Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Starling, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Sydney

Over thousands of years of firm friendship between humans and dogs, we have successfully created about 350 different breeds. We’ve relied on terriers for hunting, sheepdogs for herding, and all for companionship – but how much are dog personalities defined by their breed?

In a new paper, researchers from the United States zoomed into the genetic codes of more than 4,000 different dogs, and surveyed 46,000 pet owners. They identified many genes associated with behaviours typical of certain breeds, such as the tendency for terriers to catch and kill prey.

Their findings ultimately suggest the type of breed does indeed explain many aspects of a dog’s unique personality.

But dog owners also play an enormous role in shaping their dog’s personality – such as whether they’re playful, tolerant of others, attention-seeking or quick to bark. So let’s take a closer look at how you can raise a good canine citizen.

What the research found

Dog breeds are a fascinating window into selective breeding, and some behaviour patterns we see in different breed groups – for example, herding and retrieving – are difficult to explain. The new US paper gives us hints as to how some of those patterns may have emerged.

The researchers analysed DNA samples from more than 200 dog breeds. Based on DNA data, they managed to whittle these down to ten major genetic lineages, including terriers, herders, retrievers, sighthounds, scenthounds, and pointers/spaniels.

Each lineage corresponds to a category of breeds historically used for tasks, such as hunting by scent versus sight or herding versus protecting livestock.

This means breeds that are not closely related, but bred for the same purpose, may share common sets of genes. This has been very difficult to show in the past.

For example, the paper identifies herding breeds, such as Kelpies or border collies, as characterised by high “non-social fear”, which is fear of environmental stimuli such as loud noises, wind or vehicles. Terriers, such as Jack Russells, are characterised by high predatory chasing. And scenthounds, such as Beagles, by low trainability.

These align with what these dogs were bred for: herding breeds for their high environmental awareness and sensitivity, terriers for chasing and killing prey, and scenthounds for their independent focus on non-visual signals (scent).

Read more:
Is your dog happy? Ten common misconceptions about dog behaviour

The researchers take a more detailed look at herders, because of their easily identifiable and usually innate behaviour of herding.

Interestingly, the gene found to be common among sheepdogs – called EPHA5 – has also been associated with anxiety-like behaviours in other mammals, as well as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in humans. The researcher team says this might explain the breed’s high energy and tendency to hyperfocus on tasks.

What dog owners need to know

The fact dog behaviour varies with breed has generally been accepted among researchers for a while, to varying degrees. But it’s important not to discount how a dog’s upbringing can also shape their personality.

In fact, a different genetic study earlier this year suggested that while a dog’s lineage is one influencer of behaviour, it’s probably not the most important.

Those researchers stress that dog behaviour is influenced by many different genes that existed in dogs before breeds were developed, and these genes are present in all breeds. They argue modern breeds are mainly distinguished by their looks, and their behaviour is likely more heavily influenced by environmental factors such as upbringing and learning history, than genetics.

Read more:
Profound grief for a pet is normal – how to help yourself or a friend weather the loss of a beloved family member

So what does that mean for dog owners? Well, while a dog’s behaviour is influenced by its breed, there’s much we can do to shape a good canine companion.

This work is particularly important over the first one to two years of a dog’s life, starting with early socialisation when they’re puppies. They should be exposed to all the stimuli we want them to grow up accepting, such as kids, vehicles, other animals, pedestrian malls, weekend sport, travelling and grooming.

We then need to continue training and guiding dogs to behave in ways that keep them and others safe as they grow up. Just as human children and teenagers need guidance to learn how to make good decisions and get along with others, so our dogs need the same guidance through adolescence to adulthood (usually around age two).

While breed alone might not be a good predictor of the behaviour for any individual dog, it’s certainly sensible to pay attention to what breeds were originally bred for. The new study supports that sentiment. Those behavioural patterns that helped dogs do their original job for humans are probably still strong in the population.

That means if you already own backyard chickens or pocket pets such as rabbits, think carefully before adopting a terrier, and plan what you’ll do if the terrier wants to hunt your small animals.

If you live in the city or an apartment block where the environment is constantly busy, this is likely to be very challenging for a herding breed. And if you want a dog super responsive to you, scenthounds are probably not a great bet.

Selecting a dog that will work well with your lifestyle is a probability game. It’s perfectly possible to find a very responsive and trainable scenthound, or a terrier that can live peacefully with, for instance, pet rats.

But if that’s something you specifically need from a dog, play the odds by starting with a breed developed for that lifestyle. Then pour lots of time and effort into socialisation and training.

Dogs are mostly what we make of them, and they repay the effort we put into their behaviour tenfold.

Read more:
How hot is too hot? Here’s how to tell if your dog is suffering during the summer heat

Melissa Starling owns Creature Teacher, an animal behaviour consulting business.

– ref. Genetic research confirms your dog’s breed influences its personality — but so do you – https://theconversation.com/genetic-research-confirms-your-dogs-breed-influences-its-personality-but-so-do-you-196274

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Arnold Lohmeyer, Lecturer in Social Work (Youth), Flinders University

Content warning: this article contains explicit language.

School bullying is a huge and distressing problem. In 2015, 43% of Australian year 8 students experienced bullying each month. A 2022 Mission Australia survey of Australians between 15 and 19 found 47% were “extremely” or “somewhat” concerned about bullying.

The picture is similar overseas. In 2020, the World Health Organization reported one in three students around the world aged 11-15 years suffered bullying in the preceding month.

Despite all the research about bullying, it is rare to hear directly from young people about what bullying looks like in their everyday lives. A lot of school bullying research also relies on large-scale but shallow survey techniques.

In a new research project, I spoke to 11 young people in South Australia. Over multiple interviews and focus groups, I listened to their school bullying experiences. My approach gave young people time to think about and reflect on their experiences and provide deep insights.

My research

I asked two small groups of young people to talk with each other about what bullying and violence looked like in their school, how they define bullying and violence, and what could be done about it.

One group of young people came from a private high school and the other was from an alternative education program for disengaged young people. Some of the most striking things both groups discussed were the places and times where bullying happens.

This was not necessarily where adults or teachers expect it to happen.

Bullying happens in places where adults aren’t looking

Two students told stories about the secluded places in and around schools where bullying happens, as well as students’ creativity about finding them. As Drew* told me:

there’s a lot of places where you can go and you can’t be seen […] we literally kind of went around looking for all the places which were just really secluded in the school […] we found way more than we were expecting to. And then we just realised like, wow, it’s a lot of places where people could just do not good stuff here.

Similarly, Alex said bullying did not often happen in the schoolyard because “the teachers are around”.

But it can [happen] on social media, at say where people go to catch their buses after school and stuff, that’s really common […] after you leave the school gates. And everyone’s catching buses home and stuff in places where people drink alcohol obviously, the bay and in town that’s like really common.

But it can happen out in the open

Some participants talked about spaces in schools that encourage bullying or violence. These were public places, but did not necessarily have a teacher around. Two interviewees talked about “the spine”, a long corridor through their school. As Mason said:

there is a long hallway down the entire school […] And because the hallway that went through the school was only about, I’d say, four people wide […] they [bullies] would just line up and just try and bump people out of the way.

Owen noted that students were aware of the dangers of this area.

you see a group of kids come through the spine […] and you’d be like, ‘oh what’s happening?’, and they’d be like, ‘oh someone is gonna go start a fight over here, let’s go’, and then it’s just like, ‘oh ok’.

These comments show how the shape and size of spaces in schools can encourage bullying and violence. This suggests the planning and architecture of a school can make a big difference in bullying.

And it can even happen around teachers

Classrooms and schoolyards where teachers are present are expected to be safe spaces. But the young people in our research said bullying can be hidden by the expectation that young people should deal with these problems themselves, or that this behaviour is normal. As Owen explained:

if you’re a victim, it can and can’t be stopped. Like you can, you can stop it but like, it’s seen as [being] a pussy, if you’re going to go to the teacher all the time and be like, ‘This kid’s bullying me’. But like, you know, if a cunt is just being annoying, then just go. Go to the teacher and just be like, ‘Nah fuck that guy, like he’s being a dick’, like 24-7.

Although there did seem to be limits to students’ violence or bullying around adults. This is particularly the case in classrooms or alternative school spaces with lots of teachers and extra support around. As Drew described:

the point is, there are literally teachers around nearly everyone […] So, if you were going to bully someone in there, you’re literally a fucking idiot.

We need a better understanding of bullying

Young people in this research talked about how bullying is hidden by physical buildings and social expectations in schools. To tackle this problem, research and policy need to move beyond interventions just focused on individuals (that is, victims, perpetrators and bystanders).

We also need to listen closely to young people’s experiences of physical and social space. This could help us understand not only when and where bullying happens, but also why bullying is sometimes invisible to adults.

*Names have been changed

If this article has raised issues for you or your child, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

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

– ref. ‘There’s a lot of places where you can’t be seen’: how bullying can be invisible to adults – https://theconversation.com/theres-a-lot-of-places-where-you-cant-be-seen-how-bullying-can-be-invisible-to-adults-195926

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Mazzola, Lecturer Banking and Finance, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Wollongong

Anthony* (a friend) called a few weeks ago, deeply worried.

A deputy principal of a high school in Queensland, over the past year he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying cryptocurrencies, borrowing money using his home as equity.

But now all his assets, valued at A$600,000, were stuck in an account he couldn’t access.

He’d bought through FTX, the world’s third-biggest cryptocurrency exchange, endorsed by celebrities such as Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, basketball champions Steph Curry and Shaquille O’Neal, and tennis ace Naomi Osaka.

With FTX’s spectacular collapse, he’s now awaiting the outcome of the liquidation process that is likely to see him, 30,000 other Australians and more than 1.2 million customers worldwide lose everything.

“I thought these exchanges were safe,” Anthony said.

He was wrong.

Not like stock exchanges

Cryptocurrency exchanges are sometimes described as being like stock exchanges. But they are very different to the likes of the London or New York stock exchanges, institutions that have weathered multiple financial crises.

Stock exchanges are both highly regulated and help regulate share trading. Cryptocurrency exchanges, on the other hand, are virtually unregulated and serve no regulatory function.

They’re just private businesses that make money by helping “mum and dad” investors to get into crypto trading, profiting from the commission charged on each transaction.

Indeed, the crypto exchanges that have grown to dominate the market – such as Binance, Coinbase and FTX – arguably undermine the whole vision that drove the creation of Bitcoin and blockchains – because they centralise control in a system meant to decentralise and liberate finance from the power of governments, banks and other intermediaries.

These centralised exchanges are not needed to trade cryptocurrency, and are pretty much the least safe way to buy and hold crypto assets.

Trading before exchanges

In the early days of Bitcoin (all the way back in 2008) the only way to acquire it was to “mine” it – earning new coins by performing the complex computations required to verify and record transactions on a digital ledger (called a blockchain).

The coins would be stored in a digital “wallet”, an application similar to a private bank account, accessible only by a password or “private key”.

A wallet can be virtual or physical, on a small portable device similar in appearance to a USB stick or small phone. Physical wallets are the safest because they can be unplugged from the internet when not being used, minimising the risk of being hacked.

Before exchanges emerged, trading involved owners selling directly to buyers via online forums, transferring coins from one wallet to another like any electronic funds transfer.

Decentralised vs centralised

All this, however, required some technical knowledge.

Cryptocurrency exchanges reduced the need for such knowledge. They made it easy for less tech-savvy investors to get into the market, in the same way web browsers have made it easy to navigate the Internet.

Two types of exchanges emerged: decentralised (DEX) and centralised (CEX).

Decentralised exchanges are essentially online platforms to connect the orders of buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies. They are just there to facilitate trading. You still need to hold cryptocurrencies in your own wallet (known as “self-custody”).

Centralised exchanges go much further, eliminating wallets by offering a one-stop-shop service. They aren’t just an intermediary between buyers and sellers. Rather than self-custody, they act as custodian, holding cryptocurrency on customers’ behalf.

Exchange, broker, bank

Centralised exchanges have proven most popular. Seven of the world’s ten biggest crypto exchanges by trading volume are centralised.

But what customers gain in simplicity they lose in control.

You don’t give your money to a stock exchange, for example. You trade through a broker, who uses your trading account when you buy and deposits money back into your account when you sell.

A CEX, on the other hand, acts as an exchange, a brokerage (taking customers’ fiat money and converting it into crypto or vice versa), and as a bank (holding customer’s crypto assets as custodian).

This is why FTX was holding cash and crypto assets worth US$10-50 billion. It also acted like a bank by borrowing and lending cryptocurrencies – though without customers’ knowledge or agreement, and without any of the regulatory accountability imposed on banks.

Holding both wallets and keys, founder-owner Sam Bankman-Fried “borrowed” his customers’ funds to prop up his other businesses. Customers realised too late they had little control. When it ran into trouble, FTX simply stopped letting customers withdraw their assets.

The power of marketing

Like stockbrokers, crypto exchanges make their money by charging a commission on every trade. They are therefore motivated to increase trading volumes.

FTX did this most through celebrity and sports marketing. Since it was founded in 2019 it has spent an estimated US$375 million on advertising and endorsements, including buying the naming rights to the stadium used by the Miami Heat basketball team.

Such marketing has helped to create the illusion that FTX and other exchanges were as safe as mainstream institutions. Without such marketing, it’s debatable the value of the cryptocurrency market would have risen from US$10 billion in 2014 to US$876 billion in 2022.

Read more:
Why sports sponsorship is unlikely to save cryptocurrency firms from ‘crypto winter’

Not your key, not your coins

There’s an adage among crypto investors: “Not your key, not your coins, it’s that simple.”

What this means is that your crypto isn’t safe unless you have self-custody, storing your own coins in your own wallet to which you alone control the private key.

The bottom line: crypto exchanges are not like stock exchanges, and CEXs are not safe. If the worst eventuates, whether it be an exchange collapse or cyber attack, you risk losing everything.

All investments carry risks, and the unregulated crypto market carries more risk than most. So follow three golden rules.

First, do some homework. Understand the process of trading crypto. Learn how to use a self-custody wallet. Until governments regulate crypto markets, especially exchanges, you’re largely on your own.

Second, if you’re going to use an exchange, a DEX is more secure. There is no evidence to date that any DEX has been hacked.

Lastly, in this world of volatility, only risk what you can afford to lose.

Read more:
Crypto: what could more regulation mean for the future of digital currencies?

*Name has been changed.

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

– ref. ‘I thought crypto exchanges were safe’: the lesson for everyone in FTX’s collapse – https://theconversation.com/i-thought-crypto-exchanges-were-safe-the-lesson-for-everyone-in-ftxs-collapse-195800

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Green, Postdoctoral Fellow In Australian Sign Languages, The University of Melbourne

Some people are surprised when they first hear about Australian Indigenous sign languages.

While the broader community is increasingly aware of the richness of First Nations spoken languages, sign has generally been below the radar until recently. Yet sign languages are widespread, culturally valued and of great antiquity.

Sign appears in records that go back to the early days of colonisation. Some even speculate that the handshapes found in some forms of rock art in Australia and other parts of the world may be evidence of age-old forms of signing or signalling.

Indigenous sign languages are mainly used by hearing people. They vary across the country, and there are differences in the size of their vocabularies, with an upper limit of well over 1,000 signs, as Adam Kendon found for the Warlpiri people from the Tanami Desert.

People in the Gurindji community of Kalkaringi in northern Australia call their sign language “Takataka”.

Takataka is used across the generations, and young children learn some signs and simple sign phrases before they talk. Sign is used to show respect for particular kin relations.

In times of bereavement or “sorry business” certain relatives of the deceased observe bans of silence. Gurindji wangu (widows) sign to metaphorically “keep the volume down” by not talking.

Sign is useful when hunting, not because wild animals are dangerous for humans, but because speaking could scare them off. Sign is also used when people are visible to each other yet out of hearing range, for example to communicate between people in cars about who is going where.

Documenting Gurindji sign language

Between 2016 and 2018, we worked closely with the local art centre, Karungkarni Art, to make video documentations of Takataka. Our recently published study is the first description of Gurindji sign.

We also made educational resources for signs. We created a set of posters and a series of short films for ICTV.

One of the posters illustrates some common kin signs. The sign for ngaji (father, also used for some aunts, nephews and nieces) is formed by touching the chin.

The sign for ngumparna (husband) and mungkaj (wife) is formed by touching the back of one hand with the palm of the other.

Apart from signs for people there are signs for plants, animals, and places, as well as signs for recent phenomena such as police and money.

