The federal government has so far not applied to have any of those released from immigration detention after the November High Court judgement re-detained, according to figures released on Monday.
The government raced legislation through parliament in December to enable it to apply to a court for preventative detention orders.
Under sustained opposition questioning in the House of Representatives, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the government’s regime was modelled on the Coalition’s high risk offenders legislation, which had seen a lengthy time for any application to be made.
Figures released during Senate estimates hearings showed 24 of the 149 detainees released have been arrested and charged with offences – six for breaches of visa conditions and 18 for offences under state and territory law.
At the end of January, 113 of the ex-detainees had been required to wear ankle bracelets.
Details of the ex-detainees’ offences committed before their detention were released on Monday. They showed seven had been convicted of murder or attempted murder and 37 of sexually-based offences, including child sex offences.
Some 72 had convictions for assault and violent offending, kidnapping, and armed robbery; another 16 had convictions for domestic violence and stalking.
Thirteen had convictions for serious drug offences, less than five for serious people smuggling crimes and less than five for offences described as a “Low level or no criminality”.
Numbers include overseas offending in some cases.
The ex-detainees cannot be deported because no other country will take them or they are stateless.
The opposition unsuccessfully pressed Giles on whether any of the 36 people who were not wearing ankle bracelets had committed offences since leaving detention. In Senate estimates the government took the question on notice.
Giles declined to go into “operational matters”.
He said “the management of everyone in that cohort has been subject to the expert advice of the men and women of the community protection board”.
Giles repeatedly stressed the people had had to be released under the High Court decision, which would have been the case under any government. The court found they could not be indefinitely detained.
“Since then, we have been working around the clock to ensure the community is kept safe.
“We have done so by putting in place layers of protection. One of which is, of course, the regime that was the subject of legislation […] at the end of last year” providing for preventative detention.
Giles said the government’s preventative detention regime was modelled on the high-risk offenders scheme of the Coalition government.
“It took more than three years for the first continuing detention order application after that regime was enacted.
“And 10 months was the shortest period of time for an application to be made to the court under the members opposite.”
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Senate processes had forced the government to “cough up” a whole lot of information. “Hopefully the government actually gets off their proverbial and makes an application to the court.”
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.
Anyone who has drunk alcohol will be familiar with how easily it can lower your social inhibitions and let you do things you wouldn’t normally do.
But you may not be aware that mixing certain medicines with alcohol can increase the effects and put you at risk.
When you mix alcohol with medicines, whether prescription or over-the-counter, the medicines can increase the effects of the alcohol or the alcohol can increase the side-effects of the drug. Sometimes it can also result in all new side-effects.
The chemicals in your brain maintain a delicate balance between excitation and inhibition. Too much excitation can lead to convulsions. Too much inhibition and you will experience effects like sedation and depression.
Alcohol works by increasing the amount of inhibition in the brain. You might recognise this as a sense of relaxation and a lowering of social inhibitions when you’ve had a couple of alcoholic drinks.
With even more alcohol, you will notice you can’t coordinate your muscles as well, you might slur your speech, become dizzy, forget things that have happened, and even fall asleep.
Medications can interact with alcohol to produce different or increased effects. Alcohol can interfere with the way a medicine works in the body, or it can interfere with the way a medicine is absorbed from the stomach. If your medicine has similar side-effects as being drunk, those effects can be compounded.
Not all the side-effects need to be alcohol-like. Mixing alcohol with the ADHD medicine ritalin, for example, can increase the drug’s effect on the heart, increasing your heart rate and the risk of a heart attack.
Combining alcohol with ibuprofen can lead to a higher risk of stomach upsets and stomach bleeds.
Alcohol can increase the break-down of certain medicines, such as opioids, cannabis, seizures, and even ritalin. This can make the medicine less effective. Alcohol can also alter the pathway of how a medicine is broken down, potentially creating toxic chemicals that can cause serious liver complications. This is a particular problem with paracetamol.
At its worst, the consequences of mixing alcohol and medicines can be fatal. Combining a medicine that acts on the brain with alcohol may make driving a car or operating heavy machinery difficult and lead to a serious accident.
Who is at most risk?
The effects of mixing alcohol and medicine are not the same for everyone. Those most at risk of an interaction are older people, women and people with a smaller body size.
Older people do not break down medicines as quickly as younger people, and are often on more than one medication.
Older people also are more sensitive to the effects of medications acting on the brain and will experience more side-effects, such as dizziness and falls.
Women and people with smaller body size tend to have a higher blood alcohol concentration when they consume the same amount of alcohol as someone larger. This is because there is less water in their bodies that can mix with the alcohol.
What drugs can’t you mix with alcohol?
You’ll know if you can’t take alcohol because there will be a prominent warning on the box. Your pharmacist should also counsel you on your medicine when you pick up your script.
The most common alcohol-interacting prescription medicines are benzodiazepines (for anxiety, insomnia, or seizures), opioids for pain, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and some antibiotics, like metronidazole and tinidazole.
Medicines will carry a warning if you shouldn’t take them with alcohol. Nial Wheate
It’s not just prescription medicines that shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol. Some over-the-counter medicines that you shouldn’t combine with alcohol include medicines for sleeping, travel sickness, cold and flu, allergy, and pain.
Next time you pick up a medicine from your pharmacist or buy one from the local supermarket, check the packaging and ask for advice about whether you can consume alcohol while taking it.
If you do want to drink alcohol while being on medication, discuss it with your doctor or pharmacist first.
Nial Wheate in the past has received funding from the ACT Cancer Council, Tenovus Scotland, Medical Research Scotland, Scottish Crucible, and the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, a member of the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association, and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Nial is the chief scientific officer of Vaihea Skincare LLC, a director of SetDose Pty Ltd a medical device company, and a Standards Australia panel member for sunscreen agents. Nial regularly consults to industry on issues to do with medicine risk assessments, manufacturing, design, and testing.
Kellie Charles was a previous Board Member of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists.
Associate Professor Tina Hinton has previously received funding from the Schizophrenia Research Institute (formerly Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders). She is currently a Board member of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists.
Jasmine Lee 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.
“Why do we shiver when we feel cold?” – Syeda, age 10, from Karachi
What a cool question, Syeda!
Our bodies like to be nice and warm, usually around 37°C. This allows our internal functions to work at their best. But our bodies are constantly losing heat to the outside air.
When it’s cold outside, or if we jump into a cold swimming pool, or even if the air-conditioning is a bit strong, our body temperature can lower, sometimes to levels that are uncomfortable.
If our body temperature drops too low, our heart, nervous system and other organs are not able to work normally. If it falls to extremely low temperatures, called hypothermia, this can cause some organs to completely fail.
Luckily, our bodies have their own internal heaters to protect us against small changes in temperature. This is mostly thanks to the actions of our muscles, through a process called thermoregulation. It’s this process that leads our bodies to shiver when we’re chilly.
Muscles are our bodies’ personal heaters
When our muscles twitch, they generate movement. This is called “muscle contraction”, and can involve the muscles tightening and shortening.
Muscle contractions help us walk around, smile, lift heavy objects and high-five each other.
Moving our muscles also generates a bit of heat. With many muscles moving most of the time, this helps our bodies stay nice and warm.
We’ll often hunch our necks, tense up, and rub our shoulders when cold. Shivering usually follows to help warm us up. Christian Moro
The more our muscles move, the more heat they generate. This is why you might feel hot and bothered after running around or playing sports.
On the other hand, when we stop moving our muscles, we start to cool down. This is one of the reasons we cover up with bedsheets at night.
Shivering is the rapid contractions of our muscles over and over. This doesn’t generate any significant movement, but instead releases heat that helps to warm us up.
Most of the time we don’t have control over when our brain tells our muscles to shiver. We have special sensors throughout our body that pick up when our system is cold, and our brain then responds by telling the muscles to start shivering.
And we aren’t the only ones who shiver! All mammals have the ability to shiver, so your pet cat or dog might shiver when they’re cold too. Even birds shiver.
When it’s a chilly day outside, you might also notice you get goosebumps. Goosebumps happen when tiny muscles connected to the hair follicles (from which our hair grows) tighten. This causes the little hairs on our arms to stand up, helping to trap in warm air and slow down body heat loss to the outside.
How can you ‘chill out’ your shiver?
Thermoregulation is key to maintaining a nice, consistent body temperature, which keeps our internal organs happy.
While shivering can help us warm up, it’s best to make sure you wear the right clothes if you’re going to be out in the cold.
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.
Australia’s First Peoples have a strong and continuing connection to the land. Their determination to maintain this connection provides important opportunities for conservation.
Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples. We defined such land as anything considered part of the Aboriginal or Indigenous estate. The includes but is not confined to Indigenous Protected Areas, native title land and areas controlled by Indigenous land councils.
More than 200 Australian bird species are threatened with extinction. Our analysis found 64% of these, or about 130 species, occur on lands and waters to which First Peoples’ groups have a legal determination.
We hope our research may lead to greater collaboration between First Peoples and conservationists. We also hope it elevates First Peoples’ voices to inform how we understand and care for our precious birds.
Australia’s First Peoples make up just 3.2% of the population. Yet Indigenous Protected Areas – land, sea, and river Country managed by Traditional Owners and Custodians, and Indigenous ranger groups – comprise 87 million hectares, or more than 50% of Australia’s conservation reserve system.
For millennia, birds have been integral to the cultural practice and livelihoods of Australia’s First Peoples. They play a major role in many songlines, are sung and danced in ceremony, act as totems and are managed as key food resources. Many First Peoples are keenly aware of declines in once-common bird species.
The concept of “threatened species” is founded in Western science and is not necessarily a term First Peoples use. And a bird species considered threatened may not be culturally significant to First Peoples.
However, many First Peoples have chosen to engage actively in the conservation of imperilled species and there are opportunities to expand this. Exactly where those opportunities lie was the subject of our new research.
The chestnut-rumped heathwren, one of about 130 threatened birds found on Country connected to First Peoples. Shutterstock
What we found
Many non-Indigenous people think of Australia as one country. But for First Peoples, the continent comprises many countries, each of which is home to distinct groups, each with their own culture, customs, language and laws.
Our study identified 463 First Peoples’ Country on which about 130 threatened birds occur. Mapping of First Peoples’ Country is incomplete, and boundaries between groups are often blurred or disputed, so the actual number is likely to be higher still.
More than 20 species are found on the Country of four First Peoples groups – the Ngarrindjeri People of south-east South Australia, the Nywaigi of the Wet Tropics of north Queensland, and the Wiradjuri and Yuin of New South Wales.
Some 14 species have highly restricted ranges. For example, the entire population of Australia’s rarest bird, the mukarrthippi grasswren, lives on Ngiyampaa Country in central NSW. Mukarrthippi is a name created by the Ngiyampaa Elders.
Similarly, the forested hills north of Adelaide are both Nukunu Country and home to the chestnut-rumped heathwren. The Wurundjeri are the Traditional Owners of Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area, home of the last helmeted honeyeaters. And the entire range of three threatened species is on the Country of Tiwi Islander First Peoples.
Some 15 threatened bird species occur on Country of more than 50 First Peoples groups. Some of these, such as southern boobook owls and southern whitefaces, are declining rapidly across their vast ranges. Others, such as the grey falcon, are exceedingly scarce.
How First Peoples can become more involved
We don’t expect our research to guide First Nations people in identifying their priorities. But it may help First Peoples know which threatened bird species occur on their Country. They may then choose to seek support to protect these species.
For example, First Peoples may seek expansion of Indigenous Protected Areas where the species occur. These areas comprise land, sea, and river Country managed by First Nations groups.
Or the threatened species could become a focus of management by Indigenous rangers, a form of employment for First Peoples that has proliferated in recent decades.
The monitoring of imperilled birds is another activity where First Peoples already contribute strongly but could be more involved. Some First Peoples may have been monitoring species themselves and be willing to share their knowledge of population trends and cycles.
Numerous opportunities exist for First Peoples to engage in threatened bird conservation should they choose to. But one big barrier to this is a perennial lack of funding.
For example, Indigenous Protected Areas make up almost half of Australia’s conservation areas, yet receive just a fraction of funding for the federal conservation estate.
This is unjust. Our research also found all threats to Australia’s imperilled birds were a consequence of colonisation. They include habitat destruction, changed fire regimes, invasive species and climate change.
This suggests governments have a moral, and potentially legal, responsibility for supporting the conservation work of First Peoples. Such support should be viewed not as charity or welfare, but through the lens of restorative and intergenerational justice.
Australia’s First Peoples were begrudgingly granted land rights after two centuries of having their ownership denied. They also have a right to compensation for the damage done.
Amanda Lilleyman is affiliated with BirdLife Australia. She works for and consults to Aboriginal ranger groups and Charles Darwin University.
Jack Pascoe is affiliated with Back to Country and is Co-Chief Councilor of the Biodiversity Council.
Stephen Garnett works for Charles Darwin University. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with BirdLife Australia.
What does it mean to save threatened species? How often do we achieve it? And how often do we fail? Our new research answers these questions for Australian birds.
One of the goals of conservation is to reduce the risk of a species becoming extinct. While this might be seen as a low bar for conservation managers, it is seldom achieved. A new set of research papers on the conservation of Australian birds looks at cases of success over the past 30 years and where we have failed over the past 200.
We found extinction risks had reduced for 25 bird species and subspecies in at least one of the decades between 1990 and 2020. Nine of these would have gone extinct if not for hard work and expertise to prevent it happening.
The most effective action has been eradicating invasive species from islands. This work benefited 13 birds.
This success also changed the average characteristics of Australian threatened birds. Before the pest eradications on Macquarie Island, large seabirds dominated the profile of the threatened Australian birds. Now the average threatened bird is smaller and lives on land.
Further programs have the potential to have a similar impact. The likely huge benefits from eradicating rodents from Lord Howe Island, for example, are yet to show up in these figures.
Another four birds benefited simply from having their habitat protected. Protection of rainforest reduced extinction risk for the southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) and Albert’s lyrebird (Menura alberti). One of the largest national parks in New South Wales was acquired for the Bulloo grey grasswren (Amytornis barbatus barbatus). The Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax fleayi) also had more of its nesting habitat protected.
For another species, simply enforcing the law reduced the threat. In south-western Australia, culling of Muir’s corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator) for agriculture threatened it with extinction. Now, with better protection, there are thousands.
Some threatened birds have benefited from intensive interventions by dedicated conservation agencies, non-government organisations and individuals.
Our stories contain salutary lessons too. The pathway to recovery can have reversals.
In the past decade, Gould’s petrel and the bristlebird have suffered setbacks due to new or escalating threats. A new report suggests Tasmanian wind farms are killing and injuring significant numbers of eagles – and many more windfarms are planned.
Our analysis of improvements in the conservation outlook for Australian birds was complemented with an assessment of Australian bird extinctions. Sadly, we found extinctions are continuing.
Even with the conservation effort of the past 30 years since Australia’s first endangered species legislation, three birds are gone forever. The Mount Lofty Ranges spotted quail-thrush (Cinclosoma punctatum anachoreta), white-chested white-eye (Zosterops albogularis) and southern star finch (Neochmia ruficauda ruficauda) were still surviving in the 1990s, but were extinct by 2010.
The number of extinct birds has risen steadily since Australia was colonised in 1788. There was an initial burst of extinctions on islands, particularly big birds that were good to eat and probably had small populations. More recent losses have tended to be small birds whose mainland habitat has been cleared or modified.
For the 29 extinct birds, we can do nothing. The important lesson is that this number of losses need grow no more. We have the resources and skills to prevent extinction.
A recent court order halting forestry activity in swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) habitat suggests at least some environmental laws are making a difference.
Other judgments expose legal shortcomings and show how much more needs to be done. The revisions of national environmental laws now being negotiated provide an opportunity to fill loopholes through which threatened species might fall.
Extinctions are neither accidental nor deliberate. They are a failure of policy and people.
However, the examples of birds whose risk of extinction has declined show what can be achieved. While some of these improvements were mostly a matter of good luck, many were the result of hard work, advocacy, investment and well-judged interventions. And they give the world hope.
John Woinarski is affiliated with Charles Darwin University, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the Biodiversity Council.
Sarah Legge receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the Biodiversity Council; the Conservation and Science Committee for the Invasive Species Council; and the Threatened Species Committee for Birds Australia.
Stephen Garnett receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with BirdLife Australia.
Van Badham’s A Fool in Love at the Sydney Theatre Company lampoons the modern Sydney vibe: a city obsessed with wealth, status and, of course, love.
Designer Isabel Hudson’s candy-coloured set, lolly-pop-esque orange trees and sherbet-coloured tinsel attire seem to vibrate the essence of the city as we move juggernaut-like towards the festivities of Valentine’s day and Mardi Gras.
Based on Lope de Vega’s 17th-century production La Dama Boba, Badham transports us to a camp version of the original nestled in a bourgeois beachside enclave – the embodiment of Sydney’s eastern suburbs. We find ourselves in a world obsessed with private schools, linen attire, and the maintenance (if not stock-piling) of funds.
Ottavio (Johnny Nasser) is yet another linen-clad specimen, the heir to a once-thriving empire in the automotive parts manufacturing realm, now plummeting into irreparable decline.
To sustain his lavish lifestyle and secure the dwindling family fortune, he faces the daunting task of orchestrating the marriage of his eldest daughter, Phynayah (Contessa Treffone).
To inherit her eccentric uncle’s remarkable fortune – and maintain her family’s coveted social standing – Phynayah must marry before she’s 30. A difficult task in a city like Sydney, where romantics are snuffed out by dating apps and the idea there are always greener pastures one swipe away.
However, such a romantic deal (the promise of wealth and cultural standing), attracts more than one ambitious suitor. Phynayah’s clever and social climbing sister Vanessa (Melissa Kahraman) also “brings the boys to the yard” for herself.
Ottavio faces the daunting task of orchestrating the marriage of his eldest daughter. Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company
The tale of making love to Phynayah is not as straightforward as it seems. Beautiful, and soon to be in possession of great wealth, Phynayah could be perceived as a modern catch: but these days suitors want more. They expect brains as well – not to mention a sizeable Instagram and TikTok account.
Clueless, witless, and perpetually silly, Treffone’s Phynayah embodies immaturity itself, donning a crochet bikini and serving as a living banal joke. The question looms: is any social climber desperate enough to align themselves with a poolside belle whose intellectual prowess is overshadowed by her towel?
Frothy tales
In this electric and funny rendition directed by Kenneth Moraleda, Badham invites us to comment on the economics of love. While Jennifer Lopez told us “love don’t cost a thing,” economic data would argue otherwise.
The aspirational suitors, the “new money”, are from Western Sydney and other “undesirable” burbs. In seeking to seduce Phynayah (or Vanessa), they are swallowed in frothy, silly, hapless tales.
The aspirational suitors are swallowed in frothy, silly, hapless tales. Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company
The unholy union of love and the consumer marketplace is not by any means a new one. As Jane Austen told us in Pride and Prejudice, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” – and vice versa.
If we were to extend back historically, this kind of mating based on wealth, social or cultural is old news. Women and men were often traded and dowries were applied. The notion that you can pick your own partner based on love is a uniquely modern one, and it can be unpicked quickly.
Badham is not only inviting us to reflect on the economics of love but also gender and cultural politics. Women’s visual, intellectual and social value is paraded, catwalk style, to please men (suitors, fathers, and onlookers alike).
To use Austen again, Mr Darcy sets the benchmark high when he defines his idea of an accomplished woman:
A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.
This kind of identity management is nothing new and is exacerbated by social media. It is distinctly pervasive for women who are generally represented as having (or being) too little or too much. Too fat or too thin; too clever or too stupid; too free or too restricted. Phynayah and Vanessa embody this tension.
Women are perceived as too fat or too thin; too clever or too stupid; too free or too restricted. Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company
Alongside this, the discussion on the aspirational suitors and their geographical genesis demonstrates (disturbingly) that the “latte line” (or should I say “linen line?”) dividing Sydney’s western and eastern suburbs is congealing.
A Fool in Love challenges us to consider this widening divide and growing social inequity through the lens of the tomfoolery of love. The haves and have nots of linen wardrobes – and also of privilege.
A Fool in Love is as bold as it is delightfully ridiculous and sharp-witted. Social satire at its finest.
A Fool in Love is at the Sydney Theatre Company until 17 March.
Lisa Portolan 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.
