Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Wastnage, Adjunct Industry Fellow, Griffith Institute for Tourism, Griffith University

Fielding tough questions from a furious audience is no one’s idea of fun. But as Richard Goyder and Vanessa Hudson – Qantas chairman and chief executive, respectively – dealt with angry question after angry question at the airline’s annual general meeting today, the pair knew their main audience was not those in the room. It was, in fact, the decision-makers in Canberra.

The AGM comes at a critical time for the national carrier. The federal government is considering a suite of aviation policy reforms, many of which Qantas would rather stay unreformed.

Qantas can ill afford further damage to its public image now.

Read more:
Even if Qantas is fined hundreds of millions it is likely to continue to take us for granted

Shareholder and community anger

Qantas had a good year financially, as demonstrated by its A$2.47 billion full-year profits. But consumers are less happy.

These profits have been delivered in part by rapidly rising air fares.

The Qantas board has also had to deal with anger on executive remuneration, especially around former chief executive Alan Joyce’s multimillion-dollar payout.

This rage over executive pay was on full display at today’s AGM, when 83% of shareholders voted against Qantas’ remuneration report for the 2023 financial year. Reported as “one of the biggest strikes ever recorded in corporate history”, it is a clear rejection Joyce’s payout.

Qantas has also had to manage allegations it sold tickets for flights it knew had been cancelled, on top of a suite of PR disasters around flight delays and lost luggage issues.

The aviation white paper and Qantas’s optics problem

The federal government released a new green paper on aviation policy in September and is consulting stakeholders, ahead of publishing a new white paper on aviation policy next year.

There are several contentious areas of policy Qantas would prefer to remain unchanged.

The white paper panel will no doubt also take into account public sentiment. Optics matter in politics, and so Federal Transport Minister Catherine King and her department would have been taking the pulse of today’s AGM.

The anger on show from shareholders – with Goyder facing jeers, boos and cries of “shame on you!” – can’t have helped Qantas’s optics.

Any political advisor watching would likely caution the government that now is not a good time to be seen cosying up to the airline.

The 2024 aviation white paper (itself a sequel to Anthony Albanese’s 2009 aviation white paper while he was transport minister) aims to set a new aviation policy framework out to 2050.

Unlike its predecessor, it will take into account consumer and worker rights – so the angry scenes at today’s meeting will not help Qantas in its efforts to stave off the kind of regulation being discussed in the aviation white paper.

Mandatory compensation

One policy under consideration is the idea of mandatory compensation for flight cancellations and delays.

For almost 20 years, air travellers flying from European Union airports have been able to access a guaranteed compensation scheme that is tiered according to length of delay and inconvenience.

Airlines in Europe fought the introduction of the mechanism in 2004. It’s unlikely Qantas would welcome such policies in Australia either.

Bilateral air service agreements

Another issue on the table is the negotiation of bilateral air service agreements. These agreements between nation states govern the number of flights between countries, but are seen as archaic in many other OECD countries.

In their place, “open skies” agreements allow unfettered access to foreign carriers and often deliver lower fares to consumers.

Qantas and Virgin Australia both rely on a bilateral air service agreement with the United Arab Emirates for the bulk of their international connections. This agreement still has ample expansion room, but the agreement with neighbouring Qatar is already at capacity.

The seemingly opaque way in which the application by Qatar to enlarge this quota was denied by the federal government angered many in the industry. It led to a senate committee inquiry.

Indeed, a freedom-of-information request was required to discover the decision was, in part, linked to the treatment of women strip-searched at Doha airport in 2020.

It’s likely the government will reform the way these bilateral service agreements are negotiated (at least to add greater transparency).

Goyder and Hudson wanted the focus at today’s AGM to be partly on their plan to boost non-stop international flights, all of which hinge on bilateral service agreements with European countries. So Qantas may be nervous about any proposed changes to the negotiation process that make it easier for their would-be rivals to also expand services.

Greater competition monitoring

The white paper panel is also considering greater monitoring of competition in air transport.

Airports operate as monopolies in their cities and are regulated as such. Airlines, on the other hand, operate in a competitive landscape.

But the playing field is not level for all airlines and potential entrants, not least because capacity restraints such as takeoff and landing slots can be engineered to favour incumbents. As such, Qantas would no doubt prefer no reform in these areas.

So the terrible optics of today’s Qantas AGM come at a moment when it is very keen to mould the legislative landscape of aviation in its favour. In other words, it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

As Goyder and Hudson fronted shareholders today, their promise to work harder to address customer concerns was aimed as much at Canberra as it was to the Melbourne audience.

Justin Wastnage was previously director of two industry groups, Aviation/Aerospace Australia and the Tourism & Transport Forum, which are both funded in part by Australian and international airlines and airports.

– ref. The fury on show at the Qantas AGM couldn’t have come at a worse time for the airline – https://theconversation.com/the-fury-on-show-at-the-qantas-agm-couldnt-have-come-at-a-worse-time-for-the-airline-216983

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Lee, Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne), Curtin University

A new bill came into effect in the ACT at the weekend decriminalising personal possession of common illegal drugs.

The bill decriminalises the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and heroin for personal use.

Critics of the move say when similar laws were brought into effect in the US state of Oregon, overdose deaths went up. However, there was already an upward trend, and Oregon now has lower rates of death from overdose than most other US states.

Read more:
Drugs could soon be decriminalised in the ACT. Here’s why that would be a positive step

Remind me again, what does decriminalisation mean?

Decriminalisation isn’t legalisation. With decriminalisation, drugs are still illegal, but the criminal penalties are removed. Instead, they usually attract a fine, a bit like a speeding fine.

The ACT will be the first Australian jurisdiction to decriminalise common illegal drugs. In this model, people will be diverted from police to attend a one-off health information session where a health worker assesses their wellbeing and the need for support or intervention. They provide education and harm-reduction information and make referrals to other services if needed.

Police will still confiscate illicit drugs they find on people. Drug dealing and trafficking are still criminal offences.

This system means people who are caught with small amounts of some drugs will be diverted away from the criminal justice system. Contact with the criminal justice system is one of the biggest harms from illicit drugs.

There’s no evidence enforcement-led solutions to personal drug use reduce use or harms. But having a criminal record can have a long-term impact on getting a job or secure housing, which can then increase the likelihood of further drug use. Current punishments in many states and territories include a possible prison sentence.

Policing of drug laws, and the justice system itself, disproportionately impacts Aboriginal people and other people of colour. Young people have been described as being traumatised and dehumanised by the use of drug dogs and strip searches by police.

The change is supported by decades of research and backed by major health and human rights organisations, such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Read more:
Our drugs policies have failed. It’s time to reinvent them based on what actually works

Where else has decriminalised drugs?

We know from other jurisdictions that decriminalisation reduces harms from drugs and increases seeking help. Portugal is the most well-known case. It decriminalised all drugs more than 20 years ago and has seen significant reductions in drug deaths, crime and drug use.

But critics in Australia are concerned about the possible negative outcomes, pointing to problems in Oregon. The federal opposition unsuccessfully introduced a bill to overturn the ACT legislation.

In November 2020, Oregon passed Measure 110, which decriminalised the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use. Instead of criminal charges, people are now given a US$100 (A$155) fine for possession, which is waived if they contact a support hotline.

After Portugal decriminalised personal drug use in 2001, there was a drop in drug-related deaths.

In the two years after Measure 110 passed, opioid overdose deaths in Oregon more than doubled.

Why did this happen in Oregon?

The purpose of decriminalisation is merely to reduce one of the biggest harms from illicit drugs: contact with the criminal justice system. It has certainly achieved that in Oregon, especially among Black Americans, who are over-represented in the criminal justice system.

In the year before Measure 110 was passed, overdose deaths in Oregon were already on the increase, up 69% on the previous year. Oregon was ranked second-highest of all US states for substance use disorders, and ranked last of 50 states for access to treatment.

Decriminalisation on its own isn’t intended to directly reduce use or overdoses. Portugal’s success in reducing use and other harms, such as overdoses, is likely more to do with the significant investment in treatment and support. And as Oregon continues the roll-out of treatment program funding, there are indications 2023 overdose death rates have come down, tracking at half the rate of the year before.

Oregon’s overdose death rate is now one of the lowest in the United States.

We know treatment is the most effective and cost-effective way to reduce use and harms. A study in California found for every $1 spent on drug treatment, the community saved $7 in other costs, primarily by reducing crime and increasing employment earnings.

Decriminalisation needs to be supported by treatment, support and evidence-based harm reduction measures, such as access to naloxone and drug checking.

Naloxone has been available for free with no prescription since July 2022 in Australia, and the Take Home Naloxone program will increase the availability of naloxone Australia-wide.

The Queensland government has given drug checking services the green light to start operating, and Canberra’s fixed-site drug checking service has been extended until December 2024. The service checked nearly 1,200 samples for their contents and provided more than 1,500 brief interventions in the first 12 months.

Read more:
We can’t eradicate drugs, but we can stop people dying from them

Will drug decriminalisation work in the ACT?

The ACT is Australia’s most progressive jurisdiction when it comes to drug laws. It removed criminal penalties from cannabis possession more than 30 years ago, and in 2019 it introduced a “home grown” model, removing all penalties for the use and possession of small amounts of homegrown cannabis for personal use.

It has the lowest rate of cannabis use in Australia. There has been no change in rates of cannabis use, drug driving offences or hospital presentations, and there has been a significant reduction in the number of Canberrans being exposed to the police and criminal justice system.

Ultimately, we won’t know the full impact of decriminalisation in the ACT until the bill has been implemented for some time. But evidence from places such as Portugal says it will increase diversion from the criminal justice system, improve access to treatment and harm reduction, and reduce stigma towards people who use drugs. To significantly reduce drug use itself, the ACT also needs to increase investment in drug treatment.

If you are worried about your own or someone else’s alcohol or other drug use, you can contact the National Alcohol and other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015 for free, confidential advice.

Read more:
As many states weigh legalising cannabis, here’s what they can learn from the struggles of growers in Canberra

Nicole Lee is CEO at Hello Sunday Morning and also works as a consultant in the alcohol and other drug sector and a psychologist in private practice. She has previously been awarded funding by Australian and state governments, NHMRC and other bodies for evaluation and research into alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment.

– ref. When Oregon decriminalised drugs, overdoses went up. Will that happen in the ACT? – https://theconversation.com/when-oregon-decriminalised-drugs-overdoses-went-up-will-that-happen-in-the-act-216736

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jadey O’Regan, Lecturer in Contemporary Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Co-author of "Hooks in Popular Music" (2022), University of Sydney

Over the past few weeks, Paul McCartney has been touring Australia to play through three hours of his musical legacy – from Beatles and Wings favourites to solo material, and some unexpected deep cuts.

A particularly moving pair of songs was the bookending of McCartney’s performance of In Spite of All the Danger (the first song the band recorded as The Quarrymen) and the performance of The End – one of the last songs the Beatles recorded together.

The encore featured I’ve Got a Feeling, in which McCartney and his late bandmate John Lennon “sang” together, performing alongside footage from the rooftop performance from the Get Back documentary. Hearing McCartney’s current vocals alongside Lennon’s from the 1960s was poignant for both the crowd and McCartney.

These moments of connection over the decades between McCartney and Lennon are made stronger by the release of the new, and last, Beatles single, Now and Then.

Now and Then is one of four songs from a Lennon demo cassette provided by Yoko Ono and given to Paul McCartney in 1994, with a handwritten title: For Paul. The remaining Beatles finished Lennon’s demos for Free as a Bird and Real Love for the Anthology release in 1995.

While these songs may have lacked a little of the original magic, with John’s voice sounding more distant and thin compared with Paul’s, the scarcity of new material allowed fans to embrace the songs, warts and all. At the time, Now and Then was deemed too tricky to complete, as John’s voice was buried in the mono mix of his home-recorded piano. It sat there for 28 years.

Fast forward to 2021 and a new AI tool developed by film-maker Peter Jackson to separate audio sources on Get Back could now be used on Lennon’s old demo. John’s voice is now clear, present, and free to be flown in seamlessly over any new arrangement.

It has a natural expression, captured in that not-overthought, early-demo moment.

George’s archived acoustic guitar take was added, with Paul providing updated piano, slide guitar and bass. Ringo added his distinctive feel remotely from Los Angeles.

Giles Martin, son of George, and keeper of the production flame, contributes a suitably Beatles-esque string arrangement that taps into many of his father’s well-loved stylistic traits.

There are insistent quarter-note pulsing rises, sitar-esque bends, and a final switch from four in a bar to three, reminiscent of The End from Abbey Road.

Is this a Beatles song?

Due to the use of AI tools to finish Now and Then, and the song having been recorded without the Beatles in a room together, some may ask “is this really a Beatles song?”.

After the release of Get Back, audiences were able to experience what it felt like to be in the room with the band, watching their ideas form, seeing them joke and laugh, and also the tensions that happen with a group of creative people who have experienced a lot together.

Read more:
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Get Back is relevant here for many reasons.

The first film version of this footage Let it Be by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg was released briefly in 1970 with the album, and painted the last days of The Beatles as a dark, acrimonious time, and cemented Ono’s role as alleged “villain” in Beatles lore.

Jackson’s new version Get Back reframed fans’ perceptions of The Beatles’ breakup, the relationship of the surviving members, and their ongoing legacy. In the 1990s the Anthology film and albums captured a new generation of Britpop-loving Beatles fans, and the release of Get Back and Now and Then may do the same for another generation.

The fab four in a room, playing together, often seems essential to their sound. However, the Beatles were always fascinated by recording technology – from reversing tape loops in Taxman, to using Lennon’s voice through a Leslie speaker cabinet for Tomorrow Never Knows, to the musique-concrete Revolution 9, where the band cut a variety of tape loops and sounds together.

Using current music technology was always part of the band’s creativity, and with Now and Then, they are still engaging with technology to make new music, albeit in a slightly different way.

Will it be remembered as fondly as their other songs in the canon?

Perhaps – or perhaps not. But that is not the heart of this release.

John and George are gone, however, we still have Ringo and Paul with us to complete this new and final Beatles track.

Despite the time, distance and technology, Now and Then finishes a long and winding conversation that began in the early 1960s, and has now come to a thoughtful and musical end.

With time, it allows fans to reframe John’s love letter to Yoko as a message to Paul, the band, and even the fans.

Perhaps that will be its enduring value: “I know it’s true…And if I make it through, It’s all because of you”.

Read more:
Sgt Pepper’s at 50 – the greatest thing you ever heard or just another album?

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. Is Now and Then really a Beatles song? The fab four always used technology to create new music – https://theconversation.com/is-now-and-then-really-a-beatles-song-the-fab-four-always-used-technology-to-create-new-music-216981

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick O’Leary, Professor, Co-Lead of the Disrupting Violence Beacon and Director of Violence Research and Prevention Program, Griffith Criminology Institute and School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University

Too often, it’s the most vulnerable who suffer most in the throes of war.

This remains true, with children accounting for many of the deaths and casualties in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Just this week there have been two bombings of the Jabalia Refugee Camp, a densely populated area of the Gaza strip home to many families with children.

International agencies are particularly worried. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund has said Gaza is turning into a “graveyard of children”.

The disproportionate effect on young people is not just resulting in devastating scenes right now. It will have long-term consequences.

A large toll on a young population

The median age of people in Gaza is just 18 years. Some 65% of the population is under 24.

To date, more than 41% of the 8,805 people killed in Gaza as of October 31 2023 are children, according to the UN.

Many people are missing, trapped under the rubble of destroyed homes. More than half of those missing are children.

Children account for more than 30% of those injured in Gaza, possibly indicating the low level of survival among children caught in the conflict.

These statistics echo previous research showing the disproportionate consequences on children in armed conflict.

But the violence against children has not been limited to Gaza.

Graphic accounts point to the killing of numerous Israeli children in the Hamas attacks on October 7.

Scores of young people were killed at a music festival.

At least 33 of the estimated 240 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas are thought to be children, including babies and infants.

In the West Bank, at least 122 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations since October 7, 39 of them children. It’s unclear how many of those casualties are directly because of the conflict.

It’s an extraordinarily grim stocktake, but key to understanding the nature of the conflict.

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Dire situation made worse

Sadly, the suffering of children in Gaza is not new.

For decades, children in Gaza have been among the world’s most vulnerable groups, with very high rates of paediatric mental health problems, stunted growth, lead poisoning, malnutrition and post-traumatic stress disorder.

An Israeli study showed high rates of psychopathology among those exposed to trauma from military attacks.

Other research that compared the wellbeing of Israeli and Palestinian children found the latter fared significantly worse.

These conditions have worsened since Hamas took power in Gaza in 2006.

Protecting children stuck in adult wars

There are claims from both sides of breaches of international humanitarian law and violations of the Laws of War.

Regardless of these allegations, there has been a fundamental breach of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child by all parties.

The convention is made up of 54 articles that aim to protect and secure children’s wellbeing, including during armed conflict.

There are specific requirements of states to protect the lives of children from violence, abuse and neglect at both civil and political levels.

Other laws also exist to protect children.

International humanitarian law is unequivocal in combatants’ legal responsibility to protect children in all situations of armed conflict.

The Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols cover children in the same way they cover civilians during war.

But there is extra protection for those under 18, with children considered an “object of special respect”.

This extends to children who are actively participating in the conflict.

Israel and Palestine are signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Convention.

That said, an International Criminal Court investigation into ongoing conflict in the region was reopened in 2021.

The UN is also investigating allegations of war crimes on all sides from October 7 2023.

It’s part of a years-long probe that was originally opened in 2021 to investigate “all alleged violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law” in Palestine, the West Bank and Israel.

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Israel-Hamas war: will the murder of peace activists mean the end of the peace movement?

Dimmed hopes for the future

Despite all the legal protections, it’s clear children are suffering.

The legal provision for special respect of children in war isn’t being adequately considered. It requires all sides to consider carefully the world they will leave behind.

But if we look to the future of the region, the outlook appears bleak.

Children have great potential to build peace.

Evidence of Palestinian children developing safety, hope and resilience is promising.

Peace work by Israeli and Palestinian children provides insight for what is referred to as Neve Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam (the Hebrew and Arabic words for Oasis of Peace).

But the surviving children of this conflict will likely emerge traumatised. They will have spent their childhoods surrounded by the extreme rhetoric of war, hate and retribution.

It’s hard to see, then, how our future leaders could overcome the odds to fight for peace and unity in the region.

Generations of adults on all sides have let these children down. They need protecting for their own sake, and for the futures of the places they call home.

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Australian MPs walk a difficult line on Israel-Hamas conflict

Patrick O’Leary 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. The UN is calling the Israel-Hamas war a ‘graveyard of children’. In an adult conflict, the young are suffering most – https://theconversation.com/the-un-is-calling-the-israel-hamas-war-a-graveyard-of-children-in-an-adult-conflict-the-young-are-suffering-most-216633

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Waldron, Senior Lecturer in History, Federation University Australia

The discovery of gold in Ballarat in 1851 transformed its landscape to a staggering degree. Within days, and despite the news being initially suppressed, hundreds of men had gathered along the Yarrowee River.

They sluiced the clay and soil, turning the once pristine waters into what writer William Bramwell Withers described as

liquid, yellow as the yellowest Tiber flood, and its banks grew to be long shoals of tailings.

Over the next few weeks, the waterways of the Yarrowee River and of Gnarr Creek were diverted into water courses to support the search for gold.

The river was moved to make way for the town population boom, which was driven by a lust for gold. The end result was that the original, serpentine path of the river – originally across floodplains equipped to handle the natural ebb and flow of water and seasonal flooding – eventually came to be a much straighter line. Part of the river now runs underground through a tunnel.

Our new interactive map, Yarrowee River History: Peel to Prest (which takes its name from the two streets that serve as borders for the mapping), interrogates the long-term effects of this water diversion on community and Country.

A collaboration between Federation University, the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and the city of Ballarat, our project overlays historical maps with Google Maps to illustrate how the area changed.

Read more:
Victoria’s gold rush ended in the 19th century. So why are people still finding so much gold?

‘We inherit the scars of this trauma’

In Ballarat, water is deeply significant to the culture of the area’s First Nations inhabitants, the Wadawurrung people, who stewarded these lands and waterways for millennia.

So we wanted people using our interactive map to ponder the cultural significance of these gold rush impacts to the Wadawurrung people and the environment.

For the Wadawurrung people, the watercourse now known as the Yarrowee River carries profound historical meaning.

This river bore the names Yaramlok and Narmbool, and these names were used interchangeably to reference different segments of the Yarrowee.

The river wasn’t merely a physical entity – it was a symbol of spiritual and cultural significance, the life force which flows through Country.

It supported fishing, agriculture and food gathering. It symbolised the deep and harmonious connection with dja (Country) and the precious resource of ngubitj (water).

The river diversion affected the Wadawurrung profoundly. As two of us (Shannen Mennen and Kelly Ann Blake) write on the Yarrowee River History: Peel to Prest site:

Colonisation and mining in Ballarat led to devastation and destruction of Wadawurrung dja, including the Yarrowee River. Settlement was built upon our living spaces and as a result Wadawurrung people were displaced.

The withholding of cultural rights and obligations further increased the dispossession of our people, who were unforgivingly forced to adapt to change. Still today we inherit the scars of this trauma.

Colonial settlers altered the river

in a way which excluded the knowledge Wadawurrung people had built upon for many thousands of years […] The habitat surrounding the Yarrowee was removed or altered, damaging animal, fish and insect populations.

The destruction of the waterway continues to impact our people today. However, the spirit of this land remains within us and we continue as Wadawurrung people to live alongside the Yarrowee whilst working to restore its health and vitality.

The Wadawurrung people involved in this project hope it fosters interconnectedness between the waterway, our human ancestors, creator beings and all living things.

It is also crucial in working towards reconciliation by helping people understand the devastating environmental destruction wrought by the gold rush for the First Nations people of the region and the deep connection between culture, heritage and the landscape.