Read more:
The 14 Indigenous words for money on our new 50 cent coin

Signs of the times

Pointing is another important part of the communicative toolkit at Kalkaringi, and it almost always accompanies discussions of locations, both near and far. People point in the correct direction, even to places out of sight.

Using accurate pointing to locate places and objects is also reflected in the spoken language. As is the case for many other Indigenous peoples, Gurindji speakers use the cardinal terms north, south, east and west to describe where things are, rather than the words left and right. It is not uncommon to hear sentences like “The flour is to the west of the sugar on the shelf”.

Another way the Gurindji demonstrate their anchoring in the world is in their signs for time. Relating times of day to the position and path of the sun is one time-reference strategy found in some sign languages of the world. Other sign languages may use the front and back of the body, or its left and right sides to distinguish past and future.

In Takataka, “tomorrow” is signed with an arced movement of the hand from east to west, as if tracking the sun and fast forwarding through the day. “Yesterday” is signed with a similar arc sweeping from west to east – a “day in reverse”.

Other Gurindji signs, and signs from other language groups, can be found on iltyem-iltyem, a website dedicated to the signing practices of Indigenous peoples from across Central and Northern Australia.

Diversity of sign languages

Takataka is not related to Auslan, the most widespread deaf community sign language used in Australia. However, some influences from Auslan can be seen in recent innovations to Gurindji sign.

One mother of a deaf Gurindji child told us how lucky she was to discover pictures of Auslan fingerspelling in the telephone directory in the early 1990s. The mother learnt the system herself and then went on to teach her child and their classmates.

The study of Australian Indigenous sign languages contributes to the worldwide picture of diversity in sign languages and shows how the human genius for communication enlists useful resources to fulfil changing needs.

Change and innovation is a characteristic of all human languages, signed languages being no exception.

Read more:
The origins of Pama-Nyungan, Australia’s largest family of Aboriginal languages

Jennifer Green received funding from an ARC (Australian Research Council) Fellowship (DE160100873), and from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL) (CE140100041).

Felicity Meakins received funding from an ARC (Australian Research Council) Fellowship (FT170100042), and from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL) (CE140100041).

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

– ref. Tradition and innovation: how we are documenting sign language in a Gurindji community in northern Australia – https://theconversation.com/tradition-and-innovation-how-we-are-documenting-sign-language-in-a-gurindji-community-in-northern-australia-194524

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Maguire, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of Newcastle

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong chose Human Rights Day to announce Magnitsky-style sanctions against 13 Russian and Iranian individuals and two entities, in response to egregious human rights abuses.

Wong has described these sanctions as a means of holding human rights abusers to account, in situations where dialogue has proven ineffective.

What are Magnitsky sanctions?

Magnitsky sanctions are named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was killed in prison for exposing corruption. Unlike more traditional sanctions targeting nation states, Magnitsky sanctions freeze the assets of targeted individuals and prevent them from travelling freely.

Sanctions are a well-known tool of the modern international legal system. They are referenced in Article 41 of the United Nations Charter, in the context of the Security Council’s role to protect international peace and security.

The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon the Members of the United Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.

The trade and financial embargo imposed on Iraq following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait was a prominent example of such sanctions. But sanctions against nation states may be blunt instruments impacting far beyond those responsible for violations of international law. The sanctions against Iraq under Saddam Hussein had dire humanitarian impacts for the Iraqi population.

Magnitsky sanctions are novel in comparison – they target individuals and entities accused of perpetrating human rights abuses. The goal is to have a deterrent effect on the type of human rights abuser who funnels and flaunts wealth around the globe and offers support to corrupt and aggressive regimes.

Human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson has described Magnitsky sanctions as a “Plan B” for human rights. He envisages widespread cooperation among nation states to ostracise “people obnoxious enough to bear responsibility for torture and mass murder or for making massive profits out of child labour or modern slavery”. He writes:

International criminal law may not work well, but lists of particularly bad people, declared as such by tribunals of like-minded nations, checking and adopting each other’s decisions, would produce an international rogues’ gallery of people and companies to be denied entry and denied access to services and financial facilities.

Magnitsky sanctions under Australian law

The Australian government has had the power to issue autonomous sanctions since parliament passed the Autonomous Sanctions Act in 2011. These are sanctions imposed by Australia unilaterally, rather than through the United Nations.

In 2021, parliament amended this legislation to include Magnitsky-style sanctions powers.

These new powers permit the Australian government to issue “thematic sanctions”. These are sanctions that target particular issues, including serious human rights abuses, threats to international peace and security, and malicious cyber activities.

Australia first imposed Magnitsky sanctions in March this year. These targeted 39 Russian individuals who Australia held responsible for the corruption that Magnitsky exposed or for his torture and death.

But earlier this week, Australia was criticised for failing to use its Magnitsky powers since the initial announcement in March. Human Rights Watch called on Australia to coordinate with other nations and ensure the widest possible net is cast around human rights abusers.

Targets of Australia’s second round of Magnitsky sanctions

Australia’s Consolidated List of targets has not yet been updated to show all those sanctioned on December 10.

Wong noted some targets are complicit in the oppression of the people of Iran and recent violent crackdowns on protesters. Six Iranian individuals have been sanctioned, including Hossein Ashtari – commander-in-chief of the Iranian police. Australia also sanctioned the Basij Resistance Force and Iran’s hardline “morality police”.

Read more:
What are Iran’s morality police? A scholar of the Middle East explains their history

Other targets include seven individuals Australia identifies as connected to the attempted assassination of Russian former opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

Beyond the human rights context, Australia is also targeting Iranian individuals and entities supplying drones to Russia for use in its illegal war in Ukraine.

Wong said:

The Australian Government calls on countries to exert their influence on Russia to end its illegal, immoral war. Australia stands with the people of Ukraine and with the people of Iran. We employ every strategy at our disposal towards upholding human rights – ranging from dialogue and diplomacy to sanctions – consistent with our values and our interests.

What can Magnitsky sanctions achieve?

The United States passed the first Magnitsky law in 2012. This first law was Russia-focused, but it was followed in 2016 by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Sanctions have since been issued against numerous targets from several countries.

One identified benefit is the capacity to target individuals without rupturing relations with their home state.

Complementary laws were subsequently passed by Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. One strategy of the Magnitsky sanctions regime is to build a cumulative effect, with multiple countries sanctioning the same targets to effectively constrain their finances and movement.

Most of these laws are very new. It is too early to judge how effective Magnitsky sanctions may prove to be. One obvious benefit to thematic sanctions is that they can allow swifter action in response to human rights abuses. When a country like Australia has a thematic sanctions regime in place, it can act simply by adding new names as appropriate.

But the focus on individuals rather than nation states does not protect the implementing state from political repercussions. Australia has been reluctant to impose sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It has been urged to join other countries in that context to shield itself from exposure to Chinese state reprisals.

Australia is clearly taking a cautious and incremental approach to its early use of Magnitsky sanctions powers. Human rights advocates will apply pressure on the Australian government to expand its ambitions.

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

– ref. Australia announces ‘Magnitsky’ sanctions against targets in Russia and Iran. What are they and will they work? – https://theconversation.com/australia-announces-magnitsky-sanctions-against-targets-in-russia-and-iran-what-are-they-and-will-they-work-196346

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

The federal government will provide up to $1.5 billion – to be matched by states and territories – for “targeted and temporary” relief on power bills for low and middle income households and small businesses.

Under a four-part package announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after Friday’s national cabinet, the assistance will be built into households’ bills rather than being a cash handout.

Albanese said this was so it was deflationary, rather than inflationary.

The help, lasting a year, will be delivered by states and territories.

It will go to people receiving Commonwealth income support, pensioners, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders, and those receiving Family Tax Benefit A and B. It will also be directed to small-business customers of electricity retailers.

‘Hundreds of dollars’ in bill relief

The government says it will provide hundreds of dollars in bill relief to eligible families and businesses.

Amounts will vary between jurisdictions, with details still to be worked out. “It will not be the same plan in each state and territory, given each of them have different systems,” Albanese told a news conference. Power prices are not as high in some jurisdictions.

After the details are signed off by national cabinet by March, the assistance will start in the second quarter of next year, as winter looms.

In other measures, the federal government will impose a 12-month gas price cap of $12 a gigajoule on new wholesale gas sales by east-coast producers.

Read more:
Will price caps on coal and gas bring power prices down? An expert isn’t so sure

There will be a mandatory code of conduct for the wholesale gas market that includes a “reasonable pricing” provision.

Federal parliament, which had finished for the year, will be recalled on Thursday to pass the necessary legislation.

NSW and Queensland will introduce a temporary price cap on coal used for electricity generation of $125 a tonne. Where the cost of production is higher, the federal government will provide support.

In a statement, Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the average family would be $230 worse off next year without the government’s energy price relief plan.

They said that combined, the gas and coal measures were estimated to:

• dampen predicted gas price rises by 2 percentage points in 2022-23 and 16 percentage points in 2023-24

• reduce the impact of forecast electricity price rises of 36% in 2023-24 by 13 percentage points – preventing the $230 increase an average household would have seen otherwise

• reduce expected inflation in 2023-24 by about a half percentage point.

Extraordinary times, and measures

Albanese said these were extraordinary times requiring extraordinary measures.

These are actions that wouldn’t have been contemplated by governments in normal times.

He hailed the agreement as an example of the “Commonwealth working hand in hand with states and territories”.

The deal has involved much wrangling with the NSW and Queensland governments, which stood to lose revenue. The NSW government, facing an election early next year, agreed to forgo royalties provided there was cost of living assistance.

Previously the federal government has resisted giving cost of living relief citing budget pressures as well as high inflation.

Albanese stressed the funding would not be inflationary.

The appropriate way to pay it is through state governments because that is how you take money off people’s bills, rather than provide cash payments. And that is important so that you have a deflationary impact, rather than inflationary.

Asked how much of the budget’s forecast two-year 56% rise in power prices the package would undo, Albanese said:

What it will do is put downward pressure on those increases which were envisaged.

He said there had already been some downward pressure as a result of the Commonwealth flagging it would act.

The final part of the package includes a capacity investment scheme agreed by energy ministers on Thursday, to ensure supply reliability. The federal government has agreed to underwrite investment in dispatchable renewable storage and generation.

Friday’s national cabinet was held virtually, with Albanese isolated at Kirribilli House with COVID.

Industry groups respond

The Business Council of Australia welcomed the help for households and small businesses. But it warned that “without careful management the long-term consequences of dramatic intervention could end up making the problem much worse”.

The Australian Industry Group described the deal as “messy but good for users”.

The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association’s chief executive, Samantha McCulloch, said: “A gas price cap will force prices higher for households and businesses because it will kill investment confidence and reduce future supply.

“This heavy-handed, radical intervention has been conducted with no prior consultation with industry to consider specific measures and warn of potential risks to Australia.”

Chalmers said it “was a pretty remarkable effort by Albanese to line all that up from iso”.

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

– ref. Power package: $3 billion for ‘targeted and temporary’ relief on bills – https://theconversation.com/power-package-3-billion-for-targeted-and-temporary-relief-on-bills-196292

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Courtney Walton, Research Fellow & Psychologist, Mental Health in Elite Sports, The University of Melbourne

Throughout history, sports have been guilty of prioritising certain groups at the exclusion of others. There has been a pervasive idea that being an athlete requires the demonstration of traditionally masculine traits. Any individual not doing so was, and often still is, susceptible to being harassed, sidelined, or ostracised.

Indeed, femininity has historically been considered nonathletic. Research finds some athletes describe a perception that being a “woman” and an “athlete” are almost opposing identities.

For these reasons and more, women’s sport has been held back in ways that men’s sport has not. While progress is certainly now being made, our new research, published this week, finds large gender gaps persist in sports research.

We found sport psychology research studies – which inform the strategies athletes use to reach peak performance – have predominantly used male participants.

For example, across the sport psychology research we looked at between 2010 and 2020, 62% of the participants were men and boys. Further, around 22% of the sport psychology studies we examined had samples with only male participants. In contrast, this number was just 7% for women and girls.

Women may experience sport and exercise differently from men. As in other areas of medicine, an evidence base that’s predominately informed by men’s experiences and bodies will lead to insufficient, ineffective outcomes and recommendations for women.

Some progress has been made

Progress in women’s sport is evident, and continues every year. Gender gaps across recreational and professional sport are slowly narrowing.

Girls’ involvement in sport continues to grow, with the number participating in high school sports in the United States increasing by 262% between 1973 and 2018. In Australia, participation in sport among women and girls between 2015-2019 grew at a faster rate than among men and boys.

Improved opportunity and exposure has also occurred in professional settings, and public interest has increased significantly. For example, the 2020 Women’s Cricket World Cup saw attendance records tumble, with the final played at the MCG in front of 86,174 fans.

Many sports now enter a complex new era of professionalisation, as we’re seeing in AFLW.

Despite positive trends, critical issues remain.

Read more:
The Tokyo Olympics are billed as the first gender equal Games, but women still lack opportunities in sport

Gender bias in research

Any growth in women’s sport must be supported by the underlying evidence base that informs it.

As mental health researchers in the field of elite sport, we aim to make real-world impacts through rigorous applied research. Our team has previously explored gendered mental health experiences among elite athletes, finding women report more significant symptoms of mental ill-health and more frequent negative events like discrimination or financial hardship.

Research like this is critical for informing the services and systems which support peak performance. But the research has to represent its target, or else progress will be limited.

It’s now well understood that the field of medical and scientific research is rife with examples of the ways in which unequal participation by gender has caused negative health effects. With men’s experiences and bodies considered the norm, inaccurate understanding of causes, tools, and treatments have been frequent.

Medical and scientific research in sport is not exempt.

Our findings

As sports become increasingly competitive and pressurised, sport psychology is critical to supporting athletes within these high-stress environments.

Following concerns about gender bias in scientific research, we wanted to understand whether the field of sport and exercise psychology was appropriately representative.

We recorded the gender of study participants across research published in key sport and exercise psychology journals in 2010, 2015 and 2020, to estimate gender balance over the last decade. This included studies on topics such as: physical and mental health, personality and motivation, coaching and athlete development, leadership, and mental skills.

Across more than 600 studies and nearly 260,000 participants, there were significant levels of gender imbalance.

This imbalance varied, depending on the area being investigated. While sport psychology research focuses on performance and athletes, exercise psychology is more focused on areas of health and participation. Our findings showed that the likelihood of including male rather than female participants in sport psychology studies was almost four times as high as for exercise psychology.

We also identified that those studies which specifically explored themes relating to performance (such as coaching, mental skills, or decision-making) all featured samples with fewer women and girls, as compared to those focused on topics like health, well-being, or activism.

What our findings mean

Our findings, along with those of others, hint at a number of worrying conclusions.

Women and girls in sport are likely to be instructed in strategies and approaches informed by research that does not sufficiently represent them.

Among many factors, topics like coaching methods, injury management, and performance psychology are critical to sports performance. For some or all of these, women athletes’ experiences may differ from those of men.

Changes to policy have made a significant difference to gender equity in sport. But researchers and funding bodies must follow suit, ensuring we develop the understanding and methods to properly represent all groups we seek to serve. Only then can women’s sport truly flourish.

Courtney Walton receives funding through a McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Melbourne. He advises a number of elite sports codes and organisations nationally.

Caroline Gao receives salary support from the Department of Health, State Government of Victoria for unrelated projects. She is an investigator on projects funded by NHMRC, NIH, HCF and MRFF. She is affiliated with Orygen and Monash University.

Simon Rice receives funding from the NHMRC, MRFF and The University of Melbourne. He advises a number of elite sports codes and organisations internationally.

– ref. New study reveals gender bias in sport research. It’s yet another hurdle to progress in women’s sport – https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-gender-bias-in-sport-research-its-yet-another-hurdle-to-progress-in-womens-sport-196027

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University

In a bid to arrest escalating power prices, Australia’s federal, state and territory governments have agreed to impose caps on the wholesale price of coal and gas.

Announcing the decision after National Cabinet met on Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said parliament would be recalled next week to pass the necessary legislation. He indicated there was enough crossbench support for this to be a formality.

There will also be $1.5 billion to subsidise electricity bills for households and small businesses. This will be administered by state and territory governments starting in April 2023, and for households it will be subject to means tests.

For the next year, coal used in Australia cannot be sold in wholesale markets for more than $125 a tonne. Gas used in Australia cannot be sold in wholesale markets for more than $12 a gigajoule.

At the time of writing, the short-term (spot) market price for coal at the Newcastle export terminal was $580 a tonne. Gas could be bought at the Wallumbilla hub near Brisbane for $22 a gigajoule.

With such a big gap between spot coal and gas prices and the announced caps, can we expect much lower gas and electricity prices?