A good romantic comedy balances two things: expectations and questions.
We all have expectations of a rom-com. There’s the obvious one – the central couple will wind up together in the end – but there are plenty of other familiar elements that recur in this genre: the meet-cute, the not-that-realistic-but-sure-we’ll-go-with-it premise, the wacky best friend, the other (wrong) potential love interests, the makeover, the grand gesture, the declaration of love.
What gives the rom-com energy, though, are the questions. Yes, we know the couple are going to end up together, but how are they going to get there? We know our plucky protagonist will probably extricate herself from the sticky situation she’s in, but how will she do it? We know these other suitors are all wrong for her, when and how is she going to realise?
Five Blind Dates doesn’t quite have the balance of expectations and questions right. It hits all the expectations – indeed, there are so many classic rom-com moments in here you could definitely win rom-com bingo – but sometimes telegraphs the answers to the questions a bit too hard.
This said, though, the balance is only a little off, not a lot. The end result is a lovely film, one I could see becoming a comfort watch for a lot of people – it’s as warm and familiar as the cups of tea purveyed by its heroine.
Lia (Shuang Hu, also the co-writer) has used her inheritance from her grandmother to open a traditional Chinese tea shop in Sydney, where she employs her best friend Mason (Ilai Swindells). Unfortunately, her business is failing, and she a) has no idea how to save it, and b) is dreading telling her family.
It would normally be easy to avoid her family, because they live in Townsville. However, her sister Alice (Tiffany Wong) is getting married and Lia is the maid of honour, which means a great deal more contact than usual.
The film’s premise is established very quickly when, at one of the pre-wedding events, Lia is told by a fortune teller she will meet her soulmate on one of the next five dates she goes on. And then, when she re-encounters her ex-boyfriend Richard (Yoson An) at Alice’s engagement party, Lia ends up on a mission to go on these five dates as fast as possible so she can bring her soulmate to the wedding – and thus show up Richard, who is the best man.
Lia ends up on a mission to go on five dates as fast as possible. Prime Video
This beginning section of the film is perhaps its shakiest. It contains quite a lot of exposition very quickly – some of which, if you miss, could make later sections a bit confusing. While Lia and Richard’s re-meet-cute is very sweet, it makes it very clear just which way this is going to go.
The film also doesn’t give us much insight into why Lia and Richard broke up in the first place. While this is revealed slowly over the course of the film, this is very important when it comes to the audience having confidence in a second-chance romance: if it didn’t work out the first time, why would it work out now?
Without this information, we don’t have a great sense of Richard as a person, which makes his characterisation for the first half or so of the film feel a bit thin.
By contrast, though, the first three men Lia meets as part of her dating project are beautifully drawn. Sometimes, in romantic comedies, the premise is sacrificed on the altar of the romance and alternative suitors are one-dimensional, possibly villainous caricatures.
Here, though, Lia’s other options are refreshingly and fascinatingly human. There’s Apollo (Desmond Chiam), the very wealthy businessman her dad (Tzi Ma) has set her up with. There’s Ezra (Jon Prasida), the Chinese language school-teacher her mum (Renee Lim) has set her up with. And then there’s Curtis (Rob Collins), the touchy-feely yoga teacher Alice introduces her to – a character who could easily have become a Byron Bay stereotype but who is given nuance through both writing and performance.
A refreshing film
Mixed in with Lia’s many dates is her anxiety about her failing tea business. The way this problem is resolved is another one of the things the film telegraphs a bit too hard; however, it’s also very funny, which mitigates this somewhat.
While there is nothing particularly surprising in Five Blind Dates, it is nevertheless a really refreshing film. Prime Video
While there is nothing particularly surprising in Five Blind Dates, it is nevertheless a really refreshing film. We don’t have a lot of rom-coms set in Australia, much less ones which centre on Chinese Australian characters. It’s a playful, joyful film with a likeable and layered heroine which doesn’t outstay its welcome (it clocks in at under 90 minutes).
If there was to be a follow-up about some of the other characters, you could sign me right up. I, for one, would be fascinated to see what Apollo Wang does next.
Jodi McAlister 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.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matevz (Matt) Raskovic, Associate Professor of International Business & Strategy, Auckland University of Technology
In 2010, then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton famously described New Zealand as a country that “punches way above its weight”. She was referring to our role in international relations, global security and natural disaster responses. But she was also talking about the country’s international reputation for being clean, green, safe and honest.
New Zealand has long enjoyed the economic and reputational benefits of these attributes. But recent rankings measuring the country’s international influence, transparency and corruption have started to tell a different story.
Between 2021 and 2023, New Zealand dropped ten places – from 16 to 26 – on the Global Soft Power Index. This measures a country’s influence abroad (among nation states, societies and international corporations) through its use of non-coercive measures.
Also, for the first time in a decade, New Zealand has dropped to third place in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which measures perceived levels of corruption in the public sector.
That puts New Zealand five points below Denmark in first spot, and two below Finland. What’s going on, and what are the political and economic implications?
Brand New Zealand
According to the 2023 Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brand Index, New Zealand is the 14th most valuable country brand in the world, valued at close to half a trillion New Zealand dollars in 2022 by brand valuation and strategy company Brand Finance.
Indeed, “Brand New Zealand” – a carefully crafted and closely curated mix of national storytelling, strategic marketing and cross-sector investment – was a key driver behind the NZ$68.7 billion in exports of goods in 2023. On top of that, it drives a large part of the NZ$15 billion spent by tourists, and NZ$6 billion generated by overseas students.
Brand New Zealand is a precious commodity in its own right, which has taken many decades to build. But it can be quickly squandered, particularly through poor governance.
The corruption ranking in turn affects the cost of accessing finance by countries, which eventually trickles down to household mortgages. It also influences public policies, public and private investment decisions, and market entry decisions by international firms (such as Ikea and Amazon).
Since 2014, New Zealand has dropped six points in its CPI score, three times more than Denmark or Finland. That’s not a trend we’d want to see continue.
Perceptions matter
Corruption, defined as the misuse of authority for personal or organisational gain, reflects illegal activities which are purposefully hidden from the public and uncovered only through investigation, persecution or when a scandal erupts.
The CPI is based on expert assessment and opinion surveys from many different corruption studies by reputable global institutions, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Economist Intelligence Unit.
A higher CPI score implies a lower level of perceived corruption. The aggregation of different indices makes the CPI more reliable than any single source.
New Zealand’s country credit risk rating – measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and which represents the single largest component of a country’s CPI score – has not dropped (yet).
But its two-point CPI slide from 87 to 85 is driven by perceptions among business leaders, as captured by the most recent World Economic Forum’s executive opinion survey taken in August 2023.
The survey asks those leaders to report on any pressures to make undocumented extra payments or bribes, and instances of untoward diversion of public funds to groups, firms or individuals.
CEO of Transparency International New Zealand, Julie Haggie, attributes the 2023 drop in business leaders’ confidence to three specific factors:
several high-profile cases of COVID-19 subsidy fraud and tax evasion by businesses
the government’s insufficient response to a rise in scamming, as well as a lack of transparency around government spending on outside consultation contracts and infrastructure projects
and a heightened focus on appropriate spending of public funds during a cost-of-living crisis when most New Zealanders are doing it tough.
Trust in government
New Zealand’s CPI score (85) still warrants an A grade. But the long-term slide should not be ignored. We need to understand it as part of a wider trend of stagnation across the Asia Pacific.
In 2023, the region received a failing grade, with an average CPI score of just 45 – dragged down by North Korea (CPI: 17), Myanmar (20) and Afghanistan (20).
Transparency International also highlighed the “slow decline” of top performing countries in the region – New Zealand, followed by Singapore (CPI: 83), Australia and Hong Kong (both 75).
New Zealand’s latest CPI score may not yet reflect any erosion of public trust brought on by the coalition government’s policies around revisiting the Treaty of Waitangi principles. But it must still be mindful of the fragility of general trust in public institutions and the government.
Damaging that trust can have unintended consequences for our international reputation. It could potentially cost the country thousands of jobs, drive away talent, and dampen export growth.
There is a tension here, too. Cutting public spending by between 6.5% and 7.5%, as government agencies have been told to do, may be viewed positively by business leaders. But it can also erode public trust in government.
To halt or reverse the slide, New Zealand might look to Australia. While it placed 14th in the latest Transparency International ranking (with a CPI score of 75), Australia has gained two points under the Albanese Labor government.
This marked a turnaround in previously declining CPI scores. It was driven by the establishment of a new federal anti-corruption commission, and significant changes to whistle-blowing protection.
As New Zealanders learn about the sometimes messy inner power dynamics of a three-way coalition, one thing is clear: the government would be wise to assure the domestic and international public that there is no risk of state capture by specific interest groups, such as tobacco, the military industrial complex, or foreign property developers.
State capture by vested interest groups is a form of public corruption and would likely significantly affect New Zealand’s declining CPI score. Again, public perceptions count as much as reality in such cases.
Matevz (Matt) Raskovic 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.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere. Right now, generative AI in particular – tools like Midjourney, ChatGPT, Gemini (previously Bard) and others – is at the peak of hype.
But as an academic discipline, AI has been around for much longer than just the last couple of years. When it comes to real-world applications, many have stayed hidden or relatively unknown. These AI tools are much less glossy than fantasy-image generators – yet they are also ubiquitous.
As various AI technologies continue to progress, we’ll only see an increase of AI use in various industries. This includes healthcare and consumer tech, but also more concerning uses, such as warfare. Here’s a rundown of some of the wide-ranging AI applications you may be less familiar with.
Various AI systems are already being used in the health field, both to improve patient outcomes and to advance health research.
One of the strengths of computer programs powered by artificial intelligence is their ability to sift through and analyse truly enormous data sets in a fraction of the time it would take a human – or even a team of humans – to accomplish.
For example, AI is helping researchers comb through vast genetic data libraries. By analysing large data sets, geneticists can home in on genes that could contribute to various diseases, which in turn will help develop new diagnostic tests.
AI is also helping to speed up the search for medical treatments. Selecting and testing treatments for a particular disease can take ages, so leveraging AI’s ability to comb through data can be helpful here, too.
For example, United States-based non-profit Every Cure is using AI algorithms to search through medical databases to match up existing medications with illnesses they might potentially work for. This approach promises to save significant time and resources.
Last year, astronomers used an AI algorithm for the first time to identify a “potentially hazardous” asteroid – a space rock that might one day collide with Earth. This algorithm will be a core part of the operations of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory currently under construction in Chile.
One major area of our lives that uses largely “hidden” AI is transportation. Millions of flights and train trips are coordinated by AI all over the world. These AI systems are meant to optimise schedules to reduce costs and maximise efficiency.
Artificial intelligence can also manage real-time road traffic by analysing traffic patterns, volume and other factors, and then adjusting traffic lights and signals accordingly. Navigation apps like Google Maps also use AI optimisation algorithms to find the best path in their navigation systems.
AI is also present in various everyday items. Robot vacuum cleaners use AI software to process all their sensor inputs and deftly navigate our homes.
Of course, there is also no shortage of more quirky AI applications. A few years ago, UK-based brewery startup IntelligentX used AI to make custom beers for its customers. Other breweries are also using AI to help them optimise beer production.
And Meet the Ganimals is a “collaborative social experiment” from the MIT Media Lab, which uses generative AI technologies to come up with new species that have never existed before.
On a less lighthearted note, AI also has many applications in defence. In the wrong hands, some of these uses can be terrifying.
For example, some experts have warned AI can aid the creation of bioweapons. This could happen through gene sequencing, helping non-experts easily produce risky pathogens such as novel viruses.
Where active warfare is taking place, military powers can design warfare scenarios and plans using AI. If a power uses such tools without applying ethical considerations or even deploys autonomous AI-powered weapons, it could have catastrophic consequences.
In addition, AI can be used to predict and identify the activities and movements of terrorist groups. This way, intelligence agencies can come up with preventive measures. Since these types of AI systems have complex structures, they require high-processing power to get real-time insights.
Much has also been said about how generative AI is supercharging people’s abilities to produce fake news and disinformation. This has the potential to affect the democratic process and sway the outcomes of elections.
AI is present in our lives in so many ways, it is nearly impossible to keep track. Its myriad applications will affect us all.
This is why ethical and responsible use of AI, along with well-designed regulation, is more important than ever. This way we can reap the many benefits of AI while making sure we stay ahead of the risks.
Niusha Shafiabady 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.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah G. Phillips, Non-Resident Fellow at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, Yemen; Professor of Global Conflict and Development, University of Sydney
Yemen’s Houthi militants continue to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea, undeterred by the intensifying Western airstrikes or the group’s re-designation as a “global terrorist” organisation. As their attacks have intensified, the group’s slogan (or sarkha, meaning “scream”) has also gained notoriety.
Banners bearing the sarkha dot the streets in areas of Yemen under Houthi control and are brandished by supporters at their rallies. It declares: “God is Great, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory to Islam.” (The mentions of the Houthis’ enemies appear in a red font resembling barbed wire).
Many commentators are quick to point out the origins of the sarkha can be traced to a motto from the Iranian revolution. The link reveals the longstanding relationship between the Houthis and their principal regional backer, Iran.
The sarkha also carries an anti-imperialist message, which has caused some outside analysts to overestimate the Houthis’ local legitimacy and diminish the suffering of ordinary Yemenis living under their brutal and exclusionary rule.
Since the Houthis’ re-designation as a global terrorist organisation, another slogan has become prevalent on placards at their rallies. Set against a red background, it reads: “America is the mother of terrorism.”
At first glance, this appears to be an extension of the ideological sentiments conveyed in the sarkha.
However, this slogan also reflects the complexity of Yemeni views about US counterterrorism interventions and the widespread belief that these have provided terrorist groups with the oxygen they need to survive.
The US has long been criticised for disproportionately killing civilians in counterterrorism strikes. Some experts argue this may create more “terrorists” than it kills.
Another critique: it was the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that originally supported Osama bin Laden and the mujahideen in Afghanistan in an attempt to trap the Soviet Union in an unwinnable war, making the US at least somewhat responsible for what followed.
However, there are other layers to these slogans that are less intuitively understood by a Western audience.
The West’s reflexive support for authoritarian leaders who claim to be targeting terrorism is widely seen in Yemen (and throughout the Middle East) as fuelling a symbiotic relationship between oppressive regimes, terrorist groups and Western-led military interventions.
For many in the region, groups like al-Qaeda and Islamic State function, in part, as “tools” that Western-backed authoritarian leaders use to maintain their power. They provide plausible deniability for the violence these leaders use against civilians, or support their pitch that “if I’m gone, terrorists will take over the country”.
In Yemen, there is a long history of allegations that Western-backed leaders have:
facilitated al-Qaeda attacks against local and foreign targets
misdirected US strikes to kill political opponents rather than al-Qaeda leaders.
The West’s regional partners, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have also been accused of recruiting al-Qaeda members to fight in paramilitary forces against Yemeni opponents.
As a result, many Yemenis wouldn’t view al-Qaeda or Islamic State as being completely separate from those in charge of the country. Rather, they often see these terrorist groups as helping to reinforce the status quo.
This view is, of course, diametrically opposed to Western understandings of al-Qaeda or Islamic State. In the West, these groups are framed as rebels seeking to overturn the state. But across the region, many believe these relationships defy simple categories like “state versus insurgent” or “friend versus enemy” because terror groups can be both at once.
One Yemeni analyst articulated the frustration of trying to explain the symbiotic relationship between terrorist groups and authoritarian leaders in the Middle East:
It’s easier to tell a kid that Santa Claus isn’t real than to get foreigners to see what al-Qaeda in Yemen really is.
Why the West’s policies are backfiring
For the Houthis, America’s alleged role in helping to fuel terrorist groups has been a longstanding part of the group’s messaging.
Over a decade ago – two years before the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital and sparked a lengthy war – I visited a northern town where there were several large, freshly painted murals bearing the statement “al-Qaeda is American made”.
When I asked residents about the this, they appeared to see the statement as a banal declaration of fact. They were more impressed by the “nice handwriting” than the message. (Like the banners bearing the sarkha, the murals used a red barbed-wire font for the word “America”.)
The Houthis’ message about American complicity in terrorism resonates because it works at several levels.
It gestures to the violence unleashed by the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, the near-unconditional support the US provides to Israel, and the military, carceral and political support the US and its Western partners provide authoritarian leaders in the region.
It also gets at the profound sense within Yemen (and across the region) that the political status quo is sustained by violent regimes. And that terrorist groups like al-Qaeda – and the counterterrorism interventions they invite – are part of how those regimes maintain their power.
Of course, the violence the Houthis use to sustain their own power is an irony that should not be lost. The Houthis are widely despised by Yemenis who live under their rule. Even so, their messaging taps into widespread views about the drivers of regional violence that some Western observers have long dismissed.
Indeed, the complexities that underpin the Houthis’ new slogan help explain why Western policy across the region will continue to backfire.
Put bluntly, people in the region see Western policymakers as blind to their historical record of strengthening the enemies they come to fight. The fact that Western airstrikes are giving the Houthis a legitimacy that was previously unimaginable is ominous.
Unfortunately for Yemeni civilians, the Houthis’ stance against Israel will increase their appeal to those who know little of what it is like to live with them. It will also make it even harder for Yemenis to dislodge them from power.
Sarah G. Phillips receives funding from the Australian Research Council (FT200100539). She is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies (Yemen).
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Wilkins, Professorial Fellow and Deputy Director (Research), HILDA Survey, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
Australians’ vices, including drinking, smoking and illicit drugs, have been revealed in the latest HILDA survey.
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey tracks the same 17,000 Australians each year, with participants followed over the course of their lifetime. The survey collects information on many facets of life and is the only study of its kind in Australia.
Smoking is declining, but young people are more likely to vape
There has been substantial progress in reducing smoking rates since 2001, when 25% of males and 20% of females aged 15 and over reported being smokers. In 2021, these rates had dropped to 16% for males and 12% for females. This likely reflects the effects of tobacco control measures, as well as increased public awareness of the harmful health effects of smoking.
Declines have been biggest for young people, which reflects the fact that it is easier to prevent the take-up of smoking than it is to get smokers to quit. Indeed, HILDA shows that over 60% of people who quit smoking take it up again within three years.
The progress on reducing smoking appears to have been somewhat offset by the rise in vaping or using e-cigarettes. In 2021, 14.1% of people aged 15 and over reported having tried vaping, and 16% of these people vaped daily.
Vaping is very much a young person’s activity. It is most common among people aged 15 to 24, and also relatively common among people aged 25 to 29. Many people who report vaping also report being smokers.
Binge drinking remains common, especially for young men
Risky drinking, here defined as usually consuming five or more standard drinks on each occasion, is relatively common, applying to over 20% of males and about 10% of females who ever drink alcohol.
After rising slightly between 2003 and 2009, there has since been a small decline in this measure of risky drinking for males. There has been little change in this measure for females.
Another measure of risky drinking, presented in the figure, is “excessive binge drinking”, defined as drinking at least five (if female) or seven (if male) drinks per occasion at least twice per month. This measure of risky drinking is more prevalent, but it has declined for both males and females since 2007.
Risky drinking is most common among men aged 20 to 24, followed by men aged 25 to 29. However, for both males and females, regular (but not necessarily “risky”) consumption of alcohol (drinking on five or more days per week) is more common in older age groups, and highest among people aged 60 and over.
30 to 34 year-olds had the largest increase in using drugs
The HILDA survey shows use of illicit drugs, such as marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine, increased between 2017 and 2021, with annual use increasing from 15.7% to 17.6% for males and from 8.6% to 11% for females.
People aged 20 to 24 are the most likely to use illicit drugs, but the increase in use was greatest for people aged 30 to 34.
The use of multiple types of illicit drugs, known as polydrug use, is common for users of methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy, but much less common for users of marijuana.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephane Bouchoucha, Associate Professor in Nursing and Associate Head of School (International), Deakin University
In Australia, more than 50,000 infections have been reported so far in 2024. And this is likely to be a significant underestimate, as we are testing much less than we used to. As of February 1 there were 287 outbreaks in residential aged care homes, and people are still dying from the virus.
Although we’ve come a long way since earlier in the pandemic, as we enter its fifth year, COVID continues to have negative effects on individuals, health services and society at large.
