Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ömer F. Bodur, Honorary Fellow, University of Wollongong

Most diamonds are formed deep inside Earth and brought close to the surface in small yet powerful volcanic eruptions of a kind of rock called “kimberlite”.

Our supercomputer modelling, published in Nature Geoscience, shows these eruptions are fuelled by giant “pillars of heat” rooted 2,900 kilometres below ground, just above our planet’s core.

Understanding Earth’s internal history can be used to target mineral reserves – not only diamonds, but also crucial minerals such as nickel and rare earth elements.

Kimberlite and hot blobs

Kimberlite eruptions leave behind a characteristic deep, carrot-shaped “pipe” of kimberlite rock, which often contains diamonds. Hundreds of these eruptions that occurred over the past 200 million years have been discovered around the world. Most of them were found in Canada (178 eruptions), South Africa (158), Angola (71) and Brazil (70).

Between Earth’s solid crust and molten core is the mantle, a thick layer of slightly goopy hot rock. For decades, geophysicists have used computers to study how the mantle slowly flows over long periods of time.

In the 1980s, one study showed that kimberlite eruptions might be linked to small thermal plumes in the mantle – feather-like upward jets of hot mantle rising due to their higher buoyancy – beneath slowly moving continents.

Read more:
Volcanoes, diamonds, and blobs: a billion-year history of Earth’s interior shows it’s more mobile than we thought

It had already been argued, in the 1970s, that these plumes might originate from the boundary between the mantle and the core, at a depth of 2,900km.

Then, in 2010, geologists proposed that kimberlite eruptions could be explained by thermal plumes arising from the edges of two deep, hot blobs anchored under Africa and the Pacific Ocean.

And last year, we reported that these anchored blobs are more mobile than we thought.

However, we still didn’t know exactly how activity deep in the mantle was driving kimberlite eruptions.

Pillars of heat

Geologists assumed that mantle plumes could be responsible for igniting kimberlite eruptions. However, there was still a big question remaining: how was heat being transported from the deep Earth up to the kimberlites?

To address this question, we used supercomputers in Canberra, Australia to create three-dimensional geodynamic models of Earth’s mantle. Our models account for the movement of continents on the surface and into the mantle over the past one billion years.

We calculated the movements of heat upward from the core and discovered that broad mantle upwellings, or “pillars of heat”, connect the very deep Earth to the surface. Our modelling shows these pillars supply heat underneath kimberlites, and they explain most kimberlite eruptions over the past 200 million years.

The model successfully captured kimberlite eruptions in Africa, Brazil, Russia and partly in the United States and Canada. Our models also predict previously undiscovered kimberlite eruptions occurred in East Antarctica and the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia.

Towards the centre of the pillars, mantle plumes rise much faster and carry dense material across the mantle, which may explain chemical differences between kimberlites in different continents.

Our models do not explain some of the kimberlites in Canada, which might be related to a different geological process called “plate subduction”. We have so far predicted kimberlites back to one billion years ago, which is the current limit of reconstructions of tectonic plate movements.

Ömer Bodur was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council and from De Beers.

Nicolas Flament receives funding from the Australian Research Council and from De Beers.

– ref. Supercomputers have revealed the giant ‘pillars of heat’ funnelling diamonds upwards from deep within Earth – https://theconversation.com/supercomputers-have-revealed-the-giant-pillars-of-heat-funnelling-diamonds-upwards-from-deep-within-earth-204905

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dorina Pojani, Associate Professor in Urban Planning, The University of Queensland

As Australia’s housing crisis deepens, governments at all levels are being called on to help. The federal budget will be handed down today, and housing will be a key talking point.

The current public debate about housing is focused on “silver bullet” solutions. What is needed instead is a comprehensive package of bold interventions, coordinated between all levels of government and the private sector.

While home ownership has been the Australian tradition, it should not be the only option for secure and affordable housing. Tenants, particularly long-term or life-long tenants, must be supported as much as aspiring home owners. Rental housing policies, as opposed to policies aimed at construction, have an immediate widespread impact on housing affordability and security of tenure.

5 policies for rental housing

Here are five key measures for the rental market:

1. Caps on annual rent increases. These have been common in Western Europe and parts of North America. Allowable increases should be tied to the inflation rate. This will provide owners with adequate income to maintain the property while providing security for renters.

2. No-fault eviction controls. Such policies typically accompany caps on annual rent increases. They protect long-term tenants from many risks, including revenge evictions of tenants who make a complaint and disruptive digital platforms such as Airbnb. Exceptions could be made in cases in which owners and tenants are living on the same properties, since such transactions may be personal as well as financial.

3. Rent assistance. This can be in the form of housing vouchers delivered directly to tenants. The National Rental Affordability Scheme approach of working with landlords is also effective. The amounts of rental assistance should be adjusted to reflect the actual rental cost trends of recent years.

4. Social and public housing rentals. These include apartments built by the public or non-profit sectors to rent at affordable prices. To avoid stigmatisation and ghettoisation, social housing should house people on a range of incomes. Some buildings may even offer rent-to-own options.

5. Student housing. While education is Australia’s third-largest export, students – both domestic and international – receive little accommodation help. This puts them at risk of exploitation and increases the overall housing pressure. Universities must be required to provide affordable dormitories on campus for the students they enrol.

5 policies for home ownership

Assistance for people who wish to buy a home but have low incomes and lack access to the “bank of mum and dad” must be guided by the principle that affordable housing is a necessity, just like healthcare and schooling. With that in mind, the government should prioritise the following measures:

6. Increases in market-rate housing supply. If enough housing is built to meet buyer demand, and the population remains stable in an area, house prices at the metropolitan level will reduce. That’s the law of supply and demand.

Height bonuses and tax incentives should be provided to developers who build dense housing – especially in inner cities and next to public transport stations. New housing should be in the form of townhouses, condominium towers of varied sizes, and even tiny houses and co-housing compounds where households live as a community with shared spaces.

The negative phenomenon of NIMBYism should be resisted. It stems from upper-income classes who cast themselves as progressives defending the local character while in fact they seek exclusivity.

7. Auxiliary units. Where larger lots cannot be assembled for higher-density housing, the construction of small secondary units next to (or even within) existing houses should be encouraged. To this end, requirements around minimum lot sizes and parking provision should be relaxed. Auxiliary units can serve, among other things, to house older home owners who wish to downsize – hence their traditional name “granny flat”.

8. Inclusionary units. These are units in new developments that are sold at below-market rates to qualifying lower-income households. Offering a percentage of inclusionary units in large-scale developments should be required nationwide. Inclusionary housing would lead to adjustments in land values rather than making projects unviable.

9. Transition housing. This type of housing is for people in crisis situations, such as victims of domestic violence, or who are homeless. It must be free and combined with support services. It largely pays for itself because it offsets the social costs of homelessness and offers major benefits for the beneficiaries.

10. Financial sticks and carrots. Governments should offer assistance with both down payments and loans for first-time buyers. At the same time, investment properties and inheritance properties should be taxed at a higher rate to avoid market distortions and property hoarding by small-scale speculators. Tax rules such as negative gearing should be abolished.

The risks of sticking to the status quo

Why haven’t the problems with our housing system been fixed yet? Why was the crisis allowed to develop in the first place? Because many profit a great deal from a broken housing system – disregarding the inequalities and gentrification waves that come about as a result.

Australian society should come to share an understanding that a dwelling is a space needed for living. It is not a vehicle to store and showcase wealth and extract excessive rents from the “houseless”. Nor is its purpose to sustain class divisions from one generation to the next.

Ignoring the housing crisis will result in the Brazilianization of Australia, changing us into a country of high inequality and exclusion in our lifetime. This represents a dark future in which Australia’s long-held myth of a classless society will be shattered.

Dorina Pojani has received funding from the ARC, AURIN, the EFL Foundation, and the AAD Foundation.

– ref. Australia’s housing crisis is deepening. Here are 10 policies to get us out of it – https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-crisis-is-deepening-here-are-10-policies-to-get-us-out-of-it-204026

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena Wajrak, Senior lecturer, Chemistry, Edith Cowan University

Mother’s Day is coming up in Australia and that means a surge in perfume sales. Of course, scents are purchased year-round and not just for mothers. Fragrance sales in Australia will amount to over A$1 billion this year.

The word “perfume” is derived from the Latin per fumus, meaning “through smoke”. The very first account of using perfumes dates back to 1200 BC when a woman called Tapputi mixed flowers, oils and various plants with water or solvents, then extracted their fragrance. The basis of this technique for making perfume is still used today.

But how do we smell? What makes perfume appealing? And why does it smell differently on different people?

Read more:
‘Smell like a woman, not a rose’: Chanel No. 5 100 years on, an iconic fragrance born from an orphanage

The science of smell

A sense of smell is vital to all species on Earth. One study identified African elephants as having the “best noses” in the animal kingdom, not to mention the longest ones. It can help animals sniff out danger, food and mates.

For humans, too, being able to smell is not just for the enjoyment of pleasant odours. It can also protect us from toxic chemicals with noxious smells, such as hydrogen cyanide.

When something has an odour, it means it is chemically volatile – vaporising from a liquid to a gas. When we smell a scent, gas molecules enter our nose and stimulate specialised nerve cells called olfactory sensory neurons. When these neurons are triggered, they send a signal to the brain to identify the chemicals.

Humans have around 10 million of those neurons and around 400 scent receptors. The human nose can distinguish at least 1 trillion different odours, from freshly brewed coffee to wet dog to mouldy cheese.

The more volatile a compound is the lower its boiling point and, from a chemical perspective, the weaker the forces holding the molecules together. When this is the case, more molecules enter the gaseous state and the smell is more intense.

Read more:
Curious Kids: How do we smell?

What makes things smell good though?

Different classes of chemical compounds can have more pleasant or offensive scents.

Fish and decaying animal cells, for example, release chemicals called amines, which don’t smell appealing.

Fruits, on the other hand, are composed of chemicals in a class of organic compounds called aldehydes, esters and ketones, which have sweeter and more pleasant odours.

Chemists have been able to identify the specific chemical smells released by substances we encounter in everyday life.

Smells different

So it makes sense that pleasant-smelling aldehydes, ketones and esters are used to create perfumes. However, some perfumes also contain unusual ingredients that don’t smell nice on their own.

For example, Chanel No. 5 perfume – the iconic 100-year-old favourite – contains civet as one of its base chemical notes. Civet is used by perfumers for its long-lasting, musky scent. It is traditionally extracted from the anal glands of civet cats but Chanel has used a synthetic form of civet since 1998.

Read more:
Civet musk, a precious perfume ingredient, is under threat. Steps to support Ethiopian producers and protect the animals

Tips for choosing and using perfumes

Our ability to smell a perfume will depend on two factors: how well our olfactory sensory neurons are performing (a virus or infection could affect function, for example) and the volatility of the chemicals in the perfume.

1. Try before you buy

You can’t really do much about your sensory neurons, but you can increase the intensity of perfumes, such as by warming up the perfume on your skin or applying to pulse points. This will help to give molecules more energy and increase the number of molecules entering the gaseous state.

Specific perfumes will not smell the same on different people’s skin because the chemicals in them can be affected by the skin’s type and condition (dry or oily, acidic or base) and even their diet. Some foods we eat, such as garlic, are released from our bodies through our skin. Those chemicals can mask perfume chemicals.

So, it is better to buy someone their tried and true favourite scent rather than risking a new one. And those department store sample sprays can be useful to try before you buy.

2. Moisturise before use

When you spray perfume on very dry skin, some of the perfume’s chemicals – the large organic ones that are similar to skin’s natural oils – are absorbed by the skin and then into the sebaceous glands. When some notes in a perfume are absorbed this way, it can take on a different smell. That’s also why it’s better to moisturise skin before spraying perfume, so perfume chemicals stay on the skin for longer.

3. Experiment with spraying techniques

To avoid changes in the scent of your favourite perfume and increase the time the perfume stays on you, you could spray your hair instead. Your hair is porous so perfume molecules might remain there longer. However, most perfumes contain alcohol, which dries out hair. Spraying perfume directly onto a hairbrush first, then brushing your hair, might prevent some of this drying effect.

Spraying then walking through a mist of perfume so the chemicals settle on your hair, skin and clothes might work – but you risk losing a lot of precious perfume with that technique.

4. Keep it cool

Temperature will affect volatility. To keep perfumes lasting longer in the bottle, keep them in the fridge or cool dark place and tightly sealed to prevent your expensive, heat-sensitive scent evaporating into thin air.

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

– ref. Perfect perfume or eau de cat’s bum? Why scents smell different and 4 fragrance tips – https://theconversation.com/perfect-perfume-or-eau-de-cats-bum-why-scents-smell-different-and-4-fragrance-tips-203905

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Thomas, Lecturer in Environmental Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Recent news that the New Zealand government has granted an offshore oil and gas exploration permit it had earlier declined demonstrates how fragile the current ban on such activity still is.

The permit was eventually granted because the application was lodged just before the government’s 2018 offshore exploration ban was in place. The High Court ruled it should therefore have been considered under the previous system.

It’s simply the latest twist in a long contest of ideas and ideologies. Between 2008 and 2017, Aotearoa New Zealand’s offshore environment was opened up for further oil and gas exploration on the promise of economic growth and energy independence.

The dominant narrative from the government and from industry was, at its core, that economic growth is essential, that oil was an untapped resource, and it would be irresponsible not to make use of it to generate capital and contribute to Aotearoa New Zealand’s economic development. During these nine years, the government sought to “secure” this resource.

The government took action to provide certainty and therefore security for overseas investors by cultivating ties with the fossil fuel industry. For example, when protest sought to disrupt oil and gas exploration activities, the government introduced legislation to curtail at-sea protest and offered only limited Māori and community engagement about commercial extraction activities in ocean spaces.

The story of the anti-deep sea oil campaign begins with increased efforts to entice transnational petroleum corporations to explore the country’s extensive Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Aotearoa New Zealand was among the first countries to embrace wholesale neoliberal reforms in the 1980s, and this approach to governance, economic, social and environmental policy and practice has become embedded over subsequent decades.

In 2008, John Key’s National-led government established what was described as a “Business Growth Agenda”, which included the sale of state assets, and the development of extractive industries. The orientation toward extractive industries was demonstrated through media that referred to an increasing need to catch up with Australia, and government ministers commenting on the need to make the “most use of the wealth hidden in our hills, under the ground and in our oceans”.

Deep Water Horizon and the Rena

The government’s agenda for the oil and gas sector described in its Business Growth Agenda didn’t go unnoticed by climate justice and environmental activists, nor iwi (tribal) groups, many of whom were already active against coal mining.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, as the government sought to deliver on its Business Growth Agenda, two further events sensitised the public to the risks of engaging in extractive industry in ocean environments and the power of corporates to elude their responsibilities.

Read more:
The Bay of Plenty oil spill: loading the dice against disaster

First, the Rena disaster occurred in Tauranga, off the east coast of the North Island. The Rena was a container ship that ran aground on the Ōtāiti/Astrolabe reef in October 2011 while on its way into Tauranga Harbour. The ship broke up over a period of months, leaving fuel and debris from containers littered across the ocean and local beaches.

The second event, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, sensitised the public to the risks of offshore oil extraction. This disaster was a direct precursor to the emergence of the Oil Free campaign across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Petrobras and the Raukūmara Basin

On the east coast of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, the iwi of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, with support from Greenpeace New Zealand, disrupted a large Brazilian petroleum company, Petrobras, from seismic surveying of the Raukūmara Basin in the EEZ.

The EEZ is an area over which a nation-state has partial sovereignty, including to extract resources, demarcated under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. It extends to approximately 200 nautical miles from the coastline. Petrobras had secured a five-year permit to explore for oil and gas under block offers released in 2010.

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui had requested that no exploration for oil and gas be undertaken in their area. Nevertheless, Petrobras informed Te Whānau-ā-Apanui that they would begin their seismic survey work in early 2011 and began work in April using the large survey vessel, the Orient Explorer.

Read more:
Why New Zealand should not explore for more natural gas reserves

Opposition to Petrobras began quickly both onshore and offshore, demanding “no drill, no spill”. A flotilla of five vessels sailed out to the seismic survey vessel to attempt to halt its work over a period of seven weeks, where actions included sailing in front of the survey vessel.

Following these events, a number of meetings were reportedly held between government agencies and industry representatives concerned by the lack of a regulatory regime in the EEZ and the risk of protesters disrupting lawful permitted activities. Petrobras warned the government that they would withdraw if community action continued.

Subsequently, a major piece of legislation was enacted as an amendment to the Crown Minerals Act 1991. This amendment criminalised protest at sea near a vessel engaged in oil and gas exploration or drilling.

The ‘Andarko amendment’

The amendment to the Crown Minerals Act was dubbed the “Anadarko amendment” after the Texan oil corporation that was active in Aotearoa New Zealand at the time. It was also a silent partner to the Deep Water Horizon rig responsible for the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The amendment contravened international human rights law, and went against a long tradition of protest at sea in Aotearoa New Zealand, by banning activists from coming within 500 metres of an oil and gas vessel. The Minister for Energy and Resources at the time said the protesters shouldn’t be trying to stop other people going about their lawful business.

