NewzIntel.com

Category: Analysis Assessment

  • MIL-Evening Report: Stalking rates in Australia are still shockingly high – one simple strategy might help

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Troy McEwan, Professor of Clinical and Forensic Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology

    UfaBizPhoto/Shutterstock

    New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals one in seven adult Australians have been stalked in their lifetime: one in five women and one in 15 men.

    While shocking to many, for those of us who work in the field, there is nothing surprising about these figures.

    The ABS has conducted similar surveys roughly every five years since 2005, which reveal basically the same results each time.

    About 3-4% of women and 1-2% of men are victims of stalking every year.

    These rates are consistent with those reported in research from the United Kingdom and United States, with small variations depending on definition.

    Stalking rates have remained stubbornly consistent despite the same ABS survey showing reductions in the rates of intimate partner violence and general violence over the past decade.

    The reasons for this are unclear, though there are obvious differences in the level of government and community investment in countering intimate partner violence versus awareness of and attention to stalking.

    What exactly is stalking?

    Stalking is a pattern of repeated and unwanted behaviour in which one person pushes their way into the life of another where they have no legitimate right to be, causing the target distress and fear.

    The most common methods are unwanted communication (by phone or digital media) and unwanted contacts (such as following someone or loitering nearby).

    Threats of violence and assault occur in at least a quarter of cases.

    Stalking that persists for more than two weeks is more likely to continue and cause significant harm.

    The impact of stalking

    Victims of persistent stalking have described it as “psychological rape”, with the stalker invading every part of their life.

    The cumulative impact of seemingly never-ending intrusions, and their social and financial toll, is probably why stalking victims report high rates of depression, anxiety and traumatic stress disorders.

    Researchers have estimated being stalked for 14 months costs victims approximately $A140,000, including direct costs from lost work and legal expenses and indirect costs of physical and mental harm.

    Who stalks?

    Most stalking is perpetrated by people who are known to the victim, either as an acquaintance or an ex-partner, with strangers responsible for about 20-25% of stalking.

    Stalking usually starts either because the person feels mistreated and stalks to take revenge or right the wrong, or they stalk to start or enact a relationship with the victim that does not exist. In a small number of cases, stalking has a sexual motivation and can sometimes be part of planning or preparation for a sexual assault.

    Regardless of motivation, most stalking is communicative – the stalker wants the victim to know they exist and to feel like they must respond.

    However, responding to a stalker is not advisable as it usually just adds fuel to the emotional fire that drives them.

    Ex-partners account for just under half of all stalking cases and many more women than men are stalked by an ex.

    Stalking in this context is a type of intimate partner violence and it receives by far the most attention and response.

    Research suggests that intimate partner stalking is more often identified as being perpetrated by former rather than current partners.

    Psychological abuse or coercive control during a relationship might be linked to increased potential for stalking after a break-up.

    Physical violence is much more common in cases of ex-partner stalking, with the ABS survey and earlier research finding half of intimate partner stalkers used physical violence.

    Thankfully, most stalking-related violence does not cause severe physical harm and homicide is extremely rare.

    Although prior stalking is common in ex-partner homicides, recent Victorian research showed that of 5,026 intimate partner violence reports to police involving stalking, only nine involved fatal or near fatal violence in the following 12 months.

    This means the presence of stalking is not a useful risk factor for trying to predict intimate partner homicide.

    Strategies against stalking

    Numerous strategies have been identified to prevent and reduce stalking-related harms. Among those tried largely outside Australia:

    The Victorian Law Reform Commission’s 2022 review of stalking laws recommended adoption of several of these strategies, though to date the state government has committed only to revising the stalking law.

    A simple but powerful strategy

    Stalking is a complicated problem and a comprehensive response needs multi-faceted systemic change that will be costly and take much effort and time.

    Currently, there doesn’t seem to be an appetite in Australia for the work required.

    However, there is one relatively straightforward thing the federal, state and territory governments could do right now to help: establish a national stalking helpline that can provide specialist information, advice and advocacy for all victims.

    Such a helpline was established in the UK in 2010 and has supported more than 65,000 people.

    The helpline provides online and telephone advice to potential stalking victims, including basic risk assessment, advocacy and links to local support services. It also provides advice to mental health professionals and others who are supporting stalking victims.

    The helpline serves all people, regardless of their gender or relationship with the stalker. Nearly half (45%) of its clients are stalked by a stranger or acquaintance, not an ex-partner. This highlights the importance of a specialised stalking response separate to existing services for family and intimate partner violence.

    An Australian equivalent would provide immediate support for victims and a focal point for necessary research and evaluation into what works to stop stalking.

    An Australian national stalking helpline would be a practical, relatively inexpensive and immediately helpful strategy that governments could implement to support the hundreds of thousands of Australians who are stalked every year.

    Troy McEwan has received funding from the Australian Research Council and Victoria Police for stalking-related research.

    – ref. Stalking rates in Australia are still shockingly high – one simple strategy might help – https://theconversation.com/stalking-rates-in-australia-are-still-shockingly-high-one-simple-strategy-might-help-241891

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Why Woolworths workers can’t sleep at night: inside the supermarket giant’s controversial ‘Framework’

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Kate Kelly, PhD Candidate, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University

    In early 2024, Woolworths introduced a new worker performance management program across warehouses run by the company’s distribution arm, Primary Connect.

    Under the program, known as the Coaching and Productivity Framework or simply “the Framework”, workers say they face potential disciplinary action if they fail to achieve 100% adherence to a speed-related metric known as pick rates. This represents a sharp break from previous approaches in which a pick rate of 100% was a non-enforceable goal, rather than a basic requirement.

    A Primary Connect spokesperson told The Conversation the Framework is more flexible, ensuring “a fair approach to the standards is applied to any personal circumstances or abilities”, with exemptions “for when a team member is unable to perform to standards, including pregnancy, disability or injury”.

    Workers say the new system creates huge stress and leads to unsafe work practices.

    An outline of the Woolworths Coaching and Productivity Framework.
    Woolworths

    ‘Scientific management’

    Although pick rates are common across warehousing, enforcing 100% compliance is highly unusual. In a memo to warehouse staff, Woolworths justified the strict enforcement of pick rates by claiming they are based on “engineered standards”, which are “the times that a trained and competent person should take to complete a set task safely using the ‘agreed method’ for that task”.

    Engineered standards (or engineered labour standards) are also widespread in the warehousing industry. Developed in the early 20th century by US management consultants, engineered standards follow the stopwatch studies and time-and-motion methodologies of Frederick Winslow Taylor, the pioneer of “scientific management”.

    To this day, engineered standards may be developed by “putting the stopwatch” on workers to record and standardise the time taken to perform a particular task. These data sets may be used to develop and justify pick rates.

    Turning workers into data points

    The use of engineered standards integrates workers into Woolworths’ ongoing program of increased automation and surveillance across its business.

    Much like inventory, workers’ bodies also become a data point to be monitored in terms of speed and movement. Engineered standards encode the assumption that human labour can be rationalised in the same way as the activity of a machine.

    Engineered standards promise the ability to control the output of workers at every moment. In practice, the application of engineered standards is often flawed and inaccurate.

    Regardless of accuracy, engineered standards and other algorithmic systems may have other benefits for management, providing a veneer of technological objectivity for decision-making.

    Confusing and inconsistent

    Through research for my PhD and my work with the United Workers Union, I have heard many concerns from workers subjected to the Framework.

    One common concern is that, due to the algorithmic nature of the Framework, the pick rate is opaque. In practice, workers do not know what 100% compliance means, so they do not even know what is expected of them.

    Workers report that rates seem to change and are applied inconsistently across different departments.

    The psychological impact has been significant. Workers have reported lying awake at night and experiencing heightened anxiety of job loss following the introduction of the Framework.

    One worker told me:

    I can’t sleep thinking about what would happen if I lost my job because I didn’t meet the standards a few times and my average wasn’t high enough.

    Another said:

    I frequently go to sleep and dream of picking at work. I find myself thinking of work at home and dreaming of work when I’m sleeping. I’m constantly on edge whenever I see a team leader, thinking I’ve done something wrong.

    And a third:

    I have some personal issues at home with my marriage and I’m laying awake thinking about my pick rate and if I will have a job tomorrow.

    Speed and safety

    Workers have also reported they feel compelled to prioritise speed over safety to meet the pick rate, or risk losing their job. At the same time, failure to work safely can also result in disciplinary action, injury or worse.

    Failure to meet the pick rate may result in a “tap on the shoulder” from management. This may be followed by notification that “coaching” will commence as part of a 12-week performance management program.

    Coaching consists of working under the close supervision of a manager who is tasked with observing the worker’s movements and appraising their speed against a company checklist.

    In the words of another worker:

    They are watching you, following you around with a clipboard, piece of paper and a pen. Writing stuff down behind you. It feels degrading.

    Monitoring ‘gap times’ such as toilet breaks

    Distribution centres are complex and dynamic environments. Congestion builds in aisles, equipment glitches and breaks, pallets spill, and batteries go flat.

    Woolworths claims the Framework takes into account “gap times”, which include reasonable periods of unavoidable delay, worker fatigue, rest breaks and so on.

    Gap times refer to any time during a shift when a worker is not actively on task. Workers report that time pressures have resulted in breaks being skipped, and safety measures disregarded, to meet pick rate targets and avoid disciplinary action.

    A question of control

    Following widespread worker disputes, including one filed with the Fair Work Commission in April, the Framework has been temporarily placed on pause. If reinstated, it would take effect at 15 distribution centres across the country, impacting about 8,000 permanent workers and, indirectly or directly, several thousand casual labour-hire workers.