Effluent, flooding and typhoid

When one looks at the sheer scale of the transformation of Ballarat and district wrought by the gold rush, the level of environmental destruction is almost beyond comprehension.

Vast forested tracts of land were felled of trees, the topsoil dug up and blown away, the earth ripped open by deep tunnelling. Imported sheep began to harden the soil (disrupting native plants) and consuming the Murrnong plants, whose roots were a staple of the Wadawurrung people.

Moving the river made the area prone to disastrous flooding as water was diverted away from floodplains. Land was polluted by effluent and chemical residue from mining. This led to multiple outbreaks of disease. As one contributor to the Ballarat Star wrote at the time:

The smell from this creek for a quarter of a mile on each side is most frightful — the bed of the creek looking and smelling like the refuse pigs’ droppings mixing with their liquid manure. Nearly one-half of the children, and even adults, have been swept off between the Gnarr Creek and the Cemetery, from typhoid fever.

This project aims to draw attention to the absolute centrality of the waterways to Australia’s history and continual sustainable environmental management.

Mapping the transformation of Australia’s waterways since colonisation is crucial to understanding the long term effects of changes we make to our environment.

Read more:
Flashers, femmes and other forgotten figures of the Eureka Stockade

Kelly Ann Blake works for Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation as a Biodiversity Project Officer.

Shannen Mennen works for Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation as a Project Officer.

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

– ref. In the 1800s, colonial settlers moved Ballarat’s Yarrowee River. The impacts are still felt today – https://theconversation.com/in-the-1800s-colonial-settlers-moved-ballarats-yarrowee-river-the-impacts-are-still-felt-today-214949

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niusha Shafiabady, Associate Professor in Computational Intelligence, Charles Darwin University

Artificial intelligence is changing the world – and one of the main areas it will affect in the short-to-medium term is the workforce.

AI algorithms imitate real-world systems. The more repetitive a system is, the easier it is for AI to replace it. That’s why jobs in customer service, retail and clerical roles are regularly named as being the most at risk.

That doesn’t mean other jobs won’t be affected. The latest advances in AI have shown all kinds of creative work and white–collar professions stand to be impacted to various degrees.

However, there’s one important point that’s usually not addressed in discussions about AI’s impact on jobs. That is: where you work may be as important as what you do.

Current trends and projections suggest people in developing countries, where a higher proportion of jobs involve repetitive or manual tasks, will be the first and most affected.

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Privileged by geography

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, emerging technologies and digitalisation are among the biggest driving factors for job displacement. The report states:

The majority of fastest declining roles are clerical or secretarial roles, with bank tellers and related clerks, postal service clerks, cashiers and ticket clerks, and data entry clerks expected to decline fastest.

Let’s take an office clerk as an example, whose responsibilities include answering phones, taking messages and scheduling appointments. We now have access to AI tools that can perform all these tasks.

They can also work non-stop, for free (or a fraction of the price), without being affected by personal problems, and without having to mentally strain to optimise their workflow. Of course they’re going to be attractive to employers!

At first glance, you might assume an office clerk living in a developed country is more likely to lose their job than their counterpart in a developing country, since the former seems more likely to implement new AI tools.

In reality, however, it’s expected more people in developing countries will lose their jobs. The success of each nation will depend on how well it can adapt to the displacement of its workforce.

In 2009, the United Nations International Telecommunication Union created the information and communication technologies (ICT) development index to benchmark and compare ICT performance within and across countries.

This index measures, among other things:

• the level and evolution over time of information and communication technologies in different countries
• how each country’s experience compares to others’
• the extent to which a country can develop and use these technologies to boost its own growth and development in the context of the capabilities and skills available.

In other words, a country’s score on this index can be correlated with how well it adapts to emerging technologies such as AI.

Unsurprisingly, developed countries rank higher than the rest of the world. In 2012, the top five ranking countries were the Republic of Korea, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland. The bottom five were Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Central African Republic and Niger.

Wealth and opportunity makes a difference

The World Bank has divided the world by income and region, showing developing countries are among the lowest earners.

Generally speaking, employing people is much easier in developing countries, due to lower wages, tighter competition and less regulation to support employees.

The World Bank estimates about 84% of the world’s working-age population lives in developing countries. Similarly, a 2008 report from the International Labour Organisation estimated 73% of all the world’s workers lived in developing countries, while only 14% lived in advanced industrial countries.

That means whatever clerical jobs aren’t taken by AI in developing countries will become more competitive than most people can handle. As World Bank senior economist Indhira Santos wrote in 2016, in reference to the digital revolution:

[…] the jobs where workers are likely to lose out are disproportionally held by the least educated and the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution. As a result, the biggest risk from the digital revolution is not massive unemployment, but widening income inequality.

These factors will result in an employer-ruled ecosystem in developing countries. These countries have both a higher occurrence of jobs that can be replaced or displaced (such as call centre jobs), and less of the money and skills needed to implement AI tools effectively.

The cost and affordability of AI programs and algorithms will also speed up this process in certain regions.

Critical thinking remains important

Experts note AI will create many employment opportunities, including jobs that don’t yet exist. It’s just that not all countries will be well-equipped to make the transition when the time comes.

The Future of Jobs report says “analytical thinking and creative thinking remain the most important skills for workers”. So if you’re worried about keeping your job in the future, it’s worth acquiring more of these skills.

Beyond that, you might stop and consider how the place you live could play a role in whether you’ll have work in the future – and if you happen to live in a wealthy, developed country, consider yourself lucky.

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AI will increase inequality and raise tough questions about humanity, economists warn

Niusha Shafiabady 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. Whose job will AI replace? Here’s why a clerk in Ethiopia has more to fear than one in California – https://theconversation.com/whose-job-will-ai-replace-heres-why-a-clerk-in-ethiopia-has-more-to-fear-than-one-in-california-216735

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David S G Goodman, Director, China Studies Centre, Professor of Chinese Politics, University of Sydney

Fifty years ago this week, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam visited the People’s Republic of China, establishing a relationship that has become mutually beneficial in terms of economic growth and development to both China and Australia.

It was in many ways a bold step into the unknown. While the two economies are clearly complementary, their political systems are very different, as today’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, repeatedly points out.

Prior to Labor’s election victory in 2022, the Coalition government struggled to manage the necessary ambiguity in Australia-China relations, determining that politics (and in some cases ideology) had to be more important than economics.

Albanese’s visit to Beijing, starting this weekend, should be welcomed as it signals an alternative approach to the outright hostility that characterised much of Australia-China relations after 2017.

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From ‘drums of war’ to ‘stable relations’

In an Anzac Day 2021 message to his staff, later published to some fanfare in The Australian, the then-Home Affairs secretary, Mike Pezzullo, warned the “drums of war” were beating. It was a clear reference to Australia’s tensions with China.

Peter Dutton, the minister of defence, agreed that war with China over Taiwan “should not be discounted”. In an interview days later, he said the Australian Defence Force was “prepared for action”:

[…] protection for our borders and our waters to the north and west remains a clear priority.

Echoing the spirit of Winston Churchill’s 1954 comments at the White House that “jaw-jaw is always better than war-war”, the Albanese government has rejected this perspective of the Morrison government.

The new government’s formula is to “work towards productive and stable relations with China based on mutual benefit and respect”. Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have both emphasised that Australia will cooperate where it can and differ where it must.

Given the government’s commitment to the US alliance, this difference with its predecessor may seem little more than rhetorical. But rhetoric in international political relations can carry substantial weight. This is especially true during periods of geopolitical instability, such as the world is experiencing now.

Room for cooperation

This wider context puts necessary limits around what the government might hope to achieve – and what Australia should expect – from Albanese’s trip to Beijing.

The emergence of an explicit “strategic competition” between the US and China, and the role of Australia in that competition through AUKUS, means the days of a more open and easy-going relationship are unlikely to return soon.

But the Australia-US alliance is only one part of the Australia-China relationship, even if it has dominated headlines of late.

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Australia and China also have differing priorities and ambitions in the Pacific. And both countries continue to have very complementary economies. These links require a more nuanced management of the relationship, and could certainly be the subject of discussion during Albanese’s visit.

Australian governments have long regarded the Pacific islands as holding great geopolitical and economic importance. Until recently, however, this has not been matched by attention to the concerns and development priorities of these nations, namely the consequences of climate change and the need for basic infrastructure.

This gap has been filled by China through its Belt and Road Initiative. When the Chinese government attempted to reach security agreements with some of the Pacific islands, the Australian government reacted with a series of official visits, additional economic assistance and the promise of initiatives to develop economic and cultural relationships.

There is certainly room for cooperation between China and Australia in this area. Despite its continued use of fossil fuels, China has developed a sizeable renewable energy industry, far greater than Australia as a proportion of energy production.

The two countries could also cooperate in the provision of development assistance to the Pacific.

Why the trade relationship matters to both sides

The bilateral trade relationship will definitely be on the table for discussion in Beijing. China is Australia’s largest trading partner, accounting for 34% of all exports and 28% of imports.

More importantly, Australia is one of few countries that has a major trade surplus with China. In 2022-23, Australia’s surplus on the trade of goods with China was around A$87 billion.

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Despite the rhetoric of the Morrison government portraying China as a threat to Australia, the disappearance of this economic relationship would pose an equally significant challenge. This has only been reinforced by the collapse of talks to establish a free-trade agreement between Australia and the European Union in recent days.

For the moment, trade is one aspect of the relationship that is equally important for the Chinese leadership, despite the imbalance in the size of the two economies. While the import of Australian resources is clearly significant – and there is some evidence the tariffs China imposed proved harmful to its own economy – the reason for China’s attention on trade lies elsewhere.

The Chinese government is currently seeking to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. This is the successor free trade association to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2017. To that end, China needs the support of member states, including Australia.

In a series of meetings between Australian and Chinese officials this year, which led to the first high-level dialogue between the countries since 2020, there’s been hope that a bilateral basis for renewed stability is now emerging.

Without these indications, Albanese would presumably not be visiting Beijing now. It may not be as dramatic a move as Whitlam’s visit in 1973, but inevitably there is an element of a step into the unknown.

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

– ref. The ‘drums of war’ are receding, but Anthony Albanese still faces many uncertainties on his trip to China – https://theconversation.com/the-drums-of-war-are-receding-but-anthony-albanese-still-faces-many-uncertainties-on-his-trip-to-china-216727

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Ward, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), UNSW Sydney

Many people will have heard about “intergenerational practice” via the TV.

This is the purposeful bringing together of different generations, aiming to benefit all involved. It’s the idea central to ABC TV’s Old People’s Home for Teenagers, and its predecessor Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds. Both show the positive aspects of mixing age groups, for the older people featured, as well as the teenagers or preschoolers.

I’m a geriatrician, a doctor who specialises in the medical care of older people, one of two geriatricians who took part in this TV experiment. Here’s why I got involved.

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The benefits of mixing it up

The positive aspects of mixing age groups may seem intuitive. Just think of how special it can be when grandparents spend time with their grandchildren. When older and younger people are together, each can share their experiences and perspectives. Meaningful connections can develop.

But in Australia today, many older people have no such opportunities. Multi-generational households are the exception, not the norm.

One quarter of people aged 65 and over living in private homes live alone. Nearly 200,000 live in retirement villages and around the same number live in residential aged care. Both of the latter, by definition, accommodate only a single generation.

Intergenerational programs overcome these barriers by creating a structured and supported forum in which two age groups can regularly connect.

These programs can involve different populations: from toddlers through to university students, from independent, active retirees through to aged care residents and hospital patients.

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Programs can take several forms, for example:

• playgroups are conducted in aged care facilities

• childcare and aged care facilities are in the same location

• older volunteers in the community take part in formal mentorship programs for young adults.

The common aim is to improve wellbeing, restore purpose, and bring joy to older participants, while helping to develop social skills, confidence and empathy in young people. These programs can potentially also address ageism, by creating understanding and empathy for each generation and by challenging negative stereotypes.

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There are challenges ahead

There are wide-ranging challenges ageing may throw at us – an increased burden of chronic disease and frailty, a decline in physical and cognitive abilities, or changes in hearing, vision and balance.

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Changes in occupational and social roles often also occur as we get older, for instance, as older people retire from paid work or care for a sick partner. Conversely, older people may lose their role as caregivers, after grandchildren grow up, or after the loss of a loved one.

All these ageing-related changes can lead to a loss of social connection and loneliness. Loneliness itself is bad for health. Loneliness increases risks for depression, cardiovascular disease, dementia and may even lead to a shorter life span. Reducing loneliness in older adults remains a challenge.

Read more:
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How I got involved

So when a chance to become involved in Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, I eagerly jumped on board. This featured an experimental intergenerational preschool. Young and old took part in a series of structured and supported activities such as playing dress-ups, going on walks and having a sports carnival.

At the time, intergenerational programs were far from mainstream, especially in Australia.

I joined the TV program with a panel of experts including a physiotherapist and psychologist.

We screened the older adults at the start of the experiment for issues such as depression, and assessed signs of physical frailty including speed of walking, muscle strength and activity levels. We then assessed them again after six weeks.

While we were cautiously hopeful, the overall improvements were better than anticipated, and some of the individual transformations were extraordinary.

For instance, three of four participants who originally screened positive for depression had scores in the normal range by the end of the program. For one woman in her 80s her score improved by eight points on a 15-point scale. Improvements in fitness levels across the group were impressive too.

Since then, the series has evolved to involve differing populations: from residents of aged care facilities and retirement villages, to older adults living in the community, and from preschoolers to teenagers.

Each program has been adapted to the needs of each group involved. At times, we have focused on a particular issue, such as loneliness, depression, concerns about memory, physical frailty and falls.

But in each we have continued to see benefits for both age groups, in line with what a growing evidence base is telling us about the potential benefits of such programs.

This is perhaps even more so in the Old People’s Home for Teenagers series, with the second season currently on air. The teenage participants are articulate in describing how truly valuable it is for younger people to spend enriched time with older mentors. Their confidence increases, they take on new challenges, and new meaningful connections develop, many of which continue to enrich lives long after the cameras stop rolling.

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No-one is pretending such intergenerational programs are going to end loneliness for all older people, or can remove all the challenges they may face later in life. And equally, people do not need to be lonely, frail or isolated to participate.

Alongside the TV programs, there has been an upswing in community interest in intergenerational practice, from researchers to educators to aged care providers, to hospitals/health services and schools.

We need continued investment into workforce training, support for such programs to develop, and robust evaluation of each program to ensure they meet the goals of all the stakeholders involved – especially those of the participants themselves.

The “Old People’s Home” model did not invent the concept of intergenerational programs. Nor are the models of practice used in each series the only way intergenerational programs must run. But they do demonstrate what intergenerational programs could achieve.

Learn more about intergenerational programs in Australia and find one near you. If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Stephanie Ward has received some financial compensation for her time spent involved in the Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds/ Teenagers series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission and EndemolShine Australia. She has previously been a recipient of a research training stipend for a PhD on sleep apnoea and dementia risk. She is a chief investigator on several studies that have received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Medical Research Future Fund. Stephanie Ward is also a geriatrician at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney.

– ref. I was a geriatrician on Old People’s Home for Teenagers. Here’s why I joined this TV experiment – https://theconversation.com/i-was-a-geriatrician-on-old-peoples-home-for-teenagers-heres-why-i-joined-this-tv-experiment-215074

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Reuben Finighan, PhD candidate at the LSE and Research Fellow at the Superpower Institute, The University of Melbourne

This article is part of a series by The Conversation, Getting to Zero, examining Australia’s energy transition.

In Australia’s race to net zero emissions, nuclear power has surged back into the news. Opposition leader Peter Dutton argues nuclear is “the only feasible and proven technology” for cutting emissions. Energy Minister Chris Bowen insists Mr Dutton is promoting “the most expensive form of energy”.

Is nuclear a pragmatic and wise choice blocked by ideologues? Or is Mr Bowen right that promoting nuclear power is about as sensible as chasing “unicorns”?

For someone who has not kept up with developments in nuclear energy, its prospects may seem to hinge on safety. Yet by any hard-nosed accounting, the risks from modern nuclear plants are orders of magnitude lower than those of fossil fuels.

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Deep failures in design and operational incompetence caused the Chernobyl disaster. Nobody died at Three Mile Island or from Fukushima. Meanwhile, a Harvard-led study found more than one in six deaths globally – around 9 million a year – are attributable to polluted air from fossil combustion.

Two more mundane factors help to explain why nuclear power has halved as a share of global electricity production since the 1990s. They are time and money.

The might of Wright’s law

There are four arguments against investment in nuclear power: Olkiluoto 3, Flamanville 3, Hinkley Point C, and Vogtle. These are the four major latest-generation plants completed or near completion in Finland, the United States, the United Kingdom and France respectively.

Cost overruns at these recent plants average over 300%, with more increases to come. The cost of Vogtle, for example, soared from US$14 billion to $34 billion (A$22-53 billion), Flamanville from €3.3 billion to €19 billion (A$5-31 billion), and Hinkley Point C from £16 billion to as much as £70 billion (A$30-132 billion), including subsidies. Completion of Vogtle has been delayed by seven years, Olkiluoto by 14 years, and Flamanville by at least 12 years.

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A fifth case is Virgil C, also in the US, for which US$9 billion (A$14 billion) was spent before cost overruns led the project to be abandoned. All three firms building these five plants – Westinghouse, EDF, and AREVA – went bankrupt or were nationalised. Consumers, companies and taxpayers will bear the costs for decades.

By contrast, average cost overruns for wind and solar are around zero, the lowest of all energy infrastructure.

Wright’s law states the more a technology is produced, the more its costs decline. Wind and especially solar power and lithium-ion batteries have all experienced astonishing cost declines over the last two decades.

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For nuclear power, though, Wright’s law has been inverted. The more capacity installed, the more costs have increased. Why? This 2020 MIT study found that safety improvements accounted for around 30% of nuclear cost increases, but the lion’s share was due to persistent flaws in management, design, and supply chains.

In Australia, such costs and delays would ensure that we miss our emissions reduction targets. They would also mean spiralling electricity costs, as the grid waited for generation capacity that did not come. For fossil fuel firms and their political friends, this is the real attraction of nuclear – another decade or two of sales at inflated prices.

Comparing the cost of nuclear and renewables

Nevertheless, nuclear advocates tell us we have no choice: wind and solar power are intermittent power sources, and the cost of making them reliable is too high.

But let’s compare the cost of reliably delivering a megawatt hour of electricity to the grid from nuclear versus wind and solar. According to both the CSIRO and respected energy market analyst Lazard Ltd, nuclear power has a cost of A$220 to $350 per megawatt hour produced.

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Without subsidies or state finance, the four plants cited above generally hit or exceed the high end of this range. By contrast, Australia is already building wind and solar plants at under $45 and $35 per megawatt hour respectively. That’s a tenth of the cost of nuclear.

The CSIRO has modelled the cost of renewable energy that is firmed – meaning made reliable, mainly via batteries and other storage technologies. It found the necessary transmission lines and storage would add only $25 to $34 per megawatt hour.

In short, a reliable megawatt hour from renewables costs around a fifth of one from a nuclear plant. We could build a renewables grid large enough to meet demand twice over, and still pay less than half the cost of nuclear.

The future of nuclear: small modular reactors?

Proponents of nuclear power pin their hopes on small modular reactors (SMRs), which replace huge gigawatt-scale units with small units that offer the possibility of being produced at scale. This might allow nuclear to finally harness Wright’s law.

Yet commercial SMRs are years from deployment. The US firm NuScale, scheduled to build two plants in Idaho by 2030, has not yet broken ground, and on-paper costs have already ballooned to around A$189 per megawatt hour.

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And SMRs are decades away from broad deployment. If early examples work well, in the 2030s there will be a round of early SMRs in the US and European countries that have existing nuclear skills and supply chains. If that goes well, we may see a serious rollout from the 2040s onwards.

In these same decades, solar, wind, and storage will still be descending the Wright’s law cost curve. Last year the Morrison government was spruiking the goal of getting solar below $15 per megawatt hour by 2030. SMRs must achieve improbable cost reductions to compete.

Finally, SMRs may be necessary and competitive in countries with poor renewable energy resources. But Australia has the richest combined solar and wind resources in the world.

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Should we lift the ban?

Given these realities, should Australia lift its ban on nuclear power? A repeal would have no practical effect on what happens in electricity markets, but it might have political effects.

A future leader might seek short-term advantage by offering enormous subsidies for nuclear plants. The true costs would arrive years after such a leader had left office. That would be tragic for Australia. With our unmatched solar and wind resources, we have the chance to deliver among the cheapest electricity in the developed world.

Mr Dutton may be right that the ban on nuclear is unnecessary. But in terms of getting to net zero as quickly and cheaply as possible, Mr Bowen has the relevant argument. To echo one assessment from the UK, nuclear for Australia would be “economically insane”.

Reuben Finighan is a research fellow at the Superpower Institute.

– ref. Is nuclear the answer to Australia’s climate crisis? – https://theconversation.com/is-nuclear-the-answer-to-australias-climate-crisis-216891

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Éva Plagányi, Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO

Australia’s tropical northern rivers still run wild and free. These relatively pristine areas have so far avoided extensive development. But this might not last. There are ongoing scoping studies exploring irrigating agricultural land using water from these rivers.

Our new research in the journal Nature Sustainability shows disturbing the delicate water balance upstream can have major consequences downstream, even hundreds of kilometres away.

Using our latest computer modelling, we found northern water resource development would have substantial effects on prawn, mud crab and barramundi fisheries in the Gulf of Carpentaria. These are valuable Australian marine fisheries which depend on healthy estuaries. Reducing river flows would also disturb mangrove and seagrass habitats and threaten the iconic endangered largetooth sawfish.

Freshwater flows to the sea play a crucial role, boosting the productivity of marine, estuarine and freshwater systems. These complex interactions must be carefully considered in the assessment of future development plans.