While the Anadarko Amendment sought to provide assurances and security to fossil fuel companies, activists changed the financial equation by disrupting exploration, blockading banks who refused to divest from oil and gas, and protesting annual fossil fuel conferences.

Activists sought to secure a future that was not dependent on fossil fuels, and that both demanded and demonstrated a sense of responsibility and care for the impacts of continuing business as usual.

Change and uncertainty

In 2018, a newly elected government enacted legislation that banned all new oil and gas exploration permits in Aotearoa’s EEZ, with the exception of an area of active production off the west coast of the North Island in Taranaki.

At the time, media debate was polemical, either decrying the lost revenue and the impact it would have on the economy, or arguing it didn’t go far enough because it did not apply to existing permits.

At the beginning of 2021, the last existing exploration permit outside Taranaki was surrendered, with companies claiming a combination of the pandemic and pricing uncertainties as the primary reasons for withdrawal.

Read more:
To fight the climate crisis, we need to stop expanding offshore drilling for oil and gas

While we don’t suggest that these actions, or those of the current government in relation to climate change, are anywhere near enough, the Oil Free campaign successfully disrupted efforts to explore and extract from the “blue frontier” of Aotearoa New Zealand’s EEZ.

The campaign made it challenging for fossil fuel companies to do business here, and contested the government’s narratives about the need for exploration and production. Campaigners also narrated what a hopeful, climate-just world might look like.

But such a “win” could be precarious, with the opposition National Party claiming it will repeal the ban on new oil and gas exploration if elected in 2023. Indeed, the court case from earlier this year that revived an exploration permit demonstrates how messy and precarious stopping oil will be.

This is an edited extract from Stopping Oil: Climate Justice and Hope by Sophie Bond, Amanda Thomas and Gradon Diprose (Melbourne University Press).

Amanda Thomas has recevied funding from Deep South National Science challenge in the past to research community responses to climate change. She has also been involved with climate justice community groups.

Gradon Diprose has received funding from Deep South National Science Challenge to research adaptation to climate change in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sophie Bond has received funding from the Deep South National Science Challenge for research on climate change adaptation, community engagement and local governance. She has also been involved with climate justice groups and research on community responses to climate change

– ref. The end of offshore oil and gas exploration in NZ was hard won – but it remains politically fragile – https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-offshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-in-nz-was-hard-won-but-it-remains-politically-fragile-203396

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Howe, Honorary Professor, Department of Sociology, Macquarie University, Macquarie University

We missed out on a holiday for the king’s coronation.

Early next month we are about to get one for his birthday in most states of Australia, on a day that isn’t actually his birthday.

That holiday was Australia’s first, declared by NSW Governor Arthur Phillip in 1788 to mark the birthday of George III. It must have seemed as strange to the new arrivals as to the Australians on whose land they had arrived.

It didn’t mark their safe arrival, it didn’t mark the raising of the Union Jack on Australian shores and it didn’t mark the founding of Sydney. Nor did it acknowledge the first peoples already on the continent.

These days the king’s birthday is even less relevant than it was.

The king no longer has the power to enact laws governing Australia. That finished when his mother Queen Elizabeth signed the Australia Act 1986, which ended the ability of the United Kingdom to make laws with respect to Australian states and the ability of Australian states to take disputes to the UK Privy Council.

But hiding in plain sight, just a month before the king’s birthday holiday, is a date most of us have a much better reason to celebrate – it’s May 9, which this year also happens to be budget day.

May 9 is the real Australia Day

Australia’s constitution was proclaimed on January 1 1901, but only had full effect when our first federal parliament met on May 9 1901, in the Exhibition Building in Melbourne.

When the parliament moved to Canberra in 1927, the new temporary parliament house was again opened on May 9.

Six decades later, when the new and permanent parliament house was opened on Canberra’s Capital Hill in 1988, the date chosen was again May 9.

It is not simply these events that make May 9 the real Australia Day.

In his speech on May 9 1988, Prime Minister Bob Hawke said the new building would

become for our nation both the forum for our differences and the instrument of our unity – a building for all Australians, a parliament reflecting the diversity of our entire society and responding to the needs of the whole community.

And it has. In parliament, our local members and Senators take up issues that concern us and debate and resolve them. The legislation they have created ranges from the everyday to the extraordinary.

The 1918 Electoral Act required all electors to vote. The 1973 Medicare Act gave us the healthcare card we take for granted.

More exceptionally, the 2017 Marriage Amendment Act gave same-sex couples the right to marry, in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the population.

The 1967 referendum allowed the parliament to legislate for Indigenous Australians for the first time. If the Voice Referendum is passed, Indigenous Australians will get a constitutionally enshrined mechanism for making representations to it.

Our parliament is worth celebrating

What legitimates decisions made in Australia is that they come from a process that involves the Australian people, through the Australian parliament, rather than a structure outside Australia or beyond the ability of Australians to control.

We have changed the political complexion of the parliament many times, yet through it all the parliament has become more representative of us over time.

The first two women were elected in 1943. By 2022, we had 58 women in the House of Representatives, including 19 elected for the first time, and a female majority in the Senate.

The first Indigenous senator, Neville Bonner, was elected in 1971. By 2022, eight senators and three members of the House of Representatives identified as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Ten of our members of parliament are first-generation migrants, including government ministers Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong. Among the children of immigrants is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Read more:
White, male and straight – how 30 years of Australia Day speeches leave most Australians out

I was born a British subject in 1945, in Sydney, to Australian-born parents. The 1948 Citizenship Act made me an Australian citizen alongside all British subjects living in Australia.

The Act also opened the way for “aliens” – those born outside the Commonwealth – to become naturalised Australian citizens. The king’s birthday can have little meaning for them or their locally born children.

Most migrants become citizens, and what has made this possible is an act of the Australian parliament.

How to make it happen

Making May 9 a public holiday is easy. It doesn’t require legislation and doesn’t require a referendum. January 26 was only proclaimed a national holiday in 1994.

May 9 has a much longer, more illustrious history. It is a date “made in Australia” and demonstrates our commitment to our democracy like no other day can.

By May 9 2026, our parliament will have been in place for 125 years. That makes 2026 a good year to become a republic. Should a referendum be successful, the first parliament of the Australian republic could meet on May 9 2026.

If it takes another year, the first parliament of the Australian republic could meet on the centenary of the opening of the first parliament house in Canberra, on May 9 2027.

I hope I live to celebrate that day. In the meantime, I’ll forego this year’s king’s birthday holiday and instead celebrate on May 9. The weather in most places should be okay for a barbecue, so why not join me, before it becomes official?

Anna Howe is a member of the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Republican Movement

– ref. Welcome to May 9 – the true Australia Day – https://theconversation.com/welcome-to-may-9-the-true-australia-day-204555

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney

If you ever watched the Korean-Canadian television show Kim’s Convenience or the Taiwanese-American Fresh off the Boat, you would have felt seemingly content with the progress of Asian diasporic representation on mainstream screens.

These drama series may have been occasionally peppered with stereotypes, but at least they centred on migrant stories. Both shows were subsequently criticised for the lack of diversity behind the scenes, particularly in the writers’ rooms.

More recently, there has been growing interest in the representation of cultural diversity on our screens and more broadly in our cultural institutions in the wake of #OscarsSoWhite and the Black Lives Matter movement. Despite controversy and some limitations, the Netflix series Beef is more complex and nuanced than many other onscreen renderings of first and second-generation migrants in the Global North.

This success can be attributed to the fact that it humanises migrants by focusing on their inner lives and not just on their cultural difference. It also helps that most of its directing and writing crew have lived experience of being othered.

New migrant tales

In 2023, Asian-American-themed content and creators have become even more central to the most powerful media industry, with the film Everything Everywhere All at Once sweeping several Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards.

Then, in April of this year, came a dark comedy called Beef produced by Netflix and A24, and starring Asian-American talent like Ali Wong and Steven Yeun in leading roles. What is new about these migrant tales is that their lead characters are as flawed, and have as much agency as those in an average drama series or psychological thriller with a majority white cast.

Read more:
Oscars 2023: The philosophy of Everything Everywhere All at Once explained

Why is the emotional heft of the series a talking point for both white and non-white audiences across the globe? Research on racial minorities and emotions suggests that those seen as socially less powerful are rarely allowed to be angry in the public domain.

Beef breaks this stigma by basing the fued between Yeun and Wong’s characters on a road rage incident in a parking lot in Southern California. As the anger escalates, it ruins their lives, but also serves as a valve for their repressed emotions as children of migrants who worked hard and were told not to complain.

Emotion and inadequacy

What is also specific to the Asian-American condition, as writer Cathy Park Hong explores in her book of essays, Minor Feelings, is being seen as “emotionless functionaries” and having persistent feelings of inadequacy.

This is largely due to Asian-Americans and other racialised groups being cast as “model minorities” and often internalising this characterisation. Justifying immigration for economic reasons in most immigrant nations also drives a wedge between groups such as Asian-Americans and African-Americans.

The undercurrent of anger in Beef is shame that both Amy (Wong) and Danny (Yeun) have experienced since their respective childhoods due to personal and systemic circumstances. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying rise in anti-Asian racism in countries like the US and Australia, anxiety in these diverse communities has amplified and ally-ship initiatives with Black Lives Matter organisers have also come about.

In the creative realm, we have seen the desire for self-expression] to resist racism and hate.

Empathy, aspiration and belonging

While there is ample interest in anger, fear and hate in relation to race, politics and representation, my own work explores more ambivalent and complex emotions like empathy, aspiration and belonging in relation to migration.

It is in the exploration of these grey zones that Beef excels, showing us what is both universal and culturally specific about intergenerational trauma.

There is now some recognition that migrants who move from the Global South to the Global North for economic reasons aspire for more that just social mobility.

However, we see very little of their underlying emotions and how they shift over time in most screen drama. In Beef, when Amy visits her parents after a fight with her Japanese-American husband, her mother is both reticent to talk about the past and enjoying her present life of travelling. Danny undoes racial and masculine typecasting in one powerful scene where he breaks down in the middle of Korean church choir.

Amy and Danny belong to starkly different social milieus, with the latter working as a contractor and struggling to save for a house for his parents and the former owning a lifestyle small business on the verge of a multi-million dollar acquisition deal.

This small detail itself is noteworthy as it depicts the vast range of Asian-American class experiences, including Amy’s husband’s family who have cultural capital, hailing from the art world. This means that the characters’ economic aspirations look very different from one another and often mask a deeper desire for belonging.

A desire for belonging

Without giving away the final episode that is part surrealism and part culturally attuned therapy session, what is clear is that Beef gives permission to its feuding central characters and racial minority audience members to feel. These are feelings of wanting to be at home, to be loved unconditionally, to not be bullied, and ultimately to belong to wherever they happen to have been planted.

The overwhelming desire for belonging explored in Beef may resonate more with the children of migrants, or the second generation as they are sometimes referred to, but is has proven to be cathartic for a surprisingly broad range of viewers.

It works because it is a contemporary yet specific take on anger as an outlet for other emotions. It neither exoticises anger, nor does it render belonging colour-blind.

Sukhmani Khorana has received funding from the Australia Research Council, Diversity Arts Australia, the University of Wollongong and Western Sydney University for research on migration and mediated emotions.

– ref. More than ‘model minorities’: in Netflix’s Beef, Asian migrants are allowed to have real emotions – https://theconversation.com/more-than-model-minorities-in-netflixs-beef-asian-migrants-are-allowed-to-have-real-emotions-204372

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

Tuesday’s budget will forecast a surplus of about $4 billion for this financial year – the first Commonwealth budget surplus in a decade and a half.

The budget projects an improvement of more than $143 billion over four years to 2025-26 compared to the Coalition’s final budget, brought down in March last year by Josh Frydenberg.

The budget was last in surplus in Coalition Prime Minister John Howard’s final year – 2007-2008. After the global financial crisis threw it into deficit, in 2019 Frydenberg declared the budget “back in black”, but the COVID support measures meant the promised surplus was never achieved.

While the budget is forecast to be in deficit over the remaining years of the forward estimates, the deficits will be smaller in each year than previously forecast.

Revenue will be boosted by stronger than expected employment growth and record-high commodity prices, both of which are expected to ease off in future years.

The government will return to the bottom line 82% of revenue upgrades in this budget and 87% across its first two budgets. It says this compares to an average of about 40% under the former government and 30% under the Howard government.

Immediately after landing back in Australia after his trip to the coronation, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the budget will widen access to the parenting payment (single) by raising the cut off point from when the parent’s youngest child is eight to the age of 14.

At present these parents – overwhelmingly women, and often victims of domestic violence – have to move to the lower JobKeeper payment when their youngest turns eight. The change will mean eligible single parents now on JobSeeker will receive an increase of $176.90 a fortnight.

The issue has been personally important to Albanese, who was raised by a single mother on the disability pension. Albanese was opposed to the Gillard’s government’s decision to tighten eligibility, which followed an earlier decision to restrict parenting payments by the Howard government.

Albanese said the government’s action “will make a big and immediate difference for tens of thousands of mums, dads and children right around Australia”.

Read more:
View from The Hill: Budget ‘centrepiece’ will be $14.6 billion cost-of-living package

The change, which requires legislation, is due to start from September 20. It will cost $1.9 billion through to 2026-27. Some 57,000 single principal carers will benefit, including 52,000 women.

The government last week announced it would scrap from next year the controversial ParentsNext program which imposed obligations for mothers with very young children.

Read more:
Controversial ParentsNext program to be scrapped next year

Among the budget’s welfare decisions, JobSeeker is expected to be raised by a modest amount.

The budget will contain $17.8 billion in savings and re-purposing. This will take total savings across Labor’s first two budgets to $40 billion.

The budget’s centrepiece is a package of measures designed to ease cost-of-living pressures, costing a $14.6 billion over four years, including assistance for more than 500,000 households with their energy bills.

In an upbeat address to an enthusiastic Labor caucus meeting Albanese said the budget would be “in the best tradition of the Australian Labor Party”.

It would deal with immediate challenges, “but always with the eye on the future, on the medium and long term, to make sure that we’re delivering, laying those foundations for a better future that we promised”.

He said as well as not leaving people behind, the budget would be about the “aspiration of people for a better life”.

The caucus welcomed the new member for Aston, Mary Doyle, who took the seat from the opposition at the April 1 byelection.

The government is focused on minimising the inflationary effect of budget measures, with Albanese telling caucus inflation was “a tax on the poor”. The opposition is preparing to make a central argument against the budget that it is inflationary.

Shadow finance minister Jane Hume said tackling inflation should be the number one priority. “If they really wanted to tackle the cost of living, they would tackle inflation first and foremost” by reining in spending.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said any surplus the government delivered would be “because of the strong economic book that they inherited from us”.

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

– ref. Now it’s Labor promising the budget will be (briefly) back in black – https://theconversation.com/now-its-labor-promising-the-budget-will-be-briefly-back-in-black-205205

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced higher taxes on gas industry profits, which he says will give Australians a “fairer return” on their natural resources.

On Sunday Chalmers flagged changes to the petroleum resource rent tax – a tax on the profits from oil and gas exports – that he says will mean the offshore LNG industry “pays more tax, sooner”.

Many profitable LNG projects are not paying tax under the current regime. Indeed, it has been predicted that most LNG projects will never pay tax.

Changes to the tax are long overdue. As an economic “rent tax”, the mechanism seeks to capture revenue from resource extraction minus the costs of supply. Good resource tax design is a social investment that allows profits to be subject to taxes without those taxes operating as a disincentive on investment. Bad resource tax design works against this because it means those resource profits are immune from tax.

Read more:
Australia already has a UK-style windfall profits tax on gas – but we’ll give away tens of billions of dollars unless we fix it soon

Dusting off review recommendations

The changes come in response to recommendations from two reviews: the Callaghan Petroleum Resource Rent Tax review released in 2017 by then-treasurer Scott Morrison; and a subsequent Treasury review released on Sunday.

The Callaghan report recommended changes to the tax only be applied to new projects, to maintain the stability of the sector.

It said the tax was more effective for oil rather than gas projects because, under the existing scheme, profits are taxed after deducting earlier losses.

Currently, an entity’s liability is levied at 40% of the taxable profit made from its interest in the project. This 40% is levied on offshore oil and gas projects once they start making profits.

The level of deductions that oil and gas projects can carry forward is known as the uplift rate. Australia applies two uplift rates: the long-term bond rate plus 5% (for general losses), and the long-term bond rate plus 15% (for exploration losses).

The long-term bond rate can grow over time, so it effectively doubles every four years. This has meant relatively moderate exploration deductions can accumulate into significant amounts over time. This is not as much of an issue for oil projects because they start making profits relatively quickly. Gas projects accumulate deductions because they take much longer to make a return.

The Callaghan report found if a direct “netback” method was implemented (that is, profit minus extraction/liquefaction costs), an additional A$89 billion could be raised between 2023 and 2050 including an extra $68 billion between 2027 and 2039 at the higher prices.