    Woolworths team members represented by the United Workers Union are currently bargaining for a new enterprise agreement. Abolition of the Framework and related disciplinary action is a key demand of the union.

    In a statement to The Conversation, a Primary Connect spokesperson said:

    We have listened to the feedback from the union on the Framework, and will engage our teams in the distribution centres and the union in due course. As the country’s largest private sector employer, we are committed to ensuring that our workplaces are safe and productive for our teams and customers.

    Beyond Woolworths, the contest over pick rates raises a broader question: to what extent should an employer be able to dictate the speed of work?

    Clearly, an employer can assign the duration of a shift and ask workers to perform their role to the best of their abilities, but should workers retain the right to control the speed at which they move their own body?

    The future of the Woolworths Framework may have widespread implications for working life in Australia.

    Lauren Kate Kelly receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. She is affiliated with the United Workers Union, which represents workers across the supermarket supply chain.

    – ref. Why Woolworths workers can’t sleep at night: inside the supermarket giant’s controversial ‘Framework’ – https://theconversation.com/why-woolworths-workers-cant-sleep-at-night-inside-the-supermarket-giants-controversial-framework-242015

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: NZ’s Labour calls on other cities to follow Israel boycott lead

    Asia Pacific Report

    New Zealand’s opposition Labour Party has backed Christchurch City Council and called for other cities to block business with firms involved in Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestine Territories.

    “It is great that Christchurch is the first council in New Zealand to take up this cause. We hope others will follow this example,” Labour’s associate foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Twyford said.

    “Christchurch City’s decision is in line with the recent International Court of Justice ruling on the illegal settlements, which said the international community should not ‘aid or assist’ the settlements.”

    Christchurch is New Zealand’s third-largest city with a population of 408,000. The council vote yesterday was 10 for sanctions, two against and three abstentions.

    Labour has called on the government to direct the Super Fund and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) to divest from any companies on the United Nations list of companies complicit in building or maintaining the illegal settlements, and use its procurement rules to ban any future dealings with those firms.

    “New Zealanders want to see an end to Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, and a political solution that allows the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Twyford said.

    “Unfortunately, since the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel has deliberately set out to colonise the Occupied West Bank with settlements housing more than 700,000 Israelis, designed to scuttle any hope of a two-state solution.

    “It is time for the international community to take action against this breach of international law.”

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Reportage: Scammers undeterred: 9 in 10 NZers targeted, but reporting surges

    Source: BNZ statements

    New research from BNZ highlights the unrelenting onslaught of criminal scammers facing New Zealanders, with nearly nine in ten Kiwis reporting they’ve been targeted by scammers in the past year. 

    BNZ’s annual Scam Savvy survey found that 87% of New Zealanders were targeted by scams in the past 12 months, virtually unchanged from 2023 (88%).  

    However, in a positive shift, New Zealanders are fighting back: despite persistent attacks, the proportion of people reporting scams to organisations like banks, police, and Netsafe, has jumped to 70%, up from 62% in 2023 and a mere 46% in 2022. 

    BNZ Head of Financial Crime, Ashley Kai Fong, says, “While it’s concerning that scammers continue to target Kiwis at such a high rate, we’re pleased to see a significant increase in scam reporting.  

    “This shift suggests that our efforts to raise awareness and encourage action are paying off. However, it’s crucial to remember that if you suspect you’ve been scammed, you should always call your bank immediately. Quick action can often help prevent or limit financial losses.” 

    Key findings from BNZ’s 2024 Scam Savvy survey include: 

    • Government impersonation scams have increased, with 52% of respondents targeted by this type of scam in the last 12 months, up from 45% in 2023 
    • Email remains the most common scam channel, with 34% of scam victims targeted this way. 
    • Website-based scams have more than doubled, with 22% of scam victims being contacted this way, up from 9% in 2023 
    • Social media remains a significant channel for scammers, with 22% of respondents encountering scams on these platforms 
    • 1 in 8 respondents fell victim to a scam in the last 12 months, with 7% losing money 

    “The tactics used by scammers are constantly evolving, so the increase in reporting is a crucial step in our collective fight against fraud – every report makes it harder for scammers to operate. We’re seeing a real shift in attitudes, with more people recognising the importance of speaking up,” Kai Fong says. 

    In response to the evolving scam landscape, BNZ recently launched another anti-scam tool. The ‘online banking lock’ feature gives customers the ability to disable all online banking activity and lock access to their online banking if they suspect a scammer has gained access to their accounts. 

    “This new tool – available in the BNZ app – gives customers the ability to lock their online banking while they’re contacting us, potentially speeding up the process to lock their accounts and shut scammers out,” says Kai Fong. 

    The online banking lock is just one of a number of new features BNZ has introduced, including: 

    • Introducing a way for customers to verify their identity through the BNZ app when prompted by a BNZ staff member to confirm it is the bank calling. 
    • Introducing additional two-factor authentication (2FA) within internet banking for high-risk actions such as changing personal contact details, creating a new payee, editing an existing payee, or making payments to unsaved payees. This is required regardless of whether a customer has already completed 2FA in their current session. 
    • Deploying ID readers in branch to help identify fraudulent documents. 

    “While we’re making progress and introducing new protective measures, our research underscores the need for continued vigilance and education. We urge all New Zealanders to stay informed about the latest scam tactics and to report any suspicious activity immediately.  

    “Remember, reporting a scam isn’t just about your own protection—it could prevent someone else from becoming a victim too,” says Kai Fong. 

    Keeping account details, passwords and pin numbers safe 

    • never click on links or attachments sent by someone you don’t know or that seem out of character for someone you do know 
    • keep your computer and phone security software up to date 
    • contact your bank as soon as possible if you think you’ve been scammed 

    Top tips to get scam savvy – BNZ will never: 

    • email or text you links to online banking and ask you to log in 
    • send you a text message with a link to a website, or link to call us 
    • ask you for information about your PIN number, bank account number, or password 
    • ask you to verbally share the authentication codes sent to you by text or email, even with a BNZ staff member 
    • ask you to transfer money to help catch a scammer or a bank employee who is scamming customers send you a text message about account issues with a link to log in 
    • ask you to download software to access your Internet Banking remotely 
    • use international phone numbers to call or send you notifications.

    The BNZ Scam Savvy research was commissioned by BNZ using the Insights HQ my2cents online research panel. Responses were collected between July 30 and August 16, 2024, with a sample size of 1,263 New Zealanders. The sample was weighted to be nationally representative on region, age and gender.

    The post Scammers undeterred: 9 in 10 NZers targeted, but reporting surges appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Netflix’s Territory is a Succession-like drama packed with family rivalry and betrayal, set in Australia’s outback

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexa Scarlata, Research Fellow, Media & Communication, RMIT University

    Netflix

    The Australian commissioning team at Netflix has had a pretty good run over the past 12 months. In January, the adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel Boy Swallows Universe proved to be the most successful Australian-made show to that point, scoring 7.6 million views globally in its first two weeks.

    A few months later, the second season of the streamer’s Heartbreak High reboot debuted at number one in Australia, and stayed on the Global Top 10 English TV Series list for three consecutive weeks.

    Will Netflix’s latest Australian series – one without any ties to a familiar book or TV show – be as well received? Luckily for the streamer, its new six-part outback western, Territory, has already been described as “epic”, “unforgettable” and “rollicking TV”.

    Robert Taylor plays patriarch Colin Lawson.
    Netflix

    Premium bush family drama

    The series takes place in the Northern Territory, on the “world’s largest cattle station”. The fictional Marianne Station is about the size of Belgium.

    The once-great dynasty of its owners, the Lawson family, is thrown into doubt when their heir apparent dies in the first episode. The Top End’s most powerful players – billionaire miners, rival cattle barons, desert gangsters and Indigenous elders – immediately start circling.

    While this is an original concept by creators Timothy Lee and Ben Davies, you’d be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu, as Territory has been described as equal parts Succession and Yellowstone. I can imagine Netflix executives running the numbers on the returns from those two hits and saying, “let’s throw some money into this”. And boy, did they.

    The show could double as a sophisticated Tourism Australia ad.
    Netflix

    No expenses spared on hats and helicopters

    Territory was directed by Wolf Creek heavyweight Greg McLean. According to him, it’s the

    biggest South Australian TV production ever. Possibly one of the biggest TV productions in Australia just in terms of the amount of crew (and) the incredible support that we had to put in place to go to the locations we went to.

    As Netflix put it, Bondi Beach this is not. While the interiors were filmed in South Australia, half of the series was filmed in stunning remote locations across the NT.

    As a result, the show looks like the most ambitious and sophisticated Tourism Australia ad you’ve ever seen. The wildlife! The panoramic drone shots! The hat budget! The rest of the world could go from thinking we ride kangaroos to work, to assuming we’ve all got our own helicopters.

    Overseas viewers watching would be forgiven for thinking the lot of us have our own helicopters.
    Netflix

    The show looks as expensive as it sounds, but is still kind of soapy. The irony in this story is that everyone’s dirty, but no one ever sweats.

    Territory was originally announced as “Desert King”. Changing the name was wise. The landscape is, for the most part, pretty lush – and not in a “look at this oasis we’ve stumbled upon” kind of way. I counted one fly.

    Desert queens

    What’s more, while the male characters are brilliant sources of humour and violence, it’s the ladies in Territory that bring the heart.