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Rivers are our lifeblood

Worldwide, few wild running rivers remain. Their future is uncertain given growing demand for water.

Climate change is putting extra pressure on rivers as temperatures rise, rainfall patterns shift and extreme events become more frequent.

Rivers are the lifeblood of ecosystems and communities. They connect land, estuaries and the sea. But assessments of river developments often focus narrowly on local effects. They ignore the fact downstream estuaries and marine systems depend on freshwater flows. Few studies have calculated the costs of upstream catchment developments to downstream estuarine and marine ecosystems and fisheries.

We must avoid the mistakes made in southern Australia where too much water has been taken out of the system for growing crops. That means carefully evaluating the design of dams or irrigation schemes, considering when, where and how much water should be taken – and the likely trade-offs.

Why should we care about northern rivers?

Australia’s remote northern rivers are one of the last strongholds for endangered species such as the largetooth sawfish. These iconic species are born in estuaries before spending their first few years of life upstream in freshwater rivers.

Flows from these rivers also sustain extensive mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Periodic floods boost the food supply for many prized marine fisheries such as prawns, barramundi and mud crabs.

The rivers also have cultural significance for Aboriginal people and represent a valuable resource, providing food and supporting livelihoods.

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Using modelling to connect rivers, estuaries and oceans

We coupled CSIRO’s sophisticated river models with our specially tailored ecosystem models to represent how altering river flows may influence the downstream ecology and fishery yields.

We used catch data from fisheries to analyse how past natural changes in flow influenced catch rates. This was combined with extensive previous research on the biology and ecology of each species to model the dynamics of catchment-to-coast systems. We were particularly interested in the natural life cycles of fish and crustaceans in our unique northern wet-dry tropical rivers and estuaries. We then simulated multiple water resource development scenarios to assess and compare various impacts and ways to reduce them.

For mud crabs, we linked river flow and other climate drivers to their life cycle and were able to show how past changes in flow could explain the past variation in crab catch, particularly for rivers in which flow was seasonally variable. We could then use this model to predict how crab catch and abundance might change in the future, depending on how much water is removed from rivers and the method of removal.

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Integrated management from catchment to coast

Our research shows freshwater flows to the sea are crucial for environmentally and economically important species. Any plan to dam or extract freshwater from Australia’s last wild rivers should account for these effects.

Coupling scientific knowledge about marine and freshwater ecosystems with catchment development will improve infrastructure planning and flow management.

This is vital on a dry continent already challenged by climate change. Every drop counts.

The authors wish to acknowledge Annie Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer of NPF Industry Pty Ltd, which represents Northern Prawn Fishery operators, for her contribution to the research.

Éva Plagányi acknowledges Annie Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer of NPF Industry Pty Ltd, which represents Northern Prawn Fishery operators, for her contribution to the research.
Éva works for CSIRO and receives research funding from several sources, including the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA).
2018-079 Ecological modelling of the impacts of water development in the Gulf of Carpentaria with particular reference to impacts on the NPF was supported by funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation on behalf of the Australian Government

Laura Blamey works for CSIRO, which receives research funding from several source, including the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA).

Michele Burford works for the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University and receives funding from several sources, including the National Environmental Science Program (NESP).

Robert Kenyon works CSIRO, an organisation that receives research funding from several sources, including the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA).

– ref. Taming wild northern rivers could harm marine fisheries and threaten endangered sawfish – https://theconversation.com/taming-wild-northern-rivers-could-harm-marine-fisheries-and-threaten-endangered-sawfish-212690

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kai Riemer, Professor of Information Technology and Organisation, University of Sydney

Artificial Intelligence chatbots are everywhere. They have captured the public imagination and that of countless Silicon Valley inventors and investors since the arrival of ChatGPT about a year ago.

The stunning human-like abilities of conversational AI – a form of artificial intelligence that enables computers to process and generate human language – have sparked widespread optimism about their potential to transform workplaces and increase productivity.

In what may be a world first, a UK school has appointed an AI chatbot as a “principal headteacher” to support its headmaster. While little is known about the nature of the AI behind it, the chatbot is meant to advise staff on issues such as helping pupils with ADHD and writing school policies.

But, before deploying chatbots in the workplace, it is crucial to understand what they are, how they work and how to use them responsibly.

How chatbots work

Much has been written about the astounding abilities of generative AI, and its sometimes surprising ability to get things wrong.

For example, an AI chatbot can craft a persuasive scholarly argument but, to use chatbot terminology, can “hallucinate” the list of references or get simple facts wrong. To understand why hallucinations occur it is important to understand how these chatbots work.

At their core, AI chatbots are powered by large language models (LLMs), large neural networks trained on massive datasets of text (what we lovingly call “the Internet”).

Importantly, LLMs do not store any data or knowledge in any traditional sense. Rather, when they are built (or “trained”) they encode, in large statistical structures, sophisticated content or language patterns contained in the training data.

Simply speaking, text is turned into numbers, or probabilities.

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When in use, LLMs no longer have access to this training data. So when we ask it a question, the response is generated from scratch, every time. Technically, everything is “hallucinated”. When AI chatbots get things right, it is because much of human knowledge is patterned and embedded in language, not because “it knows”.

By design, AI chatbots cannot produce definitive factual answers. They are probabilistic, not deterministic systems, and therefore cannot be relied on as authoritative sources of knowledge. But their ability to recognise linguistic patterns makes them excel at helping humans with tasks that involve text generation or enhancement.

Writing persuasive arguments follows certain patterned regularities, whereas factual answers cannot reliably be generated from probabilistic patterns.

The new workplace assistant

Don’t think of your AI chatbot as an omniscient artificial brain, but as a gifted graduate student assigned to be your personal work assistant.

Like an eager grad student, they work tirelessly and mostly competently on assigned tasks. However, they are also a little bit cocky. Always overconfident, they might take risky shortcuts and provide answers that sound good but lack any factual grounding.

It is wise always to verify chatbot outputs, much as you would double-check a grad student’s work.

Because of their probabilistic foundation they don’t comprehend your question with any human understanding. But in the right roles, when used appropriately, chatbots greatly augment productivity on language-related tasks.

Working with AI chatbots

The three levels of chatbot capability can be summed up using the acronym ACE – assisting, creating, exploring.

• assisting – chatbots can assist with many writing tasks, such as summarising, analysing and refining text, or extracting key points and themes. They can express arguments in academic text in more accessible ways.

• creating – chatbots can generate original text, turning dot points into business reports or ideas. They can mimic different genres and write in different styles. As they encode countless bodies of text from different domains, they can be told to take a perspective, impersonating business strategists, scholars, marketers or journalists, to create content useful across many professions.

• exploring – chatbots make intriguing “discussion partners” about hypothetical ideas (“what would happen if…”). When exploring new issues, let the chatbot set you questions then get it to answer them. If you want to explore what makes a good project report, or social media post, ask the chatbot to write one and then reflect on why it wrote what it did.

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The business of chatbots

What do we know about the use of AI chatbots in the workplace so far? Some initial studies point to significant productivity gains.

A pilot project at Westpac found a 46% productivity gain in software coding tasks, with no drop in quality. The experiment compared groups of developers using AI chatbots for a range of programming tasks with a control group that did not.

A study by global management company Boston Consulting Group also reported significant improvements.

In a controlled experiment, consultants used AI chatbots to problem-solve and develop new product ideas, which involved both analytical work and persuasive writing. Those who worked with the chatbot finished 12.2% more tasks, 25.1% more quickly, and at 40% higher quality, than those who didn’t.

In yet another case, an AI chatbot is reportedly being used by a US software company to help write proposals for clients. It scours thousands of internal files for relevant information to generate a suitable response, saving the company time.

These cases give glimpses into the future of AI chatbots, where companies fine-tune generative AI models with their own data or documents, using them for specialist roles such as coders, consultants or call-centre workers.

Many workers are worried AI will be used to automate their work. But given the probabilistic nature of the technology, and its inherent lack of reliability, we do not see automation as the most likely area of application.

AI chatbots might not be coming for your job after all, but they are certainly coming for your job description. AI fluency, the skill to understand and work with AI will soon become essential, similar to working with PCs.

Finally, you might ask, did we let a chatbot write this article? Of course we didn’t. Did we use one in writing it? Of course we did, much like we used a computer, and not a typewriter.

_The Conversation requires authors to disclose if they have used AI in the preparation of an article. Articles that use AI for fact-finding or idea generation will generally not be accepted.“

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. AI chatbots are coming to your workplace but are not necessarily coming for your job – https://theconversation.com/ai-chatbots-are-coming-to-your-workplace-but-are-not-necessarily-coming-for-your-job-216433

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Z. Wilson, Adjunct Associate Professor in History, Australian Catholic University

Readers are advised this article discusses sexual abuse.

In the Sydney suburb of North Parramatta sits a cluster of very old buildings known as the “Parramatta Female Factory Precinct”.

Built in 1821 to house and provide productive employment for the New South Wales colony’s growing population of female convicts, it was also the site of countless horrors – many of which occurred much more recently than you might think.

The Australian government recently announced it will nominate the Parramatta Female Factory in Sydney for World Heritage listing. It is a worthy nomination; the site is deeply significant for the many wards of the state who survived institutionalisation here or in other parts of Australia.

This precinct is by no means merely a relic of the convict era. Only 15 years ago, part of the site was a women’s prison. And from 1887 to 1974, it housed the notorious Parramatta Girls’ Home.

The Parramatta Girls’ Home

The Girls’ Home was also known as Parramatta Girls’ Industrial School, Girls’ Training School, and Girls’ Training Home. Each name was very much a euphemism. Whatever you call it, it was a high-security institution. That is, a jail.

It was a place where adolescent girls who had been removed from abusive or unfit parents, found homeless, orphaned, or mandated by the courts as wards of the state could be indefinitely detained.

It was among the most infamous examples of what criminologists today call “penal welfare” – the practice of locking up children and adolescents who have committed no offence other than being poor, homeless, or simply unloved.

It was official policy to treat welfare inmates — already highly vulnerable and having committed no offence at all — like hardened criminals.

They suffered a cruel and humiliating regime of physical, psychological and sexual violence.

The most trivial infraction of the rules — or no infraction at all — attracted punishments such as forced silence, scrubbing floors (with a toothbrush), beatings, and solitary confinement in dark underground cells.

And aside from the trauma of being locked in a pitch-black dungeon, girls in solitary were routinely raped by male staff members.

So horrific was its record of abuses that the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse treated it as a special case study.

The Commission heard testimony from former inmates who named former staff members as serial sex offenders. Many had since died, but others have been charged and received heavy prison sentences.

And it should be kept in mind that the Royal Commission’s terms of reference focused narrowly on sexual abuse. No prosecutions ensued for the myriad incidents of appalling, but non-sexual, emotional and physical maltreatment.

The stakeholders who so passionately advocated for the preservation and commemoration of the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct were survivors of the Girls’ Home.

In 2006 they formed a lobby group called “Parragirls”, and began campaigning for official acknowledgement of their experiences.

They called for the entire site — not just the convict-era building — to be recognised as historically significant and worthy of preservation.

It wasn’t the only institution

The Parragirls number a few hundred. They form a small subsection of the roughly half a million survivors of out-of-home “care” in the latter half of the 20th century, whom a 2003 Senate inquiry dubbed the “Forgotten Australians”.

I was a ward of the state as a teenager and spent time in various institutions as a child. As a Victorian, I was never in danger of being locked away in Parramatta, but its horrors were legendary among state wards everywhere.

We had our own institutions, many as brutal as Parramatta, to contend with and try to avoid.

Australia has not come to terms with what happened to wards of the state in the 20th century.

Many are still alive, but many lives have been ruined.

Institutions like Parramatta Girls and others investigated by various inquiries and by the Royal Commission remain relatively unknown to the general public.

For Forgotten Australians whose lives were not touched directly by Parramatta, the site nevertheless stands as an emblem of all the institutions that served Australia’s horrific “penal welfare” system.

Many of us endorse the campaign to have the entire site, not just the convict-era Female Factory, preserved and nominated for World Heritage recognition.

It has taken too long to recognise this history

World Heritage Listing defines the site as being “of outstanding universal value to humanity” and ensures it will be preserved.

If the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct makes it onto the World Heritage List, it will be only the second female convict factory site in Australia to do so, after the Cascades Female Factory in Tasmania.

Parramatta’s nomination, however, raises questions.

Older and larger than Cascades, it was the prototype of all female factories around Australia, and significantly more of it survives today than any other site. Yet it took years of campaigning to draw the government’s attention to it.

Sydney’s Hyde Park Barracks, a major convict prison for men, has been a tourist attraction for decades and has had World Heritage listing since 2010.

To overlook an even larger and equally significant site devoted to women of the same historical era is a rather glaring omission.

If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.

Jacqueline Z. Wilson receives funding from the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects: DP210101275. “Activism & Advocacy: From Deficit Models To Survivor Narratives”

– ref. I was a ward of the state. The horrors of the Parramatta Girls’ Home were legendary – https://theconversation.com/i-was-a-ward-of-the-state-the-horrors-of-the-parramatta-girls-home-were-legendary-214567

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management/ Adjunct Associate Professor, University of South Australia

An Auckland court has found Whakaari Management Limited (WML) guilty of breaching workplace safety laws relating to the Whakaari/White Island eruption in 2019. This decision could have implications for anyone involved in adventure tourism in New Zealand.

When Whakaari erupted on December 9 2019 there were 47 people on the island. The eruption killed 22 of them and injured 25, some severely. The island was at alert level VAL 2 (moderate to heightened volcanic unrest) when it erupted.

As owner of the island, WML was charged with failing to adequately minimise the risks to tourists.

The court’s guilty verdict will likely result in significant changes to the NZ$26.5 billion tourism industry. So how did we get here and what is likely to change?

New Zealand’s most active volcano

The Buttle family has owned Whakaari since 1936. Brothers Peter, James and Andrew Buttle inherited the island in 2012 and own it through a family trust. The trust leased Whakaari to WML (with the Buttles as the company’s directors).

WML had licensing agreements with tour companies to run commercial walking tours.

Read more:
Why were tourists allowed on White Island?

Of the 47 people on the island when it erupted, 38 were part of a tour organised through the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas. Questions quickly arose about how aware tourists were of the risks and who might be held responsible.

WorkSafe New Zealand originally charged 13 parties under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Six eventually pleaded guilty to the charges and six, including the three Buttle brothers, had their cases dismissed.

The case against WML

WML was charged with breaching two sections of the act. The company was found guilty of one charge while the other was dismissed.

A key question in the court case was what responsibility WML bore when it licensed others to run the tour operations on the island.

WML argued it was only a landowner and not responsible for tourists’ safety. The company also claimed it had no physical presence on Whakaari or involvement in day-to-day tourism operations.

However, Judge Evangelos Thomas did not accept WML’s “passive owner” argument. The judge pointed to several factors as evidence, including:

• its business was to generate income through the enabling of commercial
  walking tours on Whakaari
• it entered into the licence agreements and had termination rights for breaches
• it maintained a direct and continuing relationship with tour operators
• it engaged with tour operators and other relevant entities, including Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS), civil defence and various agencies interested and involved in increasing tourist numbers to Whakaari
• it had occasional direct engagement with WorkSafe and GNS.

The judge also noted an earlier eruption in 2016 should have had all Whakaari stakeholders on notice for sound risk assessment. This eruption occurred when Whakaari was at VAL 1 (minor volcanic unrest). Fortunately it occurred at night when there were no visitors on the island.

Judge Thomas argued this showed the volcano

could erupt at any time and without warning, with the risk of death or serious injury to tourists or tour guides who may be there at that time.

WML should have engaged experts in volcanology and health and safety to advise on risks presented by tours to Whakaari, the judge found.

Sentencing will happen in February with a maximum possible penalty of a $NZ1.5 million fine.

Adventure tourism rules have already changed

This tragedy has already impacted the adventure tourism sector of New Zealand.

In August, the workplace relations and safety minister announced government changes to the rules for adventure tourism operations. Minister Carmel Sepuloni said:

Adventure activity operators will now be required by law to communicate serious risks to customers, meaning prospective participants can be fully informed of risks before buying a ticket, in the time before the activity begins and throughout the activity, including if the risks change.

WorkSafe was also given expanded powers to suspend, cancel or refuse registrations for adventure operators who cannot provide activities safely.

Read more:
Whakaari tragedy: court case highlights just how complex it is to forecast a volcanic eruption

It is clear more rigorous risk assessments are required in New Zealand’s tourism industry. Responsibility for safety will no longer fall on tour operators alone.

All facets of the tourism supply chain, from land owners to tour operators to transport providers, will need to fulfil certain responsibilities to ensure the safety of their customers and workers. This will include careful consideration of the definition of “serious risk” and the many possible sources of risk.

Agencies such as the Meteorological Service and GNS will need to update adventure tour operators on a day-to-day basis. Natural hazards and risks such as extreme weather events, as well as volcanic and seismic risks, will need to be understood, factored into the planning of tour operations, and clearly communicated.

Reducing the risk in adventure tourism

Risk is an exciting attraction of adventure experiences for tourists in New Zealand. But public perception of risk is not the same as actual risk.

Some adventure tourism businesses offer experiences, such as bungy jumping, based on high perceived risk. But in reality these are low risk due to long-standing safety protocols.

Others, such as tours to geologically active locations, offer low perceived risk but there is the potential for periodic and unpredictable high actual risk.

Operators providing such experiences will now be obligated to shoulder greater responsibilities in ensuring such risks do not cause real harm.

All aspects of risk associated with the full spectrum of tourism businesses and tour operations, including but not limited to adventure tourism activities, will now need to be considered more carefully in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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. Whakaari/White Island court case will change the level of accepted risk in NZ’s tourism industry – https://theconversation.com/whakaari-white-island-court-case-will-change-the-level-of-accepted-risk-in-nzs-tourism-industry-216817

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

Jim Chalmers – as if he doesn’t have enough on his plate – is marching into the centre of energy policy.

This is probably a good thing for the government, because the transition to renewables isn’t going as well as it needs to.

There’s a general recognition Australia is not on track to achieve the government’s commitment to have renewables deliver 82% of electricity by 2030.

Chalmers was blunt in a major speech on Thursday, declaring: “We know further action is required to meet our targets […] It’s important for me to acknowledge that without more decisive action across all levels of government, working with investors, industry and communities, the energy transition could fall short of what the country needs.”

In his address, titled “Energy, the Economy and This Defining Decade”, to the 2023 Economic and Social Outlook Conference, Chalmers said he will put work on the energy transition at the centre of the agenda of the reformed Productivity Commission, which comes under his portfolio.

He is providing the commission with a “Statement of Expectations” – the first in its quarter-century history. This will be agreed with the PC’s new head, Danielle Wood, and will be released by the time she starts on November 13.

The statement “will make clear that guiding our country towards a successful net-zero transformation will be one of the key focus areas for a revamped and renewed Productivity Commission”, which Chalmers wants to have a more influential role.

He said “more practical and relevant advice” would complement advice from bodies such as the Climate Change Authority, “to ensure we realise the economic potential presented by the net-zero transition”.

Elaborating on radio, Chalmers said the PC was the “think tank for the Australian people”. It needed to be engaged in a bigger way with the energy transformation because that was “one of the biggest challenges and opportunities that we face”.

“We want to put the energy transformation front and centre in our economic reform efforts. We see it as crucial to the future and that means it should be absolutely central to the work of the PC too,” he told the ABC.

Chalmers’ speech unabashedly stepped into the policy areas of multiple ministers. He acknowledged this himself, mentioning Chris Bowen (Climate and Energy), Ed Husic (Industry), Madeleine King (Resources), Tanya Plibersek (Environment) “and a number of others”.

Chalmers is always careful about consultation with colleagues and this was the case before his speech, which also had input from Albanese’s office.

The official line is everything is hunky-dory with the colleagues, and Chalmers has been very involved in energy policy all along, including with the government’s gas and coal price caps and the energy rebates last year. And he has worked closely with Bowen.

That said, we don’t know what some of the ministers may think privately about Chalmers’ foray, especially Bowen, who these days is quite feisty (and reportedly is willing to push back in the cabinet on occasion).

The PC does inquiries the government formally asks it to do, as well as some work it initiates. Chalmers’ determination to more actively guide its work could present its challenges for Wood, who this week delivered a major speech of her own – on tax reform.

Read more:
Grattan on Friday: Cost-of-living crisis is the dragon the government can’t slay

In one of her final addresses as the Grattan Institute’s CEO, Wood said that, despite all the obstacles, she remained optimistic tax reform could be achieved.

“I don’t think we have much choice,” she said. “A slow-burning platform is still on fire, and over the coming decade the gap between our spending needs and our tax system’s capacity to meet them without ever higher taxes on employment income will be stretched to breaking point.

“More and more, questions of sustainability and intergenerational fairness are raised about our current tax mix. Expect them to get louder and louder over the coming decade without action.”

Wood added that tax must be part of the conversation if policy objectives were to be delivered in areas including the “green transition”.

One might think Wood would want to use the PC to provide some research backing on the need for tax reform. Chalmers, however, is extremely cautious about substantial tax reform, not least because of his experience in the office of the then treasurer, Wayne Swan, when the tax push ended badly.

Leaving aside his unsuccessful 2022 bid to recalibrate the stage 3 tax cuts, Chalmers’ approach to changing the tax system is to tread lightly, with incremental changes. Wood’s observation that “history shows that reform packages can work well” might have sent a slight shudder down the treasurer’s spine.

Read more:
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Chris Richardson on a likely interest rate rise and the fall in living standards

Wood (who is personally not an energy policy specialist) was the second choice for head of the PC (Chris Barrett, the initial appointee, pulled out when offered a better job). She is a leading economist and has been used to driving a wide-ranging program at Grattan. Following Chambers’ priorities while keeping the PC with a level of independence – important to its retaining credibility – will require her to strike a fine balance.