Changes to the PRRT began in April 2019 when the uplift rate was reduced. Subsequently, onshore gas projects were removed from the scope of the tax, meaning offshore companies could no longer use them as deductions. No further amendments were implemented until now.

On Sunday, Chalmers finally released a final Treasury report of the tax scheme.

His government accepted eight of the 11 recommendations from that review and eight recommendations from the Callaghan Review (recommendations accepted but not implemented by the previous government).

Read more:
The ‘gas trigger’ won’t be enough to stop our energy crisis escalating. We need a domestic reservation policy

Modest, balanced or weak reform?

Labor’s proposed changes are too modest and are only expected to net the government about $2.4 billion over the next four years. The proposed tax scheme will cap deductions to limit the proportion of PRRT assessable income that can be offset by deductions to 90%. It will also mean that producers will start paying PRRT immediately rather than in 2030 as is the current expectation.

How have the reforms been received?

Samantha McCulloch, chief executive of industry peak body the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, said the announcement provided greater investment certainty for industry. She went on:

The changes aim to get the balance right between the undeniable need for a strong gas sector to support reliable electricity and domestic manufacturing for decades to come and the need for a more sustainable budget.

She called on the government “to work constructively and cooperatively with the opposition”.

The alternative is negotiating with The Greens and the teals. The Greens want the government to eliminate the $284bn of accumulated credits that allow gas companies to reduce their tax liability.

The teals want to further strengthen the tax. Independent Member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel says that while increasing the revenue take from the PRRT is a good start, “lowballing it is a wasted opportunity”.

LNG exports are worth more than $90 billion per year, yet this step will yield only $600 million annually. These are Australian resources, and this is a weak step towards a fair return.

There have been claims the tax hike may threaten new gas projects.

West Australian energy giant Woodside Energy is expected to be hit the hardest. Local liquified natural gas producer Santos and multinationals including Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips may also be affected, media reports suggest.

Real change is desperately needed

Significant change to the PRRT is desperately needed to address budget repair and blowouts.

In the decade before the Gladstone LNG port opened, when Australia’s gas exports soared, company taxes and the resource tax paid by the industry were approximately 15% of revenue. Since then, it has averaged 6%, and in 2019-20 was just 3.3%.

In 2022, Australia exported a record 81.4 million metric tonnes of LNG, earning the industry $92.8 billion (when expected revenue was $44 billion). If all of these windfall benefits were taxed, the revenue could be used to completely rewire the nation and accelerate the shift to a clean energy future.

This has not happened and the weak reform proposals by Labor do little more than scratch the surface.

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

– ref. What Australia’s new gas tax will mean for new projects, the economy and the climate – https://theconversation.com/what-australias-new-gas-tax-will-mean-for-new-projects-the-economy-and-the-climate-205197

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajeev Varshney, Professor, Murdoch University

Plants provide almost every calorie of food we eat. Grains like rice, wheat and corn make civilisation possible. For millennia, farmers have bred grains, fruit and vegetable varieties to get larger harvests and plants better able to tolerate different climates.

But climate change is going to bring enormous disruption to the plants we rely on. A hotter world. Drier in some places. Wetter in others. Intensified droughts. More fire. Sudden torrential rain.

We’re going to need plants with even greater resilience. But can it be done?

We believe so. Our team has been working to climate-proof five popular fruits – banana, the single most commonly bought item in supermarkets, as well as pineapple, passionfruit, custard apples and paw paw. We’ve already done this with chickpeas to produce new, more resilient varieties.

What does climate change mean for horticulture?

Australia, the driest inhabited continent, has already seen weather patterns shift. Droughts have become more severe, heatwaves and fire have intensified, and intense rainfall and floods are more common. In some areas, there’s less winter rainfall, and the ocean temperature is rising.

Fruit and vegetable growing is one of Australia’s most important agricultural sectors, with an annual production value (excluding wine grapes) exceeding A$11 billion in 2021–2022.

But this could change. The warping climate and heightened instability make it harder for fruit farmers to plan.

Already, the Australian fruit industry has seen large-scale losses of young fruit trees, or seasons where fruit develops poorly.

As winters get warmer, we could see lower apple, pear, cherry and nut yields. That’s because these trees usually go dormant during cold periods. If the weather isn’t cold enough, they don’t grow and develop normally.

Read more:
Farms are adapting well to climate change, but there’s work ahead

What can we do?

Fruit farmers have to play a long game. It takes years for apple tree saplings planted today to begin bearing saleable fruit.

These long times to a payoff can make it hard to respond quickly to climate challenges.

But there are new methods we are trying. Modern tools such as whole genome sequencing and allele mining are letting us get better at finding how vital traits are coded on a tree’s genome. This, in turn, can help us target traits like drought and heat tolerance which will be valuable in the future. With this knowledge, we can manipulate these genes to get stronger effects, or transfer them to other plants using modern breeding techniques.

We have already used these techniques to find genes in chickpeas that code for better drought resistance. Plants with these genes can survive temperatures of up to 38℃ and produce better yields to boot. After we isolated these genes, breeders in India and African nations used this knowledge to produce new, more drought tolerant varieties.

You might think drought tolerance is about retaining water better. Not necessarily. In these new and improved varieties, we see deeper roots, more vigorous growth and better leaf growth. This vigour safeguards their yields under drought stress.

Now we are using these techniques to mine the genomes of popular tropical fruit such as bananas and pineapples. We want to do the same as for chickpeas: create climate resilient cultivars.

What worked for chickpeas may not work for pawpaw and other fruit species. What we want is to find any characteristics which will boost survival rates in extreme conditions.

What would make these fruit trees and plants resilient to climate change? High tolerance to stress is vital. If you’re a gardener, you’ll know some plants can take a lot of punishment – while others are finicky and can die easily. Finding genes to promote robustness will help.

But there are other genes we’re looking for – those which code for improved yields and better fruit quality.

We are also working on accurate forecasting of climate resilience traits against the predicted changes to climates in our fruit growing regions. We can map the usefulness of these traits for specific regions by statistically testing correlations between different genes and measurements of plant traits.

Once we have greater ability to reliably forecast crop performance, we’ll avoid the long time needed to repeatedly grow and test new cultivars in field conditions and wait for the intense conditions needed to test how they respond.

The climate is changing, rapidly. We need to adapt our food sources just as quickly.

Read more:
From field to store to plate, our farmers are increasingly worried about climate change

We are grateful to Vanika Garg, Anu Chitikineni, Robert Henry, Natalie Dillon, David Innes, Rebecca Ford, Parwinder Kaur and Ben Callaghan for their collaboration and support

Rajeev Varshney receives funding from Hort Innovation Australia for establishing the Advanced Genomics Platform mentioned in this article

Abhishek Bohra receives funding from Hort Innovation Australia

– ref. Our tropical fruits are vulnerable to climate change. Can we make them resilient in time? – https://theconversation.com/our-tropical-fruits-are-vulnerable-to-climate-change-can-we-make-them-resilient-in-time-199978

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tooran Alizadeh, Associate Professor in Urbanism and Infrastructure, ARC Future Fellow, University of Sydney

A massive project is unfolding in Sydney’s Western Parkland region. The building of a new city from the ground up is central to an infrastructure-led restructuring of metropolitan Sydney. The catalysts are the Western Sydney City Deal and the Western Sydney Airport being built alongside the new Bradfield City.

Bradfield city is being developed on unceded Aboriginal land with complex ongoing settler-colonial legacies and high stakes for diverse First Nations communities – including the largest urban Indigenous population in Australia. Yet it is named after a colonial figure with no connection to the land.

Our case study research acknowledges what is happening in the Western Parkland development as being at the forefront of urban and infrastructure governance across Australia. It’s particularly notable how all three tiers of government – federal, state and local – have come together in this massive project.

Yet we have also identified a range of concerns, including public consultation, project funding, urban heat and water demand, the need for affordable and public housing, and other social equity issues.

Read more:
3 planning strategies for Western Sydney jobs, but do they add up?

City’s name is not a good start

The case study is part of a three-year (2020-2023) research project, the Infrastructure Governance Incubator, across three universities – Sydney, Melbourne and Monash. Our study includes 55 interviews with key stakeholders from all tiers of government, as well as non-government and community voices.

Participants from across the board have seen the “Bradfield” naming as a shameful decision. It’s in stark contrast to the positive steps towards supporting Indigenous voices throughout the project. These steps include the award-winning Recognise Country guidelines, Indigenous-led design projects, a Koori Perspectives Circle, and new Indigenous roles within government authorities to support engagement efforts.

In Australian cities, it is critical we explore the role of infrastructure in perpetuating settler-coloniality and in making space for Indigenous-led futures. The complex challenges of a case like this can inform important discussions about how we might improve infrastructure planning to produce just and sustainable approaches.

Our research participants saw a need for governments to give meaningful attention to building relationships and developing cross-cultural understandings. This involves early conversations with Aboriginal groups and adequate resourcing for engagement. Too often, these groups are brought on late in processes after key decisions are already made.

Interviewees stressed the importance of governments “learning to listen”. This requires having the openness to hear what is being said even if inconvenient. Many participants wanted to see Indigenous voices empowered in decision-making, not simply advisory.

“Listening” also means “listening to Country”. Part of demonstrating commitment to relationship building involves sustainably protecting Country. Early and ongoing public scrutiny is essential to ensure the project’s short-term approaches align with long-term perspectives on sustainable outcomes. It may also mean taking steps more slowly and carefully to get it right.

Read more:
Indigenous peoples across the globe are uniquely equipped to deal with the climate crisis – so why are we being left out of these conversations?

The state government could take some key actions. These include committing resources to advancing the many Indigenous land claims and applying exemptions to development barriers such as biodiversity offset obligations. These currently treat First Nation stakeholders like a developer, ignoring their long and ongoing care for Country.

Many participants also raised serious environmental concerns, including water management and extreme heat in the new city. Heatwaves can be 5-10℃ hotter there than the rest of Sydney.

Some fundamentally questioned a massive greenfield development in such a vulnerable environment. Others saw this as a chance to make much-needed transformational changes to our planning systems.

Read more:
Why Western Sydney is feeling the heat from climate change more than the rest of the city

Focus on jobs overshadows other issues

The political focus is on creating jobs in Western Sydney. Participants generally agreed it’s important to rebalance the metropolitan job market and economy.

However, many were concerned this focus has come at the expense of attention to other aspects of inequity, including access to affordable and public housing, public health and social services.

In terms of metropolitan planning, the centralised way the new strategy was adopted is a problem. The concept came from the then Greater Sydney Commission and was supported by the region’s councils.

The communities of the wider Sydney region, however, were not given strategic alternatives to consider. In particular, the concept was not put to traditional Indigenous custodians before being adopted.

One of the alternatives might have acknowledged the outer west as the hottest part of Sydney. It could instead have considered development in cooler parts such as Dural or the Central Coast. These sites might have been better placed to manage global warming challenges.

Read more:
Half of Western Sydney foodbowl land may have been lost to development in just 10 years

Governance is still a work in progress

Our participants agreed the complexity of urban challenges requires a concerted effort to better integrate infrastructure decision-making. Part of the challenge is to overcome legacies of fragmented urban governance. It’s a result of divisions of responsibilities between tiers of government and siloed decision-making across and within these tiers.

The Western Sydney City Deal is generally seen as a major step towards better integration of all levels of government. Nevertheless, participants note important shortfalls.

City Deal funding committed to date is likely too little, given the major place-making ambitions. While it’s useful for short-term projects, local governments need solutions for their major long-term funding issues, especially in the face of new growth pressures. Lack of funding fuels existing cultures of competition between authorities.

The Western Sydney City Deal has had some welcome successes in improving collaboration between the three levels of government. Local governments have secured “seats at the table”, where they have been able to renegotiate the terms of collaboration and governance.

However, important questions remain about how governments collaborate with community infrastructure sectors, non-government organisations and community advocates. Many have raised concerns about lack of meaningful inclusion or being engaged too late for meaningful impact.

Read more:
As Western Sydney residents grapple with climate change, they want political action

An example of these issues is the three-year review required under the Western Sydney City Deal signed in 2018. An independent university group completed the review in 2021. It has never been released to the public.

Interviewees told us the review was productive and made useful governance recommendations. However, some suggested it was not released due to state government discomfort with the findings.

We strongly urge the newly elected state government to make the review public and commit to a timely release of all similar documents in future. This will help build trust with the community.

Tooran Alizadeh receives funding from Henry Halloran Research Trust and Australian Research Council. The Infrastructure Governance Incubator is funded by the trust and partnered by the Planning Institute of Australia.

Glen Searle receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

Rebecca Clements receives funding from the Henry Halloran Research Trust.

– ref. Bold and innovative planning is delivering Australia’s newest city. But it will be hot – and can we ditch the colonial name? – https://theconversation.com/bold-and-innovative-planning-is-delivering-australias-newest-city-but-it-will-be-hot-and-can-we-ditch-the-colonial-name-203932

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Majdi Faleh, Academic Fellow in Cultural Heritage, Nottingham Trent University

A referee’s whistle pierces the air. A player dribbles a ball across a court; goal! Cheers erupt.

These are the familiar sounds of Australian life. Children squeal with laughter. The barbecue sizzles. The muezzin calls the faithful to prayer.

Opened in 2022, Melbourne’s Grand Mosque and the Werribee Islamic Centre offer a host of facilities that connect with the multicultural community of Tarneit, 25 kilometres west of Melbourne’s CBD.

Grand mosques mark the urban space of major historical cities such as Mecca, Medina, Cordoba and Tunis. More recently, these buildings have been built in cities like Algiers and Abu Dhabi.

The notion of a “grand mosque” has been shaped by the location of the mosque, its scale and its historical importance.

But what makes a grand mosque “grand”?

Building the grand mosques

Historically, ruling and social elites such as religious leaders, monarchs, princes and princesses financed and built mosques for their communities.

This charitable act was an important legacy, and mosques were also a reflection of the powers of dynasties.

There was great community involvement with the mosque, primarily through attending daily prayers. But mosques also provided civic, educational and cultural spaces to provide for extensive community involvement. These buildings were intellectual, scientific and literary centres, playing a crucial role in Arab-Islamic civilisation.

The idea of a “civic mosque” dates back to the early days of Islamic civilisation, with universities attached to mosques, such as the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco.

The most famous mosque in the world is the Great Mosque of Mecca, or the al-Masjid al-Ḥarām. Located in Saudi Arabia and first built in 638 AD, it can be called a grand mosque because of its historical significance, its capacity of 2.5 million and the way it intersects with the global Muslim community.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is a centre of science and knowledge which can accommodate 40,000 worshippers. The largest mosque in the UAE, its design includes references from Pakistani, Egyptian, Moorish, Arab and Indo-Islamic architecture.

Completed in 2019, Djamaa El Djazair in Algiers, Algeria, is the third-largest mosque in the world, with a capacity of 120,000 worshippers.

A “grand mosque” doesn’t need to have a capacity in the tens of thousands. With a capacity of 1,000 worshippers, the Grande Mosquee de Paris is the largest in France and the third-largest in Europe.

Constructed in the 1920s, the mosque’s unique architecture and the provision of social and communal spaces all testify to the important role Islam plays in the diversity of Paris.

Through a combination of scale and architectural design, these grand mosques make their mark in the urban landscape.

Read more:
French row over mosque isn’t simply about state financing – it runs deep into Islamophobia and French secularism

An Australian grand mosque

The first contact of Muslims with Australia dates back to the 18th century, when Macassan fishermen travelled to the Kimberley region and Arnhem Land to collect sea cucumbers.

Muslims began to settle in Australia from the 1860s, largely working as cameleers and pearlers. The first mosque in Australia was completed in 1882 in Maree, 600 kilometres north of Adelaide. Since then, mosques have been built in cities, towns and suburbs throughout Australia.

Now, Australia has its own grand mosque.

Melbourne’s Grand Mosque opened its doors last year.

Planning, fundraising and building by the community are pillars of the new design processes and identity of mosques in Australia. The prayer hall can fit 2,000 worshippers. The building also includes a sporting centre, a community hall and a childcare centre.

Built for A$8.5 million, the community raised the funds to realise their vision over a period of ten years. The community wanted to make a grand architectural statement which would meet the spiritual and social needs of Australia’s Muslim community.

Eventually the complex will incorporate a library, sports facilities, childcare, educational spaces and hospitality.

Architecturally, the mosque respects traditions of a central dome above the prayer hall, bringing light into the most sacred space. However, the dome is smaller than in traditional mosques and is set back into the building, allowing it to not dominate the streetscape.

This allows the building to play a social role in a suburb where there are multiple religious groups of similar size.

A mosque for the community

The “grand mosque” is not just about the scale of architectural features – the minarets, arches and calligraphy.

The grand mosque of today is about community: their involvement in the design processes and its openness as a hub for diverse communities of the 21st century.

Grand mosques have long punctuated the urban space in major cities. Today, the realisation of a grand mosque such as the one in Melbourne transforms the idea of “grand” to a level of social interaction and community aspirations.