To reduce the impact on health services and the community, the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control, of which we are on the board of directors, is calling for ongoing infection prevention and control strategies in Australia. These include supporting people to access vaccination and testing, and cleaner air in shared indoor spaces.
Vaccination
COVID vaccination reduces severe illness and can in turn reduce pressure on the health system. But, to reap the greatest benefits, a high proportion of the population must be vaccinated and receive regular booster doses.
Current advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) indicates adults over 75 should receive a routine booster, and adults 65 to 74 should consider doing so. Younger people are only eligible if they have an increased risk of severe COVID, for example due to a particular medical condition.
There’s also no recommendation that people at greater occupational risk of catching COVID, such as health-care workers, childcare workers or emergency and essential services workers receive another vaccination at this stage.
Yet broadening eligibility could help in several ways. For example, having a high proportion of the population unvaccinated or undervaccinated may increase opportunities for the virus to mutate and for new variants to develop.
Also, although older people are generally at greatest risk from a COVID infection, COVID in younger age groups can still in some cases cause severe and potentially long-term illness (and we know vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID).
We believe the current advice provided by the Australian government is out of date. There needs to be a review of ATAGI advice to allow booster access for more people, as is offered in other countries, such as the United States.
Even among those who are eligible, uptake is poor. Recent figures show only 16.6% of people aged between 65 and 74 have received a booster dose in the past six months.
As such, in tandem with updated guidelines, there should be focused promotion of COVID boosters to all vulnerable people, as well as nation-wide promotion of free access to vaccinations for the wider population.
The Australian government has recognised the need for a strong vaccination program as a means to minimise levels of severe COVID and death. So securing and delivering an ongoing supply of up-to-date vaccinations is paramount.
Testing
While testing is encouraged if you have COVID symptoms, there’s no requirement or incentive to test or report positive results. This poses two problems: under-reporting of COVID cases, and people not knowing they have COVID (and therefore not knowing they might transmit it).
In New South Wales for example, laboratory confirmed cases are trending downwards while wastewater testing suggests COVID prevalence remains high.
Reinstating easy access to rapid antigen and PCR testing would enable people to better manage their illness, and provide a clearer picture for health authorities.
In September 2023 the Australasian Health Infrastructure Alliance released guidance on pandemic preparedness. This document calls for the design of any new health-care building to take minimising the risk of infection transmission into account.
There are examples where investment in building design to minimise infectious disease transmission has had positive results. But guidance documents lack the legal clout needed to drive true change, and these examples are the exception. COVID still spreads in our hospitals and aged care facilities.
Infection prevention and control specialists should play a key role in designing health-care facilities and residential aged care homes. Strategies to optimise ventilation in buildings must involve early consultation with qualified ventilation specialists who can address requirements such as the air exchange rate relative to the size of the building and number of expected occupants.
Mandating this would ensure we build facilities which minimise the transmission of most respiratory infections – not just COVID.
Other things
Support for communities to engage in key prevention strategies such as promoting the use of surgical masks or preferably P2/N95 respirators and staying home when unwell is important. Employers have a responsibility to enable access to paid sick leave, especially for those working with vulnerable communities and in health care.
Hand hygiene, although a foundation of infection prevention and control, appears to have less of a role in controlling COVID transmission. So we need to spend less time thinking washing our hands will protect us from COVID, and more time on what the evidence actually shows will help us ride this stage of the pandemic.
We also need new research initiatives such as large-scale clinical trials to prevent and treat long COVID, and more funding for the development of new vaccines and antiviral drugs as new variants arise.
Stephane Bouchoucha is affiliated with Deakin University Centre for Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) research in the Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) and the Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease and Immunology Research (CIIDIR). Stephane is also the President of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) and was the recipient of an Early Career Research Grant from ACIPC in 2016.
Matt Mason is affiliated with The Australian College for Infection Prevention and Control, the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research at the University of the Sunshine Coast, the Pacific Region Infectious Diseases Association, and the Collaborative for the Advancement of Infection Prevention and Control. He is also a member of CRANAplus. Matt is a current recipient of an Australian College for Infection Prevention and Control Early Career Researcher Grant and has undertaken contracted consultations for the Pacific Community.
Peta-Anne Zimmerman is affiliated with the Menzies Health Institute, Queensland, the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control, the Pacific Region Infectious Diseases Association, and the Collaborative for the Advancement of Infection Prevention and Control. Peta-Anne undertakes contracted consultancies for the World Health Organization and is a focal point for the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.
Sally Havers is affiliated with the University of Queensland and the Herston Infectious Diseases Institue. Sally is President Elect of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control and a recipient of an ACIPC Early Career Researcher Grant in 2023.
As of January this year, Aotearoa New Zealand became just the second country (after Canada) to adopt a groundbreaking new procedure for patients experiencing cardiac arrest.
Known as “double sequential external defibrillation” (DSED), it will change initial emergency response strategies and potentially improve survival rates for some patients.
Surviving cardiac arrest hinges crucially on effective resuscitation. When the heart is working normally, electrical pulses travel through its muscular walls creating regular, co-ordinated contractions.
But if normal electrical rhythms are disrupted, heartbeats can become unco-ordinated and ineffective, or cease entirely, leading to cardiac arrest.
Defibrillation is a cornerstone resuscitation method. It gives the heart a powerful electric shock to terminate the abnormal electrical activity. This allows the heart to re-establish its regular rhythm.
Its success hinges on the underlying dysfunctional heart rhythm and the proper positioning of the defibrillation pads that deliver the shock. The new procedure will provide a second option when standard positioning is not effective.
Using two defibrillators
During standard defibrillation, one pad is placed on the right side of the chest just below the collarbone. A second pad is placed below the left armpit. Shocks are given every two minutes.
Early defibrillation can dramatically improve the likelihood of surviving a cardiac arrest. However, around 20% of patients whose cardiac arrest is caused by “ventricular fibrillation” or “pulseless ventricular tachycardia” do not respond to the standard defibrillation approach. Both conditions are characterised by abnormal activity in the heart ventricles.
DSED is a novel method that provides rapid sequential shocks to the heart using two defibrillators. The pads are attached in two different locations: one on the front and side of the chest, the other on the front and back.
A single operator activates the defibrillators in sequence, with one hand moving from the first to the second. According to a recent randomised trial in Canada, this approach could more than double the chances of survival for patients with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia who are not responding to standard shocks.
The second shock is thought to improve the chances of eliminating persistent abnormal electrical activity. It delivers more total energy to the heart, travelling along a different pathway closer to the heart’s left ventricle.
Evidence of success
New Zealand ambulance data from 2020 to 2023 identified about 1,390 people who could potentially benefit from novel defibrillation methods. This group has a current survival rate of only 14%.
Recognising the potential for DSED to dramatically improve survival for these patients, the National Ambulance Sector Clinical Working Group updated the clinical procedures and guidelines for emergency medical services personnel.
The guidelines now specify that if ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia persist after two shocks with standard defibrillation, the DSED method should be administered. Two defibrillators need to be available, and staff must be trained in the new approach.
Though the existing evidence for DSED is compelling, until recently it was based on theory and a small number of potentially biased observational studies. The Canadian trial was the first to directly compare DSED to standard treatment.
From a total of 261 patients, 30.4% treated with this strategy survived, compared to 13.3% when standard resuscitation protocols were followed.
The design of the trial minimised the risk of other factors confounding results. It provides confidence that survival improvements were due to the defibrillation approach and not regional differences in resources and training.
The study also corroborates and builds on existing theoretical and clinical scientific evidence. As the trial was stopped early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the researchers could recruit fewer than half of the numbers planned for the study.
Despite these and other limitations, the international group of experts that advises on best practice for resuscitation updated its recommendations in 2023 in response to the trial results. It suggested (with caution) that emergency medical services consider DSED for patients with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia who are not responding to standard treatment.
Training and implementation
Although the evidence is still emerging, implementation of DSED by emergency services in New Zealand has implications beyond the care of patients nationally. It is also a key step in advancing knowledge about optimal resuscitation strategies globally.
There are always concerns when translating an intervention from a controlled research environment to the relative disorder of the real world. But the balance of evidence was carefully considered before making the decision to change procedures for a group of patients who have a low likelihood of survival with current treatment.
Before using DSED, emergency medical personnel undergo mandatory education, simulation and training. Implementation is closely monitored to determine its impact.
Hospitals and emergency departments have been informed of the protocol changes and been given opportunities to ask questions and give feedback. As part of the implementation, the St John ambulance service will perform case reviews in addition to wider monitoring to ensure patient safety is prioritised.
Ultimately, those involved are optimistic this change to cardiac arrest management in New Zealand will have a positive impact on survival for affected patients.
Vinuli Withanarachchie is a Clinical Research Assistant at Hato Hone St John.
Bridget Dicker is Head of Clinical Audit and Research at Hato Hone St John. She is a member of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Basic Life Support (BLS) Task Force.
Sarah Maessen is a Clinical Research Fellow at Hato Hone St John.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Lindsey, Malcolm Smith Professor of Asian Law and Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, The University of Melbourne
Ambitious and mercurial, with a dark past, former army general Prabowo Subianto has spent a lifetime vying for the ultimate prize in Indonesian politics. Now, with a large lead in the latest polls ahead of this week’s election, it looks as though the presidency is finally within his grasp.
So, who is Prabowo and how will he change Indonesia if he wins?
A rapid rise through the military ranks – and fall
Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo is a true Indonesian blueblood. His family claims to be descended from national hero Diponegoro, a prince of the Mataram sultanate who led the Java War rebellion against Dutch colonial forces in the 19th century.
Prabowo’s grandfather was the founder of Indonesia’s first state bank and a prominent member of Indonesia’s independence movement. His father was a leading economist who served as minister of finance, minister of trade and minister for research in the government. His brother is a wealthy tycoon.
Prabowo (standing right) with his siblings and grandparents. Wikimedia Commons
Prabowo, too, has long sought national prominence. An ambitious military officer serving mostly in the Special Forces (Kopassus), his marriage to a daughter of the authoritarian former president, Soeharto, fast-tracked his career. Prabowo rose to the rank of lieutenant general and, finally, the key position of commander of the powerful Army Strategic Reserve (Kostrad) in the capital, Jakarta.
As Soeharto’s regime began to falter amid the financial crisis of 1997, Prabowo become involved in covert operations to defend Soeharto’s army-backed and repressive New Order regime against its critics.
Under his leadership, the Special Forces’ “Rose Brigade” abducted and tortured more than 20 student protesters, 13 of whom are still missing, presumed dead. Prabowo has admitted to the abductions, but denies being involved in any killings.
Prabowo never faced trial, although several of his men were tried and convicted. The allegations against him meant he was, for years, denied a visa to enter the US.
Prabowo also denies a wide range of earlier accusations relating to human rights abuses committed by Special Forces under his command in East Timor and Papua, including alleged torture and killings.
He also denies accusations he was involved in engineering the violent rioting in the capital in 1998 that contributed to the collapse of his father-in-law’s regime, likely the result of an internal military struggle to become Soeharto’s successor. It seems Prabowo hoped to climb high amid the chaos at the time.
After Soeharto resigned in May 1998, his newly installed successor, B.J. Habibie, refused Prabowo’s request to be made head of the army, instead effectively demoting him. Prabowo is said to have responded by arming himself with a pistol and driving to the palace with truckloads of soldiers, but was stopped outside the president’s office.
Soon after, Prabowo was cashiered for “misinterpreting orders”, although the precise details of his dismissal still remain mysterious. He went into voluntary exile in Jordan for some years and it seemed his career was over.
Three unsuccessful bids for higher office
But Prabowo remained an ambitious man. By 2009, he was a wealthy business figure and had co-founded his own political party, Gerindra. He had also rehabilitated himself enough to make a formal bid for power, running for vice president in the 2009 elections on a ticket with former president Megawati Soekarnoputri. They lost in a landslide.
In 2014, Prabowo tried again. This time he ran as a presidential candidate against Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. Prabowo campaigned as a nationalist “strongman”, riding his horse around stadiums of cheering uniformed supporters and promising a return to the authoritarian model of the New Order. He lost both the election and a challenge to the results in the Constitutional Court.
In 2019, he tried once again against Jokowi, this time turning to conservative Islamists to support him. He was a strange choice as their figurehead, given he had a Christian mother and brother and, although a Muslim himself, had previously shown little public piety. In his 2014 campaign, he had even promised to protect religious minorities against Islamists.
Prabowo’s use of identity politics proved deeply polarising, strengthening the hand of hardline Islamist groups in Indonesia and deepening tensions between religious communities for years to come.
But Prabowo lost this election, too. He accused Jokowi of cheating, sparking rioting in Jakarta in which eight people died. He again contested the results in a highly publicised Constitutional Court challenge, which he also lost.
Prabowo then made the extraordinary decision to reinvent himself again. Dumping his supporters, he took the position of defence minister in the cabinet of his rival, Jokowi. The two former foes were photographed shaking hands and sharing jokes to seal their extraordinary deal.
For the next four years, Prabowo dutifully performed the role of loyal minister – even when Jokowi’s government moved against some of the Islamist organisations that had backed him in his last bid for the top job.
Controversial political moves
Now 72, Prabowo’s ambitions are undiminished, but his tactics have, once again, changed dramatically.
In his current run for president, Prabowo has selected Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his vice-presidential running mate. And Jokowi himself now backs him. (Although Jokowi has never explicitly endorsed Prabowo, Gibran’s candidacy makes Jokowi’s preferences crystal clear.)
Jokowi’s decision to join forces with Prabowo and his Gerindra party was driven by the fact he was prevented from running himself by the two-term presidential limit in the constitution. He therefore needed to find another way to maintain influence. Having his son as vice president would certainly suffice.
Jokowi is hugely popular, with approval rates still well over 70%. This means his decision to back Prabowo may – at last – deliver the presidency to the former general.
But building a new alliance with Prabowo has proved to be a seismic event in Indonesian politics, for two reasons.
First, according to the country’s election law, candidates for president and vice president must be at least 40 years old. The 36-year-old Gibran didn’t qualify.
Helpfully, the chief justice of the Constitutional Court was Gibran’s uncle and had been appointed by Jokowi. The court duly delivered a ruling that younger candidates could run if they had held elected office as a regional head. Gibran just happens to be mayor of the city of Solo (a position his father once held), so he was now eligible.
Uproar ensued, and the chief justice was demoted for his obvious conflict of interest. But, incredibly, the decision stood, and Gibran is running.
Second, Jokowi is a member of the PDI-P party, which had twice nominated him for president. The party has its own candidate running for president, Ganjar Pranowo.
So, by backing Prabowo, Jokowi has effectively turned his back on his own party and may help defeat its candidate for the presidency.
His actions also pose a major threat to PDI-P’s prospects in the legislative elections (held at the same time as the presidential vote). To the PDI-P leader, former president Megawati, and many of her supporters, Jokowi is now a traitor and enemy who may inflict huge damage on their political prospects.
Why this election matters
Prabowo’s big lead in the polls is partly thanks to Jokowi’s support and the many government officials now openly backing him. However, Prabowo has undergone (yet another) spectacular reinvention in recent months that has helped as well.
His campaign team has heavily promoted him as a baby-faced gemoy (cute) grandpa, using viral memes, video clips and even huge screens with anime avatars of Prabowo and Gibran smiling and winking at passers-by.
But Prabowo is not cute. In fact, he has repeatedly said Indonesia’s democratic system is not working and the country should return to its original 1945 constitution. This would mean unravelling most of the reforms introduced since Soeharto fell, which are largely based on constitutional amendments.
Among other things, Indonesia’s charter of human rights would go, as would the Constitutional Court. The courts would no longer be independent, direct presidential elections would end, the two-term presidential limit would go and the president could again control the legislature.
Of course, these changes might not be easily done, but it is a chilling prospect if Prabowo wins. And that may happen because much of the electorate doesn’t seem to care all that much about the consequences of picking him.
The average age of Indonesia’s 205 million eligible voters voters is just 30, and more than half are millennials or Gen Z. This means many have no memory of Soeharto’s oppressive and abusive New Order that Prabowo seems to want to revive.
Young voters also seem untroubled by Prabowo’s dark past and the credible allegations of violence and human rights abuses made against him. Instead, they seem captivated by the cute Prabowo and cool Gibran imagery saturating social media, backed by the charisma of Indonesia’s most popular public figure, Jokowi.
If Prabowo does become president, as many now expect, Indonesia’s fragile democratic system may be the next thing he reinvents – or, more likely, dismantles.
Tim Lindsey receives funding from the Australian Research Council
As wild fish and other marine species get scarcer from overfishing and demand for ‘blue foods’ grows around the world, farming of the ocean is growing rapidly. Fish, kelp, prawns, oysters and more are now widely farmed. The world now eats more farmed seafood than wild-caught.
These farms are springing up along coasts and in offshore waters worldwide. Australians will be familiar with Tasmania’s salmon industry, New South Wales’ oyster farms, and seaweed farms along the southern coastline. Aquaculture is already larger than fishing in Australia. Farming the sea is hailed as a vital source of food and biomass essential to reduce the damage we do to our oceans and help feed a growing population.
But the booming “blue economy” is no panacea. Fish farms can pollute the water. Mangroves are often felled to make way for prawn farms. The solutions of today could turn out to be problems of the future. We cannot simply shift from one form of environmental exploitation to another.
There is an alternative: permaculture. This approach has proven itself on land as a way to blend farming with healthy ecosystems. What if it could do the same on water?
Many of today’s most pressing problems – from climate change to biodiversity loss to pollution – are linked to the way we produce food on land. To make new farmland often involves removing habitat, destroying trees and adding synthetic fertilisers and pesticides.
Since humans began farming about 12,000 years ago, we have expanded to the point where we now actively control about 70% of Earth’s ice-free land to make food, build cities, and many other uses.
On land, we are farmers, tending domesticated species. But at sea, we’ve been hunters, seeking wild populations. Now, the seas are to be farmed. We should farm in ways which do not damage these ecosystems.
We cannot afford to use the same intensive methods of farming in the oceans as we have been on land. Given how sick many of the world’s ocean systems are already from overfishing, algal blooms from nutrient overload, and habitat loss, there’s not much room for error.
It’s entirely possible for aquaculture to be done too intensively. Shutterstock
What is marine permaculture?
Permaculture as we know it was developed in the 1960s by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. The latter is a co-author of the research forming the basis of this article.
The goal was simple: create ways of farming which give back to the soil and ecosystems, using tools like no-till farming, companion planting and food forests. Over the last 50 years, it has been adopted by farmers around the world.
Permaculture is framed around three ethics – care of Earth, care of people, and a fair share – aimed at producing benefits and distributing costs equitably between different people and nature.
So what would permaculture of the seas look like? While it hasn’t been fully articulated, many recent developments in ocean production and governance have strong parallels with the work permaculture practitioners have been doing for decades.
Aquaculture systems can, many now believe, not only be low-impact but work to restore lost or damaged ecosystems. Picture oyster farms slowly bringing back the natural oyster reefs which once carpeted shallow coastal waters, or prawn farms surrounded by regrowing mangroves to protect the coast from erosion.
There are strong parallels between the closed-loop approach taken by permaculture on land and an emerging sea farming approach called integrated multi-trophic aquaculture. Here, species with different ecological roles are grown together, producing more food from your farm – and strengthening natural ecosystem services.
In these systems, food waste from consumers is recycled by seaweeds and shellfish, which in turn provide food and habitat to farmed fish species. If well-designed, these benefits flow out from the farm.
Permaculture’s influence is also evident in nature-inspired design and biomimicry, using natural shapes to give nature a boost. Australian work here includes efforts to restore rocky reefs by creating structures with the nooks and crannies small sea creatures need.
If we instead took a marine permaculture approach to the blue economy, we would seek to return power back to the people who live and work at the water’s edge – a permaculture equivalent to artisanal fishing.
A localised approach to aquaculture has real benefit. Individuals and communities could develop their own versions of marine permaculture which work in their area, by adopting design solutions used elsewhere or just by tinkering and trialing.
If something isn’t working or it’s creating flow-on consequences, people can see what’s happening and respond quickly.
Small-scale sea farms are less likely to do damage, and should also boost resilience by investing in local social and environmental benefits.
How do we make this a reality?
For their part, governments can help by creating policy frameworks encouraging small-scale producers – especially those able to demonstrate positive social and ecological outcomes.
Governments have an essential role in creating comprehensive spatial plans to guide aquaculture in an area or region. This is important, as it removes uncertainty and avoids conflict between different uses.