In short, maybe or maybe not.

The aphorism “the devil is in the detail” is made for questions like this. This is because of the complex ways domestic coal and gas markets are linked to export markets, how supplies are contracted, and the lack of publicly available information on supply and demand in these markets.

Read more:
5 policy decisions from recent history that led to today’s energy crisis

Effect on coal price

The majority of Australia’s coal-fired electricity generators get their coal from nearby mines. Much of this coal cannot be exported, either because of its low quality (such as the brown coal of Victoria’s Latrobe Valley) or because the transport infrastructure doesn’t exist.

This “mine mouth” coal is therefore unaffected by export prices. Its price is based on extraction and delivery costs, plus a margin (of course). In all cases this is well below the $125 per tonne cap.

There are exceptions. Two of Queensland’s eight coal-fired generators – the government-owned Stanwell and the privately owned Gladstone – are supplied by mines able to divert some coal to export markets.

In NSW, coal from most of the mines that supply the state’s six coal-fired stations can, to varying degrees, be diverted. But much of this supply is already contracted for years ahead, so the export price is unlikely to be an accurate estimate of the price power stations will pay.

As best we know, only the Eraring station, near Newcastle in NSW’s Hunter region, is currently paying a price higher than the cap.

In the National Energy Market covering eastern Australia the price of the most expensive generator sets the price all generators receive. The coal price cap is therefore likely to make a difference to wholesale electricity prices when the Eraring power station is setting the market price.

This happens about 30% of the time, according to the publicly available data. So capping the coal price Eraring will pay much below what it is now paying could have a big effect on electricity prices.

But there’s a caveat. How will Eraring’s coal supplier respond?

Will it continue to supply coal at the lower capped price? Or will it decide to divert that coal to more lucrative export markets?

If the former, we can reasonably say the cap will reduce electricity prices.

If the latter, we could potentially be facing a supply crisis, with much higher electricity prices. If Eraring, the largest generator in eastern Australia, sits idle for want of coal to burn, more expensive gas generators (if available) will have to take its place.

Effects on gas price

What about gas? It’s a similar story to coal, although diverting gas to the export market is easier than for coal (because gas is much easier to move than coal and the pipeline network is much more extensive than the coal freight network).

As a result, domestic spot gas prices are more closely linked to export prices.

Like the coal price cap, the gas price cap is much lower than spot gas price. So the question is whether gas suppliers will sell uncontracted gas at the capped price, or politely decline.

The government hopes the Heads of Agreement with gas suppliers will ensure supply. It remains to be seen whether such a deal will ensure supply at a much lower price than we see in the gas markets today, at least for spot market purchases.

Read more:
Hey minister, leave that gas trigger alone – it may fire up a fight with foreign investors

Imperfect information

None of this is to suggest the decision to impose price caps is necessarily flawed.

I do not have the necessary information about the existing situation, or accurate foresight of what lies ahead, to pass a categorical judgement. Presumably neither do any of our governments. None of us can confidently predict success or failure.

At the media briefing to announce the policy, Albanese was asked to quantify the effect on prices. He wisely refused to name a number, but insisted the policy would place “downward pressure” on prices. Presumably the government intends that the rebates (to be funded by federal taxpayers and the jurisdictions) will kick in if the wholesale caps don’t work as hoped.

Are there obviously better solutions?

Orthodox economists would suggest these challenges should be handled outside the market (for example through coal and gas export taxes, which would provide income to bail out exposed customers).

Sounds easy, but here too many devils lurk in the details.

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

– ref. Will price caps on coal and gas bring power prices down? An expert isn’t so sure – https://theconversation.com/will-price-caps-on-coal-and-gas-bring-power-prices-down-an-expert-isnt-so-sure-196277

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ashwin Swaminathan, Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University Medical School, Australian National University

Like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Obrador before him, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been infected with COVID for a second time.

In the middle of this year’s fourth Omicron wave, Albanese’s reinfection should not come as a surprise. Population antibody surveys have shown roughly half of Australian adults had had COVID at least once by mid-2022.

With Christmas parties and much-needed holidays beckoning, how much effort should we be putting in to avoid COVID a second (or third) time?

Studies suggest we should care about this, as each reinfection can increase the risk of poorer health outcomes into the future.

What are the risk factors for reinfection?

The United Kingdom’s COVID Infection Survey recently published an analysis of people testing positive for COVID again between June and October 2022, when the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants were circulating widely.

They found reinfection rates were higher in those who had a very mild initial bout of illness and who’d had their second or third vaccine more than 90 days prior (suggesting waning immunity).

Interestingly, they also found reinfection rates were higher 14 days or more following a fourth vaccine dose than they were 14–89 days after a third dose. This is likely related to the qualification for the additional dose being an older and more chronically unwell population, compared with the three-dose regime recommended for a broader (healthier) population.

Read more:
If you think scrapping COVID isolation periods will get us back to work and past the pandemic, think again

What are the health risks of reinfection?

For most viral infections (such as chickenpox or measles), when we get infected a second or further time, the symptoms and complications are fewer (or absent altogether) compared with the initial illness. This is due to the body’s long-lasting and protective immune system responses.

Whether this holds true for infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) has been an open question due to its immune-evading ability, made possible by rapidly emerging mutations. The Australian government has just released its issues paper as part of its inquiry into long COVID and repeated COVID infections.

Research published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine offers the best evidence to date on the health risks of COVID reinfection.

These researchers used the enormous US Department of Veteran’s Affairs national database to compare around 440,000 veterans who had one infection with around 40,000 who’d had two or more infections. They also compared them against an uninfected control group (around 5 million people).

They found the reinfected people had a higher risk of poor health – from death and hospitalisation from any cause, through to fatigue and organ-specific issues (respiratory and heart health, neurological problems, mental health and digestive issues).

Read more:
Even mild COVID raises the chance of heart attack and stroke. What to know about the risks ahead

What’s more, the risk increased with each new infection. So, those who’d had three infections had worse health outcomes compared with those who’d had COVID twice. And the latter group had worse health than those who’d only been infected once.

The link with worse outcomes was strongest in the first 30 days after their reinfection but was still evident six months later. Many of these persisting ailments, such as fatigue, poor concentration or breathlessness, are consistent with what we call long COVID syndrome.

It is important to note this research, though large and with important findings, is based on a US veteran population that is predominantly male, older (average age 60) and white. This means there will be differences in underlying health conditions and vaccination coverage compared with the wider population.

Read more:
When does COVID become long COVID? And what’s happening in the body when symptoms persist? Here’s what we’ve learnt so far

Bottom line

These studies don’t mean that people feel sicker with the reinfection episode compared with their first – the severity of illness is related to the particular COVID variant, how much virus got into your respiratory tract (“the dose”) and your vaccination status. In many cases, the subsequent infection is “milder” than the initial one.

However, the Nature study does suggest repeated COVID infection can trigger a wide range of health problems down the track through biological pathways that scientists are still trying to unravel. So, getting infected again is best avoided.

Get yourself up-to-date with COVID vaccinations. We know that vaccinations protect against severe COVID illness (needing to be in hospital for oxygen or dying from COVID pneumonia). They also provide some modest protection against reinfection.

With the current wave of infections, be sensible in crowds and public transport and wear a mask. Protect vulnerable contacts, such as the elderly or immunosuppressed, by staying away if you have symptoms.

The end-of-year party and holiday season will bring more invitations to social events and travel. Taking sensible precautions to prevent reinfection will protect our future health.

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

– ref. There are still good reasons to avoid catching COVID again – for one, your risk of long COVID goes up each time – https://theconversation.com/there-are-still-good-reasons-to-avoid-catching-covid-again-for-one-your-risk-of-long-covid-goes-up-each-time-196041

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University

A photograph taken by NASA’s Orion spacecraft has given us a new perspective on our home planet.

The snap was taken during the Artemis I mission, which sent an uncrewed vehicle on a journey around the Moon and back in preparation for astronauts’ planned lunar return in 2025.

We get pictures of Earth every day from satellites and the International Space Station. But there’s something different about seeing ourselves from the other side of the Moon.

How does this image compare to other iconic views of Earth from the outside?

Earthrise

In December 1968, three astronauts were orbiting the Moon to test systems in preparation for the Apollo 11 landing. When they saw Earth rise over the lunar horizon, they knew this was something special. The crew scrambled to find colour film in time to capture it.

Photographer Galen Rowell called the resulting image “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken”.

Six years earlier, biologist Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring drew public attention to how human industries were harming terrestrial ecosystems. The book ignited the environmental movement and laid the ground for the reception of Earthrise.

The economist Barbara Ward, author of Spaceship Earth and one of the founders of sustainable development, said:

Above all, we are the generation to see through the eyes of the astronauts the astonishing ‘earthrise’ of our small and beautiful planet above the
barren horizons of the moon. Indeed, we in this generation would be some
kind of psychological monstrosity if this were not an age of intense, passionate, committed debate and search.

She saw Earthrise as part of the underpinning of a “moral community” that would enable a more equitable distribution of the planet’s wealth.

Blue marble

The last Apollo mission took place in 1972. On their way to the Moon, the astronauts snapped the whole Earth illuminated by the Sun, giving it the appearance of a glass marble. It is one of the most reproduced photographs in history.

Like Earthrise, this image became an emblem of the environmental movement. It showed a planet requiring stewardship at the global scale.

Read more:
The first photograph of the entire globe: 50 years on, Blue Marble still inspires

The Blue Marble is often used to illustrate the Gaia hypothesis, developed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the 1960s and ’70s. The hypothesis proposes that Earth is a complex self-regulating system which acts to maintain a state of equilibrium. While the theory is not widely accepted today, it provided a catalyst for a holistic approach to Earth’s environment as a biosphere in delicate balance.

The impression of a single, whole Earth, however, conceals the fact that not all nations or communities are equally responsible for upsetting the balance and creating environmental disequilibrium.

Pale blue dot

Our farthest view of Earth comes from the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1990. At the request of visionary astronomer Carl Sagan, it turned its camera back on Earth for one last time at a distance of 6 billion kilometres.

If Blue Marble evoked a fragile Earth, Pale Blue Dot emphasised Earth’s insignificance in the cosmos.

Sagan added a human dimension to his interpretation of the image:

Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you’ve ever heard of, every human being that ever was, lived out their lives.

Rather than focusing on Earth’s environment, invisible from this distance, Sagan made a point about the futility of human hatred, violence and war when seen in the context of the cosmos.

Tin can, grey rock, blue marble

Now, on the cusp of a return to the Moon 50 years after Blue Marble was taken, the Orion image offers us something different.

Scholars have noted the absence of the photographer in Earthrise, Blue Marble and Pale Blue Dot. This gives the impression of an objective gaze, leaving out the social and political context that enables such a photograph to be taken.

Here, we know what is taking the picture – and who. The NASA logo is right in the centre. It’s a symbol as clear as the US flag planted on the lunar surface by the Apollo 11 mission.

The largest object in the image is a piece of human technology, symbolising mastery over the natural world. The spacecraft is framed as a celestial body with greater visual status than the Moon and Earth in the distance. The message: geopolitical power is no longer centred on Earth but on the ability to leave it.

Elon Musk sent an identical message in photographs of his red Tesla sportscar, launched into solar orbit in 2018, with Earth as the background.

Read more:
A sports car and a glitter ball are now in space – what does that say about us as humans?

But there’s a new vision of the environment in the Orion image too. It’s more than the whole Earth: it shows us the entire Earth–Moon system as a single entity, where both have similar weighting.

This expansion of the human sphere of influence represents another shift in cosmic consciousness, where we cease thinking of Earth as isolated and alone.

It also expands the sphere of environmental ethics. As traffic between Earth and the Moon increases, human activities will have impacts on the lunar and cislunar environment. We’re responsible for more than just Earth now.

Our place in the cosmos

Images from outside have been powerful commentaries on the state of Earth.

But if a picture were able to bring about a fundamental change in managing Earth’s environment and the life dependent on it, it would have happened by now.
The Orion image does show how a change of perspective can reframe thinking about human relationships with space.

It’s about acknowledging that Earth isn’t a sealed spaceship, but is in dynamic interchange with the cosmos.

Alice Gorman is a member of the Advisory Council of the Space Industry Association of Australia and Co-Chief Investigator of the International Space Station Archaeological Project.

– ref. Looking back from beyond the Moon: how views from space have changed the way we see Earth – https://theconversation.com/looking-back-from-beyond-the-moon-how-views-from-space-have-changed-the-way-we-see-earth-195650

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keiran Hardy, Senior Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

At the National Press Club this week, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil flagged that Labor would propose changes to Australia’s counter-terrorism laws. She cited an increase in diverse threats beyond religious fundamentalism, a trend towards lone-actor, low-sophistication attacks, and more younger people being radicalised.

Specifically, she referred to the threat of right-wing extremism, which in 2021 was approaching 50% of ASIO’s caseload. She did not suggest the laws will be “overhauled”.

However, O’Neil hinted that changes to criminal law could target specific ways that extreme right-wing groups organise themselves compared to groups such as al-Qaeda or Islamic State.

Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Australia has enacted at least 96 counter-terrorism laws, amounting to more than 5,500 pages of legislation. So do we need any more laws, or changes to existing laws, to combat right-wing terrorism?

Australia’s counter-terrorism laws

Australia has the largest collection of counter-terrorism laws in the world. This reflects a strong belief in legality: that powers and offences should be written into the statute books and not be left to arbitrary executive power. But it also shows how readily Australian governments have responded to evolving threats with ever-increasing powers.

Our counter-terrorism laws contain countless criminal offences and powers of surveillance, interrogation and detention. As an example, a control order can require a child as young as 14 to obey a curfew and wear an electronic monitoring bracelet to protect the public from a terrorist act or prevent support for terrorism.

Read more:
Before 9/11, Australia had no counter-terrorism laws, now we have 92 — but are we safer?

Most of the offences and powers rely on a broad statutory definition of terrorism. A “terrorist act” means harmful conduct or a threat that aims to: (1) advance a political, religious or ideological cause; and (2) intimidate a government or section of the public.

Importantly, this definition is ideologically neutral – as are all the laws. They do not mention Islamist or right-wing terrorism.

The laws apply equally to these and other terror threats, no matter the ideology. A white supremacist who prepares or commits a terrorist act faces life imprisonment in the same way as a religious fundamentalist.

What changes might be made?

We won’t know the details of Labor’s proposed changes until next year.

The government might ask parliament to tweak the definition of a “terrorist organisation” in Division 102 of the federal Criminal Code. A terrorist organisation is one that is directly or indirectly preparing a terrorist act (or that advocates a terrorist act).

Various offences stem from this definition. It is a crime, for example, to recruit for a terrorist organisation or be a member of one.

The Australian government maintains a list of proscribed (banned) terrorist organisations. Of the 29 currently listed, only three adhere to far-right ideology.

This reflects a longer history of Islamist terrorism, though Australia has also lagged our closest allies in banning right-wing extremist groups.

Read more:
‘It’s almost like grooming’: how anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and the far-right came together over COVID

Some features of these groups can make banning them difficult. Their membership structures, ideological demands and support for violence can be less clear compared to groups like al-Qaeda and Islamic State, which have committed and encouraged terrorist acts all around the world.

Right-wing extremist groups hold divisive rallies, exploit protests, spread racist sentiment and encourage hatred against minorities – but most of these acts do not constitute terrorism.

Expanding the definition of a terrorist organisation could capture right-wing extremist groups that are dangerous to society but do not obviously engage in or support terrorist acts.

Another possibility is that Labor could seek to ban Nazi and other hate symbols that such groups commonly use. New legislation in Victoria, which comes into force at the end of this month, makes it an offence punishable by 12 months’ imprisonment to publicly display the Nazi swastika (Hakenkreuz).

The state offence will not apply to the hundreds of hate symbols used by right-wing extremists, but it sends an important message that neo-Nazi ideology holds no place in Australian society. It provides a legal mechanism to counter threats of right-wing extremism in a way that the federal counter-terrorism laws currently do not.

Are changes needed?

Australia’s counter-terrorism laws are already extensive and apply to all types of terrorism, so no obvious strategic gaps need to be filled. If a criminal offence or power is needed to combat terrorism, Australia already has it and more.

Minor changes to Division 102 could target specific features of right-wing extremism compared to Islamist terrorism. Federal laws could supplement emerging state laws by outlawing hateful symbols used by right-wing extremists and other terrorist groups.

However, more right-wing groups could be proscribed under the laws as they currently stand. Decisive action to ban internationally recognised right-wing extremist groups, combined with a national inquiry into hate crime law and its reporting, would send a strong message. Australia’s extensive counter-terrorism laws need not be further expanded.