Read more:
Graffiti, arson, death threats: new research finds widespread violence against Australian mosques

Majdi Faleh receives funding from Australian Research Council. Special Research Initiatives – Grant ID: SR200200989

Dijana Alic receives funding from Australian Research Council. Special Research Initiatives – Grant ID: SR200200989

Md Mizanur Rashid receives funding from Australian Research Council. Special Research Initiatives – Grant ID: SR200200989

– ref. Australia now has its own grand mosque: a brief history of how these buildings fold into the urban landscape – https://theconversation.com/australia-now-has-its-own-grand-mosque-a-brief-history-of-how-these-buildings-fold-into-the-urban-landscape-189554

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral researcher in radio astronomy, University of Sydney

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, whipping around our star every 88 days compared to Earth’s 365.25 days. Mercury will also be the first planet destroyed when the Sun expands on its way to becoming a red giant in about 5 billion years.

So it seems a bit rough that we blame Mercury for all our problems three to four times a year when it’s in retrograde. But what does it mean when we say Mercury is “in retrograde”?

A matter of orbits

Retrograde motion means a planet is moving in the opposite direction to normal around the Sun. However, the planets never actually change direction. What we are talking about is apparent retrograde motion, when to us on Earth it looks like a planet is moving across the sky in the opposite direction to its usual movement.

Because Mercury is closest to the Sun and has the fastest orbit, it appears to move backwards in the sky more often than any other planet.

Let’s use my dog Astro to help explain what’s happening when we see a planet in retrograde. Astro is a whippet, or a mini-greyhound, and he has a need for speed. If I take Astro for a run on my local cricket oval, he does super-speed laps on the inside while I run much more slowly around the outside.

If we’re both going anti-clockwise around the cricket pitch, when Astro is on the opposite side of the oval to me it looks like he’s going left while I’m jogging right. But when he gets to the same side of the oval as me, it suddenly looks like he’s running right instead of left (retrograde).

This happens because Astro is going much faster than me, and is inside my “orbit” of the oval.

Because Mercury’s orbit is inside Earth’s orbit, seeing it from our planet is like me watching Astro run.

But Mercury isn’t the only planet to do this. Venus also orbits inside our orbit of the Sun, zipping around once every 224.7 days. This means Venus is in retrograde twice every three years.

The other retrograde

It works the other way around, too. The planets outside our orbit (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) also go into retrograde.

To work this out, we need to swap our perspective. Astro is definitely not a deep thinker, but let’s imagine for a moment that he is and think about what he sees as he runs around the oval.

He’s running around the oval and he starts catching me up from behind. At this moment it seems like we’re both going the same direction, to the right. But as he starts to pass me, it seems like I’m going backwards or left (retrograde) while he continues to run forwards to the right.

This is what happens when we look up at the sky and see one of the outer planets in retrograde.

Mars is in retrograde once every two years. The other planets are so far from the Sun and travelling so slowly compared to Earth that it’s almost like they’re standing still. So we see them in retrograde approximately once a year as we whip around the Sun so much faster than they do.

A well-known illusion

Retrograde motion bamboozled ancient astronomers since humans started looking up in space, and we only officially figured it out when Copernicus proposed in 1543 that the planets are orbiting the Sun (though he wasn’t the first astronomer to propose this heliocentric model).

Before Copernicus, many astronomers thought Earth was the centre of the universe and the planets were spinning around us. Astronomers like Apollonius around 300 BCE saw the planets going backwards, and explained this by adding more circles called epicycles.

So, humans found out retrograde motion was an optical illusion 500 years ago. However, the pseudoscientific practice of astrology continues to ascribe a deeper meaning to this illusion.

There’s a retrograde most of the time

If we consider the seven planets other than Earth, at least one planet is in retrograde for 244 days of 2023 – that’s around two-thirds of the year.

If we include the dwarf planets Pluto and Ceres (and exclude the other seven dwarf planets in the Solar System), at least one planet or dwarf planet is in retrograde for 354 days of 2023, leaving only 11 days without any retrograde motion.

I like to think the biggest impact the planets have on Earth is bringing wonder and joy every time we turn our eyes (and our telescopes) to the night sky. Astro, on the other hand, is happy as long as he gets to run around the oval and bark at possums.

Read more:
From platypus to parsecs and milliCrab: why do astronomers use such weird units?

Laura Nicole Driessen is part of MeerTRAP, which is supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 694745).

– ref. People are complaining about Mercury in retrograde. But what does it actually mean? – https://theconversation.com/people-are-complaining-about-mercury-in-retrograde-but-what-does-it-actually-mean-205032

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Khalid Al Bostanji, PhD candidate, Australian National University

As Turkish voters head to polls for the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, the biggest question is whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade-long grip on power can be challenged.

Turkey’s main opposition parties have made a range of promises that include boosting the economy, democratising the political system, separating religion from state affairs and improving the country’s ties with the West.

However, it is increasingly clear there are significant differences in the positions of each party in the opposition coalition. Serious questions remain as to how much change one can expect to see, even if Erdogan is defeated.

Many Turkish citizens would like to see new policies to lift Turkey out of one of the most severe economic crises it has experienced in the last two decades. But the political issues are even more complex. Any issues related to the political system, secularism and foreign relations have become more polarised as Erdogan has consolidated his power in recent years.

A divided opposition

Turkey’s largest opposition party is the Republican People’s Party (the Turkish acronym for which is CHP). Formed by the founder of Turkey’s secular republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, this party remains loyal to the ideology of Turkish nationalism and is considered to be in the centre-left of politics.

CHP has aligned itself with other nationalist and conservative forces in a coalition called the Nation Alliance, whose combined shares of the vote might be enough to defeat Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (also known as the AK Party).

Read more:
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While there is widespread scepticism about polling in Turkey, the most recent surveys have showed that CHP’s position is relatively strong in the presidential race. In the parliamentary elections, however, Erdogan’s conservative policies seem to be serving the AK Party well.

This is a problem for the opposition, which has not done enough to counter the conservative politics of the ruling alliance.

The leader of the opposition is Kemal Kilicdaroglu, whom the Nation Alliance has nominated as its presidential candidate. This is despite Kilicdaroglu’s relatively low credibility with the public, as compared to other CHP figures.

Kilicdaroglu has pledged to deport the large number of refugees who have sought shelter in Turkey since 2011 when the war began in Syria. The opposition has argued this is a primary reason why Turkey is suffering economically, despite the widely acknowledged role of Erdogan’s disastrous monetary policy.

Read more:
Turkey’s currency crisis is a textbook example of what not to do with interest rates

However, other nationalist and left-leaning forces with significant public support have decided to stay outside the Nation Alliance.

On the nationalist side, the opposition candidate for the 2018 presidential elections (Muharrem Ince) is running on behalf of his new Homeland Party. Ultra-nationalists are also being represented by the Ancestral Alliance coalition, led by Sinan Ogan.

Parties on the left, on the other hand, have only been able to run in the parliamentary elections. Potential candidates from Turkey’s large Kurdish minority have faced particular difficulty in nominating themselves for the presidential race. Many of them have been imprisoned on charges of being linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Their only option is to back Kilicdaroglu, which some have done.

Erdogan is, of course, the AK Party’s candidate for president. The party has been in power since 2002 when it won a majority of seats in the parliamentary elections for the first time. Erdogan became prime minister in 2003, and then won the presidential election in 2014 before being reelected in 2018. If he is elected, this would be his final term.

The AK Party is a conservative party with Islamist origins, currently in a coalition with the far-right Nationalist Movement that has become fragmented and unpopular. Despite this unpopular coalition, Erdogan himself has managed to maintain somewhat favourable ratings with the public.

No checks on the president

One of the biggest pledges the Nation Alliance has made is to return Turkey’s presidential political system back to a parliamentary system. Since Erdogan pushed through a referendum in 2017 to abolish the prime minister’s office, the president has been able to exercise an unprecedented level of power.

Many observers blame the referendum for removing crucial checks on presidential power.

In addition, the opposition has also assured voters it will mend fences with Europe after ties deteriorated sharply under Erdogan’s rule. It would try to unfreeze Turkey’s European Union accession talks, which have been stalled since 2018 due to the country’s democratic backsliding. Turkey’s economic and political partnerships with Russia have also been an issue for the EU.

Perhaps more importantly, in terms of foreign policy, the opposition is promising to foster better relations with countries in the Middle East. These ties have frayed because of Turkey’s aggressive foreign policy and incidents like the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, which caused a rift between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The opposition is also pledging to expedite the country’s rapprochement with Israel, the Gulf states, Egypt and Syria.

Erdogan has yet to fully normalise relations with these states, as they are still wary of Turkey’s regional influence under the AK Party’s rule. Erdogan has positioned Turkey as a middle power with strategic influence in the Middle East and the wider region, particularly after the Arab Spring. This influence is unlikely to fade soon, regardless of the elections.

So, will a change in Turkish leadership transform Turkey and the region?

The answer is not simple. But it’s likely much will stay the same. Many key institutions in Turkey like the parliament, judicial system and press have lost their independence during the Erdogan era.

Erodgan’s party has become very influential in both domestic and foreign policy, which means his footprint will not disappear immediately, even if he is not re-elected. Rather, Erdogan will have a lasting social, economic and political legacy for both Turkey and its neighbours.

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

– ref. Turkey’s Erdogan is facing re-election to hold onto power – can a divided opposition oust the strongman? – https://theconversation.com/turkeys-erdogan-is-facing-re-election-to-hold-onto-power-can-a-divided-opposition-oust-the-strongman-203563

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mohiuddin Ahmed, Senior Lecturer of Computing and Security, Edith Cowan University

It seems hardly a day goes by without another report of a cyber crime incident. With Medibank still fresh in our minds, the latest attack is on a Sydney-based cancer treatment facility, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre in Westmead Hospital.

The cyber criminal group Medusa claims to have stolen thousands of files and is holding them to ransom.

In what has become a common practice, the criminal gang seems to be using double extortion. In such scenarios, criminals typically demand a fee to “release” the data back to the organisation – often with a “sample” made available to verify their claims.

The gangs then double-down with threats to publicise the data via their websites if payment isn’t made – in this case, a deadline of seven days.

Medusa is offering a range of options to delay the public release of data by 24 hours (US$10,000), to download and/or delete the data from the gang for US$100,000.

It’s currently unclear what will happen on Friday morning if the ransom is not paid. However, the Medusa Blog offers free access to data stolen from previous victims who did not pay the ransom by the deadline.

According to CyberCX, Medusa is the “second-most active cyber extortion group in the Pacific”. Medusa has been trying to compromise organisations in Australia and New Zealand since the beginning of 2023.

Read more:
Why are there so many data breaches? A growing industry of criminals is brokering in stolen data

Why target health services?

Any cyber attacks on the health sector are dangerous. While some cyber criminals have previously avoided schools and health-care organisations, it seems these are now fair game.

Knowing the services and data held by these organisations are critical, it’s not surprising to see so many ransomware attacks are launched against critical health-care infrastructure.

Some notable incidents targeting the Australian health systems have included Medibank, Melbourne Heart Group and Eastern Health which operates four hospitals in Melbourne’s east – an attack which resulted in elective surgeries needing to be postponed.

According to tech giant Microsoft, the health-care sector (and aligned industries) is one of the top targets for cyber criminals.

Read more:
Australian hospitals are under constant cyber attack. The consequences could be deadly

What are the impacts?

The health sector deals with our most private data – none of us want this data in criminal hands. Apart from the privacy issues, the inability to continue regular activities in any health-care facility poses life-threatening risks.

A recent study showed from 2016-2021, US health-care providers experienced 374 ransomware attacks that exposed the private health information of nearly 42 million patients.

Nearly half of these ransomware attacks disrupted the health-care services, with impacts including electronic system downtime, cancellations of scheduled care, and ambulance diversions.

Why do they keep happening?

Technical advances in the health industries have undoubtedly improved treatment and overall patient care. While this growth in technology is a positive for health care, it exposes health systems to cyber criminals.

With each passing year there is increased connectivity between clinical systems and medical devices. The health-care sector needs to be more staffed and heavily reliant on internet-connected systems also known as digital health. This inter-connectivity makes health systems more complex and harder to secure.

With the exception of state-sponsored groups, cyber criminals are primarily motivated by financial gain. Health care is undoubtedly one of the most promising targets as, if compromised, the organisations are more likely to pay the ransom – ultimately, because lives are at stake.

Cyber criminals capitalise on this and, even after good governance and enhanced cybersecurity within the sector, these incidents are likely to continue.

Read more:
Is Australia a sitting duck for ransomware attacks? Yes, and the danger has been growing for 30 years

Living with cyber criminals around us

So far, reports about the Cancer Centre at Westmead have not indicated that operations have been significantly impacted. This may imply no computing devices have actually been compromised and locked – this could be seen as a positive.

However, those who have examined the samples of data published on the Medusa Blog have suggested it seems genuine.

As Robert Mueller, former Director of the FBI, famously said:

There are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked and those that will be hacked.

Cyber crime has become a global industry with estimates predicting the impact at more than US$8 trillion in 2023. With such potentially lucrative benefits, we have to accept we will be sharing cyberspace with criminals for the foreseeable future.

There are, of course, actions that can improve our cybersecurity preparedness, regardless of the sector. While nothing will completely eliminate the risk, making ourselves a less attractive target helps to reduce the likelihood of being a victim. So it’s important to:

• protect your systems: apply patches to all devices (including mobile phones); educate users to segregate personal and business activities; use strong and unique passwords for all systems/services
• include all systems: don’t forget the internet of things and operational technology (all the devices and software we use that connect to the internet); check default settings (changing any default passwords); and plan the disposal of old systems
• protect your data: data collected from all sources need to be kept in appropriate locations; think about how long you will keep data; and ensure data is protected from creation to destruction.
• protect your people: educate all staff on basic cyber hygiene; vet new staff; and think about your off-boarding practices
• seek advice: when things go wrong bring in the experts and liaise with law enforcement or other government agencies as appropriate.

And, finally, do not pay the ransom – it may be a difficult decision, but it only encourages the criminals behind the ransomware campaigns to keep going.

Read more:
Medibank won’t pay hackers ransom. Is it the right choice?

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

– ref. A cancer centre is the latest victim of cyber attacks. Why health data hacks keep happening – https://theconversation.com/a-cancer-centre-is-the-latest-victim-of-cyber-attacks-why-health-data-hacks-keep-happening-205131

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristen Sobeck, Research Fellow, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

As the government weighs up whether to extend single parenting payments to parents of children older than the present cutoff age of eight in this week’s budget, new information has come to light about what happened when the rules were tightened in 2013.

When then-Treasurer Peter Costello reduced the cutoff age from 16 in 2006, forcing single parents who hadn’t found work onto (much lower) unemployment benefits, he said it would “help them with higher incomes and better participation in mainstream economic life”.

A few years later when then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced plans to remove a loophole that had allowed some parents with children over eight to continue receiving the payments, her treasurer Wayne Swan said it would “encourage re-entry into the workforce”.

Did the cutoff improve or harm lives?

Only now does recently available administrative data allow us to evaluate how single mothers fared after losing the payment when their children turned eight. Did they secure employment? Did they get higher incomes as a result of being pushed into work, or did their incomes sink?

Research Bob Breunig and I conducted on the changes enacted in 2013 finds that when taken together, the single mothers (they were overwhelmingly mothers) lost income.

On one hand, the change shifted a sizeable minority (about one-third) of single mothers off income support and into employment, boosting their incomes.

On the other hand, it left the majority on income support and on lower incomes – an effect that overwhelmed the increased incomes for those who left the payment and found jobs.

Multiple barriers to returning to work

What differentiates the (reduced income) majority from the (increased income) minority? While our particular dataset cannot identify characteristics that distinguish them from each other, there are two likely explanations.

First, individuals who have been on income support for long times tend to face multiple barriers to getting back to work, including illness and/or disability. In the case of single mothers, that illness or disability can also apply to their children.

Second is something more pernicious: domestic violence.

A personal safety survey conducted shortly after the Gillard changes found 60% of single mothers who had ever had a partner had experienced partner violence in their lifetimes – an astonishingly high figure.

If domestic violence underlies welfare dependence among single mothers (and it likely does), it doesn’t take rocket science to appreciate the difficulty of getting those mothers into work.

Single parents face greater financial constraints relative to dual-income households and greater constraints on their time, in terms of school pick-ups, drop-offs, sick days and things such as help with homework.

Domestic violence tightens these constraints, adding to demands on time and resources the need to find safe lodging, attend court hearings, and especially, as victims of trauma, care for their own (as well as their children’s) mental and physical health.

The trauma engendered by domestic violence can also be very difficult to escape when it is triggered at every custodial hearing, divorce proceeding, non-custodial parental visitation or on the days child support payments are due.

So what are the policy solutions?

First, increases in employment, unaccompanied by increases in income, appear to have deleterious impacts on children. Insofar as mutual obligations lead to unstable and poorly remunerated employment, they are counterproductive and detrimental.