    Anna Torv leads the series as Emily Lawson. Emily is the wife to the next-in-line but perpetually drunk Graham (Michael Dorman). She’s also the girl from the property next door, belonging to the rival Hodge family – a slightly shifty bunch who’ve been known to steal the Lawson’s cattle.

    Anna Torv plays Emily Lawson with a keen sense of cunning.
    Netflix

    Torv was the perfect choice to embody Emily as the long-suffering wife, disdained daughter-in-law, loving sister and exasperated mother. Her poker face kept me guessing. She may not be a Lawson by blood, but her cunning makes her a great fit in this powerful family.

    Kylah Day plays Sharnie Kennedy, a young kid kicking (and fooling) around with a couple of Top End bandits. It was fun – if a little frustrating – to watch her figure out her loyalties and her limits.

    Finally, Sara Wiseman plays Sandra Kirby, a disgustingly wealthy and ruthless land developer who doubles as the quintessential villain. Sandra plays everyone – even her own son. Her merciless manipulation of aspiring Indigenous cattle baron Nolan Brannock (Clarence Ryan) stings, even as it feels quite heavy-handed.

    Clarence Ryan is impressive in his role as Indigenous station owner Nolan Brannock (left), who gets caught up in the drama.
    Netflix

    Whose land and whose legacy?

    Territory does a great job of establishing a simmering tension between the traditional owners of the land and the families and businesses that have taken possession of it.

    But for a show that’s so centred on the battle for power in the Top End, the plotlines that deal with the issue of dispossession move at a frustratingly slow pace.

    Perhaps this is to cater to a global audience, which will likely lack the context that local viewers have. And maybe, for Australian viewers, the enduring subordination and struggle of the original landowners is the intended takeaway.

    Ultimately, Territory is an ambitious and attractive series. It was wonderful to see so many resources poured into a new concept, filmed and set in a part of Australia that rarely sees the kind of spotlight it deserves.

    Sam Delich and Kylah Day play petty thieves Rich Petrakis and Sharnie Kennedy.
    Netflix

    Territory is streaming on Netflix from today.

    Alexa Scarlata 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. Netflix’s Territory is a Succession-like drama packed with family rivalry and betrayal, set in Australia’s outback – https://theconversation.com/netflixs-territory-is-a-succession-like-drama-packed-with-family-rivalry-and-betrayal-set-in-australias-outback-241896

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Unemployment’s up, house prices are stagnating. But is the Victorian economy doing as badly as it seems?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University

    The early 1990s in Victoria were tough. The economy was contracting severely, the population was shrinking, employment was collapsing and the unemployment rate skyrocketed to the highest in the land.

    A long-term Labor government got the blame for allowing state debt to spiral out of control. Victoria, reckoned a popular joke at the time, was “Australia’s Mexico without the sunshine”.

    Is it happening all over again?

    Some reporting in national media would suggest it is.

    The Australian Financial Review has recently run a series on the state, including a piece last week quoting business leaders saying the Victorian economy was in trouble.

    Reference was made to the latest unemployment figures as supporting evidence. Victoria’s unemployment rate has risen over the last year, and at 4.4% is now the highest in the country. Rising numbers of company failures and stagnant house prices were also cited.

    Earlier in the month, data showing a falling rate of Victorian business start-ups was highlighted, while another Financial Review article examined the decline in the number of conferences. All this was referred to as evidence of a state struggling under the weight of

    $8.6 billion in levies [imposed] in [Labor’s] 2023 budget to curb a mountain of state debt that is forecast to reach $188 billion by 2028.

    The Australian also ran a feature on Victoria echoing the same themes.

    Readers were asked, “What the hell has gone wrong with Victoria?”. Public debt and taxation figured as prominent causes of an economic catastrophe in the making. The Australian deemed the state to be

    at best, trapped in stagnation, forcing it to cover falling private investment and expenditure with ever greater public largesse. And at worst […] as the spending and debt build-up sets off the alarms, a vicious spiral is triggered […] until the whole Ponzi scheme collapses.

    But are things that bad? What does the economic data actually show?

    Some positive signs

    It is true that unemployment in Victoria is rising, and is also high compared to the rest of the country. But it has been stable for the last four months, reflecting the impact of interest rate increases over the previous couple of years.

    Also, looking back over the last 40 years, the increase has been from a very low base, and remains at an historically low level – and a long way off the highs of the 1990s.

    The number of people in the labour force is continuing to grow at a healthy clip. The participation rate is now the highest on record.

    Last month, the labour force increased in seasonally adjusted terms by 20,000, and almost all of these additional people ended up in employment.

    The growth in employment since the end of the pandemic is notable.

    Since January 2023, employment has increased by 268,000, or 8% in seasonally adjusted terms. That’s 37% of the jobs added in the whole of Australia during that time.

    Yes, the share of job growth is falling, but it is still higher than the state’s population share, and it is from an unbelievably high base (55% of all jobs created nationally in July were in Victoria).

    The Australian Financial Review acknowledged that the latest jobs data were indeed “unexpectedly strong”.

    What about business insolvencies?

    Victorian insolvencies are on the rise (up 61% in September compared to the same month last year). But so too are they across Australia, with the national number rising at a higher clip (up 70%).

    What about the number of conferences in Victoria? We simply cannot be sure whether they are up or down, because there is no consistent data base to settle the matter.

    And while Victoria may have fallen behind other states in the number of new startups per 1,000 businesses, the actual number of businesses has increased by more than 31,000, or 3%, since the beginning of the year.

    How are house prices and rents holding up?

    Yes, house prices are tumbling. In real terms, they are around 20% below their pandemic peak, at least partly caused by a bundle of new property taxes introduced in the 2023/24 state budget to help pay for pandemic-related debt.

    But with housing affordability at an all-time low courtesy of high interest rates, that is no bad thing, especially for those keen to buy their first home.

    That fall in house prices stands in contrast to a boom in rents over the same time period.

    Over the last 12 months, median rents in Victoria have increased by 13.3%, and by 4.3% over the last quarter. In the March quarter, the rental stock fell for the first time on record, perhaps supporting those who see an economy in trouble.

    But that fall amounted to barely 10,000 dwellings, or only 2.7% of the stock. Those properties had to be sold to someone, and it is likely many were sold to first time buyers who, in changing tenure, had no net effect on the rental market. A redistribution of wealth like that may be no bad thing.

    Debt is high – but so is infrastructure spending

    There is no doubt the Victorian economy has been slowing, as has the rest of the country. That is exactly the outcome sought by the Reserve Bank when it pushed up interest rates last year.

    But there is little evidence to show Victoria is following the disastrous path of the early 1990s.

    Back then, state debt grew alarmingly because of a savage recession. This time round, state debt has grown strongly, but largely to fund a construction pipeline on a scale the state has not seen before.

    Infrastructure spending is now running close to $25 billion a year, almost five times what it was a decade ago. There’s a lot of jobs in those numbers, and shortly a lot of that infrastructure will come on line, boosting the state’s economic potential.

    There is one other factor driving Victoria’s surprisingly resilient economy. Net international migration increased by 152,000 in the year to March 2024 – almost 30% of the Australian total – driven partly by the return of international students.

    Very fast, migration-driven population growth is not being matched by increased output, and the state’s household income per person is continuing its long-term decline, leading some to argue it has become a “poor state”.

    Treasurer Tim Pallas will hope that the increase stock of debt-funded infrastructure provides the productivity boost sorely needed to turn that around.

    While on several indicators Victoria’s economy is slowing, this largely reflects a national trend. Drilling down into the data shows there are signs of growth, which suggest alarm at this stage is not justified.

    David Hayward 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. Unemployment’s up, house prices are stagnating. But is the Victorian economy doing as badly as it seems? – https://theconversation.com/unemployments-up-house-prices-are-stagnating-but-is-the-victorian-economy-doing-as-badly-as-it-seems-241762

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: If a Year 12 student gets an early offer for uni, does it mean they stop trying?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew J. Martin, Scientia Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW Sydney

    Ground Picture/Shutterstock

    Early entry schemes for university – where students get an offer before their final exams – are increasingly popular.

    For example, more than 27,000 students applied to the Universities Admissions Centre (which mostly deals with New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory unis) for an early offer in 2024. This was a record number and an almost 19% increase on 2023.

    On the one hand, early offers are seen as a way to reduce pressure on Year 12 students. But they are also increasingly criticised, with concerns students may stop trying once they receive an offer.

    Our new research shows applying for an early offer does not make a significant difference to how hard a student tries leading up to their final exams or their final results.

    What are early offers?

    The main round of university offers is in December-January, after students have done their final exams in the previous October and November and have their final results or ATAR.

    With early entry offer schemes, universities assess students using criteria other than (or on top of) final results.

    Amid concerns about students reducing their efforts, in February this year, federal and state education ministers agreed there would be no university offers until September. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare is pushing for a new, national approach to early entry by 2027.

    Year 12 students around Australia sit their final exams in October and November.
    Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock



    Read more:
    ‘I don’t believe I would have gotten into university’: how early entry schemes help Year 12 students experiencing disadvantage

    Our research

    Our new study investigated the role of early entry offers on Year 12 students’ academic and personal wellbeing.

    We looked at three types of students: students applying for and receiving an early offer, students applying for but not receiving an early offer, and students who did not apply for an early offer.

    We then looked at multiple forms of academic and personal wellbeing, including:

    • the ATAR

    • motivation at school (their interest, energy, and drive to learn) and enjoyment of school

    • how students dealt with academic challenges (also called “academic buoyancy”)

    • study burnout

    • overall life satisfaction, mental health and self-esteem.

