One Nation’s smashing victory in Farrer fires up the insurgent party, and casts fresh doubts over the future of the Liberal Party.

The result could not be a more devastating rebuff for Liberal leader Angus Taylor, who has been found wanting after only months in the job. This puts him under even more pressure for next week’s budget reply.

The result will raise more doubts about whether, or for how long, Taylor will survive as leader, given Andrew Hastie, a political freelancer, waits in the wings.

Taylor said after the result, “For too long, we have been a party of convenience, not of conviction, and that must change”, and again defaulted to his immigration lines. He repeated his slogan, “If the vote sprays, Labor stays”. In Farrer, it was less a matter of spraying as deserting.

One might say deposed Liberal leader Sussan Ley extracted her ultimate revenge in triggering the byelection. Once she announced she was quitting the seat, it was always potentially bad news for her successor and her party.

Ley, overseas and invisible for the campaign, re-emerged on Saturday night with a statement rejecting the argument Taylor has been making about the impact of the Coalition bust ups. She also declared: “On the day the leadership spilled in February, the new leader said the Liberal Party needed to ‘change or die’. Three months later, the result in Farrer demonstrates that statement to be far truer today than it ever was then.”

The Liberal vote has collapsed to an extraordinary low. Last election Ley received a primary vote of about 43%. This time, on Saturday night’s numbers, the Liberals were polling about 12%.

The Liberals had a weak candidate in Raissa Butkowski. One reason was the local party was in no state to throw up a strong contender.

The Nationals, able to be in the field for the first time in a quarter of a century, were polling just behind the Liberals (about 10%) on Saturday night. Their leader Matt Canavan, in contrast to Taylor, was conspicuous by his presence in the campaign, figuratively and often literally camped in the electorate.

This is the first time One Nation has won a House of Representatives seat.

The result is a case study of the wider mood of disillusionment and anger in the Australian electorate. The “parties of government” are on the nose, and their situation will likely only get worse. Commentators were noting the comparison with the United Kingdom, where Labour was taking a towelling in local elections.

One Nation had a scratchy campaign towards the end, after revelations that its candidate, David Farley, had previously wanted to be a candidate for Labor and in the 2025 election embraced independent Michelle Milthorpe, his opponent at this election, as a “straight shooter”. He also had slip ups in his public comments.

The voters didn’t care. Their mood was sour; their eyes were on Pauline Hanson, who articulated their grievances.

The Farrer seat tells a tale of two electorates – Albury, the urban area and about a third of the voters where Milthorpe did extremely well in 2025, and the sprawling scattered areas of small towns and rural holdings.

Milthorpe, who has had a swing of about 8% to her, could not lift her vote to catch the One Nation surge, which had a swing to it of 34% (having polled under 7% last time). Labor’s decision not to contest the seat did not give Milthorpe the assistance that might have been expected.

Milthorpe’s primary vote is about 28% to Farley’s 40%. On a two candidate basis Farley leads Milthorpe about 59-41%.

A year ago the time suited Milthorpe, when Farrer voters wanted to give a slap to its Liberal MP. This year, the voters wanted to take an axe to the system.

One Nation’s victory in Farrer follows a successful result in South Australia, where the party snatched four lower house seats and three in the upper house.

On Saturday night Hanson was ecstatic, projecting the vote to a much wider success:

“This is a journey that we’re going to go on, that we are going to look forward to in the future and the people out there who may be watching this – we’re coming after those other seats. If they have not represented you, you are not going to be the forgotten people anymore”.

The Farrer triumph comes before the crucial Victorian poll in November. The state Liberals, despite retaining Nepean in last weekend’s byelection, will be unnerved by the Farrer result. Many regional areas appear to be for the taking, given Victorians’ desire to rid themselves of the Allan government but their apprehension about the Liberals’ state of unreadiness. One Nation will present a vehicle for a primal political scream.

Federal Labor knows that while One Nation is presently the Coalition’s problem, it could become Labor’s too. At the raucous One Nation function on Saturday night, Barnaby Joyce declared, “Western Sydney here we come”. It might be hubris of course, but if the community mood doesn’t change, some outer suburban Labor seats could become vulnerable.

Helen Haines, the community independent who holds the Victorian seat of Indi across the Murray from Farrer, declared the result was “the end of business as usual in Farrer”.

We might say it’s also the end of business as usual for the Liberal Party, whatever that will mean.

– ref. View from The Hill: A primal scream from Farrer throws Liberals into deeper crisis – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-a-primal-scream-from-farrer-throws-liberals-into-deeper-crisis-282263

One Nation has won the Farrer federal byelection – the first time the party has won an election for a federal House of Representatives seat. At the same time, the Liberal vote has crashed, with independent Michelle Milthorpe running second on Saturday night.

The byelection in the regional New South Wales seat was triggered by former Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s resignation. At the 2025 general election, Ley had defeated independent Michelle Milthorpe in Farrer by 56.2–43.8.

With 41% of enrolled voters counted for the byelection, The Poll Bludger’s results system is projecting that One Nation’s David Farley will defeat Milthorpe by 58.0–42.0 when all votes are counted.

Current primary votes are 42.3% Farley (up 35.1% on One Nation’s 2025 vote), 25.6% Milthorpe (up 7.0%), 11.2% Liberals (down 32.2%) 9.7% Nationals (new), 2.7% Legalisse Cannabis (new), 2.4% Greens (down 2.8%) and 2.0% Shooters (down 1.7%). Labor didn’t contest after winning 15.1% in 2025.

Projections for final primary votes are 41.7% Farley, 27.0% Milthorpe, 11.3% Liberals and 9.9% Nationals. The majority of preferences come from the Liberals and Nationals to One Nation, and Milthorpe’s preference share of 48.0% is higher than I expected given the unfavourable sources. But One Nation’s large lead on primary votes will give them an easy win after preferences.

National polls have recently had One Nation in second place on primary votes behind Labor and ahead of the Coalition. If these polls are accurate, One Nation should be winning seats like Farrer, which is rural and strongly conservative.

YouGov poll: Labor rebounds from slump in prior poll

A national YouGov poll for Sky News, conducted April 28 to May 5 from a sample presumably of 1,500, gave Labor 30% of the primary vote (up three since the April 14–21 YouGov poll), One Nation 24% (down three), the Coalition 21% (up one), the Greens 14% (steady), independents 5% (steady) and others 6% (down one).

By respondent preferences, Labor led the Coalition by 54–46, a one-point gain for Labor. Labor led One Nation by a blowout 57–43, a five-point gain for Labor.

Anthony Albanese’s net approval was up five points to -14, with 54% dissatisfied and 40% satisfied. Angus Taylor’s net approval was up one point to -4 (42% dissatisfied, 38% satisfied). Albanese led Taylor as better PM by 45–36 (44–39 previously). He led Pauline Hanson by 54–35 (50–39).

Asked about their personal financial situation in the past three months, 47% of those polled said it was worse, 43% no change and just 7% better. On what Labor should prioritise in Tuesday’s budget, 36% selected budget savings, 33% energy subsidies or a fuel excise cut, 20% more social services and welfare and 11% income tax cuts.

Morgan poll

A national Morgan poll, conducted April 27 to May 3 from a sample of 1,681, gave Labor 29.5% of the primary vote (down 0.5 since the April 20–26 Morgan poll), the Coalition 24% (up 1.5), One Nation 21.5% (down one), the Greens 13% (down one) and all Others 12% (up one).

By respondent preferences, Labor led the Coalition by an unchanged 54.5–45.5. By 2025 election preference flows, Labor led by 53–47, a one-point gain for the Coalition.