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

– ref. Does Australia need new laws to combat right-wing extremism? – https://theconversation.com/does-australia-need-new-laws-to-combat-right-wing-extremism-196219

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Thompson, Associate Professor of Media Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson’s announcement of planned legislation requiring big online platforms such as Google and Meta/Facebook to “pay a fair price” to New Zealand news media for their content was welcomed by many as much-needed support for local journalism.

But there are good reasons to be cautious. Such deals can lack transparency, provide few guarantees of where revenues go, and may offer little protection of the public interest.

The government’s move follows Australia’s 2021 News Media Mandatory Bargaining Code and Canada’s proposed Online News Act. Both require the online giants to reach compensation agreements with news providers or be subject to mediation or arbitration by state regulators.

The Australian model initially provoked Facebook into temporarily refusing to link to Australian news content. But it quickly capitulated, and the model has been hailed as a success in a Treasury review that cites over 30 commercial agreements. Some reports suggest the platforms will pay over A$200 million a year to the news sector.

There’s no question traditional media business models – particularly newspapers – have been eroded by advertising shifting online. According to New Zealand industry figures, newspapers enjoyed a 40.7% share of the total domestic advertising spend (NZ$606 million) in 2001. By 2011 this had declined to 26.7% ($582 million), and by 2021 it was just 10.4% ($331 million, including newspaper websites).

Digital advertising wasn’t even measured in 2001. By 2011, it represented 15.1% of New Zealand’s advertising turnover ($328 million) and by 2021 “digital only” accounted for 50.2% ($1.62 billion).

Where does the money go?

As governments have shown increasing resolve to intervene and ensure some of the digital platforms’ huge revenues are reinvested in content, the platforms have acted to limit the scale and scope of regulatory measures.

Google News Showcase, for example, now pays monthly fees to seven New Zealand news providers. Meta/Facebook, on the other hand, appears to be reducing its commitments to such deals.

Read more:
Canada eyes Australia’s media code to pay for news but wants more ‘transparency’

But these bilateral arrangements would seem to have superseded the Commerce Commission’s recent decision to authorise the News Publishers’ Association application to permit collective bargaining between local news media and the platforms.

In the US, similar bargaining provisions in the Journalism Competition and Preservation legislation appear to have been withdrawn following opposition from Facebook.

Given New Zealand’s proposed legislation is intended to incentivise such agreements, do these developments mean it’s too little, too late?

There are several limitations to “voluntary” payment arrangements, even with the prospect of a statutory shotgun wedding in the background. Although the Australian mandatory bargaining code appears to have driven payment agreements without resort to mediation, no minimum level of subsidy is specified. It only requires the platforms to negotiate in “good faith”.

Read more:
Local newspapers are vital for disadvantaged communities, but they’re struggling too

There is also little transparency in bilateral commercial agreements, and the outcomes depend largely on what the platforms themselves deem acceptable. Although larger news organisations might carry some weight in negotiations, smaller operators (if they’re covered at all) will likely be forced to accept whatever crumbs fall from the rich platforms’ table.

Perhaps most importantly, there is no guarantee any platform payments to news media will actually be invested back into public interest news content. There is nothing to prevent corporate shareholders pocketing the proceeds. Even if it is directed into news, it could merely subsidise partisan or populist reporting.

Where’s the public interest?

The policy principles underpinning mandatory bargaining need examining. Yes, the notion that the news sector deserves to be compensated is superficially appealing – commercial sustainability of the fourth estate is the policy rationale.

But determining the right level of compensation is complicated because the costs and benefits on both sides are so ambiguous.

News media provide content that generates audience traffic, but the platforms make that content discoverable and direct users to the source websites. Moreover, the decline in news revenues began before the ascendency of the platforms, and different platforms benefit differently from hosting and sharing news content.

Read more:
The old news business model is broken: making Google and Facebook pay won’t save journalism

The dominance of the platforms in monetising online traffic isn’t really based on their “poaching” of news; it’s their ability to harvest user data and their control of the algorithms governing online content discovery. Crucially, such considerations fall outside mandatory bargaining frameworks.

In this respect, commercial remedies focused solely on the news sector risk overlooking the wider issue. The public as a whole might merit compensation for the market failures and social harms inflicted by the way social media and content discovery portals operate.

The Australian Treasury review of the mandatory bargaining code acknowledged several public interest criticisms, but these were quarantined as issues that fell outside the scope of the policy.

Read more:
Chokepoint Capitalism: why we’ll all lose unless we stop Amazon, Spotify and other platforms squeezing cash from creators

Who gets the bargain?

But there’s another key reason to be cautious about mandatory bargaining legislation. Even if it did offer a modest benefit to local news producers, it would come with a significant political opportunity cost. In short, it would inhibit any move toward a more substantial regulatory framework – such as a digital services tax.

Such a model would arguably have a greater public benefit. That’s because an independent agency like NZ On Air could collect and disburse the revenue – ensuring the money supported public interest content.

If a digital levy was introduced on top of mandatory bargaining legislation, however, the platforms would claim – with some justification – they are being taxed twice.

At the same time, news media may well prefer a guaranteed direct subsidy from a platform funding agreement when the alternative is taking their chances with a larger but contestable revenue source like the Public Interest Journalism Fund.

The wrong legislation will make it more difficult to introduce wider regulatory measures to support the news media and protect the public interest. We should be careful we don’t get less than we bargain for.

Peter Thompson has previously received funding from:
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage,
NZ On Air,
The Department of Internal Affairs,
The Department of Canadian Heritage.

His is a board member of the Better Public Media Trust

– ref. Breaking news: making Google and Facebook pay NZ media for content could deliver less than bargained for – https://theconversation.com/breaking-news-making-google-and-facebook-pay-nz-media-for-content-could-deliver-less-than-bargained-for-196030

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Senior Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide

“Kneading” is when cats massage an object with the front paws, which extend and retract, one paw at a time.

This massaging action, named for its resemblance to kneading dough, is repeated rhythmically. You may have spotted your cat kneading and wondered how on Earth they developed such a behaviour.

So, why do cat’s knead? Does it tell us anything about how they’re feeling and is there anything you can do if they’re painfully kneading you while sitting on your lap?

Read more:
Do hypoallergenic cats even exist? 3 myths dispelled about cat allergies

The evolutionary background of kneading

Cats first begin to knead when just tiny kittens, still nursing from their mother. Kneading is associated with suckling, which helps stimulate a mother cat’s milk supply through the release of oxytocin and likely evolved for this reason.

Kneading also has another evolutionary advantage. It can be used as a form of tactile and pheromone communication between kitten and mother.

Cats have scent glands in their soft paw pads, and when they knead, these glands release pheromones (chemical messages used to communicate).

Kneading on their mother releases pheromones associated with bonding, identification, health status or many other messages.

One of these, known as “cat appeasing pheromone”, is released by the sebaceous glands round the mammary glands.

Pheromones are not only important for bonding between the mother and young. Cat appeasing pheromone also has the potential to treat aggression in mature cats.

If kneading is a kitten behaviour, why is my adult cat still doing it?

While kneading evolved to stimulate milk supply and express chemical and tactile messages between kitten and mother, it’s also a common behaviour in adult cats, because of something called neoteny.

Neoteny is when an animal retains their juvenile physical or behaviour traits into adulthood. It’s likely these traits are advantageous for cats when needing to socialise with humans and other cats or animals in the household.

Kneading, in particular, may be retained into adulthood because it can help communicate messages.

Kneading on your lap is a cat’s way of saying “we’re affiliated” or “you’re in my social group”. Or, to be very human about it, “you’re my person”.

We may also reinforce kneading by rewarding our cat with attention when they do it.

Some cats like to knead on soft or woollen blankets while also sucking on the material, as if from a teat. This may be relaxing or soothing for the cat because of this association.

What does kneading say about how our cats are feeling?

In most cases, kneading likely indicates your cat is comfortable.

However, if the kneading (and especially sucking) occur very frequently, for a long time, appear compulsive or are beginning to damage your cat’s paws, legs or mouth, it may be a sign your cat is stressed or in pain and needs to see a vet.

Kneading and sucking can become compulsive, a particular problem in Siamese and Birman cats.

Some cats don’t knead at all. Just like people, cats are individuals and like to show that they are comfortable or affiliated with you in their own ways.

Help! My cat kneading is hurting my legs

Kneading is a normal behaviour that may be an important part of your cat feeling bonded with you. If your cat’s claws are getting a little too involved for your liking then invest in a thick blanket that you can cover your legs with. Avoid telling them off or kicking them off your lap.

Instead, reward kneading where the claws are kept to a minimum by showing more attention via patting or handing out a food treat when your cat is kneading the way you would like them to.

You can even add in a cue to request the claws go away. Something short like “pads!” would be a good option. Simply associate the word and a food reward with the behaviour you want.

And if you need your cat more than they knead you, that’s OK too.

Read more:
Why does my cat kick litter all over the place? 4 tips from cat experts

Susan Hazel is affiliated with the Dog & Cat Management Board of SA, RSPCA SA and Animal Therapies Ltd.

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

– ref. Why do cats knead? – https://theconversation.com/why-do-cats-knead-192743

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Irene Gallego Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Genetics, The University of Melbourne

An encounter with a mysterious and extinct human relative – the Denisovans – has left a mark on the immune traits of modern Papuans, in particular those living on New Guinea Island.

This is a new discovery we describe in a study published in PLoS Genetics today. It further suggests that our modern human diversity didn’t just evolve – some parts of it we got from other, extinct human groups.

DNA from our evolutionary cousins

Humans are the only living species of the Homo genus. But until 50,000 years ago, our ancestors coexisted – and sometimes interacted – with multiple other Homo groups across the globe. Most of them we know only by sparse archaeological remains, which offer tantalising glimpses of our evolutionary cousins.

But for two groups there is something else: DNA. Thanks to technological advances, scientists have retrieved DNA from fossils and sequenced it. As a result, we now have complete genome sequences of the best-known archaic hominins, the Neanderthals, and a far more elusive group, Denisovans.

Read more:
Fresh clues to the life and times of the Denisovans, a little-known ancient group of humans

Although many Neanderthal fossils have been unearthed all over Europe since they were first identified in the 1860s, the number of known Denisovan fossils fits in the palm of a hand – literally!

The genome sequence we have comes from the smallest bone of a pinky finger. It belonged to the 60,000-year-old remains of a teenage girl from a cave in Siberia, the largest known Denisovan fossil until recently.

Traces of ancestors

These genome sequences have transformed the way we think about our extinct relatives. For one, they quickly demonstrated that as humans expanded outside Africa, we had sex – and children – with these other populations.

Traces of their genomes linger in individuals alive today, transmitted across hundreds of generations.

Read more:
Evolutionary study suggests prehistoric human fossils ‘hiding in plain sight’ in Southeast Asia

In the case of Neanderthals, these traces are in all individuals of non-African ancestry today. In the case of Denisovans, we find small traces of their genome in people from all over Asia – especially in Papua New Guinea, and in the island nations of Southeast Asia, where individuals may owe up to 4–5% of their genome to these ancestors.

But identifying these fragments of DNA in our genomes is only the beginning.

The DNA makes a difference

The real challenge is to find the biological consequences of this DNA for the people who carry it – which, it bears remembering, is the vast majority of humans. Our specific research question was to pinpoint the molecular processes that might be affected by its presence.

Studies of Neanderthal DNA have shown that genetic variants inherited from them can alter the levels at which some human genes are expressed, for example. We also know Neanderthals have contributed to our immune systems (including differences in how people respond to infection with COVID-19), and to variation in skin and hair colour.

Read more:
What teeth can tell about the lives and environments of ancient humans and Neanderthals

But it has never been clear whether Denisovan DNA has left similar trends in modern humans.

In 2019, a study revealed the genomic coordinates where Denisovan DNA might be found within the genome of Papuan individuals – that is, the indigenous people of New Guinea Island – alive today.

This led us to begin looking into these regions, to understand the cellular and biological processes that might be affected by Denisovan DNA. We took a hybrid approach to this question, making computational predictions first, and following up with laboratory-based experiments to validate our findings.

In addition, we took advantage of the known Neanderthal DNA within these people to highlight any Denisovan-specific contribution. This gave us a more integrated understanding of how encounters with these relatives left potential biological and evolutionary consequences in modern humans.

A unique Denisovan contribution

We noticed that in Papuans, Denisovan and Neanderthal genetic variants both occasionally occur within parts of the genome responsible for modulating the expression levels of nearby genes.

However, only Denisovan variants are consistently predicted to occur and affect elements controlling the expression levels of immune-related genes.

So, these different sources of DNA might contribute to the genetic and phenotypic diversity within Papuans in different ways.

To validate our predictions, we designed an experiment comparing five Denisovan sequences against their modern human counterpart, and tested their ability to actually affect gene expression levels inside a particular kind of immune cell known as a lymphocyte.

In two of the five cases, the Denisovan variants did have a measurably different impact on the gene expression levels than their modern human counterpart. And they impact genes known to be important players in the response to infectious microbes, including viruses.

The fact that Denisovans, but not Neanderthals, seem to have contributed to the immune systems of present-day Papuans, tells us something about these ancient people, too.

Although little is known about how widely through Asia Denisovans lived, it suggests their immune system changed to adapt to the infectious diseases of their environment.

When humans moved in 60,000 years ago, these bits of DNA likely contributed to our success in settling this part of the world.

While our study is the first to elucidate the contribution of Denisovan DNA within modern human genetic diversity, there are still exciting questions to address. In particular, it is not clear whether the overall contributions of Denisovan and Neanderthal genetic variants consistently differ from each other.

It is also important to note we tested genetic variants in immune cells under resting conditions. This means the same or other genetic variants might have different effects out in the environment – this will be an important question for studies in the future.

Read more:
First-ever genetic analysis of a Neanderthal family paints a fascinating picture of a close-knit community

Irene Gallego Romero receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Leakey Foundation, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the Royal Society of New Zealand and the French National Research Agency

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

– ref. DNA from elusive human relatives the Denisovans has left a curious mark on modern people in New Guinea – https://theconversation.com/dna-from-elusive-human-relatives-the-denisovans-has-left-a-curious-mark-on-modern-people-in-new-guinea-196113

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Orsola De Marco, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University

When the first five images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) were unveiled, one of them stared at me with two eyes. It was an image of the Southern Ring Nebula, NGC3132, and smack in the middle were two bright stars.

Now, the fact that NGC3132 houses a binary star system (two stars orbiting one another) has been known since the days of the Hubble Space Telescope.

But in those early images, the central star that ejected the nebula – a tiny, hot white dwarf – was so dim it was almost invisible next to its bright Sun-like companion. In effect, the nebula had one eye almost closed.

But the JWST reveals more than Hubble did. It can collect “cooler” photons (light particles) in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this cooler light, we saw both stars in the binary system shining as bright as one another: two glaring eyes!

This was surprising to any astronomer who understands this type of nebula; super-hot white dwarfs typically don’t shine brightly in infrared light. It made sense for the cooler star to be shining this way, but observing the same brilliance from its partner was unexpected.

Emails started to bolt coast to coast and across oceans as astronomers pieced the puzzle together. The central white dwarf star of NGC3132, they realised, is enshrouded in dust. The dust is warmed up by the star’s heat and therefore shines in the infrared, producing the light we observed.

It was this that led us on the trail to find out what was really happening in the Southern Ring Nebula. Our findings from a team of nearly 70 astronomers are published today in Nature Astronomy.

At the heart, a hot white dwarf

The Southern Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula. That means it’s a gaseous nebula formed by a Sun-like star shedding most of its gas in the last act before its demise.

Once it shed much of its mass, the star became a hot white dwarf. This central star now sits in the middle of the nebula, cooling like a stellar ember, effectively dying.

The beauty of planetary nebulae is they can be looked at forensically: parts of the nebula farther from the middle were ejected earlier in time. In this way, the entire nebula functions a bit like a geological record.

With its dying white dwarf in the centre, our group approached NGC3132 like a crime scene.

Read more:
A cosmic time machine: how the James Webb Space Telescope lets us see the first galaxies in the universe

Two unknown suspects emerge

First, we quickly realised the dust making the central star shine so brightly was actually a disk wrapped closely around the central star that must have been forged by a companion. This orbiting companion star would have stripped gas away from the central star, hastening its demise.

We didn’t spot the companion, though. We think it’s either too faint to detect, or has potentially perished in the interaction and merged with the central star.

Then we noticed something else: broken concentric arches engraved in the extended halo of the nebula. These also betrayed the presence of an orbiting companion. Could this culprit be the same one that forged the disk of dust?

