? – https://theconversation.com/this-was-supposed-to-be-a-wellbeing-budget-so-why-does-it-feel-like-the-arts-have-been-overlooked-193304

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Neal, Senior research fellow in the Department of Economics, UNSW Sydney

Treasurer Jim Chalmers last night delivered a budget he declared was “solid, sensible and suitable to the times”. But what does a sensible budget look like in a world that is fast running out of time on climate change?

Lowy Institute polling this year suggests most Australians believe immediate and substantial action on climate change is eminently sensible. Some 60% agreed global warming was a serious and pressing problem for which “we should begin taking steps now even if this involves significant costs”. A further 29% want mitigation to occur gradually.

Chalmers unveiled his budget in a precarious economic environment and amid fears of a looming global recession. But while the national conversation is focused on short-term economic pressures, the world is entering unprecedented territory of climate disruption.

This federal budget was Labor’s first opportunity to establish its economic vision for emissions reduction. Even as Chalmers prepared his speech, parts of Australia’s east coast were battling floods, and the summer rain outlook looks grim.

The budget earmarked a suite of worthwhile climate-related measures, but many are relatively piecemeal. As extreme weather events occur at a record-breaking frequency and severity, federal spending on climate action still falls well short.

Where’s the tangible action?

Over the past few months, Labor has generated significant headlines on climate change.

It’s Climate Change Bill passed parliament last month. It means Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions must fall by 43% (relative to 2005 levels) by 2030, and emissions must reach net-zero by 2050.

Labor on Sunday also announced Australia will sign a global pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

But setting these targets is just the first step. Limiting climate change to 1.5℃ degrees – the goal of the Paris Agreement – requires immediately reversing the upward trend in global emissions and making significant cuts over the next two decades. That means tangible actions must occur right now.

But looking at the budget papers released last night, it’s hard to see how Australia’s climate targets will be met.

What’s in the budget for climate?

Most budget measures related to climate change and the environment formed part of Labor’s pre-election platform. They include:

• A$224 million over four years to fund 400 community batteries, and $100 million for community solar banks

• the Rewiring the Nation plan: $20 billion of low-cost finance to improve Australia’s transmission network, and new investments in renewable electricity generation which aren’t yet detailed

Read more:
Albanese government’s first budget delivers election promises but forecasts soaring power prices

Also worth noting are measures to mitigate the future impact of climate change:

• the Disaster Ready Fund to support adaptation measures such as flood levees, sea walls, fire breaks and evacuation centres

• $225 million over four years to implement the Threatened Species Action Plan and funding to establish Indigenous Protection Areas and protect heritage places

• increased funding to preserve and restore the Great Barrier Reef.

These initiatives are, in part, funded by a $747 million reduction in environment spending over the next four years. The cancelled spending includes projects for gas and carbon capture and storage, funding earmarked for the Murray Darling Basin, and other Morrison government measures.

The budget also contained subsidies and infrastructure investment to support the uptake of electric vehicles. This includes 117 electric vehicle charging stations on highways, exempting electric cars from the fringe benefits tax and removing custom duties on electric car imports.

Electric cars will reduce Australia’s dependence on international oil markets made volatile by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But whether electric cars significantly reduce Australia’s transport emissions depends on the extent to which renewables power the electricity grid. Until coal and gas are phased out, many electric cars in Australia will be powered by fossil fuels.

Is it enough? No

Chalmers said the budget drives investment in renewable energy and delivers thousands of new jobs. But what’s lacking are mechanisms that encourage or compel companies to reduce their emissions in line with nationally legislated targets.

Of course, it’s hardly the present government’s fault that such mechanisms are not in place. The former Coalition government’s decision to axe Labor’s carbon price left a gaping policy hole that put Australia at the back of the global pack on climate action.

The initiatives outlined in this budget should be applauded. But many Australians who voted for Labor, the Greens or the Teal independents wanted significant action on climate change – and they’re still waiting.

So what climate measures should the government be taking?

Many of the policies at its disposal would require new legislation and would not necessarily appear in the budget. They include ending logging of old-growth forest to reduce forestry emissions, and changes to the safeguard mechanism.

The government has flagged reforms to this policy, a legacy of the previous government that purports to set limits on emissions from big industrial polluters.

Given a price on carbon is politically challenging in Australia, the safeguard mechanism appears the most likely means through which industrial emissions reductions will be curbed.

Read more:
Nearly 30% of Australia’s emissions come from industry. Tougher rules for big polluters is a no-brainer

Hopefully other initiatives appear in future budgets, in good haste. They should include:

• larger capital investments in renewable electricity generation and battery storage

• a very significant funding boost for science and engineering research to produce further technological breakthroughs in low-carbon manufacturing and green steel production

• electric vehicle charging stations powered by 100% renewable energy in every city and major highway

• taxes on the worst climate offenders such as the beef and dairy industries and other sources of methane emissions.

And then we come to the elephant in the room: the emissions created when Australia exports fossil fuels to countries where it’s burned for energy.

Domestically, Australia is responsible for about 1.5% of global emissions. But factor in our fossil fuel exports and that rises to about 5% – and may jump to up to 12% by 2030.

So perhaps the most significant decisions Labor will make for the climate change aren’t budget initiatives at all – but rather, what fossil fuel exploitation the government allows in coming years.

Let’s get started

This budget included, for the first time, a statement on the fiscal impact of climate change.

It outlined the damage climate change can cause to government budgets including the cost of “responding to extreme weather events, which are likely to increase in severity and frequency”.

One thing is clear: Australia must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and transition away from its reliance on fossil fuel exports. It’s in the nation’s best economic interests – and there’s no better time than now to begin this work in earnest.

Read more:
Australia is poised to be a world leader in offshore wind, but any potential risks to marine life remain poorly regulated

Timothy Neal 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. Labor’s ‘sensible’ budget leaves Australians short-changed on climate action. Here’s where it went wrong – https://theconversation.com/labors-sensible-budget-leaves-australians-short-changed-on-climate-action-heres-where-it-went-wrong-193215

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlene Longbottom, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names of deceased people and mentions domestic violence and murder.

This week’s Four Corners special How Many More? provided a much-needed investigation into the rates of First Nations women missing and murdered in this country. ABC Indigenous affairs editor Bridget Brennan and her team must be commended for their work.

We in the Indigenous community are well aware of the impact of the violence that occurs. Many of us work on the frontline to help those in need, partnering with Indigenous community organisations.

As part of my work, I review coronial inquest documents and death data that includes Indigenous people, as well as hearing survivors’ stories and those of
families who have lost a loved one to violence.

However, it is also through my lived, working, community experiences that I come to the topic of addressing violence – much like many other advocates in the space.

This work is interwoven with our lives in a way we don’t get to knock off from. I can – and have – gone from speaking at a national level one day, to providing one-on-one domestic violence support the very next.

The nation is in the midst of a national crisis of violence against Indigenous women. As Associate Professor Hannah McGlade puts it, this is “Indigenous femicide”.

For those of us who live in Indigenous communities, and have experienced violence ourselves, we’ve long known we’re on our own when it comes to our survival.

Read more:
How ‘closing the gap’ may close doors for First Nations women in new plan to end violence

What the Four Corners report found

The Four Corners report detailed the impacts of horrendous crimes against First Nations women with care and sensitivity. It humanised the women and supported their families to provide a voice to their experiences. This has not always been afforded to us.

The program highlighted a vital issue: the indifferent, uncaring nature and lack of urgency of many first responders. People requiring protection continue to be misidentified, with First Nations women punished for not conforming to the “worthy victim” stereotype.

These interactions with service providers, such as the police, are made worse as a result of racist stereotypes which dismiss violence against First Nations women. Four Corners showed this in Roberta’s story, who was told by the attending police officer to “stop calling us”. No one helped her when she was being beaten in public. This all occurred in the lead-up to her death.

The racist and inadequate responses highlighted on Four Corners aligns with research I have conducted into policing practice.

Given the widespread racism of police and their freqently apathetic responses and disregard to First Nations women’s safety, there is a reluctance to come forward and report violence. When women do report, they are criminalised, further marginalised, dismissed and dehumanised, as highlighted on Four Corners.

These systems continue to fail First Nations women. These failures are across institutions, and across state and territory jurisdictions.

Because of the inadequate support for First Nations women to report violence, colleagues and I have argued the police may not be the appropriate service to approach in reporting violence, and as first responders.

Read more:
No public outrage, no vigils: Australia’s silence at violence against Indigenous women

What is needed to address violence against Indigenous women?