UK Labour’s dismal performance at Welsh, Scottish and English local elections

On Thursday, Welsh and Scottish parliamentary elections and English local government elections occurred, which I covered for The Poll Bludger. Labour has dominated Wales since the first devolved election in 1999, but won just nine of 96 seats, with the left-wing nationalist Plaid Cymru taking 43 seats and the populist right Reform 34.

In Scotland, the left-wing nationalist SNP (58 of 129 seats) and the Greens (15 seats) combined retained a clear majority, with Labour tied for second with Reform on 17 seats.

In England, Labour has lost over 1,400 council seats, while Reform won over 1,400. The BBC’s Projected National Share that estimates a national vote share from council elections had Reform on 26%, the Greens 18%, Labour 17%, the Conservatives 17% and the Liberal Democrats 16%.

Updates on Tasmanian upper house elections

I covered the May 2 Tasmanian upper house elections for Huon and Rosevears last Monday. After postals were counted Thursday, a full distribution of preferences in Huon resulted in left-wing independent Clare Glade-Wright defeating conservative independent incumbent Dean Harriss by 52.5–47.5.

Primary votes were 30.8% Harriss, 27.5% Glade-Wright, 16.7% Labor, 15.0% Greens and 10.0% combined for two other independents.

In Rosevears, the electoral commission will wait until the final postal votes are received on Tuesday before commencing the distribution of preferences owing to a close margin between the bottom two candidates that could be affected by late postals. The Liberals are almost certain to retain.

Final SA upper house results

At the March 21 South Australian election, eleven of the 22 upper house seats were elected using statewide proportional representation with preferences. A quota for election was one-twelfth of the vote or 8.3%. Upper house members have eight-year terms with half elected every four years.

ABC election analyst Antony Green has analysis of the upper house result. Final primary votes gave Labor 4.41 quotas, One Nation 2.93, the Liberals 2.13, the Greens 1.22, Legalise Cannabis 0.28 and Family First 0.26.

The electronic distribution of preferences was finally conducted last Monday. As expected, Labor won five of the 11 seats (up one since 2018, the last time these seats were up), One Nation three (up three), the Liberals two (down two) and the Greens one (steady). SA-Best lost its two seats.

In the distribution of preferences, One Nation’s third candidate made a full quota, while Labor’s fifth was elected with 0.57 quotas. The Greens’ second surpassed both Legalise Cannabis and Family First, to be runner-up with 0.46 quotas.

Preferences beyond a “1” for an above the line group are entirely optional in the SA upper house. With the final seat decided between Labor and the Greens, right-wing voters were likely to exhaust their preferences.

In 2022, Labor won five seats, the Liberals four, the Greens one and One Nation one. One Nation’s winner at that election, Sarah Game, has defected. The upper house total is ten Labor out of 22, six Liberals, three One Nation, two Greens and Game. Labor and the Greens combined have 12 seats, a majority.

– ref. One Nation wins Farrer byelection as Liberal vote crashes – https://theconversation.com/one-nation-wins-farrer-byelection-as-liberal-vote-crashes-282051

Even before it is delivered on Tuesday, the budget’s looming broken promises are bringing a political backlash.

Anthony Albanese pledged at the election not to touch negative gearing or capital gains tax – the budget is set to alter both.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is not unaware of the political reaction but argues “what matters most at the end of the day is taking the right decisions for the right reasons”.

“Without coming at the specifics of these policy issues that have been speculated about, if we come to a different view we’ll front up and explain why,” Chalmers tells The Conversation in a pre-budget interview.

His point about “coming to a different view” will be contested. It is more credible that Chalmers and others in Labor wanted to change these taxes all along. But the experiences of former leader Bill Shorten had shown the risks of proposing such changes before an election, and how far Albanese would go was always a question mark.

Chalmers said there were good reasons in the election campaign to focus on supply. “I think there has been a welcome focus now on some of the intergenerational issues in our housing market and in our tax system.

“And I genuinely believe that if you come to a different view on a key issue that the onus is on you to explain why.”

Chalmers casts this budget as “the balance point” between a year of delivering previous commitments and the coming year “of ambitious reform”.

“The commitments we took to the people in 2025 [on housing] were focused largely on supply as well as 5% deposits [to help first home buyers].

“We’ve been working very hard to deliver on those commitments and like any government [we] are always looking for where we can make a meaningful difference.

“This budget is about making a difference and making difficult decisions, not just marking time.

“And I think these sets of issues, these really quite defining anxieties about how hard it is to get a toehold in the housing market – I think there has developed a sense of urgency to deal with them.”

Chalmers is anxious to reject the claim that by stressing intergenerational equity the government is indulging in intergenerational warfare.

“On the specific question around these intergenerational concerns, we do not intend for one second to blame one part of the Australian community for the difficulties being faced by another part of the Australian community.

“We have no intention of setting one group of Australians against another group of Australians.

“We don’t blame older people for making the most of the tax arrangements, including those put in place by [prime minister John] Howard and [treasurer Peter] Costello a quarter of a century ago.

“We want more people to be able to access the housing market […] we see that as an important way to get more people having a toehold in the economy more broadly.”

One change the budget won’t make is to impose a new tax on gas exports.

Chalmers said he understood there were “really strong views” in favour of this and he understood the arguments.

“It was one of the reasons why I reformed the PRRT [Petroleum Resource Rent Tax] in the first term.

“I know that people would like us to go further than that, but from the government’s point of view and for the foreseeable future there are good reasons to prioritise these two way supply arrangements in the region on fuel. Getting the gas reservation scheme in place, which is about energy security, industrial capacity and price. Those are more important things to do for the foreseeable future.”

This week the government announced that under its gas reservation scheme, producers of liquefied natural gas on the east coast will be required from July 2027 to put aside 20% of their gas exports for the Australian market.

When it is put to Chalmers that he doesn’t seem to be ruling out forever going further on gas tax, he said it was one of the issues in the public debate but “it’s not something that I’m anticipating”.

As well as tax changes, the budget will contain a package aimed at improving productivity. These include measures to reduce red tape, remove barriers to trade, make it easier to engage with government, accelerate approvals and simplify building regulations.

They also include making it quicker to recognise the skills of migrant tradespeople, and reforming the permanent migration points test for skilled visas to select better educated, higher-skilled and younger migrants.

This is Chalmers’ fifth budget. Costello delivered a dozen, as he waited, in vain, for Howard to retire. With Labor set to win perhaps another couple of terms, is Chalmers prepared to contemplate Costello’s milestone?

“I find it hard to imagine that anyone would do a dozen.”

“That’s amazing because I know how much these budgets take out of people.”

– ref. View from The Hill: Jim Chalmers on justifying broken promises – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-jim-chalmers-on-justifying-broken-promises-282261

Note the following from An Economic Model for Securing Hormuz, 30 April 2026 for Project Syndicate, by three British-based emeritus professors of economics. Or see The Strait of Hormuz, Towards a Long-Lasting Solution 18 April 2026, CESifo Working Papers.

The authors say: “The need for solutions that rely less on coercion and more on aligning economic incentives with America and Iran’s shared interest in keeping the Strait open. That may mean institutionalizing today’s emerging arrangement, by which Iran, in coordination with the Gulf states, guarantees safe transit for a fee. Such a system would resemble the agreement under the Montreux Convention that governs passage through the Turkish-controlled Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. An Iranian toll based on Turkey’s current transit fee of $5.83 per net ton would be about $0.58 per oil barrel—small enough, relative to the value of the goods, that shipping firms would not balk at the expense or seek alternative routes. … such a toll would generate $4.3 billion annually, an amount large enough to create significant incentives for Iran to facilitate and ensure safe passage.”