Researchers can help by developing measures of success and testing new techniques to help guide the new communities which will form to farm the sea.
Over the past half-century, permaculture on land has grown into a diverse movement challenging conventional wisdom about how to produce food.
We’ll need that same intense creative energy to make marine permaculture a reality. It’s entirely possible to design food-producing seascapes which give back to the sea as well as take from it – while making it possible for smaller sea farmers to flourish.
Climate Foundation CEO Brian von Herzen and permaculture pioneer David Holmgren contributed to the research this article is based on.
Scott Spillias 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.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Wilkins, Professorial Fellow and Deputy Director (Research), HILDA Survey, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
The latest HILDA survey shows Australia’s gender gap in employment continuing to close, with progress beginning on the earnings gap.
Remarkably, the progress has continued notwithstanding the disruptions caused by COVID; there are indications they may even have helped.
Funded by the Australian government and managed by the Melbourne Institute, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey is one of Australia’s most valuable social research tools.
HILDA examined the lives of 14,000 Australians in 2001 and has kept coming back each year to discover what has changed. By surveying their children as well, and in future surveying their grandchildren, it is building up a long-term picture of how the lives of Australians are changing.
Employment lifting
The full span of the surveys through to the results for 2021 released this morning shows shows the proportion of women aged 18 to 64 in paid employment climbed from 64.3% in 2021 to 74.1% in 2019 before dipping during COVID and then bouncing back.
Separate labour force figures collected by the Bureau of Statistics suggest it might be as high as 76% by now, indicating that COVID may have merely dented rather than turned back progress.
For men of that age, the proportion in paid employment has changed little during those two decades, fluctuating between 80% and 84%, allowing the gap in employment between men and women to narrow eight percentage points.
Older women aged 65 to 69 are also much more likely to be employed. Most of the gain has taken place since 2009 when one in ten women of that age were in paid employment, a figure that has since climbed to one in four, not too far off the one in three men of that age employed.
Much of the increase would be due to the phased increase in the female pension age between 1995 and 2004 and the further increase in both the male and female pension age between 2017 and 2023. Broader social and economic changes such as the increase in two-earner couples will have also played a role.
While men remain well ahead in full-time employment, that gap is narrowing too. The proportion of women aged 18 to 64 employed full-time has climbed from around 35% to around 40% while the proportion for men has stayed close to 70%.
Previous HILDA reports have shown the arrival of children remains an important driver of divergence in the labour market experiences of men and women.
The arrival of a couple’s first child sees hours of paid work of the mother plummet and in many cases not recover for more than a decade. It has almost no effect on the paid working time of fathers.
Time spent on housework and child care, by contrast, rises dramatically for mothers and actually falls slightly for fathers.
If the gender gap in employment is to be eliminated, it is clear couples with children will need to share the load more equally.
Wages lifting
Male and female earnings have been converging slower than male and female employment, but the pace has picked up.
In 2001, women employed full-time earned on average 79% of what men earned. As recently as 2016, they still earned only 78% of what men earned.
But, since then, their earnings relative to male earnings have shot up, hitting 86% in 2021.
The gap in earnings of all employees – full-time and part-time – is greater because women are more likely to be employed part-time, but growth in the number of women employed full-time means this gap is closing faster. Average female earnings have climbed from 66% of male earnings in 2001 to 75% in 2021.
How COVID might have helped
While the pandemic seemed to hurt women’s employment prospects more than men’s, longer term it seems to be improving the relative position of women.
HILDA shows the proportion of employees working from home in 2020 and 2021 has increased substantially.
The proportion working any hours at home climbed from 25.1% in 2019 to 37.3% in 2021. The proportion working only at home climbed from 3.5% to 17.7%.
There has also been a sizeable rise in the proportion of employees reporting an entitlement to work from home, from 35% in 2019 to 45%.
While the increases were greatest in the regions that experienced extensive lockdowns – Victoria, NSW and the ACT – working from home increased in almost all parts of Australia.
HILDA shows women have been more likely to work from home than men since COVID, even after accounting for differences in the occupations and industries in which they work.
This is probably because of an increase in the number and types of jobs that can be worked at home by mothers with caring responsibilities.
But this latest 2021 HILDA survey also reveals another gender gap in the labour market: women are more likely to work while unwell, including working at the workplace while unwell.
There are health risks from working from home while unwell and also career risks from working at home. Being physically present in the workplace is likely to assist with career advancement.
“Out of sight” can mean “out of mind” when it comes to promotions.
Some small steps on sharing the caring
Also providing a glimmer of hope for closing the gender gaps in the labour market is that, among parents with children, we’ve seen an increase in the time men have been spending on household chores and looking after the children.
The improvement accelerated slightly in 2020 and 2021, via both an increase in the hours worked on domestic chores by men and a slight decrease for women.
But there is a long way to go. In 2021, mothers of dependent children were still spending 75% more time on unpaid housework and child care than their male partners.
The mothers spent 53 hours per week. Their male partners spent 30 hours.
“I was really going to be something by the age of 23,” says Lelaina Pierce, played by the radiant Winona Ryder in the 1994 Gen X classic Reality Bites.
She was voicing an anxiety many would say was born in the post-boomer demographic of the film’s disenfranchised central characters – but it is still a familiar anxiety today, 30 years on from the film’s release.
Reality Bites was the first feature for director Ben Stiller, then known mostly for his TV comedy work, and the first script penned by then 20-something writer Helen Childress, drawing from her own life experience.
Lelaina is a dissatisfied university graduate confronting the realities of life after graduation while making a documentary about her equally disaffected friend group.
Despite graduating at the top of her class, Lelaina is stuck in a producer’s assistant role on a Houston morning show – until she is unceremoniously fired. Complicating matters, she is also trapped in a love triangle with corporate Michael (played by Stiller) and slacker Troy (Ethan Hawke), two men who represent a key philosophical fork in the road for many Gen Xers: to “sell out” or not.
Reality Bites continues to resonate with new generations of viewers. It is a timeless story of young adults navigating love, friendship and career uncertainties.
A film for Gen X
At the time of release, The New York Times’ Frank Rich declared:
This is the movie that has been both praised as the last word on X-ers and damned as Hollywood’s slickest effort yet to exploit them.
There are however genuine joys, despite the slickness critique. Among them, the acerbic humour of Janeane Garofolo and Steve Zahn, in memorable roles; the killer 90s soundtrack, featuring Lisa Loeb, Crowded House and World Party; and two career-defining roles for Ryder and Hawke, who may be more familiar to younger audiences for Stranger Things and The Black Phone. Hawke’s brooding intellectual and Ryder’s luminous yet sardonic girl-next-door established personas for the duo that persisted throughout the decade.
The themes of the film are surprisingly relevant given the generational differences between audiences of the early 90s and today. Although the film examines the complicated issues of the AIDS crisis and homophobia of the era, it also adeptly examines the universal anxieties of identity crisis, disillusionment and the search for authenticity.
Despite clear generational differences in fashion, lifestyle and music, the response to the film by new audiences tends to be one of resonance and recognition.
A timeless premise for a romantic drama, the love triangle at the centre of Reality Bites remains compelling. Following Lelaina’s meet-cute car accident with TV executive Michael, the couple start dating. But Lelaina can’t overcome her attraction to Troy, who positions himself as the anti-Michael; he’s more interested in his amateur band and just hanging out than he is in starting a career.
When he and Lelaina finally come together in the aftermath of a fight with Michael over commercialising her documentary, it’s presented as soulful and deeply romantic. However, Troy is unable to handle the intimacy of their burgeoning relationship and walks out on her the following morning. Spoiler Alert: Lelaina forgives him for leaving, and their embrace and kiss is one of the final images of the film.
A worthy rewatch
What has struck me upon multiple rewatches over the last 30 years is how much my personal reaction to Lelaina’s eventual decision to dump Michael in favour of Troy has shifted. Troy is shown throughout the film to be callous, self-centred and in need of therapy, while Michael is generous and kind, if a little dorky
When I first watched the film as a teenager it was easy to get hoodwinked into aligning with Lelaina’s choice of Troy. Watching the film as an adult who is closer in age to Lelaina’s parents, the choice is less clear. Were Michael’s actions so egregious?
In hindsight, the Gen X obsession with selling out no doubt played a significant role in how Michael and Troy were perceived at the time of release. Michael’s attempt to turn Lelaina’s creative work into money was seen as inauthentic, while Troy’s lack of aspirations for his music career were perceived as rebellious and genuine.
A contemporary generation of media creators are seemingly less critical of attempts to monetise their artistry. The act of personal “branding” and building an audience are common to platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, in a manner that Troy and Lelaina would likely find shameful.
At the Tribeca Film Festival’s 25-year anniversary screening, Ryder herself admitted she thought Lelaina would end up in a lesbian relationship with Garofalo’s Vickie after Troy’s novelty faded.
Whichever side you end up taking, the film’s rocking soundtrack, charming performances and snarky humour make it a worthy rewatch.
Adam Daniel 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.
When you send your child to school, you expect they will learn how to read. But according to 2023 NAPLAN results, about one-third of Australian school students can’t read at their grade level.
For Indigenous students, students from disadvantaged families, and students in regional and rural areas, it’s more than half.
This is deeply troubling. When children do not learn to read fluently and efficiently in early primary school, it can undermine their future learning across all subject areas, harm their self-esteem, and limit their life chances.
Our new Grattan Institute report, The Reading Guarantee, outlines a strategy to ensure at least 90% of Australian school students are proficient readers.
This includes measures such as more support for lower-performing schools, coaching and building teachers’ expertise. On top of these, a key part of the strategy is that all schools regularly assess students’ reading progress and provide additional catch-up support – either in small groups or one-on-one – to those who are falling behind.
As previous Grattan Institute research shows, struggling students need early support so they do not fall even further behind.
Developing foundational reading skills, like decoding (the ability to sound out unfamiliar words on a page), are vital for students’ later reading success. A 2014 study of more than 400,000 students in Years 1, 2, and 3 found if a students’ decoding and vocabulary skills developed normally, fewer than 1% of students had problems with reading comprehension later on.
A focus on these early reading sub-skills is also more likely to instil a love of reading in students.
If students don’t master reading in early primary school, they may struggle with the reading demands of subjects such as biology and history in high school.
Tests can help
The earlier we assess students’ reading skills, the better, so struggling students can be supported to catch-up. For example, a 2017 US study of nearly 200 students found Year 1 and Year 2 students receiving additional help to catch up on their word reading progressed twice as fast as students who didn’t receive this help until Year 3.
The choice of assessment matters too – they need to be quick to administer and give teachers useful information. They should tell teachers what specific areas of reading students are struggling in, so support can be well targeted.
One example of this is The University of Oregon-developed DIBELS (the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). This has six short assessments of about one minute each of different reading sub-skills, such as “phonemic awareness” (identifying speech sounds in spoken language) and “reading fluency” (how quickly and accurately a child reads with the right expression). It also has benchmarks for the beginning, middle and end of the year.
Most Australian state and territory education departments mandate some specific early reading assessment tools and make recommendations about other assessments to use. But our report argues they are not necessarily recommending effective tests and they do not always provide the information teachers need to monitor reading progress.
There should be a nationally consistent Year 1 Phonics Screening Check to provide governments with a useful “health check” on early reading performance across states. The test was developed in the United Kingdom where it has been mandated for government schools since 2012.
It is also currently mandated in Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia.
Phonics is not the only important reading skill students should master in early primary school. But having a test focusing on phonics acknowledges how the ability to accurately decode words is a good predictor of students’ future reading achievement.
This test assesses students’ decoding skills across 40 real and made-up words (such as “lig”) of increasing complexity. It takes about seven minutes to complete per student. By assessing 40 words, it can identify the letter-sound combinations a student is struggling with.
Parents would then get a report on their child’s results and aggregate results would also be published at the state and sector levels.
We should also be assessing students at other times
The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check will tell governments how students are tracking on phonics. But schools should also be regularly tracking students’ progress on reading.
Governments should require all schools to assess students’ reading skills (using robust assessments such as DIBELS) at least twice a year from the first year of school to Year 2 and on entry into high school. This would identify students who may not have learnt necessary reading skills in primary school.
Governments should also provide clearer guidelines about which assessment tools are effective. And they should provide guidance on when assessments should be done and advice on what to do with the results.
The alternative is we keep going with a “wait-to-fail” approach, which lets too many students fall through the cracks.
The Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute’s activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities as disclosed on its website.
Over the past decade, reports of sexual misconduct by Australian health practitioners against patients have increased. While various reforms have tried to curtail “sexual boundary violations”, none has worked.
Now, Australian health ministers have agreed to consider three amendments intended to protect patients in each state and territory.
They seek to reorient the “inherent power imbalance” between practitioner and patient, in favour of patients. The aim is to increase public information about previously sanctioned practitioners and to better protect those who complain.
In health-care regulation, health practitioners’ boundary violations (or boundary crossings) cover a spectrum of sexual transgressions against patients.
These obviously include serious or criminal sexual assaults and exploitation. However, they also cover innuendo, intrusive questions and inappropriate physical examinations. Then there are sexual relationships with former and current patients – consensual or not.
Boundary violations cover a range of behaviours, including innuendo and intrusive questions. Ground Picture/Shutterstock
The Medical Board of Australia’s guidelines for sexual boundaries describes how boundary violations breach patient trust, undermine patient safety, and erode public confidence in the medical profession.
As muchresearch indicates, patients who are violated while seeking health care may endure profound distress and experience lifelong trauma.
Still, Australia’s national regulator of health practitioners, known as Ahpra, received 841 notifications about 728 registered practitioners concerning boundary violations in 2022-2023. This is an increase of more than 220% from 2019-2020.
Of these notifications, 359 related to medical practitioners (including psychiatrists), while 215 related to nurses and 120 to psychologists.
Independent analysis of Australian tribunal cases for boundary violations indicates between roughly 65% and 80% of those accused are male.
This proposed reform would allow Ahpra to disclose the “full regulatory history” of any health professional found guilty of professional misconduct for sexual violations in a civil tribunal or found guilty of sexual offences in a criminal court.
This would raise “red flags” on the public register about certain practitioners, which a patient could access.
Currently, regulatory impositions – such as practice conditions, reprimands, suspensions or deregistrations – are recorded on the register but usually removed once they lapse or expire.
2. Consistent reinstatement of deregistered practitioners
This seeks to harmonise across the country how deregistered health practitioners are reinstated.
Currently, only New South Wales law requires disqualified health practitioners to obtain a “reinstatement order” from a civil tribunal before applying to the relevant health profession council for reinstatement. The tribunal’s deliberations are heard in open hearings, its reasons and decision published to the public, and in turn may be reported by the media and read by patients.
Elsewhere, the state health practitioner boards typically reinstate practitioners without any publicly available decision, or the reasons behind the decision.
3. Banning non-disclosure agreements
The 2022 independent investigation into cosmetic surgery practitioners in Australia revealed some doctors who resolved disputes privately with aggrieved patients had used non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements, presumably to shield themselves from liability.
While such agreements would likely be unenforceable, they may lead patients to falsely believe they are legally bound to silence.
This proposed reform seeks to prohibit health practitioners using non-disclosure agreements to eliminate any chance they might stop or dissuade patients from reporting misconduct.
Proposed changes would ban health practitioners from trying to stop patients from reporting them. KellySHUTSTOC/Shutterstock
What would the proposed changes mean?
Many publicised boundary violation cases involve practitioners who have been reinstated after disqualification for previous misconduct. This includes where they have changed their names.
Currently, many patients who have been harmed by serial offenders have no way of knowing a practitioner had been previously sanctioned for the same or similar misconduct.
While some health practitioners will see these reforms as oppressive or punitive, only those found guilty in an open tribunal or court of the most serious professional misconduct for boundary-crossing transgressions or sexual crimes would be affected.
While promising, the reforms are not laid in stone. Public consultation is now underway until February 19.
Christopher Rudge was engaged as a special research officer at the Medical Council of NSW in 2018.
Over the past decade, reports of sexual misconduct by Australian health practitioners against patients have increased. While various reforms have tried to curtail “sexual boundary violations”, none has worked.
Now, Australian health ministers have agreed to consider three amendments intended to protect patients in each state and territory.
They seek to reorient the “inherent power imbalance” between practitioner and patient, in favour of patients. The aim is to increase public information about previously sanctioned practitioners and to better protect those who complain.
In health-care regulation, health practitioners’ boundary violations (or boundary crossings) cover a spectrum of sexual transgressions against patients.
These obviously include serious or criminal sexual assaults and exploitation. However, they also cover innuendo, intrusive questions and inappropriate physical examinations. Then there are sexual relationships with former and current patients – consensual or not.
Boundary violations cover a range of behaviours, including innuendo and intrusive questions. Ground Picture/Shutterstock
The Medical Board of Australia’s guidelines for sexual boundaries describes how boundary violations breach patient trust, undermine patient safety, and erode public confidence in the medical profession.
As muchresearch indicates, patients who are violated while seeking health care may endure profound distress and experience lifelong trauma.
Still, Australia’s national regulator of health practitioners, known as Ahpra, received 841 notifications about 728 registered practitioners concerning boundary violations in 2022-2023. This is an increase of more than 220% from 2019-2020.
Of these notifications, 359 related to medical practitioners (including psychiatrists), while 215 related to nurses and 120 to psychologists.
Independent analysis of Australian tribunal cases for boundary violations indicates between roughly 65% and 80% of those accused are male.
This proposed reform would allow Ahpra to disclose the “full regulatory history” of any health professional found guilty of professional misconduct for sexual violations in a civil tribunal or found guilty of sexual offences in a criminal court.
This would raise “red flags” on the public register about certain practitioners, which a patient could access.
Currently, regulatory impositions – such as practice conditions, reprimands, suspensions or deregistrations – are recorded on the register but usually removed once they lapse or expire.
2. Consistent reinstatement of deregistered practitioners
This seeks to harmonise across the country how deregistered health practitioners are reinstated.
Currently, only New South Wales law requires disqualified health practitioners to obtain a “reinstatement order” from a civil tribunal before applying to the relevant health profession council for reinstatement. The tribunal’s deliberations are heard in open hearings, its reasons and decision published to the public, and in turn may be reported by the media and read by patients.
Elsewhere, the state health practitioner boards typically reinstate practitioners without any publicly available decision, or the reasons behind the decision.
3. Banning non-disclosure agreements
The 2022 independent investigation into cosmetic surgery practitioners in Australia revealed some doctors who resolved disputes privately with aggrieved patients had used non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements, presumably to shield themselves from liability.
While such agreements would likely be unenforceable, they may lead patients to falsely believe they are legally bound to silence.
This proposed reform seeks to prohibit health practitioners using non-disclosure agreements to eliminate any chance they might stop or dissuade patients from reporting misconduct.
Proposed changes would ban health practitioners from trying to stop patients from reporting them. KellySHUTSTOC/Shutterstock
What would the proposed changes mean?
Many publicised boundary violation cases involve practitioners who have been reinstated after disqualification for previous misconduct. This includes where they have changed their names.
Currently, many patients who have been harmed by serial offenders have no way of knowing a practitioner had been previously sanctioned for the same or similar misconduct.
While some health practitioners will see these reforms as oppressive or punitive, only those found guilty in an open tribunal or court of the most serious professional misconduct for boundary-crossing transgressions or sexual crimes would be affected.
While promising, the reforms are not laid in stone. Public consultation is now underway until February 19.
Christopher Rudge was engaged as a special research officer at the Medical Council of NSW in 2018.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University
Shutterstock
Half a century on from its creation, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) continues to attract millions of players across demographics.
The tabletop role-playing game truly has cemented its position in an increasingly competitive market, valued at more than US$15 billion (A$23 billion) in 2022.
Tabletop role-playing games are driven by players’ own imaginations. They are a collaborative form of storytelling where players collectively control the narrative and “play” their characters through their words and actions.
In D&D, each player creates a character (such as a human, elf or dwarf, to name a few examples) with unique qualities. Do you like spells? You can be a wizard. Interested in sabotage? Become a rogue. Enjoy combat? You may be a barbarian at heart.
Guided by a dungeon master, your party narrates a quest-filled campaign filled with sticky situations and perilous encounters.
Players roll dice, including a 20-sided die, to dictate what actions they can take. The numbers they roll decided their successes and failures, whether they’re casting spells, picking locks, or attacking monsters.