More immediately, another test of judgment and independence for another new Chalmers’ appointee, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, will play out on Tuesday, when the bank considers whether interest rates should rise.

Many economists believe there should be another increase. This view was reinforced this week when the International Monetary Fund said rates should go up, to lower inflation faster. “Although inflation is gradually declining, it remains significantly above the RBA’s target,” the IMF said.

The government doesn’t want a rate rise. Chalmers repeatedly stresses he respects the bank’s independence but has also made it clear he does not think the latest inflation data necessitate an increase. He repeated on Thursday that, while inflation is likely to be more volatile at the moment, “there was nothing additional or unexpected in the September quarter CPI which materially altered Treasury’s expectations for when inflation will return to the target band”.

The dynamics of the RBA board are presently unclear, with two new appointments, both with their roots in the trade union movement.

Although there is always the possibility of differing opinions within the board, Bullock will be the one publicly in the hot seat on Tuesday afternoon.

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

– ref. Grattan on Friday: Treasurer Jim Chalmers pumps up his role in energy transition – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-treasurer-jim-chalmers-pumps-up-his-role-in-energy-transition-216907

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland

Yesterday, Abdul Nacer Benbrika, perhaps Australia’s most notorious convicted terrorist, won in the High Court.

A six-one majority of the court struck down a ministerial power to revoke the Australian citizenship of certain terrorist offenders.

Benbrika’s citizenship had been revoked as a result of his conviction in 2008 of a range of terrorism offences, including directing the activities of a terrorist organisation for which he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Following the court’s decision, Benbrika remains an Australian citizen. So will he go free? And what does this mean for national security?

Read more:
Should new Australians have to pass an English test to become citizens?

Unconstitutional punishment

This was not the first time the High Court had stopped the minister for home affairs revoking the citizenship of someone involved in terrorism.

Delil Alexander was a dual citizen of Australia (by birth) and Turkey (by descent) when he entered Syria in 2013 with the terrorist organisation ISIS.

In 2021, the minister revoked Alexander’s Australian citizenship because Alexander had engaged in certain terrorist conduct which demonstrated he had “repudiated his allegiance to Australia”.

Revoking his citizenship was, the minister reasoned, in the public interest.

At that time, Alexander was in prison in Syria and could not be contacted by his family or lawyers. His sister, Berivan, challenged the citizenship-stripping law on his behalf and won the case.

In Benbrika’s case, the situation was a little different.

Unlike Alexander, Benbrika (a dual national with Algeria) had actually been convicted of terrorism offences, which gave the minister a basis on which to strip his Australian citizenship.

Yet the court’s reasons for striking down the citizenship-stripping powers were similar in the two cases.

First, the court acknowledged that loss of one’s citizenship is at least as serious as detention.

Second, the court interpreted the law as being designed to punish the person for their conduct.

Under the separation of powers, which the Constitution protects, imposing punishments for wrongdoing is generally the work of courts and should follow a criminal trial and finding of guilt.

In this case, the minister was essentially – and unconstitutionally – trying to go around the courts by punishing these individuals outside the criminal process.

What now for Benbrika?

The consequence of Alexander remaining an Australian citizen is that it remained Australia’s responsibility to, for instance, take steps to find out where he was, re-establish contact with him, and provide consular assistance.

Alexander may even need to be brought back to Australia where he would be dealt with under our own laws and justice system (it is, after all, a serious federal offence to join ISIS).

Benbrika, on the other hand, has served his sentence for terrorism offences and won his fight to maintain his Australian citizenship.

So will he walk free? Is it only a matter of time before he is radicalising more young people and inciting further hatred and violence?

Whatever lies ahead for Benbrika, it is unlikely to be any sense of freedom.

Read more:
As new Aussie citizenship rules kick in, the ‘fair go’ finally returns to trans-Tasman relations

Australia has more extensive counterterrorism law than anywhere else in the world. A recent count put the tally at almost 100 laws enacted since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Many of those laws tweak the usual rights given to people as they move through the criminal justice system.

This includes the option of post-sentence imprisonment – “continuing detention orders” – for those who are assessed to pose an unacceptable risk of committing national security offences.

Such an order can be made for up to three years and there are no limits on renewal.

Not only has Benbrika already been subject to those orders but, in 2021, he lodged an unsuccessful High Court challenge to those laws.

For as long as Benbrika is assessed to pose an “unacceptable risk” to the community, he will remain in prison.

But what if he satisfies a court that his release no longer poses an unacceptable risk?

Under Victorian law, Benbrika could be subject to an extended “supervision order”, which can be made for up to 15 years (with a possibility of being renewed for a further 15 years).

On top of this are federal “control orders”.

This is the kind of order imposed on David Hicks on his return from Guantanamo Bay, and on Joseph “Jihad Jack” Thomas after his acquittal for terrorism offences.

Control orders allow for an extremely wide range of restrictions and obligations to be imposed on a person if those conditions are “reasonably necessary, appropriate and adapted” to protecting the community from terrorism.

Control orders last for up to 12 months, but there are no limits on their renewal.

Under a supervision order or control order, Benbrika could be required to:

• stay at a certain address

• be subject to curfews (even amounting to home detention)

• wear a tracking device

• not use the internet, a phone or other devices

• not contact certain people or go to certain places

• undertake education, counselling or drug testing

• or any number of other restrictions or obligations deemed necessary for community protection.

Breaching one of these orders is punishable by five years imprisonment.

But wouldn’t it be better to deport him?

There is a symbolic attraction to taking away the citizenship of someone who has acted in a way that shows no allegiance to – and even a violent disregard for – Australia and basic community values.

Indeed, the one judge who upheld the citizenship-stripping laws, Justice Simon Steward, did so on the basis that citizenship-stripping was not designed to punish.

Instead, he argued it was merely an acknowledgement that the person themselves had severed their ties to Australia.

Read more:
What does ‘being Australian’ mean under the Constitution?

A study looking at counterterrorism citizenship-stripping in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia found the laws were serving this symbolic role.

But symbolism is a thin shield for national security.

When it comes to actually protecting security, the evidence shows that citizenship-stripping comes up short.

People have been stripped of their citizenship and committed terrorist acts elsewhere. Khaled Sharrouf, Australia’s most notorious foreign fighter, is one such person.

In a globalised world, people stripped of citizenship can still serve a pivotal role in recruitment and radicalisation, especially on the internet.

Kept in Australia, as an Australian, the full weight of our vast security laws can be brought to bear on Benbrika.

Stripped of his citizenship, Benbrika would have been beyond the reach of those laws, and it would be naïve to think that simply making him not-Australian would negate the risks he may present.

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

– ref. Is a terrorist’s win in the High Court bad for national security? Not necessarily – https://theconversation.com/is-a-terrorists-win-in-the-high-court-bad-for-national-security-not-necessarily-216896

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Arnott, PhD Candidate, Griffith University

The recent open letter to the prime minister and parliamentarians broke the week-long silence from Indigenous leaders after the country rejected the proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament. The letter emphasised the damage caused by the “lies in political advertising and communication” prevalent in the recent campaign.

Many outlets have documented these lies, including RMIT CrossCheck.

The immediate consequences of these campaign messages have been profoundly damaging. There have been reports of rising racism, with Indigenous-led mental health helpline 13 YARN receiving an 108% increase of Indigenous people reporting racism, abuse and trauma – mostly in August and September, during the run-up to the October 14 referendum.

The federal government has proposed to introduce legislation to address the risks of political misinformation.

However, the Voice to Parliament is not the first time we have seen this kind of misinformation. And there are greater risks arising from political misinformation beyond politicians lying and misleading voters about their policies.

The risks of political misinformation

Societies around the world have suffered harmful consequences from political misinformation, including:

• anti-vaxxer conspiracies around COVID

• claims that the 2020 US presidential election was rigged, a belief reportedly shared by 30% of Americans

• delayed action on climate change

• a rise in the use of disinformation tactics by nations such as Russia and China to wage proxy wars and influence national governments.

During the referendum campaign in Australia, high-profile politicians have sought to undermine the integrity of the Australian Election Commission. In August, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claimed the commission was attempting to “skew this in favour of the Yes vote.” After the referendum result, Senator Jacinta Price also suggested the results of remote polling booths in the Northern Territory, which showed majority yes votes, were tampered with.

The commission took the unusual step of denouncing both Dutton and Price’s claims.

In June, I predicted that misinformation would increase throughout the Voice referendum campaign.

This is because political misinformation is an increasingly popular campaign tactic in general. The past three Australian federal election campaigns have been characterised by widespread false or misleading statements.

In 2016 and 2022, the Labor opposition alleged that the Turnbull government would privatise Medicare.

In 2019, the Coalition accused Labor of planning introduce a death tax.

In 2022, Labor claimed the Coalition would roll out the Cashless Debit Card to pensioners.

Read more:
No back door for 5 years: remote community’s High Court win is good news for renters everywhere

The proposed misinformation bill

Earlier this year, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters proposed laws to combat political misinformation.

The government has released an exposure draft bill, which suggests mandating digital platforms to implement measures against misinformation. This includes creating policies for identification and removal of misinformation, educating users, and collaborating with fact-checkers.

As part of the proposed bill, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) would also enforce rules for record-keeping and reporting by digital platforms.

The draft bill defines misinformation as false content that could cause serious harm, and disinformation as intentionally deceptive misinformation.

The bill defines serious harm as any of the following:

• hatred against a group in Australia on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or physical or mental disability

• disruption of public order or society in Australia

• harm to the integrity of Australian democratic processes or of Commonwealth, state, territory or local government institutions

• harm to the health of Australians

• harm to the Australian environment

• economic or financial harm to Australians, the Australian economy or a sector of the Australian economy.

Read more:
How we can avoid political misinformation in the lead-up to the Voice referendum

Not everyone wants a misinformation bill

A dissenting report from the Coalition argues there is no need for a misinformation bill. It says:

Elections and election campaigns are and should remain a marketplace of ideas. If candidates or political parties make statements or release inaccurate policy positions, it is the role of the media, civil society and other political actors to hold their statements to account.

This position ignores three crucial factors:

1) Fake news and information spreads faster than real news, and is very hard to stop once it gets going. Misinformation can be posted on social media and reach a large audience before the information can be taken down. It’s easier to ensure politicians and political actors are prevented from saying it in the first place.

2) The public is often largely unaware when information is incorrect, and don’t necessarily have the skill or engagement to verify facts for themselves.

3) Belief in misinformation continues even after correction – this is known as the continued influence effect.

Relying solely on the media, the public and rival political candidates to correct false statements is like expecting rain to extinguish a bush fire without any intervention from emergency services. While rain might sometimes help douse the flames, it’s inconsistent and unreliable. Similarly, while media and public scrutiny can occasionally correct misinformation, it’s not a guaranteed or systematic solution. Political misinformation spread online is like thousands of small fires simultaneously being lit.

These risks are exacerbated by the clear incentive for some political parties to use misinformation to their advantage. Wider distrust of politicians and institutions can fuel belief in political misinformation, and drive voting for populist parties.

If politicians seek to weaponise distrust in institutions such as the Australian Electoral Commission, they risk sowing the very seeds that can help undermine democracies and civil liberties. This could potentially trigger a vicious cycle of political candidates undermining democratic institutions for their own gain.

While it’s crucial to protect political discourse and expression, it’s equally vital to implement safeguards against the dissemination of false and misleading content. Not doing so would be the same as failing to take proactive measures such as hazard reductions, acting on climate change, and funding emergency services to shield communities from bushfires.

Christopher Arnott is a member of the ALP

– ref. Regulating political misinformation isn’t easy, but it’s necessary to protect democracy – https://theconversation.com/regulating-political-misinformation-isnt-easy-but-its-necessary-to-protect-democracy-216537

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peta Stapleton, Associate Professor in Psychology, Bond University

Childhood traumatic experiences are common. Almost one in three (32%) Australians reported being physically abused as a child, 31% experienced emotional abuse, 28.5% were victims of sexual abuse and 9% were neglected. Some 40% of Australians were exposed to domestic violence against a parent.

Untreated childhood trauma is associated with an increased risk of mental health disorders. These children are more likely to become teens and adults who binge drink, attempt suicide and self-harm.

To reduce the chance of these long-term negative effects, it’s important to understand what treatments work for trauma in children. One option is eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, or EMDR, a therapy which aims to reduce distress and traumatic memories.

So how does EMDR work? And how strong is its evidence base?

Read more:
The consequences of childhood trauma on children’s mental health

What is EMDR?

EMDR first emerged in the late 1980s and is now recognised as a suitable approach for adults and children.

In EMDR, clients are first assisted to gain insight into what is causing their distress.

In a subsequent phase of the therapy, the client holds the traumatic memory in their mind, while moving their eyes backwards and forward, tracking the therapist’s hand.

Their eye movements are complemented by a tapping technique (tapping the knees one at a time) or an auditory tone played in each ear.

The client then focuses on a preferred positive belief to replace the trauma they have processed.

Read more:
What is EMDR therapy, and how does it help people who have experienced trauma?

How does EMDR work? The two main theories

It is suggested eye movements decrease the physical distress sensations by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, associated with a restful and calm state. Moving the eyes backwards and forward is also thought to assist with accessing earlier memories.

Another theory to explain why EMDR is effective centres on the different activities the client is doing all at once, and how this impacts working memory. By moving the eyes, holding the distressing memory front of mind, tapping on the knees and/or listening to auditory tones in each ear, it is thought the working memory is disrupted, and therefore open to being changed.

How does EMDR compare with CBT for children?

The small number of studies conducted so far suggests EMDR can help children with post-traumatic stress disorder to reduce symptoms of emotional upset, depression, anxiety and behavioural issues such as sleeping.

These outcomes are similar to trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy.

EMDR has also been beneficial (and as effective as other therapies) for children who experienced natural disasters.

Generally, six to 12 sessions is sufficient for EMDR treatment, compared to 12 to 15 for trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy.

However, EMDR cannot be used with clients unless the therapist is appropriately trained and qualified.

How does EMDR compare with other ‘exposure’ therapies?

An American Psychological Association review concluded the effectiveness of EMDR for adults and children is still inconsistent.

While EMDR appears more efficient than trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy, with fewer sessions required, the outcomes are equivalent to other exposure therapies (which use the same process to work through trauma) without eye movements.

The true mechanism of the eye movements in EMDR is still unclear. Research suggests the benefits of EMDR may come from other factors that assist with behaviour-change or reducing distress, such as the relationship between the therapist and client or the client’s motivation to change.

So overall, the research on EMDR is still mixed. Studies conducted on children with trauma and larger sample sizes are needed for more conclusive results.

What really matters in trauma therapy for kids?

If children view themselves as being responsible for the traumatic event, in order to cope they will distance themselves from ongoing trauma by disowning that bad or wounded part of themselves. This alienation of themselves helps them survive but maintains their trauma symptoms.

Shame and suppression of self can lead to behavioural outbursts or shut-down coping strategies. This leaves the child easily triggered, living in their survival brain and oscillating between their fight, flight, freeze or fawn (people-pleasing) states.

Read more:
What is ‘fawning’? How is it related to trauma and the ‘fight or flight’ response?

Helping children restore their sense of self, assisting them to learn to cope with big emotions is important and we can do that in safe relationships.

It’s also crucial to help parents understand the impact of their wellbeing on the their child’s recovery. Improving parents’ wellbeing and feelings of competence can help heal themselves and their children.

Physician and trauma expert Gabor Mate rightly said children don’t get traumatised because they are hurt. They get traumatised because they’re alone with the hurt.

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. What is eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing? And can EMDR help children recover from trauma? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-eye-movement-desensitisation-and-reprocessing-and-can-emdr-help-children-recover-from-trauma-214360

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hulya Gilbert, Lecturer in Planning and Human Geography, La Trobe University

The deaths and injuries caused by car drivers are an everyday occurrence. This road violence has become normalised. We take it for granted as the price we have to pay to use our cars.

Globally, car crashes are the world’s leading cause of death for people aged five to 25. In Australia, road deaths included 293 people in this age group in 2022, a rise from 281 in 2019 and 276 in 2018.

These deaths are stark reminders of the structural problem with a deeply entrenched, car-dominated culture. The huge numbers of deaths and injuries on our roads are a result of choosing to build our society around cars. This degree of harm does not seem to draw the same level of outrage as any other form of violence would.

As we argue in a newly published paper, these tragedies will continue unless we recognise the consequences of our ongoing misguided choices. We must act with the urgency this situation deserves.

Read more:
Despite lockdowns, 1,142 Australians, including 66 kids, died on our roads in the past year. Here’s what we need to do

Lives lost and lives blighted

These figures represent real people and real lives.

In March 2023, a truck hit two 16-year-olds who were crossing at pedestrian lights in front of their inner-city Adelaide school. Both were rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

Three months later, a four-wheel-drive hit a 38-year-old woman and her six-year-old daughter who were crossing the street next to their school in the Adelaide CBD. The woman was pinned under the car. The six-year-old was also dragged under the car and pulled out by another parent.

In September 2023, a car hit an eight-year-old boy who was playing soccer with his three-year-old brother in a suburban Melbourne laneway. He was trapped between two vehicles for about 20 minutes. He had life-threatening injuries.

Not some isolated accidents

The underlying causes of car crashes and their link to planning and transport policies continue to be ignored.

These policies have promoted car-based infrastructure and urban sprawl. Public transport and active transport such as walking and cycling have been neglected.

Read more:
Urban sprawl is ‘not a dirty word’? If the priority is to meet all kids’ needs, it should be

Children are the victims of our obsession with allowing heavy, fast-moving vehicles in our everyday spaces, including around schools.

The freedom of car drivers comes at the expense of the freedom of all others. At the same time, the environment and society bear most of the costs of this car culture.

Read more:
Japan’s Old Enough and Australia’s Bluey remind us our kids are no longer ‘free range’ – but we can remake our neighbourhoods

A form of victim-blaming

In the Adelaide inner-city crash in March, responses included pruning a tree, so it didn’t obscure a traffic light, and auditing pedestrian crossings. Red-and-white-striped wrapping was added to the traffic light poles, along with signs telling pedestrians to “stop, look and listen” before stepping on a street.

These inconsequential modifications mostly target the potential victims, which highlights our state of denial of the role of cars. It reinforces the privileged position of cars and their drivers –children are the ones who need to be disciplined and reminded to be more alert and careful around cars.

It’s essentially a form of victim blaming. Instead of reducing the source of violence, we tell everybody to be more careful around it.

Normalisation of crashes must stop

Neglecting the root causes of these crashes stops us taking more effective action.

We could, for instance, reduce the space allocated to cars by creating car-free or no-parking zones. We could reduce the speed limits for cars to be closer to the average speeds of walking (6 kilometres per hour — the accepted speed in most holiday parks) or cycling (15-20km/h). And we could create disincentives such as higher registration and parking fees to discourage the use of increasingly large vehicles, which multiply the collision risks for those outside them.

Read more:
Busted: 5 myths about 30km/h speed limits in Australia

Car crashes are also normalised through the way in which they are brought to public attention. We stop hearing about these crashes a few days after they occur, and we rarely hear about their long-term and far-reaching effects.

In the crash involving a woman and her six-year-old, the girl was reported to be lucky to avoid severe injuries. Similarly, it was reported the younger brother of the boy trapped between two cars escaped serious injury.

These reports do not capture the trauma of a six-year-old who heard her mother’s screams while both were forced under a moving two-tonne metal object. They overlook the impact on a three-year-old who sees his brother’s body being crushed between two cars.

These reports also rarely capture the trauma other family members and friends endure, probably for the rest of their lives. And don’t forget the severe impacts on the lives of the driver, first responders and bystanders.

The rippling impacts of these crashes remain largely hidden from the public. As does their systemic nature.

To end this violence we must rethink our priorities

We should refuse to accept that vehicles hitting children are “accidents” or unavoidable outcomes of our essential lifestyles.

We can choose to reclaim the status we give to cars in our everyday spaces. The price we pay, both social and environmental, is too high to sustain. We have plenty of better and safer travel choices, such as active and public transport.

We need to recognise that the car threatens children’s safety and their right to independently roam public spaces. This directly threatens their long-term health and wellbeing.

Car drivers’ rights are not more important than children’s rights to be safe on our streets. The interests of those who oppose measures such as reduced car parking or lower speed limits should not be more important than our children’s wellbeing. No benefit of a pro-car policy can be greater than the benefit of children’s active presence in public spaces, where they have a right to be imperfect and distracted.

As a society, a public conversation about reassessing our priorities is well overdue. Only then can we challenge the unquestioned status of the car and our tendency to take the violence that it generates for granted.

Marco te Brömmelstroet received funding from the Dutch organisation for academic research NWO and the European ERC. He is affiliated with the Urban Cycling Institute and works for the Lab of Thought.

Hulya Gilbert 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. Our children are victims of road violence. We need to talk about the deadly norms of car use – https://theconversation.com/our-children-are-victims-of-road-violence-we-need-to-talk-about-the-deadly-norms-of-car-use-214476

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Martin, Senior Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney

It took seven years, but a tiny remote community in the Northern Territory had a major legal win yesterday.

People in the town of Santa Teresa, southeast of Alice Springs, won the right to compensation for the substandard housing they’re forced to live in.

For more than five years, one resident lived without a back door.

The High Court ruled their landlord, the Northern Territory government, must pay them for the “distress and disappointment” they endured as a result.

So what does this mean, not just for the Aboriginal community leading the charge, but for tenants’ rights more broadly?

Read more:
Aboriginal housing policies must be based on community needs — not what non-Indigenous people think they need

A long path to legal victory

The fight for better housing conditions in Santa Teresa has been making its way through the courts for years.

In 2016, a group of residents launched a class action against the NT government for not providing habitable homes.

Three years later, some of the residents in the action were successful in the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal in their efforts to sue.

But the government has fought every step of the way.

It appealed to the Supreme Court, which then sided with the tenants by awarding them further compensation.