Such an arrangement is described as a “service-based toll system”, and is arguably more efficient and stable than any alternative arrangements.

Clearly such ‘service-based’ systems are used in the Panama and Suez Canals. The service component of canal maintenance is obvious, and of course in the Panama case there is a substantial resource cost in terms of water required to run the locks. Yet in both cases the fees charged include substantial ‘rent’ or ‘royalty’ components. And for the Strait of Hormuz – along with the other examples – a significant service would be that of ‘protection’ or ‘security’.

Such a protection-fee may have the look of ‘extortion’ about it; but it also has the look of a regular ‘property right’; noting that property rights – and fees arising – form the centrepiece of liberal economics. Indeed, as it was, the world economy – and ecology – has been blighted by ‘cheap oil’. Every little bit to raise the price of oil – and oil-based products – towards their long-run opportunity costs can only be a good thing.

Under such a commercial regime, we could call the Iranians and Omanis (and whoever else becomes part of the service-consortium) Strait Lords or straitlords (like landlords). Indeed Egypt and Panama are – among other things – Canal Lords.

What would happen if the Strait of Hormuz was blocked by a giant earthquake? Then a pipe, tunnel, road or canal would have to be built. There would be no argument then about a portage fee being charged.

Indeed, there are many landlocked countries in the world. They expect to have to pay something to foreign authorities to access the international marketplace for goods. Ethiopia, with well over 100 million people, depends substantially on the port of Djibouti. Kazakhstan depends on China and Russia. Paraguay depends on access to the Paraná River. Switzerland depends on the Rhine and Rhone. Austria depends on the Danube. These passages all have associated commercial costs.

War and Sport

In the event of wars, Straits are typically the first passages to be blocked. Just think of the Strait of Dover, which connects the English Channel to the North Sea, in World War One and World War Two. The British used mines and submarine nets and guns to keep unauthorised traffic out. The best solution to wartime privations is to not start wars in the first place; and – if they happen anyway – to quickly find a pragmatic economic solution to end the war without creating ‘losers’; to end the war through negotiations rather than belligerent ‘demands’.

There is only one unreasonably belligerent nation-state in Southwest Asia, and it doesn’t have a coastline on the Persian Gulf. The rest of the states in a region – or in the world, especially when a Strait or a Gulf has global significance – can corral such a rogue state, if they choose to do so.

It is to the dismay of the vast majority of the world’s population that the rogue state of Israel has been allowed to operate uncorralled, and for so long; Israel with the thoughtless support – the uncritical loyalty – of its distant champion, its Goliath. Principles-based economic pragmatism can rule when rogues are constrained or reformed.

Iran is a proud nation that will play a fair game; it will, if allowed to, play fair and play hard. That’s the sporting mantra which reflects, for example, the New Zealand All Blacks.

Conclusion

The emeritus economists conclude: “The Strait of Hormuz is a cornerstone of the global energy system. For many years, the United States effectively managed its security; but this arrangement has become economically inefficient and politically asymmetrical in terms of responsibilities and burden-sharing. A cooperative regional security regime funded by transit charges [my emphasis] offers a promising alternative that would benefit oil exporters, shippers, and consumers.”

Yes, such a regime could contain a royalty component as well as a service component; ‘clipping the ticket’. Capitalism runs best with rents, but not excess rents, not Goliath rents.

About the writer:

Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

7 May 2026 – In Aotearoa New Zealand, citizenship functions as an exit permit. An adult New Zealand citizen is free to choose to become a foreign denizen.

A denizen (of New Zealand) is a person living and working in New Zealand, but who doesn’t qualify for a New Zealand passport. New Zealand has three tiers of denizenship, although the first tier are actually citizens who are perceived as immigrants. Too many New Zealanders – probably increasing numbers of New Zealanders – tend to regard all New Zealand residents who don’t look or sound Pakeha, Māori, Pasifika, white South African, or Australian as non-citizens; as not real New Zealanders.

New Zealand is increasingly becoming a country with a high denizen-to-citizen ratio. New rules intended to make it more difficult for New Zealand permanent residents to become citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand can be expected to keep more immigrants here. That may be the intention.

Probably the countries with the world’s highest denizen to citizen ratios are the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

First-tier denizens don’t count as denizens, because they are actually citizens; they are just casually perceived by many to be denizens. Citizens of Indian or Chinese heritage whose presence in New Zealand dates back to the nineteenth century may be perceived as denizens now, whereas they were once perceived as citizens.

Second-tier denizens are those people living in New Zealand with ‘permanent residence’ status. Except that we would regard New Zealand resident Australians as citizens, even if most of them are not, technically.

Third-tier denizens are any ‘visa-holders’ living in New Zealand with some ‘right to paid work’ provision in their permits. This does include many international backpackers and many international students.

The denizen to citizen ratio is the number of resident adult second- and third-tier denizens divided by the number of resident adult citizens. I don’t know what it is, but am guessing that it is about one-to-three, and growing. (In the United Arab Emirates the denizen to citizen ratio is about nine-to-one.)

Is the new policy essentially an immigrant-retention scheme? We need our immigrants to stay, so in that sense it may be good policy. And, as the financial literati keep telling us, we are going to need many workers in the 2030s and 2040s to sell or otherwise provide services to our seniors. It’s just a shame that New Zealand has so many jobless young people, including many NEETs – over 20% of women aged 20 to 24 counted as NEETs in early 2026 – who have finished their tertiary education yet are not able to secure employment.

Young and Old

Just a note, if a decision is ever made to income-test New Zealand Superannuation, then many New Zealanders aged over 65 will choose retirement over employment, aggravating the pensioner to worker ratio. New Zealand has one of the world’s highest pensioner employment rates, thanks to its universal system of retirement income which enables people to delay retirement. Statistics New Zealand should keep more granular data about the employment attributes of people aged over 65.

And they should keep statistics of the numbers of qualifying people aged over 65 who choose to not opt-in to New Zealand Superannuation. The fiscal cost of qualifying older cash millionaires signing up for a superannuation income which they don’t need – all citizens and denizens with permanent residence – may be smaller than is widely presumed. We should find out.

The cost of income-testing seniors may be less than the actual savings. Further, given that the universal model works best for seniors, it most likely works best for juniors, too. Too many NEETs are trapped into the targeted benefit system. New Zealand is too poor to sideline its young citizens; too many respond by using their citizenship as an exit certificate; exit from Aotearoa New Zealand.

About the writer:

Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

6 May 2026 – While I have been aware for some time about Sweden’s difficulty in adjusting to its large inflow of refugees in the 2010s – especially African and Muslim refugees – I was nevertheless shocked by what I saw in the 2025 alternative travel documentary series Scandinavia with Simon Reeve, broadcast in New Zealand by SkyGo. The particular episode which compares and contrasts refugee ‘integration’ in Sweden and Denmark is here on DailyMotion, with a full transcript.

Before mentioning crime, cocaine and apartheid, we should note that Sweden is a large-scale military systems exporter. For Sweden, the ‘big gun’ industry is equivalent to the dairy industry in New Zealand as a source of foreign exchange revenue. Reeve notes: “There is really no other country of comparable size, of comparable population that can produce its own fighter jets and submarines. … The Swedes make some of the most advanced weapon systems in the world.”

In still-mainly-white and privileged central Stockholm, a quasi-progressive economist who appears to have a Jesus-complex notes among other things that Sweden’s much vaunted (though targeted) tax-subsidy system is “ensuring that women not just continue to provide economically for the family, but also for the state as well.” He notes “they contribute so much to our economy and welfare”. Sweden is the archetypal liberal mercantilist state that insists on running huge current account surpluses, and interprets national success as making vast amounts of money; it’s a corporate society which engineers people into making choices which reflect the ‘rainy day’ values of its state system.