There is no simple answer to address this. The ongoing impacts of multigenerational trauma continues, as do the effects of discrimination, marginalisation and racism many of us still experience.

It is clear we need to move away from the assumption that what works in non-Indigenous communities will be effective in Indigenous communities.

In addition, what works for First Nations women in the southern communities of Australia may not work across to the west and in the north. The diversity in our communities should be seen as a strength; programs that are locally designed, culturally responsive and trauma-informed are much more likely to have success.

We need better education and awareness to ensure First Nations people, communities and broader society understand that acts of violence aren’t limited to physical violence, and that violence can change over the course of a relationship.

Given that new laws are being implemented around the criminalising of coercive control, we need to ensure both community and police understand what this actually is, and how it can present in a relationship.

There is a need to teach community about healthy relationships – and in particular, identifying red flags such as partners who have been violent in previous relationships. These behaviours often extend into new relationships, and the person who uses the violence can escalate how they harm their partner, sometimes fatally.

Too many First Nations women have been killed by people who have a history of violence in relationships. State and territory courts, corrections and the criminal legal system need to ensure these people are unable to cause more harm.

Clearly, we need a more holistic approach to providing services for Indigenous women. Agencies that respond to violence must have the systems and processes in place to the support the woman, the partner, the immediate family and extended kin. Episodic responses will not suffice and women will continue to fall between the gaps.

We also need to ensure that preventing violence against First Nations women is a whole-of-community responsibility. First Nations women are also partnered with non-Indigenous people, therefore this is not “just” a First Nations issue.

Finally, we need accountability for system failures, especially where Indigenous women and children’s lives are lost. One life lost to violence is far too many.

Read more:
Could the Senate inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children prevent future deaths?

Marlene Longbottom is currently employed by the University of Wollongong as an Associate Professor at the Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health & Wellbeing Research Centre.

– ref. Four Corners’ ‘How many more?’ reveals the nation’s crisis of Indigenous women missing and murdered – https://theconversation.com/four-corners-how-many-more-reveals-the-nations-crisis-of-indigenous-women-missing-and-murdered-193216

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Conley Tyler, Honorary Fellow, Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne

On budget night in 2014, the Abbott government cut nearly $8 billion from Australia’s international development program, the largest-ever aid cuts. Programs in South-East Asia were cut by 30%. For a government obsessed with surplus, it was seen as a sort of political victimless crime. Yes, it would hurt foreigners, but they don’t vote.

Last night’s budget announced an increase in aid of $1.4 billion over four years, including new funding beyond measures promised in the election campaign. This will prevent Australia’s development spend from dropping to its worst-ever level, as it was slated to do.

The previous Morrison government had resisted expanding the development budget beyond $4 billion, responding to the impact of COVID-19 with temporary and targeted measures. As these expired, foreign aid would have slumped to record lows. The new government has crossed this Rubicon by folding these into an increased budget of $4.65 billion.

Read more:
Jim Chalmers’ ‘restraint’ budget the first stage of a marathon for the treasurer

What’s notable is not just the funding, it’s also the way it was announced. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong framed the spending as a “major step toward the goal of making Australia stronger and more influential in the world”. She positioned development spending as key to Australia’s relationships in the region.

“Without these investments,” she said, “others will continue to fill the vacuum and Australia will continue to lose ground”. The spending was key to making Australia a “partner of choice for the countries of our region”.

In his budget speech, Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the investment in development as “restoring our role as a diligent and dependable partner and friend to our Pacific neighbours – for a stable, peaceful and more prosperous region”.

This signals a commitment to development as a key tool of statecraft.

Analysts will reasonably say this budget should be seen as steadying rather than improving. The current foreign aid commitment of around 0.2% of national income is well below the international standard of 0.7% and the donor country average of 0.33%. It is also far from the Rudd-era bipartisan position of rising to 0.5%.

Meanwhile, the budget found significant funds for defence, which increased $2.66 billion to $51.5 billion. It’s fair to ask if the dollars match the rhetoric.

But for a new government five months in, putting in the hard yards of budget repair in the face of a teetering global economy, it means a lot that it has committed not to let development funding slip. Many other areas face cuts, and it must have taken tough advocacy to preserve these commitments through the budget process.

The government has committed to year-on-year growth in funding. It puts Australia’s development programs on a more secure and predictable fiscal footing.

The challenge will be to build on this budget in subsequent ones. Many of the questions reasonably being raised around the “what” and “how” can be addressed in the New International Development Policy currently being developed.

Read more:
Everything you need to know about Labor’s first budget in 6 charts

The federal budget is always about priorities. Among the many things the government and nation would like to do, which are the ones they are prepared to put money behind? As foreign affairs and defence mandarin Sir Arthur Tange noted, “strategy without money is not strategy”. To succeed in this environment, you need to make your case.

There are very strong arguments for development co-operation – which is why developed countries, and even some developing ones, invest money in it. But the supporting arguments come from quite different perspectives. In a speech last month, Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy summarised four ways of making the case for foreign aid:

• the security case – grinding poverty contributes to social tensions, instability and radicalisation

• the economic case – supporting prosperity abroad supports prosperity at home

• the international relations case – contributing to developing countries supports prosperity and stability in the region and boosts Australia’s bilateral and multilateral relationships

• the moral argument – it is the right thing to do.

When the Abbott government slashed the budget in 2014, it was probably thinking of development mainly in terms of the moral case – and thought that this could be overridden as expedient.

In increasing the budget, the Albanese government is justifying its decision on the basis of the other arguments – linking it to Australia’s national interest and seeing development as a key component in Australia’s foreign policy toolkit. And perhaps the Australian public is heeding this. Since 2019, cuts to the aid budget have become less popular.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade budget paper states:

In an uncertain world, the strength and diversity of Australia’s partnerships is critical. The development program is fundamental to deepening our partnerships with our Indo-Pacific neighbours.

It seems we’re starting to cement the view that an adequate development budget is non-negotiable if Australia wants to have influence in the region. Given the scale of the needs, it would be wonderful if we could aim beyond adequate.

Melissa Conley Tyler is Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D), a platform for collaboration between the development, diplomacy and defence communities. It receives funding from the Australian Civil-Military Centre and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is hosted by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).

– ref. Steadying foreign aid budget signals the government takes development seriously – https://theconversation.com/steadying-foreign-aid-budget-signals-the-government-takes-development-seriously-193088

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Usha Manchanda Rodrigues, Professor, Deakin University

News reporting on sexual and domestic violence ignores the multiple inequities faced by victims from culturally diverse backgrounds, and First Nations peoples.

A content analysis of stories published in three prominent Australian media found only a handful of stories mentioned “intersectional” factors such as race, class, caste, sexuality, age and ability. These factors often make it harder for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to seek support.

The analysis of 191 stories about people from culturally diverse backgrounds, published by The Age, the Herald Sun, and the ABC during the second COVID lockdown in September-December 2020, did not contextualise their reporting on domestic and sexual violence.

Except for a handful of stories, most media reported the crimes as isolated incidents of violence rather than a social problem.

The reporting often ignored important information such as victims’ status as new immigrants, their visa status restricting them to work in Australia, financial and social isolation, and cultural backgrounds.

One of the exceptions was an article by the ABC’s Herlyn Kaur, which noted many migrant women wanted to leave their violent marriages but were unaware of their rights. A growing number of migrant women are seeking help from women’s refuges, on average staying there for 46 nights, which is 14 nights more than non-culturally diverse women.

First Nations leaders and organisations working to prevent violence against women and children have noted the use of stereotypes, framing stories in a sensational way, and ignoring violence committed against Indigenous women.

First Nations women are five times more likely to experience physical violence and three times more likely to experience sexual violence than other Australian women, according to Our Watch.

Read more:
No public outrage, no vigils: Australia’s silence at violence against Indigenous women

Women from diverse backgrounds make up a significant proportion of the Australian population. Almost 28% of residents are born overseas, while 22% use a language other than English at home.

The recently launched National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children (2022-2032), emphasises a need for using an intersectional lens when supporting victim-survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Greater diversity in media is also needed

Australian newsrooms lag behind. This research found that less than a third (32.82%) of the stories about domestic and sexual violence against culturally and linguistically diverse Australians were reported by a journalist from a non-Anglo-Celtic background. A little over 69% of the news stories were reported by a journalist from an Anglo-Celtic background, while more than 41% were written by a male reporter. Some stories were written by more than one journalist, while about 5% had no byline.