    Who did we study?

    The study involved Year 12 students in 2022 from schools in New South Wales.

    The average age for participants was 17, most (68%) were female, the majority (69%) lived in an urban area, just under a quarter (23%) were from a non-English speaking background, and just over half were from government schools (52%).

    We tracked the ATARs of 1,512 students for whom we had early offer data.

    We also surveyed a subset of 525 students from this group. We surveyed them in term 2 of Year 12 and then followed up with a second survey in term 4, about 2 weeks before their final exams.

    The surveys included questions about their academic and personal wellbeing. Both surveys were done online.

    What we found

    In terms of early entry status, 16% did not apply for an early offer, 21% applied but were unsuccessful, and 63% received an early offer.

    Using statistical modelling to control for prior differences in achievement and motivation between the groups, as well as age, gender, school type and learning difficulties, we found an early offer did not appear to have an impact on a student’s ATAR.

    We also found no impact on their motivation, effort, burnout or mental health.

    In fact, the best predictors of students’ final results were their previous results and their efforts earlier in Year 12.

    As our research showed, the findings for these predictors were statistically significant, meaning we can have confidence the results were not due to chance.

    This mirrors other research that suggests you can predict a student’s ATAR from their Year 11 results.

    Students in our study did not stop trying if they had an early offer to uni.
    Jacob Lund/ Shutterstock

    One important difference

    We did find one statistically significant effect. Those receiving an early offer scored about 10% higher in academic buoyancy than the other two groups.

    This means these students reported they were better able to overcome academic challenges, such as difficult assessment tasks and competing deadlines, as they approached their final exams.

    We found this difference even after controlling for any prior group differences in academic buoyancy.

    But we note it was only a relatively small effect.

    Why was there so little difference?

    Some possible explanations about why early offers did not appear to make much difference include:

    • Year 12 is a busy year full of activities (from formals and other events, to plans for life after school). It could be early entry status is quickly absorbed in all the demands of the final year and becomes normalised

    • the joy or relief of an early offer is short-lived and students return to their emotional equilibrium or their typical “set point” in terms of outlook on life

    • the ATAR looms large in students’ lives, so they may still want to do as well as they can – regardless of whether they get an early offer or not.

    What does this mean?

    Our study suggests receiving an early offer for university does not make much of a difference to final outcomes.

    So this suggests students can apply for an early entry offer if they want to.

    But once the application is submitted, they need to return their focus to factors that are influential in final outcomes — such as their learning, motivation, and engagement through Year 12.

    Helen Tam, Kim Paino, Anthony Manny, Mitch Smith and Nicole Swanson from the Universities Admissions Centre helped with the research on which this article is based.

    Andrew J. Martin has received funding from the Australian Research Council, International Boys’ Schools Coalition, NSW Department of Education, and Commonwealth Department of Education.

    – ref. If a Year 12 student gets an early offer for uni, does it mean they stop trying? – https://theconversation.com/if-a-year-12-student-gets-an-early-offer-for-uni-does-it-mean-they-stop-trying-241787

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Cultural burning isn’t just important to Indigenous culture – it’s essential to Australia’s disaster management

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bhiamie Williamson, Research Fellow, Monash University

    Toa55/Shutterstock

    Last month, Australia’s newly appointed minister for emergency management, Senator Jenny McAllister, and Senator Tony Sheldon, special envoy for disaster recovery, took part in a cultural burn outside Lismore in New South Wales, as part of the National Gathering on Indigenous Disaster Resilience.

    It was significant to see members of the federal government listening to and taking direction from a cultural burn expert, Oliver Costello of Jagun Alliance, before undertaking a burn.

    Cultural burning is increasingly being used in disaster management. Pictured: Oliver Costello, Senator Jenny McAllister, Bhiamie Williamson and Senator Tony Sheldon at a cultural burn held during the National Gathering.
    Gabrielle Connole, CC BY-NC-ND

    It represented a hopeful sign that cultural burning might be increasingly used as a tool for disaster mitigation. After all, McAllister isn’t the minister for Indigenous affairs or the environment – her role is emergency management. At last month’s meeting, Indigenous peoples spoke of their desire and inherent right to be involved in disaster management.

    Cultural burning is, of course, vitally important to culture. But these gentle, regular burns were one of the main ways Indigenous groups managed land. They created mosaics of burned and unburned land, reducing the chance of megafires by burning fuel loads and creating safe havens in dangerous times.

    Networks of Indigenous groups have begun using fire to once again care for Country all around Australia. These are positive signs. But there is more to do to dismantle remaining barriers to mainstreaming cultural burning – and making it possible to use these ancient techniques to reduce, or avoid, disasters.

    An ancient practice rekindled

    The evidence of Indigenous land management using fire is significant and growing.

    This evidence has emerged through formal truth-telling processes such as Yoorrook, whose commissioners heard about the deliberate suppression of Indigenous land management in Victoria. It has come from ongoing academic research stitching settler accounts of the land and observations of how Indigenous groups used fire. In 1802, for instance, the settler John Murray recorded his amazement at how Boon Wurrung people set and controlled fire in Victoria’s Western Port Bay. The fire, which “must have covered an acre of ground”, was “dous’d […] at once”.

    In Mary Gilmore’s account of 19th-century colonial life in the New South Wales Riverina, she writes:

    As to fire, it was [Indigenous people] who taught our first settlers to get bushes and beat out a conflagration […] Indeed, it was a constant wonder, when I was little, how easily [Indigenous people] would check a fire before it grew too big for close handling or start a return fire when and where it was safest.

    These historical observations are complementary to the work of passing on knowledge of fire to the next generation. Taken together, they reveal a fundamental truth about Australia – it is a land of fire, and Indigenous people are the masters.

    The return of parcels of land to Indigenous groups in recent decades means we can restart these ancient fire regimes, through Indigenous rangers and other organisations.

    The return of ancient practices

    The management of land over deep time by Indigenous groups has meant people and the land effectively co-evolved.

    Since 1788, colonisation and Indigenous dispossession have radically altered many parts of Australia. Land was cleared for farms, cities, roads and infrastructure. Rivers were dammed for irrigation.

    Grasslands and yam fields were converted to livestock farms or cropping. Forested areas in some areas were cleared and in other areas thickly regrew, replacing the park-like mix of grassland and stands of trees produced by Indigenous land management. Thirsty crops such as cotton were planted, siphoning off huge volumes of water from lakes and rivers.

    John Glover’s 1838 painting shows open savannahs and grasslands in the Surrey Hills district of north-west Tasmania. In our time, this area has become temperate rainforest.
    Art Gallery of NSW

    Even the creation of national parks transformed landscapes, as Western practices of more passive management replaced active Indigenous management.

    The suppression of cultural burning brought yet more difficult change to Australia’s plants and animals. Australia now has one of the highest extinction rates of animals in the world. But cultural burning is being applied as a method to help protect vulnerable species, such as the Corroboree Frog.

    Over years, Indigenous groups have worked diligently and strategically to rekindle this ancient practice. But they have also reimagined it. It’s time to ask the question: what would it mean to bring back cultural burning at scale?

    No longer do Indigenous groups apply fire as a normal and everyday rhythm of life, stopping to light small fires as they walk. It’s now much more deliberate, requiring careful planning, creation of fire breaks and management of fire using trucks and heavy machinery.

    Even ignition is done differently. For a ceremony, firesticks will be used, with further lighting done using drip torches. In remote areas, fires are lit from helicopters, making it possible to cover vast areas.

    Combining these ancient and contemporary practices creates something fundamentally new. We require innovative discourses to better describe these developments.

    Indigenous Yika rangers burn using drip torches.
    Rohan Carboon/Indigenous Desert Alliance, CC BY

    New fire season, new hazards

    This fire season is likely to be a dangerous one. The seasonal bushfire outlook released by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Council projects the risk of early fires and a higher-than-usual bushfire risk over vast areas of Australia.

    Large parts of Australia are forecast to have a higher fire risk this spring.
    Australasian Fire and Emergency Council, CC BY-SA

    Recent rainy La Nina years triggered rapid vegetation growth in many areas, increasing the fuel load. Fire authorities are worried about what a forecast hot, dry, windy summer will mean.

    In recent years, Indigenous ranger groups have been undertaking cool burns as much as possible. In arid areas, there are fears of fast-moving grass fires due to the spread of introduced and highly flammable buffel grass.

    As danger from climate change intensifies, making volatile and combustible landscapes safer poses challenges both complex – and urgent.

    Indigenous groups around Australia have begun the work of rekindling cultural burns, but barriers still remain. Responsibility for fire management in state forests, national parks and on private land has long been split between government authorities and landholders. It’s time this disaster management work by Indigenous groups was recognised and magnified by governments.

    To mainstream cultural burning will mean finding ways of sharing the knowledge of when and how to burn, and resourcing Indigenous groups to undertake training and burns. Doing this will not only benefit the land and Indigenous groups, but all Australians.



    Read more:
    Before the colonists came, we burned small and burned often to avoid big fires. It’s time to relearn cultural burning

    Bhiamie Williamson leads the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience Program at Monash University. He is also a Director of the environmental charity Country Needs People.

    – ref. Cultural burning isn’t just important to Indigenous culture – it’s essential to Australia’s disaster management – https://theconversation.com/cultural-burning-isnt-just-important-to-indigenous-culture-its-essential-to-australias-disaster-management-241269

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Being mentally flexible might influence our attitudes to vaccination, a new study shows

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Auckland University of Technology

    Getty Images

    Making decisions about our health is a complex and sometimes difficult process.