In six out of seven years, Sweden ran current account surpluses in excess of five percent of GDP. Sweden has always run such surpluses for more than thirty years; as a country, it keeps putting ‘money in the bank’ and not spending it. It could be said that its foreign ‘investments’ support New Zealand’s inflated standard of living. New Zealand hasn’t had a current account surplus since 1973, and typically has a current account balance of minus five percent of GDP; mirror image of Sweden.

Despite (or because of) its liberal and mercantilist credentials, Sweden is a failing state. Reeve visits the police bomb squad. We learn that: “Deadly shootings among drug gangs, largely run by people from immigrant backgrounds, have more than tripled. The gun murder rate in Stockholm is now roughly 30 times that of London. Sweden has the highest gun crime death rate in Europe, after Montenegro and Albania. And it’s not just guns. … Somewhere around 2018, [Sweden] experienced rapidly increasing numbers of homemade bombs, hand grenades and so on. … Most of the hand grenades being thrown are being thrown by very young boys and girls. … Bomb units can get four callouts a day.”

He goes on to note: “Gang warfare has exploded here, fuelled by the rise in cocaine use in Sweden and across Europe. Gangs have taken advantage of liberal policies that children shouldn’t be arrested and actively recruited them. … Most of the perpetrators, as well as the victims, come from immigrant communities. … In recent decades, Swedes welcomed refugees from world conflicts, more than 100,000 from the wars in the Balkans, and hundreds of thousands from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan. … Housing’s been provided, but often far from city centres, in estates where up to 90% of residents are now from immigrant backgrounds. … Two areas of suburban Stockholm … estates are cut off, hemmed in by motorways.”

The main problem growing up in those estates, mentioned by a Swedish-born woman of Somali descent, is “poverty”. “When I was 15 years old, I lost my best friend at this gang war that has been happening for 10 years, for decades. … The first thing is they need to see us as humans.” Yes, in Sweden, with its much-vaunted welfare state. (The Somali refugees came in the early 1990s, as a result of one of the United States’s failed foreign adventures.)

Reeve concludes: “We can debate whether there’s been a failure to integrate, but there has definitely been a failure of integration. The consequences are now being felt.”

The present government – in office since 2022 – is, more than most governments in Sweden’s history, heavily into New Zealand’s Luxon/Willis style of fiscal consolidation. Albeit with higher taxes and targeted subsidies.

We may note the following recent stories hosted by Al Jazeera: ‘Ready to murder?’ How criminal networks in Sweden are recruiting children to kill (15 Dec 2025), and Gangland wars killing dozens of bystanders, report Swedish police (4 May 2026). The former states that “What began as a utopian welfare project [of public housing in the 1960s and 1970s] gradually evolved into the physical framework of today’s segregated suburbs.” (Is this a portent of the fate which will befall the Unitec housing project, Te Kukūnga Waka, still very much in its early days? See my Carrington Precinct, Aka Unitec, 5 February 2026, Scoop) The latter story notes that “the minority right-wing government, propped up by the far-right Sweden Democrats, has been pushing through proposals to crack down on crime and immigration ahead of a general election on September 13.”

Sweden, reflecting its exceptionalist image as a warmly welcoming country, rejected any attempts to ‘assimilate’ its refugee immigrants; supposedly leaving them to retain their cultures of origin while being supported in deep poverty traps, in a suffocating welfare state of targeted housing and tightly means-tested hand-outs.

Denmark

Denmark, in recent years has gone the other way, heavily restricting refugee immigration and forcibly removing people from their immigrant silos into ‘mixed communities’. They have done much as what ACT in New Zealand wants to do here; mix them up, and sign them up to traditional national values.

Simon Reeve notes: “It would be wrong to think there are no problems in Denmark. All this social cohesion means outsiders can sometimes feel unwelcome. If you don’t conform here, it can feel uncomfortable.”

“The government even introduced what was called a ghetto law, aimed at preventing neighbourhoods being dominated by so-called non-Western immigrants. … One designated ghetto was the multicultural neighbourhood Mjolnaparkin. … Some families were actually forced to relocate. … It’s been described as the social experiment of the century. It’s also being described as social policy with a bulldozer. … Non-western parents in ghetto areas are now required to send their one-year-olds to preschools to ensure they learn Danish and traditions and values, or they lose government welfare benefits. Ghettos have since been renamed parallel societies …  an attempt to enforce and impose fundamental Danish values.”

Current policies; and multiculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand

“Sweden’s reduced overall net immigration to zero. Denmark has the same target … they’ll offer up to £26,000 for immigrants to return home.” And “even in liberal Sweden, I met indigenous people who feel forgotten and excluded.” Shame, shame, shame. Sweden functions now too much like an apartheid state. And Denmark too, in its own less violent and less overt way.

In my view, genuine multiculturalism – cultural fusion – works best. In Aotearoa New Zealand that’s an absolute requirement, given the extent of demographic turnover, losing so many New Zealand citizens as well as welcoming immigrants. New Zealand will progress best without particular immigrant cultures becoming too dominant in any suburbs.

The word I like is ‘fusion’. Certainly not ‘assimilation’! Think of it like a ‘fusion restaurant’. We like immigrants to become fully integrated New Zealanders. But, in that process, New Zealand and ‘New Zealand values’ change; they adapt in a progressive way. In New Zealand we are doing this so much better than in Scandinavia. Especially in my own community of West Auckland which is financially poor but culturally rich, and has no ethnic or cultural silos or ghettos.

New Zealand of course could do much better. But it’s so important that neither overt nor covert racism creep further into the mainstream political discourse here. In New Zealand, relatively recent immigrants and their descendants supply so many of the goods and services which sustain us. Thankyou.

About the writer:

Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Communications Minister Anika Wells has repaid more than $10,100, which includes a penalty, after an audit found she wrongly claimed travel expenses on four occasions.

Wells said said on Friday she was “sorry for making these honest mistakes”.

None of the claims relates to the reported around $100,000 in travel expenses for her and a staffer that created a political storm last year. The trip was to the United Nations in New York to promote Australia’s social media ban.

The audit put the cost at about $90,500 and noted the late confirmation of the travel meant flight options were limited and expensive.

A controversial family trip to Thredbo in June 2025 was found to be within the family reunion guidelines.

After the furore about her travel Wells referred herself to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority that deals with parliamentarians’ expenses claims. She asked the authority to audit all trips between 2022 and 2025.

“The publicly available audit found no misconduct or ethical breaches, ” Wells said in a statement.

“The audit found, over four years of travel, involving nearly 250 separate trips, I made four mistakes.

“These were four cases where I chose what I thought was the more sensible, cheaper option, but those choices were not allowed according to the rules, which I accept and respect.”

The four claims breaching the rules relate to

..a February 2022 trip by her husband to pick up a child in Canberra when Wells had COVID

… a May 2025 family trip to Canberra to attend Wells’ swearing in

…a September 2025 trip by Wells’ husband from Melbourne to Brisbane after attending the AFL Grand Final with her

.. part of the use of a hire car from Toowoomba to Sydney in October 2025.

About $2000 of the money Wells has repaid is the penalty for the breaches.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended Wells. “She has done what the rules require. Anika Wells is a very good minister doing extraordinary work,” he said.

Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson said that Wells “tried to justify her travel breaches by asserting she chose the more sensible, cheaper option shows she is tone defe to her ministerial obligations”.