In Victoria, family violence–related crimes increased by 7.5% between October 2019 and September 2020, with more than 90,000 offenses recorded. But, the number of news reports on violence against women remained miniscule. In the study period, about 500 articles on domestic violence, sexual harassment and sexual violence were published by the three media outlets. Of these, 191 referred to a person or the issue of culturally and linguistically diverse background.

The context of domestic and sexual violence is important, because nearly a third of Australians believe women who do not leave their abusive partners are partly responsible for the continuation of domestic violence. Moreover, 42% agree it is common for sexual assault accusations to be used as a way of getting back at men.

Nuanced reporting of violence against women from culturally diverse backgrounds will sensitise the population to the complexity of the issue. It will also encourage governments to offer information, support and services that match the multitude of inequities they endure.

Read more:
A new national plan aims to end violence against women and children ‘in one generation’. Can it succeed?

This research finds an overwhelming number of news reports do not mention any factors that may affect victims and victim-survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The research raises a question: would a better understanding of the culturally diverse backgrounds of the victims help a journalist to report the nuances of these factors that multiply the suffering of victims?

The findings argue that diversity among journalists employed by Australian newsrooms is yet another area that needs attention. Increasing diversity would mean news stories about violence against women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and First Nations are reported with an intersectional lens.

It is worth noting that overwhelmingly, Australian television news and current affairs programs are curated, framed and presented by journalists and commentators from an Anglo-Celtic background.

Some signs of progress

On a positive note, this research found that news reports came from a variety of sources. They include:

• violence against women experts, advocates, and representatives of organisations supporting victims (21.75%)
• the courts (20.85%)
• interviews with a significant number of neighbours, relatives, and eyewitnesses (19.03%).

This is a positive change from the past, when research found the dominant source of stories about violence against women was law enforcement personnel.

Additionally, about a quarter of the stories raised some of the legal constraints that stopped journalists from providing important details. These included victims and their families being able to speak about the crimes without the risk of prosecution.

News articles in each of the three media touched on the campaign #LetHerSpeak, which was launched in November 2018 to abolish gag laws in some states in Australia that apply to sexual assault victims.

This article is part of The Conversation’s Breaking the Cycle series, which is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

– ref. Media ignore women’s diverse backgrounds when reporting on family violence: new research – https://theconversation.com/media-ignore-womens-diverse-backgrounds-when-reporting-on-family-violence-new-research-192853

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne

Labor’s first health budget in almost a decade has few surprises – and that is a good thing.

The budget foreshadows additional annual health and aged care spending of more than A$2.3 billion when initiatives are fully implemented in 2025–26, the end of the four-year forward estimates. The bulk of this is for policy initiatives foreshadowed in the election campaign.

It should not be a surprise that governments promise one thing before an election and stick to it after, but unfortunately that has not been the case over the past decade.

There are four big spending commitments in this budget: aged care, Medicare reform, pharmaceuticals, and First Nations’ health.

Steps towards aged care reform

Aged care in Australia is a renovator’s opportunity. The system is understaffed and poorly regulated, with policy-making often captured by providers.

The consequences were laid bare by the aged care royal commission, which reported in March 2021. The previous government made a down payment on reform, but left much undone.

As promised in the election campaign, the 2022-23 budget provides for a major uplift in spending, with the “fixing the aged care crisis” spending line adding $1.2 billion in a full year. But that will only be the start.

Key recommendations from the royal commission are being implemented, including funding the novel idea of requiring nursing homes to employ nurses. Funding is also provided for a specified minimum number of care minutes for each resident.

There is still much to do, especially in addressing the care workforce shortfall.
The Fair Work Commission is currently reviewing minimum pay rates in the aged care industry, and the outcome will be a significant uplift. The question is, how significant? At present, a burger flipper gets paid more than the person who cares for our grandmothers; this will at last be reversed.

The cost of the Fair Work Commission case is as yet unknown and is not included in this budget.

Read more:
When aged care workers earn $22 an hour, a one-off bonus won’t help

Medicare reform underway, but no funds for hospitals

In response to health system pressures, Labor promised several reform initiatives before the election. One of these – the development of urgent care clinics – is slated for implementation starting in 2022-23, at a full-year cost of $37 million.

Although there has been some criticism that the policy initiative is still not finalised in every minute detail, Labor has only been in office for six months.

Read more:
Labor’s urgent care centres are a step in the right direction – but not a panacea

Broad system reform also awaits the conclusions of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce (of which I am a member). This was established to provide advice on a further $250 million initiative that will be announced in the 2023-24 budget.

Dashing the aspirations of states, there is no provision in the budget for additional funding for state public hospitals, but of course there was no election commitment to do so.

Price of medicines to drop

In addition to the expected cost of new listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the budget allocates $230 million in a full year to reduce the mandatory Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme co-payment, from the current level of $42.50 per prescription for general beneficiaries to $30.

More than half a million Australians miss out on filling prescriptions each year because of cost, and hopefully this budget initiative will reduce that number. Other people, who might have had to make hard choices to fill prescriptions by foregoing buying new school clothes, will also benefit.

However, the reduction in the official co-payment will lead to reduced discounts from the low-cost pharmacy chains, so the net impact of the budget change is probably less of a benefit to patients than the headline $230 million cost to government.

Read more:
Last year, half a million Australians couldn’t afford to fill a script. Here’s how to rein in rising health costs

Funds to expand First Nations health services

The disparity in health outcomes for First Nations Australians is a tragedy. Medicare is not delivering as it should, with First Nations people in the NT receiving just 16% of the Medicare funding of an average Australian, due to poor access to doctors.

Read more:
First Nations people in the NT receive just 16% of the Medicare funding of an average Australian

It is pleasing to see an additional investment of $95 million in a full year to improve the health of First Nations Australians. The commitment appears well designed and includes improved infrastructure, expanded training and new health clinics.

A broader view of health and wellbeing

The budget signals the first steps towards adopting a new health and wellbeing framework for measuring societal progress, incorporating broader aspects of everyday life into budget reporting.

Although the media obsession with the budget deficit and gross domestic product as the only measures of note will probably continue, future budget documents will begin to take a more holistic view.

Read more:
‘The beginning of something new’: how the 2022-23 budget does things differently

A range of potential indicators were foreshadowed in this budget, including a climate-related one (related to threatened species) and public trust in government, both areas where Australia is not performing well.

In terms of climate, the budget includes a very welcome, albeit tiny, commitment to assist the Commonwealth Department of Health provide leadership on the health impact of climate change by establishing a National Health Sustainability and Climate Unit.

The budget itself builds public trust by providing no real surprises, but gets on with the job of implementing what was already promised.

Stephen Duckett is a member of the board of directors of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, an aged care provider, and is also a member of the Strengthening Medicare Task Force.

– ref. What does the budget mean for Medicare, medicines, aged care and First Nations health? – https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-budget-mean-for-medicare-medicines-aged-care-and-first-nations-health-192842

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Barry King, Professor of Communications, Auckland University of Technology

Whether you viewed it as a fresh front in the culture wars or merely a tempest in a teacup, the recent controversy over a shift in funding for the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand was more evidence the country’s national culture is undergoing something of an identity crisis.

Behind the row lay an unanswered question: how does a post-settler, multicultural society create a national identity? This latest case put a spotlight on the performance arts in this evolving cultural debate. This raises its own question: what can theatre contribute to the nurturing of our national identity?

Live theatre is important in recalibrating the image of nationhood because of its direct connection to local audiences. Cinema and television, by and large, are committed to exploring themes and formats that target global audiences.

By contrast, theatre is charged with delivering original indigenous work; or at least, a distinctive local take on plays and performances. Perhaps it’s time, then, to revisit the concept of establishing a national theatre in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ghosts of theatres past

Within the current debate about the funding policies of Creative New Zealand (CNZ), it has been suggested the theatre “ecology” is in crisis. Significant aspects of the crisis are economic: the impact of the pandemic on employment in the performance sector, and the impact of inflation on CNZ’s fixed investment budget.

But part of the crisis can be read as structural, conjuring up past efforts to create a national professional theatre – witness the efforts of Richard Campion and the New Zealand Players (1952-1960) and Wellington’s Downstage Theatre (1973-2013). Bruce Mason, in particular, strove to produce a distinctively postcolonial, Polynesian theatre.

Read more:
The arts helped us through the pandemic – NZ’s budget should radically rethink how and why they’re funded

The ghosts of such efforts are not well served by present funding policy. Following its 2015 Review of Theatre, CNZ adopted a funding model that consolidated the division between different forms of theatre.

