Governments love the idea of a win-win – even when it doesn’t exist. That’s why Victoria has been spending millions on planning “red gum irrigation ponds” – essentially, engineered wetlands along the River Murray. These wetlands are designed to save some red gum ecosystems, leave many others to decline, and redirect billions of litres of water promised to the environment to farmers.
Controversy has followed these projects. Now, Victoria appears to have blinked, with the state’s water minister, Harriet Shing, halting the development of four of nine projects.
Victory for environmental water? Not quite. Victoria has spent around A$54 million just on planning these projects. By halting four of them, it sets the scene for a larger-scale federal buyback of water for the environment. This could signal a resumption of the Murray-Darling Basin water wars, with Victoria the last holdout. National Irrigators’ Council chair Jeremy Morton predicted “riot” if further water buybacks went ahead.
Iconic Australian trees like river red gums need irregular deep soaking from floods. Michael Rawle/Flickr, CC BY
What was Victoria trying to do?
Historically, flooding covered 6.3 million hectares of red gum, black box and coolibah forests, lakes and billabongs in the Murray-Darling Basin. These forests rely on regular floods to survive.
But the basin is also home to most of our thirsty crops, from rice to cotton to orchards. The demand for irrigation alongside the long-term drying trend from climate change means something has had to give. You guessed it: it’s the wetlands, which are drying out and dying.
In 2012, state and federal governments launched the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in a bid to solve longstanding tussles over water. The plan was intended to preserve environmental flows while allocating set volumes of water to farmers.
But it’s not working properly. As our research shows, only 2% of the basin’s wetlands have received managed environmental flows each year since.
To keep wetlands alive with less water, there are two basic options: use pulsed flows from dams to flood a larger area, or build floodplain infrastructure to maintain some wetlands while abandoning others.
Victoria has pursued infrastructure. As originally planned, these projects would have meant building $320 million of dams, pumps, levees and roads in conservation reserves to artificially pond water – while leaving less water in the main river channels. Similar projects were proposed in New South Wales at Menindee Lakes, but these are unlikely to proceed.
These projects are greenwashed as “environmental works”. Victoria brazenly calls its plan a “floodplain restoration project”.
It is not. Since the plan began, irrigators have been credited with 605 billion litres of water for 36 largely unimplemented projects under the sustainable diversion mechanism. In November 2022, basin authority chief
Andrew McConville laid out the problem:
The credit has been banked, but the payment still needs to be delivered. The payment is in the form of the [wetland] projects being in operation by 30 June 2024.
Our thirstiest crops cluster around the rivers of the Murray Darling Basin and rely on water in irrigation channels like this. Shutterstock
Water has been credited to irrigators before the wetland projects were built. As a result, actual environmental flows are 19% lower than the Basin Plan target of 3,200 billion litres per year.
Building wetland infrastructure is unprecedented
Around the world, nations are going the other way to Victoria and removing floodplain infrastructure. In China, across Europe and in the United States, efforts are under way to reconnect rivers to their floodplains. Why? To reduce flood impacts (levees intensify floods downstream), improve water quality, restore flood-dependent ecosystems, make river systems more recreation-friendly and diversify local economies.
Only in the Murray-Darling Basin are we seeing governments building infrastructure for environmental water offsetting on such a huge scale.
In fact, these projects are environmentally dubious. Ponding water on floodplains may meet some ecological targets, but it cannot replicate unconstrained natural floods. Worse, it risks harming ecosystems by upending aquatic food webs and leading to lower native fish populations and worse water quality.
Victoria’s very expensive projects would water only 14,000 hectares of wetlands. By contrast, safe flood pulse releases from existing dams would water 27 times that area – 375,000 hectares.
In his royal commission report into how the Murray-Darling water-sharing system works, Commissioner Brett Walker found there was “real doubt” over whether projects like this were based on the best scientific knowledge.
Our research backs his conclusions. We have found flaws in how these projects are evaluated, which mean their environmental benefits are overstated.
What’s likely to happen now?
Four down – but what about the remaining five projects?
There’s a better option. In 2013, the basin’s governments agreed to a strategy that would allow pulsed releases from existing dams to fill river channels and spill onto the floodplains.
Under this strategy, the Commonwealth would pay for roads and bridges to be removed or raised to make way for restoration of natural floods, and for compensation to landowners.
Our research shows this approach would reduce flood damage by moving infrastructure off floodplains, and allow floods to spread out more, lowering water height and speed. It would also water a much larger wetland area at far less cost. But the strategy has not yet been implemented.
Next month, federal and state water ministers will meet to discuss the failing basin plan. If the new NSW water minister, Rose Jackson, backs her federal Labor colleagues, it will leave Victoria as the last state objecting to water purchases for river restoration.
The federal water minister, Tanya Plibersek, shows every indication of implementing Labor’s 2022 election policy of buying back the remaining water needed to meet the 3,200 billion litre environmental restoration target under the plan. (The federal government has bought back around 2,100 billion litres since 2008.)
The stage is set: will Plibersek prevail and finally achieve long-sought environmental restoration goals under the basin plan, or will Victoria hold out?
Jamie Pittock is affiliated with the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and a number of other non-governmental environment organisations. In the past he has received funding from the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.
Matthew Colloff is affiliated with the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. In the past he has been a member of project teams within CSIRO that have received funding from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.
With the Liberal Party formally opposing the Voice, Peter Dutton last week kicked off his “no” campaign in Alice Springs. His claim that child sexual abuse is rife was quickly under attack from the government and others who accused him of politicking, using the issue as a political football.
Marion Scrymgour, a former deputy chief minister in the Northern Territory, is the federal Labor member for the seat of Lingiari, an electorate covering almost all the NT outside Darwin.
Scrymgour says Dutton is taking up the same theme as was heard in the Northern Territory intervention. “The same campaign that was done to justify the intervention is the same campaign that’s been happening with the Leader of the Opposition.
“I’m not saying that he doesn’t have a commitment to getting this issue dealt with,” she says. But she rejects the “excuse” by Dutton, his new shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Jacinta Price and others that “he can’t put forward the names”.
“That’s a complete abrogation of their responsibility. Those stories and the names of people putting forward those stories could be done in a confidential way.”
Scrymgour has proposed a statutory Family Responsibility Commission, as operates in Queensland. “I think that the important part of the Family Responsibility Commission is that it’s Aboriginal community-controlled, that you get Aboriginal people, Aboriginal leaders that go through a vetting process.
“The families are brought before the commission: they look at school attendance, they look at all of the wellbeing of the child […] but also what are the supports that the family needs to be wrapped around.
“The family has to sign a family responsibility agreement and then those agreements get entered into by both the commissioner, who has legal standing, as well as the family”.
There has been a push lately, including from Senate crossbencher Jacqui Lambie, to reinstate the community development program to bring jobs, skills and pride back the communities in the NT.
Scrymgour tells the podcast: “We need to get beyond talking about this […] and actually get this program rolled out. I agree with Jacqui Lambie.
“This is a program that was in the Northern Territory almost 15 years ago. Everyone in a lot of the communities were employed and communities were happy and healthy and we need to hurry up and do it because all my trips out bush and when I’m getting around the regions, everyone asks about CDP, so we need to move on that.”
Scrymgour, who immediately before the podcast had been talking about the Voice in remote communities, admits there is a vast array of opinion on the ground, and more information and clarity is needed.
“Look, you’ve got people who’ve got different views in a lot of the communities and I’ve just come back from my own community on the on the Tiwi Islands, and there was some great discussion and support for the Voice. But before that support came, people needed to know about it.”
She does, however, believe the “vibe is good” on the ground and in the community.
“The vibe was really good. I found the vibe really, really interesting yesterday. It was good. There were people who weren’t convinced, but people who sort of didn’t understand it. And then when I talked about what was different about constitutional recognition and how that would apply, it generated the discussion about ATSIC [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission], because a lot of communities still remember ATSIC, and often people talk about ATSIC and they say that they got rid of it and that was their voice. So it then generates another discussion about that. But this Voice won’t be able to be got rid of like that because it’ll be embedded in the Constitution.
“A lot of the Land Council men, you know, sort of stood up and said, Oh, well, we don’t agree with what you’re saying. We think that we’ve just got to talk about this. And, you know, this is a good thing. Let’s talk about how this could be something that we can all get behind.
“So I’m going to set another time where I can go back and sit down with my mob and go through it. But I’ll do that with all the communities.”
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.
Fiji’s Coalition government strongly believes that addressing the country’s priorities head-on is the cornerstone to building a progressive and prosperous nation for future generations, says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Speaking at the National Economic Summit 2023 in Suva today, Rabuka said the event was an opportunity for Fiji to take stock, make necessary changes, and move forward decisively.
The last summit was held 15 years ago.
Rabuka said the meeting would address daunting challenges faced by Fiji, including unsustainable national debt levels, geopolitical and global economic uncertainties, and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, particularly on small island developing economies like Fiji.
“As a Small Island Developing State, we are vulnerable to such events which are beyond our control,” he said at the Grand Pacific Hotel.
“It is critical that we must make timely adjustments so that we can cope and be able to survive in the global trading environment.
“We have just been through one of the world’s worst pandemics of modern times, with covid-19. It affected the whole world.
Russian-Ukrainian war “The Russian-Ukrainian war in Europe made our efforts to recover from the pandemic more challenging, particularly due to the supply-chain issues. We must address these challenges collectively through this summit, and craft solutions together as a nation.”
Rabuka, wearing an Adam Smith tie, referenced the renowned economist’s 1776 book The Wealth of Nations, and urged those implementing the summit’s outcomes to be mindful of Smith’s principles of free market and capital formation for economic growth.
The Prime Minister also noted a need to strengthen laws and institutions, as well as restore investor confidence and improve the business environment while protecting the country’s natural resources.
“We need to rebuild our infrastructure which has been neglected, and most importantly look at ways to ease the burden of the high cost of living for our people,” he said.
“We need to strengthen the private sector which we so glibly call the ‘engine of growth’. It is important to promote trade and build the confidence of the private sector.”
Strengthening multilateral and bilateral relations with Fiji’s trading and development partners was also a key point raised by Rabuka as he shared that the findings and recommendations from the summit would contribute to the formulation of the national budget and “our National Development Plan”.
“Reshaping our future means more than just promoting economic growth and development.
Brighter future “A brighter future for our nation requires our communities to be united and move away from divisions,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad said plenary sessions had been organised to set the scene for more detailed discussions on macroeconomic management, key growth sectors, governance and reforms and human development.
“We have an intense two days ahead of us. We are putting special focus on critical issues such as water resource management, transport, energy and technology.
“We are also casting a wider net over rural and outer islands development, land and marine-based economic activities and indigenous participation in business.
“There are 32 specific subject areas for discussion,” Professor Prasad said.
It is understood each summit participant has been allocated a thematic working group with a communique expected to be issued at the conclusion of the event tomorrow.
Viliame Tawanakoro is a final-year journalism student at USP’s Laucala Campus. He is also the 2023 student editor for Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s student training newspaper and online publication. USP Journalism collaborates with Asia Pacific Report.
Participants of Fiji’s National Economic Summit 2023 at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva today. Image: Viliame Tawanakoro/Wansolwara
The New Zealand government has reaffirmed its 55-year partnership with the regional University of the South Pacific and will contribute NZ$35.8 million to the institution in the next five years to support USP’s long-term planning, innovation and stability.
This was confirmed by NZ’s Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Foreign Affairs (Pacific) Minister Carmel Sepuloni following bilateral talks with USP vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia yesterday.
New Zealand and USP have also signed a new 10-year partnership.
Professor Ahluwalia said the money provided was for the university to deliver strategic plans which encompassed the best education over its campuses without which they would not survive.
Sepuloni said that now more than ever — and in true Pacific spirit — they must continue to maintain regional solidarity and be unified in what was a very important partnership for New Zealand.
She said the partnership further provided New Zealand with the opportunity to support the university’s strategic direction.
Blue Pacific strategy It also would deliver against shared priorities while supporting Pacific action on the region’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, and working towards Pacific countries’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Sepuloni said New Zealand was committed to upholding regional security and stability in the Pacific.
She said it was even more important now to strengthen further the relationships with their Pacific whānau, and work with them to maintain and build on the institutions that had long maintained peace and security within the region.
Sepuloni added that this partnership was an excellent demonstration of NZ’s commitment to a regional approach making them stronger together.
Rashika Kumaris a Fijivillage reporter. Republished with permission.
By paying just $1 a day extra on your mortgage, you can hack the banking system and cut the time to repay your home loan from 20 years to just five years.
Sounds too good to be true? Of course it is. But that hasn’t stopped someone “good at finance” from claiming this in a TikTok video that’s garnered millions of views and spurred dozens of other “finfluencers” to amplify its claims.
The best way to get attention on social media is to make sensational claims. TikTok
According to the video: “The reason banks want you to pay interest monthly is because they rely on a thing called compound interest.” But if you pay the bank $1 every day you “will pay a big fat zero in interest”.
The video goes on to say “mortgage” is a Latin word, and the reason “they” stopped teaching Latin in schools is because “they” don’t want people understanding how the banking system works.
If this sounds like a conspiracy theory, it’s because it is. Like all conspiracy theories, this one is a falsehood built on a few grains of truth, taking advantage of people’s ignorance about complicated matters.
So let’s separate the facts from the fiction.
What is compound interest?
Compound interest, in a nutshell, is interest on interest.
Say you put $1,000 in a savings account that pays 10% interest. After the first year, you would have $1,100 ($1,000 + $100 in interest). At the end of the second year you will have $1,210 ($1,100 + $110 in interest). At the end of the third year you will have $1,331 (1,210 + $121 in interest). The interest compounds.
What if you’ve borrowed $1,000 at a 10% annual interest rate? Assuming you make no repayments, after one year you will owe $1,100 ($1,000 + $100 in interest), after two years $1,210 ($1,100 + $110 in interest), and after three years $1,331 ($1,210 + $121 in interest). Again, the interest compounds.
How to avoid compound interest
To minimise the amount of compound interest you pay, there is one effective strategy: pay off the loan as quickly as you can.
Let’s consider an example similar to the scenario mentioned in the TikTok video – a mortgage with a loan term of 20 years. To make the maths easy, let’s say the loan is for $500,000 with a 5% interest rate. To pay it off in the allotted time will require monthly repayments of about $3,300 – or $39,600 a year.
Over 20 years you will pay about $792,000 – with about $291,950 being interest. The following graph shows this.
Now let’s consider what would happen if, instead of paying $3,300 a month, you paid $1,650 a fortnight. At first glance, that might seem like the same thing.
Why? In a year there are 12 months, but 26 fortnights (because only February is exactly four weeks’ long). Paying half your monthly repayment every fortnight will mean you pay $42,900 a year, instead of $39,600.
If you can afford to do that, it would take just 17 years and six months to repay the loan, and you will pay about $41,750 less interest. The following graph illustrates this.
So what about paying daily?
Paying more frequently, such as weekly or daily, won’t make any difference unless you’re paying more.
There’s no magic trick to stopping compound interest. The following graph shows what an extra $1 a day would achieve with our hypothetical $500,000 loan.
Rather than taking 20 years to repay the loan, it will take 19 years and nine months. You would save about $5,470 in interest (paying about $286,480 rather than $291,950).
To repay the loan in five years, as claimed, would require paying an extra $201 a day – or about $113,220 a year instead of $39,600.
There are no secret hacks
So there’s no magic hack to avoid compound interest.
There are strategies to improve your loan conditions, such as refinancing when interest rates are declining, or using an offset account facility where these are offered.
But the only real way to minimise compound interest on your mortgage is to pay off what you owe as quickly as you can.
But before you do, check with your bank if there are fees involved if you make additional payments towards your home loan.
For instance, if you have a partially or fully fixed mortgage, there may be a limit on how much extra you’re allowed to pay off each year without penalty.
These penalties are intended to compensate the bank for the loss of interest income it would have received if the borrower had continued to make regular payments over the full loan term.
Sagarika Mishra 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.
If you are a monarchist, or just enjoy the tradition of the royal family, you may have heard about the Coronation Quiche – made with spinach, broad beans and tarragon.
The idea is for us to make it and share it with friends and family during the coronation celebrations in May. King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla have just shared a recipe.
As dietitians, we’re interested in the quiche’s nutritional value. So we analysed its contents and found that although it’s quite a healthy dish, we could make a healthier version. Spoiler alert: the original recipe contains lard (pork fat).
We’ve also found we could make the quiche using cheaper or more easily available ingredients.
Today, most people consider quiche a French dish that’s essentially a savoury pie. It typically consists of a pastry crust filled with a mixture of eggs, cream and cheese, plus various other ingredients such as veggies, meat and herbs.
Quiche can be served hot or cold. You can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner with salad or veggies.
Quiches are usually quite economical to make. Most of the basic ingredients are cheap, and you can adapt the fillings depending on what’s in the fridge or left over from recent meals.
Let’s see if this applies to the Coronation Quiche. We split the costs into typical quantities you can buy at the shops (for instance, six eggs) and the costs to make the quiche (which only needs two eggs).
If you make the quiche from scratch and have to buy the ingredients in quantities sold in the shops, this will cost you almost A$38. Although this may seem a lot, you’ll have some ingredients left over for another meal.
So how much do the ingredients cost for one quiche? We worked it out at
$12 for the entire quiche, or $2 a serve. Quite reasonable!
Can you make it even cheaper?
Busy lives and the rising cost of living are front of mind right now. So here are a few things you can do to save time and money when making a Coronation Quiche:
buy pre-made pastry. Keep any sheets you don’t use for the quiche in the freezer
We also looked at the Coronation Quiche’s nutritional profile. We expressed quantities for the whole quiche, and per serve.
The healthy … and the not so healthy
This quiche has high amounts of healthy protein and fibre that come from the broad beans and eggs.
One serving of this quiche gives you about 18-25% of your daily protein and about 10% of your daily fibre requirements, which is great.
But the quiche has high levels of saturated fat, mostly from its high amounts of lard, butter and cream.
Saturated fat has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and stroke, because it raises levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind of cholesterol).
This LDL cholesterol can build up in the walls of arteries and form plaques, leading to arteries hardening over time and increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. So, high amounts of saturated fats is something we want to avoid eating too much of, especially if we have cardiovascular disease. It’s also something we want to avoid if we’re trying to lose weight.
The quiche has high levels of saturated fat, mostly from its high amounts of lard, butter and cream. TayaJohnston/Shutterstock
For an average Aussie consuming roughly 9,000 kilojoules per day, the recommended maximum intake of saturated fat is about 24 grams.
Just one serve of this quiche has about 17g of saturated fat, which means there’s not much wriggle room for other foods after you have a slice.
You may be better off trying this quiche instead, as it has half the amount of saturated fat as the Coronation Quiche. You could even try a crustless quiche.
Here are a few swaps to help make this recipe healthier:
1. Use low-fat options. If you’re watching your weight and looking to reduce the kilojoules of the quiche, swap the full-fat cheddar cheese, milk and double cream to low-fat products. This will reduce the total fat content per serve from 29.6g to 15g and save 112.2 kilojoules per serve
2. Ditch the lard. Swap the lard for butter to save 15g of total fat per serve. This may change the texture of the quiche slightly but it will reduce the kilojoules
3. Use feta. Swap the cheddar cheese for feta cheese, which has fewer kilojoules per gram
4. Add extra veggies. This increases the fibre content of the quiche and adds loads of extra nutrients.
Lauren Ball works for The University of Queensland and receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Matheson, Associate Professor in Public Health and Policy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Getty Images
In the face of multiple environmental and social crises, the long-term solution to achieving fairer and healthier societies on a liveable planet will not be a technical fix. It will be a fundamental change to the way communities work.
Although we are more connected than ever virtually, where we live continues to shape many aspects of our lives. This includes food security, the quality of services, the state of essential infrastructure, employment conditions, access to information and the ability to participate in democracy and governance.
Inequality is not only an outcome. It is a process that implicates a whole system of resource extraction, with impacts for all of us through the depletion of those resources and the polarisation of social groups through growing inequity.
For some communities, especially those already with less money, fewer decision-making opportunities and poorer connection to wider society, the impacts are worse.
For the health sector in particular, the global evidence shows a strong and enduring relationship between health outcomes and geographic areas, with people in poorer regions having shorter lives than those in wealthier places.
It is no surprise New Zealanders experience a “postcode lottery” in health. But the causes of health inequality extend beyond the influence of the now dismantled District Health Boards (DHBs).
The sum of policy attempts to reduce inequality – from taxation and regulation to health and welfare delivery – have so far not even come close to stemming the flow of resources away from local communities.
I have heard plenty of times from people working for social change in socioeconomically under-served communities about the lack of improvement, or even deterioration, despite significant financial investment.
Don’t get me wrong. Money, and more of it, is needed. But it needs to be delivered differently and accompanied by better ways of organising and working. Our current policy systems prefer blunt, siloed, distant approaches that work against learning and adapting as we go. They keep some communities from meeting basic needs, let alone being able to transform.
Societal complexity has been increasing. Growing populations and their interaction, made possible through technologies such as social media, have created “communities” of people who are geographically distant from each other. This distance has increased the challenge for our policy systems to achieve health and social goals.