We don’t think so. Although the arches have suffered some “weathering”, our measurements of them betray the presence of yet another companion star. This one is placed a little too far from the central star to have created the dust disk.

And just like that, we had gathered evidence the Southern Ring Nebula contains not just two stars in a binary system, but four.

And we would gather more yet.

Tied up in a bumpy, gassy bubble

The “ring” that gives the nebula its name is actually the wall of an egg-shaped bubble containing hot gas, heated by the central star. This wall is marked with noticeable protuberances.

Combining the JWST image with data from the European Southern Observatory, our team created a 3D model that revealed these protuberances come in pairs, moving in opposite directions away from the central star.

One possible explanation is the interaction that created the dust disk didn’t involve just one close companion, but two. In other words, we’re looking at a potential fifth star in the mix – interacting chaotically with the central star to blow out jets that push out those protuberances.

This fifth star’s presence is still tentative. But we can say with a good degree of certainty the stellar system that created the Southern Ring Nebula comprises not just the binary star system (the two eyes of the nebula), but also a third star that ripped away the gas to form the disk, and another that inscribed a track of concentric arches in the gas bubble.

As for the second eye of the nebula – the one we’d always known about – it was definitely an innocent bystander. It’s too far from the central star to have participated in its demise.

One case closed, more to come

The case of the Southern Ring Nebula isn’t the only one demonstrating how stars work in packs. Much of stellar astrophysics is being revisited today in light of the realisation of just how gregarious stars can be. And we’re all the more excited for it.

A wealth of phenomena arise from stellar interactions, from supernova explosions, to the merging of black holes and neutron stars giving rise to gravitational wave events.

As the JWST delivers more detailed images of the universe, astronomers will be keenly dusting off their gloves to tackle more mysteries.

Read more:
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken its first aligned image of a star. Here’s how it was done

Orsola De Marco is affiliated with Astronomy Australia Limited (non-executive board director and chair of the board). This is a non-for-profit company that applies for and administers NCRIS grants to Australian Astronomy.

– ref. ‘Extreme stripping action’ led to the messy birth of the Southern Ring Nebula, Webb image reveals – https://theconversation.com/extreme-stripping-action-led-to-the-messy-birth-of-the-southern-ring-nebula-webb-image-reveals-196052

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Monash University

We often hear about “dementia breakthroughs” in the news – new genes being discovered, new blood tests being developed, new drugs being tested.

However, there remains no effective or accessible cure for dementia. This is of great frustration to people living with dementia, and their carers and loved ones.

Two new “breakthrough” drugs have been in the news. While they may not bring much relief to those living with the disease today, we are learning more about dementia, and getting closer to a treatment.

A bit about dementia

Dementia is an umbrella term to describe a group of conditions characterised by a loss of brain function. This includes the ability to remember, plan and make decisions.

In Australia, dementia is the second leading cause of death. For women it’s the leading cause of death. Older age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. But dementia is not an inevitable or normal consequence of ageing.

Up to 70% of all dementia is attributed to Alzheimer’s disease. Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body disease. Because Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, most “dementia breakthroughs” often refer to “breakthroughs” in Alzheimer’s.

Searching for treatments

Alzheimer’s disease takes a long time to develop, up to 30 years or more. For a long time, scientists had only a limited understanding of the disease. To develop the right drugs, it’s crucial to have the right tools to be able to understand how the disease progresses.

Over the past 20 years, breakthroughs in brain imaging, brain fluid analysis and, more recently, blood tests, have enabled us to measure key Alzheimer’s proteins – amyloid and tau – in living people. This has allowed scientists to understand how these proteins develop over time.

We have also been able to clarify which risk factors – age, sex, genetics, environment, lifestyle – contribute to the development of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s. This provides important insights into who and what to target.

Studies now suggest Alzheimer’s begins with the buildup of amyloid in the brain. As amyloid builds up, tau then begins to develop. Researchers think it’s this tau buildup that leads to brain cell death and cognitive decline. Some scientists refer to amyloid as the “trigger”, as once the trigger has been pulled, the “bullet” (tau) is on its way.

Stopping the buildup of amyloid, or removing it, became a key strategy in attempts to develop drugs for Alzheimer’s.

Two new drugs

Two drugs that have received a lot of attention in recent weeks are aducanumab (marketed as Aduhelm) and lecanemab. Both drugs showed substantial reduction in amyloid in the brain. But whether this reduction in amyloid resulted in a meaningful benefit in memory and thinking is less clear.

In two aducanumab trials, patients did not show any meaningful benefit. But six months later, the drug maker Biogen released and subsequently published new data reporting participants on the highest dose had 22% slower cognitive decline compared to participants on a placebo.

The Food and Drug Administration in the United States granted accelerated approval for aducanumab as it thought the drug would improve or slow Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Recently, drug companies Eisai and Biogen announced the results of a lecanemab trial. Around 1,800 participants with early Alzhemier’s were given the drug or a placebo over 18 months. They found a reduction in brain amyloid and tau levels in those taking the drug when compared to participants taking a placebo.

Importantly, lecanemab resulted in a 27% slower decline in memory and thinking ability. This was also accompanied by greater quality of life, as reported by participants and their caregivers.

This translates to roughly a six-month benefit in memory and thinking ability. This is not much. In addition, questions have been raised about whether the drug may be less effective for people with higher risk of developing Alzhemier’s, including those with certain genes, women, and culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

There are also substantial side effects that accompany both drugs. Of most concern are brain swelling and small brain bleeds as detected on brain scans. These were observed in 21-40% of participants. The risk of these side effects will need to be an important discussion between patients, their families and their doctors.

Another consideration is the cost. The price of lecanemab has not yet been announced, but aducanumab costs US$28,200 (A$42,000) per patient per year. Additional costs for brain scanning will also be required to monitor side effects. This makes it inaccessible to most people to purchase privately.

It also has consequences for the availability of the drug to be considered under Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Around 150,000 people with mild Alzhemier’s would currently be eligible for aducanumab if it were available. If all of these people received the drug, PBS expenditure would increase by 50%.

Companies that develop drugs must provide evidence of their effectiveness to the government health authorities in each country in which they intend to make it available. The governing body in Australia is the Therapeutic Goods Administration. This process has not yet been completed for either drug in Australia.

Read more:
Chris Hemsworth’s Alzheimer’s gene doesn’t guarantee he’ll develop dementia. Here’s what we can all do to reduce our risk

So why all the breakthroughs, and still no cure?

Since Alois Alzheimer first described an “unusual disease of the cerebral cortex” in 1906, we have learned a lot about the disease and its progression.

But we still have a long way to go. Because Alzheimer’s symptoms take decades to develop, studying and tracking brain and cognitive changes from early in the disease has been difficult. Beyond amyloid and tau, a range of other biological, genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors can also contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

It’s unlikely any single one of these factors alone can fully explain why someone develops the disease. It’s likely the disease manifests when several of these risk factors coalesce. For example, someone with a genetic predisposition may be more likely to develop the disease in the face of poor cardiovascular health.

Disentangling the contribution of these risk factors can be challenging. This is why large numbers of people are often required to participate in research.

Given the prevalence of the disease in the community, every advance is seen as newsworthy. And from a scientific point of view, they are.

However these findings, or “breakthroughs,” have not been enough to offer relief to people living with Alzheimer’s or their families, for whom life gets harder every day. Their hopes are dashed when reported “breakthroughs” still haven’t translated into a cure or an effective treatment.

We now have multiple drugs that show some effect in slowing memory deterioration, but the effects are small. Outcomes of more drug trials will be announced in the coming years.

While these advances may not come fast enough to help people living with the disease now, they’re an important incursion in the war against this devastating disease. They show we’re getting closer.

Read more:
Experimental Alzheimer’s drug shows promise – but there are many hurdles still to overcome

If you are interested in learning how to reduce your dementia risk by changing health behaviours, please join us at the BetterBrains Trial. We are actively recruiting Australians aged 40-70 with a family history of dementia.

Yen Ying Lim receives funding from the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian Research Council (ARC), and the Alzheimer’s Association (USA).

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

– ref. Lots of ‘breakthroughs’, still no cure. Do the new dementia drugs bring us any closer? – https://theconversation.com/lots-of-breakthroughs-still-no-cure-do-the-new-dementia-drugs-bring-us-any-closer-195095

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute

Picture this. You’re in government for the first time in more than a decade. And within six months, you’re facing a diabolical problem: skyrocketing energy prices. To your constituents, it doesn’t matter that the root cause is a war in Europe. What they’ll see is pain – electricity and gas bills climbing and climbing.

So what can you do? Federal and state energy ministers met yesterday to hash out the problem ahead of today’s meeting of the prime minister, state premiers and territory leaders.

One thing’s for sure – it’s politically impossible for governments to do nothing, with power prices expected to jump by 56% over this year and next and gas to rise by a lesser extent. That’s against a backdrop of rising inflation and rising interest rates, which are set to cause yet more hip-pocket pain.

So what options does the government actually have? Which one is the best? And – importantly – which is the most politically feasible? Here they are from best to worst.

1. Gas and coal producers choose to lower domestic prices

Your looming energy bill pain starts in gas-rich places such as Queensland, where major gas companies extract coal seam gas, liquefy it and sell almost all of it overseas. Similarly, coal companies mine coal and sell most of it overseas.

In the wake of the war on Ukraine and sanctions slapped on fossil fuel giant Russia, fossil energy prices have skyrocketed. That means coal and gas companies can sell their commodities at profit margins much higher than normal. And it means many of our own fossil power plants, both coal and gas, must now pay huge prices to secure part of their own supplies, culminating in the horribly high bills for you.

Read more:
5 policy decisions from recent history that led to today’s energy crisis

Seeing Australia’s predicament – and knowing the government has vowed to do something about energy prices – you might wonder why these companies haven’t agreed to do a deal and provide these relatively small volumes for domestic use at a much lower price, given they mine or extract on Australian soil.

This is the simplest, best and least likely option. Hence the government feels forced to intervene.

2. Governments impose price caps on gas and coal

This is the option talked about most at present. It’s one of the best options available to government, in the absence of corporate action.

How would it work? Because prices are often opaque, hidden behind confidential long-term contracts between gas and coal producers and their buyers, the government would likely have to impose a price cap on the short-term spot market where these commodities are sold.

About five years ago, the Turnbull government signed an agreement with our three major LNG producers to ensure we would have enough domestic supply. This agreement made no mention of price, as it was mainly concerned with supply.

The government could build on this agreement by introducing a gas price cap, and introduce similar agreements for coal companies.

It will be hard for gas and coal producers to cry foul, given the lion’s share of their profits come from exports. Domestic supply is a small fraction of their business.

One wrinkle here is the new debate between federal and state governments over how these caps should be imposed. Reports suggest the federal government is preparing to cap gas prices – but that it wants the states to cap coal prices.

3. Impose a temporary tax on windfall fossil fuel profits and give Australian consumers the money

This is a good option, involving two steps. First: impose a windfall tax. That’s not too hard. You can get the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to determine what the acceptable price was for oil and gas 18 months ago, and say anything above that is taxed at a windfall rate – up to 100%. The tricky part would be to collect this revenue and redistribute it to energy consumers.

Politically, it could be challenging, given Labor went to the election saying no new taxes. But the government would be so popular they could probably get away with breaking a promise by arguing that when things change, you have to change with them.

4. Impose a gas reservation policy for the east coast market

Many experts have suggested introducing a gas reservation policy for the national market (in reality, that means most of Australia’s east coast plus South Australia). After all, Western Australia introduced a gas reservation policy after a previous energy crisis and it worked.

Yes, this would work to drive down energy prices. It’s just not the best idea. When you introduce policies like this, you force gas producers to set aside a percentage of their output for domestic use. This output floods the market and drives down prices. That’s overly complicated. If you want to bring the price down, you can bring the price down other ways.

Is the market failing – or working exactly as intended?

All of these options have one thing in common: governments intervening in markets in ways almost unthinkable a year ago.

Let’s play devil’s advocate for a minute. The market is doing precisely what it’s intended. There’s huge demand for the commodities of gas and coal, which are still used widely to produce electricity. That means whoever is prepared to pay most gets the commodity.

Even before this year’s energy crisis, gas-fired power was the most expensive option in Australia. In our auction-based energy system, the highest accepted bid for a specific time period sets the price for the next time period.

When gas power successfully bids into the grid, it sets new high prices for every other electricity provider, from coal to hydro to renewables. These all get windfall profits – and we cop the pain.

Market logic dictates that those who can’t afford to pay just have to deal with it. Businesses may go broke, consumers may have to radically cut back on energy use – but that’s just how the market works.

The problem, of course, is if it happens on a large scale, as we may well see next year. Lots of people will get extremely angry at the government. That’s why we’re seeing the government mulling the best way to intervene. They cannot allow it to happen.

I don’t envy the government. If they come up with a clean way to solve the problem, I will applaud enthusiastically. But the way it’s looking at the moment, it may be messy. Especially if companies or consumers begin clamouring for compensation.

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

Tony Wood owns shares through his superannuation in companies that may have an interest in these issues.

– ref. Surging energy prices are really going to hurt. What can the government actually do? – https://theconversation.com/surging-energy-prices-are-really-going-to-hurt-what-can-the-government-actually-do-196206

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marnee Shay, Senior Research Fellow, School of Education, The University of Queensland

Flexi schools cater to young people who have been pushed out of mainstream schools. Some students may have been expelled or struggled to fit in. Some may have been bullied or have learning needs the mainstream system could not meet.

Flexi schools give students a second (and sometimes a third, fourth or fifth) chance to stay or become engaged with schooling.

Demand for flexi schools has been increasing, but we still have little information about the quality of schooling young people receive at these schools, or their long-term trajectories after attending one.

Our new research shows students value the support they get from their flexi school but want the curriculum to challenge them more, and better support their aspirations.

What are flexi schools?

Flexi schools come in multiple forms. Some sit alongside mainstream government high schools. Some are run by community groups, church organisations or are backed by philanthropy.

There is limited recent data on how many flexi schools there are in Australia. A 2014 report estimated 70,000 young Australians were engaged in flexi schools. This number is expected to be higher in 2022. This report was published almost a decade ago now and the sector was predicted to grow because of the demand.

Read more:
‘Once students knew their identity, they excelled’: how to talk about excellence in Indigenous education

Flexi schools tend to be smaller than mainstream schools, often with fewer than 200 students. They are centred on the young person, their needs, strengths and interests. There is an emphasis on community, relationships and wellbeing. Schools usually don’t require students to wear a uniform and it is common for a student to call their teacher by their first name.

We surveyed almost 500 flexi school students around the country in May to June this year. This is the most comprehensive picture of young people’s experiences in flexi schools in Australia to date.

Flexi school students are diverse

Our research showed Australian flexi schools educate a diverse group of young people. The average age of a student is 15 years old, with ages ranging from ten to 20 years. Our respondents came from 43 different cultural backgrounds. One in three identified as Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander.

In such a diverse school setting, 77% of young people said they felt their identity was valued. More than 80% felt their flexi school was a welcoming place. As one respondent said:

If I am experiencing issues, teachers support me, don’t judge and are extremely kind and considerate.

Flexi school students have high aspirations

Many flexi school students have already been labelled as “disengaged” by the sheer fact mainstream schooling hasn’t worked for or accommodated them. But this does not mean they are disengaged from their education or their lives going forward.

In our survey we asked young people to tell us about their career and life goals. Young people told us they had a huge range of career goals from owning a small business to doing a trade or becoming a park ranger, youth worker, primary teacher, author or worker in the mining industry.

Our respondents told us they have have strong aspirations for their futures. As one student told us:

[I want] to grow my [business] into a popular […] local gardening landscaping service supporting houses and gardens that need repairing.

Others told us they want to become “totally independent” and talked about pursuing happiness and community connections:

[I want to] find some work I purely enjoy and just live a normal life. Preferably doing some trade work or contributing to the community.

Young people also specifically spoke about doing further study and going to TAFE or university, to do a wide range of courses from computer science to education and medicine:

I aspire to be a paramedic or doctor when the time comes, I would like to go to university to study medicine.

Flexi students want to be challenged

It is often assumed young people in flexi schools are not interested in doing intellectually challenging work. Data from our survey shows this is not the case.

Less than half (47.5%) of the young people we surveyed said they experienced learning that was challenging. They told us they wanted “harder work, more future guidance” and “more learning at my age level”:

I learn best when I am given a challenge and have help to understand the challenge when I don’t understand what to do.