On one side are fixed theatres operating in metropolitan centres, with special provision for Māori and young people’s theatre. On the other side are community-based theatre companies or solo performers, who perform in local theatres and non-theatrical venues such as civic buildings, schools, arts centres and community halls.

Unlike main centre theatres, CNZ sees community companies as a source of experimental work outside the traditional repertoire. The support received by such companies varies, based on a yearly competition. While not necessarily unfair, this structure enshrines the notion of separatism rather than cross-fertilisation.

Separate stages

Not surprisingly, reactions to recent funding decisions have raised questions about the way different performance arts are valued. As one critic of the current system asked, why does ballet, an “elite” art form with a comparatively small audience, receive greater funding than kapa haka, a popular art form with a larger audience?

A similar question was implied in the claim by one CNZ assessor that Shakespeare is “locked within a canon of imperialism”, without apparent consideration of how the plays might be performed.

Of the many questions about these decisions, two are fundamental. First, how should different performance arts be valued – for their market performance, or for their contribution to a national performance culture? Second, what form of theatre might most effectively express a national culture distinct from the colonial British or European heritage?

Read more:
The show must go on, but it’s time to re-think how we fund the arts in NZ

An essential flaw in current funding policy is that it perpetuates the divisions between different communities of dramatic practice, whereas a progressive policy would work to encourage cross-fertilisation between different forms of drama.

The increasingly multicultural composition of New Zealand’s population suggests the official policy of biculturalism needs to be reconsidered.

Even a cursory glance at contemporary New Zealand theatre reveals a wide range of practices, ranging from “well made” plays in the Western tradition, through to plays that draw on the Indigenous performance traditions and styles of diverse ethnic groups. How could the funding policy for theatre be realigned to the contemporary abundance of multicultural performance traditions?

Read more:
‘Bloody-hunting slaughtermen’, sieges and ‘lechery’: what does Shakespeare tell us of war?

Towards a Polynesian theatre

Rather than separating regional and local theatre, with their different approaches to performance, funding policy could be directed towards creating a national theatre with an umbrella approach that promotes interaction between different theatrical traditions and encourages the emergence of hybrid theatrical forms.

Such a national theatre could be structured as a permanent travelling company or a virtual academy. It could be based on a consortium of existing theatre educators, or an integrated consortium of mainstream and community theatres. It might be developed as a collaborative playwright’s theatre based on the current Playmarket model.

Read more:
These high school ‘classics’ have been taught for generations – could they be on their way out?

Given the rise of “incidental” casting (considering all artists, regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or socioeconomic background for all roles), the actual meaning of a play depends as much, if not more, on the way it is cast and staged than on its content.

Theatre is a space in which plays perceived as “reactionary” or tied to a past can be revitalised and reconfigured. A national theatre, carefully considered, could be the crucible where Bruce Mason’s dream of a truly Polynesian theatre can be forged.

Barry King 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. Much ado about Shakespeare – why it’s time for a New Zealand national theatre – https://theconversation.com/much-ado-about-shakespeare-why-its-time-for-a-new-zealand-national-theatre-193214

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olav Muurlink, Associate Professor, Social Innovation, CQUniversity Australia

Thousands of young people roaming the streets at night in scary costumes, knocking on strangers’ doors and threatening pranks if their demands for treats are not met. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters, there’s the frightening amount of waste produced by those few hours of Halloween fun.

In recent years, Halloween has joined Christmas and other consumption rituals to become an entrenched celebration on the Australian calendar – especially for young kids (and their parents).

But afterwards we’re left with mountains of discarded lolly wrappers, pumpkins, costumes and decorations. How did we end up here – and how can we create a more sustainable Halloween?

A horrible history

Halloween is celebrated each year on October 31. About one in four Australians intends to take part this year. That’s a lot of people – but still far behind participation rates in the United States and United Kingdom.

Halloween began as an ancient Celtic harvest celebration. Known as Samhain, the festival included storytelling, bonfires and costumes to ward off ghosts.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III declared November 1 as a time to honour all saints. Those festivities included some Samhain activities, and the evening of October 31 became All Hallows’ Eve, then later, Halloween.

Halloween was brought to the US in the 1840s by Irish immigrants. It has since transformed into a heavily marketed staple of the retail calendar, and spread to many other countries, including Australia.

Each year, mass-produced Halloween-related treats, costumes and spooky paraphernalia fill the shelves of supermarkets and department stores in the lead-up to October 31.

Read more:
Halloween’s celebration of mingling with the dead has roots in ancient Celtic celebrations of Samhain

A spine-chilling tale of waste

All those consumables lead to a huge amount of waste. First, let’s start with food.

Most data on Halloween food waste relates to the US, but we can assume the problem extends proportionally to Australia.

About one million kilograms of pumpkins are grown in the US each year. Many are carved into jack-o’-lanterns and end up in landfill rather than on the plate. US authorities have warned all these decomposing pumpkins produce methane, which contributes to climate change.

Similarly, research released in 2020 found half of the 24 million pumpkins carved for Halloween in the UK would become food waste. What’s more, 42% of survey respondents didn’t even know pumpkin flesh was edible.

And what about all those treats? Days out from Halloween last year, the US National Retail Federation said overall Halloween-related spending would hit US$10.14 billion, including about $3 billion in candy sales.

Some 70% of UK shoppers expect to buy sweets, chocolates and other treats on Halloween, and the celebration is now the UK’s third biggest commercial celebration after Christmas and Easter.

Individually wrapped lollies are popular fare in modern Halloween celebrations – especially in the pandemic era. But it wasn’t always that way. In decades past, cookies, candied apples and home-made toffee were the common Halloween currency.

Wrapping and packaging does reduce food waste, but it creates plastic waste that litters our roadsides, fills our bins, and pollutes the environment.

Research on Halloween consumption in Australia is in its infancy. But research this month by the Australian Retailers Association found Australians planned to spend about A$430 million on Halloween this year, up on previous years.

Items to be purchased included costumes, sweets, themed food and drinks, and party decorations.

If you plan to decorate your house, beware of buying fake cobwebs – wildlife experts this week warned that animals, particularly birds, could get caught in them and die.

Have a sustainable Halloween

Australia is a largely blank slate when it comes to Halloween culture and tradition. We have a chance to make the tradition our own.

Why not carve a real pumpkin, rather than buying a plastic one, and turn the innards into pumpkin soup or scones? Or try hitting your local op-shop and reworking a fashion nightmare from yesteryear into a spooky Halloween costume?

The World Wildlife Fund offers these other tips for a “green” Halloween:

• Reuse decorations from previous years instead of buying new ones. Better still, make your own

• Keep old clothes that can be used as costumes, such as worn-out t-shirts

• Reduce party waste by avoiding disposable cups, plates and cutlery

• Buy locally produced lollies and treats. Look for those with minimal packaging or packaged in recycled materials

• Don’t buy a special trick-or-treat bag. Use and decorate household items such as a bucket, pillowcase or old bag, and re-use it each year

• When trick-or-treating, walk around your neighborhood instead of driving to do it elsewhere

• compost and recycle as much party food, treats, pumpkins and other items as possible.

Read more:
Not spooked by Halloween ghost stories? You may have aphantasia

Olav Muurlink is the Project Leader of the Fight Food Waste Co-operative Research Centre’s Future Leaders Program.

– ref. The most horrifying part of Halloween is the useless piles of waste it creates. Why not do it differently? – https://theconversation.com/the-most-horrifying-part-of-halloween-is-the-useless-piles-of-waste-it-creates-why-not-do-it-differently-192836

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Pope, ARC DECRA Fellow, The University of Queensland

In searching for planets and studying their stars, I’ve had the privilege to use some of the world’s great telescopes. However, our team has recently turned to an even larger system to study the cosmos: Earth’s forests.

We analysed radioactive signatures left in tree rings around the world to study mysterious “radiation storms” that have swept over Earth half a dozen times in the past 10,000 years or so.

Our results, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, rule out “solar superflares” as the culprit – but the true cause remains unknown.

A history written in tree rings

When high-energy radiation strikes the upper atmosphere it turns nitrogen atoms into radioactive carbon-14, or radiocarbon. The radiocarbon then filters through the air and the oceans, into sediments and bogs, into you and me, into animals and plants – including hardwoods with their yearly tree rings.

To archaeologists, radiocarbon is a godsend. After it is created, carbon-14 slowly and steadily decays back into nitrogen – which means it can be used as a clock to measure the age of organic samples, in what is called radiocarbon dating.

Read more:
Explainer: what is radiocarbon dating and how does it work?