– ref. Minister Anika Wells repays more than $10,000 after four travel claims found to have breached rules – https://theconversation.com/minister-anika-wells-repays-more-than-10-000-after-four-travel-claims-found-to-have-breached-rules-282265

Melbourne-based artist Richard Lewer has been awarded the prestigious Archibald Prize for his life-sized portrait of senior artist and ngangkari (traditional healer) Iluwanti Ken.

Though Ken is small in stature, Lewer’s portrait of her carries what the artist himself describes as a “quiet authority” – an ability to command a space with a sense of calm attentiveness.

It is perhaps the way Ken is brought forward by the bright yellow ochre background that gives the work its greatest sense of presence and vitality.

A radiant presence

Late last year, Lewer travelled to Amata in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands so he could spend time at Ken’s art centre, Tjala Arts. It was during this time Lewer gained a deeper understanding of the responsibilities Ken carries in maintaining continuity and care of culture.

Ken’s own work, which is informed by walawuru tjukurpa (story of the eagles), speaks of such care. She is well known for her large-scale ink drawings, which feature graphic depictions of mother eagles hunting.

Lewer’s portrait seems to depict a moment in which Ken has briefly stepped away from her work. Yet the small flecks of paint on her left arm suggest the ongoing labour of carrying and caring for the stories of her father’s Country, an attentiveness that persists whether in the studio or beyond it.

I was in the room at the Art Gallery of New South Wales when Lewer’s work was awarded the Archibald Prize – Australia’s most prestigious annual portrait prise.

After all the excitement, Ken herself slowly waded through the crowd towards her portrait. The warm yellow aura surrounding her in Lewer’s work is not merely an invention of the artist’s imagination; the same warmth and quiet radiance could be felt in her presence as she sat down quietly next to the portrait.

Gaypalani Wanambi wins the Wynne Prize

Yolngu artist Gaypalani Waṉambi has won the Wynne Prize this year with her etching on metal, The Waṉambi tree. This prize is Australia’s oldest art prize, and is awarded annually for the “best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure scultpure”.

In her winning piece, Waṉambi has etched the important ancestral honey hunter of the Marrakkulu clan, Wuyal, on the back of various discarded road signs.

Beatrice Gralton, who curated this year’s Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes, ensured viewers of the exhibition could see both sides of Waṉambi’s work by suspending it directly from the ceiling.

Waṉambi carries forward a legacy of cultural innovation, with a practice that recovers discarded industrial material. Growing up in an artistic family, Waṉambi learned to paint and etch with her father and brothers. After receiving news she had won the Wynne Prize, Waṉambi said:

My father was a great artist and I learnt by his side.

After announcing Waṉambi as the winner of the Wynne Prize and playing a short video message from the artist in her absence, board president Michael Rose recalled calling community members in Yirrkala, East Arnhem Land, to share the news. The person he spoke to remarked that the very Waṉambi trees depicted in the winning work had just begun to flower.

Rose also mentioned that the decision of the Wynne Prize was very close this year. In an unusual occurrence, a highly commended honour was also awarded to Sanne Mestrom for her sculpture, What the body knows.

To make things even more interesting, the Trustees decided to also announce a winner for the Trustees Watercolour Prize, which was awarded to Jennifer Mills for her work ET home (another Wynne Prize finalist).

Finalists in the Wynne Prize are also eligible for the Trustees’ Watercolour Prize, valued at $5000.

Lucy Culliton wins the Sulman Prize

The Sir John Sulman Prize is awarded to the best subject painting, genre painting or mural by an Australian artist, and is judged by a guest artist each year.

This year’s Sulman Prize judge was Sydney-based Del Kathryn Barton who selected Lucy Culliton’s intricate painting of Toolah, one of her beloved rescue greyhounds.

This is Culliton’s seventh time as a Sulman Prize finalist. When this fact was mentioned by Culliton herself, as she graciously accepted the award, I instantly thought of the kotowaza (Japanese proverb) “nanakorobi yaoki”, meaning “fall down seven times, get up eight”. (This is also the title of Taryn Cameron-Smith’s entry to the Archibald this year.)

In the work, Toolah is seated on a lavishly decorated armchair, a choice that Lucy Culliton has said reflects her belief that greyhounds, like all animals, deserve comfort and dignity rather than confinement in cages.

Behind Toolah is a large landscape painting by Culliton that was recently featured in an exhibition about climate change.

In Culliton’s palette of soft pinks and yellowy greens, Toolah, the ornate armchair, and the landscape painting behind them seem to bleed into one another, visually collapsing boundaries between subject and setting, and underscoring the interconnectedness of these themes.

Unfortunately, Culliton was unable to bring Toolah to the announcement. But she promised many cuddles were in order.

– ref. Richard Lewer wins Archibald Prize with radiant portrait of traditional healer Iluwanti Ken – https://theconversation.com/richard-lewer-wins-archibald-prize-with-radiant-portrait-of-traditional-healer-iluwanti-ken-282141

This week, US-based education technology provider Instructure announced a significant cybersecurity incident affecting its Canvas system. This is used by schools and universities around the world, including in Australia.

Cyber crime group ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility. On Thursday, the group claimed it had breached Instructure in another attack. Almost 9,000 educational institutions, involving 275 million students, teachers and staff are understood to be caught up in the data breach.

The hack has seen school login pages defaced. In Australia, students at institutions such as the University of Melbourne have been unable to submit assignments amid a global outage. The Queensland government’s “early advice” is students and staff working or studying at public schools since 2020 have been affected.

Instructure confirmed the exposed information may include names, email addresses, student identification numbers and private messages exchanged between users.

Learning is online – and so is student information

Canvas is widely used across the Australian education sector. It is one of several digital “learning management systems” that deliver teaching, assessment, communication and student support services.

Other common systems include Moodle and Blackboard, which help institutions manage coursework, assessments, attendance, analytics (like student engagement) and student administration.

The rapid growth of online and hybrid education (where students learn online and in person) has encouraged the adoption of these systems in schools and universities.

Many institutions now operate these systems through cloud-based models rather than maintaining all infrastructure internally. Students and staff can access these platforms through web browsers, desktop applications and mobile devices.

As a result, education providers now store significant volumes of sensitive information digitally.

While these systems provide flexibility and accessibility, they also create highly interconnected digital environments that can become attractive targets for cybercriminals.

A shift is happening

The Canvas incident is not the only breach. In 2025, there were reports ransomware attacks in schools and universities had jumped by 23% over the previous year.

But there is also an important shift occurring.

Earlier breaches often affected a single university or school through ransomware or compromised internal systems.

In contrast, incidents involving Canvas and another platform, PowerSchool, demonstrate a growing “platform concentration risk”. This is where one cyber incident can rapidly affect thousands of institutions and millions of students simultaneously because so many organisations rely on the same providers. Sadly, it is not just the education sector that is vulnerable to such incidents, any service reliant on internet can be be affected.

Read more: An Amazon outage has rattled the internet. A computer scientist explains why the ‘cloud’ needs to change

Another emerging concern is the increasing sensitivity of the information exposed. Recent incidents reportedly involve private communications within educational environments among all stakeholders (students, teachers, and staff). This raises broader concerns around privacy, safety, mental wellbeing and institutional trust.

What do we need to do to better protect student information?

The Canvas incident highlights how dependent the education sector has become on large cloud and education technology platforms.

When widely used systems experience cyber incidents, the effects can quickly spread across thousands of institutions and millions of students. Schools and universities therefore need stronger oversight of vendors and clearer accountability regarding how student data is stored, shared and protected.