There are abundant rules, minutiae and lore. But, at its heart, D&D is simply a collective effort to tell a great story.
A global success
More than 50 million people worldwide are estimated to have played D&D. This is immense reach for a game that emerged in the 1970s as a fantasy spin-off from strategic war gaming, where predominantly male players used miniatures to simulate military operations.
D&D’s increased popularity, over the past decade in particular, has been driven by the success of the game’s current version (the fifth edition, released in 2014), the growth in online gaming culture, as well as increased social acceptance of what have historically been considered “nerdy” or “geeky” interests.
Franchises such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings have also helped bring fantasy narratives into the mainstream.
The current D&D edition hits a sweet spot. It’s complex enough to sustain long-standing players, but approachable enough to draw in new people. Following its 2014 release, celebrities such as Vin Diesel and Joe Mangianello made online appearances playing D&D.
In 2016, Netflix’s Stranger Things introduced the game to a massive new audience, as a portrayal of 1980s suburban nostalgia for carefree creative adventures.
But as D&D became mainstream, scrutiny followed. The subculture has its share of controversies, including an element of toxic fandom that expresses hostility towards the game’s evolution and diversifying fan base.
As with any growing community, some fans have been concerned with gate-keeping. Some players experience bullying and exclusion, while others find themselves in awkward conversations around the table. This has been a recurring concern for women trying D&D for the first time.
On balance, however, the vast majority of people play to have fun, express their creativity and engage with others. The flexible nature of the game means fans have found endless ways to turn their campaigns into something highly personal and treasured.
D&D continues to evolve through the rich contributions of its fan base, for whom it has become an important outlet for creativity and self-expression.
We all need connection
In challenging times, tabletop games provide inexpensive entertainment, escapism and a way to stay connected to friends and family.
One recent Australian study, of community members playing the game over an eight-week period, found playing D&D decreased players’ depression, stress and anxiety, and increased self-esteem. The authors suggest the game could be used as a wellbeing intervention tool or to prevent mental health issues from arising.
This is particularly valuable at a time when social isolation is plaguing communities. Australia’s social cohesion index dropped to its lowest level in 2023. People were concerned about rising household expenses and the state of the economy, with almost half of respondents feeling socially isolated some or all of the time.
Around the world, shared public spaces, cafés and pubs offer tabletop gaming spaces to foster community engagement. Public libraries have included spaces for gaming since the 1850s, starting with billiard tables and puzzles, and now including video games.
In April, the British Library will host a live-streamed event to celebrate D&D’s 50-year legacy – one of many events to be held this year. A new rules update is expected later in the year and is sure to entice fans new and old.
Lisa M. Given is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Australian Library and Information Association.
Sarah Polkinghorne 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.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Cross, Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching) Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology
The global superstar Taylor Swift is bringing her Eras tour to Australia later this month, with sold-out shows in Sydney and Melbourne. With Swifties numbering in the thousands, fans who didn’t initially secure tickets are understandably desperate to find some.
Enter the many fraudsters seizing this opportunity. Sadly, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has reported over A$135,000 already lost to ticket fraud for the Swift concerts. The actual losses are likely to be much higher.
Hackers are also targeting the accounts of ticket holders in order to steal and resell legitimate tickets.
So how can you protect yourself if you are looking to buy or sell Eras tickets, or just want to keep your Ticketek account safe?
The problem is ticket fraud
In recent years, there has been a shift to electronic ticketing for events. This uses a unique barcode (or QR code) which can be dynamic. In the case of Ticketek, electronic tickets are linked to the purchaser’s phone number to reduce fraud.
Electronic ticketing aims to overcome a range of problems, such as counterfeit tickets, duplicate tickets and ticket scalping. Unsurprisingly, scammers have updated their techniques, too.
When purchasing tickets, it can be difficult to know if it is an authentic website, a genuine ticket and a legitimate transaction.
For example, scammers are selling non-existent tickets across a range of social media platforms. They are also creating fake, legitimate-looking websites that lure in unsuspecting victims to hand over their personal details and money in return for heartache.
Many fraudsters are also tricking people with ticket sales on Facebook. Excited fans send the requested payment (usually a cash transfer), but will not receive their promised tickets and are not likely to recover the money.
Facebook has many groups where Taylor Swift fans are on the lookout for tickets, making them vulnerable to scammers. Facebook
Hacked accounts
The prevalence of hacking drives a lot of the ticket fraud. This is particularly evident through the only official reseller of Eras tickets (and many other events) – Ticketek Marketplace.
Some people have had their Ticketek accounts hacked, and offenders have been able to make transactions without the owner’s consent. By the time they realise, it is too late – the owner may have lost their tickets with nothing in return.
There are also many reports of victims whose known contacts (family or friends) message them on social media offering the chance to buy tickets. This approach reduces red flags or suspicions, as it uses existing trust and relationships to get a payment.
However, victims soon find their family member or friend has had their account hacked. Again, there is no ticket and no chance of recovering funds.
Hacking genuine accounts to perpetrate fraud is common. Recently, hackers gained unauthorised access to hotel provider accounts on the popular accommodation website Booking.com. They then communicated with guests to gain direct payments and financial details.
If I’d only played it safe
There are no foolproof guarantees when trying to buy resold tickets. But you can look out for warning signs and take steps to reduce the risk of fraud or being hacked.
Only buy tickets through the authorised seller website. In the case of Swift, that’s Ticketek Marketplace. While customers are reporting long wait times and less than satisfactory user experiences right now, it is still the most likely place to have genuine tickets.
Do not, under any circumstances, buy tickets on social media such as Facebook. This includes from known contacts. There is no guarantee that the ticket exists or the person is genuine. There is also no recourse for lost payment.
Never provide or confirm your payment details outside of Ticketek. Do not transfer any cash via a bank transfer to a seller. There are no seller fees on Ticketek Marketplace, and no reason to pay outside of the regulated system.
Ensure you have strong passwords on all your accounts. Do not use the same password on several accounts. This is vitally important to protect yourself against many types of harm, not just ticket fraud.
Enable two-factor authentication on any accounts you can. This provides an additional layer of protection should your password be compromised.
Use a credit card where possible rather than debit card or cash transfers. You may be able to dispute a transaction or charge if you have used your credit card and may be able to recover any lost funds.
Take screenshots of any communications and transactions when purchasing tickets online. While this will not prevent fraud, it does make it easier to report an incident or figure out what happened.
Always confirm in person or over the phone with any known contacts who have messaged an offer or requested funds. With the prevalence of hacking into accounts, you may not be communicating with the person you think you are.
No one teaches you what to do
If you think you have been a victim of ticket fraud, contact your bank or financial institution immediately. The quicker you can do this, the better.
You should also contact the platform through which you made the transaction (such as Ticketek Marketplace).
You can report any financial losses to ReportCyber, which is an online police reporting portal for cyber incidents, as well as Scamwatch, to assist with education and awareness activities.
If you need support or assistance for any compromise of your identity, contact iDcare.
Cassandra Cross has previously received funding from the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked exhausted at his media conference in Israel this week as he tried to remain optimistic about prospects for a truce in the Gaza war.
Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comprehensively rejecting Hamas’s ceasefire counter-proposal, Blinken said it “creates space for an agreement to be reached”. He pledged the US would continue to “work relentlessly” to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Putting aside the fact the job description of senior diplomats requires them to remain upbeat in the face of negotiating setbacks, does Blinken’s shuttle diplomacy – he has visited the Middle East five times since Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel – have any chance of success?
Antony Blinken sounded optimistic in a press conference in Israel this week.
Where the negotiations stand
Israel and the US presented a proposal to Hamas via Qatar about a week ago. It was not made public, but Qatar’s Al Jazeera news agency reported sources “close to the talks” as saying it involved an initial 40-day truce, during which Hamas would free the remaining Israeli civilian hostages it holds, followed by Israeli soldiers and the remains of dead hostages.
Hamas’s counter-proposal, delivered on February 7, offered freedom for all remaining hostages and the return of the deceased in a three-stage ceasefire lasting 4.5 months. In return, Israel would first release all Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails, as well as 1,500 male prisoners, including 500 serving long sentences.
At the same time, the Israeli military would implement a phased withdrawal of its troops from Gaza, and the ceasefire would become permanent. The obvious implication of the proposal was that Hamas would remain in control of Gaza.
It’s not surprising each set of proposals was unacceptable to the other party. Israel didn’t offer any guarantees that it wouldn’t resume its military campaign after the release of the hostages. And Hamas’s proposal was effectively a return to the status quo before October 7, which would be entirely unacceptable to the Netanyahu government.
Each proposal appeared to represent the maximalist positions of each side. As such, the standard technique of practised negotiators is to examine both proposals and look for – or try to create – common ground for a deal. Can that work now?
Will Netanyahu keep negotiating?
Despite Netanyahu’s stern rebuff of Hamas’s counter-proposal, a Hamas delegation has travelled to Cairo this week for more ceasefire talks. But whether Netanyahu is prepared to keep talking will depend on his evaluation of the pressures he faces on three fronts:
First, Netanyahu is beholden to prominent hardliners in his right-wing government, particularly Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir threatened to bring down his government over any attempt to enter a “reckless” deal with Hamas to free the hostages.
If Netanyahu is forced to hold new elections, opinion polls show he would have very little chance of forming a new administration.
Second, the families of the 136 hostages still held in Gaza and their supporters hold daily demonstrations demanding the government prioritise negotiating their release over the military campaign against Hamas.
The news that 31 of the hostages have been confirmed dead can be expected to raise the families’ anxiety levels and increase the tempo of their protests.
And third, Netanyahu faces increasing pressure from the Biden administration, which is suffering reputational damage across the Middle East and in the Global South because of its unconditional support (including providing weapons) for Israel’s Gaza campaign.
Within the US, Biden is also experiencing blow-back from young, progressive Democrats, horrified at the Palestinian death toll, which now stands at over 27,000. That could affect his re-election prospects if they decide not to turn out for him in the November vote.
For Hamas, pluses and minuses
By comparison, the pressures on Hamas are of a lower order. Obviously, Israel’s military campaign, particularly its current extension into southern Gaza, is causing enormous suffering to the civilian population. But the degree to which this affects the Hamas leadership is uncertain.
In negotiating through Qatar and Egypt for a ceasefire, an increase in aid and, ultimately, an end to the conflict, Hamas is presumably motivated – at least partly – by a desire to reduce civilian suffering.
But its main aim is unquestionably its own survival. What would force Hamas to compromise on its demands would be the capture or deaths of its senior leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif.
It should be noted Hamas derives some benefits from the continuing conflict. What Biden has described as Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” campaign actually boosts Hamas’s image as a standard bearer for Palestinian rights. The Gaza war, with its horrifying human toll, has brought the Palestinians’ plight to international attention and harmed Israel’s global standing.
Hamas would also be aware that it does not have to defeat Israel militarily in order to win this war. It needs merely to survive. A ceasefire that left Hamas in charge of a Gaza in ruins would thus be a victory.
Do negotiations stand a chance?
Unless there is an unexpected development – Israel’s elimination of Sinwar and Deif, or its military locating and freeing the remaining hostages – the war is likely to continue for some months.
Netanyahu probably feels he has no choice, from a political perspective, but to continue prosecuting the war in the same manner, in the hope of a breakthrough.
His history of staring down US presidents means he almost certainly won’t back down under pressure from Biden. And he will continue to tell the hostages’ families that their loved ones can only be rescued by military action alone, even if their demonstrations grow in size and number.
To appease the families, Netanyahu may be prepared to sanction renewed temporary ceasefire offers to Hamas in an effort to win more hostage releases – but not if doing so puts his governing coalition at risk.
Israel also has to bear in mind the interim ruling of the International Court of Justice last month over accusations its military campaign breaches the Genocide Convention. The court has ordered Israel to produce a report by late February on measures it has taken to prevent genocide.
Though Netanyahu has rejected the ICJ’s ruling, he needs to take account of the views of his Western supporters who place high value on the role of the court.
The entrenched positions of the Netanyahu government and the Hamas leadership mean Blinken’s work is nowhere close to being done. That means more trips to the region, more shuttle diplomacy and, likely, more sleepless nights.
Ian Parmeter 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.
A wave of criticism by Indonesia’s academic community against the leadership of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo continues to grow as the republic faces a presidential election next week.
In the latest incident a council of professors, rectors and students at Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMY) in Bantul, Yogyakarta province, has issued a national message and moral appeal to “Safeguard Indonesian Democracy”.
In a statement read by UMY’s Professor Akif Khilmiyah last Sunday, the academics and students stated that an escalation of constitutional violations and the loss of state ethics had continued over the past year.
“Starting with the emasculation of the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission], officials who are fond of corruption, the DPR [House of Representatives] which does not function to defend the country’s children and some MK [Constitutional Court] judges who do not have any ethics or self-respect,” she said.
The culmination this, continued Professor Khilmiyah, was the “shackling” of the Constitutional Court judges by the “ambitions of the country’s rulers” and a loss of ethics in the political contest ahead of the 2024 elections on February 14 — Valentine’s Day.
Instead of thinking about ordinary people who were “eliminated by the power of the oligarchy“, according to Professor Khilmiyah, the country’s rulers appeared ambitious and were busy pursuing and perpetuating their power.
“The fragility of the state’s foundations is almost complete because the state’s administrators, the government, the DPR and the judiciary have failed to set a good example in maintaining their compliance with the principles of the constitution and the country’s ethics that should be obeyed wholeheartedly,” she said.
Upholding principles As a democratic country and based on the constitution, state administrators should be the best examples of upholding the principles of the constitution and setting an example in upholding the country’s ethics for citizens.
Without this, the professor said, the Republic of Indonesia was at risk of becoming a failed state.
“Without exemplary state administrators, Indonesia will be on the verge of become a failed state,” she said.
The ordinary people must be active in reminding all state administrators so they complied with the constitution and cared for Indonesian democracy.
“[We] urge the President of the Republic of Indonesia to carry out his constitutional obligations as a state administrator to realise the implementation of the 2024 elections that are honest and fair,” Professor Khilmiyah said.
“The use of state facilities with all the authority they possess represents a serious constitutional violation,” she said, reading out the demands of professors and the UMY academic community.
The academics urged the political parties to stop the practice of money politics and abuse of power in the 2024 election contest, demanding that they prioritise political ideas and education to enlighten ordinary people.
Independent judiciary They demanded that judicial institutions, namely the Supreme Court and the courts under its authority and the Constitutional Court, be independent and impartial in handling various disputes and violations during the 2024 elections.
Appealing to all Indonesian people to jointly safeguard the implementation of the 2024 elections so that they were dignified, honest and fair to enable the election of a leader who was visionary and had the courage to uphold the principles of the constitution.
The wave of criticism from campuses around Indonesia has continued to spread.
Earlier, several campuses issued petitions addressed to President Widodo, starting with the Gajah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Central Java, which released a “Bulaksumur Petition” (a long road hemmed in by rice fields where a well is found) because of their disappointment with one of the graduates of the university — President Widodo.
Protests on campus by the academic community against the Widodo leadership then became more widespread such as at the State Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta which called for an “Indonesian Statesmanship Emergency”.
Last Friday, on February 2, at least three more campuses issued statements criticising President Widodo. In a statement, the University of Indonesia (UI) claimed it had been called on to beat the drums of war to restore democracy.
Meanwhile, several professors and academics from Hasanuddin University (Unhas) in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar warned President Widodo and all state officials, law enforcement officers and political actors in the cabinet to remain within the corridors of democracy, prioritising popular values and social justice and a sense of comfort in democracy.
Lecturer coalition A coalition of lecturers from Mulawarman University (Unmul) in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, also joined in calling on people to take a stand to save democracy and asked President Widodo not to take sides in the 2024 elections.
The palace itself has already responded to the wave of calls from Indonesian campuses. Presidential Special Staff Coordinator Ari Dwipayana responded by saying it was normal for a contest of opinions to emerge ahead of elections. He also touched on partisan political strategies.
“We are paying close attention in this political year, ahead of elections a contest of opinion will definitely emerge, the herding of opinions,” said Dwipayana.
“A contest of opinions in a political contestation is something that is also normal. Moreover it’s related to partisan political strategies for electoral politics.”
Nevertheless, Dwipayana emphasised that the criticism by campus academics represented a form of free speech and was a citizen’s democratic right.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape made his historic address to the Australian Federal Parliament in Canberra today.
Following Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s welcome address, Marape highlighted with gratitude the historical ties between the two nations and made special reference to the continuous support given to PNG by Australia since independence in 1975.
“We thank Australia for the profound work that has gone into the setting up of key institutions that remain the anchor of this free vibrant democracy of PNG,” said Marape.
Speaking during his address to senators and members of the Australian federal Parliament, Marape described the relationship between the two countries as being “joined to the hips” and “locked into earth’s crust together”, referring to the Indo-Australian tectonic plate.
He emphasised the efforts of Australia as being a “huge pillar of support” in terms of infrastructural development for Papua New Guinea.
Marape also made reference to former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam and Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare as the “forefathers who made independence possible” and described Australia as being a big brother or sister that had nurtured PNG into adulthood.
Today’s a historic day in PNG Australia relationships.
On this day, January 8, 2024, in Canberra, a son of Kondom Agaundo, the legendary Papua New Guinean warrior chief, will address the Australian Federal Parliament.
This simple act will fulfill the prophecy of Chief Kondom of Wandi, Chimbu province. His prophecy titled “my sons will come” has become a rallying call for Papua New Guineans to set forth and explore the world of globalism in education, business, sports, foreign policy, tourism and politics.
It was in Canberra that Kondom, a member of the PNG Legislative Council, felt humiliated when he tried to address an Australian audience. His lack of English proficiency irritated the audience who responded with laughter.
Chief Kondom, the son of a powerful warrior chief, felt slighted.
He thought maybe, if not for his poor English, then maybe it was the insinuation of his name.
While he felt insulted, he was a warrior and would not show any weakness. He held fast to his belief that payment for an offence now would be fulfilled later.
He was determined to prove his leadership skills. He was determined to tell the white “mastas” that their time in Papua and New Guinea would end.
He responded with the famous lines: “In my village, I am a chief among my people but today, I stand in front of you like a child and when I try to speak in your language, you laugh at my words.
“But tomorrow, my son will come and he will talk to you in your language, this time you will not laugh at him.”
And that the sons and daughters of Chief Kondom, well educated, very confident, fluent and sophisticated, cultured, tasteful, elegant and vibrant have descended on Australia in the last 50 years.
Former politicians and knights Sir Yano Belo and Sir Nambuka Mara are in Canberra with Prim Minister Marape.
It was the wisdom of people like Chief Kondom, Sir Yano, Sir Nambuka, Sir Peter Lus and many other political warriors that inspired Chief Sir Michael Somare to demand political independence from Australia.
The memory of Chief Kondom lives on in Chimbu and across the country. His legacy is written on buildings and schools.
In 1965, Kondom Agaundo was the Member for Highlands region. He also became a kiap, the first local to embrace Western civilisation.
He was the first president of Waiye Rural LLG 1959 and the first Chimbu man to own and ride horses.
He is remembered as the man who fostered coffee in the Central highlands. Sadly, chief Kondom died in a car crash at Daulo Pass in August 1966.
It is said that the funeral and burial ceremony lasted weeks and over 100 pigs were slaughtered for the man who reminded the Australians his sons would come.
Today, Prime Minister completes the evolution of the legend of Chief Kondom Agaundo, under the watchful gaze of two of Chief Kondom’s surviving peers.
Papua New Guinea and Australia created another piece of history yesterday when James Marape became the first international leader to address the Australian Federal Parliament since 2020.
In a speech laden with heartfelt gratitude and sentimental recollections of the shared history of both nations, the PNG Prime Minister thanked Australia for all it had done for his country – from giving it independence, to sending missionaries and public servants to help develop the country, to fighting together with Papua New Guineans during World War II, to all the current economic and other assistance.
Marape had said before leaving for Canberra that he would not be asking Australia for any help.
“Historic moment” . . . Today’s front page coverage in the PNG Post-Courier. Image: PC screenshot APR
He repeated that in his address yesterday — even though he really shouldn’t have, for help from Australia has, is, and will be constant going into the future.
But he did appeal to the Australians not to forget Papua New Guinea during its current, ongoing challenges.