    On top of our own attitudes, experiences and perspectives, we are inundated with information from other people (friends, family, health professionals) and from external sources (news or social media) about what it means to be healthy.

    Sometimes, this information is consistent with what we think about our own health. At other times, it may contradict our own beliefs. And to make things even more complicated, sometimes this information is deliberate misinformation.

    How do we make sense of all this when making decisions about our health? What determines whether we hold fast to our attitudes, or change our minds?

    Most of us can probably relate to this. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to change many of our behaviours to slow the spread of the virus. This meant working from home, wearing a mask, staying in our “bubbles”, and eventually getting the vaccine.

    While the decision to get vaccinated was an obvious one for many people, it was not as straightforward for others. Research from the period immediately before the COVID vaccine became available in New Zealand showed a sizeable minority was unsure about or unlikely to be vaccinated.

    These people were more likely to be young, female and less educated, and were primarily concerned about unknown future side effects. Our new research suggests cognitive (mental) flexibility may also have something to do with attitudes towards vaccination.

    A flexible mind

    Past research suggests mental flexibility plays an important role in our decision-making. Imagine changing the way you do something at work, having a discussion with someone with a different opinion, or being told you should make healthier choices (such as exercising more).

    Some people navigate these situations with ease. Others find it more difficult to adapt. Mental flexibility describes this ability to adapt our attitudes, thoughts or behaviours when faced with new or changing information.

    Studies show mental flexibility influences how extreme our opinions are, how likely we are to believe misinformation or “fake news”, whether we make pro-environmental choices or engage in health-promoting behaviours (sun protection or physical exercise, for example).

    To increase vaccination coverage, governments often use education campaigns that emphasise the safety, effectiveness and importance of vaccination. However, these campaigns don’t always succeed in reducing feelings of uncertainty about vaccination.



    Read more:
    Vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest threats to global health – and the pandemic has made it worse

    We wanted to know why, and we thought mental flexibility might play a role. To test this, we surveyed 601 New Zealanders on their opinions and experiences of vaccination.

    Some questions asked about external factors, such as how easy they thought it was to access or afford vaccines. Other questions asked about internal factors, such as personal beliefs about vaccination, perceptions of their own heath, and how important or safe they thought vaccines were.

    Overall, our participants reported few external barriers to vaccination, with 97% saying they found vaccines accessible or affordable. These percentages are promising, and may reflect the government’s continued efforts to make it easier to get a vaccine.

    In comparison, internal factors played a larger role in vaccine uncertainty or hesitancy. In particular, nearly a quarter (22%) of participants reported concerns about the health risks of vaccines. And 12% said they didn’t trust the processes or people who developed vaccines.

    Health information campaigns don’t always succeed in reducing anxiety or uncertainty.
    Getty Images

    Testing adaptive behaviour

    We also asked our participants to play a game designed to measure mental flexibility.

    This involved matching cards based on a rule – for example, match the cards with the same number of objects. The rule would randomly change during the game, meaning participants had to adapt their behaviour as the game went on.

    Interestingly, people who found it harder to adapt to the rule changes (meaning they had lower levels of mental flexibility) also reported more internal barriers to vaccination.

    For example, when we split participants into two groups based on their mental flexibility, the low-flexibility group was 18% more likely to say vaccination was inconsistent with their beliefs. They were also 14% more likely to say they didn’t trust vaccines, and 11% more likely to report concerns about the negative side effects of vaccines.

    This wasn’t the case for external factors. Mental flexibility didn’t predict whether people thought vaccines were accessible or affordable.

    Information is sometimes not enough

    These results suggest making decisions about our health – including whether or not to get vaccinated – depends on more than receiving the “right” information.

    Simply being told about the importance of vaccination may not be enough to change attitudes or behaviours. It also depends on each person’s unique cognitive style – the way they perceive and process information.

    Declining vaccination rates have been a concern worldwide, including in New Zealand, since well before the pandemic. Our findings suggest health education campaigns may be more effective if they take into account the role of cognitive flexibility.

    One technique is to change the way information is framed. For example, instead of just presenting facts about the safety or importance of vaccination, education campaigns could encourage us to question our own perspectives, or to imagine alternative realities by asking “what if?” questions.

    Research shows this type of framing can engage our deliberative thought processes (the ones that help us to think deeply and critically), increase mental flexibility, and ultimately make us more receptive to change.

    Stephanie Gomes-Ng received funding from the Ember Korowai Takitini Trust for this research. The funders had no influence over the study’s conceptualisation, design, methodology, data collection or interpretation, nor the decision to publish.

    – ref. Being mentally flexible might influence our attitudes to vaccination, a new study shows – https://theconversation.com/being-mentally-flexible-might-influence-our-attitudes-to-vaccination-a-new-study-shows-241559

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Abortion is back in the headlines in Australia. The debates in the United States tell us why

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Prudence Flowers, Senior Lecturer in US History, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University

    The 2022 news that the US Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion sent shockwaves around the world.

    For Australian opponents of abortion who had long looked to the US for leadership and inspiration, it prompted rejoicing.

    As a leader of Cherish Life Queensland put it, “if the USA can do it, with God’s help, so can we”.

    In late 2024, the abortion issue has suddenly erupted in Queensland and South Australia. A subset of local conservatives, energised by the fall of Roe v Wade and the example of Donald Trump, are embracing the divisive “culture war” tactics that dominate US politics.

    Abortion and Australian politics in 2024

    In the 2020 Queensland election, the Liberal National Party (LNP) has promised a “review” of the legislation that had decriminalised abortion two years prior. However, the party has spent most of the 2024 campaign studiously avoiding the issue.

    That is, until Robbie Katter MP, of Katter’s Australia Party, threw a spanner in the works.

    On October 8, Katter announced that if the LNP won, as was widely predicted, he would immediately introduce a private member’s bill to repeal the state abortion law.

    LNP leader David Crisafulli, who voted against decriminalisation, insists that changing the law is “not part of our plan”.

    However, last week Crisafulli was asked 132 times about abortion and the issue of conscience votes and refused to provide a clear answer.

    In the final leaders’ debate on Tuesday night, Crisafulli finally said there would be no change to abortion law and he was “pro-choice”.

    However, that is unlikely to be the end of the issue – opposition to abortion runs deep in the LNP.

    Party policy in 2018 was that abortion should remain a criminal offence. Despite being a conscience vote, the three LNP members who voted for decriminalisation were threatened with “punishment” afterwards.

    In 2024, several new anti–abortion candidates are running for the LNP. Former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker is a particularly high-profile one, having repeatedly addressed the Brisbane March for Life rally.

    The furore over the future of reproductive rights in Queensland occurred in parallel with controversy over anti-abortion legislation introduced by state Liberal MP Ben Hood in South Australia.

    His bill required anyone needing to end a pregnancy after 28 weeks to have labour induced and for the baby to be delivered alive, regardless of the health outcomes for the pregnant person or infant.

    Peak medical and legal bodies condemned the bill, which critics described as a “forced birth” measure. It was narrowly defeated in the upper house on October 16.

    Federally, Senator Jacinta Price has also called for abortion to be back on the “national agenda” and condemned abortion after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Her stance is out of step with abortion law in all Australian jurisdictions.



    Read more:
    Abortion is now legal across Australia – but it’s still hard to access. Doctors are both the problem and the solution

    Public and party opinion

    This sudden uptick in anti-abortion politics does not reflect Australian attitudes.

    A 2024 poll found 75% of Queenslanders agreed that decriminalising abortion had been the right action.

    This view was shared across partisan and geographical lines, held by 73% of LNP voters and 78% of regional Queenslanders.

    Historian Cassandra Byrnes demonstrates that these pro-choice attitudes have deep roots. A majority of the public opposed the police raids on abortion clinics that occurred under Nationals premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

    A 2020 poll of South Australians found 80% supported decriminalisation. And 63% considered that later abortion should be available “when the woman and her healthcare team decide it is necessary”.

    The LNP’s hostility towards decriminalisation was also markedly different from the approach in other states.

    Notably, in both New South Wales and South Australia, prominent Liberals, including premiers, voted to decriminalise abortion.

    In South Australia, two senior Liberals, Minister for Human Services Michelle Lensink and Attorney-General Vickie Chapman, led the cross-party group that achieved law reform.

    Importing the culture wars

    When Australian states and territories debated decriminalisation, anti-abortion opponents relied heavily on tactics, pseudoscientific evidence and outright misinformation that first emerged in the United States.



    Read more:
    How the US right-to-life movement is influencing the abortion debate in Australia

    For example, in 2008, one Victorian group controversially distributed graphic photographs of aborted fetuses, and American diagrams and descriptions of later abortion procedures.

    Now, as Australian conservatives seek to reopen the debate over abortion, American influence underpins the rhetoric and framing.

    For decades, opponents of abortion in the United States focused on chipping away abortion rights and eroding access. They never accepted that abortion was health care.

    Since 1995, their central focus was also on the statistically rare abortions performed after 20 weeks gestation. This focus has been imported wholesale into Australia.

    The anti-abortion activism surrounding Hood’s bill reflects these approaches. Opponents of abortions waged a broad and stigmatising campaign against abortion after 22 weeks and six days, the legal point in South Australia after which two medical practitioners must approve an abortion.

    Hood’s bill is best interpreted as an anti-abortion “messaging” exercise rather than a genuine attempt to amend the law.

    For decades, this was the default tactic motivating Republicans when they introduced extreme, unenforceable bills. The purpose was not legislative change but to amplify their rhetoric and arguments and energise conservative voters.