The demise of DHBs shows our longstanding problem with implementation. So do primary health organisations, which were established in 2002. The latter were intended to transform local health systems, but have not yet improved equitable access, let alone spread innovative practice.
Instead, Māori, Pacific and other community organisations continue to plug local health-system gaps, despite insecure and short-term funding and the challenging community needs they respond to.
Where health funding hasn’t extended to the wider socioeconomic determinants such as poverty, these organisations have carried costs to provide for basic needs such as food and transport. Where contracts don’t allow long-term planning, they have provided continuity despite uncertainty.
Where a siloed policy focus discourages local cooperation, they have pooled resources. Where adaptation has not been supported and local information has no pathways, they have gathered their own evidence and used creative ways to reach populations.
A paradigm shift to acting within complexity
There is currently a burgeoning of better options for organising ourselves. These promote regenerative action and greater local focus through more sophisticated connections and whole-system goals.
Internationally, downscaled models of Doughnut economics and versions of the post-growth movement have been guiding governments to keep their activities from breaching planetary boundaries. These and other ways of focusing on enriching and keeping value within local communities have also been flourishing.
These approaches are making their way to Aotearoa but we already have our own policy lessons for strengthening local relationships to improve health and wellbeing, including:
building and linking up leadership
implementing high-trust contracting between government and communities
learning how to use scientific evidence for local action
developing insights as to what works to make collaboration and partnerships effective
building local communication capacity
recognising the value and sophistication of local social and environmental practices
But these new approaches are still marginalised by current hierarchical, technocratic and historical paradigms of organising for health. We do, however, have an opportunity to grasp some of this innovation.
New service and community networks within the current health reforms, known as “localities”, could be transformational if set up as learning systems.
Rather than being driven by data and technology, “human learning systems” support timely reflection on successes and failures, and share expert and local knowledge. They are better able to respond to changing needs and offer a way for all communities to have agency and a voice.
If done right, these new services could be central, adaptive cogs within the health system, turning information and resources into evidence-based change for better health and wellbeing. The co-benefits include strengthening societal cohesion and a head start for all communities to respond to threats such as pandemics, natural disasters and climate change.
How we organise the health system is critical. We need to think longer-term and short circuit the perpetual cycles of inequality that capitalism has wrought. Investing energy in how we organise locally could be that circuit breaker.
Anna Matheson receives funding from Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand, Te Pūnaha Matatini – the Aotearoa NZ Centre of Research Excellence in complex systems, Health Research Council of New Zealand.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Matheson, Associate Professor in Public Health and Policy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Getty Images
In the face of multiple environmental and social crises, the long-term solution to achieving fairer and healthier societies on a liveable planet will not be a technical fix. It will be a fundamental change to the way communities work.
Although we are more connected than ever virtually, where we live continues to shape many aspects of our lives. This includes food security, the quality of services, the state of essential infrastructure, employment conditions, access to information and the ability to participate in democracy and governance.
Inequality is not only an outcome. It is a process that implicates a whole system of resource extraction, with impacts for all of us through the depletion of those resources and the polarisation of social groups through growing inequity.
For some communities, especially those already with less money, fewer decision-making opportunities and poorer connection to wider society, the impacts are worse.
For the health sector in particular, the global evidence shows a strong and enduring relationship between health outcomes and geographic areas, with people in poorer regions having shorter lives than those in wealthier places.
It is no surprise New Zealanders experience a “post-code lottery” in health. But the causes of health inequality extend beyond the influence of the now dismantled District Health Boards (DHBs).
The sum of policy attempts to reduce inequality – from taxation and regulation to health and welfare delivery – have so far not even come close to stemming the flow of resources away from local communities.
I have heard plenty of times from people working for social change in socioeconomically under-served communities about the lack of improvement, or even deterioration, despite significant financial investment.
Don’t get me wrong. Money, and more of it, is needed. But it needs to be delivered differently and accompanied by better ways of organising and working. Our current policy systems prefer blunt, siloed, distant approaches that work against learning and adapting as we go. They keep some communities from meeting basic needs, let alone being able to transform.
Societal complexity has been increasing. Growing populations and their interaction, made possible through technologies such as social media, have created “communities” of people who are geographically distant from each other. This distance has increased the challenge for our policy systems to achieve health and social goals.
The demise of DHBs shows our longstanding problem with implementation. So do primary health organisations, which were established in 2002. The latter were intended to transform local health systems, but have not yet improved equitable access, let alone spread innovative practice.
Instead, Māori, Pacific and other community organisations continue to plug local health-system gaps, despite insecure and short-term funding and the challenging community needs they respond to.
Where health funding hasn’t extended to the wider socioeconomic determinants such as poverty, these organisations have carried costs to provide for basic needs such as food and transport. Where contracts don’t allow long-term planning, they have provided continuity despite uncertainty.
Where a siloed policy focus discourages local cooperation, they have pooled resources. Where adaptation has not been supported and local information has no pathways, they have gathered their own evidence and used creative ways to reach populations.
A paradigm shift to acting within complexity
There is currently a burgeoning of better options for organising ourselves. These promote regenerative action and greater local focus through more sophisticated connections and whole-system goals.
Internationally, downscaled models of Doughnut economics and versions of the post-growth movement have been guiding governments to keep their activities from breaching planetary boundaries. These and other ways of focusing on enriching and keeping value within local communities have also been flourishing.
These approaches are making their way to Aotearoa but we already have our own policy lessons for strengthening local relationships to improve health and wellbeing, including:
building and linking up leadership
implementing high-trust contracting between government and communities
learning how to use scientific evidence for local action
developing insights as to what works to make collaboration and partnerships effective
building local communication capacity
recognising the value and sophistication of local social and environmental practices
But these new approaches are still marginalised by current hierarchical, technocratic and historical paradigms of organising for health. We do, however, have an opportunity to grasp some of this innovation.
New service and community networks within the current health reforms, known as “localities”, could be transformational if set up as learning systems.
Rather than being driven by data and technology, “human learning systems” support timely reflection on successes and failures, and share expert and local knowledge. They are better able to respond to changing needs and offer a way for all communities to have agency and a voice.
If done right, these new services could be central, adaptive cogs within the health system, turning information and resources into evidence-based change for better health and wellbeing. The co-benefits include strengthening societal cohesion and a head start for all communities to respond to threats such as pandemics, natural disasters and climate change.
How we organise the health system is critical. We need to think longer-term and short circuit the perpetual cycles of inequality that capitalism has wrought. Investing energy in how we organise locally could be that circuit breaker.
Anna Matheson receives funding from Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand, Te Pūnaha Matatini – the Aotearoa NZ Centre of Research Excellence in complex systems, Health Research Council of New Zealand.
The review into the Reserve Bank of Australia has just been published by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and it’s a blockbuster.
The review has made 51 recommendations including:
taking away power over interest rates from the Reserve Bank board (which has traditionally been dominated by non-economists, usually corporate executives) and devolving it to a panel of experts
reducing the number of decision-making meetings from 11 to eight per year
boosting the transparency of its decision-making process and holding it more accountable for those decisions.
Chalmers offered in-principle agreement to all 51 of the panel’s recommendations and would be seeking support from the Opposition for any legislation needed to implement them. The review has briefed Opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor on its thinking.
Chalmers set up the three-person review in July 2022, appointing Carolyn Wilkins, a former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, Renée Fry-McKibbin, of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, and
Gordon de Brouwer, a specialist in public sector reform.
What was the problem?
While the apparent nature of the problem has changed over time, its root cause remains the same.
When the concept of the review was first mooted in 2020, the economy was in a bad state with inflation well below the bank’s target band of 2-3% and economic growth anaemic.
As a result, wage growth was too low and unemployment too high.
The most likely explanation is that the bank was focused too much on stabilising the financial system and too little on boosting the economy.
The bank was setting interest rates using its gut instead of its brain, in an almost literal sense – it was not doing what its computer model suggested it should do.
As the inquiry started, the problem had flipped. Inflation was too high.
But the underlying problem – that the board was populated by monetary policy amateurs rather than experts – remained the same.
The review concluded that monetary policy is a complex area of public policy and is best run by a team of experts who are highly informed about the current state of the economy.
Just as we have the country’s smartest legal minds on the High Court of Australia and our best health practitioners setting vaccine policy, it felt we should have Australia’s best macroeconomic minds running monetary policy at the Reserve Bank of Australia.
This lack of reliance on expertise might help explain why the bank made the ill-fated decision to indicate that interest rates would remain near 0% until 2024.
During the pandemic, bank staff explicitly recommended against forecasting how long interest rates would remain at 0%.
But the bank board ignored this advice and instead set out a three-year projection for how long rates would stay low.
When the economy recovered far quicker than expected and interest rates had to rise, many Australians interpreted the about-face as a broken promise.
The review says former and current staff have told it the bank’s culture is hierarchical and risk-averse.
It is obviously less than ideal to have an important institution in which diversity of thought is discouraged and staff feel unable to speak up.
Accordingly, the review has recommended that the bank improve its culture by appointing a chief operating officer with a mandate to open up the bank up to new ideas and staff and break down silos within the bank.
What’ll this mean for rates?
Whatever is changed as a result of the review, there are unlikely to be significant changes to its current approach of keeping interest rates relatively high.
Rates will remain high for as long as inflation is projected to stay above the 2-3% target band. The latest official inflation reading was 7.8%. It will be updated next Wednesday.
The review considered whether or not the 2-3% target remains optimal and concluded that it does. It considered alternatives such as a higher inflation target or targeting nominal gross domestic product, and found them lacking.
It recommends that a new monetary policy board meet eight times a year, rather than the 11 times the present board meets. It says this will give the external expert members of the board greater scope to “do deeper and better preparatory work for
each meeting”, helping them make better decisions.
Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe. Mick Tsikas/AAP
What about RBA Governor Philip Lowe?
A review that found the bank was in good working order would have been a good reason to reappoint the present governor, whose five-year term ends in September.
The scale of the changes recommended by the review is large – there is an entire section devoted to a year-long implementation process.
The government might well decide that Lowe is the right person to carry out that process and that his term should be extended rather than dropping his successor into the middle of it.
However Chalmers plans to handle it, the review he commissioned has ushered in a revolution at the bank – one that will hopefully make it stronger, smarter and better-placed to serve the Australian people.
Isaac Gross 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.
The review into the Reserve Bank of Australia has just been published by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the results are a blockbuster.
The review has made 51 recommendations including:
taking away power over interest rates from the Reserve Bank board (which has traditionally been dominated by non-economists, usually corporate executives) and devolving it to a panel of experts
reducing the number of decision-making meetings from 11 to eight per year
boosting the transparency of its decision-making process and holding it more accountable for those decisions.
Chalmers offered in-principle agreement to all 51 of the panel’s recommendations and would be seeking support from the Opposition for any legislation needed to implement them. The review has briefed Opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor on its thinking.
Chalmers set up the three-person review in July 2022, appointing Carolyn Wilkins, a former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, Renée Fry-McKibbin, of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, and
Gordon de Brouwer, a specialist in public sector reform.
What was the problem?
While the apparent nature of the problem has changed over time, its root cause remains the same.
When the concept of the review was first mooted in 2020, the economy was in a bad state with inflation well below the bank’s target band of 2-3% and economic growth anaemic.
As a result, wage growth was too low and unemployment too high.
The most likely explanation is that the bank was focused too much on stabilising the financial system and too little on boosting the economy.
The bank was setting interest rates using its gut instead of its brain, in an almost literal sense – it was not doing what its computer model suggested it should do.
As the inquiry started, the problem had flipped. Inflation was too high.
But the underlying problem – that the board was populated by monetary policy amateurs rather than experts – remained the same.
The review concluded that monetary policy is a complex area of public policy and is best run by a team of experts who are highly informed about the current state of the economy.
Just as we have the country’s smartest legal minds on the High Court of Australia and our best health practitioners setting vaccine policy, it felt we should have Australia’s best macroeconomic minds running monetary policy at the Reserve Bank of Australia.
This lack of reliance on expertise might help explain why the bank made the ill-fated decision to indicate that interest rates would remain near 0% until 2024.
During the pandemic, bank staff explicitly recommended against forecasting how long interest rates would remain at 0%.
But the bank board ignored this advice and instead set out a three-year projection for how long rates would stay low.
When the economy recovered far quicker than expected and interest rates had to rise, many Australians interpreted the about-face as a broken promise.
The review says former and current staff have told it the bank’s culture is hierarchical and risk-averse.
It is obviously less than ideal to have an important institution in which diversity of thought is discouraged and staff feel unable to speak up.
Accordingly, the review has recommended that the bank improve its culture by appointing a chief operating officer with a mandate to open up the bank up to new ideas and staff and break down silos within the bank.
What’ll this mean for rates?
Whatever is changed as a result of the review, there are unlikely to be significant changes to its current approach of keeping interest rates relatively high.
Rates will remain high for as long as inflation is projected to stay above the 2-3% target band. The latest official inflation reading was 7.8%. It will be updated next Wednesday.
The review considered whether or not the 2-3% target remains optimal and concluded that it does. It considered alternatives such as a higher inflation target or targeting nominal gross domestic product, and found them lacking.
It recommends that a new monetary policy board meet eight times a year, rather than the 11 times the present board meets. It says this will give the external expert members of the board greater scope to “do deeper and better preparatory work for
each meeting”, helping them make better decisions.
If the review found the bank was in good working order, that would be a good reason to reappoint the present governor, whose five-year term ends in September.
The scale of the changes recommended by the review is large – there is an entire section devoted to a year-long implementation process.
The government might well decide that Lowe is the right person to carry out that implementation process, rather than dropping his successor in the middle of it.
However Chalmers plans to handle it, the review he commissioned has ushered in a revolution at the bank – one that will hopefully make it stronger, smarter and better-placed to serve the Australian people.
Isaac Gross 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.
There are more than 7,000 languages in the world, and their grammar can vary a lot. Linguists are interested in these differences because of what they tell us about our history, our cognitive abilities and what it means to be human.
But this great diversity is threatened as more and more languages aren’t taught to children and fall into slumber.
In a new paper published in Science Advances, we’ve launched an extensive database of language grammars called Grambank. With this resource, we can answer many research questions about language and see how much grammatical diversity we may lose if the crisis isn’t stopped.
Our findings are alarming: we’re losing languages, we’re losing language diversity, and unless we do something, these windows into our collective history will close.
What is grammar?
The grammar of a language is the set of rules that determines what a sentence is in that language, and what is gibberish. For example, tense is obligatory in English. To combine “Sarah”, “write” and “paper” into a well-formed sentence, I have to indicate a time. If you don’t have tense in an English sentence, then it’s not grammatical.
That’s not the case in all languages though. In the indigenous language of Hokkaido Ainu in Japan, speakers don’t need to specify time at all. They can add words such as “already” or “tomorrow” – but speakers consider the sentence correct without them.
grammar […] determines those aspects of each experience that must be expressed.
Linguists aren’t interested in “correct” grammar. We know grammar changes over time and from place to place – and that variation isn’t a bad thing to us, it’s amazing!
By studying these rules across languages, we can get an insight into how our minds work, and how we transfer meaning from ourselves to others. We can also learn about our history, where we come from, and how we got here. It’s rather extraordinary.
We’re thrilled to release Grambank into the world. Our team of international colleagues built it over several years by reading many books about language rules, and speaking to experts and community members about specific languages.
It was a difficult task. Grammars of different languages can be very different from each other. Moreover, different people have different ways of describing how these rules work. Linguists love jargon, so it was a special challenge to understand them sometimes.
We had to read a lot of books for the Grambank project. Hedvig Skirgård
In Grambank, we used 195 questions to compare more than 2,400 languages – including two signed languages. The map below provides an overview of what we have captured.
Each dot represents a language, and the more similar the colour, the more similar the languages. To create this map, we used a technique called “principal component analysis” – it reduced the 195 questions to three dimensions, which we then mapped onto red, green and blue.
The large variation in colours reveals how different all these languages are from each other. Where we get regions with similar colours, such as in the Pacific, this could mean the languages are related, or that they have borrowed a lot from each other.
World map of languages included in the Grambank dataset. The colour represents grammatical similarity – the more similar the colours, the more similar the grammars. Skirgård et al. (2023), CC BY-SA
Language is very special to humans; it’s part of what makes us who we are.
Almost half the world’s linguistic diversity is threatened
In addition to the loss of individual languages, our team wanted to understand what we stand to lose in terms of grammatical diversity.
The Grambank database reveals a dazzling variety of languages around the world – a testament to the human capacity for change, variation and ingenuity.
Using an ecological measure of diversity, we assessed what kind of loss we could expect if languages that are currently under threat were to disappear. We found certain regions will be hit harder than others.
Frighteningly, some regions of the world such as South America and Australia are expected to lose all of their indigenous linguistic diversity, because all of the indigenous languages there are threatened. Even other regions where languages are relatively safe, such as the Pacific, South-East Asia and Europe, still show a dramatic decrease of about 25%.
Barplot of grammatical diversity (functional richness) across regions. Light green shows the current diversity, dark green shows the remaining diversity left after endangered languages are removed. Author provided
What’s next?
Without sustained support for language revitalisation, many people will be harmed and our shared linguistic window into human history, cognition and culture will become seriously fragmented.
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.
It’s the topic of the latest episode of Fear & Wonder, a new podcast from The Conversation taking you inside that era-defining IPCC report via the hearts and minds of the scientists who wrote it.
The water cycle describes the physical processes that move water around the planet. Simply speaking, when water evaporates it is transported through the atmosphere as water vapour. It then condenses to form clouds and precipitates as rain or snow. Without water, human societies and ecosystems would not be able to function, so understanding how climate changes is influencing the water cycle is vital.
In this episode, we hear from Professor Paola Arias from Colombia and Dr Krishnan Raghavan from India. They explain how climate change is intensifying wet and dry extremes, and how human influences like air pollution and land degradation are impacting regional rainfall patterns.
As temperatures increase over land, water evaporates more readily which can cause drier conditions and lead to more severe droughts. As a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture, heavy rainfall events are also becoming more intense as temperatures continue to rise, increasing flood risks in many parts of the world.
We discuss the various impacts of this phenomenon, citing examples such as Australia’s east coast floods of 2022, extremes in the South Asian monsoon that impacts millions of people, and the devastating 2020 wildfires in South America’s Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world.
To listen and subscribe, click here, or click the icon for your favourite podcast app in the graphic above.
Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.
Dr Joelle Gergis has received funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources in the past. She currently receives funding from the Australian National University.
Michael Green 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.
New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project.
In humans and other animals, sex is usually determined by a single gene. However, there are claims that in some species, such as platyfish, it takes a whole “parliament” of genes acting together to determine whether offspring develop as a male or female.
In a new analysis, we took a close look at these claims. We found they describe abnormal situations, such as hybrids between two species with different sex-determining systems, or when one sex system is in the process of replacing another.
We conclude that sex is normally determined by a single gene. Evolutionary theory suggests this is the most stable state of affairs, as it ensures a 1:1 ratio of male and female animals.
The human ‘master switch’ for sex
In mammals, females have two X chromosomes, whereas males have an X and a Y. The Y chromosome bears a gene called SRY, which acts as a “master switch”: an XY embryo, carrying SRY, develops into a biological male, and an XX embryo, lacking SRY, develops into a biological female.
This makes the inheritance of sex simple. Females make eggs, which carry a single X chromosome, while males make sperm, half carrying an X and half carrying a Y.
Random fusion of eggs and sperm delivers half XX females and half XY males, for a 1:1 sex ratio.
Sex in other vertebrates
Among animals with backbones (vertebrates), there is a huge variety of systems that determine sex. However, they usually come down to the action of a single gene.
Many fish, frogs and some turtles have systems like ours, in which a male-dominant gene on the Y chromosome directs testis development. Some vertebrates have the opposite – a female-dominant gene on the X chromosome.
Other vertebrates use a dosage difference of a single gene. In birds, males have two copies of a Z chromosome with the sex-determining gene DMRT1. Females have a single Z and a W chromosome that lacks DMRT1. Sex depends on DMRT1 dosage: two copies in ZZ males, versus one in ZW females.
Surprisingly, many different genes act as the master switch in different species. But they all act by triggering the same male or female differentiation pathway.
These single-gene systems deliver equal numbers of males and females, which theory says is the optimal balance for a stable system. If the ratio favours one sex, individuals that produce more of the other sex will leave more descendants and their genes will spread until a 1:1 ratio is achieved.
Some exceptional species
Some aquarium fish have more complex systems. Genetic crosses in platyfish appear to show two or more genes that determine male or female development; the sea bass seems to have at least three sex genes.
Some frogs and lizards seem to determine sex using two or more sex genes.
The platypus genome carries five X chromosomes and five Y chromosomes. Shutterstock
Then there are species with two or more pairs of sex chromosomes. The platypus has five X and five Y chromosomes. Is there a sex gene on each Y? How will a poor baby platypus know how to develop if it gets three Ys and two Xs from its dad?
And what about species, like the African clawed toad, which have two copies of their whole genome, so should have two pairs of sex chromosomes and sex genes?