Institutions also need stronger access controls. This needs to involve multi-factor authentication, tighter identity management, encryption and “zero trust” approaches. This means every access request is continuously verified.

Sensitive information relating to student wellbeing, counselling or disability support should receive additional protection and restricted access.

Cyber awareness across the education community must also improve. Students, parents and teachers are often targeted through phishing and impersonation scams after breaches occur.

Governments should also consider stronger and more consistent cyber resilience standards for education technology providers.

As it stands, breaches can potentially affect privacy, safety, trust and mental wellbeing across the broader community.

– ref. Hackers just stole data from 9,000 schools and unis around the world. How can we protect student privacy? – https://theconversation.com/hackers-just-stole-data-from-9-000-schools-and-unis-around-the-world-how-can-we-protect-student-privacy-282486

Amid great media attention, four women and nine children with links to Islamic State have returned from Syria to Australia.

Three of the women were arrested by police after touching down in Melbourne and Sydney on Thursday night. One was charged with terror-related offences after arriving in Sydney, while two were charged with crimes against humanity offences after arriving in Melbourne.

Those cases will be now play out through the courts.

They will all face other challenges, too, with Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett stating some of the group “will be asked to undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support and countering violent extremism programs”.

So-called “de-radicalisation” programs are complex and can differ depending on the age and location of the people involved.

Let’s unpack what happens in these situations, specifically in Victoria and New South Wales, where the women and children have returned to.

Different states, different programs

Each state and territory has different programs with slightly different focuses.

In Victoria, the program is more ideologically focused. It was originally led by the Islamic Council of Victoria in cooperation with Victoria Police and Corrections Victoria.

Since then it has been revised, evaluated and taken over by Victoria’s Board of Imams who continue to work closely with authorities.

It’s a voluntary, community-led program where imams help the alleged offenders gain a better understanding of their religion, and guide them towards peaceful interpretations of their faith. It also has a therapeutic element designed to disengage people from violent extremism and aid their reintegration into the community.

There are other aspects of the program that deal with possible mental health issues and support to address specific risks and needs.

In NSW, it’s very much a social services model. You could liken it to a triage system where they look at the risks and needs of the person and then provide interventions based on addressing those specific risks and needs. For example, if someone has anger management issues, they’ll set up psychological support and education and so forth.

There’s no Australia-wide de-radicalisation program – there is federal coordination but each state and territory’s approach is slightly different through police-led intervention and support from social service agencies.

Read more: IS-linked women are facing a raft of criminal charges. A legal expert explains the laws at play

How do these programs work?

There are a lot of professionals who work in these programs: social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, legal practitioners, criminologists, religious clerics and leaders.

The key to a successful outcome is intensive engagement and trust-building.

If a person doesn’t trust the people working with them, they tend not to engage with the facilitators and often just look for a way out. But if trust has been established, others can be brought into the circle, which can include family and friends as well as mentors and trained professionals.

One of the greatest challenges is getting community cooperation. Some of the best programs are community-led rather than government-led, as communities tend to have the right cultural and religious sensitivities to ensure the program is effective. These subtleties are often missed by those on the outside of relevant communities.

But de-radicalisation is not always a linear path. There are often setbacks and failures and sometimes people re-offend.

Police play a vital role if things go wrong, such as if the person threatens to harm themselves or others. Aside from their own community engagement programs, police can step in to re-arrest the person and protect the community if needed.

The first priorities

For the families that returned to Australia this week – the throng of media, the crush of people around them – these circumstances will be traumatic. There is also stigma associated with their history and that’s going to require lots of effort to get through.

The immediate focus should be getting them out of public attention as soon as possible to dial down the pressure. Until that happens, it’s going to be very hard to get effective interventions going.

For the women who have been arrested and are being brought before the courts, there will be a judicial process where they may or may not be granted bail prior to further court hearings.

If convicted, either Corrections Victoria or Corrections NSW have dedicated prison programs. There is also a good chance they will be eligible for de-radicalisation programs before and after their release, should they wish to participate voluntarily.

There’s also going to be significant separation anxiety issues – not just between mothers and children but also the separation between the members of the group. They will have gone through a lot together and now they’re being separated, this will affect them psychologically.

What about the children?

The children involved have likely all suffered extensive trauma – living in difficult conditions in the refugee camps, suffering through extreme cold and extreme heat, poor diets and so on.

Child psychologists will be crucial, but the most immediate priority will be ensuring their basic needs are met – such as proper housing, nutritious food and getting them re-engaged with their families.

There’ll be different courses of action for the children and that will be based on age. Treatment will be different depending on a child’s age.

But first question is: what do they need straight away? Then, there’s the longer-term interventions that can hopefully produce a good outcome for the person involved, and the wider community.

– ref. What’s next for the ISIS families? This is how ‘de-radicalisation’ programs work in Australia – https://theconversation.com/whats-next-for-the-isis-families-this-is-how-de-radicalisation-programs-work-in-australia-282475

In late April, Amal Khalil, a 43-year-old Lebanese journalist, was killed in a double-tap Israeli strike in southern Lebanon. When rescue teams tried to reach her and another injured journalist, they reportedly also came under fire.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel’s “deliberate and consistent targeting of journalists” was “aimed at concealing the truth of its aggressive acts against Lebanon”, despite a ceasefire that had been agreed to by Israel days earlier.

Both Aoun and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam declared they would pursue international accountability for her death. Khalil was the ninth journalist to be killed in Lebanon so far this year. Israel says the incident is under review.

The incident had parallels to the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in March 2024. She and her family were fired on by Israeli forces while trying to evacuate Gaza City by car. Hind survived the initial attack, but remained trapped for hours, on the phone with Palestinian Red Crescent workers trying to reach her.

Even after following an approved route, the two medics sent to rescue Hind in a clearly marked ambulance were killed, as was Hind herself. A subsequent investigation by Forensic Architecture found 355 bullet holes in the car carrying her and her family.

These are not isolated incidents. This is a clear pattern across war zones in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and Lebanon. Militaries using drones and AI-assisted weapons systems – marketed for their precision – are changing the face of war and driving increasing numbers of civilian deaths.

These growing attacks on civilians, journalists and humanitarian personnel are leading many to fear a new normal setting in: war without rules.

Performative adherence to law

At a Chatham House event in London last month, UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher spoke plainly: “1,000 dead humanitarians in three years – when did that become normal?”

Fletcher identified the absence of legal accountability as an enabler of escalating attacks on aid workers.

Part of this is the performative adherence to international humanitarian law – often repeated in political statements and media coverage – as militaries simultaneously carve out exceptions for the use of force.

For example, Israel has continued to issue evacuation orders for residents of southern Lebanon in recent weeks. It has cited its compliance with international humanitarian law, while also expanding its control over territory there.

When evacuation orders primarily serve to shift populations, rather than protect them, it is a violation of the rules of war.

Self-assessments of legal compliance have also enabled systematic attacks on civilian infrastructure in Lebanon to continue, such as healthcare and food and water systems. Some 1.2 million people now facing crisis levels of food insecurity.

Ceasefires, too, have become performative. Experts argue they are merely serving to divert public attention from Israel’s broader goals in both Gaza and Lebanon.

Six months on, for instance, the Gaza ceasefire is failing to meet its stated objectives. There is no peace or safety for residents. More than 800 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect and 60% of people have lost their homes. Humanitarian aid continues to be obstructed, while children suffer from acute malnutrition.

The ‘Gaza playbook’

Last month, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly threatened to make Dahiyeh, a suburb of southern Beirut, look like Khan Younis in Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has also said all “houses in villages near the Lebanese border will be destroyed, in accordance with the model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza”.