When we asked young people what they would like to learn at their flexi school they said more STEM-related subjects (including maths, science, coding and engineering), history and geography, social studies and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures. As one student wrote:

Access to learn more about Indigenous culture and access to learn another language !!! (like Auslan for example)

Our respondents were also keen to learn more about life skills, wellbeing, and vocational education.

There is a lot policy makers, educational leaders and practitioners in flexi schools can learn from this finding. Flexi schools are not just about keeping young people “in school”. They also need to provide a high-quality curriculum and challenging, diverse learning experiences.

The bigger picture

In an ideal world, there would be no need for flexi schools because mainstream schools would cater for every young person in society. This is not the current reality and in the meantime, flexi schools play a critical role supporting young people who would otherwise be disengaged from mainstream schools.

Read more:
Personalised learning is billed as the ‘future’ of schooling: what is it and could it work?

Flexi schools need to respond to young people who have diverse needs. The focus tends to be on their relationships and wellbeing. But young people have told us they want a challenging curriculum as well.

As a matter of social justice, young people need a curriculum that adequately equips them for life and further study or training. This is an issue flexi school providers and policy makers must consider as a priority.

Marnee Shay receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Edmund Rice Education Australia.

Jodie Miller receives funding from Edmund Rice Education Australia.

Martin Mills receives funding from the Australian Research Council and from Edmund Rice Education Australia.

– ref. ‘I would like to go to university’: flexi school students share their goals in Australia-first survey – https://theconversation.com/i-would-like-to-go-to-university-flexi-school-students-share-their-goals-in-australia-first-survey-193396

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patricia Ranald, Honorary research associate, University of Sydney

Australia is about to play host to negotiators from 14 countries involved in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) over six days in Brisbane from Saturday.

They include the United States, Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, but not China.

Although as unfamiliar as many of the acronyms in the alphabet soup of trade deals to which Australia is a party, the IPEF has a very specific focus.

The US wants to use it to diversify its supply chains away from China towards its allies and create US-style rules in a region encompassing the Indian and Pacific Oceans and extending from the east of Africa to the west of the United States.

At the launch of negotiations in May the US said the agreement would

enable the United States and our allies to decide on rules of the road that ensure American workers, small businesses, and ranchers can compete in the Indo-Pacific.

And the US is not involved in the two other big regional trade agreements involving IPEF members including Australia:

• the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) of the ten ASEAN nations plus five others including China

• the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) of 11 nations excluding China, from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2016.

There is still strong bipartisan US Congressional opposition to legally binding agreements like the CPTPP. This means in negotiating IPEF the US will not offer increased market access to Australia or other member countries.

The “four pillars” of the framework are

1. trade, in which there will be a general commitment to boost trade among members while recognising labour rights, environmental and other concerns

2. supply chains, aimed at diversifying away from China and facilitating cooperation among members in the event of major disruptions

3. clean economy, in which there will be recognition of the role of incentives in encouraging energy transitions

4. fair economy, in which the members commit to preventing and combating corruption and tax evasion.

India has opted out of the trade pillar but says it will sign up to the other pillars.

This means the IPEF will offer no immediate trade benefits for Australia or other countries, but for developing countries it will offer the prospect of US energy and other projects as an alternative to China’s One Belt One Road initiative.

More open process but negotiating documents secret

The Albanese government’s policy promises more transparent and accountable trade negotiations, including access to negotiating texts and independent evaluation of their costs and benefits.

It has promised this for the IPEF, and both civil society and business organisations have been invited to present their views to IPEF negotiators in Brisbane.

But this will be a one-way street because Australia and other IPEF countries have signed agreements with the US pledging to keep all negotiating documents secret until five years after the negotiations.

Without access to the details of the proposals, consultation will be extremely limited.

Standards on human rights, labour and the environment

Civil society groups have made submissions supporting the IPEF goals of higher standards for labour rights and environmental protection, and are asking for them to be made fully enforceable.

It remains to be seen whether all IPEF countries will commit to these goals without the carrot of access to the US market, and how commitments would be enforced unless they were legally binding.

A strategic balancing act for Australia

Australia is a US ally, but China is Australia’s largest export market.

Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong recently said the government’s policy was to deepen regional relationships, building a regional order in which all states can contribute to a strategic equilibrium “rather than be forced to choose sides”.

The Albanese government is also hoping its recent success in re-establishing diplomatic contact with China will help ease China’s trade restrictions on Australian barley, wine and lobsters and contribute to regional stability.

Read more:
We’ve just signed the world’s biggest trade deal, but what is the RCEP?

But the US recently announced new trade restrictions against China, including a ban on US exports associated with the manufacturing of computer chips, and secondary restrictions on countries that export these products to China, including IPEF members South Korea and Singapore.

Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong responded saying a further decoupling between the US and China could “result in less economic cooperation, less interdependency, less trust, and possibly, ultimately, a less stable world.”

The negotiations will present a challenge for the Albanese government’s policies on trade transparency, labour and environmental standards and regional stability.

Patricia Ranald is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Sydney and the Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET)

– ref. What is the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, about to be negotiated in Brisbane? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework-about-to-be-negotiated-in-brisbane-196122

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cherine Fahd, Associate Professor of Visual Communication in the School of Design, University of Technology Sydney

In April 1995, my uncle secured a lucrative job in Saudi Arabia. He and my aunt left their home in suburban Sydney and relocated to a western compound (a residential gated community for expats) in Jeddah. My aunt shares stories of life under Saudi’s strict laws and how she craved her western freedoms. One such freedom was the celebration of Christmas.

Hailing mostly from Australia, the UK and America, the compound residents organised their Christmases by smuggling in decorations and creating homemade Santa suits. They even staged the photographic rituals with mums and dads disguised as the shopping centre Santa Claus.

My aunt’s eagerness to recreate this photographic ritual with her children stems from her own childhood posing with Santa. My siblings and I were also photographed every year on Santa’s lap and we continue the ritual with our own kids.

As a photographer, I have spent years studying my curious desire to participate in this photographic custom. While I do not celebrate Christmas on religious grounds and bemoan the increasing consumerism of the season, I participate with overzealous enthusiasm in the Santa Claus photo.

This is evident in the careful way I have cultivated the collection of my children’s Santa photographs between 2009-2018, and kept guard of my family’s collection from the 70s and 80s that portrays me alongside my siblings and, on one rare occasion, with my parents.

I use myself and my family as a case study. Analysing details like my mother’s obsession with dressing my sister and I in identical outfits, and then the ways I consciously made my children dress themselves.

The Santa photo feeds my photographic penchant for overly staged family portraits that signal to the camera “we are posing together for a photograph”.

Read more:
The history of the shopping centre Santa, and how he became a staple of the festive season

Perfect Kodak moments

In Photography A Middle–Brow Art, the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu famously observed in his 1965 study of amateur photography, that the family represents itself in “ideal moments of celebration” in order to secure its honourable social standing.

The Santa photos certainly fit this schema, tied to the so-called “Kodak moments” where everyone says “cheese”.

Instagram, which today operates as a public family album, reveals a searchable hashtag archive. Across #santaphoto, #santaphotos, #santapictures and #vintagesantaphoto you’ll find thousands of images of children sitting nicely on Santa’s lap.

Like most family photographs they serve a nostalgic function to take us into our pasts (with rose coloured glasses) and make us laugh at ourselves, at how we used to look, our hair styles, fashions, poses and reactions.

Today there are even photo sessions for pets, and “sensitive Santa photo sessions” for children with special needs.

With the rise of COVID-19, we see action packed beach Santa photos proving popular. In the shopping centre, the 1.5 metre social distancing rule is captured for posterity.

But Santa photos capture more than just the idealised moments of family life.

Read more:
The borrowed customs and traditions of Christmas celebrations

Hilarious ‘Santa fails’

If the perfect family photograph is where the children are well dressed and everyone is posing and smiling happily, the “Santa fails” resist the ideal.

Santa fails show children reeling from Santa, throwing tantrums, back arching, crying and demanding to leave. Search #santafail on Instagram to see the truth of the matter: we happily and freely deposit our children onto the lap of a total stranger.

The artist Julie Rrap recently shared a story with me about her father who was once employed as a shopping centre Santa. He often reported coming home with a saturated lap from children having wet themselves while seated.

The comic relief that comes with such stories and the Santa fails are over time another ritual enjoyed among family members. But my attraction to the Santa photo goes deeper than comic relief of fearing Santa.

A work of art

As a migrant family in 70s and 80s Australia, we interpreted the Santa photo as a fun and unpretentious custom that assimilated us into the middle-class values of suburban Australia.

Participating in this ritual made us feel and appear more Australian, if only to ourselves.

I’m also interested in the Santa photos as a photographic typology. As a photographer, I have done what Bourdieu describes and “elevated the ordinary photo into a work of art”.

Through my training I have linked the seriality of Santa photographs to Rineke Dijkstra’s photographic portraits of Olivier and Almerisa. Photographing the same people over many years, Dijkstra captures the subtle changes in their appearance, mood and fashion style, as well as their social and political status.

I am also reminded of the playful fictional photographs of Christian Boltanski where the title of the work – 10 photographic portraits of Christian Boltanski 1946-1964, 1972 – leads the viewer to think they are looking at portraits of a boy growing up, when in fact they are reconstructions.

Like these artworks, Santa photos mark time, revealing what is imperceptible in everyday life. Through the repetition of a performance, a scene and an image we confront ourselves and the people we love changing.

Children and animals are notoriously the hardest subjects to photograph. The training a photographer receives with Santa photography is a baptism of fire. Moving subjects, crying babies, a toddler’s inability to sit still, scared children that won’t smile and toddlers engaged in escape attempts all combine with the parent’s consumer expectations that the photographer should get the right shot.

Remember, the next time you take your children, pets or yourself to have a Santa photo, keep in mind that the “right shot” and the best Santa photos are often not the ones where they’re smiling.

Read more:
10 months and hundreds of subjects: how I took portrait photography to the streets of Parramatta

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

– ref. Tantrums to tinsel: why I love the curious and festive tradition of the Santa photo – https://theconversation.com/tantrums-to-tinsel-why-i-love-the-curious-and-festive-tradition-of-the-santa-photo-195293

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

Anthony Albanese heads towards Christmas with inflation, interest rates and power prices all high. But, comfortingly for Labor, his own popularity is up there too.

The objective circumstances in which the government finds itself sit somewhere between challenging and confronting. Politically, however, it could hardly be in a better place, as this week’s Newspoll and Resolve poll testified.

The electorate, though starting to feel some pain, remains very content with the government and its leader. For now, its angst is focused on others.

God bless Scott Morrison, Labor must say to itself daily, as the former prime minister remains a recurring reminder of the bad old days of a disorderly government.

Morrison was censured by parliament last week over his multi-ministries and next week will give evidence at the royal commission into Robodebt, a scandal that spanned the period during which he was social services minister, treasurer and prime minister. In impact on people’s lives, Robodebt puts the “power grab” into the shade.

If Morrison’s name “triggers” many of the public, so does – for very different reasons – that of Reserve Bank Governor Phil Lowe. In the past, those facing mortgage squeezes bared their teeth at governments, whether justifiably or not. Few had a clue who the bank’s governor was. But Lowe has been visible and loose-lipped, and he’s now a prime target.

Lowe is under fire from some economists for not moving fast enough to raise rates, meaning more then had to be done. However, it was his unwise prediction that rates wouldn’t increase before 2024 that has brought him the public backlash, especially from those who borrowed on that basis and now regret it.

Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers know the government’s teflon coating can’t stick indefinitely. Interest rates will bite deeper as people come off fixed mortgages and run down their savings accumulated from government funding during the pandemic. Lowe will be gone some time next year. The finger pointing will likely shift.

Labor is delivering with gusto on its election promises. 2023 will see, with fanfare, the child care reforms start and the integrity commission begin operating.

But come December 2023, will energy prices for households and businesses be manageable? Will the inflation dragon be at least half-slain? Will people still be patient even though their real wages will likely not have started to rise?

Much will hang on the May budget, for which work has begun, with the expenditure review committee meeting this week. It will be harder to frame than its modest October forerunner.

The fat left by Coalition programs has already been sliced away. So the cuts, needing to go to areas such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, will be more controversial.

Read more:
Resolve poll gives Labor huge lead; US Democrats win Georgia Senate runoff

There’ll be pressures to spend too, notably on health, where there are major problems throughout the system and agitation from the states. And the Fair Work Commission’s wage increases for aged care workers will have to be funded.

The budget’s run-up will see a renewed tricky debate about the Stage 3 tax cuts.

On the upside, commodity prices, still likely to be high, will give another bonus for the bottom line.

During 2023, much political attention will be on the Voice referendum. If the Voice is passed, the government will get a lot of praise, but the story will quickly fade. The average voter will be a lot more focused on their personal situation.

By this time next year, the government will be halfway through its term. It will be turning its eyes towards the 2025 election.

Albanese has made it clear he’s set on a long game, regarding the first term as only a pipe-opener for the second. His recipe is orderly government, a clear agenda that increasingly picks up its ambition while not frightening the horses, and strong, controlled messaging.

Read more:
Grattan on Friday: To have the best chance of success, the Voice must be sold to voters as a positive, unifying story

On the latter, the government is relentless, believing it’s dangerous to leave any media vacuum. A bevy of ministers blankets the media daily, regardless of whether there’s much fresh to say.

This week saw the release of Labor’s election post-mortem, which not only picks over what happened but highlights the weaknesses to be addressed before the next contest.

The background is an increasingly fluid electorate, where major parties have been losing their grip on voters, and the under-40s are supplanting the political pre-eminence of the baby boomers.

Labor’s report is sub-titled “An opportunity to establish a long-term Labor government”. It emphasises the key is “delivery”, especially to Labor’s heartland voters.

Despite Labor’s success, this heartland vote has eroded in parts of outer suburban Melbourne and, to a lesser extent, parts of western Sydney.

Warning these communities “must not be taken for granted”, the report says: “The unusually disparate results in individual seats, regions and states reflect the political turbulence of recent years and the frustrations of many voters.

“While the results do not represent a permanent realignment of Australian politics, the loss of support for Labor in heartland areas, as evidenced once again in the recent Victorian state election, is cause for significant concern.”

Labor has had big buffers in heartland seats. But with the notion of “safe” seats now becoming outdated, once these buffers are reduced, seats can quickly morph into marginal. Add to this voters’ close scrutiny these days of individual candidates, plus the growth of the “community candidates” movement, and all sorts of seats are actually or potentially vulnerable.

The Liberals were the victims of this vulnerability at the May election. But Labor isn’t immune.

The defeat of Labor’s high-profile Kristina Keneally by local Vietnamese-Australian Dai Le in the Sydney seat of Fowler can be seen as a one-off, or as delivering a wider message.

RedBridge’s Kos Samaras (a former Labor official) noted this week in a tweet that the “tactical voting” that was a feature in the teal seats wasn’t just confined to them.

“It’s far more prevalent among Millennials and Gen Z, right across the country. Hence the willingness of voters to tactically vote to turn safe seats into marginals. Therefore getting more attention as a result.”

Apart from shoring up the heartland, the Labor report also says the party needs strategies for improving its performance in Queensland and Tasmania, and to retain the clutch of extra seats it secured in Western Australia.

WA could be particularly difficult next time. Albanese was greatly helped by the strong anti-Morrison, pro-McGowan sentiment arising from the COVID border wars. He won’t have that advantage in 2025.

To give itself some insurance, Labor needs to win seats at the election, not just hold what it has.

This far out, the risk for Albanese doesn’t seem that of being toppled by Peter Dutton. Rather – given Labor is in majority by a whisker and governments often lose seats at their first election – the more likely danger is that if things went badly in just a few places, the government would fall into minority. A development that would complicate Albanese’s pursuit of his ambitions.

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

– ref. Grattan on Friday: Australians are starting to feel the economic pain, but they are not taking it out on Albanese – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-australians-are-starting-to-feel-the-economic-pain-but-they-are-not-taking-it-out-on-albanese-196221

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Wintle, Professor in Conservation Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, The University of Melbourne

The Albanese government has just released its long-awaited response to a scathing independent review of Australia’s environment protection law. The 2020 review ultimately found the laws were flawed, outdated and, without fundamental reform, would continue to see plants and animals go extinct.

The extent to which the government implements the review’s 38 recommendations to strengthen the laws will determine the fate of many species and ecosystems – so, how did it go?

As biodiversity conservation experts, we find the plan to be promising. For example, federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek pledged to establish an independent environmental protection agency to be “a tough cop on the beat”.

But some uncertainty remains, and there is also a lot of important detail still to be worked through.