So there are lots of exceptional species that seem to have multiple sex chromosomes and sex genes in defiance of the expectation that only a single sex gene can produce a stable system.
Polygenic sex – is there any such thing?
In species where we cannot find a single master switch gene, it is common to talk about “polygenic sex”. But how robust are these examples?
In our recent paper we examine classic examples and recent claims for polygenic sex determination. We conclude the few systems that qualify represent abnormal and transient situations.
Multiple sex chromosomes need not mean multiple sex genes. In the platypus, all five Y chromosomes move together into sperm, and a single gene on the smallest Y directs male development. The African clawed toad solved the problem of its doubled genome by evolving a novel female-determining gene on a newly minted W chromosome.
In several systems, two sex genes are detected, but they control different steps of the same pathway that are regulated by a single master gene.
Laboratory zebrafish have lost a chromosome and evolved new systems for determining sex. Shutterstock
Other examples suggest systems in transition. Sea bass shows different frequencies of variants over its range. There are signs of a new system gradually replacing an old one in a European frog.
The zebrafish is particularly interesting. Strains bred independently in laboratories for 30 or 40 years have aberrant sex ratios and multiple sex genes.
But it turns out wild zebrafish have a regular ZW sex chromosome system. Lab stocks independently lost their W chromosome during lab breeding. All the lab fish are ZZ, and sex of the hatchlings is determined by weaker sex-differentiating genes that were lurking in the background.
Winning the war of the sex genes
Many “polygenic” systems turn out to be hybrids between two species. Species hybrids often have problems with reproduction, such as sterility or skewed sex ratios.
Their problem is incompatibility of different sex chromosomes and sex genes. If an XY male mates with a ZW female, offspring have all sorts of combinations of sex genes.
Incompatibilities can play out differently. For instance, two species of cichlid fish living side by side in Lake Malawi in Africa have unrelated XY and ZW systems. In their XYZW offspring, the W partially overrides the male determining effect of the Y, so XYZW fish have intersex traits. But, in another species combination, the W gene triumphs and XYZW fish are fertile females.
Some species of cichlid fish with different sex-determining systems can interbreed, with complicated results. Shutterstock
Species hybrids may reveal many genes with major and minor effects on sex determination. For instance, crossing two catfish speciess revealed seven male-associated and 17 female-associated genes on different chromosomes.
So there are certainly species where two or more genes act together or in opposition. However, in the long term there is strong selection for one or the other to gain the upper hand. This will turn an inefficient polygenic system into a single-gene system, delivering fertile males and females in a 1:1 ratio.
There was hope the detente could also bring an end to one of the world’s longest-running – and virtually forgotten – proxy wars in Yemen, as well.
Indeed, peace talks have begun to end the eight years of a brutal conflict between a Saudi-led coalition of nine regional countries and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The war has created what is often referred to as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Despite the exchange of hundreds of prisoners between the adversaries this past week and promising discussions of a permanent ceasefire and the lifting of the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen, however, the path towards peace remains incredibly shaky.
Even more uncertain is whether Yemen can ever recover once the hostilities end.
Houthi prisoners arrive at the Sana’a airport last week after being released by Saudi Arabia. Hani Mohammed/AP
Yemen in pieces
On my trip to Yemen last July, I (Leena) was stopped by militias at over 40 checkpoints between the southern city of Aden and the capital, Sana’a. My driver, a doctor before the war, briefed me ahead of each stop regarding the background and affiliates of the checkpoint officers. The brief would change rapidly throughout the 12-hour drive!
On the ground, it was evident the humanitarian crisis had impacted every part of the country and robbed Yemenis of any meaningful prospects. This proxy war, riddled with foreign interests and fuelled by regional and local competition, has left Yemen a fractured nation.
Multiple armed groups are vying for influence all over the country. In 2014, Houthi rebels drove Yemen’s internationally recognised government into exile and assumed control over Sana’a. Months later, the Saudi-led coalition – backed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and France – launched a military intervention to try to restore the government to power.
The Houthis have since tried to hold onto their gains in northern Yemen, while occasionally launching strikes inside Saudi Arabia itself.
In the south, the United Arab Emirates is backing the two secessionist movements – the Southern Transitional Council and the Giant Brigades – and militarising two Yemeni islands off the southern coast.
Saudi Arabia and Oman, meanwhile, have vested interests in the Mahra region in eastern Yemen and are meddling with tribal politics. And Yemen’s largest Islamist political party, known as al-Islah, controls the Marib province northeast of the capital and parts of two other regions, Taiz and Hadramawt.
The division in the country appears in other ways, too. The currency used in the south differs from the one in Sana’a. In Aden, the secessionist flag is visible at every turn. In the north, I caught the image of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the US three years ago, hanging in one of the main streets of Sana’a.
Second only to the devastating humanitarian crisis, Yemen’s fragmentation is arguably the most detrimental outcome of this war – and the most glaring obstacle to any real solutions to end the crisis.
People run after an explosion at the airport in Aden in 2020 shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed cabinet landed. AP
For the Saudis, the peace process appears to be part of a wider trend of foreign policy moderation as the kingdom seeks to retreat from nearly a decade of gaffes, miscalculations and destructive forays abroad.
Since the kingdom’s inception in 1932, Saudi diplomacy and security policy have been typified by caution and a desire to maintain the status quo of a regional balance of power.
In this, Riyadh never sought overt domination of the region. It focused its efforts to thwart those who did, such as Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser, Iraq under Saddam Hussein and post-revolutionary Iran. Importantly, the Saudis also aimed to avoid direct confrontations, instead utilising their petro wealth and diplomatic influence and alliances when dealing with rivals.
The kingdom’s first six monarchs adhered to this approach. But things took a dramatic turn with the ascension of King Salman and the elevation of his heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to key positions in Saudi government in 2015.
Under this new muscular foreign policy, the 2015 invasion of Yemen – Saudi Arabia’s first-ever major military operation abroad – was intended to be a brief operation that would demonstrate the military and technological prowess of a dynamic and capable kingdom.
Eight years on, Riyadh is edging back to a less confrontational posture in the region. After the detente with Iran, resolving the Yemen war would be another important step towards resuming a more “normal” approach to Saudi foreign policy.
What next for the Yemeni people?
After eight years of bombs, missiles, destruction and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, it is the Yemeni people who have lost the most in this war.
Houthi and Saudi officials may claim work on a political solution is under way, but whether this will have a serious and much-needed humanitarian component remains a big question. For the people of Yemen, the journey to peace will be gruelling as they navigate the broken nation left behind.
If the goal is to ensure lasting peace, the Saudis must honour the requests of the Yemeni negotiators, starting with a permanent ceasefire and lifting the blockade.
It is also imperative the currently exclusive Houthi-Saudi peace talks open up to include leaders from all factions nationwide. A realistic plan for transitional and restorative justice is necessary to address the more pressing humanitarian issues. This requires all parties to be present in discussions.
Finally, peace talks must remain Yemeni-led to eventually pave the path for a Yemeni-led and UN-supported political transition that allows Yemenis to determine the future of their nation.
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.
The recently announced review of New Zealand’s lobbying sector needs to tackle questions of transparency and access if it is to make any real difference to how industries influence decision making. This includes establishing an enforceable register of lobbyists and introducing a cooling off period for former politicians before they can begin lobbying.
The review was announced after revelations former police minister Stuart Nash shared confidential cabinet information with political donors. In the aftermath, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins requested lobbyists’ swipe-card access to Parliament be revoked. He also called on the lobbying industry to develop its own voluntary “code of conduct”.
Unlike many countries, New Zealand does not require lobbyists to register, disclose their clients or funding sources, or adhere to ethical standards.
On one hand, private sector engagement is often valuable and can lead to better government policies. Businesses have expertise that can help policymakers understand innovation and assess the feasibility of proposed policies.
Yet the political system is not always transparent and equally inclusive. Corporations have considerably more money, expertise and time than everyday citizens to engage with politicians.
This influence can result in weak and ineffectual responses from government, including decision makers deferring responses with long consultation periods or distant targets.
Researchers looking at tobacco and alcohol lobbying have found corporate influence often involves long-term strategies rather than directly “visible” attempts to influence politicians.
One study in the United Kingdom showed how alcohol interests adopted a long-term strategy to influence policy. Personal contacts with key policymakers were nurtured well before they entered government.
This sort of relationship building can also include gift giving, from small consumables such as rugby tickets and dinner, to speaking roles, international travel, club membership and the promise of future employment.
Social media is also increasingly used in lobbying. Digital platforms offer opportunities to initiate, target and foster contacts between corporations and politicians. They can also be used to persuade the public to put pressure on policy makers, thereby indirectly influencing government decisions.
While direct corporate donations to political parties and candidates are often easy to trace, corporate funding can also be re-channelled through supposedly independent organisations, via non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and “think tanks”.
The alcohol and tobacco industries fund not-for-profit organisations to conduct social campaigns or engage in research. They are often presented as “independent”, despite their industry connections. An Australian study found the alcohol industry used these organisations to promote ineffective responses in policy submissions and to campaign against higher alcohol taxes.
The “revolving door” phenomenon, where industry personnel enter policy making and vice versa, is another influence pathway. One recent example from the tobacco sector involves an ex-senior official from the World Health Organisation moving to a leadership role in a non-profit funded by one of the biggest tobacco producers in the world.
In New Zealand, investigative reporting has highlighted the easy movement between lobbying roles for the alcohol industry and subsequent senior public policy roles.
What can be done?
Key proposals for the long-term regulation of lobbying in New Zealand have focused on establishing a lobbying register and introducing a cooling off period for former ministers before they can enter the lobbying sector.
This is a good start to providing transparency.
According to a 2022 review of lobbying regulations by the OECD, the register needs to be enforceable, and provide enough detail about lobbying activities, to be effective. This includes who is conducting lobbying, their key objectives and targeted politicians.
In New Zealand, the opposition suggested a 12 month stand-down period for former ministers before they can enter lobbying. In Canada, the cooling-off period for designated public officials is five years.
And – as we showed with examples above – there are other political roles beyond ministers that need to be considered, including MPs and local government officials. The hiring of former private corporate employees into the public sector should also be looked at.
Defining who should be covered by the transparency requirements is another challenge. A range of actors beyond professional lobbyists compete for policymakers’ attention.
These include think-tanks, NGOs and even researchers who may receive funding from corporations. The OECD review found those third-party actors are not always covered by transparency requirements and some activities, such as the use of social media as a lobbying tool, are exempt.
Corporations may have legitimate demands to protect market-sensitive information. Yet modern lobbying regulations need to ensure citizens can access key information on all forms of lobbying, including on social media.
Marta Rychert receives funding from the Marsden Royal Society Te Apārangi and the NZ Health Research Council.
Chris Wilkins receives funding from the NZ Marsden Royal Society Te Apārangi and the NZ Health Research Council.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michele Burford, Professor – Australian Rivers Institute, and Dean – Research Infrastructure, Griffith University
Shutterstock
The rivers running through the hearts of Australia’s major cities and towns are often carrying heavy loads of nutrients and sediments.
This is a problem. While nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are essential to life in small quantities, in large quantities they become destructive to river and ocean ecosystems.
When rivers are pumped too full of nutrients washing out from farms or from wastewater treatment, bacteria and algae numbers soar. We see the effects in dangerous blue-green algal blooms and in oxygen levels dropping so low that millions of fish can die, as we saw recently in Menindee, New South Wales.
Fixing the problem can be expensive and difficult for landholders. That’s where a new idea could help: nutrient offsetting. Here, large wastewater plants can meet stringent requirements to keep nutrient levels low by fixing eroded riverbanks and gullies upstream, creating wetlands, and preventing fertiliser runoff. The end result: cleaner rivers.
While offsetting schemes for carbon have come under significant scrutiny, nutrient offsetting is a simpler market, with fewer participants and clear ways of measuring success.
Early trials in southeast Queensland by water utilities have proven it can work, as our new report shows.
Why are our rivers too full of nutrients?
In the early industrial period, rivers around the world were seen as dumping grounds, from factory chemicals to tannery waste. Since then, many countries have worked hard to clean up their waterways, with major successes including the UK’s Thames river.
It’s comparatively easy to stop the dumping of chemicals. You can see the pipes and pinpoint who’s doing it. But nutrient overloading is a harder problem, which is why we’re still wrestling with it.
Our cities and towns are growing. Almost seven million more people live in Australia now compared to the year 2000. As our population grows, we need more food, and we create more human waste. Our agriculture sector has also boomed and is exporting more and more food. To make our famously poor soils fertile requires fertiliser. When too much fertiliser is applied, heavy rains can wash it into rivers. Erosion on riverbanks and in gullies make the problem worse.
Some rivers, estuaries and coastal waters are in real trouble, such as parts of the Murray-Darling, and some urban creeks in our capital cities. We’ve hit their natural limit to handle nutrient loads and gone past it. This can cause algal blooms, fish kills and water too disgusting to drink without expensive treatment.
Erosion accelerates nutrient runoff from farms. Shutterstock
Why do we need offsetting at all?
Chemical dumping can be solved with laws and enforcement. But while we can fix degraded river catchments to reduce nutrient loads, this is rarely done. That’s because the costs are too high to be borne by any one sector, such as farmers.
By contrast, regulations on nutrients discharged by sewage treatment plants place limits of how much can be released into rivers and estuaries. The costs of further upgrades to sewage treatment plants to reduce nutrients to the required low levels is prohibitively expensive, because ratepayers would end up paying much more for water treatment.
That’s why offsetting can be useful, as it offers a win-win. Urban polluters like wastewater treatment plants can meet their regulatory requirements by restoring eroded and degraded catchment areas upstream to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus flows from farmland. Better, this can be done reasonably cheaply when done at scale. Depending on the available sites, this can be done along rivers and creeks on rural properties, or on council owned land in cities and towns.
Making this viable means using a market. Polluters looking for low-cost ways to comply with regulation of nutrient flows are linked with landholders upstream with degraded land.
This is an emerging solution, but early trials show it has promise. Population-dense south east Queensland has large waterways like the Brisbane and Logan Rivers. Wastewater plant operators such as Logan Water, Urban Utilities and Unity Water have replanted shrubs, grasses and trees along riverbanks, as well as undertaking engineering work to stabilise eroding banks.
This led to significant cost savings. Urban Utilities avoided spending A$8 million in upgrading a sewage treatment plant to cut nutrients and got the same result by spending $800,000 in erosion control and revegetation upriver, which prevented five tonnes of nitrogen entering waterways. Operational costs were also much lower, saving $5 million over ten years.
Controlling erosion keeps nutrients in the soil to help crops and grasses to grow, benefiting farmers, rather than having it washed downstream. Healthier riverbanks create better habitat for birds, reptiles and mammals and makes rivers healthier for fish and other species.
What’s next?
Nutrient offsetting is still new in Australia. For it to gain traction across Australia means working to make sure the systems and science are mature.
To maximise benefits and give participants certainty, we’ll need to shift from a piecemeal trial approach to a coordinated trading scheme. Successful overseas examples typically have a third party coordinating buying and selling, and ensure there’s a robust structure to set up and assess these projects.
Canada has seen successes here, such as the South Nation River trading program which has reduced phosphorus in the river, while America has examples such as the nutrient credit trading program in Chesapeake Bay. In Australia, a voluntary reef trading scheme is underway in the catchments of rivers flowing into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, involving farmers and a range of investors.
To make sure this works, we need detailed scientific knowledge on comparing nutrient pollution from different sources. Catchment runoff nutrients are mostly bound to soil particles, while sewage treatment plants have much more dissolved nutrients. As yet we don’t know how these sources differ.
We also need to know what methods of land management are best suited to stopping nutrients from washing into rivers, to ensure the best outcome for the money spent.
Creative solutions are necessary
Despite our efforts in cleaning up many of our rivers, traditional approaches haven’t been enough to stop nutrient pollution. It’s time to explore creative new approaches to make our rivers and reefs healthier.
Creating protected time for teachers to collaborate with colleagues provides – in theory – an opportunity for teachers to improve teaching, and reduces the time they have to spend in the evenings and on weekends preparing for class.
Teachers now report spending an average of four hours a week collaborating with colleagues.
But the unfortunate reality is many Australian teachers find collaborative planning a frustrating waste of time.
That’s a disturbing finding from two recent Grattan Institute surveys of more than 7,000 Australian principals and teachers on teacher workload and curriculum planning.
In theory, creating protected time for teachers to collaborate with colleagues provides an opportunity to improve teaching. Shutterstock
In Grattan’s 2021 survey on teacher workload, nearly half of teachers (49%) said collaborative planning meetings at their school were a barrier to having enough time for effective classroom preparation.
These findings were replicated across the country, and were apparent in both government and non-government schools.
And while nine in ten teachers in Grattan’s 2022 survey wanted access to curriculum materials they could share with their colleagues, a majority had significant concerns about the extent to which collaborative planning time is used effectively to support this goal.
Teachers told us that time for collaborative planning is often derailed by other issues.
Fifty-five percent said they usually or always end up discussing non-instructional matters during collaborative planning meetings.
Only about a third said that in these meetings they “usually” or “always” consider how to revise or improve instructional materials, or discuss how to use instructional materials effectively in the classroom.
Sample size ranged from 1,129 to 1,132 because not all teachers responded to each statement. Response options included ‘never true’, ‘rarely true’, ‘sometimes true’, ‘usually true’, ‘always true’, and ‘not applicable’. 2022 Grattan survey on curriculum planning and resources.
One secondary school teacher said:
For the dedicated and hard-working teachers, collaborative planning time simply increases their workload […] The ‘spin’ around the benefits of collaborative planning all too often does not reflect the experience.
Three-quarters of the teachers we surveyed identified a lack of effective leadership as a barrier to establishing shared curriculum materials at their school.
One teacher told us their collaborative planning meetings were unproductive because there was “nobody moderating different perspectives to ensure a middle ground is reached”.
Another said, “everyone has their own thoughts and there’s little vision to guide everyone in the same direction”.
Total sample size ranged from 1,168 to 1,178. Teachers were asked the question in relation to either the first lesson in their timetable, the first lesson after recess, or the first lesson after lunch. 2022 Grattan survey on curriculum planning and resources.
How to improve things
Grattan Institute’s research on curriculum planning in schools points to two concrete strategies to increase the value of collaborative planning time.
First, use this time to select, establish or refine shared curriculum materials as part of a whole-school approach to teaching and learning.
This is good for student learning: well-planned curriculum materials improve opportunities for students to create deeper knowledge and stronger skills across year levels and subjects.
The Grattan Institute’s research suggests shared school-wide curriculum materials are also associated with increased professional agreement between teachers about what to teach and how to teach it.
Once established, shared curriculum materials can provide a stronger “common language” for teachers to engage in effective forms of professional development and deliver higher levels of teacher satisfaction with planning processes in their school.
Second, strengthen the leadership capacity and curriculum expertise of middle leaders, so that collaborative planning meetings are led more effectively. Without effective leadership, collaborative planning meetings often flounder.
Putting collaborative planning time to work
Grattan Institute’s latest Guide for Principals profiles five schools across Australia which are making the most of this precious time.
At one of the case study schools, Ballarat Clarendon College in regional Victoria, teachers have worked together to develop shared, high-quality curriculum materials across all subjects and year levels.
With this strong foundation in place, teaching teams collaborate in regular “phase two” meetings, which are set up to identify and share great teaching practices.
In the maths department, for example, teaching teams come together roughly once a fortnight to examine student results from recent assessments. If one teacher’s class has excelled, the teacher demonstrates to the group how they taught that specific point to help identify whether a particular approach – such as how they unpacked a worked example – contributed to better learning.
As the teaching teams identify effective strategies, the strategies are noted in the curriculum materials for the benefit of future teachers and students.
These are often small instructional details, such as the best questions for teachers to ask students, the specific words used to describe a process, or common student misconceptions to address.
As one teacher explained
The point is to get the best teaching practice possible. When someone explains in a phase two meeting what they did, we put it in the slides for next year.
The lesson is clear.
Simply setting aside time for collaboration doesn’t always lead to better outcomes for teachers or students.
Effective collaboration requires skilful leadership and a common language.
A whole-school commitment to shared curriculum materials can bring these elements together and create a strong foundation for teachers to work collaboratively on what matters most: great teaching in the classroom that sets students up for learning success.
Jordana Hunter is the Director of the Education Program at the Grattan Institute. The Grattan Institute has been supported in its work by government, corporates, and philanthropic gifts. A full list of supporting organisations is published at www.grattan.edu.au.
Nick is an Associate at the Grattan Institute and is currently training to be a teacher at the Melbourne University’s Graduate School of Education.
Chaotic 20-something Vivian (Thomasin McKenzie) can’t believe her luck when she inherits her granddad’s Sydney waterfront house. Decked out with grandpa-chic mid-century décor that suits Vivian’s vintage rocker aesthetic, the art deco home backs onto a stunning cliffside vista looking out over the ocean.
But it comes with a catch: Vivian’s cliff, with its sheer drop into the sea, is known as a place where people come to end their lives.