To astronomers, this is equally valuable. Tree rings give a year-by-year record of high-energy particles called “cosmic rays” going back millennia.

The magnetic fields of Earth and the Sun shield us from cosmic rays shooting through the Galaxy. More cosmic rays reach Earth when these magnetic fields are weaker, and fewer when the fields are stronger.

This means the rise and fall of carbon-14 levels in tree rings encodes a history of the 11-year cycle of the solar dynamo (which creates the Sun’s magnetic field) and the reversals of Earth’s magnetic field.

Miyake events

But tree rings also record events we cannot presently explain. In 2012, Japanese physicist Fusa Miyake discovered a spike in the radiocarbon content of tree rings from 774 AD. It was so big that several ordinary years’ worth of cosmic rays must have arrived all at once.

As more teams have joined the search, tree ring evidence has been uncovered of further “Miyake events”: from 993 AD and 663 BC, and prehistoric events in 5259 BC, 5410 BC, and 7176 BC.

Read more:
A large solar storm could knock out the power grid and the internet – an electrical engineer explains how

These have already led to a revolution in archaeology. Finding one of these short, sharp spikes in an ancient sample pins its date down to a single year, instead of the decades or centuries of uncertainty from ordinary radiocarbon dating.

Among other things, our colleagues have used the 993 AD event to reveal the exact year of the first European settlement in the Americas, the Viking village at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland: 1021 AD.

Could huge radiation pulses happen again?

In physics and astronomy, these Miyake events remain a mystery.

How do you get such a huge pulse of radiation? A flurry of papers have blamed supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, explosions from magnetised neutron stars, and even comets.

However, the most widely accepted explanation is that Miyake events are “solar superflares”. These hypothetical eruptions from the Sun would be perhaps 50–100 times more energetic than the biggest recorded in the modern era, the Carrington Event of 1859.

If an event like this occurred today, it would devastate power grids, telecommunications, and satellites. If these occur randomly, around once every thousand years, that is a 1% chance per decade – a serious risk.

Noisy data

Our team at UQ set out to sift through all the available tree ring data and pull out the intensity, timing, and duration of Miyake events.

To do this we had to develop software to solve a system of equations that model how radiocarbon filters through the entire global carbon cycle, to work out what fraction ends up in trees in what years, as opposed to the oceans, bogs, or you and me.

Working with archaeologists, we have just released the first reproducible, systematic study of all 98 trees of published data on Miyake events. We have also released open source modelling software as a platform for future work.

Storms of solar flares

Our results confirm each event delivers between one and four ordinary years’ worth of radiation in one go. Earlier research suggested trees closer to Earth’s poles recorded a bigger spike – which is what we would expect if solar superflares are responsible – but our work, looking at a larger sample of trees, shows this is not the case.

We also found these events can arrive at any point in the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle. Solar flares, on the other hand, tend to happen around the peak of the cycle.

Read more:
Why is the sun going quiet?

Most puzzling, a couple of the spikes seem to take longer than can be explained by the slow creep of new radiocarbon through the carbon cycle. This suggests that either the events can sometimes take longer than a year, which is not expected for a giant solar flare, or the growing seasons of the trees are not as even as previously thought.

For my money, the Sun is still the most likely culprit for Miyake events. However, our results suggest we’re seeing something more like a storm of solar flares rather than one huge superflare.

To pin down what exactly happens in these events, we will need more data to give us a better picture of the events we already know about. To obtain this data, we will need more tree rings – and also other sources such as ice cores from the Arctic and Antarctic.

This is truly interdisciplinary science. Normally I think about beautifully clean, precise telescopes: it is much harder to understand the complex, interconnected Earth.

Benjamin Pope receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Big Questions Institute.

– ref. Radioactive traces in tree rings reveal Earth’s history of unexplained ‘radiation storms’ – https://theconversation.com/radioactive-traces-in-tree-rings-reveal-earths-history-of-unexplained-radiation-storms-193080

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deep Jyoti Bhuyan, Research Fellow in Healthy Ageing, Western Sydney University

Many of us are familiar with probiotics, such as certain yogurts and fermented foods, full of “good” bacteria that can keep the gut healthy.

You might even have heard of prebiotics, foods rich in complex carbohydrates (dietary fibre) that help foster good bacteria in the large intestine. Popular prebiotic foods include oats, nuts and legumes.

But what about postbiotics? What are they and how do they affect our gut health?

Read more:
What should you eat after you’ve been on antibiotics? And can probiotics and prebiotics get your gut back to normal?

What is a postbiotic?

Postbiotics are essentially the by-products of our gut microbiota. In other words, your body produces postbiotics after digesting prebiotic and probiotic foods.

Examples of postbiotics include the short-chain fatty acids butyric acid (or butyrate), acetic acid (or acetate) and propionic acid (or propionate).

These molecules are produced when good probiotic bacteria break down dietary fibre from foods such as fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes.

These postbiotic molecules are important for your gut microbiota. Healthy probiotic bacteria thrive on these short-chain fatty acids in our gut.

And some postbiotics can help suppress “bad” bacteria. For example, probiotic bacteria (such as Lactococcus lactis) produce special chemicals called bacteriocins which can prevent the colonisation of pathogens like E. coli in the gut. This process is known as “colonisation resistance”.

Microbial fermentation is where microbes in the gut break down complex carbohydrates. Microbial fermentation of plant-based diets (which are rich in polyphenols), in particular, leads to the production of the postbiotic phenylacetic acid. This postbiotic can reduce the growth of harmful pathogens in the body.

Not all postbiotics are good

Not all postbiotics are heroes, though.

One type of postbiotic is bile acids, which are produced when we eat too many high-fat foods.

Bile acids have been linked to inflammation and colon cancer.

Staying on a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet for the long term often means people don’t eat enough fibre, which is linked to a higher risk of colon cancer.

This may be due to the production of hazardous postbiotics like bile acids.

What’s the link between postbiotics and cancer?

Our recent review (led by my colleague Kayla Jaye at Western Sydney University) found short-chain fatty acids – particularly butyrate – have shown promising results against breast and colorectal cancer cells in previous laboratory studies.

One clinical study showed colorectal cancer patients produced significantly lower levels of short-chain fatty acids in their gut than healthy participants.

Another study found the numbers of bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids were low in premenopausal breast cancer patients.

Some cellular and animal studies have also reported that the postbiotic butyrate can help chemotherapy work better against breast cancer and regulate the immune system.

As reported in epidemiological studies, a fibre-rich diet, particularly whole grains, can lower the risk of colorectal cancer. This is mainly because fibre-rich diets lead to the production of short-chain fatty acids in the colon.

OK great, so what do I eat to get more postbiotics in my gut?

Dietary fibre is the key.

Women and men should consume at least 25 and 30 grams of fibre, respectively, every day. But few Australians meet this recommendation.

The best way to improve the levels of good postbiotics is to consume more vegetables, fruits, legumes, wholegrain bread, nuts and seeds.

Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, onion, leek and asparagus are fantastic prebiotic vegetables.

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables increases the levels of postbiotics like short-chain fatty acids in the gut. It also helps reduce bile acids.

Gut health is all about diversity, which means eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains to support healthy gut microbiota.

You can also include fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi in your diet. These fermented foods have both prebiotic fibre and live probiotic bacteria, which can help produce healthy postbiotics in the gut.

Of course, further research is needed. But to ensure good gut health, you should include plenty of fruits, vegetables and legumes in your diet.

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

– ref. What are postbiotics and how can they improve our gut health? – https://theconversation.com/what-are-postbiotics-and-how-can-they-improve-our-gut-health-190348

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Jones, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research Impact, Australian Catholic University

A quick look at some TikTok stats shows more than 38,000 posts under the hashtag #Autism, with more than 200 million views. The hashtag #ActuallyAutistic (which is used in the autism community to highlight content created by, and not about, autistic people) has more than 20,000 posts and 40 million views.

TikTok is one of the world’s leading social platforms, and has exploded in popularity at a time when other social media megaliths have struggled. It has become an important channel for expression for its young usership – and this has included giving autistic people a voice and community.

It’s a good start. In some ways TikTok has helped drive discussions around autism forward, and shift outsiders’ perspectives. But for real progress, we have to ensure “swipe up” environments aren’t the only spaces where autistic people are welcomed.

But first, what is autism?

Autism is not an illness or a disease. It’s a lifelong developmental condition that occurs in about one in 70 people. Characteristics of the condition occur along a spectrum. This means there is a wide range of differences among people with autism, all of whom have unique challenges and strengths.