The NT government appealed that, too. The Court of Appeal found the government was in breach, but held the tenants were not entitled to all the compensation ordered.

So the tenants appealed, bringing the matter to the High Court.

In a majority ruling, the court found the government had breached the Residential Tenancies Act by not providing one of the residents with a back door.

But that part isn’t surprising. The new part is that the court decided the government was liable for compensation.

What was the case around compensation?

Here’s where some common law principles come into play.

The NT government argued that while it breached the tenancy act, it didn’t owe compensation as a result.

The devil is in the detail, namely the words “disappointment or distress”.

Those are non-economic losses. That means they didn’t directly cost the residents money.

Under common law, there’s no entitlement to compensation for most non-economic losses.

There are some exceptions, though: if the disappointment comes from being physically inconvenienced, or from being expressly promised enjoyment, compensation may be required.

Read more:
We need to design housing for Indigenous communities that can withstand the impacts of climate change

An example of this is when people sue cruise companies for being disappointed by their holiday.

In this case, the High Court has decided that those restrictive principles don’t apply to compensation for breaches of tenancy rights under residential tenancies legislation.

It found when it looked at the overall intent of the territory’s Residential Tenancy Act, including its compensation provisions, the residents were entitled to compensation.

So the Supreme Court’s previous compensation order is restored.

Read more:
Think private renting is hard? First Nations people can be excluded from the start

But two High Court judges wrote a minority judgement.

Interestingly, they agreed the tenants should be compensated, but for a different reason.

They thought a tenancy promised enjoyment, so compensation for “disappointment and distress” would be allowed by those common law principles.

What does this mean for renters nationally?

The case has been referred to as a landmark one, and in many ways it is.

A group of Aboriginal public housing tenants organised, fought for their rights, and won. They changed the law.

There are many barriers to tenants fighting for what they’re entitled to, so it’s a remarkable result.

The two leaders of the litigation died before the High Court handed down its decision. It is a memorial to them.

The High Court’s decision refers specifically to the NT’s residential tenancies legislation. It did not decide whether those restrictive common law principles about compensation are excluded from tenancy laws in other states and the ACT.

That question will have to be answered by the tribunals and courts in each other state and territory.

Given the legislation across the country are on a broadly common model, it seems likely the result would be similar, but that’s up to the courts to decide.

At any rate, the case has demonstrated that remote communities in the Northern Territory are legally entitled to safe, habitable living conditions, and the government is liable if it fails to provide them.

And tenants around Australia can take heart from the example of the Santa Teresa tenants.

Chris Martin receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, the Tenants’ Union of NSW and Tenants Queensland Ltd. He is affiliated with the Eastern Area Tenants Service, as a member of its management committee.

– ref. No back door for 5 years: remote community’s High Court win is good news for renters everywhere – https://theconversation.com/no-back-door-for-5-years-remote-communitys-high-court-win-is-good-news-for-renters-everywhere-216821

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney

Hospital admissions for injuries directly attributable to extreme weather events – such as heatwaves, bushfires and storms – have increased in Australia over the past decade.

A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows 9,119 Australians were hospitalised for injuries from extreme weather from 2012-22 and 677 people died from these injuries in the decade up to 2021.

In 2021-22, there were 754 injury hospitalisations directly related to extreme weather, compared to 576 in 2011-12.

Extreme heat is responsible for most weather-related injuries. Exposure to prolonged natural heat can result in physical conditions ranging from mild heat stroke, to organ damage and death.

As Australia heads into summer with an El Niño, it’s important understand and prepare for the health risks associated with extreme weather.

Read more:
Study finds 2 billion people will struggle to survive in a warming world – and these parts of Australia are most vulnerable

A spike every three years

Extreme weather-related hospitalisations have spiked at more than 1,000 cases every three years, with the spikes becoming progressively higher. There were:

• 1,027 injury hospitalisations in 2013–14
• 1,033 in 2016–17
• 1,108 in 2019–20.

In each of these three years, extreme heat had the biggest impact on hospital admissions and deaths.

Extreme heat accounted for 7,104 injury hospitalisations (78% of all injury hospitalisations) and 293 deaths (43% of all injury deaths) in the ten year period analysed.

In 2011-12, there were 354 injury hospitalisations directly related to extreme heat. This rose to 579 by 2021-22.

El Niño and La Niña

Over the past three decades, extreme weather events have increased in frequency and severity.

In Australia, El Niño drives a period of reduced rainfall, warmer temperatures and increased bushfire danger.

La Niña, on the other hand, is associated with above average rainfall, cooler daytime temperatures and increased chance of tropical cyclones and flood events.

Although similar numbers of heatwave-related hospitalisations occurred in El Niño and La Niña years studied, the number of injuries related to bushfires was higher in El Niño years.

During the 2019–20 bushfires, in the week beginning January 5 2020, there were 1,100 more hospitalisations than the previous five-year average, an 11% increase.

Although El Niño hasn’t directly been proved as the cause for these three spikes, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, two of the three years (2016-17 and 2019-20) were El Niño summers. And the other year (2013-14) was the warmest neutral year on record at that time.

Regional differences

Exposure to excessive natural heat was the most common cause leading to injury hospitalisation for all the mainland states and territories. From 2019 to 2022, there were 2,143 hospital admissions related to extreme heat, including:

• 717 patients from Queensland
• 410 from Victoria
• 348 from NSW
• 267 from South Australia
• 266 from Western Australia
• 73 from the Northern Territory
• 23 from the ACT
• 19 from Tasmania.

The report also includes state and territory data on hospitalisations related to extreme cold and storms.

During the ten-year period analysed, there were 773 injury hospitalisations and 242 deaths related to extreme cold. Extreme rain or storms accounted for 348 injury hospitalisations and 77 deaths.

From 2019 to 2022, there were 191 hospitalisations related to extreme cold, with Victoria recording the highest number (51, compared to 40 in next-placed NSW). During the same period there were 111 hospitalisations related to rain and storms, with 52 occurring in NSW and 28 in Queensland.

What about for bushfires?

Over the ten-year period studied, there were 894 hospitalisations and 65 deaths related to bushfires.

Bushfire-related injury hospitalisations and deaths peaked in 2019–20, an El Niño year with 174 hospitalisations and 35 deaths. The two most common injuries that result from bushfires are smoke inhalation and burns.

During the 2019–20 bushfires, in the week beginning 5 January 2020 there were 1,100 more respiratory hospitalisations than the previous five-year average, an 11% increase.

The greatest increase in the hospitalisation rate for burns was 30% in the week beginning December 15 2019 — 0.8 per 100,000 persons (about 210 hospitalisations), compared with the previous 5-year average of 0.6 per 100,000 (an average of 155 hospitalisations).

Some people are particularly vulnerable

Anyone can be affected by extreme weather-related injuries but some population groups are more at risk than others. This includes older people, children, people with disabilities, those with pre-existing or chronic health conditions, outdoor workers, and those with greater socioeconomic disadvantage.

People in these groups may have reduced capacity to avoid or reduce the health impacts of extreme weather conditions, for example older people taking medication may be less able to regulate their body temperature. “Thermal inequity” includes people living in poor quality housing who have difficulty accessing adequate heating and cooling.

Read more:
Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults – an aging population and climate change put ever more people at risk

For heat-related injuries between 2019–20 and 2021–22, people aged 65 and over were the most commonly admitted to hospital, followed by people aged 25–44.

Across age groups, men had higher numbers of heat related injury hospitalisations than women. This difference was most notable among those aged 25-44 and 45-64 years, where over twice as many men were hospitalised due to extreme heat as women.

We still don’t have a full picture

The AIHW data only includes injuries which were serious enough for patients to be admitted to hospital; it doesn’t include cases where patients treated in an emergency department and sent home without being admitted.

It includes injuries that were directly attributable to weather-related events but does not include injuries that were indirectly related. For example, it doesn’t include injuries from road traffic accidents that occur due to wet weather, since the primary cause of injury would be recorded as “transport”.

Improved surveillance of weather-related injuries could help the health system and the community better prepare for responding to extreme weather conditions. For example, better data aids communities in predicting what resources will be needed during periods of extreme weather.

A more complete picture of injuries during weather events could also be used to inform people of actions they can take to protect their own health. Given a predicted hot summer, this could be a matter of life or death.

Read more:
Drowning risk increases during heatwaves in unexpected ways — here’s how to stay safe this summer

This article was co-authored by Sarah Ahmed and Heather Swanston from the Injuries and System Surveillance Unit at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Amy Peden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Meta Inc, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia. She provided expert review for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Extreme weather-related injuries report.

– ref. Extreme weather is landing more Australians in hospital – and heat is the biggest culprit – https://theconversation.com/extreme-weather-is-landing-more-australians-in-hospital-and-heat-is-the-biggest-culprit-216440

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucy Beaumont, Health + Disability Editor

The question of whether there should be an age limit to joining the National Disability Scheme (NDIS) has been debated since its inception a decade ago.

It is being asked again as we wait for the NDIS Review to release its final report. The report is expected to explore eligibility, sustainability and how costs should be split between the scheme and other government departments to provide an ecosystem of supports for people with disability.

Currently, once someone turns 65 they are no longer eligible to apply for NDIS support, even if they had disability before then. (NDIS support can extend beyond 65 for people who are already participants in the scheme.) Some people and groups say this is discriminatory.

So, should people who had disability before they turned 65, be allowed to become NDIS participants after 65? We asked five experts.

Four out of five said yes

Disclosure statements: Elizabeth Kendall 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; Helen Dickinson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council and Children and Young People with Disability Australia; Henry Cutler currently sits on the Investment Effectiveness Program Academic Advisory Panel for the National Disability Insurance Agency; Kathy Boschen was formerly a senior compliance officer for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, an advisor for the NDIA Administrative Appeals Tribunal Team, and an NDIA subject matter expert on mental health access; Mark Brown is an Honorary Research Fellow at La Trobe University and a Senior Research Fellow at the Summer Foundation. He is also an NDIS participant.

– ref. Should people who had disability before they turned 65, be allowed to become NDIS participants after 65? We asked 5 experts – https://theconversation.com/should-people-who-had-disability-before-they-turned-65-be-allowed-to-become-ndis-participants-after-65-we-asked-5-experts-216740

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Moninya Roughan, Professor in Oceanography, UNSW Sydney

Right now, there’s something big spinning off the coast from Sydney – a giant rotating vortex of sea water, powerful enough to dominate the ocean currents off south-eastern Australia.

Oceanographers describe these spinning water bodies as “eddies” – but they’re not the small eddy currents you see in creeks or rivers. Ocean eddies are enormous. They’re usually hundreds of kilometres across (100–300km), up to 2km deep and can be visible from space.

It turns out these eddies drive change underwater by spawning marine heatwaves. Our new research demonstrates the link between a warm ocean eddy and a record-breaking marine heatwave which struck off Sydney from December 2021 to February 2022.

Now it’s happening again. An even bigger eddy is forming about 50km off Sydney. We have just returned from a 24-day research voyage on CSIRO’s research vessel RV Investigator to explore this monster eddy.

Our estimates suggest this 400km wide beast holds 30% more heat than normal for this part of the ocean. Its currents are spinning at 8km per hour. And the temperatures deep underwater are up to 3°C above normal. If it moves close to shore, it could trigger another coastal marine heatwave.

Read more:
Doritos, duckies and disembodied feet: how tragedy and luck reveals the ocean’s hidden highways

How can an eddy current make a heatwave?

Eddies are the ocean equivalent of storms in the atmosphere. Like weather patterns, they can be warm or cold. But ocean eddies can shape the ocean’s patterns of life.

Warm eddies are like ocean deserts with little life, while cold eddies are typically much more productive. That’s because they draw up nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous from the deep sea, which become food for plankton.

Just as storms can in the atmosphere, ocean eddies can drive extreme “ocean weather”. That’s because warm eddies can bring in masses of warm water and keep it there for months. Sea life is often very finely attuned to temperature, so a sudden heatwave like this can heavily impact ecosystems.

It’s important to better understand how eddy currents grow, move and decay better. That’s because they can store large amounts of heat and can temporarily increase coastal sea levels.

What we do know is that warm eddies along Australia’s east coast can be fed by the East Australian Current when it becomes unstable. The current wobbles back and forth until eventually the wobbles form a coherent circle – an eddy – or adding to an existing one. It’s like a garden hose thrashing around on the grass when the flow is too great. These unstable currents can be small, on the kilometre scale, or huge.

Our research pinpointed the root cause of the 2021 marine heatwave off Sydney. A large warm eddy formed. But it couldn’t spiral away into deeper waters, because there were cold eddies to the north and south preventing it. That’s very similar to what can happen in the atmosphere, where a high pressure system can be held in place by other weather systems.

Now, it looks as if history is repeating.

Over the past month, an enormous eddy – fully 400km wide and 3km deep – has been spinning up just off southeastern Australia. It’s being fed by the warm East Australian Current, which brings warm water from the tropics down to more temperate waters. This eddy is bigger and warmer than most eddies in the region, especially at this time of year. It has been growing over the past month, and is pushing up against cold waters to the south. Where the two systems meet there are very strong temperature differences – up to 5°C over just 4km.

Read more:
Explainer: the RV Investigator’s role in marine science

You can get some insight into how eddy currents behave from satellites.

Our trip on the research vessel RV Investigator made it possible for us to grasp how this powerful current was behaving – in three dimensions.

We also released drifters, GPS-tracked buoys which float around the eddy centre in a massive circle. Some have been carried more than 2,000km in the last month, passing where they originally started. Others have escaped the eddy and headed east into the Pacific.

These sensors and instruments have given us vital information. Now we know the water in the eddy is flowing at a fast walking pace, around 8km per hour. And we know that while the currents within the eddy are rotating quickly, the eddy itself has remained fairly stationary off the NSW coast, growing with warm waters from further north.

We also deployed five diving Argo floats. Satellite data shows us surface temperatures in the eddy have hit 23°C, two degrees above average for a month. But Argo floats show us the temperatures are even more extreme 500m below the surface, more than 3°C above average.

What happens to eddies? Like atmospheric systems, these are effectively heat engines. They transport heat to new areas as they whirl in the ocean. While they hold heat a long time, eventually it’s lost to the atmosphere and through mixing at the edges of the current. Eventually, they disappear.

But as we head into summer, the mega eddy is unlikely to go anywhere. If it moves towards the coast, where marine life is concentrated, we will see water temperatures spike – and possibly, underwater disaster for many species.

Read more:
Doritos, duckies and disembodied feet: how tragedy and luck reveals the ocean’s hidden highways

We would like to thank the RV Investigator’s Master, Captain Andrew Roebuck, Deck Officers and crew and the CSIRO technical staff.

Moninya Roughan receives funding from National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), and the Australian Research Council. This research was supported by a grant of sea time on RV Investigator from the CSIRO Marine National Facility, which is supported by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant. Argo floats and satellite data are provided by Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).

Amandine Schaeffer receives funding from the Australian Research Council

Shane Keating receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

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

– ref. A monster eddy current is spinning into existence off the coast of Sydney. Will it bring a new marine heatwave? – https://theconversation.com/a-monster-eddy-current-is-spinning-into-existence-off-the-coast-of-sydney-will-it-bring-a-new-marine-heatwave-216625

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Kingsford-Smith, PhD Candidate in Educational Psychology, UNSW Sydney

Australia is in the grips of a teacher shortage “crisis” according to Education Minister Jason Clare.

Federal education department modelling shows there will be a high school teacher shortfall of about 4,000 by 2025. Media reports suggest shortages are already particularly bad in rural areas.

Clare says one of the ways we will fix the shortage is by “increasing the number of people who stay on teaching”.

Our new study shows increasing opportunities for teachers to work together may keep teachers in their jobs.

Our research illustrates collaboration between teachers is linked to greater job satisfaction, as well as other benefits for teachers working in rural schools.

Read more:
We won’t solve the teacher shortage until we answer these 4 questions

What does collaboration involve for teachers?

Collaboration for teachers can include sharing teaching resources, discussing approaches to different classes and students and collaborating on common standards for student assessments.

But teachers often work in relative isolation of each other, as they are confined to their classrooms and assigned class groups.

According to a 2018 OECD report, 28% of teachers around the world teach with another teacher in the same classroom at least once a month and 47% exchange teaching materials with others at least once a month.

Read more:
Will free teaching degrees fix the teacher shortage? It’s more complicated than that

Our research

Our research investigated what work factors are most relevant to teachers’ wellbeing. We also looked at whether there was a difference between teachers working in rural or metropolitan areas.

We examined two teacher wellbeing outcomes: job satisfaction and work strain. Job satisfaction represents whether teachers are happy working at their current school. Work strain measures whether teachers believe their job negatively impacts their mental and physical health.

Our study used the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey. This is the largest international survey about teachers and their working conditions. We used the most recently available data from 2018. Our sample included 3,376 high school teachers working in 219 schools across Australia.

Collaboration is linked to job satisfaction

Our research showed teachers who reported more frequent collaboration with their colleagues also reported greater job satisfaction. This was true for teachers working in both rural and metropolitan schools.

This indicates working together with colleagues may help teachers to feel more satisfied with their job, no matter where they work. The results suggest the more teachers work together, the greater their job satisfaction.

Collaboration may help teachers feel connected with their colleagues and build positive relationships. It may also help teachers feel more competent and supported as part of a team.

Rural schools

Our research also found more frequent collaboration appeared to have other benefits to teachers in rural schools.

Rural teachers who had concerns about the relevance of the professional development their school provided were more likely to report their job negatively impacted their mental and physical health (in other words, they had higher work strain).

This is perhaps because teachers may find their work more difficult when they do not receive relevant professional development (new skills, approaches and ideas).

In rural schools, professional development can be harder to access because of distance and the availability of relieving teaching staff. With these existing barriers, it may be particularly detrimental to their wellbeing if professional development is then considered to be irrelevant.

Collaboration and professional development concerns

Interestingly, our analysis revealed the link between irrelevant professional development and work strain was not present for rural teachers who collaborated more frequently with their colleagues.

This suggests more frequent collaboration may protect against the effects of irrelevant professional development on work strain. It may be collaboration can provide teachers with informal learning opportunities that help them to do their jobs better and feel less stressed about work.

Read more:
Australian students in rural areas are not ‘behind’ their city peers because of socioeconomic status. There is something else going on

How can teachers collaborate more?

Our research suggests schools and school systems may want to encourage more collaboration, while also ensuring their staff are provided with relevant professional development. This could help teachers stay in their jobs.

To support teacher collaboration, international research says teachers need to work together in ways they find effective. This highlights the importance of listening to staff to understand their needs.

International research also suggests collaboration is most beneficial when teachers are given dedicated time at work to work together so it is built into their work hours, rather than an added extra.

Read more:
Australia’s teacher workforce has a diversity problem. Here’s how we can fix it

How do we encourage collaboration?

Two evidence-based ways teachers can collaborate are peer observations and mentoring.

These are both approaches that can happen without major disruption to classes.

Peer observations involve a group of teachers observing each other teaching and then meeting to discuss their thoughts. These peer observations are designed to be supportive and may help teachers gain a sense of professional community, boost morale and identify teaching practices that are particularly effective within their school’s context.

For teacher mentoring, teachers can be assigned a more senior or experienced member of the school to meet with and discuss their work experiences. Research shows it is important for mentors and mentees to feel as though they are both benefiting from the process. A mentee may benefit, for example, by thinking about their professional approaches in new ways, while mentors can also learn from listening to their mentee’s experiences.

In smaller and more remote schools, technology may be needed to help connect teachers with colleagues from other schools for both peer observations and mentoring.

Andrew Kingsford-Smith receives funding through a PhD scholarship from the University of New South Wales and the Australian Government. He also works part-time as a teacher for the NSW Department of Education. This research was conducted by Andrew in his capacity as a researcher. The views expressed in this article do not represent the views of the NSW Department of Education.

Rebecca J Collie receives funding from the NSW Department of Education.

Hoa Nguyen and Tony Loughland 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. How do we retain teachers? Supporting them to work together could help – https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-retain-teachers-supporting-them-to-work-together-could-help-216076

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Grimmer, Retail Scholar, University of Tasmania

A lot of dedication and effort goes into making main streets attractive. Local governments, planners, place makers, economic development managers, trade associations and retailers work hard to design, improve and revitalise main streets. The goal is to make them attractive places to increase shopper numbers, provide pleasant places for communities, and boost local economies.

Despite the efforts that go into planning, maintaining and marketing local shopping areas, the people who use these places are often not consulted about what they actually want and need on their main street. Our research is the only-known Australian study to ask shoppers about the key elements, and shops and services, they regard as contributing to the ideal main street.

So what types of stores and services do they want?

Pharmacies are the top choice. Intriguingly, four types of stores/services that are disappearing from main streets around Australia – the post office, bank, department store and newsagent – are in the top ten (out of 45 choices in our survey).

What are the key shops and services?

We wanted to find out what consumers see as their ideal local shopping street. What kinds of shops and services matter most for them? Which other elements of local shopping places do they want?

Curiously, users are often not asked these questions. Yet their answers are essential if we are to design new towns, suburbs and regional centres, and improve existing ones, so more people want to work, shop and visit them.

We surveyed a representative sample of 655 shoppers from around Australia about their local shopping preferences.

We provided a list of 45 different stores and services. Participants were asked to rank them in order of importance from one to 45.

Overwhelmingly, participants considered the pharmacy the most important store or service for an ideal main street. Across gender, age and location, pharmacies were consistently number one.

Similarly, four types of stores and services – the post office, bank, department store and newsagent – appeared in the top ten most important, regardless of demographics.

What other key elements are important?

We then asked participants about the importance of different elements of main streets. We provided 21 elements and participants were asked to rate each on a Likert scale from 1, “not at all important”, to 7, “extremely important”.

Shoppers rated “cleanliness” as the most important element for their ideal shopping area. It was followed by “safety and security” and “parking”.