Vivian’s grandfather has left her in charge of saving these lost souls and preventing their deaths – a responsibility that seems insurmountable for Vivian, who can’t even seem to curb her own self-destructive ways.
It becomes clear if Viv is to take on the property she must face the trauma of the childhood accident that claimed the lives of her parents, repair her relationship with her brothers, and stop pushing away those who try to connect with her.
This six-part black comedy explores suicide, grief, isolation and the power of human connection.
Complicated grief
Through the character of Vivian, Totally Completely Fine looks at something called complicated grief, also known as Prolonged Grief Disorder.
Complicated grief occurs when the effects of grief remain pervasive and overpowering, interrupting the lives of bereaved people. As expert Katherine Shear describes it, those living with complicated grief often feel like they are facing a bleak future, can criticise themselves when they do feel pleasure, struggle with relationships, and may deal with suicidal thoughts.
Plagued by distorted flashbacks of the moments leading up to her parents’ death, and the accompanying shame and guilt, Vivian uses alcohol, drugs and detached sex to distract herself.
The three siblings face their grief in different ways. Stan
She takes on destruction as part of her identity, explaining to other characters she is “a ruiner”.
She pushes away everyone who could be a source of support for her.
Her siblings have their own particular responses to their grief. Viv’s oldest brother, John (Rowan Witt), locks down his emotions and becomes a control freak. Her emotionally open brother, Hendrix (Brandon McClelland), throws his life into creating the perfect family, even at the cost of his wife’s happiness.
The show’s ironic title echoes through the lives of the characters as they each struggle with their own difficulties while trying to appear to be totally, completely fine.
Highly strung PhD student Dale (Devon Terrell) struggles with anxiety. Charming paperboy Louis (Max Crean) has more going on than his chipper demeanour lets on. Hendrix’s wife, Laura (Mia Morrissey), hides how unhappy she is with motherhood. And Amy – a “jumper” (as the show describes those attempting suicide on the cliff edge) Vivian saves – hides the coercive controlling nature of her “perfect” fiancé.
The characters become increasingly isolated, adding to their distress. Stan
In each of the characters’ lives, the show hints the support they need is right next to them, but none seem able to reach out for help. They become increasingly isolated, adding to their distress.
But John’s boyfriend, the handsome and emotionally intelligent Alejandro (Édgar Vittorino), models the compassion these characters need.
Where the relationships between Viv, John and Hendrix are weighed down by the baggage of their past, Alejandro shows the value of actively reaching out, listening – really listening – to people, and affirming their value as individual human beings.
An old friend of Viv’s grandpa talks with her about suicide and the alienation felt by those who have attempted to take their own lives.
“Lots of people think that the line between them and what happens out there [on the cliff] is a thick one,” she says.
“Makes them intellectualise it, treat people like they’re fuckin’ aliens. When really you and I know that that line is as thin as the fucking wind.”
Support is out there – but it can be hard to see. Stan
One in six Australians will have thoughts of suicide at some point in their lives. It is common for people not to tell anyone about suicidal thoughts, and it remains a taboo in contemporary society. This can compound effects of psychological distress by increasing feelings of shame and isolation.
Totally Completely Fine opens up this discussion in a human, heartfelt way without ever being cheesy or didactic.
As Vivian stumbles through a journey to healing, she makes mistakes and hurts the people she cares about. But the series ultimately shows the value of friendships, family and chosen family. Even though the characters all have their own pain to cope with, they find ways to be there for one another even when things seem hopeless.
This is a black comedy with huge doses of heart and hope.
Totally Completely Fine is on Stan from today.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Emma Maguire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
When Tahlea Aualiitia talks about hosting the ABC’s new Pacific-focused news and current affairs TV programme, The Pacific, her voice breaks and she becomes emotional.
Personally, it’s a career milestone, anchoring her first TV show after a decade working mostly in radio, producing ABC local radio programmes and presenting Pacific Mornings on ABC Radio Australia. But it’s also much more than that.
Aualiitia grew up in Tasmania and is of Samoan (and Italian) heritage. She has strong connections to the country and the Pacific Islander community in Australia.
ABC’s Tahlea Aualiitia . . . presenter of the new The Pacific programme. Image: Natasha Johnson/ABC News
What moves her so profoundly about The Pacific is that the 30-minute, weekly programme is being broadcast across the Pacific on ABC Australia, the ABC’s international TV channel, as well as in Australia (on the ABC News Channel and iview), and is produced by a team with a deep understanding of the region and features stories filed by local journalists based in Pacific nations.
“For me, it’s representation and I think that is really important,” she says.
“I’m probably going to cry because for so long I feel that in Australia and on mainstream TV, Pacific Islanders have been, at best, under-represented and, at worst, misrepresented.
“Given the geopolitical interest, there is more focus on the Pacific but my hope for this show is that it will highlight Pacific voices, really centre those voices as the people telling their stories and change the narrative.
‘The ABC cares’ “It shows the ABC cares, we are not just saying we decide what you watch, we’re involving you in what we’re doing, and I think that that makes a difference.”
The Pacific presenter Tahlea Aualiitia is of Samoan heritage and has worked at the ABC for more than a decade . . . “For me, it’s representation and I think that is really important.” Image: Natasha Johnson/ABC News
Aualiitia’s father was born in Samoa and moved to New Zealand at the age of 12, then later to Australia. Her mother’s brother married a Samoan woman, so Samoan culture was celebrated in her immediate and extended family.
She recalls a childhood shaped by Samoan food, dance and song, and the importance of family, faith and rugby. But from her experience, “the narrative” about the Pacific in Australia has tended towards being negative or patronising.
“I think people tend to see the Pacific as a monolith and there are a lot of stereotypes about what a Pacific Islander is, especially in view of the climate change crisis — there’s this idea everyone’s a victim and they should all just move to Australia,” she says.
“There’s a lot of stuff you carry as a brown journalist. When I hear a story on the news about a Pacific Islander and a crime, I brace myself and think about what that might mean for my day, is it going to make my day at harder when I walk out onto the street, will it make my day at work harder?
“I’ve had people say to me when they learn I have an arts degree, ‘oh, your parents must be so proud of you because you’re the first person in your family who has gone to uni’. And that’s not true, my dad has a PhD in chemistry.
“It’s indicative of ideas that people have of what you’re capable of, what you can do, and that’s the power of the media to shape those narratives and change those narratives.
Facebook ‘reality’ check “When I started presenting Pacific Mornings, I would interview people from across the Pacific and people would find me on Facebook, message me, saying, ‘I didn’t know any Pacific Islanders were working at the ABC’.
“I was just doing my job, but they said they were proud of me, of the visibility and that it was a good thing that it was happening. So, I hope this programme re-frames things a little bit by showing the rich diversity of the Pacific, its different cultures, resilience, and the joy of being Pacific.”
The Pacific is a weekly, news and current affairs programme about everything from regional politics to sport. Image: Natasha Johnson/ABC News
The Pacific is being produced by the ABC’s Asia Pacific Newsroom (APN), based in Melbourne, with funding from ABC International Broadcast and Digital Services.
While the scope of the ABC’s international services has fluctuated over the years, depending on federal government funding levels, an injection of $32 million over four years to ABC International Services allocated in the 2022 budget has enabled this first-of-its-kind programme to be made, among a suite of other initiatives under the Indo-Pacific Broadcast strategy.
“The APN has been a trusted content partner for the ABC’s International Services team for many years and already has deep Pacific expertise,” says Claire Gorman, head of international services.
“We have been working with the APN to produce our flagship programmes Pacific Beat and Wantok for ABC Radio Australia and have been wanting to produce a TV news programme for Pacific audiences for some time, but until now have not have the funding for it.
“The Pacific is the first of many exciting developments in the pipeline. We believe it is more important than ever before for Australians and Pacific audiences to have access to independent, trusted information about our region.”
Journalist Johnson Raela at rehearsals. Image: Natasha Johnson/ABC News
Pacific-wide team Joining Aualiitia on air is long-serving Pacific Beat reporter and executive producer Evan Wasuka and journalist Johnson Raela, who previously worked in New Zealand and the Cook Islands.
Correspondent Lice Movono, based in Suva, Fiji, and Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong in Honiara, Solomon Islands, are contributing to the programme as part of a developing “Local Journalism Network”, also funded under the Indo-Pacific Broadcast strategy, to use the expertise of independent journalists located in the region.
Lice Movono has worked as a journalist in FIji for 16 years and is now filing stories for The Pacific. Image: ABC New
Behind the scenes are APN supervising producer Sean Mantesso, producers Gabriella Marchant, Dinah Lewis Boucher, Nick Sas and APN managing editor Matt O’Sullivan.
“The ABC has covered the Pacific for decades but largely for the Pacific audience,” says O’Sullivan.
“In recent years, that’s mostly been via Pacific Beat and increasingly through digital and video storytelling. We’ve felt for some time that there’s growing interest in the Pacific within Australia and there’s also a massive Pacific diaspora in Australia with strong links to the region.
“So, we’ve felt a need to share our content more broadly. The Pacific programme will cover the breadth of Pacific life beyond palm trees and tourism, from politics to jobs and the economy, climate change, culture and sport.”
Supervising producer Sean Mantesso and Johnson Raela discussing plans for the programme. Image: Natasha Johnson/ABC News
Lice Movono has been working as a journalist in Fiji for 16 years and has previously filed for the ABC. She believes elevating the work of regional journalists across the ABC programs and platforms, through the Local Journalism initiative, will help provide more informed coverage of Pacific affairs.
“I believe it’s critical for journalists from within the Pacific to be at the centre of storytelling about the Pacific,” she says.
“A few years ago, while working in a local media organisation, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Europe and it shocked and saddened me to find that there are people on the other side of the world who have little or no understanding of what it means to live with the reality of climate change here in the region.
“So, it means everything for me to work with the ABC, which has one of the widest, if not the widest reach in the Pacific region and to have access to a platform that tells stories about the Pacific and Fiji, in particular, to the rest of the world, to tell authentic stories through the lens of a Pacific Islander, and an Indigenous one at that, about the realities of what Pacific people face.”
While the covid pandemic and various lockdowns curbed a lot of international news gathering, it provided an opportunity to showcase the work of locally based reporters on ABC domestic channels.
“We’ve often used stringers in the region, but covid showed us the value journalists in country can offer,” says O’Sullivan.
“Because we couldn’t fly Australian-based crews into the region during the pandemic, we relied more on journalists in the Pacific telling their stories, for example during the 2021 riots in Solomon Islands.
“We are now building on that foundation of local expertise and knowledge by establishing the Local Journalism Network of independent journalists to report for the ABC.
“We’ve had producers doing training with them, teaching them how to shoot good TV pictures and we’ve provided mobile journalism kits that enable them to quickly do a TV cross.
“In filing for the ABC, they can tell stories local media often can’t but the challenge for us is protecting them.”
Support and protection from the ABC has been welcomed by Movono. Renowned for her tough questioning, she has endured personal threats and harassment over the course of her career, but the country is now moving into a new era of openness with the newly-elected Rabuka government repealing the controversial Media Industry Development Act that was introduced under military law in 2010 and has been regarded as a restraint on media freedom.
In an international scoop, Movono landed an interview with the new Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, for the first episode of The Pacific.
Lice Movono secured an exclusive interview with the new Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, for the first episode of The Pacific. Image: ABC News
“When I knew that there was going to be a segment of The Pacific where we could Talanoa with leaders of the Pacific, it was important for me to position the ABC as the one international organisation that Rabuka would do an interview with,” she says.
“I knew, with the new government only weeks into power, it was going to be a challenge. The government is dealing with a failing economy, a divided country, high inflation, high levels of poverty, the ongoing recovery from covid and trying to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
“But he has made progress as a Pacific leader, as the leader of a country just coming out of a military dictatorship, and he’s done some significant work in the region. So, it was a very significant interview, probably one of the most important assignments of my career.”
In addition to new content and engagement of local journalists, ABC International Services is also expanding the FM footprint for ABC Radio Australia and enhancing media training across the region.
As she prepared for the first episode of The Pacific to go to air, Tahlea Aualiitia was keen to hear the feedback from the audience and — with some trepidation– from family and friends in Samoa.
“I think that’s the part that I’m most nervous about,” she says.
“I know that they will lovingly make fun of my struggling to pronounce Samoan words properly, given I grew up in Australia, but I know they’re already proud of me because of the work I’m doing here.
“Having said that, my brother is a doctor, so I don’t think I’ll ever reach that level of family pride but I’m getting closer!”
The Pacific premiered on ABC Australia last Thursday. This article is republished with permission.
The long-awaited independent review of the Reserve Bank commissioned by Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be released on Thursday, with the treasurer already flagging in-principle agreement with all its recommendations.
These include separating decisions about monetary policy from other decisions by establishing a separate Monetary Policy Board and Governance Board, with the aim of making both decision-making and governance arrangements as effective as possible.
Asked to examine the continued appropriateness of the Reserve Bank’s inflation targeting framework, the review has apparently offered endorsement, with the treasurer expected to say on Thursday he reaffirms the government’s commitment to both the independence of the Reserve Bank and its inflation-targeting framework.
The review has been carried out by Carolyn Wilkins, an international expert on monetary policy, Renée McKibbin, a professor of economics at Australian National University, and Gordon de Brouwer, Secretary for Public Sector Reform.
Among the issues the review has considered are how to improve its approach to monetary policy, the bank’s decision-making, its performance against its objectives, how well it explains its decisions, and the composition of its board.
Chalmers will announce on Thursday two new RBA board members, to replace retiring members Wendy Craik and Mark Barnaba.
Some of the review’s recommendations will be implemented by the bank itself.
Others will need legislation, work with the Council of Financial Regulators, or agreement on a new Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy to be signed by Chalmers on behalf of the government and Governor Philip Lowe on behalf of the Reserve Bank board.
Chalmers has stressed the need for bipartisan support for the changes, given the bank’s independence and its importance in Australia’s economic policy-making.
He has discussed the report with Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, and provided him with an advance copy. Taylor had briefings from the panel during its inquiry.
Chalmers this week praised Taylor for the way he had engaged with the review.
Arguing for bipartisanship, Chalmers told a news conference on Monday:
We don’t really want to run the gauntlet in the Senate, for example, on legislative change to the RBA Act. The RBA Act should be something that we can agree on and put beyond politics.
The review panel received more than 1500 contributions through interviews, submissions, focus groups and survey responses.
It consulted 137 global and domestic experts, including current and former RBA board and staff members, parliamentarians and academics. It also consulted representatives of business, unions, public institutions and community groups.
The bank and Lowe in particular have come under criticism as rates have risen.
Lowe has been under fire for indicating the cash rate would likely not increase before 2024, which influenced the decisions of some house buyers.
Lowe’s term expires in September.
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.
Brief reports have surfaced about the separate bilateral meetings of the Kanaky New Caledonia pro- and anti- independence representatives at their meeting in Paris with French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne last week. Here the leader of the Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) delegation, Roch Wamytan, outlines their case as presented to PM Borne at the Hôtel Matignon on 11 April 2023.
By Roch Wamytan, leader of the FLNKS delegation
First of all, allow me, Madam Prime Minister, to greet you on behalf of the Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) delegation for this first meeting with you.
Despite the difficult situation prevailing in France, you were able to take some time in your busy schedule to discuss with our delegation and we recognise your significant consideration of the situation of New Caledonia (NC). We have also had the opportunity to communicate with you by phone with some of our delegation members and I thank you.
Today is the first time that we meet, and it is important to be able to discuss face-to-face and try to understand each other. It is a huge responsibility has been passed on to you, that of an ancient civilization characterised as “the Kanak people of Melanesian and Austronesian descent” which has been present in the Caledonian archipelago for more than 3000 years.
Close to 250 years ago (1774), this ancient people crossed the path of Europeans through James Cook, and then that of the French on September 24, 1853, the date of the possession of the islands by France. It is from this time onward that the chaotic history of relations between France and us, the Kanak people, began.
Almost 170 years later, we are still debating these relations that bind us: You as the representative of France, and us, the members of the FLNKS delegation, led by two of the signatories of the Nouméa Agreement, Victor Tutugoro and myself, accompanied by Gilbert Tyuienon, Mickaël Forrest, Jean Pierre Djaïwé, Digoue, Aloisio Sako, Jean Creugnet and our technical team.
Roch Wamytan, leader of the FLNKS delegation to Paris, pictured with Yael Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly. Image: FLNKS
As you know, Madam Prime Minister, the FLNKS represents the national liberation movement of the colonised Kanak people, since the re-inscription in 1986 of New Caledonia on the United Nations’ list of countries to decolonise. Therefore, we stand in front of you as the representative of the governing authority of France, according to international law.
On February 26, 2023, the popular congress of the FLNKS and the nationalist and Indigenous movement has validated the unique and unitary trajectory for the country’s achievement of full sovereignty and independence, through negotiation with the governing authority, France, which is the governing power since the possession of New Caledonia on September 24, 1853.
For 170 years (September 24, 1853) we have lived under the governance of France, which has become since 1986 the administering power of the New Caledonia, the latter being considered a non-self-governing territory. This governance has never been accepted by our people and the genealogy of the struggle to free ourselves of it is well known. Allow me to share some key dates:
● From 1774 (arrival of James Cook) to 1853 (formal possession): People had to struggle against the harmful effects of microbial epidemics introduced by the first Europeans, faced with a population which lacked immunity. As a result, close to 90 percent of the population was eradicated. Survivors organised themselves and survived thanks to their ancestral resilience when faced with diseases and European invasion. Then, colonisation followed.
● From 1853 to 1924: The violent possession of land, the settlement of convicts and deportees, the revolts of chiefdoms and the bloody repression of the colonial army with its massacres, ethnocide, population displacement and transportation.
● From 1925 to 1946: The population reaches its lowest point, approximately 25,000 people. It is the point of departure for a rebirth, through reconstruction, the restructuring of chiefdoms with catholic and protestant missions.
● From 1945 to 1946: New Caledonia misses its first opportunity to achieve independence. Indeed, the President of the United States of America, [Franklin D.] Roosevelt, was of the idea that the French defeat would de facto, lead to the end of its empire, then in ruin. He was therefore planning on changing the status of Dakar, Indochina and other French possessions and was advising France to progressively give up its possessions in Asia and Africa.
When it came to New Caledonia, this colony was to be removed from France and placed under the governance of the USA, similarly to Palau, before giving it its independence back. That is what the work of Marie Claude Smouts, researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), shows in her book La France à l’ONU.
● From 1946 to 1958: It is the end of the Native Code, the Kanak people are granted citizenship and enter institutions. It also marks New Caledonia’s second missed opportunity to become independent since in the 1958 constitutional referendum where the electoral roll was predominantly Kanak.
Under the influence of the Catholic and Protestant churches supported by the European section of the Union Calédonienne (UC) party, this party opted for YES, and therefore to remain within the French Republic. The framework law or autonomy law was in turn put in place.
● 1963-1968 and 1975-1984: Abolition of the framework law and birth of the Kanak pro-independence movement. 1975 was the year of the “Mélanésia 2000” cultural revolution, and the creation of the Front Indépendantiste in 1979.
● 1984 – 1988: It was the semi-failure of the Nainville-les-Roches discussions, the creation of the FLNKS, and the Kanak nationalist insurrection and revolts which lasted four long years.
● 1988 – 1989: [This] was the year of the signing of the Matignon Agreement and one year [later] the murder of Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwene Yeiwene since they did not have the FLNKS mandate to sign this agreement. An agreement which aimed to restore peace and initiate the rebalancing, but not to settle the issue of independence.
● 1988-1998-2018: the country enters a process of emancipation and decolonisation with the Matignon and Nouméa agreements by having “rebalancing” and “the impartiality of the state” as guiding principles.
● 2018-2022: this was the series of three referenda which resulted, according to France, in three NOs to full-sovereignty and independence. A progression of the YES to full sovereignty and independence between the first and second consultations is, however, notable. The third one is not recognised as politically legitimate by the FLNKS and its regional and international support due to 60 percent of non-participation, which includes the almost entirety of the Kanak people.
This explains the procedure at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. It is possible to estimate that the participation of the Kanak population to a third referendum organised in normal and transparent conditions, with an impartiality of the State would have allowed the country’s achievement of independence.
However, it marked the third missed opportunity to reach independence in our chaotic history of relations with France.
This brief historical reminder traces a trajectory that began with the arrival of the Europeans in Oceania in 1774 and which will continue until the achievement of full sovereignty in the coming years as part of a renewed relationship with France and Europe for a country that will be fully integrated in its geographical area. This has been its history for 3000 years, and this will be its future.
Indeed, experience has demonstrated that in the history of decolonisation in the Maghreb region, in Asia, in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world: the colonised never give up on the question of their asserted identity. It is the same for our people which have always fought against an oppressive and forced assimilatory system.
While it fought against a system, the Kanak people respect France and its inhabitants. France has a history that we respect: it is a great nation which defends universal values. Moreover, hundreds of our youth have given their life during the two world conflicts. France has brought us [the] Catholic and Protestant religion[s] as well as education. That is what the preamble of the Nouméa Agreement acknowledges.