Read more:
A major report excoriated Australia’s environment laws. Sussan Ley’s response is confused and risky

Australia’s extinction crisis

Australia has the world’s worst track record for mammal extinctions. The national threatened species list comprises more than 1,700 species and over 100 threatened ecological communities, and more are added every year.

Extraordinary species such as mountain pygmy possums, northern hairy-nosed wombats and regent honeyeaters are hanging on by a thread. Others, such as the white-footed rabbit-rat and the central hare-wallaby, are already lost forever. Previously abundant animals such as bogong moths, which the mountain pygmy possum relies on for food, have become rare.

Australia’s environment law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act – is ostensibly wildlife’s best defence against a range of threats to their habitat, such as urban development, mining and land clearing.

But this defence has failed, time and again. In just one example, the extinction threat facing the iconic koala has become worse, not better, since it was “protected” under the EPBC Act.

What the plan got right

There is strong merit in this. We encourage a similar emphasis on developing plans to abate threats such as such as feral cats, foxes, deer, and rabbits, that should also have strong regulatory standing.

Read more:
‘Gut-wrenching and infuriating’: why Australia is the world leader in mammal extinctions, and what to do about it

We’re also pleased to see confirmation of the formation of the environmental protection agency (EPA). This addresses one of the review’s top criticisms on the lack of resourcing and independent enforcement of the EPBC Act.

The model could be a game-changer: undertaking assessments and making decisions about development proposals at arm’s length from government. The EPA will have its own budget and mandatory tabling of an annual report in parliament.

Another big plus is the government’s pledge to deliver on national environmental standards, overseen by the newly formed EPA. These standards describe the environmental outcomes that must be achieved. For example, the standards could require that decisions result in no further population decline of threatened species.

Crucially, these standards will apply to “regional forest agreements”. These agreements are controversial because they effectively exempt forest logging from scrutiny under the EPBC Act. However, the timeline for imposing the standards on regional forest agreements is uncertain, and currently “subject to further consultation with stakeholders”.

Finally, a regional planning approach will be used to identify environmentally valuable and sensitive areas in which new developments pose too great a risk, as well as places that are more-or-less available for new development. The critical detail of how those zones are determined is yet to be negotiated.

A major uncertainty: offsets

Perhaps the biggest concern we have about the federal government’s approach relates to environmental offsets. Offsets can be imposed by the government as a way to compensate for environmental destruction by improving nature in other places.

Evidence shows offsets have so far been largely ineffective, in part because existing policy is not properly implemented and rules not enforced. They may even facilitate more biodiversity loss by removing ethical roadblocks to destroying ecosystems and habitat for threatened species.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Thursday emphasised a move away from simply protecting habitat that already exists in exchange for habitat loss elsewhere (so-called “avoided loss offsets”), and instead focusing on restoration. This is a welcome improvement to how offsets are delivered.

However, the government will accept payments into a fund when offsetting is too difficult: for example, when there’s no like-for-like habitat available. This is worrying. If offsets for a threatened species are hard to find, it’s an important signal that we’re reaching the limit of habitat we can lose.

Imagine if a developer cleared cassowary habitat in a Queensland rainforest, and compensated for that by paying for koala tree planting in another part of Australia. Nice for the koala, but we have guaranteed a further decline for the cassowary.

The government’s plan points to the New South Wales Biodiversity Conservation Trust as an example of how these offset payments could be managed. Yet the auditor-general of NSW recently discredited the way this scheme handles offsets, saying it doesn’t lead to enough biodiversity gains compared to the losses and impacts from development in the state.

The national system would need to be very different to the NSW one if it’s to support the federal government’s goal of zero extinctions by 2030. In practice, this would mean avoiding the use of offsets to compensate for the destruction of habitats that aren’t replaceable or cannot be readily recreated elsewhere.

National environmental standards for environmental offsets haven’t yet been finalised. The detail included in these will be crucial to the success of the scheme.

Show us the money

Much of the federal government’s overhaul is to be welcomed. But we won’t prevent new extinctions unless it’s supported by serious investment to develop and implement plans, and enforce laws. Increased funding to recover endangered species is also urgently needed, to the tune of A$2 billion per year.

This is nowhere near as much as we spend on, for instance, submarines or even caring for our cats and dogs.

Read more:
5 big ideas: how Australia can tackle climate change while restoring nature, culture and communities

But it’s an order of magnitude more than our current spend on targeted threatened species recovery actions.

By and large, the proposed plan looks set to make a positive difference to Australia’s threatened plants and animals. But a lot of detail remains to be worked through. Getting that detail right could mean the difference between a species surviving, or disappearing forever.

Brendan Wintle has received funding from The Australian Research Council, the Victorian State Government, the NSW State Government, the Queensland State Government, the Commonwealth National Environmental Science Program, the Ian Potter Foundation, the Hermon Slade Foundation, and the Australian Conservation Foundation. Wintle is a Board Director of Zoos Victoria. Brendan Wintle is a member of the Biodiversity Council

Martine Maron has received funding from various sources including the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program. She is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, President of BirdLife Australia, a Councillor with the Biodiversity Council, a member of the board of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and a Governor of WWF-Australia.

Sarah Bekessy receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Ian Potter Foundation and the European Commission. She is a Councillor of the Biodiversity Council, a Board Member of Bush Heritage Australia, a member of WWF’s Eminent Scientists Group and a member of the Advisory Group for Wood for Good.

– ref. Our laws fail nature. The government’s plan to overhaul them looks good, but crucial detail is yet to come – https://theconversation.com/our-laws-fail-nature-the-governments-plan-to-overhaul-them-looks-good-but-crucial-detail-is-yet-to-come-196126

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne

After a wet and unusually cool spring for much of Australia, the start of meteorological summer is bringing a heatwave to the north of the continent. Even in our La Niña summer we can expect spells of heat, and it’s important to heed health warnings and take the hot weather seriously.

Heat is building across northern Australia and the area may see temperatures over 40℃ for the next few days. Some parts will experience temperatures more than 5℃ above average. These are quite big departures for tropical regions, which normally experience less variable temperatures than places such as Melbourne or Adelaide.

Read more:
Melbourne now has chief heat officers. Here’s why we need them and what they can do

Relief from the heat is expected early next week as more moisture allows wetter conditions, which will cool things back down.

As a La Niña event continues, people may be surprised to see a major heatwave in northern Australia. La Niña brings generally wetter and cooler conditions. However, there are other climate influences on Australia that can counteract its effects, and weather systems can still bring heat to the continent.

The negative Indian Ocean Dipole, which was combining with La Niña to provide the ingredients for a wetter-than-normal spring, has dissipated. The Madden-Julian Oscillation, which is a pulse of enhanced cloud followed by clearer skies that moves from west to east near the equator, is not very strong at the moment. This allows drier conditions conducive to heat to build over the north of the continent.

Extreme heat is dangerous, especially after cool periods

Since the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, much of Australia has experienced what has felt like never-ending rains, but we must always be prepared for heatwaves. Extreme heat is very harmful to human health. It’s a bigger killer than floods and other weather extremes in Australia.

It is important for people to heed warnings about staying cool and hydrated during heatwaves. Each state and territory has handy advice to follow, including the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia, which are affected by the current heatwave.

Read more:
Heat kills. We need consistency in the way we measure these deaths

Extreme heat is especially dangerous when it follows a period of cooler weather. For those of us in the south of the country, you may have noticed the first really hot day of summer feels more extreme than a day with the same temperatures in February or March. This is because the human body takes time to acclimatise to the heat.

We see worse health impacts from extreme heat early in the warm season. This is why the Bureau of Meteorology incorporates recent temperatures into its heatwave forecasts and alerts.

What will the rest of summer bring?

The La Niña that helped set up the cool and wet spring conditions over most of Australia is predicted to ease very soon. There is high uncertainty, though, and some forecast models predict the La Niña will last a bit longer. Predicting the end of these events is tricky, so forecasts aren’t always correct.

With a weakening La Niña, the summer outlook is for warmer daytime conditions away from the east of Australia and the rainfall signal is no longer very strong.

Rainfall outlooks, though, are generally less reliable in summer than at other times of year. This is because more of our summer rain is from storms, and it’s hard to predict ahead of time where these will occur. Less of our rain is from fronts and large-scale weather systems compared with cooler times of year.

Read more:
‘A cunning plan’: how La Niña unleashes squadrons of storm clouds to wreak havoc in your local area

This summer, more tropical cyclones are forecast in the Australian region. Depending on where exactly they form and track, we might see some places experiencing huge amounts of rain while others miss out.

Expect more heatwaves

In any summer, parts of Australia will experience extreme heat. There are some places that, perhaps counter-intuitively, experience more heatwaves in a La Niña summer, including Victoria.

Human-caused climate change is also bringing more frequent and intense heatwaves to the continent and pretty much the whole world. We have increased the odds of having extreme heat events in Australia through humanity’s ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This means we must be prepared for more heat regardless of what’s going on with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation or other climate influences.

We need to be prepared for different types of extreme weather over the summer. Wherever you are in Australia, it is important to keep up-to-date with the weather forecasts over the next few months.

Read more:
State of the climate: what Australians need to know about major new report

Andrew King receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program.

– ref. Extreme heat in the midst of the Big Wet for northern Australia – what’s going on with the weather? – https://theconversation.com/extreme-heat-in-the-midst-of-the-big-wet-for-northern-australia-whats-going-on-with-the-weather-196124

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

A federal Resolve poll for Nine newspapers, conducted November 30 to December 4 from a sample of 1,611, gave Labor 42% of the primary vote (up three since the post-budget Resolve poll in late October), the Coalition 30% (down two), the Greens 11% (down two), One Nation 4% (steady), the UAP 2% (up one), independents 8% (steady) and others 3% (steady).

Resolve does not provide a two-party estimate until shortly before elections, but applying 2022 election preference flows to these primary votes gives Labor about a 60-40 lead, a two-point gain for Labor.

On Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, 60% thought he was doing a good job and 24% a poor job, for a net approval of +36, up seven points. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s net approval was down two points to -14. Albanese led as preferred PM by 54-19 (53-19 previously).

On voting intentions, this is Labor’s best result in any poll since the August Resolve poll (an estimated 61-39 to Labor). Albanese’s net approval is back to where it was in August, while Dutton’s is the worst of any Resolve poll since he became opposition leader.

In polls conducted since the May election, Resolve has been skewing left, with Newspoll, Essential and especially Morgan giving Labor far more modest leads.

Read more:
Labor retains big lead in Newspoll as Albanese’s ratings jump; Victorian election update

Labor led the Liberals by 38-31 as party best for economic management (38-32 previously). On keeping the cost of living low, Labor led by 37-24 (31-24 previously).

By 79-4, voters supported setting price caps that utility companies cannot go over to tackle power prices. This was easily the most popular option, with 70-3 support for reserving a portion of gas for export to the local market and 63-6 support for bringing back or retaining ownership of power assets in public hands.

Morgan poll: 54.5-45.5 to Labor

After slipping to a lead of just 52.5-47.5 last week, this week Labor’s lead in Morgan’s weekly federal poll has rebounded to 54.5-45.5. Polling was conducted November 28 to December 4.

Victorian election update: Labor wins Northcote and Preston

After distribution of preferences, Labor has officially won Northcote by a 50.2-49.8 margin over the Greens. In Preston, there was speculation that an independent could win from fourth by overtaking the Greens then beating Labor, but preferences from minor candidates did not assist the independent, with Labor defeating the Greens.

The ABC now gives Labor 54 of the 88 lower house seats, the Coalition 27, the Greens four and three still to be decided. The distribution of preferences will likely settle Bass (Labor leads 50.3-49.7 over Liberals) and Pakenham (Liberals lead 50.1-49.9 over Labor). Narracan will likely be won by the Coalition when the deferred election is held.

In the upper house, the ABC’s calculator applied to all eight regions currently gives Labor 15 of the 40 seats, the Coalition 14, Legalise Cannabis three, the Greens two, and one each for Animal Justice, Transport Matters, the Liberal Democrats, the Shooters, Labour DLP and One Nation.

On Monday I wrote that Transport Matters is very unlikely to win once below the line votes are factored in, with that seat going to the Greens instead. So the overall upper house is still likely to be 22 left to 18 right, with Labor needing the Greens and Legalise Cannabis to pass legislation opposed by the right.

Read more:
Labor, Greens and Legalise Cannabis likely to have combined majority in Victorian upper house

All eight upper house regions are now at at least 70% of enrolled voters counted. The final turnout for the lower house was 87.1%. I expect final results for the upper house next week.

US Democrats to have 51-49 Senate majority after winning Georgia runoff

On Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Herschel Walker by a 51.4-48.6 margin in the Georgia Senate runoff. The runoff occurred after neither Warnock nor Walker won a majority on November 8. I covered the runoff for The Poll Bludger.

This result gives Democrats (including two independents who caucus with them) a 51-49 United States Senate majority, a gain of one seat for Democrats for the 2022 midterm elections. The one state that changed party control at these elections was Pennsylvania, a Democratic gain.

While holding the Senate with an increased majority is good for Democrats, only one-third of Senate seats are up for election every two years. In 2024, the seats that are up will be far more difficult for Democrats, as they will be defending 23 seats to just ten Republican defences. Three Democrats will be defending states Donald Trump won easily in both 2016 and 2020 – West Virginia, Montana and Ohio.

Republicans won the House of Representatives by a 222-213 majority at the midterms, a reversal of Democrats’ 222-213 majority after the 2020 elections. Unlike the Senate, all 435 House seats are up every two years.

Legislation needs to be approved by both chambers of Congress, so Democrats won’t be able to pass partisan legislation once the new Congress is sworn in on January 3. But the Senate alone can confirm presidential nominations for judges and cabinet-level appointments. So President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations will be confirmed for the next two years.

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

– ref. Resolve poll gives Labor huge lead; US Democrats win Georgia Senate runoff – https://theconversation.com/resolve-poll-gives-labor-huge-lead-us-democrats-win-georgia-senate-runoff-196047

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Brooks, Principal Research Fellow – Fluvial Geomorphologist – specialising in catchment erosion research, Griffith University

Back-to-back bleaching events have highlighted the critical threat that climate change poses to the Great Barrier Reef. But few people are aware of the network of gullies pumping out about half the sediment that is polluting reef water quality and threatening its World Heritage status.

These gully networks are like miniature Grand Canyons, some with walls up to 20 metres high. They make a spectacular sight but are a disaster for the land, the reef and the rivers that connect them.

In the UNESCO delegation’s latest report on the reef, dramatically scaling up gully repair efforts is the top recommendation.

Along with global warming, degraded water quality is a key threat to the reef. But as the world continues to debate how to combat climate change, the report recognises that fixing gullies will give the reef a fighting chance to survive warming oceans. This is something Australia can do right now.

Over more than a century, land use changes have disturbed fragile soils in grazing country. The unearthed fine sediment from below the surface dissolves like a Berocca tablet when it rains, creating a gully. Left alone, this process will continue for hundreds of years and keep eating into the landscape.

Our team at Griffith university have been researching gullies since 2005. Over the last decade we’ve developed the tools to identify and target the highest priority gullies, and helped design ways to fix them.

Through detailed mapping we’ve found we can identify and target just a few percent of the tens of thousands of gullies to achieve a massive, cost-effective water quality improvement.

Read more:
5 major heatwaves in 30 years have turned the Great Barrier Reef into a bleached checkerboard

More than 400,000 dump trucks of sediment a year

As the planet warms, Australia is already experiencing record heat. For our team working in Queensland’s gullies, temperatures can reach over 50℃ in the midday sun.

Field work in these conditions usually feels about as comfortable as working on the surface of Mars. Nonetheless, our team of scientists keep returning because of the staggering implications of the data we’ve been collecting.

Each wet season, the exposed soils in these gullies turn to a yoghurt-like consistency. Their chemistry primes them to readily erode, which they do with every raindrop that falls on them.

In fact, an individual gully can produce thousands of tonnes of fine sediment each year from just a few hectares of land. If you look at the total flow of sediment from all gullies, on average over 400,000 truckloads are dumped across the reef every year, mostly within the inner lagoon.

As sediment and nutrients travel freely down the rivers, they pollute fragile ecosystems, filling water holes, clouding the water and reducing biodiversity. Once they reach the reef lagoon, they smother corals and seagrasses, which struggle to survive.

As the UNESCO report identifies, degraded water quality severely affects the resilience of the reef, limiting its ability to recover from bleaching and cyclones, and to withstand the changes caused by global warming.