Our research shows that additional mutual obligations did little to improve the employment outcomes of single mothers.

Second, individuals facing multiple barriers need tailored support that identifies and helps address multidimensional challenges.

The effect of domestic violence is hard to pin down

Scaling up individualised support can prove challenging, which is where case management experiments at the local level can help. The new treasury evaluation unit will be in a good position to ensure these policies are designed to be evaluated and assess their results.

As importantly, we need to be able to measure the impact of domestic violence on the economic security, employment and health outcomes of survivors and their children over time, as is done in countries like Finland.

Read more:
Already badly off, single parents went dramatically backwards during COVID. They are raising our future adults

The datasets needed to do this in Australia already exist, but so far the government has not allowed the linkage of longitudinal data on domestic violence and labour market outcomes.

Without the information that would come from putting these datasets together, Australia risks introducing policies, including those designed to assist single mothers who are victims of domestic violence, without a means of evaluating their effectiveness.

Single mothers – whether in paid employment or not – are among the hardest-working members of our society. They deserve better.

Kristen Sobeck and Robert Breunig received funding from the Department of Social Services to conduct this research.

– ref. How removing parenting payments when children turned 8 harmed rather than helped single mothers – https://theconversation.com/how-removing-parenting-payments-when-children-turned-8-harmed-rather-than-helped-single-mothers-204927

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karen Massel, Research Fellow, Centre for Crop Science, The University of Queensland

Advances in genetic engineering have given rise to an era of foods – including genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and gene-edited foods – that promise to revolutionise the way we eat.

Critics argue these foods could pose risks to human health and the environment. Proponents point to their potential for enhancing yields, reducing food waste, and even combating climate change.

What are GMOs and gene-edited foods? And how are they shaping the future of our food systems?

GMOs and gene-edited foods aren’t the same

GMOs are organisms whose genetic material has been artificially altered by inserting a piece of foreign DNA. This DNA may be synthetic in origin or sourced from other organisms.

Gene editing involves making precise changes to an organism’s genome without the integration of foreign DNA elements. Using techniques such as CRISPR/Cas, scientists make precise “cuts” in the DNA to create new genetic variation. Unlike with GMOs, this introduces only minor modifications, which are indistinguishable from natural mutations.

Although GMOs and gene-edited foods have been in circulation for almost three decades, research in this space continues to deliver breakthroughs. These technologies are being applied to provide a range of benefits, from improved nutrition in food, to reduced food waste and increased crop tolerance against climate stresses.

Read more:
What is CRISPR, the gene editing technology that won the Chemistry Nobel prize?

What are the concerns?

The major criticisms of GMOs are related to the overuse of specific herbicides.

GMOs are mainly used to produce crops that are herbicide-resistant or produce pesticides. Farmers can then use herbicides on those crops to control weeds more effectively, without the plants themselves dying. This leads to higher yields on less land, and often with less chemicals used overall.

However, these crops rely on the use of said lab-made chemicals. And although the government regulates them, ethical and safety debates continue. People raise concerns over potential long-term health impacts, impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, and the increased corporate control over agriculture.

Concerns generally aren’t related to the actual manipulation of the plants’ DNA.

Is genetic modification itself unsafe?

When it comes to the food we eat, how much do we really know about its DNA? Even among experts with genome-sequencing information, most have only one or a few sequenced “reference” varieties, and these often aren’t the same as the plants we eat.

The fact is, we don’t really understand the genomes of many plants and animals we eat. So there’s no reason to suggest tweaking their gene sequences will make consumption harmful. Moreover, there’s currently no evidence regulator-approved GMOs or gene-edited foods aren’t safe for human consumption.

In regards to food safety, one valid concern would be the potential creation of new allergens: proteins within the crop the body recognises and creates an immune response to.

But it’s important to remember many foods we eat are already allergenic. Common examples include wheat, peanuts, soy, milk and eggs. Some common foods are even toxic if consumed in large quantities or without appropriate preparation, such as rhubarb leaves, raw cassava, raw kidney beans and raw cashews.

Ironically, researchers are using gene editing to work towards eliminating proteins that cause allergies and intolerances. Gluten-free wheat is one example.

GMOs and gene-edited foods are widespread

Due to inconsistent rules about labelling GMOs and gene-edited foods around the world, many consumers may not realise they’re already eating them.

For example, the most widely used enzyme in cheese-making, rennet, is produced from a GMO bacterium. GMO microbial rennet produces a specific enzyme called chymosin, which helps coagulate milk and form curds. Historically, chymosin was extracted from young cow stomachs, but in the 1990s scientists managed to genetically engineer a bacterium to synthesise it.

GMOs and gene-edited cereal and oilseed products are also widely used in stockfeeds. There is ongoing research to improve feed through enhanced nutrition, and produce crops that will decrease methane emissions from cattle.

When it comes to modifying animals themselves, ethical considerations must be balanced alongside potential benefits.

In Australia, about 70% of cattle are genetically polled (hornless). Having polled cows improves meat quality through less injury to meat, and is considered better for animal welfare. In the US, fast-growing genetically modified salmon has been approved for consumption.

In a horticultural context, the genetically modified rainbow papaya stands out. It was developed in the late 1990s in response to a ringspot virus outbreak that nearly wiped out the global papaya industry. Researchers created the virus-resistant “transgenic” papaya, which now makes up the majority of papayas consumed worldwide.

In terms of boosting nutritional content, “golden rice” biofortified with Vitamin A (GMO) is being cultivated in the Philippines, as are tomatoes biofortified with Vitamin D (GE) in the United Kingdom, and GABA-enriched tomatoes (GE) in Japan.

Research is also being done to create non-browning mushrooms, apples and potatoes. A simple gene edit can help inhibit the browning oxidation reaction, leading to a longer shelf-life and less food waste.

Regulation in Australia and New Zealand

So why don’t you see non-browning mushrooms at your local supermarket?

In Australia, the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator regulates GMOs. It has approved four GMO crops for cultivation: cotton, canola, safflower and Indian mustard. However, many more are imported for food ingredients (including modified soy, cottonseed oil, corn and sugar beet) and stockfeed (canola, maize and soy).

Gene-edited foods can be cultivated without any regulatory restrictions or labelling in Australia. The Gene Technology Act 2000 deregulated these products in 2019.

On the other hand, New Zealand’s Environmental Protection Authority has maintained regulatory restrictions on both gene-edited foods and GMOs. Divergent definitions have led the bi-national agency Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to adopt a cautious approach, regulating gene-edited foods and feeds as GMOs.

The lack of alignment in definitions in Australian has confused producers and consumers alike. FSANZ has said it will continue to monitor developments in gene-editing technology, and will consider reviewing its regulatory approach.

Responsible research

Both GMOs and gene-edited foods offer great promise. Of course there are valid concerns, such as the potential to create new allergens, unintended consequences for ecosystems, and growing corporate control over food. But these can be addressed through responsible research and regulatory frameworks.

Ultimately, the development of future foods must be guided by a commitment to sustainability, social justice and scientific rigour.

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

– ref. What’s the latest on GMOs and gene-edited foods – and what are the concerns? An expert explains – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-latest-on-gmos-and-gene-edited-foods-and-what-are-the-concerns-an-expert-explains-204275

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Gately, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, Edith Cowan University

When children steal, naturally parents can be very concerned. They might wonder if they’ve taught their child correctly, whether it’s just a phase or whether they’re going to have a young offender on their hands.

But before parents panic, they need to consider why their child may have taken something that doesn’t belong to them.

First, it’s important to consider the age of the child.

When do kids learn stealing is wrong?

Very young children don’t have a concept of ownership. If they see something that interests them, they are likely to reach out and just take it.

Child experts believe a sense of their own property begins at about two years old, but fully understanding ownership rights of other people develops at three to five years old.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry advises that age three to five is a particularly important time for parents to actively teach children about property and honesty. Model good behaviour around respecting property, which means not bringing home extra stationery from work, or bragging about the cooked chicken on the supermarket trolley hook you got away with not paying for.

If they know it’s wrong, why do they do it?

Motives for stealing need to be explored and understood before deciding on a course of action, as it’s not necessarily a sign of moral failure.

Some young children with low impulse control might steal for immediate gratification – especially items perceived as low value. They might think it’s only a few lollies, or a biscuit or two, no one will notice.

Others may have difficulty imagining anyone would be cross or disappointed if they took another person’s belongings.

Read more:
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Bored children may steal simply for a sense of excitement or to gain attention.

Another important aspect is whether they steal alone or with peers. Children may steal as part of pranking behaviour due to peer pressure or to impress their friends.

Children who come from impoverished backgrounds may steal to obtain items they can’t afford. The item may be particularly valued within their peer group, or it may be the latest fad item everyone else in the group has.

Read more:
‘I go for the food’: what children and young people told us about why they steal from houses

Some children may steal to gain attention from adults or peers. Or there may be emotional or psychological issues and the child uses stealing as a method of coping.

Stealing may indicate a child is struggling with something deeper and needs help addressing the root cause of their behaviour. Parents, caregivers and educators should approach the situation with empathy and understanding, and work with the child to find more constructive ways to cope with their emotions and needs.

My child has stolen something. What should I do?

Here are some steps parents and guardians can take:

1. Stay calm and avoid overreacting. Approach the situation calmly. Shouting or punishing children harshly can make them more likely to steal again in the future.

2. Talk to the child. Ask them why they stole and listen to their response. Try to understand what motivated them to steal and address any underlying issues. Explain why stealing is wrong and the consequences it can have.

Read more:
How to get your kids to talk about their feelings

3. Tell them stealing is wrong. It’s important to teach children the importance of honesty and trust. Explain how stealing can break trust between people and damage relationships.

4. Remove the goods, if possible. Make sure they don’t benefit from the theft or keep any goods. Sometimes parents may decide not to return goods for fear of the consequences, but your child should not be able to keep the goods.

5. Set clear consequences. Make sure they understand there are consequences to their actions. This could include returning the stolen item, apologising to the person they stole from, and completing chores or community service to make amends.

6. Avoid scare tactics. Don’t threaten to tell the police or continually label them as naughty, a thief or bad person. Once you have dealt with it, avoid bringing it up again.

7. Monitor their behaviour. Keep an eye on your child’s behaviour in the future to ensure they aren’t stealing again. Praise them when they make good choices and show honesty.

8. Seek professional help. If your child’s behaviour continues or escalates, it may be necessary to seek professional help from a psychologist who specialises in working with children.

Remember, stealing is not necessarily a serious issue, however it should not be ignored. With the correct approach and right support, parents and guardians can help their child develop a sense of ownership, understand the consequences of stealing, and prevent them stealing in the future.

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

– ref. Why do young children sometimes steal? And what should parents do about it? – https://theconversation.com/why-do-young-children-sometimes-steal-and-what-should-parents-do-about-it-200906

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanessa Pirotta, Postdoctoral Researcher and Wildlife Scientist, Macquarie University

Did you know whales are born tail first? They enter their water world being able to swim from day dot. From the moment they’re born, their first instinct is to swim to the surface for air.

While most enjoy the comforts of hanging out in mum’s tummy until she reaches warm northern Australian waters, some just can’t wait to enter the big blue.

May marks the official start to the whale watching season and we’ve already had an exciting teaser with the recent sighting of a pygmy blue whale mother and calf in Western Australian waters.

While this sighting is rare, it’s not likely to be the last mother and calf whale sighting we’ll see this year. We’ll soon start seeing various whale species moving along the west and east coasts of Australia.

Read more:
Thar she blows! An expert’s guide to whale watching 101

Why are whales coming here?

Generally speaking, whales migrate to Australian waters in the winter to breed.

Depending on where you are on the Australian coast, you’ll probably see at least the main migratory baleen (toothless) whale species.

These include the iconic humpback whale, the southern right whale, dwarf minke whale (east coast mainly) and possibly the pygmy blue whale (west coast).

The first three species typically migrate north to warmer waters to breed and calve. They’ve spent the summer feeding in Antarctic/Southern Ocean waters, putting on a lot of weight. Now, they’re ready to spend their energy going north to reproduce.

In contrast, pygmy blue whales typically stay in Australian waters over summer. They then travel along the west coast of Australia, past Perth into international waters such as the Banda Sea where they are thought to breed during the winter.

The making of a whale calf

Baleen whales are mammals just like you and me. A humpback whale is pregnant for 11-12 months. So female humpback whales that fell pregnant in Australian waters during the last breeding season are likely to give birth this year.

A female humpback whale may mate with multiple males. Males may sing and/or fight to mate with females. Males provide no parental care for their young.

A humpback whale mother may produce a calf every two to three years. This is a relatively quick turnaround and is likely one reason why Australian humpback whale numbers have been recovering well post-whaling.

The ultimate water birth

Antarctic waters are too cold for a newborn calf. This is one reason why humpback whales travel to warmer water to breed.

Whales rely on a lot of blubber to keep them warm. Newborn calves are born with very little body insulation, so warm Australian waters are an ideal environment to be born into.

Traditionally, northern breeding grounds for humpback whales in Australian waters occur in the Kimberley region on the west coast and in the Great Barrier Reef on the east.

Globally, humpback whale breeding waters are ideal at temperatures between 21℃ and 28℃. With climate change and an expansion of warming waters, this area is increasing.

Why do we sometimes see mothers with calves travelling north?

Sometimes we see mothers with newborn calves well south of traditional breeding grounds. This is most likely the case with the recent pygmy blue whale sighting.

On the east coast of Australia, both humpback and dwarf minke whale mothers have been observed travelling north with bubs in recent years. Perhaps this is a result of the waters being ideal and warm, or maybe some calves just can’t wait to enter the world. Maybe this happens more than we think, with efforts to document this still ongoing.

On the swim for multitasking mothers

Once a calf is born, mothers continue to swim with the calf alongside her. This is the most efficient position where the calf is able to swim in her slipstream.

During this time, they may stop and rest. The calf is able to suckle milk from mum’s mammary glands. This fatty milk is perfect for putting on blubber. And don’t worry whale mums, humpback whale calves don’t have any teeth. In fact, all baleen whales, like humpback whales are toothless. Instead of teeth, they have baleen, which are long hair like structures they use to filter feed when they are older.

Read more:
Curious kids: why don’t whales have teeth like we do?

Breastfeeding duties also come at the time when the mother is migrating, when she must also keep an eye out for predators such as orcas, human hazards (such as ships, fishing gear/nets) and trying to avoid males who may wish to mate with her.

Impressively, she is also likely to be fasting at the same time, relying on energy stores obtained in Antarctic waters.

If conditions are favourable, she may also take the chance to feed in Australian waters. Talk about the ultimate underwater mother!

How can you see a mother with calf?

You just never know what you might see when whale watching. Although your chances of spotting a mother and calf pair is highest in those northern breeding areas, you could also spot them as they migrate northward, or on their return journey south to Antarctic waters. The good news is, whale watching can be done from both land and on the water, depending on where you are in Australia.

Fortunately, all whales in Australian waters are protected. Mothers with calves afford special protection. If on the water or flying a drone, please keep them safe and keep your distance.

Whale mothers truly are tremendous multi-taskers who never cease to amaze me.

Read more:
Humpback whales have been spotted ‘bubble-net feeding’ for the first time in Australia (and we have it on camera)

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

– ref. Tail first and making an early splash, some whales just can’t wait to be born – https://theconversation.com/tail-first-and-making-an-early-splash-some-whales-just-cant-wait-to-be-born-204620

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Hurley, Director, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University

The number of temporary migrants in Australia is booming after falls during the pandemic. Of this group, current and former international students are the largest component.

This comes as the federal government’s new migration review found “hard choices are required” to halt the increase in “permanently temporary” migrants in Australia. These are people who have lived in the country for an extended period, but have no path to permanent residency or citizenship.

The review, led by former top public servant Martin Parkinson, made many recommendations.

They included changes to help international students get jobs and stay in Australia, particularly those with “high potential”. It also recommended the federal government “review the drivers” to minimise the number of international students becoming “permanently temporary” migrants in the first place.

This will need the government to take a better look at the role universities and vocational colleges play in migration to ensure we have both a sustainable migration system and a thriving education sector.

Read more:
Migration review warns against Australia becoming nation of ‘permanently temporary’ residents

The age of the temporary migrant

Temporary migrants have a visa allowing them to stay in Australia for an extended period, but they are not permanent migrants or Australian citizens. The recent migration review found the rise in “permanently temporary” visa holders “has caused harm” to Australia and migrants, noting both uncertainty and the “risk of migrant worker exploitation”.

International students have led the growth of this group. Since 2011, the number of current and former international students who are temporary migrants has increased from about 275,000 to more than 765,000.

Read more:
How to improve the migration system for the good of temporary migrants – and Australia

The pandemic saw the number of international students in Australia fall. Since borders reopened in December 2021, the number of international students in Australia has returned to record levels.

Signs suggest the numbers will continue to increase. The number of visas approved for international students are also at record levels.

The government has also committed to expanding post-study work rights for international graduates. These rights enable former students in certain courses to stay for a period after their course. This can range from 18 months to six years.