    Opposition to abortion is also part of a broader rightward shift taking place among some state Liberal branches.

    In South Australia, conservatives launched a power grab after abortion was decriminalised in 2021. This included a significant recruitment drive among Pentecostals.

    A similar recruiting focus on conservative religious faith groups has also occurred in Victoria, triggered by LGBTQI+ victories.

    In South Australia, the party takeover is openly led by Senator Alex Antic. He made a name for himself through his hostility to COVID-19 vaccines and his opposition to trans and abortion rights.

    Antic praises Trump and seeks out connections with conservatives who are or have been close to him, including Steven Bannon and Donald Trump junior.

    Meanwhile, in Queensland, Crisafulli’s desperate efforts not to be pinned down on abortion offer a local version of themes in the 2024 presidential election.

    Because Republicans have experienced significant voter backlash over abortion, Trump has charted an uneasy course.

    Trump claims sole responsibility for the end of Roe v Wade while simultaneously denying any connection to the abortion bans now in place in many states.

    Like Crisafulli, Trump has been unclear about what his victory would mean for reproductive rights.

    Political commentator Mark Kenny concludes that an “ideological battle” is unfolding among Australian Liberals.

    As in the United States, unwavering hostility to abortion is proving central to these politicians as a way to signify their priorities to voters and define themselves against others in their party.

    Prudence Flowers has received funding from the South Australian Department of Human Services. She is a member of the South Australian Abortion Action Coalition.

    – ref. Abortion is back in the headlines in Australia. The debates in the United States tell us why – https://theconversation.com/abortion-is-back-in-the-headlines-in-australia-the-debates-in-the-united-states-tell-us-why-241778

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: RNZ Pacific – 35 years of broadcasting trusted news to the region

    By Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor, RNZ Pacific manager

    RNZ International (RNZI) began broadcasting to the Pacific region 35 years ago — on 24 January 1990, the same day the Auckland Commonwealth Games opened.

    Its news bulletins and programmes were carried by a brand new 100kW transmitter.

    The service was rebranded as RNZ Pacific in 2017. However its mission remains unchanged, to provide news of the highest quality and be a trusted service to local broadcasters in the Pacific region.

    Although RNZ had been broadcasting to the Pacific since 1948, in the late 1980s the New Zealand government saw the benefit of upgrading the service. Thus RNZI was born, with a small dedicated team.

    The first RNZI manager was Ian Johnstone. He believed that the service should have a strong cultural connection to the people of the Pacific. To that end, it was important that some of the staff reflected parts of the region where RNZ Pacific broadcasted.

    He hired the first Pacific woman sports reporter at RNZ, the late Elma Ma’ua.

    Linden Clark (from left) and Ian Johnstone, former managers of RNZ International now known as RNZ Pacific, and Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor, current manager of RNZ Pacific . . . strong cultural connection to the people of the Pacific. Image: RNZ

    The Pacific region is one of the most vital areas of the earth, but it is not always the safest, particularly from natural disasters.

    Disaster coverage
    RNZ Pacific covered events such as the 2009 Samoan tsunami, and during the devastating 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai eruption, it was the only news service that could be heard in the kingdom.

    More recently, it supported Vanuatu’s public broadcaster during the December 17 earthquake by providing extra bulletin updates for listeners when VBTC services were temporarily out of action.

    Cyclones have become more frequent in the region, and RNZ Pacific provides vital weather updates, as the late Linden Clark, RNZI’s second manager, explained: “Many times, we have been broadcasting warnings on analogue shortwave to listeners when their local station has had to go off air or has been forced off air.”

    RNZ Pacific’s cyclone watch service continues to operate during the cyclone season in the South Pacific.

    As well as natural disasters, the Pacific can also be politically volatile. Since its inception RNZ Pacific has reported on elections and political events in the region.

    Some of the more recent events include the 2000 and 2006 coups in Fiji, the Samoan Constitutional Crisis of 2021, the 2006 pro-democracy riots in Nuku’alofa, the revolving door leadership changes in Vanuatu, and the 2022 security agreement that Solomon Islands signed with China.

    Human interest, culture
    Human interest and cultural stories are also a key part of RNZ Pacific’s programming.

    The service regularly covers cultural events and festivals within New Zealand, such as Polyfest. This was part of Linden Clark’s vision, in her role as RNZI manager, that the service would be a link for the Pacific diaspora in New Zealand to their homelands.

    Today, RNZ Pacific continues that work. Currently its programmes are carried on two transmitters — one installed in 2008 and a much more modern facility, installed in 2024 following a funding boost.

    Around 20 Pacific region radio stations relay RNZP’s material daily. Individual short-wave listeners and internet users around the world tune in directly to RNZ Pacific content which can be received as far away as Japan, North America, the Middle East and Europe.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole? Science says you’re one of these three types

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Polkinghorne, Adjunct Senior Industry Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University

    Johnson Martin / Unsplash

    If you’ve ever gone to look up a quick fact and just kept browsing from one article (or page, or video), to another, to another – then you know the feeling of “going down a rabbit hole”. This experience of curiosity-led online wandering has become synonymous with the free, user-created encyclopedia Wikipedia.

    Founded in 2001, Wikipedia is today one of the world’s most popular websites. With more users than Amazon, Netflix, TikTok or ChatGPT, the site is a go-to source for people to learn about and discover new interests.

    In new research involving more than 480,000 Wikipedia users in 14 languages across 50 countries, US researchers led by Dale Zhou at the University of Pennsylvania studied three distinctly different ways of going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole. These “curiosity styles” have been studied before, but not in such a large, diverse group of people using Wikipedia “naturalistically”, in daily life.

    The research may help us better understand the nature and importance of curiosity, its connections to wellbeing, and strategies for preventing the spread of false information.

    Wikipedia: first controversial, now mature, always popular

    When Wikipedia was new in the early 2000s, it sparked controversies. People such as librarians and lecturers voiced concerns about Wikipedia’s potential for platforming untrue or incomplete information.

    Today, the factuality of Wikipedia’s existing contents is less concerning than questions of bias, such as which topics the site’s volunteer editors deem noteworthy enough to include. There are global efforts to fill gaps in Wikipedia’s coverage, such as “edit-a-thons” to add entries on historically overlooked scientists and artists.

    Part of what made Wikipedia groundbreaking was how it satisfies people’s intrinsic learning needs by inviting navigation from page to page, luring readers into rabbit holes. This, combined with the site’s participatory approach to creating and verifying pages, sparked its rapid growth. These qualities have also sustained Wikipedia as a predominant everyday information source, globally.

    Research about Wikipedia has also evolved from early studies comparing it to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

    This new study examines data about Wikipedia readers’ activities. It looks at the different “architectural styles of curiosity” people embody when they navigate.

    Busybodys, hunters and dancers

    The new study explores the “knowledge networks” associated with the three main styles of curiosity: busybody, hunter and dancer. A knowledge network is a visual representation of how readers “weave a thread” across Wikipedia articles.

    As the researchers explain:

    The busybody scouts for loose threads of novelty, the hunter pursues specific answers in a projectile path, and the dancer leaps in creative breaks with tradition across typically siloed areas of knowledge.

    Earlier research had shown evidence of busybodies and hunters, and speculated about the existence of dancers. The new study confirms that busybodies and hunters exist in multiple countries and languages. It also details the dancer style, which has been more elusive to document.

    The researchers also identified geographical differences between curiosity styles.

    In all 14 languages studied, busybodies tend to read more about culture, media, food, art, philosophy and religion. Hunters in 12 out of 14 languages tend to read more about science, technology, engineering and maths.

    In German and English, hunters were more drawn to pages about history and society than busybodies. The opposite was true in Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Dutch and Chinese.

    Dancers were identified by their forward leaps between disparate topics, as well as the diversity of their interests.

    The research team points out we still have much to learn about how curiosity is shaped by local norms. Relating these results to gender, ethnicity, access to education, and other elements will paint a fuller picture.

    Curiosity is beneficial, generally … and we have more to learn

    Overall, this study supports the benefits of freer, broader browsing and reading. Following our curiosity can help us become better informed and expand our worldviews, creativity and relationships.

    At the same time, people sometimes need closure more than they need exploration. This is not a bad thing or a sign of narrow-mindedness. In many situations there are benefits to moving on from information-seeking, and deciding we’ve learned enough for now.

    Endless curiosity can have downsides. This is especially true when it’s motivated not by the joy of learning, but by the discomfort of uncertainty and exclusion. As other research has found, for some people, curiosity can lead toward false information and conspiracy theories. When information has a sense of novelty, or a hint of being hidden by powerful elites, this can make it more appealing, even when it’s not true.

    The new study emphasises that different curiosity styles do not lead simply or universally to creativity or wellbeing. People’s contexts and circumstances vary.

    Each of us, like Goldilocks, can follow our curiosity to find not too much, not too little, but the information that is “just right”. The researchers also hint at evidence for a spectrum of new curiosity styles beyond the main three, which will surely spark more research in future.

    Stay curious and enjoy the rabbit hole

    This study also suggests ways Wikipedia (and sites like it) could better support curiosity-driven exploration. For example, rather than suggesting pages based on their popularity or similarity to other pages, Wikipedia could try showing readers their own dynamic knowledge network.

    As a Wikipedian would say, this new study is noteworthy. It shows how smaller-scale, exploratory research into people’s reading and browsing can be translated to a much larger scale across languages and cultures.