“Today, I carry the humble and deep, deep gratitude of my people, the thousand tribes. On behalf of my people, I thank Australia for everything you have done and continue to do for us,” Marape said.
“I appreciate all governments of Australia which have assisted our governments since 1975.
‘Crucial role in develoment’ “Thank you for continuing to support us throughout the life of our nationhood. Your assistance in education, health, infrastructure development in ports, roads and telecommunications continue to a play a crucial role in our development as a country.
“I appreciate, also, all Australian investors, who, to date, comprise the biggest pool of investors in Papua New Guinea.
“We realise our success as a nation will be the ultimate payoff for the work put in by many Australians.
“Thus, I commit my generation of Papua New Guineans to augmenting the sanctity of our democracy and progressing our economy.
“We pledge to work hard to ensure that PNG emerges as an economically self-sustaining nation so that we too help keep our region safe, secure and prosperous for our two people and those in our Indo-Pacific family.”
Marape’s address comes during a period of constant domestic and external challenges.
He is facing a potential vote of no confidence on his leadership this month and his government is also dealing with competition for influence from world powers, including China, USA, India, Indonesia, France and Australia.
Australia’s ‘real friend’ But he assured Australia that Papua New Guinea is its “real friend”.
This is despite revelations last week that his government was in talks with China over a potential security deal, a revelation that has worried Australia and the United States.
“In a world of many relations with other nations, nothing will come in between our two nations because we are family and through tears, blood, pain and sacrifice plus our eternal past our nations are constructed today,” he promised.
“These have all been our challenges. But as I visit with you in Australia today, I ask of you please, do not give up hope on Papua New Guinea.
“We have always bounced back from low moments and we will continue to grow,” Marape said.
Light and sound shows in parks can enthral crowds with their colour, music and storytelling. Lasting for weeks to months, the shows provide entertainment and can boost local economies. But unless they are well-located, the shows can also harm wildlife.
A planned production at a wildlife sanctuary in outer Melbourne has brought these concerns to the fore. In April and May this year, a wildlife reserve on the Mornington Peninsula will host Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience. The event involves a two-kilometre night walk where, according to organisers, characters from the film are “brought to life”.
The event has prompted an outcry from people worried about the effect on the reserve’s vulnerable wildlife. The sanctuary, known as The Briars, is home to native animals including powerful and boobook owls, owlet-nightjars, koalas, wallabies, Krefft’s gliders, lizards, frogs, moths and spiders. A petition calling for the event to be relocated has attracted more than 21,000 signatures.
Research shows artificial light, sound and the presence of lots of people at night can harm wildlife. It’s not hard to see why. Imagine if a music and light show, and thousands of people, turned up at your house every night for weeks on end. How would you feel?
A history of community opposition
In addition to the lights and sounds, these shows can involve artificial smoke and animated sculptures. While they often take place along existing walking trails, they attract huge crowds at a time when animals usually have the place to themselves.
Most of Australia’s mammals and frogs and many bird and reptile species are nocturnal, or active at night. They have adapted to the natural darkness, sounds and smells of the night.
The Harry Potter experience planned for The Briars has taken place elsewhere around the world, including at a nature area near the Belgian capital of Brussels. That event, in February last year, was also opposed by locals on ecological grounds. Belgian Minister for Nature Zuhal Demir has reportedly said the show would not return this year due to concern for wildlife.
Light shows proposed for other wildlife conservation areas have also faced community opposition. In Australia, there were calls to halt the Parrtjima light festival in the Alice Springs Desert Park over potential harm to the threatened black-footed rock wallabies. The Lumina light show proposed for Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane has also attracted concern for wildlife.
Research shows artificial light affects wildlife in many ways. For example, it can change their hormone levels, and the numbers and health of their offspring.
Light also interferes with the ability of many species to navigate. This can cause birds to become disorientated and crash. It can also prevent baby turtles from finding the sea.
Some animals will forgo feeding or drinking and attracting mates. Other animals will try to move to a darker location. In the Belgian case, locals claimed owls left the park to avoid the lights.
Studies of small mammals such as bats, micro-bats, possums and bandicoots have shown many will avoid using habitat that is artificially lit. When there is no alternative dark habitat, species forced to deal with bright conditions – whether natural or artificial – have been found to reduce their activity.
Conversely, some animals are attracted to light. Insects such as moths will cluster around the artificial light source, unable to leave. Some will become so exhausted they will become easy prey.
What’s more, human-caused noise also stresses animals and changes animal behaviour. It masks the natural soundscape, making it harder for animals to find mates or hear the calls of their young. It can also mean animals can’t hear predators or their prey.
When thousands of humans travel through an area they leave strong predator-like smells. This can be stressful for wildlife. It can also mask smells vital for an animal’s survival, such as that of food and predators.
Long-term harm
When faced with all this disruption, many nocturnal animals will hide until a site returns to normal, which in the case of light shows is often close to midnight. This cuts in half the time animals have to go about their life-sustaining activities and exposes them to greater risks when they do go out.
Light and sound shows are usually temporary – but can have major long-term impacts.
In species with low birth rates and short lifespans, a disturbance to breeding can be catastrophic. For example, males of the genus Antechinus (small marsupials) live long enough for just one short breeding season. If they are disrupted, there are no second chances.
The stress of human lights, sounds, smells and disturbance can shorten an animal’s life. Stress can make them more prone to illness and create problems with sleeping, reproduction, development and growth that can last for multiple generations.
Find a better location
The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has defended the Harry Potter event, saying the placement of props, lights and sounds has been carefully considered.
Organisers may have minimised impacts where they can, but evidence suggests the impact on wildlife will still be extensive.
The sanctuary where the event will be held is billed as “an ark – a place which nurtures, protects and celebrates the unique flora and fauna of the peninsula, now rare but not lost”. Deliberately locating a light and sound show at the reserve seems at odds with this mission.
Events such as this clearly affect wildlife. Finding genuinely suitable locations should be done with care – and should avoid wildlife conservation areas altogether.
Jaana Dielenberg works for the Biodiversity Council. The Biodiversity Council was founded by 11 universities and receives support from The Ian Potter Foundation, The Ross Trust, Trawalla Foundation, The Rendere Trust, Isaacson Davis Foundation, Coniston Charitable Trust and Angela Whitbread. Jaana is employed by the University of Melbourne and is a Charles Darwin University Fellow.
Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society.
Therésa Jones receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is affiliated with NERAL (Network for Ecological Research on Artificial Light).
Loren Fardell 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.
Micellar water, a product found in supermarkets, chemists and bathroom cabinets around the world, is commonly used to remove make-up. It’s a very effective cleanser and many people swear by it as part of their skincare routine.
So, what is micellar water and why is it so good at getting makeup and sunscreen off? Here’s the science.
Oil and water generally don’t mix, which is why you’ll struggle to remove makeup and sunscreen (which both contain oils) with just plain water.
But micellar water products contain something called micelles – clusters of molecules that are very effective at removing oily substances. To understand why, you need to first know two chemistry terms: hydrophilic and hydrophobic.
A hydrophilic substance “loves” water and mixes easily with it. Salt and sugar are examples.
A hydrophobic substance “hates” water and generally refuses to mix with it. Examples include oil and wax.
Hydrophilic materials will happily mix with other hydrophilic materials. The same goes for hydrophobic substances. But if you try to combine hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials, they won’t mix.
How are micelles formed? It’s all about surfactants
The micelles in micellar water are formed by special molecules known as surfactants.
Surfactant stands for surface active agent. These molecules looked at their hydrophilic and hydrophobic brethren and said, why not both? They are typically comprised of two ends: a head group that is hydrophilic and a tail that is hydrophobic.
A surfactant has a head that is hydrophilic and a tail that is hydrophobic. Daniel Eldridge
When a small amount of surfactant is added to water, the two ends of the molecule have competing interests. The hydrophilic head wants to be in the water, but the hydrophobic tail can’t stand water.
Add enough surfactant and, eventually, we will pass a critical micelle concentration and the surfactants will self-assemble into clusters of approximately 20 to 100 surfactant molecules.
All the hydrophilic heads will be pointing outwards, while the hydrophobic tails remain “hidden” at the centre. These clusters are micelles.
Surfactant molecules arrange themselves into a micelle, with the hydrophilic heads pointing outwards and the hydrophobic tails pointing inwards. Daniel Eldridge
These micelles have a hydrophilic exterior, meaning that they are very happy to remain mixed throughout water. However, in the centre remains a hydrophobic pocket that’s very good at attracting oils.
This is very handy, and helps explain why adding some detergent (a surfactant) to water will allow you to wash an oily saucepan. The surfactant first helps lift of the oil, and then the oil can remained mixed into the water, finding a new home in the hydrophobic centre of the micelle.
Micellar water in action
Surfactants are in your dishwashing detergent, your body wash, your shampoo, your toothpaste and even many foods. In all of these cases, they are there to help the water interact with the dirt and oils, and micellar water is no different.
When you apply some micellar water to a cotton pad, another convenient interaction occurs. The wet cotton is hydrophilic (loves water). Consequently, some of the micelles will unravel, with the hydrophilic heads being attracted to the wet cotton pad.
Now, sticking out from the surface will be a layer of hydrophobic tail groups. These hydrophobic tails cannot wait to attract themselves to makeup, sunscreen, oils, dirt, grease and other contaminants on your face.
As you sweep the cotton pad across your skin, these contaminants bind to the hydrophobic tails and are removed from the skin.
Some contaminants will also find themselves encapsulated in the hydrophobic centres of the micelle.
Either way, a cleaner surface is left behind.
Look at how a cotton wipe soaked in micellar water cleans up a small oil spill, in comparison to water alone.
So why shouldn’t I just use dishwashing detergent to wash my face?
Technically, that would work as detergent does indeed contain lots of micelle-forming surfactants.
But these particular surfactants would probably cause a lot of skin and eye irritation, while also damaging and drying out your skin. Not nice.
The surfactants in micellar water are chosen to be mild and well tolerated by most people’s skin. But micellar water isn’t the only skincare product to contain micelles. There are many other face-cleaning products that also make great use of surfactant molecules and work very well too.
Now, it’s not perfect. While it is effective at removing a wide range of contaminants, thick or heavy makeup might not come off easily with micellar water (you might need to do a more vigorous clean).
Some products say there is “zero residue”, although the fine print clearly states this refers to visible residue.
Many products also state there is no rinse off required. Surfactants will remain on your skin after product use, but for many people they don’t cause irritation. If your skin is feeling irritated after using a micellar water product, you can try rinsing afterwards or discontinuing use.
And as is the case with many cosmetic products, you should test it first on a small patch of skin before using it all over your face.
Daniel Eldridge 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.
“Fair go” is an expression we hear a lot in Australia. Activists use it to demand social justice, companies use it to promise customers a good deal, and politicians invoke it to persuade us that they understand the plight of ordinary people.
Most political commentators and academics who write about the fair go associate the phrase with Australia’s famed egalitarian traditions, including equality of economic opportunity, universal political rights and the provision of a safety net via minimum wages and welfare programs.
Yet the fair go expression is sometimes used in ways that are distinctly inegalitarian. Former prime minister Scott Morrison repeatedly declared his belief in “a fair go for those who have a go”, suggesting the concept only applies to hardworking, “deserving” Australians. Morrison’s comments drew the ire of critics who argued he was subverting the original egalitarian meaning of the fair go phrase, along with the Australian culture of benevolence to the needy.
So who is right about what a fair go means to Australians? Are some uses more faithful to our “fair go traditions” than others?
In our research project, we went back to the earliest recorded mentions of the fair go phrase in colonial-era newspapers to understand the original uses and meanings of this phrase, focusing on the period between 1860 and 1901.
We found the most common uses of the fair go expression did not refer to equality, benevolence and social justice. Instead, the phrase was mainly used to describe spirited efforts in competitive sports such as horse racing, boxing and sprinting. We found this in an article published in New South Wales in 1889:
They were stripped of shoes and everything and had a fair go with the hurdles out about 18 yards.
In sport, a fair go could also mean trying your hardest, as opposed to “pulling” a race or “throwing” a match, such as in this piece from 1892:
With a dishonest jockey aboard […] an owner never knows whether he is to get ‘a fair go’ or not.
A fair go could also refer to a thrilling, close match that entertained spectators, or a lucky win for gamblers, as in the expression “having a fair go for their money”. The fair go phrase was also used in politics in the context of closely
fought elections, such as in Western Australia in 1900:
[…] he can depend on a fair go for it, for it’s a dead certainty he won’t gain the seat unopposed.
“Fair go” could also refer to violent power struggles. In an 1891 telegram sent during the Shearers Strike in Queensland, a union leader advocated achieving a fair go by force:
[…] if a little more devil was put into our actions the better it would be for us in the end. We have tried passive resistance and it appears to have failed. Let us try the other now, and have a fair go.
The expression was sometimes used to refer to fistfights in politics and beyond, such as this piece in 1897:
Fights between members of Parliament or city or municipal councillors are not of rare occurrence in Australia, but a fair “go” between lawyers with the “bare bones” is not often chronicled.
It was even used to describe violence in wartime, such as when an Australian soldier in the Boer war expressed a hope to a reporter that the enemy would “let him have a fair go […] with the bayonet”.
Different contexts, different meanings
While the dominant meanings of the fair go in the 19th century referred to competition and power struggles, we also found uses that resonate more with egalitarianism, social justice and procedural rights. In an 1891 article about politics, a fair go could mean the right to speak:
You are a liar and the father of a liar. Why don’t you let me speak? This is my maiden speech and you might let me have a fair go.
The fair go phrase was also used to advocate for the principle of one person, one vote, as well as ranked voting.
In sport, a fair go was said to require impartial umpires who didn’t favour one side over the other. In the legal system, a fair go required the right to due process, such as the provision of warrants for arrests and adequate defence in the courtroom.
While these ideas resonate with contemporary concerns about equal rights, non-discrimination, and proper process in government, they represented the minority of uses of the fair go phrase in the 19th century. Uses of “fair go” to refer to benevolence to the poor and the need for a safety net were virtually absent in the period we studied.
These findings highlight that the fair go originally meant different things to different people, and in different contexts. In our recent research, we show that 19th-century uses of the fair go can be organised into six distinct meanings. These reflect the fact that the words “fair” and “go” have multiple meanings associated with both “justice” and “strength”.
These different interpretations are alive and well today, and can be used to critically assess public policies on contentious issues such as housing affordability and immigration.
Who is right about the true historical and contemporary meaning of the fair go? Our research shows no political ideology or party has a monopoly on the fair go. How we talk about the fair go reveals the ideas that shaped us as a nation, and the values that influence our political debates.
Cosmo Howard receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This article was funded under the ARC Discovery Project: DP220101911 – Understanding the Antipodean ‘Fair Go’.
Pandanus Petter receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This article was funded under ARC Discovery Project: DP220101911 – Understanding the Antipodean ‘Fair Go’.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Jureidini, Research Leader, Critical and Ethical Mental Health research group, Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide
Guidelines mostly recommend antidepressants for more severe depression and anxiety but not as first-line treatment for less severe depression. Less commonly, antidepressants may be prescribed for conditions such as chronic pain and migraine.
Yet prescription rates continue to increase. Between 2013 and 2021, the antidepressant prescription rate in Australia steadily increased by 4.5% per year. So why are so many Australians taking antidepressants and why are prescriptions rising?
The evidence suggests they’re over prescribed. So how did we get here?
Enter the antidepressant ‘blockbusters’
In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies heavily promoted new selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants, including Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline) and Lexapro (escitalopram).
These drugs were thought to be less dangerous in overdoses and seemed to have fewer side effects than the tricyclic antidepressants they replaced.
Pharmaceutical companies marketed SSRIs energetically and often exaggerated their benefits, including by paying “key opinion leaders” – high-status clinicians to promote them. This prompted substantial growth in the market.
SSRIs earned billions of dollars for their manufacturers when on patent. While now relatively cheap, they still prove lucrative because of high prescribing levels.
Why are antidepressants prescribed?
The majority (85%) of antidepressants are prescribed in general practice. Some are prescribed for more severe depression and anxiety. But contrary to clinical guidelines, GPs also prescribe them as a first-line treatment for less severe depression.
GPs also prescribe antidepressants to patients experiencing distress but who don’t have a psychiatric diagnosis. A friend dealing with her husband’s terminal illness, for example, was encouraged to take antidepressants by her long-term GP, even though her caring capacity wasn’t impaired. Another, who cried when informed she had breast cancer, was immediately offered a prescription for antidepressants.
Sometimes patients who don’t have a psychiatric diagnosis receive antidepressants. Stephen Barnes/Shutterstock
There are several reasons why someone may take antidepressants when they’re not needed. A busy GP might be looking for a convenient solution to a complex and sometimes intractable problem. Other times, patients request a prescription. They may be encouraged by an acquaintance’s good experience or looking for other ways to improve their mental health.
Most patients believe antidepressants restore a chemical imbalance that underpins depression. This is not true. Antidepressants are emotional (and sexual) numbing agents – sometimes sedating, sometimes energising. Those effects suit some people, for example, if their emotions are too raw or they lack energy.
Most experts and guidelines recommend specific prescribing regimes of antidepressants, varying from months to two years.
However, most antidepressants are consumed by two categories of people. Around half of patients who start antidepressants don’t like them and stop within weeks. Of those who do take them for months, many continue to use them indefinitely, often for many years. Long-term use (beyond 12 months) is driving much of the increase in antidepressant prescribing.
Some people try to stop taking antidepressants but are prevented from doing so by withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms – including “brain zaps”, dizziness, restlessness, vertigo and vomiting – can cause significant distress, impaired work function and relationship breakdown.
Across 14 studies that examined antidepressant withdrawal, around 50% of users experienced withdrawal symptoms when coming off antidepressants, which can be mistaken for recurrence of the initial problem. We are conducting a survey to better understand the experience in Australia of withdrawing from antidepressants.
Antidepressants should not be stopped abruptly but gradually tapered off, with smaller and smaller doses. The recent release in Australia of the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines provides guidance for the complex regimes required for the tapering of antidepressants.
Overprescribing antidepressants is a symptom of our lack of attention to the social determinants of mental health. It’s depressing to be poor (especially when your neighbours seem rich), unemployed or in an awful workplace, inadequately housed or fearful of family violence. It’s wrong to locate the problem in the individual when it belongs to society.
Overprescribing is also symptomatic of medicalisation of distress. Most diagnoses of depression and anxiety are descriptions masquerading as explanations. For each distressed person who fits the pattern of anxiety or depression, the meaning of their presentation is different. There may be a medical explanation, but most often meaning may be found in the person’s struggle with difficult feelings, their relationships and other life circumstances such as terrible disappointments or grief.
GPs’ overprescribing reflects the pressures they experience from workload, unrealistic expectations of their capacity and misinformation from pharmaceutical companies and key opinion leaders. They need better support, resources and evidence about the limited benefits of antidepressants.
GPs also need to ensure they discuss with their patients the potential adverse effects of antidepressants, and when and how to safely stop them.
But the fundamental problem is social and can only be properly addressed by meaningfully addressing inequality and changing community attitudes to distress.
Jon Jureidini receives research funding from MMRF. He is affiliated with Critical Psychiatry Network Australasia.
Light and sound shows in parks can enthral crowds with their colour, music and storytelling. Lasting for weeks to months, the shows provide entertainment and can boost local economies. But unless they are well-located, the shows can also harm wildlife.
A planned production at a wildlife sanctuary in outer Melbourne has brought these concerns to the fore. In April and May this year, a wildlife reserve on the Mornington Peninsula will host Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience. The event involves a two-kilometre night walk where, according to organisers, characters from the film are “brought to life”.
The event has prompted an outcry from people worried about the effect on the reserve’s vulnerable wildlife. The sanctuary, known as The Briars, is home to native animals including powerful and boobook owls, owlet-nightjars, koalas, wallabies, Krefft’s gliders, lizards, frogs, moths and spiders. A petition calling for the event to be relocated has attracted more than 21,000 signatures.
Research shows artificial light, sound and the presence of lots of people at night can harm wildlife. It’s not hard to see why. Imagine if a music and light show, and thousands of people, turned up at your house every night for weeks on end. How would you feel?
A history of community opposition
In addition to the lights and sounds, these shows can involve artificial smoke and animated sculptures. While they often take place along existing walking trails, they attract huge crowds at a time when animals usually have the place to themselves.