Why education providers are key

Education institutions play a vital role in driving the supply of temporary migrants. Enrolling in a university or vocational course can enable access to longer visas.

For example, a working holiday visa enables young people from some countries to live and work in Australia for one year. By enrolling in certain courses, a much larger pool of people from more countries can access extended visas. These can effectively enable someone to stay in Australia for up to ten years.

So it is difficult to disentangle education decisions from migration decisions. In many ways, an international student is not just purchasing a course but also a multi-year visa.

Our education institutions benefit from this arrangement. Courses that are most popular are those that entitle students to post-study visas or are aligned to permanent migration pathways. Arguably, pathways to temporary and permanent migration drive many enrolments.

A university can also receive two to three times the amount of money for an international student compared to a domestic student.

Read more:
Immigration system set for overhaul in wake of review’s damning findings

The benefits of international students are not shared

Australian students benefit from this arrangement too. It means our education institutions have more resources and better facilities.

But the benefits of international education are often concentrated in certain institutions. In the university sector, it is the larger, more prestigious universities who receive the most revenue from international students.

In the vocational education and training sector, the concentration of international students is even more stark.

Mitchell Institute analysis shows in 2021, of the ten vocational institutions with the highest international enrolments, nine were private colleges who catered largely to international students. In five of these colleges, 100% of enrolments were international students. These enrolments are largely in courses such as business, cookery and hospitality.

This means Australian students in our already underfunded vocational sector are missing out on the benefits international education brings.

Time for another look

Before the pandemic, international education brought about A$40 billion to the Australian economy. At its peak in 2019, institutions received about $16 billion annually, which had grown from about $2 billion in 2002.

The migration review has highlighted how the increase in temporary migrants is a by-product of this growth. If we want to gain more control over the total pool of migrants, we need to examine the role of universities and vocational colleges.

These may not be easy discussions to have. But they can begin by more closely examining the role of education institutions in the migration process. This could include better using these universities and vocational colleges in the process to identify “high potential” international students the migration review says Australia should aim to keep.

Meanwhile, international students remain vital to the health of our education system. We need more targeted policies to ensure the benefits of international education go to the parts of the education system that need it the most.

Read more:
The Universities Accord will plan for the next 30 years: what big issues must it address?

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

– ref. Why unis and vocational colleges are key to Australia’s temporary migration challenge – https://theconversation.com/why-unis-and-vocational-colleges-are-key-to-australias-temporary-migration-challenge-205011

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Siminski, Professor of Economics, University of Technology Sydney

In response to calls to raise the JobSeeker payment, the Albanese government is expected to announce an increase in Tuesday’s budget only be for recipients aged 55 and over.

Doing so will fuel the familiar generational debate about comparative levels of hardship experienced by older and younger Australians.

JobSeeker’s current single rate is $49.51 a day, about 65% of the age pension and 18.5% of average full-time earnings. Last month, the government’s own Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee recommended it be raised to 90% of the age pension.

This age targeting is reportedly justified on the basis that older recipients are more likely to be long-term unemployed, and majority female.

But are younger recipients less needy? Our research suggests their need may well be greater, reporting far higher levels of hardship than older Australians, even when depending on JobSeeker.

Read more:
Boosting JobSeeker is the most effective way to tackle poverty: what the treasurer’s committee told him

Measuring financial hardship

Our results are drawn from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey – better known as the HILDA survey – which each year since 2001 has polled a representative sample of about 18,000 Australians on many aspects of their lives.

Our first graph shows average financial hardship by age.

We compiled this index from answers given by HILDA participants to seven indicators of their material hardship over the previous nine months. These were, due to a shortage of money:

• could not pay electricity gas or telephone bills on time
• could not pay the mortgage or rent on time
• pawned or sold something
• went without meals
• was unable to heat home
• asked for financial help from friends or family
• asked for help from welfare or community organisations.

About 22% of those aged 20-80 reported at least one hardship, with the average hardship of those in their 20s being 2.9 times more than those aged 55 to 69.

The next graph shows the constituent elements of the composite measure.

While the responses to “asking for help” – with young people presumably asking parents first – do seem to skew the results, five of the other six measures follow the same pattern. (The exception is “unable to heat home”, where there’s no significant age trend.)

One reason for this distinct pattern is home ownership and wealth accrual over time. Young people are typically more financially stressed because they have had less time to accumulate liquid assets, such as cash and bank deposits.

It’s also possible that younger people are more likely to admit to hardship, though our research suggests this is not a significant factor.

What about JobSeeker recipients?

The next graph shows financial stress among JobSeeker recipients by age before and during 2020. It also shows the effect of higher payments in 2020, when the federal government doubled the JobSeeker rate for six months (known as the Coronavirus Supplement).

Thanks to those payments, financial stress among the young fell to its lowest level in at least two decades. But that still meant, on average, those younger than 55 were 2.5 times more likely to report being financially stressed than those 55 and older.

The Coronavirus Supplement experiment in 2020 taught us that a higher JobSeeker payment rate can make a meaningful difference to the financial wellbeing of all Australians, both young and old.

We will find out shortly what the federal government has learned from this policy lesson.

Read more:
Presented with a JobSeeker finding too clear to ignore, he changed the subject: how Jim Chalmers is shaping the budget

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

– ref. The case for boosting JobSeeker for all: younger people report greater financial hardship – https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-boosting-jobseeker-for-all-younger-people-report-greater-financial-hardship-205015

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

On Saturday former Liberal minister Stuart Robert announced that he would soon retire from politics, setting up a byelection in his Queensland seat of Fadden.

There has been recent speculation that former Liberal PM Scott Morrison will also soon retire, which would mean a byelection in his New South Wales seat of Cook.

At the 2022 federal election, Robert won Fadden by a 60.6-39.4 margin over Labor, while Morrison won Cook by a 62.4-37.6 margin over Labor.

At the April 1 federal Aston byelection, Labor had a 6.4% swing in its favour to overturn a 52.8-47.2 Liberal margin at the 2022 election. Even if Labor achieved such a swing in its favour in Fadden and Cook, these seats would still be comfortable holds for the Liberals.

As they are very unlikely to win either Fadden or Cook at byelections, and could be embarrassed if there were a swing to the Liberals in either seat, I do not expect Labor to contest either byelection.

Pre-budget Essential poll: 53-41 to Labor including undecided

In last week’s pre-budget federal Essential poll, conducted in the days before May 2 from a sample of 1,130, Labor led by 53-41, an increase from 52-43 four weeks ago. Primary votes were 33% Labor (down one), 32% Coalition (up one), 14% Greens (steady), 5% One Nation (down one), 2% UAP (down one), 8% for all Others (down one) and 5% undecided (up one).

Despite the Coalition’s primary vote gain, Labor increased their two party lead. That suggests respondent preference flows to Labor were stronger than previously.

By 48-29, respondents supported raising the JobSeeker rate without a cost of living component in the question (this applied to half the sample). With the cost of living component, support was 50-29. An additional question from the April Resolve poll had support for increasing JobSeeker at 43-31.

Respondents were asked to rate Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton from 0 to 10, then ratings of 0-3 were counted as negative, 4-6 as neutral and 7-10 as positive. Albanese improved to a 41-24 positive rating from 40-27 in March, while Dutton dropped to 35-23 negative from 33-26.

Asked to name the treasurer, 33% correctly named Jim Chalmers. By 41-27, voters approved of his job performance. By 45-42, voters thought the budget could make a difference to the cost of living.

For health, education and social security, far more people thought government spending was too low rather than too high. For renewable energy projects and the NDIS, the difference between too low and too high was much reduced. For defence, more people thought spending too high than too low.

On taxes, far more thought personal taxes too high rather than too low, but too low and too high were equal for taxes on oil and gas producers and too low was far ahead for taxes on international corporations.

By 52-22, voters supported allowing New Zealanders who have lived in Australia for at least four years to become Australian citizens.

Morgan poll: 53.5-46.5 to Labor

In last week’s weekly federal Morgan poll, conducted April 24-30, Labor led by 53.5-46.5, a three-point gain for the Coalition since the previous week. Primary votes were 36% Labor, 35.5% Coalition, 13% Greens and 15.5% for all Others. I believe this is Labor’s worst result in a Morgan poll since late November 2022.

UK local elections were disappointing for Labour

I covered Thursday’s United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Conservatives lost over 1,000 councillors, but Labour only had a nine-point margin over the Conservatives on the BBC’s Projected National Share.

While that’s Labour’s best performance since they were last in government nationally in 2010, it was much worse than current national polls that give Labour about a 17-point lead.

A United States debt default could occur as early as June 1 if no action is taken by Congress to lift the debt limit. The May 14 Turkish election and May 21 Greek election were also covered.

Incumbents easily re-elected at Tasmanian upper house elections

Every May two or three of Tasmania’s 15 upper house seats are up for election for six-year terms. On Saturday there were elections in Rumney, Murchison and Launceston. Independents in the latter two held with over 70% of the primary vote, while Labor’s Sarah Lovell won 50.5% of the primary in Rumney, with 26.5% for the Liberals and 16.6% for a conservative independent.

These results mean the status quo in the upper house is retained. Analyst Kevin Bonham said there are four Labor out of 15, four Liberals, three left-wing independents, one centrist independent and three conservative independents. The Liberals hold a majority in the lower house.

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

– ref. Easy Liberal wins likely in byelections in Robert’s and Morrison’s seats; support for rise in JobSeeker – https://theconversation.com/easy-liberal-wins-likely-in-byelections-in-roberts-and-morrisons-seats-support-for-rise-in-jobseeker-204798

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

Real wages are expected to start growing slightly earlier and grow more strongly than previously forecast, according to the latest Treasury estimates.

Higher forecasts for wage growth and lower forecasts for inflation in 2023-24 than in the last budget are expected to bring forward the return for real wages growth to early 2024. In the October budget the return was put at mid 2024.

But unemployment is set to rise over the coming year.

Tuesday’s budget will forecast a growth in real wages of three quarters of a percentage point over the year to June 2024. This is an upgrade of half of a percentage point since the October budget.

The government says Treasury’s upgraded forecasts show a resilience in Australia’s labour market.

Unemployment is forecast to be 3.5% in the June quarter of this year increasing to 4.25% in the June quarter next year. This is an improvement of a quarter of a percentage point in both years since the October budget.

Unemployment is still expected to peak at 4.5% But this is now expected to be reached in 2024-25, compared to the expectation in the last budget that the peak would be in 2023-24.

The budget will forecast an additional 500,000 jobs will be created by the June quarter 2026. This is some 200,000 more than expected last October.

There has been speculation this financial year could see the budget in balance or even surplus. Treasurer Jim Chalmers would only say there would be a “substantial improvement in the near term”, but then the pressures on the budget would intensify.

Chalmers said the substantial improvement wasn’t just because of higher commodity prices. “It is also about lower unemployment and the beginning of wages growth”.

He said “getting wages growing again is central to our economic plan and our budget.

“We’re pleased to see signs that wages are moving,” he said.

“While this is a step in the right direction, we know that many Australians are still under the pump from cost-of-living pressures and rising interest rates. 

“A big part of tackling cost-of-living challenges is to help ensure ordinary Australian workers can earn enough to provide for their loved ones and get ahead.

“We also understand that securing real wages growth means getting inflation under control and our Energy Price Relief Plan is already helping with this.”

The budget “will be focused on targeted cost-of-living relief that doesn’t add to inflation, getting wages moving again and laying the foundations for a stronger and more resilient economy”.

Chalmers on Friday announced the budget would contain a program to tackle entrenched disadvantage in particular communities.

There would be a series of “place-based initiatives to try and shift the needle”.

Chalmers said there was concern that even with low unemployment there were pockets of disadvantage.

“We don’t want to see long-term unemployment. We don’t want to see entrenched intergenerational disadvantage.”

The $200 million program would back local leaders and organisations working on the difficult social and economic challenges in these areas.

“What that means is partnering with philanthropic organisations, it means investing in local community groups, it means doing something meaningful about impact investing. There are a number of different parts to our strategy.”

He said “to build the kind of economy that we want, we’ve got to align what we want to see in our economy with what we want to see in our society and in our communities.”

Australia, which generated remarkable opportunities for people in the broad, “needs to do a much better job of putting those opportunities within reach of more people”.

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

– ref. Budget shows real wages expected to start growing early next year and promises effort to ‘shift the needle’ in disadvantaged communities – https://theconversation.com/budget-shows-real-wages-expected-to-start-growing-early-next-year-and-promises-effort-to-shift-the-needle-in-disadvantaged-communities-205133

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Turner, System Lead, Sustainable Economies, Climateworks Centre

The Albanese government has announced a Net Zero Authority to reduce national emissions and help industry, communities and workers manage the shift to a low-carbon economy.

The authority will be enshrined in law. It will seek to make Australia’s energy transition more coordinated, orderly and fair, and ensure regions and industry seize the huge economic opportunities on offer.

The authority is long overdue. Without such a body, Australia risked making the net-zero transition too slowly, or not at all.

Establishing this body is just the first step. So let’s take a look at how the Net Zero Authority can help Australia make the most of this once-in-a-generation economic transformation.

What will the Net Zero Authority do?

Australia has a national goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, as part of the global effort to arrest climate change. Reaching the target requires a transformation of Australia’s economy away from emissions-intensive activities such as burning fossil fuels.

But without an organisation such as the Net Zero Authority, reaching this target was not assured, and workers and communities may have suffered along the way.

There have long been calls from industry, unions, green groups, academics and others for an overarching body to help co-ordinate the net-zero shift.

According to the federal government, the new authority will have three main jobs:

• support workers in emissions-intensive sectors to transition to new jobs and learn new skills

• coordinate programs and policies across government to help regions and communities attract and take advantage of new clean energy industries

• help investors and companies take up opportunities in the net-zero transformation.

In our view, these are the right areas for the authority’s focus.

The authority will work with federal agencies and state, territory and local governments, existing regional bodies, unions, industry, investors, First Nations groups and others.

There will be a process to inform what approaches the new authority will adopt. That’s where our recent research may help.

Over the past three years, the Climateworks Centre at Monash University has been working with industry to examine what’s needed for Australia’s energy transition to succeed. The collaboration is known as the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative.

Our findings suggest the Net Zero Authority is on the right track, and offers specific ways forward on policy.

Read more:
We need a National Energy Transition Authority to help fossil fuel workers adjust

Co-ordination is key

As our report earlier this year stated, achieving the net-zero target needs coordinated action from finance, industry, community and all government departments at all levels. Without this, emissions reduction cannot happen at the pace and scale needed.

In June last year, for example, we released a study involving five industrial regions: the Pilbara and Kwinana in Western Australia, the Hunter and Illawarra in New South Wales and Gladstone in Queensland. Between them, they extract or make products such as iron ore, steel, aluminium, chemicals and liquified natural gas.

These regions are significant in terms of emissions and energy use, but also make a big contribution to the economy.

We found that while significant action is underway to decarbonise these regions, investment in both industry and the energy system must be significantly scaled up to achieve big emissions reductions and build the new industries needed.

The potential climate and investment gains are huge. We identified 70 million tonnes of emissions reduction in these five regions alone – representing an 88% reduction – if timely, effective action was taken. This would be equal to removing all emissions from cars and light commercial vehicles in Australia.

We found more work was required to coordinate the transition and help all stakeholders collaborate and attract investment. The Net Zero Authority promises to achieve this at a national level.

Let’s get together

The transformation to a decarbonised economy in Australia must take place at a dizzying scale. So how should it best be managed?

Our research suggests one approach: creating clusters of industrial businesses in one place, powered by 100% renewable energy.

We call these “renewable energy industrial precincts”. We identified 11 priority areas across Australia with the potential to host these precincts.

The precincts are a practical solution to scale up and accelerate climate solutions in carbon-intensive industries. It would allow businesses to share resources and knowledge, reduce costs and capitalise on Australia’s abundant renewable energy resources.

Under our proposal, businesses and governments would work towards a precinct-level net-zero target. The Net Zero Authority could manage this through national coordination.

A paper by Beyond Zero Emissions last year found such a precinct in Gladstone could unlock billions of dollars in new capital investment and create 11,000 new local jobs.

Read more:
The Morrison government is set to finally announce a 2050 net-zero commitment. Here’s a ‘to do’ list for each sector

Paying for the transition

As part of Friday’s announcement, the federal government allocated A$400 million from the Powering the Regions Fund to help existing and new industries through the economic shift.

This funding is welcome. Co-investment partnerships between federal agencies and state governments could offer even greater benefits.

Co-investment is a way for governments to combine multiple, smaller funding sources to achieve scale and efficiency. Precinct-based approaches work well for co-investment – for example, when state and federal governments chip in to pay for infrastructure used by several businesses, such as a rail line. A national authority can ensure such funding is coordinated.

Cross-government investment can also boost the confidence of private investors. Attracting private capital is important for reaching the scale of finance needed to fully decarbonise industry in key regional locations.