This is precisely what is happening now, despite the ceasefire. Israel created a “buffer zone” in Gaza where it has expanded territorial control, and the same thing is taking place in southern Lebanon.

There were countless warnings, including from the UN secretary-general, that insufficient action over Gaza would have consequences – not only for Palestinian civilians and international law, but wider peace and security.

What can be done?

Now is the time for more principled confrontation from political leaders and concerned states to clearly call out performative adherence to international law and ceasefires.

The normalisation of Israel’s “Gaza playbook” strategies in Lebanon, without sustained outside political pressure, will only continue to escalate the threats to civilians and wider international peace and security.

Middle powers have important roles to play, too. Practically speaking, states can use what’s called “universal jurisdiction” to bring domestic legal action against Israeli leaders and individuals accused of crimes. This could include legal action for the targeting of aid workers and journalists.

A broad coalition of UN member states must also come together to reinforce international law against the forces and practices undermining it.

The “Hague Group” is one such path forward. Formed in early 2025, its membership has expanded to include more than 40 nations aimed at supporting international law, the right to self-determination and the prohibition on taking territory by force.

From Gaza to Lebanon to Iran, greater political action is needed to reinforce international law. The world cannot afford the reverberating human and security costs of continued impunity and war without rules.

– ref. Israel’s destructive actions in Lebanon are normalising war without rules – https://theconversation.com/israels-destructive-actions-in-lebanon-are-normalising-war-without-rules-281538

In the Strait of Gibraltar – a famous marine road connecting the Mediterranean and the Atlantic – lives a critically endangered sub-population of a few hundred long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas).

Despite their name, these dark and blubbery marine mammals aren’t technically whales – they’re large oceanic dolphins which are believed to have a navigator or lead for each pod. Hence the “pilot” part of their name.

There are two types of pilot whales – short and long-finned. They’re generally found in deep offshore waters but can appear in coastal areas. And like other dolphins, they use high frequency sounds to talk to each other in their pods. These clicks and squeaks travel shorter distances compared with the melodic songs of humpback whales.

And as a new paper led by Milou Hegeman from Aarhus University in Denmark and published in the Journal of Experimental Biology shows, the pilot whales that live in the Strait of Gibraltar are having to shout at the upper limit of their range in order to hear each other over human noises.

What’s making all that noise?

The ocean is full of sounds.

Some of these are natural, such as the sounds from fish, seals and waves. Other sounds are produced by human activities, either deliberately (for example seismic and sonar exploration) or unintentionally (for example, the sound of moving ships or other vessels).

The ocean continues to get noisier because of human-made sound – even in isolated Arctic regions. And because of its strategic location, the Strait of Gibraltar is especially noisy with the drone of cargo ships.

Spying on pilot whales

To investigate the communication and behaviour of the population of pilot whales in the Strait of Gibraltar, scientists used 6-metre poles to attach small tags to the creatures (kind of like an Airtag used to track your suitcase) with sterile suction cups positioned between the dorsal fin and blowhole.

Between 2012 to 2015, the steam attached tags to 23 different long-finned pilot whales who live in the region year-round.

These tags remained on pilot whales for up to 24 hours collecting sounds and tracking individual behaviour. The tags then floated to the surface where scientists could locate them using an antenna and collect the data from their diving activities.

More than 84 hours of recordings were made, with 1,432 pilot whale calls extracted. The tags also recorded ship noise in the area.

The researchers found there was a scarcity of pilot whale calls during periods of shipping noise. And the volume of the calls they did make were louder by about half the increase in background noise.

This means the animals are adapting to communicate in times when it is noisy – kind of like having a conversation in a crowded place and you having to raise your voice to be heard.

Other noises, other impacts

This study focuses on just one location in the ocean. But there’s increasing evidence that human-made noise is also impacting other species in other places.

For example, a 2012 study found that ship noise increases stress in right whales. Another study from 2024 found sea turtles travelling in the Galapagos were more vigilant because of increased ship noise.

But it’s not just ship noise that is impacting the animals that live in the ocean. Sonar disrupts whale diving behaviour and feeding behaviour, sometimes even potentially resulting in strandings.

Thankfully, work is being done to reduce noise pollution in the ocean – from building quieter ships to rerouting ship activity, helping ship operators drive more quietly and dialling down the noise from all human activities.

This new study is just one of many scientific contributions to learning more about our impact on our blue backyard. We can only protect what we know. And as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough, it’s worth remembering one of his many pieces of wisdom: “If we save the sea, we save our world”.

Part of this involves being more aware of sound in our sea. Because sometimes, it’s not always the visible impacts such as plastic pollution that need our attention. It might also be the impacts we can only hear.

– ref. Squeak up! I can’t hear you: pilot whales are shouting to hear themselves over ship noise – https://theconversation.com/squeak-up-i-cant-hear-you-pilot-whales-are-shouting-to-hear-themselves-over-ship-noise-282394

Irish hip-hop group Kneecap recently released their latest album, called “Fenian”.

A proud reclamation of a painful derogatory slur, Fenian is a word that connects Irish people to a history in which they were sometimes seen as less than human.

A title packed with meaning

The word originally comes from “Fianna”, which is linked to an ancient Irish mythology. The Fianna were small groups of male Irish warriors led by the legendary hero, Fionn mac Cumhaill.

Today, however, the term is more commonly known for its association with Irish nationalism.

Since at least the 17th century, Irish people have endured religious and cultural oppression under British rule – which largely targeted the Irish Catholic population.

In the 19th century, various nationalist groups fought for Irish independence, sometimes violently. This included the Irish Republican Brotherhood, whose members were called Fenians.

The word’s meaning eventually expanded to become a derogatory term for supporters of Irish independence.

Anti-Irish stereotyping

But there’s more to this word than just its political significance. It is also entwined with a history of anti-Irish racism, also known as “hibernophobia”.

In the 19th century, interest in human evolution led to a pseudo-scientific theory called social Darwinism.

This discredited theory claimed all human “types” could be placed along a hierarchy of evolution. White Europeans were at the top, as the most “evolved”. This twisted logic was used to justify the subjugation of people in colonised territories worldwide, including Australia.

Irish Catholic people were given a position in this hierarchy – towards the bottom. Historians argue the designation of Irish Catholic people as a backwards “race” was used to rationalise their oppression. If they were an inherently “savage” people, then they were unfit to run their own government.

Fenians supposedly embodied the worst elements of the Irish character: stupidity, violence and brutishness. From this viewpoint, Fenian violence became seen as an expression of a supposedly inherent Irish character – not as a response to the British rule in Ireland.

Cartoons were published that dehumanised Fenians and drew on centuries of anti-Irish stereotyping. Fenians were drawn as “terrorists” with exaggerated facial features, making them look like chimpanzees.

In one typical example from 1866, a thuggish, simianised Fenian man menaces a beautiful feminised version of “Britannia”. Anti-Irish cartoons were even published in Australia.

This history of anti-Irish racism still normalises anti-Irish jokes today.

Who are Kneecap?

Kneecap is a rap and hip-hop trio from Northern Ireland.

The group shot to fame following the release of their 2024 semi-autobiographical film. Their music is gritty, rude and defiantly anti-colonial – belonging to a long line of Irish activists fighting to get “Brits out” of Ireland.

Kneecap want to bring Irish people together, regardless of religion, and reunite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. The six counties of Northern Ireland were separated from the rest of Ireland in the 1921 Partition. They remain part of the United Kingdom.

Kneecap rap in English and Irish, and have been credited for revitalising the Irish language. Irish only achieved official language status in Northern Ireland in 2022, after being suppressed for much of the 20th century.