Read more:
We all know the Great Barrier Reef is in danger – the UN has just confirmed it. Again

The most effective solution for improving water quality

Stabilising gullied landscapes requires an approach akin to mine site rehabilitation. In 2016, we demonstrated that if you reshape (with major earthworks), recap (with rock, soil and mulch) and revegetate the gullies, you can rapidly repair them. Our research has shown that erosion from priority gullies can be reduced by 98% within a space of one to two years.

We’ve now mapped more than 25,000 individual gullies in three hot spot areas in the Normanby, Burdekin and Fitzroy River catchments.

Remarkably, we discovered that only a small proportion of the mapped gullies in each area are contributing a large proportion of the sediment pollution.

For example, in the Burdekin hot spot, we found only about 2% of the gullies contribute 30% of the sediment load to the reef. Targeting these gullies provides the best and quickest way to improve the reef’s water quality.

But the number of gullies repaired to date is a drop in the ocean compared to what still needs to be done.

So far, our method of identifying priority gullies for repair has been implemented across only 1% of the 44-million-hectare reef catchment. The urgent task, as the UNESCO report notes, is to identify other hot spot areas and rapidly roll out the prioritisation mapping to enable targeted remediation to get under way.

What needs to happen now

UNESCO highlights the critical need to speed up effective action, recommending:

there is a need to secure a greater reduction of [sediment and nutrient] pollutants in the next three years than has been achieved since 2009.

The good news is the research has already been done. The data demonstrates it is possible to achieve this ambitious goal. The implementation of on-ground gully repair works with economies of scale is the quickest and most cost-effective way to do it.

Since 2008, Australian governments have set sediment reduction targets and invested considerable funds to improve reef water quality. The federal government intends to spend an additional A$580 million over nine years, and a further $270 million has been committed by the Queensland government.

Importantly, rapid progress can be made given the current funds earmarked for reef water quality. There are also proven working relationships already in place between our Griffith team, Traditional Owners , government and other stakeholders.

The challenge ahead is delivery. The next step requires a coordinated program to develop a pipeline of targeted gully projects.

The pieces of the puzzle are now all in place and there is no reason for delay.

Read more:
Does tourism really suffer at sites listed as World Heritage In Danger?

Andrew Brooks has received funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP) program and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Innovation Program. He also consults to The Palladium Group providing technical advice related to the establishment and implementation of Reef Credits .

James Daley receives funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP) program and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Innovation Program.

– ref. Repairing gullies: the quickest way to improve Great Barrier Reef water quality – https://theconversation.com/repairing-gullies-the-quickest-way-to-improve-great-barrier-reef-water-quality-195647

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Horwood, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Deakin University

A ping from the pizza company. A couple of pings from your socials. Ping, ping, ping from your family WhatsApp group trying to organise a weekend barbecue.

With all those smartphone notifications, it’s no wonder you lose focus on what you’re trying to do do.

Your phone doesn’t even need to ping to distract you. There’s pretty good evidence the mere presence of your phone, silent or not, is enough to divert your attention.

So what’s going on? More importantly, how can you reclaim your focus, without missing the important stuff?

Read more:
No, you’re probably not ‘addicted’ to your smartphone – but you might use it too much

Is it really such a big deal?

When you look at the big picture, those pings can really add up.

Although estimates vary, the average person checks their phone around 85 times a day, roughly once every 15 minutes.

In other words, every 15 minutes or so, your attention is likely to wander from what you’re doing. The trouble is, it can take several minutes to regain your concentration fully after being interrupted by your phone.

If you’re just watching TV, distractions (and refocusing) are no big deal. But if you’re driving a car, trying to study, at work, or spending time with your loved ones, it could lead to some fairly substantial problems.

Read more:
Should mobile phones be banned in schools? We asked five experts

Two types of interference

The pings from your phone are “exogenous interruptions”. In other words, something external, around you, has caused the interruption.

We can become conditioned to feeling excited when we hear our phones ping. This is the same pleasurable feeling people who gamble can quickly become conditioned to at the sight or sound of a poker machine.

What if your phone is on silent? Doesn’t that solve the ping problem? Well, no.

That’s another type of interruption, an internal (or endogenous) interruption.

Think of every time you were working on a task but your attention drifted to your phone. You may have fought the urge to pick it up and see what was happening online, but you probably checked anyway.

In this situation, we can become so strongly conditioned to expect a reward each time we look at our phone we don’t need to wait for a ping to trigger the effect.

These impulses are powerful. Just reading this article about checking your phone may make you feel like … checking your phone.

Read more:
‘Phubbing’: snubbing your loved ones for your phone can do more damage than you realise

Give your brain a break

What do all these interruptions mean for cognition and wellbeing?

There’s increasing evidence push notifications are associated with decreased productivity, poorer concentration and increased distraction at work and school.

But is there any evidence our brain is working harder to manage the frequent switches in attention?

One study of people’s brain waves found those who describe themselves as heavy smartphone users were more sensitive to push notifications than ones who said they were light users.

After hearing a push notification, heavy users were significantly worse at recovering their concentration on a task than lighter users. Although push notification interrupted concentration for both groups, the heavy users took much longer to regain focus.

Frequent interruptions from your phone can also leave you feeling stressed by a need to respond. Frequent smartphone interruptions are also associated with increased FOMO (fear of missing out).

If you get distracted by your phone after responding to a notification, any subsequent procrastination in returning to a task can also leave you feeling guilty or frustrated.

There’s certainly evidence suggesting the longer you spend using your phone in unproductive ways, the lower you tend to rate your wellbeing.

Read more:
Constantly texting your friends about problems may be increasing your anxiety

How can I stop?

We know switching your phone to silent isn’t going to magically fix the problem, especially if you’re already a frequent checker.

What’s needed is behaviour change, and that’s hard. It can take several attempts to see lasting change. If you have ever tried to quit smoking, lose weight, or start an exercise program you’ll know what I mean.

Start by turning off all non-essential notifications. Then here are some things to try if you want to reduce the number of times you check your phone:

• charge your phone overnight in a different room to your bedroom. Notifications can prevent you falling asleep and can repeatedly rouse you from essential sleep throughout the night

• interrupt the urge to check and actively decide if it’s going to benefit you, in that moment. For example, as you turn to reach for your phone, stop and ask yourself if this action serves a purpose other than distraction

• try the Pomodoro method to stay focused on a task. This involves breaking your concentration time up into manageable chunks (for example, 25 minutes) then rewarding yourself with a short break (for instance, to check your phone) between chunks. Gradually increase the length of time between rewards. Gradually re-learning to sustain your attention on any task can take a while if you’re a high-volume checker.

Read more:
Health Check: can your brain be ‘full’?

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

– ref. Ping, your pizza is on its way. Ping, please rate the driver. Yes, constant notifications really do tax your brain – https://theconversation.com/ping-your-pizza-is-on-its-way-ping-please-rate-the-driver-yes-constant-notifications-really-do-tax-your-brain-193952

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, PhD Candidate, Flinders University

On the 4th of December, TikTok user @jongraz announced his beloved pet, a pug named Noodle, had died aged 14. The announcement video received over 19 million views and 4 million likes, a testament to how widely loved Noodle was online.

Noodle and his owner Jonathan Graziano went viral on TikTok for their “Bones Day” routine. In the morning, Jonathan would film his attempts to lift Noodle out of bed. If Noodle stood up, it would be a Bones Day.

If he slouched back into bed, appearing to have no bones, it would be a No Bones Day. Jonathan would then give advice as to what kind of day viewers should expect to have, using Noodle’s Bones status as predictor of things to come.

For example, on a video with the caption “the prophet returns”, Jonathan tests Noodle and discovers it is a No Bones Day. He tells the viewers this “reading” means the audience has to be kind to themselves, they don’t have to do the dishes and are allowed to wear sweatpants for the rest of the day. Because Noodle said so.

The Bones Day phenomenon quickly became part of the Internet’s vernacular. The language spread into many online communities, and multiple TikTok musical artists made songs about Noodle. Noodle’s dad, along with illustrator Dan Travis, published a New York Times Bestseller book titled, Noodle and the No Bones Day

Noodle and Jonathan reached viral fame on TikTok one year into the pandemic, at time when many people were burnt out and experiencing deep loss. Fans online would use the Bones Day predictions as a sign of self care, coming together in the video comments to encourage Noodle and each other to rest and try again tomorrow.

Parasocial relationships and lost pets

Noodle’s death highlights the complex nature of online parasocial relationships. Introduced by Psychologists Donald Horton and R. Richard Wohl in 1956, this idea of a parasocial relationship describes when viewers of media have “an apparently intimate, face-to-face associations with a performer”.

Media scholar Janice Peck believes parasocial relationships are created when repeat contact with an online personality makes the viewer feel like they are talking to a friend. The intimate nature of how influencers share their lives online can make audiences feel closer to them. We are excited at their successes and can feel sadness when they are grieving.

If you have ever said that a celebrity’s behaviour was out of character, or felt like you understood a decision someone online was making, you might be experiencing a parasocial relationship. For example, the infamous trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard highlights how people eagerly take the side of one celebrity and condemn another. Shows like Love Island have incredibly strong fan attachments.

Parasociality, also called communicative intimacies by anthropologist and ethnographer Crystal Abidin, is negotiated through audience feedback, where audiences crave personal interactions – and influencers respond in kind. These kinds of relationships are common online and can also extend to pets.

There are currently millions of social media accounts dedicated to pets, many of these amassing large followings. Ester the Wonder Pig,Tuna the chiweenie, and Tikathe Italian Greyhound are some notable examples.

Pets and grief

Animal behaviourist Melissa Starling says that the loss of a pet can be deep and complex. While this grief is often invalidated by society by being seen as “lesser” than grief for a person, Starling argues it is important to recognise how the loss of a pet can be as painful as the loss of a human. Through the parasocial relationships that we form with pets like Noodle, it is not uncommon to grieve his death as we would our own pet or loved one.

Read more:
Profound grief for a pet is normal – how to help yourself or a friend weather the loss of a beloved family member

Noodle is not the first beloved internet pet to pass away publicly. Earlier in the year Pot Roast, a famous cat on TikTok also died. The complex nature of the relationship between viewer and pet came to light as many fans of Pot Roast lashed out against her owner for the way she displayed her own grief.

One of the first famous pet’s death that reached headlines was the well-known Grumpy Cat, real name Tardar Sauce. Grumpy Cat amassed a massive online audience, and her owner created an entire brand around the cat’s signature grumpy face. This branding has continued long after the cat’s death.

Celebrating life after death

Users experiencing parasocial relationships, like the millions responding to Noodle’s death, use this relationship to show support and maintain relationships within online communities.

Since Noodle’s passing, thousands have posted videos memorialising his life, including other popular pet TikTok accounts like @mistermainer. @mistermainer’s video, which has over 750,000 views, is titled “Remembering an internet legend”. The video begins with close shot of the dog Maine before fading into clips of Noodle and his owner Jonathan, in a style reminiscent of funeral memorial videos.

Popular user @thechalkingdad posted a video tribute to Noodle by drawing his portrait in chalk. This video, with 1.7 million views, has soft background music, and a sombre voice over that says, “Goodbye Noodle, may every day be a bones day in heaven”.

Parasocial relationships with pets online are not only common, but can lead to very real feelings of grief. While grieving a pet may transgress the expected boundaries, these feelings are valid.

Noodle’s death reminds us of the deep, complex, and often very fulfilling relationships that users can form online. Relative strangers are able to connect over social media in a solidarity of mourning. Rather than grieving alone, they can use social media platforms to grief collectively.

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

– ref. The ultimate no bones day: the death of TikTok pug Noodle shows how we can grieve online for animals we’ve never met – https://theconversation.com/the-ultimate-no-bones-day-the-death-of-tiktok-pug-noodle-shows-how-we-can-grieve-online-for-animals-weve-never-met-196046

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender, University of Waikato

The release this week of Sport NZ’s new Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport caused a minor and predictable controversy. One former parliamentarian called the guidelines “woke ideology”. Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson responded that such opposition was “petty and small-minded”.

In reality, the guidelines are the result of extensive consultation over two years. They’re a response to national sports organisations calling for help in navigating the uncharted waters of imagining sport beyond the gender binary.

They recommend supporting athletes to participate in community sport in the gender they identify as. Sports organisations are now tasked with developing new or revised policies that prioritise inclusion.

While some, such as NZ Rugby and Boxing New Zealand, are already working on transgender policies, the guidelines offer a clear road map for the consultative process, with the support of Sport NZ.

Recognising this will be different for each sport, Sport NZ CEO Raelene Castle says the guidelines are simply a good “start point for conversation”. At their core is the principle of inclusion, based on wellbeing and safety, privacy and dignity, and removing discrimination, bullying and harassment.

By gaining confidence through this process, it’s hoped sports organisations will recognise that making sport safer and more inclusive is ultimately beneficial for all. The question now, however, is whether change at the grassroots level can filter up to elite sports, which are most often governed and directed by policies set by international bodies.

A blurry line

Sport NZ and High Performance Sport New Zealand have committed to supporting national sporting bodies navigate the rules and regulations applied by international sporting organisations. In practice, however, the boundaries between community and national and international elite sports are blurry.

Access to sport is a human right. It has many social, psychological and physical benefits that should be available to all. The principles and practices of inclusion don’t observe boundaries between community and elite sport, and many sports organisations are struggling to balance competitive fairness with inclusiveness, and governance with human rights law.

Read more:
Why the way we talk about Olympian Laurel Hubbard has real consequences for all transgender people

Some international organisations continue to reinforce gender binary norms in elite sport with policies based on increasingly outdated views of biological sex. Others are working towards policies that recognise changing understandings of gender in wider society.

A year ago, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released updated guidelines for inclusion of transgender and intersex athletes. No athlete should be excluded from competing based on an “unverified, alleged or perceived unfair competitive advantage due to their sex variations, physical appearance and/or transgender status”.

The guidelines recognised decades of significant harm caused to athletes who have experienced unethical and “medically unnecessary” procedures and treatments to meet previous selection criteria. Indeed, the widespread use of so-called “sex testing” justified by sporting criteria has been a gross violation of human rights.

Resistance and reaction

The media attention and polarising debates surrounding high-profile transgender athletes like New Zealand Olympic weightlifter Laurel Hubbard and US swimmer Lia Thomas have prompted some sports organisations to revise their policies, often under duress.

Rowing USA, for instance, has just announced a new Gender Identity Policy. Domestic athletes can now participate based on their “expressed gender identity”.

Some are concerned that opening competition in this way essentially eliminates the “women’s category”. Others see such initiatives as a move towards reimagining sport as safe, supportive and inclusive of people across the gender spectrum.

Read more:
The debate over transgender athletes’ rights is testing the current limits of science and the law

Other sports have taken a different stance. World Rugby banned transgender women from women’s rugby in 2020. And earlier this year the aquatic sports federation FINA banned transgender swimmers, reintroducing measures described by one critic as “an unacceptable erosion of bodily autonomy for women and girls”.

And various other sporting bodies have introduced trans-exclusionary policies, including the International Rugby League and the International Cycling Union.

From guidelines to policies

Bans on trans athletes are often justified on the ground of biology and science. The counter-argument is that the research on transgender sports performance is too new to make definitive calls this early. But one analysis of the literature concluded “the future of women’s sport includes transgender women and girls”.

As the new book Justice for Trans Athletes shows, transgender athletes experience many challenges, including stigma, discrimination and gender-based violence. Sport NZ is to be commended for recognising its responsibility to take such trauma into account, given the harm that can be done during “debates” about the participation of an already marginalised and often vulnerable group.

Read more:
Polarising, sensational media coverage of transgender athletes should end – our research shows a way forward

Local sporting bodies will not lose funding if they don’t adopt the principles within their inclusion and diversity policies, but the Sport NZ guidelines clearly identify expectations for best practice.

It remains to be seen how national and international sports organisations implement and regulate such guidelines if and when some sporting bodies refuse to voluntarily adopt them. Given the onus is on organisations to carve their own paths, there is a lot of room for alternative interpretations of what are essentially still only recommendations.

As sports medicine and social science scholars acknowledge, developing overarching policy on transgender participation in sport remains complex and messy. Introducing guidelines and frameworks rather than enforceable policy may be a lighter touch, but it sends a clear message of an organisational commitment to change.

Starting from a place of inclusion is an important sign of progress. But it will be a shame if this important human rights issue becomes tangled and lost in the all-too-familiar power plays and politics of global sport.

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

– ref. Sport NZ’s transgender guidelines are a good start – but can they filter up from grassroots to elite competition? – https://theconversation.com/sport-nzs-transgender-guidelines-are-a-good-start-but-can-they-filter-up-from-grassroots-to-elite-competition-196123