Due to being unheard in its struggle against a colonial system, we can consider that the nationalist movement which started in the early 1970s was a response to the abolition of the framework law put in place by the 1958 constitution, then removed in 1963. The movement peaked in 1984-1988, with the painful events of Ouvéa, where the special troops of the French armed forces intervened to maintain the public order.
The number of Kanak leaders having lost their life during this period up until 1989 is significant, especially considering their quality and our small population. In light of this dead-end situation, the handshake between Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Jacques Lafleur, and Michel Rocard, as planned, allowed for peace to be restored.
And the rebalancing included in the Matignon Agreement approved by the national referendum of 1988.
This ten-year period between 1988 and 1998 was meant to be an opportunity for a more balanced development of the territory. The no. 1 text of the Matignon Agreement is entitled: “The condition for a lasting peace — The impartial State at the service of all.” The press release of June 26, 1988, also insists on this point: “The impartiality of the State must be guaranteed, the security and protection of all must be ensured”.
And on August 20, the Minister of Overseas Departments and Territories, Louis Le Pensec, declared before the agreement signing ceremony: “France can only be a referee if its spoken word inspires trust”.
In 1998, the Matignon Agreement gave way to a new agreement, the Nouméa Agreement, which won the support of the Kanak people but was rejected by the non-independence majority of the South[ern] Province. This agreement has received an almost unanimous approval from the Kanak people for several reasons:
– It maintained peace and allowed for the continuation of rebalancing policies; – It allowed the construction of a project of society that would take colonialism into account, following the Nainville-les-Roches Agreement in 1983; [and] – Its preamble and guidance document de facto recognised Kanak identity and committed to the establishment of a new governance of New Caledonia, in the form of a sui generis collectivity with autonomy, in a perspective of independence.
New Caledonia, whose vocation for independence was recognised following the 1988 national referendum, was taking the path of the construction of a common destiny resting on a “Caledonian citizenship” and the irreversibility of the process of decolonisation and emancipation.
Thus, for the colonised Kanak people, the responsibility of the State as the third partner of the Nouméa Agreement is to guarantee this irreversible and sincere process, allowing New Caledonia to endorse its vocation to be a sovereign state, like the other sovereign states in the region. That is the meaning of the massive YES which was given by the Kanak people at the referendum to ratify this agreement on November 8, 1998.
It was the same for the national referendum of November 6, 1988. Under no condition can these two referenda be considered a reason for yet another status of integration of New Caledonia within France.
For the Kanak people, the process of self-determination must continue to follow up on the two referenda of 2018 and 2020. The Nouméa Agreement, which remains the basis on which the future of New Caledonia must be permanently built and sealed, is clear and unambiguous both in the preamble and the guidance document: Decolonisation is the way to rebuild a sustainable social bond between the communities that live in New Caledonia.
A new step must be taken to mark the full acknowledgement of Kanak identity, conditional to the reviewing of the social relationship between all the communities that live in New Caledonia and through the sharing of sovereignty with France before the full sovereignty of the country to be.
The culminating point of this Agreement is completely unambiguous because: “The State recognises the vocation of New Caledonia to benefit from a complete emancipation at the end of this period.” This Agreement will then remain at its last development stage without the possibility of going back in the event that the consultations do not lead to the new political organisation suggested. This irreversibility being a constitutional guarantee.
However, based on the decisions concerning the third referendum specifically, and the statements made by French government officials, the Kanak people observe that once again, the French State never follows through with its promises, and that in the last moment, it systematically aligns its interest as a “great power” to the French population it has settled in New Caledonia.
It was the case in 1963, when the French government unilaterally decided to cancel the framework law which had granted a wide autonomy status to New Caledonia, thus reflecting General De Gaulle’s desire to rely on New Caledonia and French Polynesia for France’s ambitions as a great world power. It also reflected the wishes of the [New] Caledonian colonial Right. This rupture unilaterally decided by Paris, created the conditions for the birth of Kanak nationalism from the 1970s, followed by its radicalisation in 1984-1988.
Today, almost forty years after 1984, it would seem that we are witnessing the same scenario, especially since the use of the concept of Indo-Pacific, with a renewed alliance between the President of the Republic and the Caledonian loyalists. Clearly, since 2021 and the Minister [Sébastien] Lecornu, the organisation of the third referendum has been the scene of the tipping of the State’s position towards the “No to independence” camp, undermining the very principles of the Matignon and Nouméa Agreements, the impartial State at the service of all, which resulted in a deadly loss of trust.
Since the possession of the islands by France, everything is done or organised based on French, European or Western norms, usages, traditions, or social structures, with an almost blind application of them in the context of a traditional society that is fundamentally different. Thus, basic organisations, structures, concepts, or processes, which are not that of Oceanian societies, continue to be imposed, without question as to the degree of constraint or acceptation that it implies.
However, this society, like any Oceanian society, carries deep values, drawing on the spiritual world, nourished by the sacred and inhabited by a way of thinking in harmony with nature and the cosmos as it has been valued, anchored mythological corpus on par with the great Mediterranean civilizations. We have not invented all this, it has been made explicit and rehabilitated by academia and anthropological research.
For a long time, the representatives of the Kanak people, whether it be the great chiefs, political leaders, or religious leaders have asked the question “but why does France, the governing power, not hear us?” It remains deaf to our points, to what the Kanak people wants, because it is its right to recover its lost sovereignty. But France does not think so and does not respect the recommendations made by the United Nations. It does exactly the opposite or interprets what is presented to it within the framework of the defence of superior national interests.
Could France, for once, carry a process of decolonisation through? This unfinished process of decolonisation carried on into the third referendum, which the FLNKS considers a “stolen” referendum. Has France forgotten the history of the colonisation of this people and of its millennial civilisation?
The Melanesian civilisation is not an invention of the mind, it was demonstrated, scientifically confirmed by the community of researchers in the field of anthropology. Indeed, within the context of anthropology and approaching “deep nthought”, academic research led on the path of understanding the spirit of man and his relationship with the material and spiritual world around him. The aforementioned work provides for the first time an exploration and in-depth reading of the mythical thought of the Kanak people; thus, this research establishes the sacralising vision of ancient Kanak myths and an integral landscape of life in the Kanak world, the visible and the invisible; rehabilitating the power of myth in the 21st century and by attributing it an academic dignity, it valorises the cultural capital of people.
This work has been welcomed as a true exploration, both novel and original, it underlines the height and strength of Kanak deep thought and highlights fundamental themes such as cosmological knowledge, the power of symbols and archetypes, etc. This observation encourages the total recognition of the qualitative aspect of this people. However, the current evolution is not going in this direction and has never acknowledged these immaterial and intellectual resources. Therefore, its formalisation and institutionalisation is suggested, since the State cannot ignore the fundamental elements of Kanak society which can infer the proclamation of a prior sovereignty.
One cannot deny that the French presence in New Caledonia, the successive leadership and the institutional changes have never integrated in writing or in speech the “pre-eminence, the full and legitimate connection to their land (existential and ontological link, startling for the Cartesian mind, Kanak belong to their land, land does not belong to them) and the sacred and inalienable character of the presence and existence of the Kanak people, as well as the sovereignty they possess: the later comes from the people and is complementary to the immaterial heritage . . .”
On this note, customary senators expressed their deep gratitude to an academic researcher in structural anthropology, whose novel work was welcomed as having valued and sacralised the fundamentals which structure Kanak civilisation. This original contribution fills a gap and demonstrates that “others” can understand, respect, and give the Kanak people their essential and existential values back. Above all, this contribution disrupts the one directional relation, which prevents the establishment of a real exchange, and which leads to forceful imposition, regardless of the qualities and values of the other. We seriously believe that France can take a step that it has never taken before to show that it is a great nation capable, like the Kanak who welcomes others, of recognising “a timeless and original sovereignty”, an essential condition for sharing in acceptance and understanding.
Indeed, it constitutes a new approach because a part of Kanak civilisation was destroyed in its anthropological foundations and its sociocultural organisation by the violence of French possession and the imposition of a “pax romana” without any counterpart. The impacts are known: the annihilation of the history which precedes September 24, 1853, the loss of identity in relation to languages, land, culture, beliefs, etc. Kanak people’s ancestral land was considered “terra nullius”. This “terra nullius” status was assigned to make it “lawful” for better armed countries which pretended to be “more civilised” to seize, colonise and exploit territories and resources. That is in spite of the fact that, in our traditions, not one centimeter of land or maritime territory escaped the ontic link of belonging between the human and their land.
But in the meantime, the impacts on the being and doing of Kanak people have been of a great violence and these harms are still present in 21st century Kanak society. Some of these impacts have been acknowledged notably in the preamble of the Nouméa Agreement, but no solution followed, through a holistic approach which could have defined some “just” measures to implement so that the Kanak people could recover its dignity.
It is time for France to react because in New Caledonia, a sly colonialism or neocolonialism is currently at play, attempting to erase and negate the natural sovereignty of the Kanak people on its territory, condemning it to eternally look for a lost paradise. We do not want to die assimilated like a sugar cube in water and we will resist to survive. Fortunately, some moral voices make themselves heard to denounce this unjust system, as is the case with the Vatican.
In its “colonial” history, the Vatican shared discovered lands with different European Christian countries, among which Portugal, Spain, France, etc. It ended up ubi et orbi declaring the abandonment of the doctrine of discovery, which operated from the 16th century and provided a framework to lay possessive claims, to appropriate and to colonise, due to the destruction, damage, and other ills of colonisers. More recently, Pope Francis declared in a message addressed to the participants of the “colonisation and neocolonialism: a social justice and common good perspective” forum, which took place on March 30th and 31st, 2023 that neocolonialism is sly, that it is a crime, and that there isn’t any possibility of peace in a world that rejects some people in order to oppress them.
We even remember the unforgettable sentence marked by the “presidential” seal, of candidate Emmanuel Macron in Algeria, stating that colonisation is a crime against humanity. This gives more weight to the papal message. Restorative action is thus unavoidable and must lead to a deep reflection: Which people has suffered? To whom do we owe reparation and apology before imposing and controlling?
We do not ask for pity, nor do we beg or repent, a confessional notion. We only ask for justice through a holistic and recognised approach, that of transitional justice with its four pillars, to reinvigorate a damaged people, which drags generation after generation, the negative impacts on its being and its doing, as Solgenystine and other experts remind us on the topic of colonialism.
But we are also aware of the “cultural” difficulty for the great colonising countries to go in the direction of colonised countries. As evidence, in the work of French anthropologist François Pouillon on this issue:
Nations states hardly appreciate Native peoples, even more so when the latter manifest some inclination toward autonomy, or worse, independence. At stake is the power of sovereign states over the territories they govern and from which they most often exploit the Native populations which are marginal in their eyes. If they resist, they break the law and expose themselves to economic, juridical or even military sanctions.
Contemporary centralised states are more so convinced of their efficacy and legitimacy as they promote ideologies and values which they are always proud of: the development of their technical and medical knowledge, the “universality” of their confessional or secular beliefs, their “influence” in the world and, at last, their advanced position in the evolution of humankind, all of this supported, more prosaically, by a solid armament.
Native peoples, in their emphasis on their own territories, memories, institutions and knowledges, would only slow them down on their path to perfection.
This tyrannical self-satisfaction feeds on the conviction, as François Pouillon underlines, that “if others, abroad, sometimes have an enviable quality of life, in their closeness to nature and the spiritual warmth of their group (which, however, does not protect them from bloody dictatorships, ethnic cleanings, natural disasters and great modern pandemics), they are, we believe, in a pitiful political state and remain, after all, ‘backward’.” (Anthropologie des petites choses, Le Bord de l’eau, 2015)
Colonial attitudes feed off this “naïve evolutionism” from which contempt originates. From the lack of consideration to enslaved people in the Code Noir (royal decree passed in 1685 aiming to define the conditions of slavery and its practices in the French colonies) to the dehumanisation of Jewish and Tzigane [Roma] people in extermination camps, through the stigmatisation of “primitive” people and other “indigènes” of the colonies, the same deadly chant is sung: May impure blood water the fields of the civilization we embody.
These references are not historical since, today, Amazonia has been transformed into a gigantic inferno where the last Indians die, while Uighurs, Rohingya, Roma, Aboriginal people, African Americans, Native Americans and many others suffer a thousand deaths under the rule of nation-states convinced of being at the top of social and human progress.
Will Kanaks of New Caledonia also pay the price of the narcissism of the powerful? And thus, of France?
“Rebalancing” policies all over the Pacific, Native populations have already historically undergone a spectacular demographic decline (due to epidemics, massacres, poisonings), land spoliation from non-Indigenous people, both rural and urban, exclusion from the benefits of new economic initiatives (mining, extensive breeding, exportation) and the moral attacks of Western monotheisms.
The Tjibaou Cultural Centre on the outskirts of Noumea . . . an expression of Kanak identity. Image: Creative Commons
The paradox of New Caledonia is that France has recognised parts of its faults by committing, from 1988, to important “rebalancing” policies aimed primarily at Kanaks. Michel Rocard, when he was Prime Minister from 1988 to 1991, then Lionel Jospin, from 1997 to 2002, also supported the industrial ambitions of pro-independence leaders by enabling them to acquire a mine and to successfully extract, process and export nickel. At the same time, strong support for the expression of Kanak identity has marked the last thirty years with the creation of the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in May 1998, the revival of the Customary Senate [Kanak advisory assembly] and taking into account the Indigenous point of view in the courts.
These significant developments, which have never been questioned by the successive governments of the French Republic, have noticeably appeased the minds and improved the daily life of all Caledonians in general, and Kanaks in particular.
They were combined with unprecedented institutional measures: the scheduling of three referenda for self-determination, the creation of a special electoral roll used for polls open solely to Caledonians who had settled before 1994 and the urge to all the communities living in the archipelago to elaborate a “common destiny”. Alternative forms of sovereignity.
This momentum did not lead to New Caledonia’s access to full sovereignty in the first referendum on November 4, 2018, but it signaled a surprise surge in votes in favour of independence (43.3 percent), a cause which Caledonian of European, Asian or Oceanian descent have evidently joined. This trend was confirmed on October 4, 2020, with 47 percent of the population expressing their wish for New Caledonia to become independent. If this progression is significant, these results won’t change the outcome. The issue is not purely electoral or numerical.
Kanak delegation leader Roch Wamytan (second from right) with other members. Image: FLNKS
It refers to much deeper forces. Oceanians, despite being victims of a denial of existence, have created social organisations, practices and knowledge related to their doing and being that are specific to them. Through relations to land, legitimacies to power and counter power, strategies of political and matrimonial alliances, whether near or far, connections to the past, and visual and narrative creations, they have developed an alternative form of sovereignty to the monolithic and absolute one that is glorified by nation-states. The challenge of French and British colonisation has matured this nuance and complex political thought, which is a source of resistance and projects for the future. These gains are ineradicable and will not be phased by the ephemeral results of a referendum.
In this context, how can we forge a genuine dialogue?
It seems to us that it is high time for the governing authority to look at the “other” in order to have a mutual understanding, the basis of trust to create, promote, and walk together with the ability and willingness to share a “modus operandi” through the discussions and negotiations to come on the topic of other forms of governance.
Consensus proves to be a fundamental element in the important choices that we had to make for the evolution of New Caledonia in light of the challenges of 21st century.
You have no other choice than to integrate this practice specific to the Pacific or miss out on a successful statutory development project for New Caledonia.
Madam Prime Minister, your government would gain from being in a “win-win” approach, because everyone can assess what New Caledonia represents in this part of the world. We are ready to discuss it.
Building new relationships of trust between our two countries, committing to stability for the populations which have chosen to participate to New Caledonia’s prosperity, and lastly, mastering the stakes, notably environmental, that we will have to face are all challenges that we are willing to undertake. Therefore, the unique trajectory assumed by the FLNKS for the accession to full sovereignty and independence offers the outline that we wished to present to you.
The past 30 years of social stability have provided a conductive environment for the unprecedented development of our country. The irreversible process of decolonisation put in place by the Nouméa Agreement has placed New Caledonia in front of its growing responsibilities, leading us to be standing at the doors of the “concert of nations”.
Considering our emancipation process, the FLNKS believes that we are ready to assume the attributes of our sovereignty. Through a co-construction approach, we propose that the adoption of a political treaty enabling to seal a political basis for this final phase of statutory evolution be studied.
This political agreement will guarantee:
● Reaching an independence bilaterally negotiated with the governing power; ● The continuation of the irreversible process of decolonisation of New Caledonia; ● Obtaining an ultimate process that implements a programme of accession to full sovereignty and independence; and ● Constitutionalising the political agreement and the accession to independence status, which includes the transition phase, the sovereignty act and the proclamation of the birth of a new state.
Since 1986, New Caledonia has been on the UN list of non-self governing territories. This acknowledgement on the international stage guarantees us rights without which our deepest aspirations would not have been heard. And as long as our ultimate conviction will not be respected, we will continue to make our struggle known.
Madam Prime Minister, this year will mark the 25th year since the Nouméa Agreement. It is our duty to cultivate this consensual state of mind, which has guided all the stakeholders to this juridical innovation that recognised “the shadows of colonisation”.
Madam Prime Minister, we will have to stand by the choices we make for our future generations. As far as we are concerned, it is our duty never to surrender our right to independence and we are convinced that the French State can succeed in the statutory evolution of New Caledonia, within the context of the UN’s Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.
To conclude, Madam Prime Minister, this long introduction allows us to place in front of you a historical and political trajectory for the country to access full sovereignty and independence is a logical destiny. We would like to know the ambitions of the central government.
Thank you for your attention.
Roch Wamytan Head of Delegation
Members of the FLNKS delegation in Paris for the bilateral talks with the French government. Image: FLNKS
This statement has been lightly edited for publication style.
The Indonesian military has officially escalated its operational status in West Papua to “ground combat ready” following a clash with West Papuan National Liberation Army militants over the weekend with multiple casualties reported on both sides.
Military (TNI) commander Admiral Yudo Margono made the announcement in Jakarta yesterday after returning from West Papua.
Admiral Margono said the decision was reached after a “very thorough evaluation” of the joint police and military operation to rescue New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens who was taken hostage by the West Papuan pro-independence fighters on February 7.
He said it was also in light of the high number of casualties being reported from the clash with the Papuan rebels, who claimed to have killed and captured more than a dozen Indonesian soldiers.
According to The Jakarta Post, TNI claims it used a “a peaceful approach to the rescue operation…to keep the local population safe”.
However, the fatal clashes “altered the outlook” of its operation.
“To deal with such attacks, we will raise the troops’ status to combat ready,” Admiral Yudo told the news outlet.
Military (TNI) commander Admiral Yudo Margono . . . “To deal with such attacks, we will raise the troops’ status to combat ready.” Image: The Jakarta Post
Call for NZ government to ‘intercede’ Meanwhile, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) is calling on the New Zealand government to intercede and de-escalate the tensions in Nduga in Highlands Papua.
RNZ Pacific has also received reports of Indonesian airstrikes on the independence fighters’ positions which their leaders say further endanger the life of Mehrtens.
The rebels are calling for a ceasefire and urging Jakarta and Wellington to stop ignoring their requests for peaceful negotiations.
RNZ Pacific has asked the New Zealand and Indonesian foreign affairs ministries for an update.
An MFAT spokesperson said: “We are aware of the reports but will not be making any comment.
“The welfare of Mehrtens is our top priority. We’re doing everything we can to secure a peaceful resolution and Mehrtens’ safe release, including working closely with the Indonesian authorities and deploying New Zealand consular staff.
“We are also supporting Mehrtens’ family, both here in Aotearoa New Zealand and in Indonesia. They have asked for privacy at this incredibly challenging time,” the MFAT spokesperson added.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Many of us know cranberries as a tasty condiment to have with our Christmas turkey, or the juice that accompanies vodka in a cosmopolitan cocktail. You might have also heard cranberries prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
While this often dismissed as a myth, our new review of the evidence shows consuming cranberry juice or supplements reduces the chance of repeat UTIs for women, children, and those who are more susceptible to them due to medical procedures.
But this wasn’t the case for elderly people, pregnant women, or for people with bladder-emptying problems.
The review didn’t look at the use of cranberry for the treatment of UTI – and cranberry juice cannot cure a UTI on its own. So, if you do get a UTI make sure you seek medical care from your GP or other health provider.
Remind me, what is a UTI?
UTIs are unpleasant and very common. About one-third of women will have one at some point in their life. They’re also common among elderly people and those with bladder issues caused by spinal cord injury or other conditions.
Typically, a UTI feels like peeing razor blades and the urine can be smelly, cloudy, and sometimes has blood in it. Other symptoms include the frequent urge to pass urine, a stinging or burning sensation when passing urine, and pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis.
UTIs are caused by bacteria. Normally bacteria do not live in the urinary tract, but when they do, they stick to the bladder wall, multiply and can cause a UTI.
When a UTI persists untreated, the infection can move to the kidneys and cause complications, such as severe pain, or sepsis (a blood infection) in the worst cases.
Most UTIs are effectively and easily treated with antibiotics. Sometimes just one dose of antibiotics can resolve the infection. Unfortunately, for some people, UTIs keep coming back.
What medicinal properties do cranberries have?