Most of Australia’s mammals and frogs and many bird and reptile species are nocturnal, or active at night. They have adapted to the natural darkness, sounds and smells of the night.
The Harry Potter experience planned for The Briars has taken place elsewhere around the world, including at a nature area near the Belgian capital of Brussels. That event, in February last year, was also opposed by locals on ecological grounds. Belgian Minister for Nature Zuhal Demir has reportedly said the show would not return this year due to concern for wildlife.
Light shows proposed for other wildlife conservation areas have also faced community opposition. In Australia, there were calls to halt the Parrtjima light festival in the Alice Springs Desert Park over potential harm to the threatened black-footed rock wallabies. The Lumina light show proposed for Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane has also attracted concern for wildlife.
Research shows artificial light affects wildlife in many ways. For example, it can change their hormone levels, and the numbers and health of their offspring.
Light also interferes with the ability of many species to navigate. This can cause birds to become disorientated and crash. It can also prevent baby turtles from finding the sea.
Some animals will forgo feeding or drinking and attracting mates. Other animals will try to move to a darker location. In the Belgian case, locals claimed owls left the park to avoid the lights.
Studies of small mammals such as bats, micro-bats, possums and bandicoots have shown many will avoid using habitat that is artificially lit. When there is no alternative dark habitat, species forced to deal with bright conditions – whether natural or artificial – have been found to reduce their activity.
Conversely, some animals are attracted to light. Insects such as moths will cluster around the artificial light source, unable to leave. Some will become so exhausted they will become easy prey.
What’s more, human-caused noise also stresses animals and changes animal behaviour. It masks the natural soundscape, making it harder for animals to find mates or hear the calls of their young. It can also mean animals can’t hear predators or their prey.
When thousands of humans travel through an area they leave strong predator-like smells. This can be stressful for wildlife. It can also mask smells vital for an animal’s survival, such as that of food and predators.
Long-term harm
When faced with all this disruption, many nocturnal animals will hide until a site returns to normal, which in the case of light shows is often close to midnight. This cuts in half the time animals have to go about their life-sustaining activities and exposes them to greater risks when they do go out.
Light and sound shows are usually temporary – but can have major long-term impacts.
In species with low birth rates and short lifespans, a disturbance to breeding can be catastrophic. For example, males of the genus Antechinus (small marsupials) live long enough for just one short breeding season. If they are disrupted, there are no second chances.
The stress of human lights, sounds, smells and disturbance can shorten an animal’s life. Stress can make them more prone to illness and create problems with sleeping, reproduction, development and growth that can last for multiple generations.
Find a better location
The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has defended the Harry Potter event, saying the placement of props, lights and sounds has been carefully considered.
Organisers may have minimised impacts where they can, but evidence suggests the impact on wildlife will still be extensive.
The sanctuary where the event will be held is billed as “an ark – a place which nurtures, protects and celebrates the unique flora and fauna of the peninsula, now rare but not lost”. Deliberately locating a light and sound show at the reserve seems at odds with this mission.
Events such as this clearly affect wildlife. Finding genuinely suitable locations should be done with care – and should avoid wildlife conservation areas altogether.
Jaana Dielenberg works for the Biodiversity Council. The Biodiversity Council was founded by 11 universities and receives support from The Ian Potter Foundation, The Ross Trust, Trawalla Foundation, The Rendere Trust, Isaacson Davis Foundation, Coniston Charitable Trust and Angela Whitbread. Jaana is employed by the University of Melbourne and is a Charles Darwin University Fellow.
Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society.
Therésa Jones receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is affiliated with NERAL (Network for Ecological Research on Artificial Light).
Loren Fardell 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.
Managing menstruation in public can be challenging at the best of times, but imagine being eight years old and having to deal with your period at school. You might need to change your pad during class and explain to your friends why you are not going to the swimming carnival. You might be scared you will bleed through your uniform because there aren’t any sanitary bins in the junior years’ bathroom.
In Australia, the average age of the first period is about 13. But about 12% of children get their period between the ages of eight and 11. Researchers call this “early menarche” or “early onset menstruation”.
But even though a significant proportion of students are getting their first period as early as Year 3 or even Year 2, primary school students are not officially taught about puberty until Years 5 and 6 (when they are aged between 10 and 12).
Our research explores current period education and what support is available for early menstruators. It shows how schools can act as gatekeepers of knowledge about this essential and very normal part of human development.
Period shame exists but is not inevitable
Shame about periods has existed in many parts of the world for centuries. Researchers have noted how children are taught not to talk about menstruation and if they do, it is often negatively (with a focus on pain and discomfort).
A 2021 survey found 29% of 659 menstruating Australian students aged ten to 18 were concerned they would be teased at school for having their period.
Similar issues occur as students grow older. A 2022 Australian survey of 410 university students who menstruate found only 16.2% felt completely confident in managing their periods at university. Just over half believed society thought periods were taboo (and so, not something you talk about).
But the stigma is not inevitable. There are examples of education programs in other countries that celebrate periods and are accessible across ages.
There is a Swedish program that provides information for young people, stories about first periods and advice on how adults can talk to children about menstruation. In the United Kingdom, there are moves to introduce a “period positive” curriculum for school students.
The Australian curriculum does not not explicitly mention “period” or “menstruation” in any of its online health and physical education curriculum resources, for any year levels up to Year 10.
We can assume schools would cover it under topics such as “understand the physical […] changes that are occurring for them”. But without explicit mention to menstruation or periods, it is likely what is being taught across classrooms in Australia is variable and insufficient.
It was last updated in 2022, under the former Morrison government.
Our research
We interviewed 15 staff across government, Catholic and private primary schools in Australia. We asked staff about their awareness of students who have experienced early onset menstruation, how their students are educated about periods, and what support is available to them.
Staff spoke about how students who menstruated early “felt isolated” and voiced the need for earlier “matter-of-fact” menstruation education. As one teacher told us:
I think we’ve got to take it down to Years 3 and 4 and be a lot more specific than we have been, because you are going to get more and more being younger.
However, several participants shared apprehension around having discussions about periods with young students. As one teacher explained:
You don’t want to scare young girls, like seven-and eight-year-olds […] if it is happening earlier, it needs to be talked about earlier. But that’s a hard one because a lot of girls […] aren’t really mature enough to understand […]
Another teacher said that talking about periods in Year 3 was “probably a bit too much […] you don’t want to traumatise the child”.
Gatekeeping knowledge and awareness about periods from younger children is a problem on multiple levels. For one, it can deprive children of vital information about their bodies. For another, it frames menstruation as something inherently inappropriate, scary or crude. This in turn can reinforce stigma and taboo.
Can we tell boys about this?
Staff also spoke about how boys were not necessarily included in lessons about periods, and how male teachers may not have experience talking about these issues. As one teacher told us:
It is a discussion that’s been done where they don’t really include the boys in it […].
School staff also raised concerns that teaching boys about menstruation might present an opportunity for bullying or teasing. One school support officer suggested only girls should be taught about periods, noting:
they [boys] might be like ‘oh, I found your pad!‘
However, separating classrooms by gender for these lessons does not encourage the normalisation of periods. A 2016 study explored the attitudes of 48 Australian men towards menstruation. Participants reported being told little or nothing about periods while growing up, and so they grew up believing it was taboo.
Other teachers in our study noted how important it was for male students to be taught about periods.
I found it really frustrating that we’re giving young men who are eventually going to be in workplaces and potentially in positions of leadership, who are being deprived of these matter-of-fact moments of teaching [about menstruation] where they’re going to sort of pick up these things through like hearsay, through sort of uneducated conversation […]
Our study emphasises how a lack of timely and comprehensive education and support for early menstruators in Australian schools is underpinned by menstrual stigma and taboo.
But it also showed how the issue is driven by perceptions of children’s capacity to learn about periods, based on their age and gender.
This research highlights the need for the Australian curriculum to introduce specific menstruation education by at least Year 3 or earlier. The curriculum needs to explain what menstruation is, why it happens, the ways it can be managed and how it will begin happening to their peers and that this is normal.
In the meantime, we encourage all school staff to work towards building menstrual wellbeing by becoming comfortable discussing periods with all students, make period products accessible to all year levels in all bathrooms, and advertise free period product locations to students from Year 3.
This will enable all children who menstruate to manage their periods in school easily and without shame.
Jessica Shipman receives funding from Flinders Foundation.
Olivia Marie Bellas 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.
Bendigo’s ‘Moon Face’ dragon in front of Bendigo’s Gwan Dai Temple (now demolished) at Easter 1900.The Bendigonian/Trove
Tomorrow will usher in the lunar Year of the Dragon. Families and friends will gather to feast, red packets will be gifted to youngsters, and dancing Chinese lions accompanied by strings of crackers will scare away evil spirits and bring good fortune to businesses.
In celebration of the new year, much-loved Chinese dragons will parade on Australia’s streets, including Sun Loong in Bendigo and the Millennium Dragon in Melbourne.
While dragon parades are popularly viewed as displays of Chinese or Cantonese tradition and culture, their history demonstrates how deeply Australian they also are.
Our historical research shows that until relatively recently Australia’s dragon parade tradition was closely associated with Chinese-Australian philanthropy and engagement with Australian civic life, rather than with Chinese spiritual practice.
Bendigo’s ‘Duck Bill’ dragon, photographed here in 1896, was the first processional dragon in Victoria. The Australasian/Trove
The earliest dragon arrivals
Australia’s Cantonese immigrants and their descendants have long used dragon processions as ostentatious displays of their culture. Some of the organisers of dragon parades have ancestry dating back to the 19th-century gold rushes. The history of these dragons is almost as old.
The first dragon, nicknamed the “Duck Bill” dragon, was imported from Southern China to Bendigo more than 100 years ago and paraded from 1892 to 1898.
Nearby, Ballarat’s first dragon – also the oldest surviving dragon – was purchased in 1897. It was paraded until the 1960s. Ballarat’s dragon is held at Sovereign Hill.
The “Moon Face” dragon was Bendigo’s second dragon, paraded for just one year in 1900. Then, in 1901, Bendigo imported its third dragon, “Loong”. Remarkably, Loong was paraded for more than 100 years (circa 1901-2019) and now resides at the Golden Dragon Museum.
Melbourne also got its first dragon in 1901, which was paraded until about 1915. It’s now held at the See Yup Temple in South Melbourne.
Australian streets have provided a stage for a variety of processions, with public holidays used to stage open-air fundraising activities (particularly for hospitals). Chinese communities were as keen as everyone else to assist with fundraising, display their culture and participate in festivities.
Historian Pauline Rule has shown that Chinese communities have contributed to public fundraising displays in rural cities since at least 1866.
Bendigo’s Chinese community has helped raise funds for the Bendigo Hospital at its annual Easter fair since 1879. In 1884, the organising committee of Castlemaine’s charity parade specifically sought the involvement of the local Chinese community.
This wood engraving from 1874 portrays a Chinese procession at the Beechworth carnival. State Library of Victoria
The popularity of dragons
Dragons were expensive and valued, and as such were also loaned to other communities for fundraising displays. In 1897, Bendigo’s Duck Bill dragon travelled to Sydney to participate in the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee fundraiser. Then, both Bendigo’s Moon Face and the Ballarat dragon, as well as costumes from Bendigo, Beechworth and Castlemaine, were loaned to raise funds for the Melbourne Women’s Hospital in May 1900.
Dragons and costumes loaned by Chinese communities in Bendigo, Ballarat, Beechworth and Castlemaine were used for a major fundraising event for the Melbourne Women’s Hospital in May 1900. The Leader/Trove.
That so many Victorian communities could purchase dragons demonstrated their prosperity and joint commitment to Australia philanthropy and public life. It perhaps also encouraged a friendly intercity rivalry.
Processional dragons were so popular that some communities that couldn’t access one would make their own imitation ones.
This photo, taken at an unknown date, shows an imitation Chinese dragon parading in Warrnambool. Warrnambool Historical Society
Royal welcome
By the time the Duke and Duchess of York arrived in Melbourne to open the first federal parliament on May 6 1901, Chinese participation in public processions in Victoria was common. Of the five Chinese dragons brought to Victoria in the 19th century, three participated in Federation celebrations.
As John Fitzgerald shows, many Chinese Australians were as excited about the possibilities of Federation as other Australians. They “shared a grand vision of what Australia might become in the century ahead”. To mark the royal visit, welcome arches were constructed in Melbourne, Ballarat and Perth.
Thanks to early photography, we can identify the two dragons that paraded in Melbourne. Several photographs show Bendigo’s Loong was one of these.
Bendigo’s Loong was paraded in Spring Street, in front of Parliament House, as part of celebrations to welcome the Duke and Duchess of York in May 1901. Museums Victoria
One of few photographs showing the Melbourne processional dragon during Federation celebrations. G.H. Myers/Museums Victoria
They show that, while the dragon’s beard is positioned differently and some decorations are missing, the striped horns and head match the Melbourne dragon held at the See Yup Temple in South Melbourne. According to a 1903 newspaper article, Melbourne’s Chinese Bo Leong Society had specifically purchased this dragon for the 1901 celebrations, at a cost of 250 pounds.
The third dragon involved in the festivities, the Ballarat dragon, was used to decorate the Chinese arch that welcomed the royal couple during their visit to Ballarat.
Ballarat’s processional dragon decorated a Chinese arch created to welcome the Duke and Duchess of York to Ballarat in May 1901. Golden Dragon Museum
A legacy in Australia
Astoundingly, these three Federation-era dragons – three of the five oldest surviving imperial dragons in the world – still survive today.
Traditionally, when dragons reach the end of their life they are ritually burned. That these dragons were not is another expression of their Australianness. For immigrant Chinese communities, they have acquired special value as examples of cultural practices of distant homelands. Their cultural difference and beauty also appeal to others.
Each dragon is significant in its own right, but together they are remnants of a significant history of Chinese Australians’ participation in local fundraising and celebration.
Sophie Couchman has undertaken research work for the See Yup Society on a voluntary basis and formerly curator at the Museum of Chinese Australian History.
Leigh McKinnon is the Research Officer at Bendigo’s Golden Dragon Museum, the home of the world’s oldest complete processional dragon Loong.
The government has announced long-awaited fuel efficiency standards, which will place a yearly cap on the total emissions output for new cars sold in Australia. The new regime will move Australia in the direction of comparable countries, but it has its critics.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen joins the podcast to discuss this policy, as well as the government’s progress on the energy transition, which is facing resistance in some regional and rural communities.
On the fuel standards, Bowen insists there’s no downside.
I don’t see any losers out of this policy because you could still get full range of choice.
He points out the government won’t be forcing anyone to change cars.
We like people having the choice of EVs and like people taking up EVs because they’re good for emissions and good for the cost of living. But it’s a choice for Australians, and I recognise everyone’s on a journey. You know, some people are looking at plug-in hybrids. Some people are just not ready yet, it’s perfectly understandable.
On climate change and the 2030 targets, Bowen admits
Of course, there are challenges along the road. And there’s a big lift […] renewable energy was about 30% when we came to office. And we’re getting to 82%. It’s a big job; of course, there are bumps and challenges. I don’t shy away from that. But we continue with the journey.
Talking about the government’s First Nations Clean Energy Strategy, Bowen says
I’m co-developing it with First Nations people. It’s co-designed. I think that’s very important, because it’s not me sitting in Canberra telling First Nations people what they need and what will happen. […] It’s run very collaboratively across the committee. It’s done a lot of outreach in meetings.
Indigenous people have a lot of energy insecurity in remote Australia. I mean, [they are] amongst the most energy insecure in the world. Their electricity gets turned off a lot. But they live in the hottest, sunniest places in the world. So, you know, we need better harnessed renewable energy. We need to give them more energy reliability.
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.
What does the Australian supermarket chain Coles have in common with the CIA? As of last week, both are clients of Palantir Technologies, a US tech company “focused on creating the world’s best user experience for working with data”.
In a three-year deal, Coles plans to deploy Palantir’s tools across more than 840 supermarkets to cut costs and “redefine how we think about our workforce”.
The tech company, named after magical seeing stones from the Lord of the Rings, offers comprehensive software that collects, organises and visualises a client’s data in “one platform to rule them all”. For an intelligence agency, Palantir’s tools might help identify a terror cell through phone calls and financial transactions; in a healthcare organisation, they might find ways to save money by shortening emergency department stays.
For Coles, the goal is to “optimise its workforce” by analysing “over 10 billion rows of data, comprising each store, team member, shift and allocation across all intervals in a day, every day”.
What might this Palantir–Coles collaboration look like in practice?
Typically, Palantir first sends out “forward-deployed engineers” to begin work with an organisation’s data, which is often messy, incomplete and fragmented. These engineers work with different branches and stakeholders to bring the data together into a single compatible whole called “The Ontology”, which contains all the information deemed relevant.
The platforms let clients explore the data through dense but user-friendly interfaces populated by columns and rows, boxes and lines. The Artificial Intelligence Platform also brings ChatGPT-like language models into the mix.
Users might compare earnings between branches, flag a store that seems inefficient, or identify an upcoming period of high spending based on historic patterns.
All of this probably seems banal, or even boring. It’s certainly less overtly problematic than Palantir’s work with governments and law enforcement, which has been slammed for enabling data-driven deportation or racist policing, and seen the company described as “evil”.
However, the deal doesn’t need to be overtly malevolent to be meaningful. A technology of surveillance and control is quietly becoming infrastructure, moving from front-page news to something ticking along silently in the background. In this sense, Palantir shifts from the visible to the operational, imperceptibly but powerfully shaping the lives and livelihoods of Australian supermarket employees and shoppers.
Optimising the workforce
We can briefly sketch out three implications of the deal.
First, by inking this deal, Coles frames itself as future-forward and logistically driven. Groceries and grocery-store labour become more data, just like the hedge funds, healthcare, or immigrants that other Palantir clients coordinate.
The Palantir deal continues this extractive trajectory. Rather than paying workers more or passing savings onto customers, Coles has chosen to invest millions in technology that will “address workforce-related spend” as part of a larger effort to cut costs by a billion dollars over the next four years. Food (and the labour needed to grow, pack and ship it) is transformed from a human need to an optimisation problem.
A walled garden
Second, dependence. As my own research found, Palantir clients tend to enjoy the all-encompassing data and new features but also become dependent on them. Data mounts up; new servers are needed; licensing fees are high but must be paid.
Much like Apple or Amazon, Palantir’s services excel at creating “vendor lock-in”, a perfect walled garden which clients find hard to leave. This pattern suggests that, over the next three years, Coles will increasingly depend on Silicon Valley technology to understand and manage its own business. A company that sells a quarter of Australia’s groceries may become operationally reliant on a US tech titan.
A way of seeing
Finally, vision. What Palantir sells is fundamentally a way of seeing. Its dashboards promise a God’s eye view that can stretch across an entire organisation or zoom in to granular detail to locate that “needle in the haystack” insight.
The claim is that this data-driven view is a shortcut to total knowledge, a way to map every operation, reveal every important element, and identify every inefficiency.
Palantir promises a ‘total view’ of an organisation that allows full control and optimal decision-making. Palantir
Yet the data inevitably excludes significant social, financial and environmental information. The sweat of workers struggling to pack at pace, the belt-tightening of consumers struggling to make ends meet, and the struggle of farmers to survive unexpected climate impacts will go untracked.
Such details never appear on the platform – and if they’re not data, they don’t matter. Will Palantir’s data-driven myopia translate to how Coles views its workers and customers?
By placing Palantir at the heart of its operations, Coles quietly smuggles in several key assumptions: that food is a commodity to be optimised, that paying for labor is a risk rather than a responsibility, and that data can capture everything of importance. At a time of increased food insecurity, Australians should strongly question whether this is the direction one of our major grocery providers should take.
Luke Munn 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.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia
For instance, there is some evidence eating or drinking fermented foods can improve blood glucose control in people with diabetes. They can lower blood lipid (fats) levels and blood pressure in people with diabetes or obesity. Fermented foods can also improve diarrhoea symptoms.
But can they help you lose weight, as a recent study suggests? Let’s look at the evidence.
Fermented foods are ones prepared when microbes (bacteria and/or yeast) ferment (or digest) food components to form new foods. Examples include yoghurt, cheese, kefir, kombucha, wine, beer, sauerkraut and kimchi.
As a result of fermentation, the food becomes acidic, extending its shelf life (food-spoilage microbes are less likely to grow under these conditions). This makes fermentation one of the earliest forms of food processing.