Seize the moment

Australia’s energy transition represents a moment of great opportunity. It’s time for us to create the future we want. But it means focusing on the needs of our workforce and industries and ensuring no-one gets left behind.

The Net Zero Authority is a crucial element for success. It will help ensure Australia’s industries, regions and communities are positioned to prosper in a decarbonising global economy.

Kylie Turner is an employee of Climateworks Centre which receives funding from philanthropy and project-specific financial support from a range of private and public entities including federal, state and local government and private sector organisations and international and local non-profit organisations.
Climateworks Centre works within Monash University’s Sustainable Development Institute.
Kylie Turner was most recently the program impact manager for the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative funded by ARENA, philanthropy and industry participants, developing decarbonisation pathways to limit warming to 1.5℃.

Anna Skarbek is CEO of Climateworks Centre which receives funding from philanthropy and project-specific financial support from a range of private and public entities including federal, state and local government and private sector organisations and international and local non-profit organisations. Climateworks Centre works within Monash University’s Sustainable Development Institute. Anna is on the board of the Centre for New Energy Technologies, the Green Building Council of Australia, Sentient Impact Group and the Asia-Pacific Advisory Board of the Glasgow Financial Alliance on Net Zero. She is a member of the SEC Expert Advisory Panel, Grattan Institute’s energy program reference panel and the Blueprint Institute’s strategic advisory council.

– ref. Australia finally has a Net Zero Authority – here’s what should top its agenda – https://theconversation.com/australia-finally-has-a-net-zero-authority-heres-what-should-top-its-agenda-205029

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne

Julia Gutman’s Archibald-winning portrait of the singer Montaigne and Zaachariaha Fielding’s winning entry, Inma, in the Wynne Prize have more in common than their youth – although it is worth noting they both represent a new generation of artists, a changing of the guard at the Art Gallery of NSW’s annual series of art prizes.

These works – with Montaigne as the sitter and Fielding as the painter – capture the culture of music and performance that is at the cutting edge of their generation.

Montaigne, the performing name of singer Jessica Cerro, is a longtime friend of Gutman. Both share an intellectual rigour and a highly personalised approach to their art.

It is fair to say that, until recently, Gutman’s portrait would probably not have been hung, let alone won, the Archibald Prize.

For most of the last century or so, entries were dominated by portraits accurately described as “pale, male and stale”.

The change from men in suits to women in jeans, from academic portraits in oils to a maverick collage, can be charted in the Australian Cultural Data Engine’s handy Archibald Prize database, which shows the many changes over the years, from the nature of the sitters, the age and genders of the winners, increases of the prize money and even the palette used by the artists.

As J. F. Archibald’s will stipulated that the judges must be Trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW, it also shows the impact of particular trustees on deciding the winners.

When the President of Trustees David Gonski announced this year’s winners, he made a point of noting that particular consideration had been given to the views of the two artist trustees, Tony Albert and Caroline Rothwell. However, as the voting was unanimous, the trustees as a whole have endorsed this expansion of definitions of what a painting may be.

Read more:
‘I think Archie would be pleased’: 100 years of our most famous portrait prize and my almost 50 years watching it evolve

Self-contained and vulnerable

The portrait of Montaigne, Head in the sky, feet on the ground, consciously quotes Egon Schiele’s Seated Woman with Bent Knees, a deliberately awkward, edgy composition by the Austrian artist.

The pose shows the artist as both self-contained and vulnerable, hugging one knee to her body, her feet bare and open.

Gutman works in a combination of collage and paint, using materials either found or donated, roughly stitching the pieces of cloth together, happily revealing in the process. The modulated tones of the feet come from a combination of hessian and patches of gold cloth; a rainbow stripe helps define her top, a sleeve comes from the apron Gutman wore while teaching art to small children.

There is a delightful ambiguity in the landscape in which Montaigne is seated. The collage moves into paint, but the paint has been scratched so from a distance it looks as though it, too, is collage.

The painted trickery does not end here. Behind the figure a stitched in translucent panel reveals the struts supporting the painting’s stretcher: simultaneously revealing and concealing.

Including actual paint is a wise move as the Archibald has a history of discontented artists rushing off to the Supreme Court to contest the trustees decisions.

Painting the music

I first heard Montaigne’s distinctive soprano voice at a performance at the Black Dwarf theatre in 2020, just after it was announced she would represent Australia at the Eurovision song contest, only days before the world locked down for COVID – and Eurovision was postponed for a year.

The same world-changing event took Zaachariaha Fielding away from performing music in the duo Electric Fields, to making art in his home country of Mimili in the APY lands in remote South Australia.

Inma, which was awarded the Wynne Prize, is a visual celebration of the music he feels in the song and dance of this place of his childhood. Its limited palette emphasises the linear patterns and the music-like rhythm on the painted surface.

In his acceptance speech, which began with an attempt to have the waiting media throng respond to his song, Fielding paid tribute to the community arts workers of Mimili. He then led them in the song that is described in his gloriously complex and rhythmic painting.

Yet his was not the most surprising speech at the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize announcements.

That honour goes to Doris Bush Nungarrayi, the senior Luritja artist who was awarded the Sulman Prize for her painting Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming) – a painting showing Mamu, the shapeshifting malevolent spirits that haunt the Anangu.

Her acceptance speech, all in language, was a passionate celebration of her victory, but also a recollection of her mother’s country and the deprivations that she and her people have suffered.

As a new generation wins the Archibald and Wynne Prizes, tradition is reinterpreted in the Sulman.

Read more:
From joyous celebration to the depths of grief: the new orthodoxy of the Archibald prize is there is no orthodoxy

Joanna Mendelssohn’s research includes the ACD Engine and has received funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. As Julia Gutman’s maverick collage wins the Archibald prize, the award is truly in the hands of a new generation – https://theconversation.com/as-julia-gutmans-maverick-collage-wins-the-archibald-prize-the-award-is-truly-in-the-hands-of-a-new-generation-204262

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Heris, Research Fellow, Australian National University

Among all the talk this week about a crackdown on vaping – the most significant tobacco control reforms in a decade – has been the roll-out of another major document.

The National Tobacco Strategy 2023–2030 was launched this week.

A key priority of the strategy is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking and Closing the Gap. We heard the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program would be extended and widened – with A$141 million funding – to reduce both vaping and smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Here’s why that’s urgently needed and what needs to happen next to reduce smoking rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Read more:
We can cut Indigenous smoking and save lives – here’s how

Tobacco is still a killer

Tobacco legally kills over 57 Australians a day. That’s equivalent to extinguishing an entire country town of 21,000 every year.

It’s still the single biggest preventable risk factor for disease and premature death. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, more than a third of all deaths are caused by tobacco. Over the past decade we have lost more than 10,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives due to smoking.

Multiple policy failures beyond health – from poverty, education, employment, housing, family removals, dislocation and the systematic embedding of tobacco as rations in lieu of wages – mean Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately impacted by the harms of Big Tobacco.

So the funding to expand the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program is urgently needed to have no more than 27% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking by 2030 (5% of all Australians).

There have been huge achievements in reducing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking. In 2018–19, 40% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults smoked daily, down from 50% in 2004–05. A target of 27% is achievable. But to get there we need something “extra” to accelerate those reductions.

Read more:
Here’s how to close the gap on Indigenous women smoking during pregnancy

We know what works

Tobacco campaigns are one of the most cost-effective interventions when evidence-based, market-tested, sustained and with support services at the end of the call to action. When they are adequately funded, they can impact inequities.

Campaigns must be personally relevant and meaningful to be effective. This makes the case for targeted approaches, including local level campaigns, reinforced by general, national activity. Audiences engage with the message when they can see themselves and their community members (sometimes actually) in the advertising.

We saw this nationally with Break the Chain starring Aboriginal actor and comedian Elaine Crombie. Originally this was a targeted campaign for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But it then aired nationally targeting all Australians in 2014.

Don’t Make Smokes Your Story was launched in 2016, as part of the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program. This was created by Indigenous agency Carbon Media, starring musician Fred Leone alongside real stories from community members.

One of the most successful and innovative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tobacco campaigns, it included a
toolkit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to use and adapt the national campaign to their local contexts.

An excellent example of this is from the Apunipima Tackling Indigenous Smoking team with its local campaign Don’t Make Smokes Your Story Cape York.

When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lead and promote smoke-free behaviours, communities are more interested in quitting.

Read more:
Telehealth has much to offer First Nations people. But technical glitches and a lack of rapport can get in the way

What works? Product, price, place and promotion

Social marketing campaigns, like the ones we’ve mentioned, really work well when they take on the Four Ps of product, price, place and promotion.

The beautifully produced ads, the “promotion”, can’t have impact on their own. This is where the rest of the National Tobacco Strategy comes in.

1. Product

We’ve reduced product appeal with plain packaging and graphic health warnings. This will be enhanced with new warnings, including on the sticks themselves, plus greater uniformity of standardised packaging and tightened rules around additives and flavours that make smoking palatable.

2. Price

Price increases reduce smoking and we’ll see a tax increase of 5% each year for three years across all different tobacco product types.

3. Place

We have known about the harms of commercial tobacco since at least 1950. Yet we still expect individuals to give up nicotine instead of removing this lethal product from sale at pretty much every supermarket, service station and convenience store.

The National Tobacco Strategy is considering a national licensing scheme, removing online sales and delivery services, and potential for reducing the number, type and location of tobacco outlets.

There will also be more action on smoke-free areas and making sure all health professionals (particularly in remote places) are equipped to support quit attempts.

The strategy states it will explore raising the age you can buy cigarettes and monitor how this works overseas.

4. Promotion

The commitment to close any last promotional loopholes for tobacco and e-cigarettes, particularly online is also important, along with local and national anti-smoking campaigns. But we know these are not enough on their own.

What we also need

Addressing all four Ps is what comprehensive tobacco social marketing would look like. It’s what’s required to accelerate the declines to get to the 27% target for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and 5% nationally.

Targeted approaches are critical and can be effective, but they need to be supported by bigger, whole of population structural changes. The community-led campaigns, supported by national activity, will reinforce and amplify the policy changes that will come through on the tobacco product, its cost and its availability.

That’s how we realise our goals and ultimately eliminate tobacco related disease and death.

Christina Heris receives funding from the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (NHMRC GNT1198301), and the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care for the Tackling Indigenous Smoking – Regional Grants Impact and Outcomes Assessment.

Lisa J Whop receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council. She is also a member and incoming chair of Cancer Australia’s Leadership Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Control.

Michelle Kennedy receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund and the National Heart Foundation.

Raglan Maddox receives funding from from the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (NHMRC GNT1198301), and the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care for the Tackling Indigenous Smoking – Regional Grants Impact and Outcomes Assessment.

Raymond Lovett receives funding from the NHMRC.

Tom Calma is the National Coordinator, Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS). This position is a consultancy to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.

– ref. New funds will tackle Indigenous smoking. But here’s what else we know works for quit campaigns – https://theconversation.com/new-funds-will-tackle-indigenous-smoking-but-heres-what-else-we-know-works-for-quit-campaigns-205016

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University

The crisis consuming the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party sounds a warning to centre-right parties that pursuing the culture wars now gripping the United States and other countries brings dangerous volatility. And little public support.

After it was humiliated at the November 2022 election by a long-term Labor government beset with its own failings and character questions, the state division in the nation’s second-most populous state is regarded as a basket case.

The future of its moderate parliamentary leader, John Pesutto, who took over from the hapless Matthew Guy, now hangs in the balance.

A cabal of religious and hardline social conservatives in Pesutto’s party room is defying his attempts to shift the party closer to mainstream voter sentiment on key social policy debates.

Read more:
Victorian Liberals embarrassed by extremists within: how does this keep happening?

With the stoush dominating the headlines – even beyond Victoria – a clearly frustrated federal leader Peter Dutton has pointedly refused to rule out federal intervention to clean up the mess, which he says is harming the Liberal “brand” and letting the Andrews Labor government off lightly.

It is far from clear that a federal intervention is even practical. But Dutton’s comments represent a significant escalation in a crisis that seems increasingly likely to end up in the courts.

Pesutto’s removal is also now more likely given that several Liberals in his depleted caucus have backed rebel MP Moira Deeming.

Deeming is challenging her suspension from the party following her attendance at an anti-trans “Let Women Speak” rally in front of Parliament House. The event attracted extremists, including neo-Nazis.

Read more:
Australian conservatism succumbs to the same radical tendency as like-minded parties abroad

The outspoken MP has reportedly instructed lawyers to challenge a party-room ruling that she would not be expelled from the party – as Pesutto initially proposed – but would instead serve a nine-month suspension, during which she would sit on the crossbench.

Deeming says the compromise decision included Pesutto explicitly stating publicly that she was in no way a Nazi sympathiser, which she says he has not done.

Deeming’s supporters, who met at a country hotel last weekend and then used social media to advertise the fact, say she has been treated abysmally.

Amid the chaos, minutes of the March 27 party-room meeting show tempers were high. In the meeting, Pesutto was warned by senior figures against taking steps towards Deeming’s expulsion.

Deeming claims she has been effectively tagged with Nazi sympathies via a dossier circulated at the meeting. This is said to have linked the British social agitator Kellie-Jay Keen, who goes also by the name of Posie Parker, with fanatical authoritarians.

Pesutto denies anything in the dossier established Deeming herself as “a Nazi or having Nazi sympathies”.

Nevertheless, the unseemly public struggle for the soul of the Victorian Liberal Party has again drawn attention to the type of candidates chosen by local rank-and-file branch members. There are claims of “entryism” – an insidious form of political party infiltration whereby hardline forces, often associated with rightwing Pentecostal faith communities, join local party branches en masse to install like-minded candidates in winnable Liberal seats.

Liberal insiders say Dutton’s threat of federal intervention may be hard to deliver. Unlike the Australian Labor Party – which has a strong national structure – the Liberal Party is set up on federated lines, with each state division jealously guarding its own autonomy.

Read more:
Dutton’s high-wire act: holding the Coalition together while presenting as an alternative government

However, federal interventions have occurred in the past. One example was last year when, just before the federal election, a special committee featuring then prime minister Scott Morrison, then NSW premier Dominic Perrottet, and former party president Chris McDiven was empowered to crash through factional roadblocks to endorse candidates in several Liberal-held seats.

Sources say gaining support for such extraordinary powers is not straightforward. It would need to achieve a super-majority of the party’s federal executive – a three-quarters majority in favour of federal intervention in a state’s affairs. It may also require the backing of the Victorian state president.

Party insiders say such actions are inimical to Liberal Party philosophy and would only be granted in extreme circumstances, based on the narrowest of parameters and a short time frame.

The intervention itself would also be likely to end up in court, with opponents challenging its legality and the force of its decisions.

In any event, courts have shown reluctance to adjudicate on internal political party disputes, generally regarding them as matters for the parties and individuals involved.

The Victorian Liberals’ problems are merely the latest example of a tendency in conservative politics to prosecute niche or peripheral social policy campaigns against advances in Indigenous rights, gender fluidity and identity, feminism, sexuality, and birth control.

Given Dutton’s own antagonism for what his party dismissively describes as “wokeism” and “corporate activism” on the Voice and other questions, moderates may view his threat of federal intervention as an attempt to press Pesutto and other moderates into backing down by readmitting Deeming to the party room.

But after his own party’s performance in the federal Aston byelection, in which the Liberals surrendered a seat to a Labor government for the first time in more than 100 years, Dutton’s cache in the state is questionable.

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

– ref. Victorian Liberals’ bitter infighting seems more and more likely to end up in court. Can Dutton stop it? – https://theconversation.com/victorian-liberals-bitter-infighting-seems-more-and-more-likely-to-end-up-in-court-can-dutton-stop-it-205119

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Volodymyr Bilotkach, Associate Professor, Purdue University

Vanessa Hudson, who will replace Alan Joyce as Qantas Airlines’ chief executive in November, inherits an airline still struggling to resume services after the pandemic and border closures shuttered much of the global aviation industry in 2020.

The silver lining for Qantas has been that high demand for air travel has enabled it to charge higher airfares. It even managed to report a A$1.43 billion profit in the second half of 2022.

But these conditions won’t last. As Hudson – an accountant who joined Qantas in 1994 and has been chief customer officer since 2018 – deals with the highly unusual short-term challenges that come with recovery, she will increasingly have to turn her mind to all the long-term challenges that existed for Australia’s flagship airline before 2020.

High demand, but not enough planes or staff

There are two main reasons demand for air travel is recovering faster than supply.

First is the time and effort to return to service the aircraft stored during the pandemic, parked at regional inland airports and plane storage sites. Qantas put about 100 of its 126 planes into storage, retired six ageing Boeing 747s and deferred delivery of new Airbus A321neo and Boeing 787-9 planes.

Never in the history of civil aviation have airlines had to store so many aircraft. Returning them to service requires exhaustive maintenance checks and tests. Limited skilled maintenance crew can only ready so many aircraft to return to flying.

Which leads to the second, more important, issue: the need to fill jobs.