The First Peoples of North America have long known the benefits of eating cranberries, including their benefits for bladder problems.
Cranberries are a native fruit of North America. Shutterstock
More recently, in the 1980s and 1990s, laboratory scientists started to explore several plausible explanations for these benefits.
The most widely accepted explanation is their high concentration of the antioxidant proanthocyanidin. Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) – a native fruit of North America – have a high concentration of proanthocyanidin, which protects the cranberry plant against microbes.
Researchers think the compound also prevents the most common UTI-causing bacteria – Escherichia coli (E.coli) – from sticking to the bladder wall.
It was this apparent ability that researchers concluded was responsible for the cranberry’s medicinal properties.
However, without strong evidence of how or if cranberry worked, health-care providers were left without clear guidance on who might benefit from cranberry. As a result, the ongoing debate in the academic literature has persisted for more than 30 years.
Researchers periodically review the evidence to support tests, treatments and interventions for all sorts of health conditions.
Proving efficacy became a focus with randomised trials starting to being published from 1994. The first Cochrane compilation of four clinical trials on this topic – published in 1998 – concluded the evidence was too poor to determine efficacy.
Researhers have long been investigating the role of cranberries in preventing UTIs. Shutterstock
A Cochrane Review involves identifying of all the available peer-reviewed academic evidence on a health care or health policy topic. The evidence is reviewed independently and in an unbiased way by members of the Cochrane Network, a network of independent researchers, professionals, patients and carers interested in answering health questions.
Updates in 2004 and 2008 suggested cranberry products reduced the risk of repeat UTI in women, but most of the studies were not considered high quality evidence and so the findings were not conclusive.
By 2012, the volume of evidence had increased to 24 clinical trials, but the data was imprecise and the conclusions were that cranberry juice was of no benefit.
As one of Cochrane’s most popular reviews, and the ever increasing volume of evidence, updating the review was important.
Over time, research has improved in the consistency of how cranberry is consumed – as juice or tablets – as well as improved in the measurement of the effective dosage and estimates of how much active ingredient (proanthocyanidin) in the different products.
What’s new?
Our Cochrane Review, update, published this week, now includes 50 clinical trials of cranberry products.
More than 8,800 people have participated in the clinical trials which randomly assigned people to take either cranberry products or a dummy treatment – either a placebo (a substance that has no therapeutic effect) or “usual care” (where people might receive another preventive product, such as probiotics).
The recent increased volume of high-quality evidence has shown cranberry products work for people who experience recurrent UTI or are susceptible to UTI. Recurrent UTIs are defined as two or more UTIs within six months, or three or more UTIs within a year.
Cranberry products reduce the risk of repeat symptomatic, culture-verified (tested in a laboratory ) UTIs in women (by about 26%), children (by about 54%), and people susceptible to UTI following medical interventions (by about 53%).
The findings don’t relate to people who don’t get UTIs very often but want to avoid them.
What is still unclear is the formulation and dosage of cranberry products. The evidence was not able to clarify whether cranberry tablets or liquids are more effective, what dosage of cranberry works best, or how long people need to take cranberry products to get the full benefits. The clinical trials varied in the duration of cranberry consumption, from four weeks to 12 months.
Among the many complicating issues addressed in this update was who funded each trial. Each clinical trial was classified as either being supported by funds from commercial organisations (such as juice manufacturer) or conducted by not-for-profit organisations (such as universities or hospitals) who paid for their own cranberry product.
However, we found no difference in the results for clinical trials supported by juice companies compared to those conducted by academic institutions.
Jacqueline Stephens receives funding from NHMRC, Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, and Flinders Foundation.
Gabrielle Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Phillips, Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Director, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Australian National University
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth established an Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee in December 2022 to advise the government on ways to lift economic inclusion and reduce disadvantage.
I am a member of that committee, which was tasked with reporting to the government at least two weeks prior to the federal budget in May – enough time to include a response to in the budget.
The committee delivered its report to the government in late February. The goverment made it public yesterday.
There are 37 recommendations – too many to discuss in detail here. The most pressing concern, and the most important for immediate policy action, is to substantially increase the JobSeeker payment for the unemployed.
Apart from a temporary boost during the COVID-19 pandemic, the payment (previously known as the NewStart Allowance) has declined relative to median incomes and other welfare payments for several decades.
JobSeeker Payment relative to Age Pension, 2000 to 2021
Interim Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, 2023–24 Report to the Australian Government
The committee has recommended restoring the relativities of the mid-1990s, when the unemployment benefit was about 90% of the age pension. This would require increasing the current rate for singles (now 65% of the age pension) from A$693 to $958 a fortnight – or from about $49.50 to about $68 a day.
How we made our decision
We compared the JobSeeker payment with a range of metrics such as the age pension, minimum wage, budget standards, average weekly earnings and various poverty lines such as the Henderson Poverty Line maintained by the University of Melbourne.
There is no right level for JobSeeker (or any other welfare payment) and there is no single methodology that provides all the answers.
But all the metrics tell the same story: JobSeeker has drifted behind all these benchmarks, largely due to being indexed to the Consumer Price Index rather than wages or incomes.
JobSeeker Payment relative to half median equivalised disposable
income, 2000 to 2021
Interim Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, 2023–24 Report to the Australian Government
Given the committee only had a couple of months to draft a report, it was not possible to review all aspects of the welfare system – such as the age pension, disability support payments and family payments – or the many other aspects that affect economic inclusion.
Nonetheless our judgement is the evidence shows the most urgent need of policy attention is the precarious financial situation for almost 1 million Australians that depend on JobKeeper and associated payments such as a Youth Allowance
The 4 million Australians receiving other payments (age pension, disability pension, veterans pension, parenting payments and carer payments) are more likely to be matching up to adequacy benchmarks. There was a substantial boost to most pension payments following the 2009 Harmer Pension Review.
The committee also found Rent Assistance is inadequate and not keeping up with rental costs for most low-income households. It too requires an urgent and substantial increase.
But the highest priority is JobSeeker, as the most effective payment to lower financial stress and poverty. JobSeeker has a larger budget and is better targeted than Rent Assistance to those in most financial need.
What will it cost?
Increasing JobSeeker and associated working age payments would cost the federal budget about $5.7 billion in 2023, according to Australian National University’s PolicyMod model of Australia’s tax and transfer system. Over the three years of forward estimates (2023 to 2026), the cost would be about $24 billion.
The total cost of welfare payments in 2023-24 is expected to reach A$145 billion. So $5.7 billion, while a substantial additional expense, does only represent a 4% increase in the welfare cash payments, and less than 1% of the total federal budget.
The available evidence outlined in the report suggests the recommended increase would be unlikely to greatly impact participation, given the payment would still be substantially lower than the minimum wage. Indeed the committee’s judgement was that leaving it at the current rate may be a net negative for participation, with poverty being a barrier to employment.
The welfare system in Australia is supposed to provide an adequate safety net but for nearly a million Australians the system is not achieving this vital goal.
The government has an opportunity in the next budget to right a significant wrong for a group of some of the most disadvantaged people in a mostly otherwise wealthy nation.
Ben Phillips is a member of the Interim Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee.
Live performance exists only in the moment it is being performed. Its ephemeral nature means it is transient and impermanent, and cannot be experienced again in precisely the same way.
How do artists hold on to the works that they make? What of the invisible labour that is rarely acknowledged or named?
Over the last ten years, performance artist Leisa Shelton has completed a series of participatory artworks which focus on the mutability of the archive: gathering audience testimonies and mapping artistic lineages.
Now her new show, Archiving the Ephemeral, brings five works together in a beautifully curated installation.
Archiving the Ephemeral is a celebration of the artist, the artistic process and the audience experience.
Shelton’s expansive career, built on collaboration, care and conversation, grounds the exhibition. The show reflects her focus on curating and re-framing interdisciplinary work to address the limited opportunities for recognition of contemporary independent Australian performance.
Marked by a spare, distinctive design, Archiving the Ephemeral is located in the Magdalen Laundry at the Abbotsford Convent.
Rich with a bright green wooden industrial interior and aged painted walls, the laundry is a perfect background for the specifically placed items, the carefully lit tables and the long lines of patterned artefacts.
Fragile ideas are framed and held within a crafted, artisan aesthetic. Objects are carefully made and remnants are meticulously gathered.
Along one side of the space, 132 brown paper packets are laid out in a continuous line on the floor. Each package contains a set of archival materials, burned to ash, which corresponds to an artistic project from Shelton’s career.
Paper packets hold archival materials, burned to ash. Sofie Dieu/Abbotsford Convent
An accompanying video depicts Shelton’s meticulous process of burning, piece by piece, her entire performance archive to ash.
In a methodical and meditative process, the ash is sifted and packaged into the hand-crafted paper bags. The bags are then hand-punched and sewn with twine, typed, labelled and categorised: a kind of devotional honouring of the materials even as they are brought to dust.
A living archive
The exhibition includes an opportunity for each of us to become part of the living archive through conversations with two ground-breaking elders of Australia’s performance art scene, Jill Orr and Stelarc.
On the night I attend, I sit with Stelarc. We discuss Kantian notions of time as he tells me about his Re-Wired/Re-Mixed Event for Dismembered Body (2015). It’s a delightful moment of personal connection with an artist I’ve admired for years.
Personal archives built from conversations can be carried by each of us. Sofie Dieu/Abbotsford Convent
Across one wall are four large hanging papers listing the name of every artist on every Arts House program from 2006-2016, laboriously typed.
On the night I attend, these lists elicit lively conversations among the artists present as we study the names and dates (in my case, slightly desperately searching to see if my own name is there), and recall shows, people, events, stories and collaborations.
Hundreds of artists have performed at Arts House. Leisa Shelton/Abbotsford Convent
Much of Shelton’s work is gathered from conversations with audience members about art and artists.
In Mapping, a set of burnished stainless-steel canisters, beautifully marked with engraved identifications, sit on a bench underneath a suspended video screen on which artist names appear and disappear in an endless, floating loop.
The canisters contain details of profoundly memorable artists and performances collected from 1,000 interviews, dated and stamped. They are hand-welded, sumptuous objects which hold the interview cards securely locked under fireproof glass designed to withstand cyclones, fires and floods.
The many hand-written files of Scribe contain multiple documents which can be taken out and read. The sheer number of pages is overwhelming, and the breadth of audience commentary – joyful, moved, connected, inspired – is breathtaking.
We can sit and read about the work that was. Sofie Dieu/Abbotsford Convent
It’s a poignant reminder of the traces borne out beyond the artist’s own experience of performing a work: an often surreal and lonely moment once the audience has left the room.
A practice of care
Archiving the Ephemeral fosters a practice of care and acknowledgement which extends to the practical ways in which our trajectory through the room and engagement with the artworks is enabled.
The Convent is an apt site for such a careful collection. Analogue processes and objects are foregrounded. Typewriters, brown paper, string, awls and aprons are part of the painstaking construction process. Attendants and scribes act as custodians in the space, facilitating a gentle holding of the material.
We are given the opportunity to continue the archive as it evolves and devolves around us. As I make my way through the space, I notice my own embodied archival actions – taking notes, speaking to others – as I continue the trajectory of documenting the documents.
We are not just witnessing one artist’s body of work. Archiving the Ephemeral focuses on the need for greater visibility, recognition and honouring of Australia’s experimental and independent artists, and speaks to the many collaborations, associations, and intricate connections that mark a significant – if unacknowledged – cultural legacy.
Archiving the Ephemeral is at the Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, until April 22.
The most fascinating aspect of screen museum ACMI’s new exhibition Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion, and the major contribution it makes, is the way it generates fresh understandings of women on screen, including in relation to Australia.
Goddess has been in planning for five years, celebrating 120 years of women and the moving image. Curated in Australia by Bethan Johnson for ACMI, the museum will eventually travel it globally.
Geena Davis and her institute on Gender in the Media are the perfect partners for the new show; not only because Davis is a screen goddess herself, but because of her leadership. Gender in the Media is a research and advocacy organisation which looks at the representation of gender and sexuality, race, disability, age and body types on screen.
“You cannot be what you cannot see” frames not just the mission of Davis’ institute, but points to the key message of the show: the power and significance of representation.
The exhibition features cinematic moments, iconic costumes, sketches, posters, photographs, magazines and interactive experiences. You can even make a goddess image of yourself to take home.
Stars we ordinarily think of as goddesses are showcased, such as Marilyn Monroe, Pam Grier and Davis in clips and costumes of their iconic roles.
But the show also asks audiences to rethink what a “goddess” might be understood to be, do and mean.
Curators draw their inspiration and vision from the culture within which they operate. The exhibition, therefore, has something to say about – or from – this country and its talent.
The Australian lens shaping the selection, presentation and commentary about characters, stories and experiences is initially invoked by the soundscapes created by Melbourne-based composer, DJ and musician Chiara Kickdrum.
This continues further inside, in a darkened room where audiences see a montage of clips of stars speaking at awards and events about industry ageism, sexism, racism, advocacy for women and female courage. First Nations filmmaker Leah Purcell, in full regalia at the AACTA awards, says:
It’s truth telling that this country needs to hear [so] we can move to the future with better understanding of who we are as a nation.
Elsewhere, the exhibition features “Fearless Nadia” (Mary Ann Evans), an Australian actor who became Bollywood’s leading stunt woman in the 1930s, swinging from chandeliers, leaping from speeding trains and taming lions. She was one of the earliest female leads of Hindi cinema.
Australian Hollywood costume designer Orry-Kelly won three Academy Awards and the show includes the iconic costume he created for Marilyn Monroe for Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959).
In the book that accompanies the exhibition, a quote from Monroe gives an insight into being typecast by her body:
I am tired of the same old sex roles. I want to do better things. People have scope, you know.
The body of the goddess
A key element of this exhibition is the spectacular display of the body of the screen goddess – from classical Hollywood to contemporary popular culture.
ACMI is framing the goddess not just by the tired “starlet” and “bombshell” tropes, but as a woman who pushes boundaries, questions norms and stereotypes.
At the beginning of the exhibition we encounter fashion model Winnie Harlow in Monroe’s iconic pink dress from Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, a performance in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
The beautiful Harlow is a spokesperson for the skin condition vitiligo (where her skin has lost colour in parts). Her gaze is confident: she invites our gaze in return, challenging notions of perfection. Her flesh becomes costume, and I think of the idea “it is not what you wear, but how you wear it” — a kind of mantra for individualism (although what she wears also has its own meanings and legacy). We are all unique, but her skin conveys this idea.
Winnie Harlow. Photo: Albert Sanchez
In clips we see the pressure on female actors to achieve an impossible standard of beauty.
Olivia Colman argues for the messy, imperfect body:
I’m an actor, not a model and I think you should be able to look horrendous […] that’s what I love doing.
A young Helen Mirren asks a journalist whether he means “serious actors cannot have big bosoms?”
Speaking across the decades Audrey Hepburn, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh and Ellen DeGeneres all offer commentaries about how their ageing bodies have influenced their selfhood and careers.
A youthful Jane Fonda alludes to her experience of being a body and not a mind:
people seem to think that if you’re a girl, you have to behave in a way that is not militant or political, especially if you’re an actress […] how dare an actress think or be political!
Gender fluidity, women of colour, queer women, culturally diverse goddesses, and high-kicking action heroines all have something to say about the myriad of ways that we can understand a goddess in 2023.
As this exhibition has it, the goddess can be anything she wants to: not just swing from chandeliers, leap from speeding trains or the backs of lions (while being drop dead gorgeous).
In the battle to be represented, she has been seen, she has offered a female gaze — one where they are individuals rather than ideals or icons. Goddess asks us to rethink our own gaze, and the bias it contains, to see the ways in which identities are constructed in media, according to the belief systems of the culture that created them. In this, the exhibition admirably succeeds.
Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion is at ACMI, Melbourne, until October 1.
Lisa French was a guest speaker for ACMI’s Public Program aligned to the Goddess exhibition: ‘Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation’.
RMIT University, ACMI’s Major Research Partner.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathleen McPhillips, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle
Damien Linnane Bob (Dominoes) 2022. Graphite on paper 42 x 29cmThe Lock-Up
On entry to Newcastle’s The Lock-Up contemporary art space is a textile artwork by institutional child sexual abuse survivor and artist Elizabeth Seysener.
Produced as part of the community arts program running alongside the Loud Sky exhibition, the triptych depicts the three major events in her story of recovery: carrying the burden of shame for over 50 years, the traumatising year of disclosure to the Catholic Church, and finding a place of being free to speak out.
In the entry to the next room, a loop of primary school photos of survivors reminds us it is children who were harmed.
Another room features a large timeline produced by graphic design students at the University of Newcastle. It depicts the central events of two public inquiries and court cases as they unfolded between 1995 and 2022.
Television footage captures the major events. A framed document expresses the heartfelt responses of family members of survivors, whose voices are rarely heard.
This exhibition, titled Loud Sky, addresses institutional child sexual abuse through the eyes of five professional artists commissioned to work with the local survivor community.
“Loud Sky” is a riff on the Loud Fence Movement, which began in 2015 in Ballarat as a community response to the harrowing details emerging from the hearings. Community members tied coloured ribbons on the fences of Catholic churches and schools where children had been harmed.
The Newcastle region is recognised as an epicentre in the ongoing catastrophe of church-based institutional child sexual abuse.
From the 1950s, schools and parishes harboured clerical perpetrators who were constantly moved around to avoid detection. Families of devout Catholics were socialised not to question priests and brothers. Local Catholic managers put protection of perpetrators and the reputation of the church above the safety of children.
In 2022, the Loud Sky project ran community art workshops for anyone impacted by institutional child sexual abuse. Participants enrolled in painting, drawing and photography classes with experienced art therapists. The resulting artworks range from photographs of precious objects to paintings of the safety of home, and are on display at Belmont Library.
A second community arts program, the Field of Flowers, has been “planted” at Christ Church Cathedral and Sacred Heart Cathedral. School students, survivors, supporters and parishioners made over 8,000 ribbon flowers. The field is an act of remembrance and signals the hope for healing.
Loud Sky visitors have the option to sit in the gallery and make a ribbon flower to be “planted” in one of the cathedral fields.
Listening to survivors
These community programs complement the artwork from five commissioned artists. These artists began their commission with training in trauma-informed art practice to prepare for hearing the stories from the royal commission documents and the survivor community.
Each artist worked in collaboration with the survivor community, mostly members of the Clergy Abused Network, the central survivor support group in the Hunter region.
Damien Linnane Roslyn (Boots) 2022. Graphite on paper 42 x 29cm. The Lock-Up
Damien Linnane asked survivors to bring in a treasured object accompanied by a story of the object. His detailed, beautiful drawings focus on the power of memory to evoke the resilience of survival.
Lottie Consalvo Silent Film 2023. Single-channel video 4 min 1 sec. The Lock-Up
Lottie Consalvo worked with a survivor and his partner to produce a beautiful video around the small everyday gestures that had sustained their lives through years of pain. The slow-moving, deeply contemplative silent film evokes the power of stillness and beauty.
Peter Gardiner The Fire 2023. Oil on 300gsm arches 250 x 550cm. The Lock-Up
Peter Gardiner’s epic oil paintings depict the power of fire to both destroy and recreate, following his reading of the stories of survival from the royal commission transcripts.
Fiona Lee Why Bother 2023. Latex, acrylic paint 98 x 167cm. The Lock-Up
Fiona Lee’s three casement windows evoke being both inside and outside, born from Lee asking survivors what motivated them to get up in the morning and find the courage of facing each new day and reaching out to connect with others.
Clare Weeks invited survivors to take a piece of paper and imagine a word that reflected their sense of resilience and hope. Each piece of blank paper was folded and scanned, the surface revealing idiosyncratic features. Large images of these scans span the walls. We are invited to take our own square of paper and imagine our own response before placing it in a large glass bowl.
Clare Weeks notes to self, #14, #19, #11, #09, #07, #23, #08, #24 2023. Digital inkjet print from scanned silver gelatin photograph 79.5 x 59.5cm. The Lock-Up
The power of art
Visual art can be an important means by which affected communities come to understand the impacts of harmful events in creative and regenerative ways.
Art helps process trauma and plays a vital role in restorative justice and truth telling.
It is a powerful corrective to dominant narratives often told by influential institutions with investments in protecting corporate reputations.
How we represent these stories of injustice and pain reflects our humanity and commitment to changing damaging social practices.
Through art, we can remain awake to the impacts of child sexual abuse and listen to the stories of those who survived such harm as children.
Perhaps the final words can be given to the visitor who wrote in the exhibition logbook: “We see you, we hear you, we believe you.”
The Loud Sky is at The Lock-Up, Newcastle, until May 21.
Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy, released today, details the government’s long-awaited plans to accelerate the adoption of these vehicles.
Consultations on the strategy began last September.
The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, then promised the strategy would make Australia a globally competitive market for electric vehicles. Households and businesses would have access to the best modern transport technology at affordable prices.
But does the strategy live up to these expectations? Is it ambitious enough to meet our emission-reduction targets and international commitments? And how far does it go to align Australia with world-best practice for the transition to electric vehicles?
In short, the strategy represents a step in the right direction but falls short of introducing meaningful new measures to speed up this transition, at a time when urgent interventions are needed.