Aside from the “retail mix”, in most areas local councils have control over nine of the ten top elements. “Safety and security” also involves police and individual security services that centres and some stores employ.

Motivation for shopping affects choices

We also tested for shoppers’ levels of hedonic and utilitarian orientation. Hedonic shoppers really enjoy the act of shopping. They experience euphoria and pleasure and they buy so they can go shopping, rather than shopping so they can buy.

Utilitarian shoppers, on the other hand, are rational and cognitive and they view shopping as a task or chore. Buying products they need is simply a “means to an end”. They get no great satisfaction from the activity.

Hedonic shoppers are more often women. Men tend to be more utilitarian. We tend to become more utilitarian as we get older.

We were interested to find out if people’s responses to our questions were different depending on whether they were hedonic (shop for pleasure) or utlilitarian (shop for practical needs) shoppers.

For the most important store or service, hedonic and utilitarian shoppers both rated a pharmacy as number one. And they ranked similar stores and services in their top ten.

But there were some differences. Hedonic shoppers included a lifestyle/gift store and department store in their top ten. Utilitarian shoppers did not. Instead they rated the post office and the newsagent as important.

This finding makes sense. Lifestyle stores, gift shops and department stores offer the hedonic shopper the chance to browse and enjoy quality surroundings and service. The post office and newsagent allow the utilitarian shopper to complete tasks quickly and easily – no browsing required.

Despite similarities in their top-ranked shops and services, hedonic and utilitarian shoppers’ rankings of the most important elements of local shopping areas were starkly different.

For hedonic shoppers, the complete visitor experience, including the surroundings and atmosphere, is an important aspect of their ideal shopping area. Their top ten elements reflected this. They selected a combination of tangible elements, including public art, aesthetics, greenery and lighting, to complement the more ephemeral such as events and activities, night-time economy, sustainability and history and culture.

Utilitarian shoppers rated elements that help make a task-oriented shopping trip easier. Wayfinding (all the ways to help people navigate a space), signage and information, walkability, retail mix, and services and amenities were important for them.

The only two elements both groups agreed should be in the top ten were lighting, and seating and tables.

Making main streets the best they can be

There is an increasing understanding that retailing will not continue to be the main or sole reason people visit town centres. While still important, retail will more often complement services, attractions and “experiences” as the major factors that entice visitors.

This requires local councils, chambers of commerce and marketing organisations to perform a juggling act. They need to market shopping precincts as being attractive for shoppers while showcasing a range of services and attractions in these areas that appeal to other types of visitors.

Making shopping areas the best they can be is challenging work. Different people want different things from main streets.

Our findings provides insights for local councils, which have a primary policy responsibility for main streets, as well as developers, investors and individual store owners. This knowledge can help them better plan and improve the retail and service mix for everyone.

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. What makes an ideal main street? This is what shoppers told us – https://theconversation.com/what-makes-an-ideal-main-street-this-is-what-shoppers-told-us-214554

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zdenka Kuncic, Professor of Physics, University of Sydney

The world is infatuated with artificial intelligence (AI), and for good reason. AI systems can process vast quantities of data in a seemingly superhuman way.

However, current AI systems rely on computers running complex algorithms based on artificial neural networks. These use huge amounts of energy, and use even more energy if you are trying to work with data that changes in real time.

We are working on a completely new approach to “machine intelligence”. Instead of using artificial neural network software, we have developed a physical neural network in hardware that operates much more efficiently.

Our neural networks, made from silver nanowires, can learn on the fly to recognise handwritten numbers and memorise strings of digits. Our results are published in a new paper in Nature Communications, conducted with colleagues from the University of Sydney and the University of California, Los Angeles.

A random network of tiny wires

Using nanotechnology, we made networks of silver nanowires about one thousandth the width of a human hair. These nanowires naturally form a random network, much like the pile of sticks in a game of pick-up sticks.

The nanowires’ network structure looks a lot like the network of neurons in our brains. Our research is part of a field called neuromorphic computing, which aims to emulate the brain-like functionality of neurons and synapses in hardware.

Our nanowire networks display brain-like behaviours in response to electrical signals. External electrical signals cause changes in how electricity is transmitted at the points where nanowires intersect, which is similar to how biological synapses work.

There can be tens of thousands of synapse-like intersections in a typical nanowire network, which means the network can efficiently process and transmit information carried by electrical signals.

Learning and adapting in real time

In our study, we show that because nanowire networks can respond to signals that change in time, they can be used for online machine learning.

In conventional machine learning, data is fed into the system and processed in batches. In the online learning approach, we can introduce data to the system as a continuous stream in time.

With each new piece of data, the system learns and adapts in real time. It demonstrates “on the fly” learning, which we humans are good at but current AI systems are not.

À lire aussi :
Networks of silver nanowires seem to learn and remember, much like our brains

The online learning approach enabled by our nanowire network is more efficient than conventional batch-based learning in AI applications.

In batch learning, a significant amount of memory is needed to process large datasets, and the system often needs to go through the same data multiple times to learn. This not only demands high computational resources but also consumes more energy overall.

Our online approach requires less memory as data is processed continuously. Moreover, our network learns from each data sample only once, significantly reducing energy use and making the process highly efficient.

Recognising and remembering numbers

We tested the nanowire network with a benchmark image recognition task using the MNIST dataset of handwritten digits.

The greyscale pixel values in the images were converted to electrical signals and fed into the network. After each digit sample, the network learned and refined its ability to recognise the patterns, displaying real-time learning.

Using the same learning method, we also tested the nanowire network with a memory task involving patterns of digits, much like the process of remembering a phone number. The network demonstrated an ability to remember previous digits in the pattern.

Overall, these tasks demonstrate the network’s potential for emulating brain-like learning and memory. Our work has so far only scratched the surface of what neuromorphic nanowire networks can do.

Zdenka Kuncic owns shares in Emergentia, Inc., and acknowledges support from the Australian-American Fulbright Commission.

Ruomin Zhu receives the PREA scholarship from the University of Sydney.

– ref. We built a ‘brain’ from tiny silver wires. It learns in real time, more efficiently than computer-based AI – https://theconversation.com/we-built-a-brain-from-tiny-silver-wires-it-learns-in-real-time-more-efficiently-than-computer-based-ai-216730

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

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report this week calling on Australia to raise interest rates again, adding to the speculation the Reserve Bank will increase the cash rate on Tuesday.

If that happens it will be yet another blow to many household budgets, already under strain from the rises in the prices of food, fuel and power.

In this podcast, independent economist Chris Richardson joins The Conversation to discuss the expectations about a rate rise, “sticky” inflation, the fall in the standard of living, the difficulty of the government responding to the cost-of-living crisis, and a bleak prospect as we go into 2024, before we reach some light at the end of a long tunnel.

Asked whether a rate rise next week is virtually a foregone conclusion or whether there’s still some doubt, Richardson says:

Never say never on something like interest rates. But the new Reserve Bank governor did pretty clearly put a line in the sand and then almost straight away, the inflation numbers seemed to cross that line. So like most economists, I do expect Tuesday […] we’ll see a further rise in interest rates.

On the issue of living standards in Australia he says:

I’m surprised that there is not more discussion of arguably the key number in economics, our living standards – basically the amount of money that people have, disposable income. So you take out tax, you take out interest payments, you look at that per head, you put it in today’s prices – that peaked in September ‘21. It was artificially high during COVID, but it is down almost 10% since then. And that fall is rather larger than anything Australia saw in recessions in decades past.

Asked what can or should the government do about the cost of living crisis, Richardson say:

It can’t do much. When we talk about a cost-of-living crisis, we’re saying that inflation is dragging down our living standards and that that’s a problem. Now, if governments could solve that, not just Australian governments, past governments as well as the current one, other governments around the world, if they had a magic wand, they would have been waving that magic wand pretty madly. They don’t. And that’s the trick.

In current circumstances, if you give people extra money, well, of course they’ll spend it […] and that would simply push inflation up again. And indeed, if the government did enough of that it wouldn’t just push inflation up again, it could make the Reserve Bank raise rates again. In other words, a cost-of-living problem is a wicked one for governments to do something about.

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

– ref. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Chris Richardson on a likely interest rate rise and the fall in living standards – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-economist-chris-richardson-on-a-likely-interest-rate-rise-and-the-fall-in-living-standards-216836

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Ackerley, Professor of Biotechnology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Enzymes are biological nanomachines. They make almost all of life’s chemistry happen, when and where required.

Because of their versatility and power, enzymes can be very useful for biotechnology. Taken outside of living cells, they can be used to synthesise or modify pharmaceuticals or to degrade potential pollutants.

Bacteria contain genes that encode an unfathomable range of enzymes. However, scientists have barely scratched the surface of this potential because 99% of bacteria cannot be grown in laboratory conditions, and hence are largely unstudied.

My team has addressed this by treating the entirety of bacterial DNA in soil – representing thousands of bacterial species – as “genetic software”.

In our new research we show how we can transfer this software to laboratory bacterial strains and then screen for desirable new functions and isolate the enzymes responsible.

Discovering new enzymes

For more than a century, scientists have been collecting soil samples and culturing bacteria, then finding uses for enzymes the bacteria produce. However, when sophisticated DNA-sequencing technologies were developed around the turn of the millennium, it became apparent that standard culturing methods were missing most of the bacteria present.

These technologies showed that a gram of soil, from which typically fewer than 100 different microbial species can be cultured, actually contains many thousands.

The same DNA-sequencing technologies have revealed that the hard-to-grow bacteria contain large numbers of genes whose function is entirely unknown. We are discovering that some of these mystery genes can help us address major problems.

Genes are really just passive units of information – pieces of software code within the hard drive of a living cell. But when that information is activated, the outcome is the production of proteins. Most of these are enzymes.

These enzymes then act as nanoscale catalysts for the chemistry that happens in a living cell. Here the software analogy struggles somewhat, as life is biological, not digital – which means it’s noisy and messy.

Thus, an enzyme might perform a primary job that makes an obvious contribution to a cell’s wellbeing. But it might also be capable of doing a dozen other minor things that may or may not have any obvious value.

Those minor “moonlighting” roles are very important for evolution. A function that has no importance today could turn out to be essential in the future, when an entirely new stress arises.

My team is interested in leveraging the evolutionary potential of “unknown unknown” enzymes from soil-dwelling bacteria to solve important problems. To achieve this, we are partnering with Te Herenga Waka’s Living Pā team to discover new enzymes from soil samples, collected on site with their permission.

Read more:
Electricity from thin air: an enzyme from bacteria can extract energy from hydrogen in the atmosphere

Using enzymes to tackle problems

One of the unfortunate consequences of evolution is that bacteria frequently contain enzymes that can provide low levels of protection against new antibiotics developed to fight disease. If those antibiotics are overused, or used inappropriately, the bacteria might start to promote the protective function. This is how full-on antibiotic resistance evolves.

This is a very real problem. Every year millions of people die of bacterial infections that used to be treatable, but no longer are. My team has been studying how bacterial resistance to promising new antibiotics can arise, so countermeasures can be put in place before it’s too late.

Read more:
Will we still have antibiotics in 50 years? We asked 7 global experts

But we are also interested in how unknown enzymes encoded by unknown genes might be directly useful – or evolve to be useful – for applications that protect and preserve the environment. For example, enzymes are being discovered and evolved to enable more effective recycling of plastics or remediate persistent environmental pollutants.

Our latest work represents a breakthrough in developing new methods to study the many millions of unknown genes that can be extracted from dirt samples.

Our approach starts by extracting all of the bacterial DNA present in soil and breaking it into bite-sized pieces that contain just one or two genes. We then place them in a special carrier system that allows them to be introduced into a tame laboratory bacterium called Escherichia coli.

Our innovation lies with how we access the information within the newly introduced genes, which is not immediately easy to do. By way of analogy, we all know that Android software usually won’t work on Apple operating systems. Imagine if there were not just a few incompatible operating systems, but many thousands. That’s the problem we face.

We have booted up a commonly used laboratory bacterial strain (E. coli) with new software that would usually be entirely incompatible. But we have developed a universally applicable emulator that allows E. coli to run most of the new software going into it.

We can then screen for individual E. coli bacteria that have gained new properties of interest to us – for example, degradation of target pollutants. Although the enzymes responsible for these new activities might not initially be very efficient, mimicking natural evolutionary processes within the lab environment can improve a low-grade starting activity to an industrially useful level.

Because enzymes are non-living, biodegradable and cannot in any way replicate themselves, they offer safe and controlled solutions to a vast array of problems – if we can find ones able to get the job done.

David Ackerley 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. Bioprospecting the unknown: how bacterial enzymes encoded by unknown genes might help clean up pollution – https://theconversation.com/bioprospecting-the-unknown-how-bacterial-enzymes-encoded-by-unknown-genes-might-help-clean-up-pollution-216080

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ava Kalinauskas, Research Associate, University of Sydney

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese returned home from his official US visit with a belly full of sarsaparilla-braised short ribs and a string of announcements under his belt.

Amid the glitz and glamour, the spotlight during the visit was on Australia’s critical minerals sector. Albanese and US President Joe Biden unveiled a multi-billion-dollar plan to bolster Australia’s domestic minerals industry to address supply chain vulnerabilities and counter China’s market dominance.

Yet, while Albanese and Biden framed the investment as key to the future of an “innovation alliance” between the two countries, a key benefit was lost in the messaging: its utility to clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles.

Both countries stand to gain from ensuring this momentum on climate-related issues continues. But publicly framing it as such is just as essential.

In fact, as the dust settles on Albanese’s visit, this kind of cooperation on climate change is what may prove vital to guaranteeing the relevance of the Australia-US alliance for generations to come.

Read more:
As Albanese heads to Washington, what can he hope to bring home?

What our polling found

In August, the United States Studies Centre polled over 1,000 Australians on the key issues concerning Australia’s relationship with the United States. The results, published today, reveal a generational divide in how Australians see their country’s closest ally.

Young Australians hold a far less rosy view of US behaviour in Asia than older Australians. Fewer than a quarter of those aged 18–34 agree the United States plays a helpful role in the region.

This cohort are also markedly less likely to say the US alliance makes Australia safer. And only a third of those aged 18–34 think the AUKUS pact is a good idea for Australia, compared to a strong majority (62%) of those over 65 years old.

Read more:
With AUKUS, Australia has wedded itself to a risky US policy on China – and turned a deaf ear to the region

So, why does support for the so-called “unbreakable alliance” splinter among young people?

Whether obliquely or directly, initiatives like AUKUS are driven by the strategic needs of the growing competition between the US and China.

Australian officials regularly speak of deterring aggression in the region and responding alongside the US and “like-minded” partners to “coercive unilateral actions”. This is a thinly veiled swipe at Beijing’s growing assertiveness and regional ambitions.

But this China-centric alliance agenda is unlikely to resonate with young people. For them, another priority is front of mind: climate change.

Our polling finds a majority of young Australians (57%) think their country should prioritise fighting climate change over competing with China. And compared to older Australians, those aged 18-34 are twice as likely to “strongly agree” with doing so.

These results are unsurprising. Young people have grown up in a time when unprecedented climatic events are the new norm and appear a much greater and more immediate threat than Beijing’s geostrategic ambitions.

According to UN Secretary General António Guterres, the world is now entering a grimly termed “era of global boiling.” We have just experienced the hottest global month on record in July. And just a few years after the costliest bushfire season in Australian history, we could be facing yet another “unprecedented” fire threat this summer.

If the Australia-US alliance is to endure, our leaders must embrace the challenge of climate change with the same urgency with which they have responded to China’s challenge to the regional order.

Keeping climate on the public agenda

There have been some steps in this direction. In May, Albanese and Biden said climate would be a critical component of the Australia-US relationship, joining decades of defence and economic cooperation as the “third pillar” of the alliance. The two leaders then agreed on a compact that pledged to bolster climate innovation and investment hand in hand.

Of course, addressing climate change also remains pragmatic from a geostrategic perspective.

Delivering on the principles of the compact – along with Australia’s joint bid to host the global climate talks known as COP31 and its recent re-joining of the UN-backed Green Climate Fund – will be vital to demonstrating our commitment to climate action, particularly with our Pacific neighbours.

Read more:
Australia and the US are firm friends on defence – now let’s turn that into world-beating climate action

With China recently marking the tenth anniversary of its Belt and Road Initiative, there is growing pressure to deliver on these climate initiatives and infrastructure in the Pacific. This is also an important opportunity to provide a distinct values-based alternative to Beijing’s infrastructure deals.

The announcements from Albanese’s state visit are among the first positive steps towards translating the compact’s lofty ambitions into concrete action. But they must not be the last.

Both Albanese and Biden would do well to ensure that climate remains firmly on the agenda. Young people’s support for the alliance depends on it.

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

– ref. New poll shows young Australians are wary of both AUKUS and the US – and want more action on climate instead – https://theconversation.com/new-poll-shows-young-australians-are-wary-of-both-aukus-and-the-us-and-want-more-action-on-climate-instead-216824

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Calum Cunningham, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Tasmania

This week, dozens of fires have burned across Queensland. More homes have burned in the state than during the 2019–2020 Black Summer – 57 so far this year, compared to 49.

The question many are asking is – are these fires normal? Our analysis shows these fires are weird in at least two ways.

First, many more than usual are burning through the night. This is anomalous, as nighttime usually brings lower temperatures and more moisture in the air, slowing or quelling fires. Queensland’s south-east and Western Downs regions are seeing more than five times more nighttime hotspots than average. And second, these fires are early in the season – especially the nighttime fires.

Why? Much of the east coast is now exceptionally dry. The plant regrowth from La Niña rains has dried out and is, in many places, set to burn. It’s still spring, with a long summer ahead. Where there has been rain, such as in eastern Victoria, it has sometimes coincided with intense bushfire. That gave rise to the extremely unusual situation in early October where residents grappled with fire one day and flood the next.

Put together, it suggests we may be facing a very bad fire season on the east coast and Tasmania. This is, of course, happening against the drumbeat of global warming, and the extra spike in heating this year caused by El Niño.

What’s happening in Queensland?

This spring has been exceptionally dry across most of the Sunshine State. September and October rainfall in the state’s heavily populated south has been close to the lowest on record and certainly in the bottom 10% of years.

This, in turn, has made many areas ready to burn. While there are fires up and down Queensland, most house losses have been within a few hundred kilometres of Brisbane. The town of Tara and surrounding areas has been worst affected.

How do we know where the fires are? Four times a day, heat-sensing satellites pass over Australia and pinpoint hotspots, where temperatures suddenly jump compared to areas nearby, based on square kilometre tiles. These tell us where the fires are, almost in real time and let us track them as they grow.

To this region, October has brought the third highest number of daytime hotspots seen this century. But it’s the nighttime hotspots that are freakish. Five times more nighttime hotspots than average have been detected compared to previous Octobers.

Why is that so concerning? Think of it from the firefighters’ point of view. If you know that fires usually ease off at night, you can plan around this reprieve – or even get some rest. But this belief will have to change as the nighttime barrier to fire weakens around the world.

Climate change can speed up how fast droughts happen, in what’s been dubbed “flash drought”. It was not so long ago that Australia’s east coast was seemingly underwater, with record-breaking floods. Now drought is back with a vengeance.

Is south-east Queensland seeing more fire than usual? On the whole, yes. And it’s early – one of the earliest seasons since satellite records began in 2001.

So far, most of the serious fires in this area are burning not through grasslands, as is happening in Central Australia, but through open forest and woodlands.

Could we see rainforests in Queensland burn, as we did during the Black Summer? It’s possible, but less likely. But we could see some areas which burned during Black Summer along the east coast burn again, though probably not to the same severity.

There’s certainly enough fuel for some areas on the east coast burned by the 2019–20 bushfires to re-burn, such as New South Wales’ coast and the fringes of the Blue Mountains. That would have serious ecological consequences for areas still in recovery if fires returned before seedlings matured.

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What is a flash drought? An earth scientist explains

Fire scientists are flying blind

For decades, we’ve known that parts of Australia – the world’s most fire prone continent – would be likely to see more intense and more damaging fires as climate change adds heat and takes away moisture in many regions.

One problem is that we and other professional fire scientists are forced to read the tea leaves from media reports to gauge what’s happening on the ground.

Data on fire progression, fuels and weather are often walled away in government agencies. Firefighters have access, but they are –  rightly – focused on the immediate crisis at hand. And insurers have their own data sets on trends in property loss but they are commercially sensitive.

Because there’s no systematic and accessible way to publicise fire data, we end up with a lot of speculation in the media about whether this is a normal or abnormal fire season.

This could be easily fixed with more investment and coordination. Data from geostationary satellites have revolutionised fire spotting, shifting from six-hourly updates to every ten minutes.

These data and historic data, could and should be made easily available to non-specialists, ideally through either the Bureau of Meteorology or a new agency.

Researchers have a role to play in developing tools to help put this flood of data to use.

If we have better public data sets, we can also more quickly shut down talking points from climate deniers, who might claim “there’s nothing new – Queensland has always burned” or use selective statistics to claim the number of dangerous forest fires on Earth is declining. We can’t adapt as a society if we’re arguing whether the fires really are happening or really are this bad.

If we don’t start to adapt to new fire regimes – and fast – we will face a very real crisis. We could soon see insurers stop offering insurance, as some have in California.

À lire aussi :
‘Australia is sleepwalking’: a bushfire scientist explains what the Hawaii tragedy means for our flammable continent

Calum Cunningham receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

David Bowman receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Natural Hazards Research Australia, and NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

Grant Williamson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Natural Hazards Research Australia, and NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

– ref. Queensland’s fires are not easing at night. That’s a bad sign for the summer ahead – https://theconversation.com/queenslands-fires-are-not-easing-at-night-thats-a-bad-sign-for-the-summer-ahead-216732

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney

How do you choose your next travel destination? Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are handy tools for holiday research, full of #inspo for new and beautiful places to go.