A 2017 survey conducted by myself and my colleagues found more than half of autistic people and their family members felt socially isolated. And 40% said they sometimes felt unable to leave the house because they were worried about negative behaviours towards them.

Many Australians have little knowledge about autism and limited interaction with autistic people. Generally, public attitudes will be shaped by news coverage, online articles and mainstream movies and shows. While media portrayals of autism can positively influence public knowledge, they can also contribute to misunderstanding and increase stigma. It seems the results are mixed.

Studies have found media representations of autism can contribute to stereotypes of what it means to be autistic. For instance, shows such as The Good Doctor and Atypical present autism as a condition of “high functioning, socially deficient, emotionally detached, and heterosexual males from middle-class white families”.

As an autistic person, one of the most disturbing things for me is how marginalised our voices are in conversations about autism. You will most often find non-autistic people behind autism-related research, books, movies and TV programs. Most autistic characters are also played by non-autistic actors.

A review of autism-related news published in Australian print media from 2016 to 2018 found only 16 of 1,351 stories included firsthand perspectives from autistic people.

My own research into depictions of autism in print news published between 1996 and 2005 found narratives of autistic people as dangerous and uncontrollable, or unloved and poorly treated.

When autism met TikTok

TikTok has given many autistic people a much-needed platform to speak about autism in creative ways. Some users such as Paige Layle and Nicole Parish have more than 2 million followers. The opportunity to dispel myths and share the diversity of autistic experiences has not been squandered.

Some of the positives for autistic users include opportunities to:

• connect with others who are similar to us, and feel less isolated and alone
• educate people about some of the lesser known or misunderstood aspects of autism, such as stimming (self-stimulatory behaviour including repetitive or unusual body movement or noises)
• share our passions and interests with others (#SpecialInterest) and
• raise awareness of the prevalence of and different presentation of autism in females (#AutisticGirl).

However, as with all forms of social media, we should exercise caution before labelling TikTok as the solution to autism exclusion.

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The other side of it

The most obvious risk is cyberbullying. Many of us will remember the disturbing fad of “faking autism” videos on TikTok. Examples of this included non-autistic people stimming to music (pretending to be autistic), to make people laugh, or because they thought it made them seem cute or quirky.

Turning the autistic experience into a “meme” downplays both our challenges and our strengths. It’s hard to describe just how hurtful it is to see your identity used as a joke to entertain others.

Related to this is the posting of videos of autistic people by others without their consent. Whether this is playground bullies tormenting an autistic person, strangers in a shopping centre filming a “naughty kid”, or a parent having a bad day with their autistic child – these videos can be used, reused and misused by others.

Moderation by TikTik is an additional concern. In 2019, Netzpolitik.org reported TikTok had policies for moderators to suppress certain content by users they thought were “susceptible to harassment or cyberbullying based on their physical or mental condition”.

This included users with “facial disfigurement”, “autism” and “Down syndrome”. A TikTok spokesperson said this was a “blunt and temporary policy” made “in response to an increase in bullying on the app”.

Is the best solution to bullying to silence the voices of potential victims, rather than the bullies?

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Algorithmic influence

TikTok’s algorithm is highly curated to individual users. The app decides what videos to show a user based on: their previous interactions including which videos they watch, like and favourite; video information (such as captions and hashtags); and their device and account settings.

This means users will likely see their own perspectives and beliefs reflected back to them. Autistic people may begin to believe this is the only reality that exists, leading to the creation of a “false reality”.

On TikTok, autistic people see an idyllic world where everyone understands and embraces autism. We forget that outside our “echo chamber” there is a world of people living in their own echo chambers.

If we want to see genuine improvement, we have to make autism acceptance and inclusion a priority across public life. We could start by including more autistic voices in TV shows, movies, books and news, as well as more representation in leadership teams and among policy makers.

Sandra Jones ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

– ref. TikTok is teaching the world about autism – but is it empowering autistic people or pigeonholing them? – https://theconversation.com/tiktok-is-teaching-the-world-about-autism-but-is-it-empowering-autistic-people-or-pigeonholing-them-192093

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lara Herrero, Research Leader in Virology and Infectious Disease, Griffith University

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) has changed the world as we know it. Although new vaccines and antiviral treatments have brought hope, the pesky virus has continued to mutate and evade us.

Knowledge has been building about how this virus operates and why it continues to pose a challenge. We have heard reports of the virus resulting in “immune exhaustion”, potentially triggering autoimmunity (when the body attacks itself) and even shrinking the brain.

Now scientists are discovering just how the virus impacts DNA. It looks like this could give it the power to evade our immune system – but that doesn’t mean it can get passed on genetically.

So very, very sneaky

Research published in Nature earlier this month found one of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins is able to imitate one of our cellular proteins called histones.

Histones are required to condense DNA. This allows DNA to be packaged into tight bundles, ensuring it all fits within a cell. Histones frequently change and respond to external cues to regulate the DNA. They help to switch genes on or off.

The new finding indicates SARS-CoV-2 can disrupt our genes and their expression.

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So what does the study show?

The study found one of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins – called “open reading frame 8” (ORF8) protein – has evolved to mimic a part of human histone called H3.

This mimicking seems to alter the way H3 functions and changes the host’s epigenetics. The researchers found that when they deleted a critical region of the ORF8 protein or the entire ORF8 protein, the virus was not able to replicate to the same high levels as the original COVID strain in human lung alveolar cells. This suggests the ORF8 protein contributes to COVID disease severity.

The research reveals an epigenetic mechanism that promotes SARS-CoV-2 virulence within the population. These findings may also help researchers understand how COVID develops and the disease severity of emerging viral strains.

What are ‘epigenetics’ again?

Our genes can be thought of as a blueprint that determines how our bodies are built. Collectively, the study of our genes and how these are passed from parent to offspring is called “genetics”.

“Epigenetics” refers to the factors that influence which genes are switched on or off. These factors include lifestyle elements we can control (think diet, exercise, sleep, smoking), age or even some infections.

So, whereas genetics refers to the blueprint (genes), epigenetics refers to how that blueprint is read (gene expression).

Some epigentic factors can be passed on from parent to child, but this does not mean the newly reported impact of SARS-CoV-2 on our histones will be.

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So, does this change what we already knew?

This is not the first time research has found that pathogen (invading bugs or diseases) affect our epigenetics.

It is well established that the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, changes the host gene expression through histone modification to promote its own survival.

Similarly, viruses like adenovirus (which can cause colds, conjunctivitis, gastro and more), human papilloma virus and herpes viruses are all known to alter host epigenetics through various mechanisms.

Evidence has been growing to suggest COVID impacts our immunity, but questions still remain as to how. This newly discovered SARS-CoV-2 mechanism provides another piece of the puzzle and might help to explain one way that the virus disrupts epigenetics to lead to more severe COVID.

Another reason not to get COVID

Epigenetics is a relatively new field of study that holds promise for the development of new therapies.

It is still early days for this research, but future investigation might look for ways to counteract the viruses impact on our histones as a way of protecting our immune system.

The battle to conquer COVID continues, and we are reminded that prevention – for now, in the form of vaccination and boosters, wearing N95 respirator masks and proper ventilation – is always better than cure.

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Imagining COVID is ‘like the flu’ is cutting thousands of lives short. It’s time to wake up

Lara Herrero receives funding from NHMRC.

– ref. COVID is a ‘smart virus’ that can affect DNA – but that doesn’t mean you can pass it on to your kids – https://theconversation.com/covid-is-a-smart-virus-that-can-affect-dna-but-that-doesnt-mean-you-can-pass-it-on-to-your-kids-192185

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University

The strong winds blowing over Australia’s rugged coastlines will soon power many of our homes, as offshore wind farms are poised to begin construction. But our new research the highlights the need to ensure any potential risks to marine life is properly mitigated.

The federal government has recently made a string of announcements as part of its A$20 billion Rewiring the Nation Plan, ahead of last night’s federal budget. This includes $1.5 billion to fast-track the development of offshore wind farms and renewable energy zones in Victoria, as well as funding for the Marinus link (an electricity cable connecting Tasmania and Victoria), and pumped hydro developments.

By embracing what the energy world calls the “big three” – offshore wind, solar power and onshore wind power – Australia’s renewable energy exports alone could be worth $333 billion each year. That’s almost triple what we currently get from fossil fuels.

Our research calls for Australia to put marine spatial planning processes into offshore wind regulation. This considers how infrastructure and ecosystems can co-locate, by mapping out the best sites for generating the most electricity with the least environmental impact.