    As AI becomes more influential and the problems of misinformation grow, understanding technologies that shape our access to information – and how we use them – is more important than ever. We know YouTube recommendations can be a radicalising pipeline to extremist content, for example, and ChatGPT is largely indifferent to the truth.

    Studying Wikipedia readers reveals a rich picture of people’s freely expressed, diverse online curiosities. It shows an alternative to technologies built on narrower assumptions about what people value, how we learn, and how we want to explore online.

    Sarah Polkinghorne has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Association for Information Science & Technology, and RMIT University’s School of Global, Urban and Social Studies. She is also affiliated with the University of Alberta, and is a past president of the Canadian Association for Information Science.

    – ref. Going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole? Science says you’re one of these three types – https://theconversation.com/going-down-a-wikipedia-rabbit-hole-science-says-youre-one-of-these-three-types-242018

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: PNG bus shooting: ‘This sort of revenge killing is unheard of’

    By Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai, RNZ Pacific journalist

    Papua New Guinea police say 10 people have been tragically killed after a series of violent “revenge killings” along the Laiagam-Sirunki Highway in the Highlands province of Enga.

    The attacks, which occured last Friday and Monday, are believed to be connected to an unresolved death that took place in March earlier this year.

    Police said that gunmen from the Mulapin tribe ambushed a vehicle packed with passengers from the Sakare clan near Tambitanis Health Centre in Sirunki on October 11 at 8am.

    The vehicle, carrying a body, was fired upon in a surprise attack. A woman lost her life, several others sustained serious injuries, and the gunmen escaped.

    An hour later on the same day, the Sakare clan retaliated by shooting the driver and his passenger from close range. They reached a nearby hospital but succumbed to their injuries on arrival.

    The leadership of the Kunalin and Lyain tribes is urging restraint and for the clans not to resort to violence, police said.

    They have also called for the immediate surrender of suspects from both the Mulapin and Sakare tribes to law enforcement.

    Investigation into ‘root causes’
    Assistant Police Commissioner Joseph Tondop, who is responsible for the state of emergency in Enga, is calling for an investigation into the root causes of the recent conflict.

    “This sort of revenge killing is unheard of in the history of tribal conflicts in Enga Province where innocent people unrelated to the conflicts where killed,” he said.

    “All tribal clans taking part in the conflicts (Sakars, Mulapian, Kunalins, Myom and people form Kulapi 4 in Porgera) are all under the scope and ordered to refrain from further escalating the situation.”

    The investigative teams will start their work immediately, and individuals or groups found to be involved will be apprehended, he said.

    “This task force is given strict orders to carry out a thorough investigation, leaving no stone unturned.”

    RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in PNG, Scott Waide, said the public was frustrated that police were yet to make arrests.

    He said police found it difficult to deal with the clans and arrest people who were armed.

    Waide said people were reluctant to give up weapons because it gave them a sense of security in tribal conflicts.

    “It is a difficult situation that both lawmakers, citizens and police are in. The longer this drags on and guns are in the hands of ordinary people, killing will continue.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: UN experts ‘alarmed’ by Kanaky New Caledonia deaths as Pacific fact-finding mission readies

    By Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews

    France has been criticised for the “alarming” death toll in New Caledonia during recent protests and its “cold shower” approach to decolonisation by experts of the UN Human Rights Committee.

    The UN committee met this week in Geneva for France’s five-yearly human rights review with a focus on its Pacific territory, after peaceful protests over electoral changes turned violent leaving 13 people dead since May.

    French delegates at the hearing defended the country’s actions and rejected the jurisdiction of the UN decolonisation process, saying the country “no longer has any international obligations”.

    A delayed fact-finding mission of Pacific Islands Forum leaders is due to arrive in New Caledonia this weekend to assess the situation on behalf of the region’s peak regional inter-governmental body.

    Almost 7000 security personnel with armoured vehicles have been deployed from France to New Caledonia to quell further unrest.

    “The means used and the intensity of their response and the gravity of the violence reported, as well as the amount of dead and wounded, are particularly alarming,” said committee member Jose Santo Pais, assistant Prosecutor-General of the Portuguese Constitutional Court.

    “There have been numerous allegations regarding an excessive use of force and that would have led to numerous deaths among the Kanak people and law enforcement,” the committee’s vice-chair said on Wednesday.

    Months of protests
    Violence erupted after months of protests over a unilateral attempt by President Emmanuel Macron to “unfreeze” the territory’s electoral roll. Indigenous Kanaks feared the move would dilute their voting power and any chance of success at another independence referendum.

    Eleven Kanaks and two French police have died. The committee heard 169 people were wounded and 2658 arrested in the past five months.

    New Caledonia’s economy is in ruins with hundreds of businesses destroyed, tens-of-thousands left jobless and the local government seeking 4 billion euros (US$4.33 billion) in recovery funds from France.

    France’s reputation has been left battered as an out-of-touch colonial power since the deadly violence erupted.

    Santos Pais questioned France’s commitment to the UN Declaration on Indigenous People and the “sufficient dialogue” required under the Nouméa Accord, a peace agreement signed in 1998 to politically empower Kanak people, that enabled the decolonisation process.

    “It would seem that current violence in the territory is linked to the lack of progress in decolonisation,” said Santos Pais.

    Last week, the new French Prime Minister announced controversial electoral changes that sparked the protests had been abandoned. Local elections, due to be held this year, will now take place at the end of 2025.

    Pacific mission
    Tomorrow, Tonga’s prime minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni will lead a Pacific “observational” mission to New Caledonia of fellow leaders from Cook Islands, Fiji and Solomon Islands Minister for Foreign Affairs, together known as the “Troika-Plus”.

    The PIF leaders’ three-day visit to the capital Nouméa will see them meet with local political parties, youth and community groups, private sector and public service providers.

    “Our thoughts have always been with the people of New Caledonia since the unrest earlier this year, and we continue to offer our support,” Sovaleni said in a statement on Friday.

    The UN committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts that regularly reviews compliance by 173 member states with their human rights obligations and is separate from the Human Rights Council, a political body composed of states.

    Serbian committee member Tijana Surlan asked France for an update on investigations into injuries and fatalities “related to alleged excessive use of force” in New Caledonia. She asked if police firearms use would be reviewed “to strike a better balance with the principles of absolute necessity and strict proportionality.”

    France’s delegation responded saying it was “committed to renewing dialogue” in New Caledonia and to striking a balance between the right to demonstrate and protecting people and property with the “principle of proportionality.”

    Alleged intimidation by French authorities of at least five journalists covering the unrest in New Caledonia was highlighted by committee member Kobauyah Tchamdja Kapatcha from Togo. France responded saying it guarantees freedom of the press.

    French Ambassador for Human Rights Isabelle Rome addresses the UN Human Rights Committee meeting in Geneva, pictured on 23 October 2024. Image: UNTV

    France rejects ‘obligations’
    The French delegation led by Ambassador for Human Rights Isabelle Rome added it “no longer administers a non-self-governing territory.”

    France “no longer has any international obligations in this regard linked to its membership in the United Nations”, she told the committee on Thursday.

    New Caledonia voted by modest majorities to remain part of France in referendums held in 2018 and 2020 under a UN-mandated decolonisation process. Three referendums were part of the Nouméa Accord to increase Kanaks’ political power following deadly violence in the 1980s.

    A contentious final referendum in 2021 was overwhelmingly in favor of continuing with the status quo. Supporters of independence rejected its legitimacy due to a very low turnout — it was boycotted by Kanak political parties — and because it was held during a serious phase of the covid-19 pandemic, which restricted campaigning.

    “France, through the referendum of September [2021], has therefore completed the process of decolonisation of its former colonies,” ambassador Rome said. She added that New Caledonia was one of the most advanced examples of the French government recognising indigenous rights, with a shared governance framework.

    Another of its Pacific territories — French Polynesia — was re-inscribed on the UN decolonisation list in 2013 but France refuses to recognise its jurisdiction.

    No change in policy
    After a decade, France began attending General Assembly Decolonisation Committee meetings in 2023 to “promote dialogue” and that it was not a “change in [policy] direction”, Rome said.

    “There is no process between the French state and the Polynesian territory that reserves a role for the United Nations,” she added.

    Santos Pais responded saying, “what a cold shower”.

    “The General Assembly will certainly have a completely different view from the one that was presented to us,” he said.

    Earlier this month pro-independence French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson told the UN Decolonisation Committee’s annual meeting in New York that “after a decade of silence” France must be “guided” to participate in “dialogue.”

    The Human Rights Committee is due to meet again next month to adopt its findings on France.

    Copyright ©2015-2024, BenarNews. Republished with the permission of BenarNews.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: LNP wins Queensland election, likely with a clear majority

    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

    With 45% of enrolled voters counted in today’s Queensland state election, The Poll Bludger’s results have the Liberal National Party (LNP) winning 38 of the 93 seats, Labor 26, Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) three and independents one.

    Including undecided seats where one party is ahead, it’s 49 LNP, 39 Labor, three KAP, one Green and one independent. A majority is achieved with 47 seats, so the LNP are on track for a majority.

    The statewide two-party estimate is a 53.1–46.9 win to the LNP, a 6.3% swing to the LNP since the 2020 election. Current primary votes are 40.9% LNP (up 5.7%), 33.4% Labor (down 6.6%), 10.3% Greens (up 0.7%), 7.8% One Nation (up 1.0%) and 2.3% KAP (down 0.3%).

    As pre-poll and postal votes have come in, the swing to the LNP has increased as these votes have had stronger swings to the LNP than election day votes. There are many more pre-poll and postals still to be counted, so it’s more likely that the LNP will exceed its current projections than fall below them.