However, behind those mesmerising selfies, highlights and reels, there’s often a stark reality that isn’t shared. Our ongoing research shows that dangers abound from social media related misadventures. These include the hidden dangers of getting to the location, as well as the ecological strains on sites that get overcrowded with tourists.

Australia, with its breathtaking natural wonders, is no stranger to the downsides of social media tourism. Many people have been injured, needed rescue or even perished when visiting trendy places.

Read more:
Trampling plants, damaging rock art, risking your life: taking selfies in nature has a cost

The illusion of safety

Influencers are in the business of presenting the best version of their experiences – not necessarily the safest. Our interviews with influencers who make content of beautiful places in nature, reveal that they see themselves as entertainers more than guides.

When it comes to the risks associated with the places they promote, they don’t view safety communication as their responsibility.

The Figure Eight Pools in New South Wales’ Royal National Park are one potent reminder of how online portrayals and reality don’t always match up. The photos showcase tranquil pools with glistening waters. But many visitors, enticed by these images, have faced the peril of sudden large waves washing over the rock shelf and even causing injuries.

Babinda Boulders, near Cairns in Queensland, is another such location. Wrapped in lush rainforests, this waterhole might seem inviting, but its tragic history of drownings speaks volumes – 21 drownings since 1965, and three since 2020.

Despite this, the pull of picturesque posts lures visitors into prohibited and dangerous areas.

Josephine Falls in Queensland has also experienced numerous incidents, all requiring resource-intensive rescues. Unfortunately, for many visitors, the warnings provided by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service are to no avail – the lure of social media content is simply too strong.

A burden on local infrastructure

Aesthetically pleasing, curated tourism content sets unrealistic expectations. Visitors who want to see the “insta-famous” scenery often find themselves underprepared for the actual experiences, sometimes leading to unsafe choices.

Drone shots can be particularly misleading. While they capture expansive vistas from above, they mask the ground-level challenges and dangers.

The Balconies in the Grampians National Park in Victoria is another infamous spot for taking risky photos for Instagram. To get the photo they came for, tourists must traverse a barrier. The viral content has led ever-increasing numbers of people to these rocks for a shot – risking their lives for the same photo hundreds of others have posted.

Additionally, geotagging (attaching metadata, such as latitude and longitude coordinates, to a photo) has its merits, offering travellers directions to exact locations. However, it’s a double-edged sword.

When a location becomes popular on social media, the influx of visitors can strain local infrastructure. As Hyams Beach in NSW went viral on various platforms, the once-peaceful coastal village grappled with traffic congestion and overwhelmed local resources.

Lincoln’s Rock in the Blue Mountains in NSW, once a little-known spot, was transformed by geotagged posts into a magnet for tourists and influencers. Some would engage in risky behaviours at the cliff edge. It’s one of many lookouts that once had few footprints, and is now a popular vista with little infrastructure.

Some regional areas simply don’t have the infrastructure or capacity to handle a large influx of tourists. As social media algorithms push trending posts even further, once-secluded gems face threats of overtourism.

Read more:
Dangerous selfies aren’t just foolish. We need to treat them like the public health hazard they really are

Be a responsible tourist

While it’s easy to fall prey to the siren call of viral destinations, it’s essential to approach with caution and do proper research before you set out.

It’s important to stay aware of your surroundings, especially in natural areas, and not get tunnel vision, or “tourist gaze”.

Fortunately, in Australia, national parks provide detailed information about popular locations. They can be relied upon to give accurate information and a true representation of the area, including safety information and guides for great hikes and the best lookouts.

All states in Australia have parks agencies that provide this information online (and they’re on social media, too).

Things to keep in mind

1. Social media is a highlight reel. Before diving into that enticing pool or hiking that mountain, do thorough research. Don’t let it be your last swim

2. engage with locals, understand the history, the culture, and importantly, respect the environment

3. it’s also essential to challenge the content we consume and share. By geotagging responsibly and authentically portraying experiences, we can safeguard Australia’s treasures

4. social media is a powerful tool but needs to be wielded wisely. Australia’s natural wonders are worth more than just a fleeting snapshot; they deserve our utmost respect and care.

So, as you scroll through your feed, dreaming of your next escape, remember that every location has a story beyond its pixels. Dive deep, explore responsibly, and treasure the real over the reel.

Read more:
‘Your first emotion is panic’: rips cause many beach drownings, but we can learn from the survivors

Samuel Cornell receives funding from Meta Platforms, Inc. His research is also supported by a UNSW University Postgraduate Award, as well as project funding from the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia. He is affiliated with Surf Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving NSW.

Amy Peden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Meta Platforms, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia. She holds an honorary affiliated with Royal Life Saving Society – Australia.

– ref. Using social media for your holiday ‘inspo’ can be risky and even dangerous – here’s why – https://theconversation.com/using-social-media-for-your-holiday-inspo-can-be-risky-and-even-dangerous-heres-why-216434

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben White, Professor of End-of-Life Law and Regulation, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology

The first Australian Capital Territory voluntary assisted dying bill in more than 25 years was tabled in parliament yesterday.

This was possible after the Commonwealth lifted the ban on territories making laws about assisted dying in December last year. This meant the ACT and Northern Territory could join the six Australian states which have now passed voluntary assisted dying laws.

As with all parliamentary debates about voluntary assisted dying in Australia, this will be a conscience vote. But what will ACT parliamentarians be voting on?

Read more:
Voluntary assisted dying will be available to more Australians this year. Here’s what to expect in 2023

In some ways, the ACT bill reflects the Australian model:

• detailed eligibility criteria are reviewed by two independent and trained health practitioners
• patients need to make three requests at various points
• there is an oversight board scrutinising cases, along with offences, to protect patients
• health practitioners’ conscientious objection is protected.

But ACT bill has three new features:

• no specific timeframe until death
• nurse practitioners can be involved in assessing eligibility
• protections for patients in institutions that object to voluntary assisted dying.

No specific timeframe until death

Reflecting the national approach, voluntary assisted would be available for adults living in the ACT with decision-making capacity who seek this choice voluntarily and without coercion. They must also be suffering intolerably.

But discussion will no doubt focus on the fact that the ACT bill does not contain an expected timeframe until death.

Australian states have normally required an expected death within six months, with an extension to 12 months for neurodegenerative conditions. Queensland has 12 months for all conditions.

Read more:
Voluntary assisted dying could soon be legal in Queensland. Here’s how its bill differs from other states

But in the ACT, the relevant criteria is silent on time to death and requires only that the condition is “advanced, progressive and expected to cause death”.

Reasons for this policy choice include that a timeframe is arbitrary, it exacerbates suffering for terminally ill patients and was not supported in public consultation.

This new feature must be seen in context. Voluntary assisted dying eligibility criteria work together so all of them must be satisfied before a person can access voluntary assisted dying.

The ACT bill requires the person’s condition be “advanced” and this is defined to include requiring that the person is in the “last stages of life”. Because this criterion must be satisfied too, just having an illness that will cause death is not enough to access the service.

Our research has shown that because eligibility criteria work together, removing the timeframe to death is unlikely to affect which conditions will allow people to access voluntary assisted dying.

Nurse practitioners can be involved in assessing eligibility

Australian voluntary assisted dying laws have to date required that both health practitioners assessing eligibility be doctors.

The ACT bill contemplates that one practitioner could be a nurse practitioner. When introducing the bill, Minister for Human Rights Tara Cheyne said nurse practitioners must have relevant experience and at least one year’s endorsement after qualifying before they can undertake that role.

Cheyne pointed to the ACT’s small health workforce; and a key challenge of existing state voluntary assisted dying systems has been finding sufficient numbers of practitioners to assist patients.

Read more:
Voluntary assisted dying is legal in Victoria, but you may not be able to access it

Protecting patient access in objecting institutions

A third key difference is how the ACT bill deals with institutions which may object to voluntary assisted dying, such as faith-based hospitals.

There is growing evidence this is a problem in the later states to pass voluntary assisted dying laws: South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.

Those states generally protect access for permanent residents in facilities, such as aged care residents, but offer less protection for non-permanent residents, such as a patient in a hospital.

The ACT has opted for a simpler approach that does not distinguish between permanent and non-permanent residents, giving stronger protection for the latter.

The default is that voluntary assisted dying can be accessed in facilities unless that is not reasonably practicable.

The ACT bill also regulates this more robustly by requiring institutions to develop minimum standards for how they will comply with these laws and creating offences for non-compliance.

Read more:
What happens if you want access to voluntary assisted dying but your nursing home won’t let you?

What happens next?

The bill was referred to a parliamentary committee for further consideration. This happened for Australian state voluntary assisted dying laws and provides opportunity for reflection on the bill.

Some will object to these features in the ACT bill because they are different from the Australian model. Such objections also arose when states after Victoria made decisions that their law would be different.

But it is difficult to argue the ACT should blindly follow what other states have done. There is evidence that access to voluntary assisted dying under those laws is challenging and local considerations may also mean different approaches are needed.

We anticipate robust consideration of the bill by the committee and then parliament. If passed, the usual 18-month implementation period is proposed which means ACT residents could have access by 2025.

Read more:
Territories free to make their own voluntary assisted dying laws, in landmark decision. Here’s what happens next

Ben White receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and Commonwealth and state governments for research and training about the law, policy and practice relating to end-of-life care. In relation to voluntary assisted dying, he (with colleagues) has been engaged by the Victorian, Western Australian and Queensland governments to design and provide the legislatively mandated training for health practitioners involved in voluntary assisted dying in those states. He (with Lindy Willmott) has also developed a model bill for voluntary assisted dying for parliaments to consider. He is a sessional member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which has jurisdiction for some aspects of this state’s voluntary assisted dying legislation. Ben is a recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project number FT190100410: Enhancing End-of-Life Decision-Making: Optimal Regulation of Voluntary Assisted Dying) funded by the Australian government.

Lindy Willmott receives or has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and Commonwealth and state governments for research and training about the law, policy and practice relating to end-of-life care. In relation to voluntary assisted dying, she (with colleagues) has been engaged by the Victorian, Western Australian and Queensland governments to design and provide the legislatively mandated training for health practitioners involved in voluntary assisted dying in those states. She (with Ben White) has also developed a model Bill for voluntary assisted dying for parliaments to consider. Lindy Willmott is also a member of the Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, but writes this piece in her capacity as an academic researcher. She is a former board member of Palliative Care Australia.

– ref. Voluntary assisted dying is finally being considered in the ACT. How would it differ from state laws? – https://theconversation.com/voluntary-assisted-dying-is-finally-being-considered-in-the-act-how-would-it-differ-from-state-laws-216733

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vicki Sentas, Senior Lecturer, UNSW Law, UNSW Sydney

“Unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory in its effect on children and young people.”

That’s how the Law Enforcement Conduction Commission (LECC) described a police program that aims to target likely offenders before they commit crimes.

It’s a program that allowed police to make home visits at all hours, and stop and search people in the street.

Yesterday, the commission released its damning final report after a five-year investigation.

Here’s what it found.

Read more:
‘Too much money is spent on jails and policing’: what Aboriginal communities told us about funding justice reinvestment to keep people out of prison

Report identifies unlawful practices

The program in question is the Suspect Targeted Management Plan, implemented by NSW Police.

It’s a pre-emptive policing program that selects and then targets children and adults who police predict may commit crimes in the future.

The rationale behind the policy is to deter recidivists.

Once placed on the plan, police “disrupt” people’s everyday lives, through questioning, stop and search, and home visits – sometimes at all hours and even multiple times a week or even a day.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission found some of this conduct to be unlawful, possibly even “serious misconduct”.

While the plan was introduced in 2000, the then secret “black list” only came to public attention in 2017 with my research (coauthored with Camilla Pandolfini), in partnership with Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Youth Justice Coalition.

The commission agreed with our recommendation that there were grounds to investigate the police for potential agency maladministration.

The commission’s investigation, called “Operation Tepito”, has been ongoing since 2018.

Its interim 2020 report was scathing of police.

It recommended further reform of the revised management plan through new policy guidelines and training.

The commission urged police to engage with young people with “positive interactions” and reduce coercive ones.

The final report reviewed the operation of the plan for children between November 2020 and February 2022.

The commission concluded that police use of the management plan was an “agency maladministration”.

First Nations children disproportionately targeted

Of the recommendations the commission made in 2020, NSW Police failed to successfully implement any of them.

Police overwhelmingly still subjected young people to intrusive, disruptive strategies. Some of these, such as home visits and searches, were unlawful.

There was little evidence of “positive interactions”, nor of support referrals.

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

First Nations young people were disproportionately targeted.

In 2022, First Nations people made up 48% of all young people on the plan.

This was an increase on the 42% reported in the 2020 interim report.

Crucially, the commission found that:

The NSW Police Force did not undertake any analysis to try to determine the reasons for this and did not take steps to reduce this over-representation.

First Nations young people are overpoliced, overcharged and overincarcerated.

If you then use the same data to decide who is “risky” and deserving of intensified police harassment, it only reinforces the cycle of criminalisation.

The Commission also found other administrative issues, including:

• varied quality in intelligence assessments

• unclear justifications for putting people on the plan

• inflation of how some scores were calculated

• poor record-keeping

• inadequate consideration of complex needs or the alternatives to placing a young person on the Suspect Targeting Management Plan.

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

A plan at odds with Closing the Gap

The fact NSW Police didn’t implement any of the 2020 recommendations or reduce the over-representation shows the plan was never safe for First Nations young people in the first place.

Indeed, the management plan did precisely what it was designed to do: incapacitate and disrupt.

No amount of training or improvements to policy could remedy the extensive harms for First Nations young people put on the plan.

It was fundamentally a punitive surveillance approach, which made police the first responders for First Nations young people.

Aboriginal children need culturally appropriate, therapeutic, trauma-informed services run by Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.

They also need safe distance from police.

The Suspect Targeting Management Plan was always at odds with the NSW government’s commitment to divert First Nations people from the criminal justice system.

In its Closing the Gap Implementation Plan, all early interventions to support young people need to be community designed and driven.

There should also be health, housing and education support.

A community development approach

NSW Police has dropped the Suspect Targeting Management Plan for people under 18 and will soon scrap it entirely.

Police are now developing a replacement approach. Will they take the lead from communities?

The Yuwaya Ngarra-li community-led partnership in Walgett is one example of how holistic diversion programs can work.

Another is Just Reinvest in Bourke, Kempsey and Moree.

The UTS Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education has developed ideas around Aboriginal self-determination in youth justice that could shape guiding principles.

Police are the wrong people for providing Indigenous young people with non-coercive, therapeutic support.

Community alternatives to state policing are real and powerful.

Vicki Sentas 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. ‘Unreasonable, unjust, oppressive’: how a police program targeted Indigenous kids – https://theconversation.com/unreasonable-unjust-oppressive-how-a-police-program-targeted-indigenous-kids-216627

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

A federal Morgan poll, conducted October 22–29 from a sample of 1,375, gave Labor a 53–47 lead, a 3.5-point gain for Labor since the previous week. An earlier poll, taken in the week after the Voice referendum was heavily defeated, was the first by any pollster this term to give the Coalition a lead, by 50.5–49.5, a 4.5-point gain for the Coalition since the pre-referendum Morgan poll.

Primary votes in the earlier poll were 36% Coalition, 32% Labor, 14% Greens, 4.5% One Nation, 8.5% independents and 5% others. If preferences were distributed according to how they flowed at the 2022 federal election, Labor would have led by about 53–47. Respondent allocated preferences were very weak for Labor.

In the current poll, primary votes were 35% Coalition, 32.5% Labor, 15% Greens and 17.5% for all Others. Labor had a better flow of respondent preferences, explaining its rebound.

Greens slump in Essential poll owing to methods change

In a national Essential poll, conducted October 25–29 from a sample of 1,149, Labor led by 48–46 including undecided voters, down from a 50–45 lead in Essential’s pre-referendum poll in early October. This is Labor’s narrowest lead this term in this poll, beating the previous narrowest four-point lead in mid-September.

Primary votes were 34% Coalition (up two), 32% Labor (down one), 10% Greens (down four), 7% One Nation (up one), 3% UAP (up one), 9% for all Others (up two) and 6% undecided (up one).

Essential has been recording higher Greens votes than other pollsters, and the slump here likely reflects their adding of education level to weighting factors. Essential greatly overstated “yes” support at the Voice referendum.

In other questions, 38% said Australia was not doing enough to address climate change (down one since April), 36% said we were doing enough (up three) and 17% doing too much (up one). Since Labor’s election in May 2022, the “not doing enough” percentage has dropped from the low to mid 40s to the high 30s.

On several environmental issues, more people thought the government was not doing enough now than in June. On the most important drivers of energy price increases, 28% (up four since October 2022) blamed excessive profits by energy companies, while 19% (down one) blamed efforts to fight climate change.

By 50–33, voters supported Australia developing nuclear power plants for electricity generation (50–32 in September 2021). On the cost of energy sources, 38% thought renewable energy the most expensive, 34% that nuclear energy was most expensive and 28% fossil fuels.

By 50–43, voters did not trust the government to lead the renewable energy transition. By 57–31, they thought it unlikely Australia would reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Newspoll aggregate data from late August to mid-October

The Australian has released
the aggregate results of voting intentions and leaders’ ratings for the four Newspolls conducted in the lead-up to the October 14 Voice referendum. These polls were taken from August 28 to October 12 from an overall sample of 6,378.

Labor led nationally by 54–46, by 56–44 in New South Wales, 54–46 in Victoria, 57–43 in South Australia, 53–47 in Western Australia and 57–43 in Tasmania. Queensland was the one state with a Coalition lead, by 52–48.

The Poll Bludger said the last time Newspoll released aggregate data was from February to early April, when Newspoll was conducted by YouGov not the current Pyxis. Since the last aggregate release, Labor is up one in NSW, down four in Victoria, down two in Queensland, down four in WA and up one in SA.

By educational attainment, Labor led by 55–45 among university educated people and 53–47 among those without tertiary education or with a TAFE/technical education. This flat pattern is very different to education breakdowns for the Voice referendum, where “no” was way ahead with the latter two categories, but “yes” led with the university educated.

Read more:
Indigenous Australians supported Voice referendum by large margins; Labor retains large Newspoll lead

Queensland YouGov poll: 52–48 to LNP

The Queensland election will be held in October 2024. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted October 4–10 from a sample of 1,013, gave the Liberal National Party a 52–48 lead, a one-point gain for the LNP since the previous YouGov Queensland poll in early April.

Primary votes were 41% LNP (up two), 33% Labor (steady), 13% Greens (steady), 8% One Nation (down two) and 5% for all Others (steady).

Leaders’ approval ratings were not asked in April, so changes are compared with a YouGov poll in early December 2022. Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s net approval dropped 19 points to -20, with 52% dissatisfied and 32% satisfied. LNP leader David Crisafulli’s net approval improved seven points to +11.

Crisafulli led Palasczuk by 37–35 as better premier, a reversal of a 31–29 Palaszczuk lead in April.

Labor has been sliding in the Queensland polls this year, with a September Redbridge poll giving the LNP a 55–45 lead.

Labor has governed in Queensland since early 2015, but federally it is the most conservative state. It was the only state the Coalition won at the 2022 federal election, and is easily the worst state for “yes” at the Voice referendum. It may be more difficult for Labor to win Queensland state elections in the future.

UK byelections and Argentine election

I covered the two October 19 UK byelections and the October 22 Argentine presidential election for The Poll Bludger. UK Labour gained both seats that had byelections from the Conservatives on massive swings.

In Argentina, the centre-left Sergio Massa led the far-right Javier Milei by 36.7–30.0 with 23.8% for a conservative candidate. There will be a runoff between Massa and Milei on November 19.

Adrian Beaumont 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 recovers in Morgan after post-referendum slump; LNP leads in Queensland – https://theconversation.com/labor-recovers-in-morgan-after-post-referendum-slump-lnp-leads-in-queensland-216164

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Marks, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Strategy, Government and Alliances, Western Sydney University

The failure of the Voice referendum appeared to confirm Australians broadly reject propositions they believe to be characterised by divisiveness. There are few geopolitical circumstances more polarising than the drastic flaring of conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

These moments resist the fast rhythm of modern political rhetoric. There is no doorstop interview, social media post or snappy campaign slogan that can convey the depth of suffering of Palestinians or Israelis. This deviation in political tempo exposes the shortcomings of fast politics, when careful, wider deliberation has historically proven more salient.

Read more:
Six former prime ministers warn against letting the Israel-Gaza conflict divide Australians

As the conflict reignited, symbolism was one of the first, and most strident, Australian political responses. The NSW government’s decision to project the image of the Israeli flag on the Sydney Opera House provoked “significant concern” among authorities, and became a focal point for a pro-Palestinian protest.

Not so long ago, the Opera House’s iconic white sails were used to promote gambling. It’s hardly a sacrosanct canvas. And, for some, it’s a contentious platform for the expression of solidarity with the suffering. And the suffering is profound, for all concerned.

Hamas’s attack on Israel, and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, have resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians. It is likely many more will be killed based on current strategic rationales.

Contending with the human misery of the conflict has proven politically fraught at all levels. The Australian government joined with 43 other nations, including Canada, Germany, India and the UK, in abstaining from an amendment to a United Nations resolution calling for the “protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations”. The political challenges appear similarly vexing domestically.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed early support for Israel, and has been “unequivocal” in condemning the Hamas attack. As the political tempo slows and the broader picture becomes more complicated, the tone can also shift.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has since qualified that Australia’s support for Israel comes with an expectation it shows restraint. “Innocent Palestinian civilians”, she cautioned, “should not suffer because of the outrages perpetrated by Hamas”.

There has been no change in tempo from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. As the current crisis began, he urged Israel to exercise “no restraint” in doing “what is necessary […] to protect its people, and to thwart threats it now faces”. He has not wavered as the situation has deteriorated for civilians, describing Australia’s UN vote abstention “an incredibly weak display of leadership from the prime minister”.