Even before the pandemic, the industry was grappling with a global shortage of experienced pilots. Now it’s grappling with replacing all the workers – air and ground crew – retrenched when borders were closed in 2020.

Qantas laid off almost a third of its 30,000 employees, included unlawfully retrenching almost 2,000 ground-crew workers. It now looking to recruit about 2,000 workers by the end of 2024 and a total of 8,500 by the end of the decade.

Many who have found employment in different industries are not returning. Some in the industry fear aviation is no longer an attractive career. And the pilots, flight attendants and mechanics that are being re-employed all require refresher training before being cleared to work.

Read more:
Averting a plane crash: what to do about the global pilot shortage

Labour shortages are affecting the entire aviation supply chain, including manufacturers. Qantas currently faces delays of about six months on new aircraft deliveries.

Competing for customers

Competition for customers will be a relatively minor concern as Qantas struggles to catch up to demand. But this won’t last as airlines rebuild fleet capability, and current high prices for air travel decline. In the US market, for instance, airfares returned to their pre-pandemic levels (in inflation-adjusted terms) at the end of 2022.

By the end of 2023 or early 2024, I expect Qantas will be grappling with substantially the same competitive pressures that drove its pre-pandemic cost-cutting and outsourcing. For this, it can partly blame global government assistance to airlines, which had the perverse consequence of fewer airline collapses in 2020 than in 2018 or 2019.

While Qantas turned a profit for each year between 2015-2019, profit margins were quite thin.

There has been a lot of talk that the pandemic changed the air-travel market irrevocably. Business travel, for example, may never recover. Consulting firm McKinsey predicted in February 2021 that the post-pandemic market of business travel would be 20% smaller.

With the jury still out on this and other questions, the challenge for Qantas and other airlines will be to plan and adapt services accordingly.

Read more:
Qantas, the trying kangaroo: why things won’t get better any time soon

New challenges for an ageing fleet

Longer term, Qantas must reduce its environmental footprint.

From 2027, all international air carriers will be required to offset the carbon emissions associated with flights – a condition set by the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.

More generally, the drive to decarbonise commercial aviation also makes stricter domestic environmental requirements very likely.

This will be harder for Qantas than competitors, due to airline’s extensive network of medium and long-haul flights (which use more fuel) and ageing, less fuel-efficient fleet.

The average age of the Qantas fleet is just over 15 years, more than double that of rivals such as Singapore Airlines. Fleet renewal will be a formidable task.

Volodymyr Bilotkach is an External Instructor for IATA Training.

– ref. Qantas can’t charge these prices forever: the challenge ahead for new chief Vanessa Hudson – https://theconversation.com/qantas-cant-charge-these-prices-forever-the-challenge-ahead-for-new-chief-vanessa-hudson-204903

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Crawford Spencer, Professor of Law, Charles Darwin University

The Northern Territory continues to report the highest levels of alcohol consumption and harm in Australia, despite decades of reform.

As we’ve seen over the years, there’s been a concerning link between alcohol consumption and domestic violence, crime and antisocial behaviour. When federal laws restricting access to alcohol lapsed last year, it led to a surge in crime that many had warned about. The alcohol ban was swiftly reinstated.

But NT-based and Indigenous communities have long argued that banning alcohol is only part of the solution to a complex problem. The challenge is to find a more long-term, sustainable solution to alcohol consumption that incorporates a mix of policy, legislative, industry and community strategies.

Here are three possible strategies for the NT:

1) Controlling supply and distribution

The simplest way governments can reduce alcohol-related harm is to decrease supply and access to alcohol.

The NT has done this by regulating alcohol outlet availability and density in cities, limiting the hours and days when alcohol can be sold, and enhancing enforcement of laws restricting or banning alcohol. The public anger over the planned opening of a Dan Murphy’s near three dry communities in 2021 indicates that Territorians understand the link between supply and harm.

Read more:
‘Just ask us, come and see us’. Aboriginal young people in the Northern Territory must be listened to, not punished

There is also compelling evidence that restrictions on Good Friday and Christmas Day – which are common throughout Australia – are associated with a decreased incidence of alcohol-related harm.

In addition, the NT government has recently announced plans to buy back liquor licences, which has been welcomed by health, First Nations and other community groups.

We can also learn from other countries how to take a more comprehensive approach.

In Norway, for instance, the government controls production and distribution through a state-owned monopoly called Vinmonopolet, which decides where outlets will be located, the hours of operation and stock.

These measures are combined with targeted and adequately resourced alcohol-related public health campaigns, such as a recent one aimed at reducing the supply of alcohol to minors.

2) Changing purchasing and consuming behaviour

The NT was the first jurisdiction to introduce a minimum unit pricing scheme, a policy that sets a minimum price at which alcohol can be sold per unit of alcohol, currently at $1.30. This has proven effective in reducing alcohol consumption – especially for wine products.

However, recent research from the UK shows that when higher-percentage alcohol products go on sale (which happens more frequently than for lower- or zero-percentage alcohol products), minimum unit pricing can be less effective.

More broadly, there have been calls to increase regulations on retail alcohol outlets. Currently, alcohol regulation is more extensive for hotels, pubs and clubs than retail outlets.

As a result, consumers may be motivated by the cheaper cost and reduced scrutiny when buying alcohol from a bottle shop. This dynamic can also facilitate risky patterns of consumption, such as pre-drinking.

Another way of changing behaviour is through health messaging. Most alcohol labelling is covered under Australia’s food standards code – with a strong pregnancy focus.

However, a recently published study found that using both words and images on health warning labels can better informs people about the health risks associated with alcohol (including cancer). This would be similar to the warnings used on tobacco labels.

These enhanced warning labels also lead people to form stronger intentions to reduce consumption, compared to text or photograph warnings alone.

Read more:
Alcohol bans and law and order responses to crime in Alice Springs haven’t worked in the past, and won’t work now

3) Empowering community-led approaches

Another way governments and communities can manage alcohol-related harm is to promote drink-free activities and one-month alcohol abstinence campaigns, such as “dry July”. These types of campaigns have lasting positive effects on health, wellbeing and maintaining control over drinking.

Some Darwin locals have also formed a social sober club, where socialisation without alcohol is emphasised.

However, such efforts often go against entrenched drinking norms in Australia.

And many people drink not for socialisation, but to cope with broader social problems and stressors. Issues such as unemployment, housing stress and mental health are linked to alcohol use, which are especially relevant in regional and remote areas in the NT.

Similarly, the continued effects of colonisation and intergenerational trauma experienced by First Nations people necessitate an approach that emphasises the right to self-determination in addressing alcohol-related issues.

We need to provide adequate resources and support to help communities alleviate these sources of stress and trauma, which will hopefully have an impact in reducing alcohol-related harm.

A way forward

Ultimately, effective reform will require deep reflection on what alcohol means to us as individuals, and as a society.

In the NT, we need a consultative, co-design process that brings together the territory and Commonwealth governments, representatives from the alcohol industry, the alcohol rehabilitation community, tourism providers, pub owners and leaders from Indigenous communities.

By learning from the successes and failures elsewhere, we can deliver a tailored approach for the NT that will have a better chance of success in the long term.

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

– ref. After decades of trying, how can we deliver more effective alcohol regulation in the NT? – https://theconversation.com/after-decades-of-trying-how-can-we-deliver-more-effective-alcohol-regulation-in-the-nt-202731

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

Earlier today, a US court ruled in favour of singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, agreeing his song Thinking Out Loud did not breach musical copyright.

The high-profile court case, brought by the estate of soul singer Marvin Gaye, claimed Sheeran’s song was too similar to Gaye’s song Let’s Get It On.

On the stand, Sheeran defended his songwriting process, stating: “I draw inspiration from a lot from things in my life and family.”

Sheeran’s case brought up some difficult questions around what we understand as inspiration and influence, and what we may hear as theft.

Musical copyright cases are part of songwriting history. Radiohead’s Creep was found to be too similar to the Hollies’ The Air That I Breathe, and in 2018, Lana Del Rey’s Get Free was found to plagiarise Creep.

Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars altered the credits to Uptown Funk to acknowledge the similarity to The Gap Band’s Oops Upside Your Head.

Here in Australia, the flute solo in Men at Work’s Down Under, which quoted the melody of folk song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree, was ruled as plagiarism.

In this case against Sheeran, the song’s chord progression was at the heart of the claim. The prosecution argued Sheeran’s chord progression was too similar to the chord progression of Gaye’s.

But can we copyright a chord progression if it is used extensively in other pop songs?

Gaye’s song uses four chords that gradually move upward (I-iii-IV-V). These same chords can be heard in the Beach Boys’ I Can Hear Music, the Seekers’ Georgy Girl, the Beatles’ I Feel Fine, in the Motown tune This Old Heart of Mine by the Isley Brothers, Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds, Cher’s Believe and ABBA’s Knowing Me Knowing You, among many others.

This chord progression and many others are part of the songwriting toolkit of rock and pop and have been heard continuously over the past 70 years.

Read more:
The Down Under book and film remind us our copyright law’s still unfair for artists

The 12 bar blues

A chord progression is the main instrumental part you hear in most pop music, usually played by a guitar, piano or synth.

One of the oldest chord progressions in pop is the 12-bar blues – a looping pattern of three chords that is very identifiable.

As the name suggests, this set of chords stems from early blues and was a way for musicians to easily play together and improvise. A version of this progression can be heard in Muddy Waters’ I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man or John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom.

You can also hear this progression in a number of other pop songs – listen to verses of Queen’s I Want to Break Free and Kiss by Prince – both use the same chord progression, but sound very different to each other.

More recently, Lizzo’s Better in Colour uses the 12-bar blues in a way that makes an old formula fresh.

The ‘doo-wop’ progression

The “doo-wop” progression has appeared in pop music for close to 80 years, and is named because most doo-wop songs feature this chord progression – it was an essential part of its sound.

You can hear it in 1950s hits such as the Penguins’ Earth Angel and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers’ Why Do Fools Fall in Love?.

The strength of these chords means they are used in pop music of all kinds, including ELO’s Telephone Line, Don’t Dream it’s Over by Crowded House, Destiny’s Child’s Say My Name, Blank Space by Taylor Swift, and Flowers by Miley Cyrus.

Despite its consistent use, these chords still cross genres and eras, and still catch our ears.

Comedy act Axis of Awesome use a similar progression in their video for 4 Chords, where they cleverly play almost 50 different songs with a variation on these four simple chords.

The I-IV-V (the ‘one, four, five’)

Perhaps the most common chord progressions in rock and pop are those that use the I, IV and V chords in various combinations.

They’re usually the first three chords you learn on an instrument and open up thousands of songs to play – from the rock and roll of Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran, the garage rock of Wild Thing by the Troggs, the bubblegum of Hanson’s Mmmbop and the indie rock of Coldplay’s Yellow, to the modern pop of bad guy by Billie Eilish and good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo.

Going forward

Rock, pop, blues, doo wop and other musical genres can often be defined by their use of repeated chord progressions. These chord progressions are part of a songwriter’s toolkit in a similar way to how an artist may use different paint brushes.

As Sheeran’s lawyer Ilene Farkas noted, chord progressions are:

the letters of the alphabet of music […] these are basic musical building blocks that songwriters now and forever must be free to use.

It is how these “building blocks” are used, and in what combinations, that gives us a great variety of pop songs over many decades. The true craft of great pop music is to take these formulas and turn them into something unique (while simultaneously making it sound easy).

The ruling in Sheeran’s case supports the rights of musical artists to continue to use these progressions as part of a songwriter’s toolkit, and to build from the artists who came before them. It also acknowledges that influence and inspiration from previous works are part of the construction of the pop music we love.

Read more:
Why Ed Sheeran’s court victory sounds good for the music industry

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

– ref. Inspiration, influence and theft: what the Ed Sheeran case can tell us about 70 years of pop music – https://theconversation.com/inspiration-influence-and-theft-what-the-ed-sheeran-case-can-tell-us-about-70-years-of-pop-music-204747

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Byrne, Professor of Human Geography and Planning, University of Tasmania

Following a decision to fund an AFL stadium on Hobart’s waterfront, the Tasmanian premier announced plans for a new bus rapid transit (BRT) system and ferry services to avoid traffic congestion. These plans are linked to Hobart’s City Deal and promise to reinvigorate the city’s ailing public transport system.

Hobart once led transport innovation. It was the first city in the southern hemisphere with an electric tram system. At its peak, these trams handled 40% of journeys in the city.

Since the 1970s, though, following the closure of Hobart’s last passenger rail service, the city’s public transport network has suffered from dwindling investment and patronage (now under 5% of journeys). Could bus rapid transit help combat the city’s notorious car dependence?

Read more:
Growth pains and gridlock come to Hobart, and building more roads is not the best way out

What is bus rapid transit?

Bus rapid transit systems typically run buses along dedicated corridors, taking the bus out of traffic. They can be highly effective people-movers. Many such systems have achieved passenger capacities comparable to light rail.

For example, bus rapid transit systems move more than 40,000 passengers per hour in Bogota, Colombia, and around 20,000 in Brisbane. The vehicles are no ordinary bus – they can carry nearly 200 passengers in comfort.

Modern articulated electric BRT vehicles provide a similar ride experience to light rail. And bus rapid transit stations have the look and feel of rail stations.

Is this system a better choice than light rail?

A key question some Hobart residents are asking is why the Tasmanian government has chosen bus over light rail. A major reason is the cost-effectiveness of this sort of bus system. A state government-funded report estimated the construction cost of Hobart’s rapid bus transit system at A$445 million, versus $596 million for light rail.

Recognising that these are pre-COVID numbers, costs will now be much higher. For example, while Canberra’s light rail cost $675 million, the cost of stage 3 of the Gold Coast light rail has blown out from around $600 million to $1.2 billion.

Bus rapid transit vehicles also cost less, but their passenger capacities are comparable to light rail vehicles. The Canberra light rail vehicle can carry 207 passengers. Brisbane’s Metro rapid transit bus will have a capacity of 150-180 people.

Read more:
Why cities planning to spend billions on light rail should look again at what buses can do

How do we ensure it works in Hobart?

Research has identified several important principles that need to be met if the new Hobart bus system is to be effective. These include reliable, high-frequency services, effective station design, quality station amenities, ride quality and passenger experience.

Investing in quality infrastructure will be essential. As Brisbane’s busway has shown, it is vital that buses coming into a station don’t clog up the corridor when passengers alight. Station designs must allow room for multiple vehicles, with by-pass lanes around stations to allow express services to continue unimpeded.

The vehicles must have multiple doors so passengers can get on and off quickly.

As research on Melbourne’s tram system shows, if public transport gets stuck in traffic, patronage will suffer. That’s because the system is then slower (average 15 kilometres per hour) than taking a car and much more unreliable.

For this reason, the new bus rapid transit system must have its own dedicated corridor and not share intersections with other traffic – or else traffic lights must give priority to the buses. Research shows this will enable the vehicle to increase its average speed to more than 50km/h (maximum 80km/h). Because the Gold Coast light rail does not have a dedicated corridor for parts of its route, its average operating speed is only 27km/h.

The passenger experience will also be crucial for the system’s success. Research shows passengers have a low tolerance for waiting around and having to transfer between routes and to other transit modes (such as ferries).

Experience elsewhere also shows it is important that passengers get tickets at the station, not on the bus. A ticketing system that allows seamless transfer between bus rapid transit, regular buses and ferries will be vital to maximise efficient travel. It’s also important to design stations and vehicles to provide universal access, so everyone can use the new system.

Rapid bus transit has broader impacts too

The impacts of bus rapid transit on a city are broader than transport. It has important land-use planning benefits. A well-designed system can increase housing densities and thus improve housing options, including affordable housing, along the corridor.

A bus rapid transit network can also connect people with jobs, education, healthcare, childcare and recreation opportunities. Councils along the new transit corridor in Hobart will need to protect adjoining land from speculative investment to manage gentrification. They will also have to develop sound design guidelines to steer desirable types of development, such as medium-density neighbourhoods – the “missing middle”.

Read more:
People want and need more housing choice. It’s about time governments stood up to deliver it

Bus rapid transit is emerging as a very viable way to deliver quality transport solutions for cities. It’s especially suitable for those with limited resources, such as smaller cities and those in the developing world. While Hobart’s bus rapid transit is explicitly linked to the new stadium, cities like Barcelona have shown such urban revitalisation investment can have transformative benefits for cities.

Jason Byrne receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is an ARC Future Fellow, working on green-space and thermal inequity. Jason is also a recipient of a Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Grant, assessing exposure to extreme heat events in Launceston and Hobart, Tasmania.

Graham Currie receives funding from the Australian Research Council. The chair of public transport is funded by Government and transport authorities in Victoria to provide independent advice on improving public transport systems. He is also a researcher and advisor on transport systems development in every State and Territory of Australia and many overseas authorities.

– ref. Bus rapid transit can avoid traffic chaos for the AFL’s new stadium and transform Hobart – and other cities too – https://theconversation.com/bus-rapid-transit-can-avoid-traffic-chaos-for-the-afls-new-stadium-and-transform-hobart-and-other-cities-too-204920