Why is the strategy important?
Transport is Australia’s third-largest – and fastest-growing – source of greenhouse gas emissions. Cars produce about half of all transport emissions.
One of the quickest ways to cut these emissions is to accelerate the current slow uptake of electric vehicles.
Although EV sales almost doubled between 2021 and 2022, they represented only 3.8% of all new vehicle sales in 2022. That’s well below the global average of 12-14%. And it’s way behind world leader Norway where 87% of cars sold now are electric.
An ambitious national strategy, backed by robust fuel-efficiency standards, is vital for decarbonising Australia’s road transport. It will also improve air quality and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and imported oil.
During consultations on the strategy, around 500 submissions were received, representing the views of more than 1,500 individuals and over 200 organisations.
A key feature of the strategy is a commitment to introduce Australia’s first fuel-efficiency standard for new cars. Frustratingly, though, the government has delayed finalising the standard until the end of 2023, pending yet further consultations with industry on its development.
Australia is the only country in the OECD without mandatory fuel-efficiency standards for road transport vehicles. They are needed urgently now as an important step to increase the supply of electrical vehicles to Australia.
The federal government has made the case for vehicle emission standards, but then decided to delay their introduction.
Bowen said today the government will not introduce any bans or stop companies selling any type of vehicle in Australia. Instead, they will be required to sell a “good proportion”‘ of electric and fuel-efficient vehicles. But no targets were mentioned.
Aside from the planned fuel-efficiency standard, the strategy introduces one other important initiative related to recycling and reuse of electric vehicles and batteries.
The rest of the strategy falls short of providing any substantial policy directions or targets to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. Instead, it mainly confirms existing programs and policies, such as the electric car discount, and other already announced plans to upgrade charging infrastructure and the National Reconstruction Fund to boost local manufacturing.
The strategy does not provide new incentives to help Australians with the cost of buying an electric vehicle. There is also no mention of targeted subsidies or measures to ensure equity. Instead, the government said it will work with states and territories on nationally consistent principles to ensure demand stays strong.
The strategy also fails to acknowledge the need for a holistic strategy to decarbonise road transport. Other policy interventions are needed to lower emissions from transport, which cannot be achieved through vehicle electrification alone.
The strategy also falls short on measures to accelerate the adoption of electric trucks and heavy commercial vehicles. Freight transport networks and supply chains present particular challenges for reducing emissions. It is equally important to incentivise adoption by providing cheap loans and increasing supply
of reliable, sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to diesel trucks.
A credible strategy would need to consider a so-called feebate system. Feebates involve placing a levy on purchases of vehicles with high emissions and using the revenues to provide rebates for purchases of vehicles with zero or low emissions to offset their higher prices. Examples include France’s Bonus Malus and New Zealand’s Clean Car Discount. If developed carefully, these systems can be a cost-neutral method of discouraging purchases of high-emission vehicles and encouraging purchases of electric vehicles.
How does the strategy compare with plans overseas?
In the past few weeks, the United States and the European Union have announced some very ambitious plans that make the Australian strategy look very modest.
The US has proposed strict new emissions limits that would require two-thirds of vehicles sold in the US to be electric by 2032. The proposal, if ratified, will represent the most aggressive vehicle emissions reduction plan in the US. It will deliver, on average, a 13% annual pollution cut.
The EU also had plans to ban the sale of internal combustion engine cars from 2035. In February, the European Parliament approved the ban, which was later revised to allow some combustion engines running on e-fuels to be sold beyond 2035. Still, this remains one of the world’s strongest measures to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles.
By placing road transport decarbonisation on the national agenda, the National Electric Vehicle Strategy represents a positive step. But it falls short of matching the ambitious plans of other developed nations.
The much-anticipated fuel-efficiency standard will be key to demonstrate Australia’s commitment to reducing transport emissions. The standard will need to be mandatory, rigorous and robust. Clear targets on electric vehicle sales and timelines for phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles are needed.
If the standard is not carefully designed, we will continue to let down future generations, and the planet.
Hussein Dia receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, and Beam Mobility Holdings.
Artificial intelligence has changed form in recent years.
What started in the public eye as a burgeoning field with promising (yet largely benign) applications, has snowballed into a more than US$100 billion industry where the heavy hitters – Microsoft, Google and OpenAI, to name a few – seem intent on out-competing one another.
The result has been increasingly sophisticated large language models, often released in haste and without adequate testing and oversight.
There’s no doubt AI systems appear to be “intelligent” to some extent. But could they ever be as intelligent as humans?
There’s a term for this: artificial general intelligence (AGI). Although it’s a broad concept, for simplicity you can think of AGI as the point at which AI acquires human-like generalised cognitive capabilities. In other words, it’s the point where AI can tackle any intellectual task a human can.
AGI isn’t here yet; current AI models are held back by a lack of certain human traits such as true creativity and emotional awareness.
We asked five experts if they think AI will ever reach AGI, and five out of five said yes.
But there are subtle differences in how they approach the question. From their responses, more questions emerge. When might we achieve AGI? Will it go on to surpass humans? And what constitutes “intelligence”, anyway?
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Image: United States embassy.
Analysis by Geoffrey Miller
This weekend’s visit to Australia by New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks volumes about major changes underway in New Zealand foreign policy.
Hipkins is flying to Brisbane – Australia’s third-biggest city and home to around 100,000 New Zealand citizens – to meet with his counterpart, Anthony Albanese.
The trip’s significance comes in part from its timing. Hipkins is visiting just before Anzac Day on 25 April. On this day each year, Australia and New Zealand both remember the role played and losses suffered by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (or Anzac for short) in World War I, and by their forces in other conflicts.
Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education, speaking at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Then, Labour Party deputy leader Kelvin Davis looks on. Image; Wiki Commons.
In advance of the New Zealand PM’s travel, a new partnership called ‘Plan Anzac’ has been unveiled which promises ‘sustained cooperation’ between the Australian and New Zealand militaries. The arrangement covers a wide range of areas that include ‘strategic engagement, capability, training, readiness and common personnel issues’.
Hipkins’ visit is also expected to serve as an occasion for Australia to unveil a more generous pathway to citizenship for the near million-strong population of New Zealanders living in Australia – an attempt at putting to bed disquiet from New Zealanders who feel Australia has not upheld traditional Anzac ‘mateship’.
There is no better time of year for Canberra and Wellington to send signals of unity.
And the bonhomie comes as New Zealand increasingly follows in Australia’s foreign policy footsteps.
The most recent example of the alignment came in the acceptance by both Albanese and Hipkins of an invitation to the NATO leaders’ summit in Lithuania this July.
The joint RSVP was almost certainly coordinated between Canberra and Wellington.
After NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg publicly invited the pair to attend the meeting a fortnight ago, Hipkins initially remained non-committal, telling reporters he hadn’t decided on whether he would attend and pointedly noting his busy schedule during New Zealand’s election year.
Media reports surfaced soon afterwards that claimed Albanese would be a no-show in Vilnius.
The reporting was not initially denied.
Albanese already has a packed international calendar this year. The Australian PM perhaps thought that his guest attendance at the G7 in Hiroshima and hosting of a Quad (Australia, India, Japan and the United States) leaders’ summit in Sydney next month would be more than enough to satisfy US and European leaders.
If Albanese himself was planning on skipping NATO, this also explained why Hipkins showed a marked lack of enthusiasm.
But criticism by political rivals and commentators – and perhaps some pressure behind the scenes – appeared to change Albanese’s mind and by Monday this week, the Australian leader was saying he ‘would be very pleased to accept’ the NATO invitation.
Yesterday, Hipkins announced that he would also be heading to Vilnius.
In other words, Australia led – and New Zealand followed.
The countries are also becoming closer in other ways.
Most notably, New Zealand defence minister Andrew Little signalled last month that Wellington was interested in joining a second ‘pillar’ of the AUKUS arrangements that focuses on cybertechnology.
A week later, Little held talks in Wellington with his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles.
Little was typically circumspect about the substance of the talks and played down the AUKUS element.
However, Marles noted ‘alignment’ between Australia and New Zealand, adding ‘it’s really important that we are working as closely together as possible’.
The pair’s meeting came not long after a visit to New Zealand by Kurt Campbell, the White House’s Indo-Pacific coordinator – illustrating how pressures and interests from further afield are also at play, a factor reinforced by the NATO invitation.
Then there is the small matter of TikTok.
Both Australia and New Zealand have issued bans over the past month – and surprisingly, this time New Zealand appeared to be the leader, not the follower.
In March, New Zealand’s Parliamentary Service effectively banned use of the smartphone app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, by MPs and staffers who accessed Parliament’s network.
The move followed a directive (issued in November 2022, although only publicly revealed months later) by New Zealand’s Defence Force ordering its personnel to delete TikTok from their devices.
For its part, Australia waited until earlier this month to make its decision– but it then issued a far more sweeping ban that prohibited the use of TikTok on devices used by employees at all Australian federal government departments and agencies.
It was also reported that more than half of Australia’s federal government agencies had already banned TikTok.
This suggested Australia was the leader after all.
If alignment is a keyword in the 2023 version of the Australia-New Zealand relationship, another is ‘interoperability’.
Little spoke of the need for a ‘seamless sort of interoperability’ with Australia after taking on the defence portfolio earlier this year – and the word is also used repeatedly to justify the new ‘Plan Anzac’ military partnership.
Expect to hear more about the need for New Zealand to harmonise its capabilities with those of Australia – especially when the results of New Zealand’s Defence Policy Review are soon announced.
The outcome of the Defence Policy Review is also likely to serve as a justification for New Zealand to announce greater military spending.
It remains to be seen how China will react to New Zealand’s increasing willingness to fall in line with Australia – and with NATO.
Trade repercussions seem unlikely, although cannot be ruled out if New Zealand becomes deeply intertwined with Aukus.
China and Australia are currently in a healing phase over trade, after Beijing effectively offered to settle a dispute with Canberra over the tariffs China imposed in 2020 on Australia’s barley exports.
In the short term, any displeasure from China at New Zealand’s decision to take a more Australia-friendly path is more likely to come in the form of ‘playing hard to get’.
A notable omission from Hipkins’ travel announcements this week was any confirmation of a trip to China.
In her final months in office, Jacinda Ardern indicated she was seeking to visit China early in 2023 – a plan that Hipkins initially reaffirmed, but later walked back.
In the announcement of Chris Hipkins’ travel plans this week, the Prime Minister’s office did add that the Government was ‘continuing to pursue a trade focused trip to China later in the year’.
But for Hipkins to visit China, he will need an invitation.
And that invitation may have just become that much harder to obtain.
After all, Chris Hipkins is choosing Brisbane over Beijing.
At least for now.
Geoffrey Miller is the Democracy Project’s geopolitical analyst and writes on current New Zealand foreign policy and related geopolitical issues. He has lived in Germany and the Middle East and is a learner of Arabic and Russian. He is currently working on a PhD on New Zealand’s relations with the Gulf states.
New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten yesterday announced a “reboot” of Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme and six major areas of reform. Getting the NDIS back on track, Shorten said, will require reform across all disability services.
It’s a difficult time to announce an NDIS reboot. The federal budget is weeks away and, in the context of a cost-of-living crisis, some argue NDIS costs need to be reined in.
At the same time, two major pieces of work are underway and due to report later this year: the royal commission into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability; and the independent review of the NDIS exploring how it can be made sustainable over the long term.
Shorten has continuously said any changes to the scheme need to be guided by people with disability, meaning it would make it difficult to make announcements about substantive changes ahead of the review reporting.
So what do we know so far, and what are the key challenges to overcome?
Tackling bed block
Since Labor came to government last year, the government has made a number of changes to the scheme, including decreasing delays to NDIS participants being discharged from hospital.
Delayed discharge means a person is medically fit to be discharged from hospital but they cannot return home safely as appropriate supports are not in place.
In his speech to the National Press Club yesterday, Shorten explained that last year, NDIS participants in Victoria waited, on average, 160 days after they were medically fit to be discharged from hospital.
After significant action from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), this fell to a 29-day average wait to be discharged. This is a better outcome for the people involved and is estimated to have saved the health system A$550 million.
This shows the NDIS does not exist in a vacuum. How the NDIS operates has implications for the costs of mainstream services such as health and education – and, conversely, how mainstream services operate has implications for the NDIS and its costs.
6 ways to reboot the NDIS
The government will focus on six areas for reform to ensure the NDIS is fit for purpose, which won’t come as a surprise to those familiar with the scheme.
Very little detail has been announced about these reforms and in many cases we will need to wait for the independent review to report and outline precisely how these will be achieved.
1) Increase the size of the NDIA workforce, make sure staff are appropriately trained and the agency has the technology and capacity to do its work.
2) Move participants to longer plans, where appropriate, rather than needing a new plan every year. This will give participants more certainty and allow them to focus on making their current plans work.
3) Make sure all money is spent effectively. This means not spending on “shoddy therapies” and ensuring supports are evidence-based and benefits are maximised for participants.
4) Review supported independent living services. Around $10 billion of NDIS funding goes into these services each year and supports around 30,000 people with significant disabilities to live independently. Yet too often, they don’t support participants and families in the ways that they want. The Royal Commission has also heard significant abuse and neglect occurs in these settings.
5) Target misuse of NDIS funds. This involves targeting fraud within the scheme, but also unethical practices by some providers who overcharge for services or pressure people into spending money on services that they may not want or need.
6) Increase community and mainstream supports so people who aren’t eligible for the NDIS can access other services. This isn’t focused on the NDIS but the services that sit around it.
These six areas target many of the areas that are in need of reform within the scheme and some have already seen some initial reform attempts. The real question is how these will be delivered and whether there is genuine commitment to co-design with people with disability around these areas.
The NDIS was never designed to be accessed by all people with disability. The initial scheme design supported participants via a tiered system:
Tier 2 was for all Australians with disability and their carers by providing information and referrals to relevant services outside the NDIS (for example, mainstream services such as health and education). This tier also aimed to link people with disability into their local communities.
Tier 3 was designed for people with disability who have significant and permanent impairments. It provides access to specialised disability supports funded directly by the scheme and allocated via individual budgets.
While much of the attention on the scheme is around Tier 3 supports, a major driver of costs is a lack of investment in Tier 2 services. If we do not see adequate investment in mainstream and community services, such as in health and education, people with disability are more likely to require Tier 3 services.
The NDIS has been called the “oasis in the desert” where people need to get services and supports through the scheme because there is a lack of other mainstream supports available. Research shows 90% of disabled Australians who didn’t have NDIS funding and took part in the research were unable to access the services and supports they needed.
We have seen particular growth in the number of young people with autism and developmental delay entering the NDIS, far beyond what was originally projected at scheme design. One in ten boys aged between five and seven have an NDIS plan when starting school.
While this could indicate the original scheme estimates were not correct, it’s likely that a significant proportion of demand for scheme entry is being driven by a lack of other available supports through mainstream services.
The government seems committed to disability services reform but it won’t be quick or easy. It will involve more than just changes to the NDIS – we need a rethink of all disability services. And this can’t be done without people with disability who need to play a strong role in designing this new scheme.
The late Sir Rabbie Namaliu’s character and his humble leadership featured well in one of Australia’s top news organisations –– News Corp Australia and its executive chairman Michael Miller has paid a tribute.
Businessman Frank Kramer, reading out a special eulogy from the business point of view reflecting on the life of Sir Rabbie at the National Haus Krai on Sunday night repeatedly echoed the man he was.
In his address, he read out Miller’s condolence message sent to the family and friends of the late Sir Rabbie among others.
Sir Rabbie joined the Post-Courier board as a director on February 2013 and had been there until he died on March 31, 2023.
Miller’s message read: “On behalf of everyone at News Corp Australia, I’d like to express our deepest condolences to Sir Rabbie’s family, friends and colleagues at this sad time.
“Sir Rabbie lived a rich life dedicated to public service and to the people of PNG.
“He will be missed but never forgotten and will, especially, be remembered for the quiet authority he brought to PNG’s often robust political scene and for the strong, eloquent and unflinching advocacy made on behalf of his people as prime minister and in many other roles in government and public life.
“Sir Rabbie was a patriot, a good friend to many and as a director of the board of the Post-Courier, [he] did much to further the cause of free speech and the importance to his country’s fledgling democracy of a free and fearless media.”
Gorethy Kennethis a senior PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.
I was born in Gulka (Kimil), one of the remotest villages in Papua New Guinea’s Jiwaka province.
Gulka is situated between Jiwaka and Western Highlands province, so as I grew up I learned the cultures and lifestyles of both provinces.
I was the third-born child of Simon and Polti Mek and I have three younger siblings. My dad and mum are subsistence farmers. They sell ripe bananas, greens, peanuts, red pandanus and pigs to raise money.
Dad dropped out of school in grade four. Mum has never been to school.
We have no access to proper roads and electricity. The rugged terrain, jungle, valleys and big rivers in the Highlands region make access to basic services a difficult task.
Illiteracy and birth rates are very high, and some mothers die trying to give birth. We often have shortages in drugs and medical facilities in our community health centre. Growing up in such an unfavourable environment made it extremely hard to access education.
Despite that, I made up my mind to go to school.
Four sweet potatoes a day In 2007, I was enrolled to do kindergarten (prep) at Gulka Elementary School. I used to wake up at around 4am to prepare for school. My mum would cook four sweet potatoes: one for breakfast, one for lunch and two for afternoon dinner.
The distance from home to school is about five kilometres. Because of the distance and frequent bad weather, no one else was interested in going to school.
I used to walk back and forth by myself. I was often late for class. I sometimes missed classes due to heavy rain, floods and landslides.
For grade three, I went to Kimil Primary School, a Catholic mission school. When I first went there, I could not cope with its tough rules and regulations.
I had no friends to share all my problems with. I did not understand anything I learnt in class. When a teacher asked me a question, everyone laughed because my answers were always wrong.
At the end of the term, my report card ranked last. My parents could not read the comment on the report, they thought everything went well.
I literally lost tears but I did not give up easily. Apart from helping my mum in the farm garden, I committed all my remaining time to studies. I read a lot of textbooks. I consulted my teachers for help after hours.
Marks slowly improved My marks and academic performance slowly improved. I completed grade eight in 2015 with good grades on my certificate. Many people did not believe my academic performance for I was a village kid. They thought I would not get a secondary school offer.
But never at any point in time did my parents let me down. They had greater hope for me. They continued to motivate me when I lacked motivation, and pushed me forward when I fell back.
Waghi Valley Secondary School was far away from my village. I walked to catch the bus and the trip took around three hours. When I had no bus fare, I took the shortest route through the bush.
The bush track was not in good condition. It took me around six hours to reach school when I travelled by foot. During the highest rainfall around June, July and August, I had the most difficulties going to school. But I still managed to overcome them.
I successfully completed grade nine.
I thought I would do the same in the next academic year. Unfortunately, an election-related fight broke out. Some of our classrooms were burnt down. In fear, the teachers left school.
I was unable to go to school because the school was on my enemy’s land. The fight continued for two months, until the police came to solve it. Classes recommenced, but we had lost so much of our precious time to prepare for exams.
Piles of handouts, books Our teachers squeezed up everything. They gave us piles of handouts, old exam papers and reference books.
When I went home, I had no time for my friends and family. I sat in my room and studied. I had no proper light at night and used the old torch that my grandmother gave me.
In January 2018, the selection lists for grade eleven in various secondary schools in Jiwaka were posted at our district office. I checked for my name, but I couldn’t find it. My parents shared my pain.
A few days later, however, I received a phone call from my uncle in Port Moresby who told me I had been selected to do grade eleven at Sogeri National High School. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life. Everyone in my clan and tribe was so proud of me.
At Sogeri National High School I met new friends from across the nation. Some people were dark in colour (especially from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville), some were brown, others were white. Their cultures and lifestyles were so different and unique.
I faced many challenges academically and socially. Studying in a very demanding and competitive institution was the greatest challenge. Many students came from international and private schools with better grades. I was the smallest fish in a big ocean full of whales.
As the time went by, I started to make friends with everyone. I found that people were so kind, loving and caring. We built an unbreakable bond.
Scored high grades As a result, my mind settled. I fully focused on school. Suddenly my marks improved. I scored very high grades which boosted me to study extra hard. Unexpectedly, I secured the top placing across all subjects.
At the end of the year, I topped the school. I was awarded the dux of humanities and social sciences. It was something beyond my expectation.
I was accepted to study business management and accounting at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) — it is what my parents dreamed of and wanted for me. I’m now grateful to be a final year economics student here at the university.
If it wasn’t for the commitment, sacrifices, courage and priceless advice of my beloved parents, I would not have come this far. I owe the greatest debt of gratitude to my parents.
If I’m lucky enough to become successful with riches one day, I will establish a school back in my remote village to make sure my younger siblings and those generations that will come may not face the problems I once faced.
Robert Mek is a final year economics undergraduate at the University of Papua New Guinea. This article was first published on the Australian National University’s DevPolicy Blog and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. The writing was undertaken with the support of the ANU-UPNG Partnership, an initiative of the PNG-Australia Partnership, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Australia’s Medicare billing system is overly complicated, bureaucratic and not meeting the needs of a modern health service, potentially leaking billions of dollars. But claims this loss is mostly due to fraudulent billing practices by GPs are inaccurate.