With effective regulation, Australia’s offshore wind industry can be a leader in ecologically sustainable development.

Why is offshore wind important?

Over the past decade, the costs to build offshore wind infrastructure have decreased by 50% worldwide. It is poised to become a key ingredient in Australia’s energy mix, as the Global Wind Energy Council estimates a massive 4,963 gigawatts of offshore wind potential in Australia.

In fact, if all of Australia’s proposed offshore wind projects were built, their combined energy capacity would be greater than all Australia’s coal-fired power stations.

Victoria is leading the way with a target of reaching 2 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2032, and 9 gigawatts by 2040. This means some 20% of Victoria’s energy mix will come from clean, affordable and reliable offshore wind within the next ten years.

Despite our rich wind resources, there is currently no large-scale offshore wind project operating in Australia, due to a lack of legal framework that commenced operation in 2022. Australia also does not currently hold a federal offshore wind target.

Australia’s lack of regulation

Australia has lack of clear offshore renewable energy planning goals. This has led the Global Wind Energy Council to call for “a clear, transparent, and streamlined leasing and permitting process” in Australia.

The environmental protections currently in place are generic and need greater refinement on the needs of offshore wind.

Before an Australian offshore wind project can start and be granted a commercial licence, the developer must make several important assessments and proposals, including a management plan, to the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar.

This management plan must adhere to Australia’s national environment law, which is designed to promote ecologically sustainable development.

Yet, Australia’s environment law – called the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – has been widely criticised for failing to achieve this aim, particularly following a major independent review in 2021.

Read more:
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How offshore wind farms can impact marine life

Marine spatial planning can provide clear ecological, social and environmental conservation objectives, while mapping important ecological zones to protect.

Research is still emerging on the extent offshore wind farms may impact marine ecosystems. A European Environment Agency report this year points to a few potential impacts, although these are documented in Europe rather than Australia.

This includes underwater noise during construction, which can displace some species, cause auditory injury to nearby mammals and fish, and interfere with the echolocation of animals such as porpoises.

Research has also shown that during operation, some seabird species became either displaced or attracted to the turbines (though collision rates are low).

On the other hand, depending on its design, offshore wind turbines can provide habitat for some marine species, such as with artificial reefs on their foundations.

These pressures can be managed by effective marine spatial planning. Australia holds marine spatial planning processes for other areas, such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and parts of Victoria.

But we are yet to create any requirements for them in the legal framework for offshore wind at the federal level.

Countries doing it better than us

Several countries have enacted marine spatial planning policies and regulations for their offshore wind sectors.

The European Union has led the way, as 22 coastal member states have adopted marine spatial planning processes. This strong policy framework has enabled the EU to reach 28.4 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity while ensuring environmental protections are in place.

The Netherlands have an ambitious offshore wind target of 70 gigawatts by 2050. This is double what the entire EU has already installed.

The Netherlands is using marine spatial planning to sustainably meet this target. It is supported by the Dutch Ecological Offshore Wind Energy Programme, which is generating baseline scientific knowledge about how to protect sensitive marine environments in assessments determining new project sites.

Read more:
Wind turbines off the coast could help Australia become an energy superpower, research finds

One piece of the puzzle

Marine spatial planning is crucial for integrating offshore wind with other ways we use the ocean, such as for fishing and preserving traditional Sea Country. At the same time, it should preserve ecosystems and promote energy justice, where all members of society are granted access to clean energy. Marine spatial planning can strike this balance.

Formulating marine spatial planning objectives in consultation with the offshore wind industry, communities, and other stakeholders is crucial to ensure its success, and building an equitable ocean economy.

Much more must be done to ensure we continue a successful transition away from fossil fuels and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Offshore wind is just one, exciting piece of the puzzle.

Read more:
3 ways the Albanese government can turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower – without leaving anyone behind

Madeline Taylor has received funding from ACOLA and the AIEN. She is a Climate Councillor for the Climate Council and is on the Management Committee for RE-Alliance. The author would like to acknowledge Riley Taylor and his co-authorship of the research produced.

– ref. Australia is poised to be a world leader in offshore wind, but any potential risks to marine life remain poorly regulated – https://theconversation.com/australia-is-poised-to-be-a-world-leader-in-offshore-wind-but-any-potential-risks-to-marine-life-remain-poorly-regulated-193212

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jin Lee, Research Fellow, Curtin University

If you’ve been scrolling through YouTube, TikTok or Instagram it would be no surprise to chance upon calming minimalist aesthetics of Korean cafe decor; pilgrimages to the locations of popular K-dramas; and even the polite decorum of Korean public transport commuters.

In South Korea, oegugin (foreign-national) influencers often produce social media content focused on the global interest in K-pop, K-drama and K-film for audiences inside and out of Korea.

These influencers are most prominent on YouTube, where the most popular trends include binge-eating mukbang, lifestyle vlogging of fancy cafe cultures and K-pop fandom homages like visits to pop-up stores by idol groups.

On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, content is shared with hashtags like #외국인 (#oegugin) and #외국인반응 (#oegugin-baneung, or foreigner reaction).

Many oegugin influencers have risen to stardom. The duo Korean Englishman have over five million subscribers, and now regularly appear on Korean television talk shows and variety shows.

In our new research, we found oegugin influencers are predominantly white-presenting non-Koreans who often adopt nationalist tones to endorse the “excellence” of Korean culture.

The discourse is often celebratory, leverages on exoticism and promotes “pop nationalism”: a new form of soft power marketed in the form of pop culture.

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Government incubation

The oegugin influencer ecology is on the rise. As K-cultures have become globally popular, Korea is an attractive destination for aspiring influencers.

Our study found most of these expats and migrants were English teachers, students or gig economy workers who work multiple day jobs to sustain their influencer aspirations.

Many South Korean government bodies have launched projects to incubate and groom aspiring oegugin influencers, specifically to promote tourism and enhance cultural knowledge about the country.

A prime example is the K-influencer Academy, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Designed to cultivate “K-influencers” from all around the world, the academy is a YouTube training program for “Korea lovers”, offering free lectures on content creation and mentorship opportunities with established YouTubers.

Once these influencers have been developed, the Korean government can also outsource its nation branding campaign. Capitalising upon the free labour of K-influencers, the government reposts and shares their content on official YouTube channels.

A certain type of ambassador

South Korea is branded as a “new cool” by the international media, as seen in the global popularity of K-pop.

Oegugin influencers take this digital Korean cool and reproduce it on YouTube.

These influencers are important conduits of inter-cultural knowledge. They act as both “nodes” where interested audiences cluster, and “mediators” of the values and norms propagated through digital Korean content.

Projects like the K-influencer Academy can enhance intercultural knowledge between different cultures and countries, emphasising racial and cultural diversity.

However, many campaigns and projects led by small government bodies are also heavily reliant on racial norms and stereotypes.

In our research, we found the videos shared on these platforms are frequently only of white-passing oegugin.

In fact, there is even a subgenre of oegugin reaction videos catering to domestic audiences’ preferences for white beauty.

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The dark underbelly

It is not all K-pop and cafe culture. Public interest in oegugin influencers can place them in the vulnerable position of receiving hateful commentary.

People we spoke to reported a strong tendency to self-censor and self-regulate.

Influencers who are overtly celebratory about Korea saw growth in viewership and positive audience feedback, leading to further paid opportunities with government bodies.

However, when oegugin influencers share criticism about Korea they are perceived to be “threatening” the pop nationalist brand of the country. These influencers quickly receive online hate and trolling for sharing their thoughts.

This online hate is exacerbated if the influencers are people of colour, as the vitriol expands to racist and xenophobic trolling.

While government partnerships are prestigious and sought-after, the reality of the working conditions leave oegugin influencers with little agency and creative control. Their work is under-compensated by government bodies, or may be used by government-related parties without permission.

A careful balance

Within this ecology, only a select few oegugin influencers successfully navigate away from the pop nationalist script to showcase their own interests.

The most savvy might go on to cultivate their own storytelling niche.

The YouTube duo Dan and Joel are originally from the UK and known for their documentary style mukbang. While they mostly feature other oegugins in their collaborative videos, their popular videos shed light on social minorities in Korea.

Viral videos from the pair have seen the influencers showcasing a feminist tattooist and older homeless people, stimulating conversations on feminism or shedding light on poverty.

In this, they give viewers a glimpse into the less polished aspects of “real” Korea.