The Greens were scathing of the abstention for different reasons. “By failing to back a ceasefire and continuing to approve defence exports to Israel,” said Greens leader Adam Bandt, “Labor shares responsibility for the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza.”

The opportunity for a bipartisan position on the conflict in Israel and Gaza looks not only to have passed, but to have almost completely evaporated. A similar collapse in bipartisanship regarding Australia’s aid for Ukraine has occurred, but over a much longer period.

These distinct and firmly expressed political differences might suggest high levels of party unity on the stances respective leaders have adopted. But as the conflict continues, a diverse range of internal party opinions is also emerging.

National party whip Mark Coulton countered Dutton’s views, expressing concern at the “whatever it takes to take out Hamas” language being used. “I didn’t want support for Palestinians just to be dismissed as something form the left”, he said. His call to “please respect civilian life”, noting Wong’s comments on restraint, is a point around which a degree of bipartisan support is emerging.

Labor MP Ed Husic said Palestinians were being “collectively punished for Hamas’ barbarism”. His colleague, Anne Aly, backed Husic’s comments, saying it was “difficult to argue” that wasn’t the case in the face of rising civilian casualties. Other Labor MPs have since joined Husic and Aly in condemning the killing of civilians in the conflict.

Read more:
Understanding the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 5 charts

Former co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, Labor’s Maria Vamvakinou, reminded her House of Representatives colleagues that Albanese, former Treasurer Joe Hockey, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Sussan Ley were once members of the group.

As civilian deaths mount and amid predictions the conflict may expand, political dialogue in Australia will likely evolve in tempo and tone. On current trends, those shifts might prove most pronounced at the local level.

Questioned over a local council decision in his southwestern Sydney electorate to fly a Palestinian flag, senior Labor minister Tony Burke pointed to diasporic links. “In my part of Sydney”, he observed, “people are […] getting information directly from the ground in Gaza”. His community is communicating via WhatsApp groups, and, he said, “seeing horrific images updated every hour on their phones”.

Burke warned against falling into an “immature debate” about blame and grief.
“People have a right to be able to grieve when innocent life is lost.” His stance is not new. Nor is it necessarily out of step with long-held parliamentary standards.

There is a Labor tradition – forged during a different time but in a similarly complex geopolitical crisis – that went on to substantially shape Australian politics for nearly a decade. When, in 1965, then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies committed Australian troops to the war in Vietnam, Labor leader Arthur Calwell went against the tide and opposed the deployment.

In a speech prepared by his press secretary, Graham Freudenberg, Calwell outlined the strategic case for his decision, spelling out Labor’s discord with the national interest. But his rationale went further. Like Burke, Calwell’s primary concern was civilian life. Labor, he declared, does “not believe [war] will promote the welfare of the people of Vietnam. On the contrary, we believe it will prolong and deepen the suffering.” He was right.

Only time, and the shifting tempo of politics, will determine the prescience (or otherwise) of political views on the tragic events occurring in Israel and Gaza. Who is right and who is wrong is unlikely to matter to those affected.

Andy Marks 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. Australian MPs walk a difficult line on Israel-Hamas conflict – https://theconversation.com/australian-mps-walk-a-difficult-line-on-israel-hamas-conflict-216629

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Charles Perkins Centre Research Program Leader, University of Sydney

Spend some time scrolling social media and you’re all-but-guaranteed to see an ad promising to help you with targeted fat loss. These ads promote a concept known as “spot reduction”, claiming you can burn fat in a specific body area, usually the belly, with specially designed exercises or workouts.

It’s also common to see ads touting special diets, pills and supplements that will blast fat in targeted areas. These ads – which often feature impressive before and after photos taken weeks apart – can seem believable.

Unfortunately, spot reduction is another weight-loss myth. It’s simply not possible to target the location of fat loss. Here’s why.

Read more:
Using BMI to measure your health is nonsense. Here’s why

1. Our bodies are hardwired to access and burn all our fat stores for energy

To understand why spot reduction is a myth, it’s important to understand how body fat is stored and used.

The fat stored in our bodies takes the form of triglycerides, which are a type of lipid or fat molecule we can use for energy. Around 95% of the dietary fats we consume are triglycerides, and when we eat, our bodies also convert any unused energy consumed into triglycerides.

Triglycerides are stored in special fat cells called adipocytes, and they’re released into our bloodstream and transported to adipose tissue – tissue we more commonly refer to as body fat.

This body fat is found all over our bodies, but it’s primarily stored as subcutaneous fat under our skin and as visceral fat around our internal organs.

These fat stores serve as a vital energy reserve, with our bodies mobilising to access stored triglycerides to provide energy during periods of prolonged exercise. We also draw on these reserves when we’re dieting and fasting.

However, contrary to what many spot-reduction ads would have us think, our muscles can’t directly access and burn specific fat stores when we exercise.

Instead, they use a process called lipolysis to convert triglycerides into free fatty acids and a compound called glycerol, which then travels to our muscles via our bloodstream.

As a result, the fat stores we’re using for energy when we exercise come from everywhere in our bodies – not just the areas we’re targeting for fat loss.

Research reinforces how our bodies burn fat when we exercise, confirming spot reduction is a weight-loss myth. This includes a randomised 12-week clinical trial which found no greater improvement in reducing belly fat between people who undertook an abdominal resistance program in addition to changes in diet compared to those in the diet-only group.

Further, a 2021 meta-analysis of 13 studies involving more than 1,100 participants found that localised muscle training had no effect on localised fat deposits. That is, exercising a specific part of the body did not reduce fat in that part of the body.

Studies purporting to show spot-reduction benefits have small numbers of participants with results that aren’t clinically meaningful.

Read more:
Does exercise help you lose weight?

2. Our bodies decide where we store fat and where we lose it from first

Factors outside of our control influence the areas and order in which our bodies store and lose fat, namely:

• our genes. Just as DNA prescribes whether we’re short or tall, genetics plays a significant role in how our fat stores are managed. Research shows our genes can account for 60% of where fat is distributed. So, if your mum tends to store and lose weight from her face first, there’s a good chance you will, too

• our gender. Our bodies, by nature, have distinct fat storage characteristics driven by our gender, including females having more fat mass than males. This is primarily because the female body is designed to hold fat reserves to support pregnancy and nursing, with women tending to lose weight from their face, calves and arms first because they impact childbearing the least, while holding onto fat stored around the hips, thighs and buttocks

• our age. The ageing process triggers changes in muscle mass, metabolism, and hormone levels, which can impact where and how quickly fat is lost. Post-menopausal women and middle-aged men tend to store visceral fat around the midsection and find it a stubborn place to shift fat from.

Read more:
Is menopause making me put on weight? No, but it’s complicated

3. Over-the-counter pills and supplements cannot effectively target fat loss

Most advertising for these pills and dietary supplements – including products claiming to be “the best way to lose belly fat” – will also proudly claim their product’s results are backed by “clinical trials” and “scientific evidence”.

But the reality is a host of independent studies don’t support these claims.

This includes two recent studies by the University of Sydney that examined data from more than 120 placebo-controlled trials of herbal and dietary supplements. None of the supplements examined provided a clinically meaningful reduction in body weight among overweight or obese people.

The bottom line

Spot reduction is a myth – we can’t control where our bodies lose fat. But we can achieve the results we’re seeking in specific areas by targeting overall fat loss.

While you may not lose the weight in a specific spot when exercising, all physical activity helps to burn body fat and preserve muscle mass. This will lead to a change in your body shape over time and it will also help you with long-term weight management.

This is because your metabolic rate – how much energy you burn at rest – is determined by how much muscle and fat you carry. As muscle is more metabolically active than fat (meaning it burns more energy than fat), a person with a higher muscle mass will have a faster metabolic rate than someone of the same body weight with a higher fat mass.

Successfully losing fat long term comes down to losing weight in small, manageable chunks you can sustain – periods of weight loss, followed by periods of weight maintenance, and so on, until you achieve your goal weight.

It also requires gradual changes to your lifestyle (diet, exercise and sleep) to ensure you form habits that last a lifetime.

Read more:
Is it true the faster you lose weight the quicker it comes back? Here’s what we know about slow and fast weight loss

At the Boden Group, Charles Perkins Centre, we are studying the science of obesity and running clinical trials for weight loss. You can register here to express your interest.

Nick Fuller works for the University of Sydney and has received external funding for projects relating to the treatment of overweight and obesity. He is the author and founder of the Interval Weight Loss program.

– ref. Can I actually target areas to lose fat, like my belly? – https://theconversation.com/can-i-actually-target-areas-to-lose-fat-like-my-belly-205203

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, and its high levels of caffeine are among the main reasons why. It’s a natural stimulant that provides an energy buzz, and we just can’t get enough.

However, some people prefer to limit their caffeine intake for health or other reasons. Decaffeinated or “decaf” coffee is widely available, and its consumption is reported to be on the rise.

Here’s what you need to know about decaf coffee: how it’s made, the flavour, the benefits – and whether it’s actually caffeine-free.

Read more:
Health Check: four reasons to have another cup of coffee

How is decaf made?

Removing caffeine while keeping a coffee bean’s aroma and flavour intact isn’t a simple task. Decaf coffee is made by stripping green, unroasted coffee beans of their caffeine content and relies on the fact that caffeine dissolves in water.

Three main methods are used for removing caffeine: chemical solvents, liquid carbon dioxide (CO₂), or plain water with special filters.

The additional steps required in all of these processing methods are why decaf coffee is often more expensive.

Solvent-based methods

Most decaf coffee is made using solvent-based methods as it’s the cheapest process. This method breaks down into two further types: direct and indirect.

The direct method involves steaming the coffee beans and then repeatedly soaking them in a chemical solvent (usually methylene chloride or ethyl acetate) which binds to the caffeine and extracts it from the beans.

After a pre-determined time, the caffeine has been extracted and the coffee beans are steamed once more to remove any residual chemical solvent.

The indirect method still uses a chemical solvent, but it doesn’t come into direct contact with the coffee beans. Instead, the beans are soaked in hot water, then the water is separated from the beans and treated with the chemical solvent.

The caffeine bonds to the solvent in the water and is evaporated. The caffeine-free water is then returned to the beans to reabsorb the coffee flavours and aromas.

The solvent chemicals (particularly methylene chloride) used in these processes are a source of controversy around decaf coffee. This is because methylene chloride is suggested to be mildly carcinogenic in high doses. Methylene chloride and ethyl acetate are commonly used in paint stripper, nail polish removers and degreaser.

However, both the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code and the United States Food and Drug Administration permit the use of these solvents to process decaf. They also have strict limits on the amount of the chemicals that can still be present on the beans, and in reality practically no solvent is left behind.

Non-solvent-based methods

Non-solvent-based methods that use liquid carbon dioxide or water are becoming increasingly popular as they don’t involve chemical solvents.

In the CO₂ method, liquid carbon dioxide is pumped into a high-pressure chamber with the beans, where it binds to the caffeine and is then removed through high pressure, leaving behind decaffeinated beans.

The water method (also known as the Swiss water process) is exactly what it sounds like – it involves extracting caffeine from coffee beans using water. There are variations on this method, but the basic steps are as follows.

For an initial batch, green coffee beans are soaked in hot water, creating an extract rich in caffeine and flavour compounds (the flavourless beans are then discarded). This green coffee extract is passed through activated charcoal filters, which trap the caffeine molecules while allowing the flavours to pass through.

Once created in this way, the caffeine-free extract can be used to soak a new batch of green coffee beans – since the flavours are already saturating the extract, the only thing that will be dissolved from the beans is the caffeine.

Is caffeine fully removed from decaf?

Switching to decaf may not be as caffeine free as you think.

It is unlikely that 100% of the caffeine will be successfully stripped from the coffee beans. Just like the caffeine content of coffee can vary, some small amounts of caffeine are still present in decaf.

However, the amount is quite modest. You would need to drink more than ten cups of decaf to reach the caffeine level typically present in one cup of caffeinated coffee.

Australia does not require coffee roasters or producers to detail the process used to create their decaf coffee. However, you might find this information on some producers’ websites if they have chosen to advertise it.

Does decaf coffee taste different?

Some people say decaf tastes different. Depending on how the beans are decaffeinated, some aromatic elements may be co-extracted with the caffeine during the process.

Caffeine also contributes to the bitterness of coffee, so when the caffeine is removed, so is some of the bitterness.

Do caffeinated and decaf coffee have the same health benefits?

The health benefits found for drinking decaf coffee are similar to that of caffeinated coffee, including a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, some cancers and overall mortality.
More recently, coffee has been linked with improved weight management over time.

Most of the health benefits have been shown by drinking three cups of decaf per day.

Moderation is key, and remember that the greatest health benefits will come from having a balanced diet.

Read more:
Can coffee help you avoid weight gain? Here’s what the science says

Lauren Ball works for The University of Queensland and receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health and Mater Misericordia. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Emily Burch works for Southern Cross University.

– ref. How is decaf coffee made? And is it really caffeine-free? – https://theconversation.com/how-is-decaf-coffee-made-and-is-it-really-caffeine-free-215546

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Oliver, Senior lecturer, UNSW Canberra, Australian Defence Force Academy

Beaches are dynamic. They change from week to week and month to month. Have you ever wondered what causes these changes? Or how beaches might fare as sea levels rise and if storms increase in frequency and severity?

To help answer these questions, we studied 50 years of change at Bengello Beach, near the Moruya airport on the New South Wales south coast. This is a typical beach with moderate waves and no hard infrastructure such as sea walls or houses built over dunes. The results therefore represent natural beach change over half a century. This helps us understand the natural behaviour of beaches around the world.

We found the main driver of coastal erosion is frequent storms of moderate intensity. These storms remove sand from the beach. This sand is generally returned within a matter of months. But what about more extreme events?

In the 50 years of monitoring, offshore wave buoys recorded 21 storms where maximum waves heights exceeded ten metres. That’s roughly equivalent to the height of a three-story building. These larger events cause even greater erosion, so the beach takes longer to recover.

Read more:
Coastal property prices and climate risks are both soaring. We must pull our heads out of the sand

The ‘biggest of the big’ storms

Some of the largest events in the record have been particularly destructive, for example the storm in June 2016 where a residential swimming pool washed onto the beach at Narrabeen-Collaroy. Or the June 2007 event when the Pasha Bulka container ship broke its mooring and washed up on Nobbys Beach in Newcastle. Both storms also caused substantial beach erosion at Bengello.

One sequence of storms stands out in the record. The successive storm events of May–June 1974 including the renowned Sygna Storm of May 1974. During these two months, more than a B-double truck full of sand was cut away at every metre strip of beach (95 cubic metres of sand per metre of beach), and the shoreline moved inland farther than the length of an Olympic swimming pool (63m).

Astonishingly, it took five and half years for the beach to recover to its previous condition after these events. The recovery was hampered by more severe storms in 1976 and 1978, which interrupted the gradual build-up of beach sand.

No other storms in the record have had such a huge impact on the beach. Importantly, this is our only quantitative record of this event because it occurred before satellite imagery was available. Therefore it is not captured by tools such as CoastSat and Digital Earth Australia Coastlines, which derive shoreline positions from more than 30 years of satellite images, and have proved so powerful in understanding recent shoreline changes.

But how often do the biggest storms occur? Looking into the past, research suggests an erosion event of this magnitude has occurred at least one other time in the past 500 years.

Read more:
Millions of satellite images reveal how beaches around the Pacific vanish or replenish in El Niño and La Niña years

Can beaches survive future sea-level rise?

So how will beaches fare in a warming world where sea-level rise accelerates and coastal storms intensify?

This beach has sufficient sand to enable recovery after extreme storm events such as those experienced in the La Niña period of 1974–78. This degree of recovery is related to each beach’s so-called “sand budget”.

Recent research has even suggested extreme storms can replenish beaches with more sand from deeper waters.

Under present-day conditions this beach appears to have the capacity to fully recover. This means that it and other similar beaches with positive sand budgets can absorb certain levels of sea-level rise – but only up to a point. There will be a threshold beyond which a beach starts to retreat unless a new source of sand is supplied.

Sources of beach sand could come from deeper water offshore or from neighbouring beaches alongshore. These “credits” of sand into the beach budget may help them maintain their current position. Other NSW beaches in credit include the northern end of Seven Mile Beach near Gerroa, Nine Mile Beach north of Tuncurry and Dark Point just north of Hawks Nest. Around Australia, we can use time-series of shoreline change to estimate beach sand budgets.

Beaches in sand “defecit” are more vulnerable to sea level rise. Examples include the southern end of Stockton Beach and Old Bar in NSW and the northern end of Bribie Island in Queensland.

In a dynamic and volatile future, it is more important than ever that we maintain long-term records of beach change. This will ensure we have a critical baseline of data to test future projections. Monthly surveys at the site are continuing.

Read more:
We studied more than 1,500 coastal ecosystems – they will drown if we let the world warm above 2℃

Thomas Oliver receives funding from the Australian Research Council and a variety of state and local governments.

Bruce Thom and Roger McLean 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. Storms or sea-level rise – what really causes beach erosion? – https://theconversation.com/storms-or-sea-level-rise-what-really-causes-beach-erosion-209213

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toby Walsh, Professor of AI, Research Group Leader, UNSW Sydney

On Monday US President Joe Biden released a wide ranging and ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) – catapulting the US to the front of conversations about regulating AI.

In doing so, the US is leap frogging over other states in the race to rule over AI. Europe previously led the way with its AI Act, which was passed by the European Parliament in June 2023, but which won’t take full effect until 2025.

The presidential executive order is a grab bag of initiatives for regulating AI – some of which are good, and others of which seem rather half-baked. It aims to address harms ranging from the immediate, such as AI-generated deepfakes, through to intermediate harms such as job losses, to longer-term harms such as the much-disputed existential threat AI may pose to humans.

Read more:
No, AI probably won’t kill us all – and there’s more to this fear campaign than meets the eye

Biden’s ambitious plan

The US Congress has been slow to pass significant regulation of big tech companies. This presidential executive order is likely both an attempt to sidestep an often deadlocked Congress, as well as to kick-start action. For example, the order calls upon Congress to pass bipartisan data privacy legislation.

Bipartisan support in the current climate? Good luck with that, Mr President.

The executive order will reportedly be implemented over the next three months to one year. It covers eight areas:

1. safety and security standards for AI
2. privacy protections
3. equity and civil rights
4. consumer rights
5. jobs
6. innovation and competition
7. international leadership
8. AI governance.

One one hand, the order covers many concerns raised by academics and the public. For example, one of its directives is to issue official guidance on how AI-generated content may be watermarked to reduce the risk from deepfakes.

It also requires companies developing AI models to prove they are safe before they can be rolled out for wider use. President Biden said:

that means companies must tell the government about the large scale AI systems are developing and share rigorous independent test results to prove they pose no national security or safety risk to the American people.

AI’s potentially disastrous use in warfare

At the same time, the order fails to address a number of pressing issues. For instance, it doesn’t directly address how to deal with killer AI robots, a vexing topic that was under discussion over the past two weeks at the General Assembly of the United Nations.

This concern shouldn’t be ignored. The Pentagon is developing swarms of low-cost autonomous drones as part of its recently announced Replicator program. Similarly, Ukraine has developed homegrown AI-powered attack drones that can identify and attack Russian forces without human intervention.

Could we end up in a world where machines decide who lives or dies? The executive order merely asks for the military to use AI ethically, but doesn’t stipulate what that means.

And what about protecting elections from AI-powered weapons of mass persuasion? A number of outlets have reported on how the recent election in Slovakia may have been influenced by deepfakes. Many experts, myself included, are also concerned about the misuse of AI in the upcoming US presidential election.

Unless strict controls are implemented, we risk living in an age where nothing you see or hear online can be trusted. If this sounds like an exaggeration, consider that the US Republican Party has already released a campaign advert which appears entirely generated by AI.

Missed opportunities

Many of the initiatives in the executive order could and should be replicated elsewhere, including Australia. We too should, as the order requires, provide guidance to landlords, government programs and government contractors on how to ensure AI algorithms aren’t being used to discriminate against individuals.

We should also, as the order requires, address algorithmic discrimination in the criminal justice system where AI is increasingly being used in high stakes settings, includes for sentencing, parole and probation, pre-trial release and detention, risk assessments, surveillance and predictive policing, to name a few.

AI has controversially been used for such applications in Australia, too, such as in the Suspect Targeting Management Plan used to monitor youths in New South Wales.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the executive order is that which addresses the potential harms of the most powerful so-called “frontier” AI models. Some experts believe these models – which are being developed by companies such as Open AI, Google and Anthropic – pose an existential threat to humanity.

Others, including myself, believe such concerns are overblown and might distract from more immediate harms, such as misinformation and inequity, that are already hurting society.

Biden’s order invokes extraordinary war powers (specifically the 1950 Defense Production Act introduced during the Korean war) to require companies to notify the federal government when training such frontier models. It also requires they share the results of “red-team” safety tests, wherein internal hackers use attacks to probe a software for bugs and vulnerabilities.

I would say it’s going to be difficult, and perhaps impossible, to police the development of frontier models. The above directives won’t stop companies developing such models overseas, where the US government has limited power. The open source community can also develop them in a distributed fashion – one which makes the tech world “borderless”.

The impact of the executive order will likely have the greatest impact on the government itself, and how it goes about using AI, rather than businesses.

Nevertheless, it’s a welcome piece of action. The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s AI Safety Summit, taking place over the next two days, now looks to be somewhat of a diplomatic talk fest in comparison.

It does make one envious of the presidential power to get things done.

Toby Walsh receives funding from the Australian Research Council via an ARC Laureate Fellowship on trustworthy AI and an ARC Linkage project also on AI.

– ref. The US just issued the world’s strongest action yet on regulating AI. Here’s what to expect – https://theconversation.com/the-us-just-issued-the-worlds-strongest-action-yet-on-regulating-ai-heres-what-to-expect-216729