Fermentation also leads to new nutrients being made. Beneficial microbes (probiotics) digest nutrients and components in the food to produce new bioactive components (postbiotics). These postbiotics are thought to contribute to the health benefits of the fermented foods, alongside the health benefits of the bacteria themselves.
A study published last week has provided some preliminary evidence eating kimchi – the popular Korean fermented food – is associated with a lower risk of obesity in some instances. But there were mixed results.
The South Korean study involved 115,726 men and women aged 40-69 who reported how much kimchi they’d eaten over the previous year. The study was funded by the World Institute of Kimchi, which specialises in researching the country’s national dish.
Eating one to three servings of any type of kimchi a day was associated with a lower risk of obesity in men.
Men who ate more than three serves a day of cabbage kimchi (baechu) were less likely to have obesity and abdominal obesity (excess fat deposits around their middle). And women who ate two to three serves a day of baechu were less likely to have obesity and abdominal obesity.
Eating more radish kimchi (kkakdugi) was associated with less abdominal obesity in both men and women.
However, people who ate five or more serves of any type of kimchi weighed more, had a larger waist sizes and were more likely to be obese.
The study had limitations. The authors acknowledged the questionnaire they used may make it difficult to say exactly how much kimchi people actually ate.
The study also relied on people to report past eating habits. This may make it hard for them to accurately recall what they ate.
This study design can also only tell us if something is linked (kimchi and obesity), not if one thing causes another (if kimchi causes weight loss). So it is important to look at experimental studies where researchers make changes to people’s diets then look at the results.
There have been several experimental studies looking at how much weight people lose after eating various types of fermented foods. Other studies looked at markers or measures of appetite, but not weight loss.
One study showed the stomach of men who drank 1.4 litres of fermented milk during a meal took longer to empty (compared to those who drank the same quantity of whole milk). This is related to feeling fuller for longer, potentially having less appetite for more food.
Another study showed drinking 200 millilitres of kefir (a small glass) reduced participants’ appetite after the meal, but only when the meal contained quickly-digested foods likely to make blood glucose levels rise rapidly. This study did not measure changes in weight.
Another study looked at Indonesian young women with obesity. Eating tempeh (a fermented soybean product) led to changes in an appetite hormone. But this did not impact their appetite or whether they felt full. Weight was not measured in this study.
A study in South Korea asked people to eat about 70g a day of chungkookjang (fermented soybean). There were improvements in some measures of obesity, including percentage body fat, lean body mass, waist-to-hip ratio and waist circumference in women. However there were no changes in weight for men or women.
A systematic review of all studies that looked at the impact of fermented foods on satiety (feeling full) showed no effect.
The evidence so far is very weak to support or recommend fermented foods for weight loss. These experimental studies have been short in length, and many did not report weight changes.
To date, most of the studies have used different fermented foods, so it is difficult to generalise across them all.
Nevertheless, fermented foods are still useful as part of a healthy, varied and balanced diet, particularly if you enjoy them. They are rich in healthy bacteria, and nutrients.
Some fermented foods, such as kimchi and sauerkraut, have added salt. The latest kimchi study said the average amount of kimchi South Koreans eat provides about 490mg of salt a day. For an Australian, this would represent about 50% of the suggested dietary target for optimal health.
Eating too much salt increases your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
Evangeline Mantzioris is affiliated with Alliance for Research in Nutrition, Exercise and Activity (ARENA) at the University of South Australia. Evangeline Mantzioris has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, and has been appointed to the National Health and Medical Research Council Dietary Guideline Expert Committee.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, The University of Melbourne
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With Victorian council elections to be held in October, the state government’s target of reaching 50-50 gender representation at the local level is under threat.
While the state achieved a record 43.8% of women elected to councils in 2020, outperforming most federal and state parliaments, and succeeded in achieving gender parity in 47 out of 76 councils, the overall 50-50 gender representation target by 2025 will still be difficult to reach.
Globally, gender quotas have been a tried and tested way of lifting women’s political representation. But research also shows quotas can divide public opinion, and they work better in some contexts than others. With this in mind, we wanted to test alternative measures to support women in politics, which also attract public support.
Our latest research shows Australians are generally supportive of giving women politicians a range of resources such as better compensation, childcare and housekeeping funds, and more flexibility with online meetings, to help keep them in office.
Australia struggles with women’s representation in its parliaments across our three tier system. Despite a record number of women entering the federal parliament in 2022, Australia is currently ranked 34th in the world for women’s representation in the lower house.
While local governments tend to fare slightly better, they also struggle to achieve equal gender representation. In response, the Victorian government set a target in 2016 for 50% women councillors and Mayors by 2025.
Achieving this goal is important because it makes society more equal, reflecting the fact that women account for just over 50% of the population.
There are other benefits too. Local government can be an excellent training ground for women politicians, which may in turn bolster women’s representation in other tiers of government. And so, women need more support to ensure they can run for local government and be supported once in office.
Women face unique challenges as politicians. Our research shows a major issue facing women politicians is their competing work and family roles.
Trying to meet the demands of work, family and politics creates role strain for women politicians. In a previous study with logistical support from the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA), we found these demands meant younger women were much less likely to run for local government than older women and men of all ages.
Our research shows this creates stress, strain and high levels of burn-out for women politicians. It can also lead to higher attrition rates, making it harder to close the gender gap. Many men politicians, of course, also had families and paid employment, but most also had a secret weapon – partners at home to manage the domestic demands.
This means women politicians are entering their jobs with heavier loads and the weight of these demands are a source of constant strain.
To counter this, we tested public support in three countries for non-quota measures like additional resources to keep women in public office, to move closer to gender parity.
Gender responsive governments
Governments have long toyed with the question: how do you centre gender in decision-making to create governments that support women and men equally? And, importantly, will the public support this decision-making?
To understand these questions, we conducted an experiment drawing reponses from more than 25,000 people in Australia, Canada and the United States. We presented people with a hypothetical scenario: A politician has young children at home, travels a lot for work and is doing a great job. They are thinking about re-running in the next election but find managing work and family life to be difficult. What kind of resources, if any, should they be provided? We then provided a range of options to measured their level of support for: a pay raise, a childcare allowance, or money to outsource housework.
Testing support at both local and federal levels of office, we found public support across countries for giving women more resources than men to help women stay in politics. We found respondents were especially supportive of extending these resources to women elected to local government, where compensation is less and supports are most needed.
So, what are the lessons we can draw here? Well, it is clear that women need additional resources to remain in office. Our earlier research on women in local government in Victoria showed a missing cohort of young women who are building families at the exact moment that they could be building political careers.
We know from decades of national statistics that women are underrepresented in all areas of government – local, state and federal. Women politicians report significant strain in trying to do it all and do it well.
They need additional resources such as childcare and flexible meeting times to stay in office. Our latest work finds that citizens are supportive of these concrete solutions to support women in politics and lift women’s participation rate.
We know that women bring unique strengths to politics and we know, from decades of research, that we all benefit from more equal parliaments to create a more equal society.
With the Victorian local government elections around the corner, now is the time for fresh thinking and policies to deliver women the resources they need to participate in politics to benefit us all.
Leah Ruppanner receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a grant with the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA).
Andrea Carson receives funding from an ARC Linkage grant with the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA). This latest research was supported through Professor Carson’s fellowship with the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia (WILA).
Australia’s plentiful solar and wind resources and proximity to Asia means it can become a renewable energy superpower. But as the renewable energy rollout continues, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must benefit.
Renewables projects can provide income and jobs to Aboriginal land owners. Access to clean energy can also help First Nations people protect their culture and heritage, and remain on Country.
This is not a new idea. Policies in the United States and Canada, for example, actively seek to ensure the energy transition delivers opportunities to Indigenous people.
The Australian government is developing a First Nations Clean Energy Strategy and is seeking comment on a consultation paper. Submissions close tomorrow, February 9. If you feel strongly about the issue, we urge you to have your say.
We must get this policy right. Investing meaningfully in First Nations-led clean energy projects makes the transition more likely to succeed. What’s more, recognising the rights and interests of First Nations people is vital to ensuring that injustices of the past are not repeated.
A video by author Adam Fish exploring the Eastern Kuku Yalanji community of Wujal Wujal in Queensland and their struggle for renewable energy..
Good for business, and people
Indigenous peoples have recognised land interests covering around 26% of Australia’s landmass. Research shows Aboriginal land holders want to be part of the energy transition. But they need support and resources.
This could take the form of federal grants to make communities more energy-efficient or less reliant on expensive, polluting diesel generators. Funding could also be spent on workforce training to ensure First Nations people have the skills to take part in the transition. Federal agencies could be funded to support grants for First Nations feasibility studies of renewable energy industry on their land.
As well as proper investment, governments must also ensure First Nations people are engaged early in the planning of renewable projects and that the practice of free prior and informed consent is followed. And renewable energy operators will also need to ensure they have capability to work with First peoples.
The First Nations Clean Energy Network – of which one author, Heidi Norman, is part – is a network of First Nations people, community organisations, land councils, unions, academics, industry groups and others. It is working to ensure First Nations communities share the benefits of the clean energy boom.
The network is among a group of organisations calling on the federal government to invest an additional A$100 billion into the Australian renewables industry. The investment should be designed to benefit all Australians, including First Nations people.
In Australia, the Albanese government has set an emissions-reduction goal of a 43% by 2030, based on 2005 levels. But Australia’s renewable energy rollout is not happening fast enough to meet this goal. Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has called for faster planning decisions on renewable energy projects.
To achieve the targets, however, the federal government must bring communities along with them – including First Nations people.
As demonstrated by the US and Canada, investing meaningfully and at scale in First Nations-led clean energy projects is not just equitable, it makes good business sense.
Follow the leaders
The US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 made A$520 billion in investments to accelerate the transition to net zero. Native Americansstand to receive hundreds of billions of dollars from the laws. This includes funding set aside for Tribal-specific programs.
Canada is even further ahead in this policy space. In fact, analysis shows First Nations, Métis and Inuit entities are partners or beneficiaries of almost 20% of Canada’s electricity-generating infrastructure, almost all of which is producing renewable energy. In one of the most recent investments, the Canadian government in 2022 invested C$300 million to help First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples launch clean energy projects.
Policymakers in bothcountries increasingly realise that a just transition from fossil fuels requires addressing the priorities of First Nations communities. These investments are a starting point for building sustainable, globally competitive economies that work for everyone.
As US and Canada examples demonstrate, the right scale of investment in First Nations-led projects can mean fewer legal delays and a much-needed social licence to operate.
First Nations people around the world are on the frontline of climate change. It threatens their homelands, food sources, cultural resources and ways of life.
First Nations have also experienced chronic under-investment in their energy infrastructure by governments over generations, both in Australia and abroad.
Investing in First Nations-led clean energy projects builds climate resilience. This was demonstrated by the federal government’s Bushlight program, which ran from 2002 to 2013. It involved renewable energy systems installed in remote communities in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland.
Bushlight’s solar power meant that communities were not dependent on the delivery of diesel. So they still had power if roads were closed by flooding or other climate disasters.
The Biden government’s Inflation Reduction Act prompted a swiftreaction from governments around the world. But after 15 months, Australia is yet to respond or develop equivalent legislation.
We must urgently develop our response and seize this unique opportunity to become world leaders in the global renewables race. That includes ensuring First Nations participate in and benefit from these developments.
The First Nations Clean Energy Strategy consultation paper can be found here. Feedback can be provided here.
Adam Fish volunteers research for the First Nations Clean Energy Network.
He received funding from the Digital Grid Future Institute at the University of New South Wales.
Heidi Norman receives funding from Australian Research Council and James Martin Institute.
Managing 20-30 adults in one room is a challenge for even the best managers. Swap the adults for children and you have what classroom teachers do every day.
Student behaviour and engagement in class are some of the biggest problems worrying Australian teachers and education experts. According to a 2022 report, Australian classrooms rank among the OECD’s most disorderly. This can range from low-level behaviours such as talking, not following instructions and using a mobile phone in class, to destruction of property, physical and verbal abuse.
This makes it harder for students to learn and more stressful for teachers to teach.
For the past year, a Liberal-chaired Senate inquiry has been looking at “increasing disruption in Australian school classrooms”.
On top of its previous recommendation to introduce a “behaviour curriculum” (to “help students understand their school’s behavioural expectations and values”), the committee now recommends a further inquiry into “declining academic standards” in Australian schools.
The report notes the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. Released in December 2023, this is an international test of 15-year-olds’ knowledge and skills in science, maths and reading:
while Australia’s relative performance has remained mostly unchanged over the last two cycles, Australian students’ overall performance has actually been in steady decline over the past two decades.
Along with the academic component, a PISA questionnaire asked students how often disruptions happened in maths lessons. This included asking whether students do not listen to what the teacher says and whether there is noise and disorder in the classroom.
Australia ranked 33 out of the 37 OECD countries in the survey. Around 40% of Australian students reported they get distracted by using digital devices in maths lessons, while more than 30% said they get distracted by other students using digital devices.
The report also noted the Australian Education Research Organisation’s recent work on behaviour, backed by federal government funding.
In December 2023 the organisation released a paper looking at the evidence on what works to manage classrooms. Last month it also released a guide for teachers based on this research.
Below are four key messages from this work.
1. Set expectations, routines and rules
Students don’t arrive at school innately knowing what is expected of them. This includes what to do when they are entering and exiting the classroom, wanting to gain their teacher’s attention, completing tasks or moving through the school.
So classroom rules and routines need to be explicitly taught and regularly revised to help students understand and demonstrate them automatically. This then gives them more headspace for learning.
Some expectations should be shared with families, such as arrival routines or expectations about homework.
Teachers should also role-model what they expect of students. This includes arriving to class on time, being organised, and listening to and speaking to students in a consistent and calm manner.
2. Prepare the classroom environment
The way a classroom is set up plays an important role in creating welcoming, calm and functional learning environments.
This can include the way furniture is arranged – so everyone can see and hear the teacher easily – as well as visual displays that are set up to enhance and not distract from learning.
This includes reminders for where students will put their bags, displaying timetables and routines so students know where they need to be and what they need to do.
3. Build student-teacher relationships
If students have a positive connection with their teacher, they are more likely to have a positive attitude towards school. Some ways teachers can establish a strong relationship include greeting students individually at the classroom door every day and interacting with students outside the classroom.
They should regularly “check in” with every student. For example, ask about their weekend, their activities and interests outside of school, such as how their football team is performing or how their dance performance went.
If there are issues, they should deliver feedback constructively. This involves reminding students of the expectations, identifying what they were doing and what they need to do instead and why. After giving feedback, teachers should let go of the incident and start fresh.
Teachers should be familiar with a combination of non-verbal and verbal “corrections” and escalate responses as needs be.
This includes talking to a student privately one-on-one, at a time that does not interrupt the flow of the lesson. They can also remind the group or whole class of expectations.
Teachers can also use non-verbal strategies, such as moving closer to a student who is not behaving, pausing and looking at a student in a deliberate way to demonstrate they are aware of what is happening. They could also make a gesture (such as a finger to their lips). The focus should always be on supporting students to re-engage in learning rather than punishing them.
Acknowledging and praising students who are meeting behaviour expectations is also as important as addressing disruption. This reinforces the expected behaviours for all students.
A complex issue
Student behaviour is a complex issue and is by no means solely an issue for teachers to fix. As the Senate inquiry heard, behaviour can be influenced by socioeconomic factors, bullying, family trauma and disability.
But there are practical things teachers and schools can do to help students engage in their lessons and keep classrooms calm and focused.
Zid Niel Mancenido is Senior Manager, Research and Evaluation for the Australian Research Education Organisation. The project mentioned in this article is funded by the federal Department of Education, through the Engaged Classrooms Through Effective Classroom Management Program.
In the 2019 general election, Indonesians voted more women into the national parliament than ever before.
After the first election of the post-authoritarian period in 1999, women’s representation was a paltry 8.8%, so the rise to 20.9% in 2019 seemed worth celebrating. Indeed, women activists had worked long and hard to reach this point.
Disappointed with the results of the first two elections, they had successfully pushed for a candidate quota, requiring parties to nominate at least 30% women.
This will again be tested in next week’s election. But given the barriers women candidates in Indonesia face, is the quota enough to raise representation?
Under Indonesia’s open list proportional representation system, parties decide on candidate placement on the list, but voters can choose any candidate. In the past three elections, the quota has meant that in every electoral district at all three levels of parliament, women had to make up at least 30% of candidates. Additionally, one in every three candidates on the party list had to be female.
With such a strong institutional framework, it is not surprising that enthusiasm after the 2019 election was muted. Given the 2014 election had seen a slight fall in women’s representation, activists were relieved. But the result was still well below the aspirational 30% target, and below the international average at the time of 24.3%.
The results were also uneven, with more than 20% of electoral districts not electing any women to parliament. At the provincial and district level, the proportion of women elected to office was even lower, at only 18% and 15% respectively; 25 district parliaments had no women at all elected to office in 2019.
Why do women find it hard to be elected to office in Indonesia, and is this likely to change in 2024?
Barriers of patriarchy, money and name recognition
In many countries, it is said that when women run, they win. The main barrier to greater representation tends to be that women don’t stand for office. When they do, political parties don’t nominate them, or put them in unwinnable positions.
The quota in Indonesia gets around this problem. It encourages women to run and forces parties to nominate them. But our research has revealed that women candidates in Indonesia also face significant barriers from patriarchal attitudes held by many voters about whether women should take on political leadership roles.
Support for women’s political leadership has even dropped over the past decade. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s electoral system allows voters to discriminate against women without having to sacrifice party choice, as they would in a majoritarian voting system like that in Australia.
But the challenges don’t stop there.
Indonesia is a new democracy and political parties receive very little public financing. Candidates are expected to raise their own funds to run their campaigns.
The open-list system means candidates run not just against opponents from other parties, but also against their fellow party members, making politics highly personalised. This has led to a dramatic rise in the cost of elections for individual candidates, with “money politics” coming to dominate election campaigns.
Given that women in Indonesia face high levels of economic inequality, the cost of campaigns makes competing difficult.
Clientelism also shapes the kind of women candidates that parties choose and where they place them on their lists. Elite women and celebrities are more likely to be nominated as they can finance themselves. They also have the networks and name recognition that can garner votes. In 2019, some 44% of the women elected to the national parliament were members of political dynasties.
While some of these women are no doubt capable politicians, their dominance makes it harder for women candidates to come through grassroots organisations. Parties also spend less time developing women cadres to run as candidates, preferring to reach out to such “vote getters”.
What about this time around?
So what are the prospects for women’s representation in the upcoming elections?
The barriers to women’s election have not changed and are unlikely to change in the short term. As a result, incremental progress is the best that can be hoped for.
Several women politicians were instrumental in the passage of the Anti-Sexual Violence bill that passed last year. It’s possible that this increased visibility will give women a bump.
On the other hand, gender issues have not been central to the presidential or legislative campaigns so are unlikely to be uppermost in voters’ minds.
In fact, we may have reason to be more pessimistic. A seemingly minor change to the regulations on quota implementation means that for the first time in three elections, the requirement for a 30% candidate quota will not be applied in every electoral district party list, but instead for the total number of women candidates of each party.
The changes date back to a controversial regulation issued by the Indonesian Electoral Commission (KPU) in April 2023. The regulation allowed rounding down when assessing the number of women a party has on a candidate list. For example, in electoral districts with eight seats, 30% is 2.4 candidates. Previously, a party would have had to field three women candidates. Now, fractions can be rounded down if under 0.5, so in our example, parties are only required to field two women candidates.
A coalition of democracy and gender activists appealed against this regulation to the Supreme Court, and they won. But the electoral commission has indicated it will not enforce the court’s decision in this election. Democracy activists say that this means almost 18% of party lists do not meet the requirement for 30% women candidates.
It could be that these changes will have little impact. After all, we know that most candidates are elected from the first position on the list.
However, it sets a worrying precedent for women’s representation going forward. Our research shows the 30% candidate quota for women is widely supported in Indonesia. Yet, it has effectively been watered down without public discussion and against the advice of the Supreme Court.
The actions of the electoral commission, apparently at the direction of a male-dominated parliamentary commission, underline again how the foundational institutions of Indonesian democracy are being eroded by the political elite.
Sally White receives funding from the Australian Research Council Discovery Project “Political Representation in Indonesia”.