In the predominantly white ecology, such a distinctive strategy is not a privilege accorded to all influencers. To maintain viewer traffic (which they aspire to translate into revenue) we found many influencers still abide by the convenient racial stereotypes which play up white exotica and privilege.

Although more oegugins are entering the industry and contributing to its diverse ecology, in reality, the oegugin influencer economy is still dominated by only a select crop who adhere to Korea’s normative racial hierarchy.

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Jin Lee receives funding from MCASI and the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University.

Crystal Abidin receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DE190100789). She has previously consulted for Influencer agencies and incubators as an independent researcher on best practices regarding the wellbeing and sustainability of influencers, but is not otherwise affiliated with the companies.

– ref. The popularity of the Korean _oegugin_ (foreign) influencer is on the rise. But there is a dark side to this pop-nationalism – https://theconversation.com/the-popularity-of-the-korean-oegugin-foreign-influencer-is-on-the-rise-but-there-is-a-dark-side-to-this-pop-nationalism-191671

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender, University of Waikato

With New Zealand’s two major North Island ski fields in financial trouble, the combined impact of COVID-19 on national and international tourism and this year’s very poor snow season has hit hard. But this may be only a sign of things to come as climate change affects snow sports globally.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), which runs the Turoa and Whakapapa ski fields, has debts of NZ$40 million and has gone into voluntary administration. Despite calls for government support, Minister of Tourism and Economic and Regional Development Stuart Nash has said there will be no more funding beyond the $15 million in loans already provided since 2018.

For now, then, the future of snow sports on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu remains uncertain, directly and indirectly affecting many businesses and livelihoods. But RAL is not the first ski company to struggle under increasingly unpredictable winters.

Shorter or less predictable ski seasons and warmer temperatures are already causing closures elsewhere. Some foreign ski fields are pivoting to cater for summer recreational tourism such as mountain biking and hiking.

Some ski resorts in North America, Europe and Australia are now facing uncertain futures. One US study found revenues could fall 40-60% (on average) by 2080. The research is clearly showing the ways we currently practise and consume snow sports are unsustainable.

No business like snow business

Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) recently modelled the potential impact of climate change on snow levels in New Zealand. Their report showed an average gradual decrease in snow at nearly all elevations as the century progresses.

While all ski areas will experience this, the effects will vary depending on their location and elevation. Under the warmer climate change predictions, the study showed snow depths between 83% and 45% of current maximums at lower elevation sites by 2040.

By 2090, this will be further reduced (on average) to approximately 48% to 9% of current maximum snow depths. According to NIWA snow and ice scientist Dr Jordy Hendrikz:

From these results we expect to see a gradual change in snow levels but […] we should be able to continue to make snow, even under a more extreme climate scenario, right out to the 2090s.

Read more:
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The report was considered good news for New Zealand snow areas, which are reportedly “confident they will adapt to any risks from climate change”. But is a future for ski fields based mostly on making artificial snow really good news?

While some may see innovations in snow-making technologies as future-proofing the ski industry, resorts becoming highly dependent on their capacity to make artificial snow raises serious ethical and environmental concerns. The process uses huge amounts of water and chemical and biological additives, with ramifications for mountain ecosystems and potentially human health.

Greening the snow?

This presents a dilemma. For those privileged enough to visit often expensive ski resorts, the pristine mountain environment is central to the experience. Yet ski resorts are far from environmentally friendly.

With thousands of visitors every day, they have enormous carbon footprints when various factors are accounted for: travel to and from ski fields (planes, 4WD vehicles, buses), the energy demands of lifts and facilities, snow grooming and machinery maintenance.

Read more:
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It’s true that over the past decade there have been attempts to green the snow industry. Ski resorts have invested in sustainability planning and adaption strategies, from recycling food waste to using wind turbines and solar energy. Some clothing and equipment companies are also working to produce more sustainable and eco-friendly products.

Despite signs of change, however, there are questions about whether a form of greenwashing is taking place in the snow sports industry, as it has across the sports sector in general, where many organisations have made superficial claims of environmentalism. Research has shown ski resorts can vary widely in their communication of sustainability efforts versus their actual levels of environmentally responsible action.

From pleasure to politics

Research also suggests that committed lifestyle sports participants like skiers, snowboarders and surfers can develop close relationships with the natural environment that encourage more environmentally sustainable practices.

For example, Protect Our Winters (POW) is an international non-profit organisation (with a New Zealand chapter) where skiers, snowboarders, hikers, climbers and mountain bikers work with scientists, policymakers and politicians to advocate for greater protection of mountains.

As some scholars have observed, however, there is a degree of ecological irony in an industry and its participants claiming to be environmentally conscious while maintaining highly mobile and consumerist lifestyles.

There are other strands of resistance, too. In Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world, mountain ownership and management have long been integral to Indigenous struggles for self-determination. Local communities have recently challenged expansion plans by ski resorts for both cultural and environmental reasons.

Many ski resorts have been built on stolen land. They still represent the privilege and wealth of settler societies. Only a few acknowledge the historical and contemporary politics of ski resort land use.

Any efforts to develop a sustainable ski industry, then, will have to include conserving the environmental integrity and cultural diversity associated with the mountains themselves. But the fact remains that climate change means the future is bleak for the snow sports industry.

While the full effects will be felt by some regions, resorts and communities more than others, the policy questions raised by the troubles at RAL and Ruapehu’s iconic ski fields are urgent: what is the future of snow sports, and what are the ethics of pursuing such activities in a climate emergency?

Holly Thorpe 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. Ruapehu’s slippery slopes: the uncertain future of snow sports in a climate emergency – https://theconversation.com/ruapehus-slippery-slopes-the-uncertain-future-of-snow-sports-in-a-climate-emergency-193004

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wes Mountain, Social Media + Visual Storytelling Editor

This Budget makes hard decisions for hard times.

Jim Chalmers’ first speech as treasurer outlines the enormity of the global economic situation – inflation, energy and supply chain issues, and a continuing war in Europe – and signposts that this is a budget that’s much more about what he’s taking away (or reallocating) than new announcements.

It’s not often we get two budgets in the one year, and this one is in stark contrast to the Coalition’s before the election.

On the positive side, the deficit is forecast to be just $36.9 billion this, compared to $78 billion predicted in March. A lot of this turnaround has to do with booming coal and iron ore export prices, but also the significant cuts Labor is making to some of the Coalition’s big promises in March.

While this is good news for a new government, the deficit will actually rise back to $49.6 billion by the end of the budget forecasts as the costs of things like the NDIS and servicing debt in an increasingly expensive global market increase.

The March budget very optimistically forecast that we’d see the end of runaway inflation effectively by the time of the election, but the government assumes the consumer price index will continue to rise to 7.75% by the of the year, and take another 18 months to cool down.

As part of this, Treasury is assuming a 20% increase in electricity bills by mid next-year, and a further 30% by July 2024. It also expects gas to increase by 20% over the next two years.

So while this budget continues to assume the wage price index will turnaround within the next four years, and slowly pass inflation, most of us are unlikely to see a massive reprieve from cost of living pressures any time soon.

The government is assuming GDP will continue to dip down over the next few years, hitting 1.5% by mid-2024, but trending up again by end of the forward estimates.

After more than a decade of low interest rates globally, interest rates are starting to bite Australians – and the Australian government.

The cost of servicing government debt interest payments is forecast to have a significant impact on the budget by the end of the decade, which means the government will likely have to factor this into how they spend for the duration of this term – or how they raise revenue.

And while payments are set to come down after the extreme costs of the COVID response, receipts are also likely to stay flat over the duration of the budget forecasts.

Many of the key spending announcements in this budget were promises Labor took to the election or have announced in the past week. The government is adding $9.7 billion in net spending over four years, but they’re simultaneously cutting significantly – so this is actually much less than it could be for the promises made.

Read more:
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And many of the costs from the March budget that the Coalition took to the May election are not yet spent – or legislated. The government expects to save $3.6 billion alone over the next four years by reducing the outsourcing of labour, advertising, travel and legal expenses.

The treasurer also signalled this budget was “the beginning of something new and responsible”, and this is the first time the government has included a wellbeing statement as part of the budget papers.

As a way of defining the problem and the targets, it included a table to show where Australia sat against other countries in the OECD.

While there’s no attempt to give an overall measure, Australia is at or better than the OECD average on 21 of 37 indicators – which means there’s still some room for improvement, but at least we’re measuring the problem.

Read more:
‘The beginning of something new’: how the 2022-23 budget does things differently

– ref. Everything you need to know about Labor’s first budget in 6 charts – https://theconversation.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-labors-first-budget-in-6-charts-192851