The chorus in Kneecap’s latest title song, also called Fenian, features a crowd jubilantly chanting “F-E-N-I-A-N”. The messaging is clear: they accept the label. In fact, they celebrate it.

The track was written as one of the band members, Mo Chara, faced charges of terrorism brought against him by the British government. In November 2024, Mo Chara allegedly committed a terrorist act by waving a Hezbollah flag at a London concert.

Kneecap is outspoken in its support for the Palestinian people, connecting the group to a longer history of Irish nationalists advocating for other colonised peoples.

The charges were dismissed. As Mo Chara observed in a recent interview, he’s not “the first Irish person to be called a terrorist”.

Who can use ‘Fenian’?

Although Kneecap celebrate being called “Fenians”, this word can still be understood as a cultural slur.

Recently, the band claimed it was forced to “censor” its album posters by blanking out the word Fenian. London transport authorities allegedly refused to publish the uncensored version.

Kneecap knows the power and the pain of this label, and they use it with intention. With a sense of tongue in cheek, they explain their use of the term refers to members of “a secret socialist society of sound cunts”. But they also acknowledge it can be weaponised as a derogatory slur. Context is everything.

“Fenian” can’t be untangled from a painful history of anti-Irish racism, which arguably lingers today.

It is appropriate for Kneecap to reclaim the word as a statement of cultural defiance. They use it as an empowering rejection of stigma. But it is problematic for others to use it without thinking of its deeper meaning.

– ref. Fenian: the anti-Irish history behind Kneecap’s defiant new album title – https://theconversation.com/fenian-the-anti-irish-history-behind-kneecaps-defiant-new-album-title-282271

The polling headlines have been shouty: One Nation is surging! It’s a One Nation bubble! One Nation has peaked!

But beyond the noise, there’s a trend: more Australians are voting for One Nation.

The controversial minor party has become our unofficial opposition.

In episode six of The Making of One Nation, political scientist Jill Sheppard laughs that she hasn’t been asked about the real opposition leader in three months.

We’re not talking about (Liberal leader) Angus Taylor. We’re not even really talking about (Nationals Leader) Matt Canavan, we’re still talking about Pauline Hanson. She’s charismatic. She’s attention-grabbing.

And so if part of the job of opposition is to lead the alternate agenda, to talk about things that the government isn’t talking about, then we could say One Nation is already the opposition.

One Nation is hardly a new phenomenon; this year marks 30 years since Hanson was first elected to parliament.

Decades on, Hanson’s still talking about many of the same issues: migration, globalisation and trade.

I think what’s different about One Nation this time is that everything is dovetailing in their favour. The Coalition is in disarray. Housing affordability is worse than it has been in a long time. Inflation keeps going up, so interest rates are going up at the same time.

And if you’re looking for a scapegoat, you’ve got this party that’s been waiting in the wings with 30 years of experience by now and this much more professionalised edge ready to take that vote.

It’s a critical juncture for the party: can it move from the fringe to the mainstream in earnest? And to do so, will it have to drop some of its more provocative and offensive rhetoric?

Certainly the maths suggest there’s no way that One Nation becomes the official opposition in Australian politics. But right now all we’re doing is talking about One Nation.

Listen to episode six of The Making of One Nation podcast, available at Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was written by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem.

– ref. Ignore the polls: One Nation is the unofficial opposition – https://theconversation.com/ignore-the-polls-one-nation-is-the-unofficial-opposition-280359

In recent years, we’ve seen a sizeable shift in medicinal cannabis prescribing, to products containing higher levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) – the component that can cause drowsiness or a high.

Now, our new study shows some of the harms with this shift, including from products containing far more THC than naturally found in cannabis plants.

We found more than half of all cases of adverse events involving unapproved medicinal cannabis products reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) were related to products containing higher strengths of THC.

For this group, psychiatric disorders – including anxiety, psychotic disorder and paranoia – were the most common ones reported.

Our research is released as the TGA is reviewing the safety and regulation of unapproved medicinal cannabis products. These are the more than 1,000 products that are legally available in Australia but that the TGA has not assessed for safety, quality and effectiveness.

For higher-strength THC products, particularly in some vulnerable populations – such as young people and people with mental health conditions – the increased risk of harms is a key concern.

What we did and what we found

We used Freedom of Information requests to the TGA to access more than 1,100 separate adverse events (sometimes called side effects) across more than 600 cases reported from mid-2022 to May 2025.

We examined the types of medicinal cannabis products involved, including the main types of cannabinoids in the product, the dose forms (for instance, plant or oils) and the main types of adverse events reported.

More than half (54%) of all adverse event case reports related to products containing higher concentrations of THC.

These products are available via prescription in Australia. They contain from 13% to more than 88% THC. By comparison, cannabis plants can contain up to 30–35% THC.

Of all adverse events reported, psychiatric disorders were the leading category, particularly for higher THC products. Anxiety, psychotic disorder and paranoia were the most common of these. We also saw 14 cases involving suicidal thoughts, behaviour and attempt.

However, just because an adverse event is reported doesn’t mean medicinal cannabis caused it. But it’s a good indication, because psychiatric disorders are known adverse events of THC.

As these types of adverse events are typically under-reported, the rising frequency of these events is concerning, as actual rates are almost certainly higher.

How about CBD? And inhaled products?

Adverse events were also reported for products containing cannabidiol (CBD). For CBD and combined CBD/THC oral oil products, these mainly involved the stomach or intestines. Here, the adverse events included nausea, vomiting and stomach discomfort.

In general, and for higher THC strength products, we also saw an increase in respiratory adverse events, such as cough and shortness of breath compared with earlier research. This coincides with the increased number of approvals for inhaled products.

Overall, adverse events for all products and higher THC strength products most commonly involved products that are usually inhaled or smoked, such as dried flower.

This is a big shift from our previous research, where most adverse events involved products with about the same amounts of CBD and THC, and prescription approvals were mainly oral liquids.

In that earlier study, nervous system disorders were the leading adverse event type, whereas now, psychiatric disorders are the most common ones reported.

We need to take care

We are seeing this volume of serious psychiatric adverse events even with probable significant under-reporting. So this should prompt a closer look at how these products are being prescribed and monitored.

Prescribers need to follow published guidance to safeguard patients. For instance, the TGA states medicinal cannabis products containing THC are best avoided for patients with a current mood or anxiety disorder, or people with a personal or family history of serious mental health concerns (such as psychosis or schizophrenia).

Smoking medicinal cannabis is not recommended due to known harmful health effects. Instead, TGA-approved medical devices for inhaling vaporised medicinal cannabis are available in pharmacies. The TGA says these devices involve lower temperatures than smoking and produce fewer toxins.

What does this mean for patients?

If you use medicinal cannabis, your regular GP, who knows your health history and medications, is best placed to discuss the potential benefits and risks.

All medicines, including medicinal cannabis, have potential adverse effects. These effects can range from mild to severe.

If you have a medicine-related adverse event, speak to your trusted GP or pharmacist. For severe effects, or you feel really unwell, call an ambulance or go to hospital.

Medicinal cannabis prescriptions have skyrocketed in Australia, mostly for legal but unapproved products we don’t even know work or are safe. In our recent series, experts teased out what fuelled the rise of medicinal cannabis, the fallout, and what needs to happen next.

– ref. Higher-strength medicinal cannabis may be linked to a disturbing pattern of side effects, our study shows – https://theconversation.com/higher-strength-medicinal-cannabis-may-be-linked-to-a-disturbing-pattern-of-side-effects-our-study-shows-282144