In October, the ABC’s 7.30 program and the Nine newspapers raised concerns about an estimated A$8 billion in Medicare waste, caused by a mixture of doctors’ errors, over-servicing and outright fraud. The examples given, however, were almost exclusively intentional fraud, mainly in general practice. This promoted health minister Mark Butler to commission an independent review, led by Dr Pradeep Philip.
The Philip review, released earlier this month, was highly critical of the current Medicare system and found non-compliance and fraud accounted for $1.5 to $3 billion of Medicare waste.
Our research team analysed GP activity recorded during almost 90,000 patient encounters to assess how GPs were billing for the services they provided.
We found GPs undercharged at 11.8% of encounters and overcharged at 1.6%. This suggests GPs aren’t routinely defrauding Medicare, and in fact have saved the system equivalent to $351 million in the 2021-22 financial year.
However, we agree the current billing system needs to be urgently reformed.
GPs claim a fee for service, called a rebate, which is a fixed amount ascribed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), based on the type of service provided.
There are nearly 6,000 MBS item numbers. GPs can charge for one or more MBS items for a patient service.
Around 90% of MBS items claimed by GPs are considered standard consultation items (surgery, residential aged care facility visits, home visits and so on), that are in four levels (A, B, C and D) which increase in length.
The cost associated increases with each level. An example of an error would be a GP accidentally charging for a Level C consultation (requires 20 minutes or longer; $76.95 rebate) when the visit only met the criteria for a Level B (less than 20 minutes; rebate of $39.75). An example of under-billing is when a GP is entitled to claim for a Level C but charges only a Level B.
An example of over-servicing is a pathology test for blood glucose level being repeated for the same patient at consecutive visits, where the patient’s condition did not warrant the second test.
An example of fraud would be claiming for a service that had not been provided.
Rebates are based on the time spent with the patient. Shutterstock
Examining doctors’ billing in the real world
The data we analysed in our peer-reviewed study were collected between 2013-2016 from nationally representative samples of GPs during 89,765 real-time encounters with their patients. The GPs recorded the start and finish time for each visit.
The Philip review did not try to quantify the amount of underbilling.
We decided to examine the billing data following the 7.30 Report/Nine news investigation, but the participants could not have been influenced by these reports as the data we used were collected prior to the ABC/Nine publications.
Why would doctors undercharge?
We theorised GPs were likely undercharging Medicare for two reasons:
1) while time is the predominant measure, GPs are likely to still consider content and complexity when billing standard Medicare items, rather than just billing according to the time spent with the patient
2) fear of triggering a professional services review (PSR) of their billing.
A professional services review can be triggered for a variety of reasons, for example, a GP has a higher proportion of longer consultations than might be expected. A professional services review involves an audit of the GP’s billing. It can potentially lead to a decision that can prevent the GP from being able to bill Medicare.
Last week, HealthED, a health education company, included three post-webinar questions on this topic in an online survey of 1,852 GPs from across Australia. Answering these questions was not compulsory.
The results showed most (83.3%) GPs consider the length and complexity of the consultation when billing Level C and D items, even though increased complexity is no longer required (since 2011).
More than half (60.3%) intentionally under-billed Medicare in the previous week.
The most common reasons for under-billing were:
they did not feel that the content of the consultation justified a higher MBS item (41.9%)
fear of triggering a professional services review alert (33.5%)
confusion around Medicare schedule criteria (30.8%).
These responses correlate with the findings from our nationally representative sample, which suggests GPs predominantly act with integrity, but also based on fear and confusion.
Time to reform Medicare billing
A simplification of the current very complex Medicare billing system would resolve a lot of waste through unintended errors. Reducing low value and unnecessary care is not a simple task as these are difficult to define, and often rely on situational judgement. When systems are no longer fit for purpose, they should be reviewed and revised, as the Philip review has recommended.
There are bad actors in every profession and those who “game” Medicare should be called out. However, the claims of widespread fraud have not been supported by our work or the Philip review.
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.
Underwater forests known as kelp have been sustaining people and cultures for millennia. However, most of us are only vaguely aware of the vibrant masses of seaweed hugging the ocean shores around Earth. Furthermore, we don’t realise how valuable and necessary they really are.
In a new study published today in Nature Communications, we have produced the first global estimate of the economic value of kelp forests – revealing they provide hundreds of billions of dollars in value to humans across the world.
A human history of kelp
Along the Pacific, kelp harvest has long played an important role in Asian societies. In Japan, seaweed was among the marine products people could use to pay taxes, according to a law code from the year 701.
In Medieval Europe, kelp was used to fertilise soil and increase crop yields, to treat goitre, and was used to fortify building materials for centuries. In the 21st century kelp forests have become the main source for alginate, a common food and medical additive.
A marine marvel, hidden kelp forests spread across almost one third of our world’s coastlines and lie within 50km of 740 million people. If you live in London, Tokyo, New York, Vancouver, Santiago, Cape Town, Los Angeles or Lisbon, you have one of these ecosystems on your doorstep.
Yet they tend to be forgotten or misunderstood. People often aren’t even aware of a kelp forest, and if they are, they might be most familiar with a pile of decomposing seaweed on the beach after a storm.
A kelp forest is a rich habitat, a provider of oxygen and a sequester of carbon. Andrew b Stowe/Shutterstock
This disconnect has real-world implications. Despite sitting next to some of the biggest research centres on the planet and likely covering more seafloor than any other biotic habitat, research and conservation of kelp forests is terribly behind other ecosystems.
This knowledge gap impedes desperately needed action and conservation. Kelp populations in northern California, Tasmania, and the Salish Sea have all but disappeared in living memory. Elsewhere, kelp populations have been continually declining over the last 50 years.
What we value and how we value it is actually quite a complicated process. And despite the fact we make value judgements over and over each day, we have a really poor understanding of something’s value if it doesn’t have a price tag on it.
Our natural world is perhaps the ultimate value provider – everything we do in our societies is ultimately tied to nature, ecosystems, and a healthy planet. But because these processes and benefits happen with or without humans, they are often taken for granted.
The seaweed we step over on our beaches is just a small fraction of the vibrant kelp ecosystems beneath the waves. Andrew Dawes/Unsplash
So, what is the ‘value’ of a kelp forest?
Our research has brought together data from all across our oceans to produce a global estimate of the economic value of kelp forest ecosystems. Looking at six key genera of kelp – Macrocystis, Nereocystis, Laminaria, Saccharina, Ecklonia, and Lessonia – and the potential economic value of the fisheries they support, the carbon they pull from the atmosphere, and the nutrient pollution they remove from the water, we found that kelp forests are valued at US$500 billion per year.
The highest of these values was the removal of excess nitrogen from the water, which can trigger blooms of algae, reduced water quality, and ultimately oxygen-depleted dead zones.
A close second was the fisheries values – kelp forests support some of our most iconic fisheries, including lobster and abalone.
Lastly, despite finding the carbon sequestration of kelp forests was comparable to other terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the economic value was much lower, as society has yet to place a high price on carbon. This finding suggests that carbon credits may not be an economic driver of kelp conservation, but kelp forests still play an important role in the blue carbon cycle.
When nature is treated as a freebie, where we can take what we want and not pay for the damages, this attitude has direct consequences; people and the environment suffer.
First, it can mean that people and government don’t see the value in protecting and restoring ecosystems. Second, development projects are able to destroy nature without compensating for those damages.
Lastly, it leads to poor management. How can we manage something if we cannot quantify it? Imagine if you didn’t know where your bank account was, or how much money was in it.
The battle to save our kelp forests is just getting started, and we need greater action to protect these intrinsically and economically valuable marine ecosystems.
That is why researchers like me have started the not-for-profit Kelp Forest Alliance, and have now launched the Kelp Forest Challenge, a global call to protect and restore 4 million hectares of kelp forest by 2040. This is a call for governments to meet their commitments to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and act now to save these ecosystems and #HelpTheKelp.
Aaron Eger is the Founder and Program Director of the Kelp Forest Alliance, a research driven not-for-profit organization. He is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales Sydney. The Kelp Forest Alliance is supported by the Nature Conservancy, The Banner Foundation, the Van Dyson Foundation, and UNSW Sydney.
Hanging over these is the Productivity Commission’s January 2023 assessment that what we’ve done with Australian education over the past decade has done “little, so far, to improve student outcomes”.
Education authors Tom Greenwell and Chris Bonnor agree. In an ambitious new report for education initiative Australian Learning Lecture, they offer a way forward.
They propose a framework for Australian schools to increase parental choice (including for religious-based schools) and improve the inequity that afflicts the system.
What’s the problem?
Greenwell and Bonnor say too many disadvantaged students are being concentrated into communities of disadvantage. This results in
unacceptable gaps in learning [that] separate disadvantaged students from their more privileged peers.
Since the introduction of government funding to non-government schools in the 1960s, we have seen an increased concentration of advantaged students in some schools, and the same for disadvantaged students. The OECD has been warning Australia about this for some time. But current policy settings offer little incentive for change.
As Greenwell and Bonnor argue, achieving our national educational goals is unlikely when:
we are stacking the odds against the children who have the least luck in terms of the circumstances they are born into.
There is also a conflict here with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms that education at least at primary level should be free and compulsory. Crucially, parents have “a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children”.
Australian non-government schools do provide opportunity for parents to exercise this right, but even the lowest level of fees charged by some Catholic system schools can still be beyond the reach of some parents.
As the authors note, this is not a problem for non-government schooling alone. Segregation within government schools exacerbates the situation. Selective schools (government schools that select students on their academic or performing arts ability):
draw in a high proportion of advantaged students, compounding the concentrations of the strugglers in comprehensive public schools.
Greenwell and Bonnor offer a five-point plan, the first three of which are relatively uncontentious.
First, they want to fully fund school entitlements under the so-called “Gonski model”. This would ensure all schools get the funding resources they need to deliver quality learning. Some estimates show government schools currently receive less than 90% of their entitlements.
Second, they call for a frank conversation on a new common framework for Australian education. This would include not only funding arrangements, but “commensurate obligations and responsibilities” on schools.
Third, convene a national summit at which “common interests are identified and areas of agreement are developed”. Greenwell and Bonnor are at pains to point out their suggestion is not to prescribe the total solution. Rather, they invite stakeholders to come together and design a system in which “equity and choice can be expanded in a win-win manner”.
A change to school funding
Greenwell and Bonnor’s fourth point is likely to be a catalyst for much debate: they propose full public funding for all non-government schools, within a commonly agreed regulatory framework.
Yes, this means non-government schools would be fully funded by the taxpayer. But they would not be able to charge their own fees.
The authors argue this would remove the fee barrier for non-government schools and open the possibility for any family to choose a non-government school without the impost of fees. It expands, rather than restricts, parental choice. And the bonus is non-government schools “could continue to apply enrolment and other policies necessary to promote their specific religious or educational ethos”.
If non-government schools don’t want to do this, they don’t have to, but there’s a catch. Schools that “continue to charge fees or reject inclusive enrolment obligations would no longer receive any public funding”.
Their fifth point is the creation of a new authority to oversee implementation and monitoring of the new framework.
The Albanese government has committed to “work with” state and territory governments to get every school “on a path to 100% of its fair funding level”, as per the Gonski model.
This will come under the microscope as the next National School Reform Agreement is developed. This ties school reforms to the funding the federal government provides the states and territories. The next agreement is due to begin in January 2025 and is currently the subject of a review.
Whole holding a national summit should be straightforward, a national common framework has substantially more barriers to overcome. The multiple sectors of education governance in Australia (state/territory, Catholic, independent), and the multiple legal instruments that govern them, make this very difficult, even from a practical perspective.
At the simplest level, education remains a state/territory constitutional responsibility that seems unlikely to be collectively ceded back to the federal government any time soon.
The idea that non-government schools would have to choose between government funding or charging their own fees is also likely to be politically difficult. This is not to say the proposal is far-fetched. UNESCO, in its Global Education Monitoring Report has noted
publicly funded education does not have to be publicly provided.
As the review into the next National School Reform Agreement gathers pace, Greenwell and Bonnor’s invitation is for us all to come together with a vision for something different in Australian education.
Certainly the evidence strongly suggests what we are doing right now is not working.
Paul Kidson 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.
As the strategic rivalry between the United States and China intensifies, the invitation to discuss participation in the AUKUS security agreement presents New Zealand with a potentially momentous decision: how best to secure its own strategic interests and values in the Indo-Pacific region.
AUKUS is the 2021 agreement between Australia, the UK and the US for the “exchange of naval nuclear propulsion information”. It has been presented as the foundation for an enhanced security partnership linked to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and a rules-based international order.
While it does not explicitly say so, the pact is a response to the perceived threat of China’s increasing assertiveness in the region. The Chinese government has condemned AUKUS as reflecting a “Cold War mentality”, involving a “path of error and danger”; it is a threat to both “regional peace” and the “international nuclear nonproliferation regime”.
As a first major initiative, Australia will buy at least three US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines by the early 2030s. By the mid-2050s, it will receive five or more new SSN-AUKUS submarines that combine US technology and a UK design. The cost of Australia’s nuclear submarine programme will be more than A$268 billion over the next 30 years.
AUKUS also envisages the sharing of information in cutting-edge defence technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum capabilities and cybersecurity. This is where New Zealand has expressed some interest at a so-called “pillar two” non-nuclear level.
Rational political decision-making involves choosing the best option among available alternatives, about which a certain degree of uncertainty exists. So, the question is: what is the most rational decision for New Zealand?
The argument for AUKUS
The claim that a new Cold War between China and the US is under way is shaped by the conviction that a rising great power is almost inevitably trying to displace the US as the dominant global power.
This is happening at a time when significant parts of international law are in free fall, globalisation is at risk of stalling, and the UN Security Council is increasingly unable to resolve critical problems.
A growing arms race and points of extreme geopolitical tension, from North Korea to Taiwan, highlight the need for an arrangement like AUKUS to provide a counterweight of like-minded partners to ensure greater stability.
In this climate, the argument goes, New Zealand’s preferred option of “hedging” between the superpowers has been squeezed. As a relatively small nation, it must now choose which side to support.
Given New Zealand’s history, liberal democratic values and existing security ties with the AUKUS partners, it makes sense for Wellington to align with the agreement’s long-term strategy to deter and contain China’s expanding military power.
Failure to do so risks New Zealand not having access to emerging state-of-the-art defence technologies.
The argument against AUKUS
The counterargument is that the Cold War analogy is inaccurate. The increasingly interconnected post-Cold-War era is fundamentally different from the period between 1947 and 1989, with its rival global economic systems and competing but comparable alliance systems.
The binary assumption that the fate of the Indo-Pacific will be largely shaped by the outcome of US-China rivalry – and by the capacity of the US and its closest allies to counterbalance Chinese ambitions in the vast Indo-Pacific region – is questionable.
Regional states such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and EU states like France and Germany, remain concerned about China’s assertive diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific. But they seem to have little confidence that AUKUS, a security arrangement involving three English-speaking states, is capable of a serious response in a region inhabited by billions of people.
Furthermore, while China’s global ambitions are real, they should not be over-hyped. The country’s impressive rise to superpower status has been built on full participation in the world capitalist economy and an outstanding trade performance. This has created a high level of economic interdependence for China and its trade partners.
Besides, AUKUS will not be able to do much in the short term to counter China’s designs on Taiwan. Despite the defence minister’s assurances, New Zealand’s participation would create real uncertainty about its independent foreign policy and its commitment to non-nuclear security in a region where many states have criticised AUKUS for fuelling nuclear proliferation.
Finally, the assumption that AUKUS is the only pathway to new military technologies overlooks Wellington’s already excellent bilateral ties with Australia and the US, its involvement in the Five Eyes partnership, and deepening links with NATO (including the prime minister’s planned visit to this year’s NATO summit).
On balance, we believe the evidence points to New Zealand’s interests and values being best safeguarded by maintaining a cautious approach to AUKUS.
We accept New Zealand shares a great deal with Australia, the UK and the US, and should not be “neutral” in the face of authoritarian pressures from China. We also agree New Zealand’s military should be fit for purpose.
However, it must be recognised New Zealand holds a distinctive worldview, one committed to defending an international rules-based order and to deepening it (through measures like UN Security Council reform) to enhance the security of all nations.
While it is correct in principle to explore talks about AUKUS, New Zealand should have no illusions about the huge implications such involvement would have for its vision of a fairer, more secure and nuclear-free world.
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.
A typical view on the Nullarbor Plain: an expansive, treeless landscape that captures the relentless dryness of Australia’s interior.Matej Lipar, Author provided
Australia’s western and eastern ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots, separated by a dry desert interior. Yet millions of years ago, many species roamed more freely between connected habitats across the continent.
Our new research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, provides insights into ancient climate change that shaped our modern landscapes and ecosystems.
We have developed a new way to reconstruct the timing of great drying episodes on the continents of our planet. This work helps to gain knowledge about drylands that are particularly impacted by current climatic stresses.
Billions of people live in drylands
Drylands cover almost half of Earth’s land surface and are home to around 3 billion people. Dramatic, record-breaking droughts are increasingly occurring around the globe.
As the driest inhabited continent, Australia (70% is considered arid or semi-arid) also faces many challenges, including droughts and bushfires. Understanding the history of dry regions and their response to past climate change is important to mitigate the impact of our warming planet’s future.
Hidden beneath the ‘rusty’ Nullarbor Plain, in ancient patterned beach sands, lie clues to past climatic disturbances that shaped our modern world. Iluka Resources, Author provided
Southern Australia’s Nullarbor Plain covers an area about the size of Great Britain (roughly 200,000 square kilometres). However, it is starkly different in almost every other aspect: extremely flat, very little rain, and almost no trees. These conditions and its size make the Nullarbor Plain a natural “biogeographic barrier”, separating rich and diverse ecosystems in west and east Australia.
Today, the dusty Nullarbor Plain bears little resemblance to its vibrant past. Before roughly 14 million years ago it was covered by ocean and host to reefs. More recently, it would have been a lush home to an exotic menagerie, including the world’s biggest cuckoos.
We know Earth is constantly evolving, but often have a poor idea of exactly when environmental changes occurred in the distant past. Fortunately, some minerals that record past climatic events can be dated.
For most people, rust is something they want to avoid, as it damages our cars, fences, and steel appliances. But rust can be useful in understanding climate change. In our work, we used an iron-bearing mineral called goethite – the main part of rust – to unlock the timing of drying on the Nullarbor.
We found goethite in rocks some 25 metres below the Nullarbor Plain. These rocks mark the past level of groundwater. By dating the age of the goethite minerals, we can understand how past groundwater levels shifted in response to climate change.
Scanning electron microscope images of iron-rich rocks used for our new research. The chemical and textural features of these rocks contain much information about the complex climatic history of the Nullarbor Plain. Maximilian Dröllner, Author provided
We fired a laser beam into tiny pieces of goethite, roughly the size of a grain of salt, to release their atomic building blocks. We then measured the helium isotopes – variants of helium – that had accumulated since mineral formation. This provided us with a type of “clock”.
We calculated groundwater drastically declined on the Nullarbor Plain between 2.4 and 2.7 million years ago – at the same time as a period of global cooling.
As the climate shifted, the drying changed the local ecosystems, effectively creating a wall for many species. As large swathes of Australia changed from forest to dry grassland, habitat and food availability shrunk for many species.
Significantly, this barrier cut the once continuous link between the species of southwest and southeast Australia.
Splitting of the species
The evolution of many familiar species was influenced by this separation. There is the yellow-tailed black cockatoo from southeast Australia with yellow cheeks, and Carnaby’s black cockatoo with white cheeks in the southwest. Genetically, these two cockatoos are close relatives, but today live thousands of kilometres apart.
A separated duo with a shared ancestry. Left, the Carnaby’s cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) and right, the yellow-tailed cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus). Modified after kookr/flickr and jean_hort/flickr. CC BY-NC
By studying minerals formed during groundwater decline, we improve our understanding of our continent’s past and its biosphere. These minerals form as a direct result of continental drying, often in sediment with fossils of interest.
Previously, we often relied on indirect information like the chemistry of marine sediments to date continental landscape processes.
Throughout its history, the Nullarbor Plain has undergone remarkable transformations: once an ocean, later a lush landscape, and now a dusty expanse where numerous species have dramatically separated. Maximilian Dröllner, Author provided.
More broadly, having information on the timing of past drying events could help test theories about human evolution too. Changing landscapes and extreme drying were likely important for our own species development.
Determining the timing of environmental change lets scientists see how these events have impacted biodiversity and species evolution over time. Studying the past is also vital to understand how Earth responds to climate change. If we understand how ecosystems dry out, we can develop strategies to limit the damage.
Maximilian Dröllner receives funding from Minerals Research Institute Of Western Australia.
Chris Kirkland receives funding from Australian Research Council and the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia.
Milo Barham receives funding from the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, collaborating with Iluka Resources Ltd. to investigate mineral sands, including on the margins of the Nullarbor Plain.