    I believe the Resolve poll that gave the LNP a 53–47 lead will be the most accurate. While Labor recovered from landslide defeat margins in polls taken about the middle of this year, it wasn’t enough. The uComms poll that gave the LNP just a 51–49 lead two days before the election was poor.

    The Greens lost South Brisbane to Labor, after the LNP recommended preferences to Labor on their how-to-vote material after recommending preferences to the Greens in 2020. Analyst Kevin Bonham said this is the first time the Greens have lost a single-member seat that they won at the previous general election.

    The key reasons for Labor’s defeat were an “it’s time” factor, as Labor has governed since winning the January 2015 election, the federal Labor government tending to hurt state Labor parties, and Queensland easily being the most pro-Coalition state at the 2022 federal election.

    At that election, Queensland was the only state where the Coalition won the two-party vote (by 54.1–45.9). The second best state for the Coalition was New South Wales, where Labor won the two-party vote by 51.4–48.6.

    Labor’s defeat in Queensland will give some assistance to federal Labor. An unpopular and old Queensland Labor government would have hindered federal Labor’s prospects in Queensland at the federal election that is due by May 2025.

    Late polls

    The Newspoll and uComms poll were both released after Wednesday’s preview article on the Queensland election.

    A Newspoll, conducted October 18–24 from a sample of 1,151, had given the LNP a 52.5–57.5 lead, a 2.5-point gain for Labor since a mid-September Newspoll. Primary votes were 42% LNP (steady), 33% Labor (up three), 11% Greens (down one), 8% One Nation (steady) and 6% for all Others (down two).

    Labor premier Steven Miles gained seven points for a -3 net approval, with 48% dissatisfied and 45% satisfied. LNP leader David Crisafulli’s net approval plunged 15 points to -3. Miles led Crisafulli by 45–42 as better premier, a reversal from a 46–39 Crisafulli lead in September.

    A uComms poll that was conducted Thursday from a sample of 3,651 using robopolling, gave the LNP a 51–49 lead. Bonham had primary votes from this poll, which was not commissioned by anyone. The primary votes were 39.3% LNP, 33.6% Labor, 12.9% Greens, 7.8% One Nation, 2.9% KAP and 3.5% others.

    Federal Essential poll: Labor slumps and Dutton’s ratings jump

    A national Essential poll, conducted October 16–20 from a sample of 1,140, gave the Coalition a 48–46 lead including undecided (49–47 to Labor in early October). Primary votes were 35% Coalition (up one), 28% Labor (down four), 12% Greens (steady), 7% One Nation (down one), 2% UAP (up one), 9% for all Others (steady) and 6% undecided (up one).

    Anthony Albanese’s net approval improved one point from September to -4, with 48% disapproving and 44% approving. He has improved six points since August. Peter Dutton’s net approval jumped six points to +6, his best in any poll this term.

    King Charles had a 50–26 approval rating. By 45–39, voters supported Australia becoming a republic (42–35 in January). On Australia’s colonial history, 26% thought it something we should be proud of, 12% something we should be ashamed of and 62% said it had both positive and negative elements.

    On the National Anti-Corruption Commission, 46% thought it is largely operating as intended but could be improved, 14% wanted it abolished and 10% said it’s successful.

    Freshwater poll: Coalition holds narrow lead

    A national Freshwater poll for The Financial Review, conducted October 18–20 from a sample of 1,034, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead, a one-point gain for Labor since the September Freshwater poll. Primary votes were 41% Coalition (down one), 30% Labor (steady), 13% Greens (steady) and 16% for all Others.

    Albanese’s net approval was up one point to -14, with 49% unfavourable and 35% favourable. Dutton’s net approval improved two points to -2. Albanese was just ahead as preferred PM by 44–43 (45–41 in September).

    Asked about Albanese buying a $4.3 million house, 52% said it had no impact on their view of him, 36% said it had worsened their view and 4% improved their view.

    Cost of living remained the top issue with 72% saying it was important. The Coalition retained a 14-point lead over Labor on this issue and a 16-point lead on managing the economy.

    Morgan poll: Labor jumps ahead

    A national Morgan poll, conducted October 14–20 from a sample of 1,687, gave Labor a 52–48 lead, a two-point gain for Labor since the October 7–13 Morgan poll.

    Primary votes were 36.5% Coalition (down one), 32% Labor (up two), 13.5% Greens (down 0.5), 5.5% One Nation (down 0.5), 9% independents (steady) and 3.5% others (steady).

    The headline figure uses respondent preferences. By 2022 election preference flows, Labor led by 53–47, a two-point gain for Labor.

    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. LNP wins Queensland election, likely with a clear majority – https://theconversation.com/lnp-wins-queensland-election-likely-with-a-clear-majority-241918

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Promoted as a win-win, Australia’s Pacific island guest worker scheme is putting those workers at risk

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Withers, Senior Lecturer, School of Sociology, Australian National University

    The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM) has been lauded by both sides of politics as a “win win” for the islanders who come here and the Australians who use their services.

    Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs has even labelled it a “triple win”, for the workers, their hosts and for their home nations who receive remittances.

    But beneath the surface serious questions are being asked about the safety of workers denied the right to leave their employers.

    A report by the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner entitled Be Our Guests has identified signs of debt bondage, deceptive recruiting, forced labour and, in extreme cases, servitude, sexual servitude and human trafficking.

    The NSW parliament has launched its own inquiry into the risks faced by migrant workers in response and is seeking submissions.

    Employment Minister Murray Watt this month signalled changes, saying there had been “far too many abuses of the PALM scheme”.

    PALM allows rural and regional employers to hire workers from nine Pacific nations and Timor-Leste when there are not enough local workers available.

    Unplanned pregnancies, sleeping rough

    The workers hired do not have the right to change employers while in Australia, even for contracts of up to four years, except via a request from their original employer or a direction from the Department of Employment.

    This means workers who abandon their employers for reasons including underpayment of wages, excessive deductions and overcharging for accommodation become absconders and lose their rights.

    The NSW Modern Slavery Commissioner says there are several thousand absconded PALM workers in Australia, without access to health insurance and formal income. Among them are women with unplanned pregnancies denied antenatal care due to ineligibility for Medicare.

    The Commissioner says crisis accommodation services in the NSW Riverina report having exhausted all available resources, including tents, for PALM workers who have left their employers and are sleeping rough.

    Australia had 30,805 PALM workers at the end of August, one-third of them (11,420) in Queensland. Most work in farming (52%) and 39% in meat processing. The accommodation and care industries between them account for 6%.

    For many of these workers, the income is life-changing. An I-Kiribati worker I interviewed recently told me she makes more money cleaning hotel rooms in Queensland than is paid to the president of her country.

    The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says between July 2018 to October 2022 PALM workers sent home a total of A$184 million, but their employers made profits of $289 million and charged them a further $74 million in rent.

    Unable to switch employers, their bargaining power is weak.

    An estimated 45 workers on the PALM scheme died between June 2022 and June 2023. Nineteen deaths remain under investigation.

    After a Fijian abattoir worker died of a brain tumour in June, Fiji raised with Australia claims of racism, bullying, excessive workloads, unfair termination and unsafe working conditions under the program.

    Minimum pay, but no right to move

    Reforms introduced last year guaranteed workers a minimum of 30 hours per week and a minimum weekly take-home pay (after deductions) of $200.

    But until PALM workers are able to move freely between approved employers they will remain at risk of what the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Michele O’Neil calls modern-day slavery.

    O’Neil wants the government to blacklist bad employers and identify ethical ones in consultation with unions and civil society organisations. But she says until PALM workers can move, they risk being treated as disposable labour.

    Many employers treat their PALM workers well, but the current design of the scheme leaves that outcome to chance, and leaves badly-treated workers trapped.

    It’s time to give them the same sort of right to move between employers as the rest of us.

    Matt Withers 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. Promoted as a win-win, Australia’s Pacific island guest worker scheme is putting those workers at risk – https://theconversation.com/promoted-as-a-win-win-australias-pacific-island-guest-worker-scheme-is-putting-those-workers-at-risk-240333

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: With AI translation tools so powerful, what is the point of learning a language?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elba Ramirez, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader BA International Studies, Auckland University of Technology

    In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), foreign language learning can seem like it’s becoming obsolete. Why invest the time and effort to learn another language when technology can do it for you?

    There are now translation tools to understand song lyrics, translate websites and to enable automated captions when watching foreign videos and movies. Our phones can instantly translate spoken words.

    At the same time, foreign language programmes are closing at New Zealand and Australian universities.

    But while technology can translate messages, it misses an important component of human communication – the cultural nuances behind the words.

    So, while AI translation might bridge language barriers and promote communication because of its accessibility, it’s important to be clear about the benefits and challenges it presents. Merely relying on technology to translate between languages will ultimately lead to misunderstandings and a less rich human experience.

    The rise of translation technology

    Translation technology has rapidly grown since its emergence between the 1950s and 1960s. This progress was bolstered by the commercialisation of computer-assisted translation systems in the 1980s.

    But recent advances in generative AI have led to significant breakthroughs in translation technologies.

    Google Translate has dramatically changed since its launch in 2006. Initially developed as a limited statistical translation machine, it has evolved into a “portable interpreter”.

    AI translation is useful in some circumstances. For example, helping teachers communicate with parents who speak a different language, or when travelling.

    Translation technology may even play a role in the preservation of Indigenous and minority languages on the verge of disappearing by supporting online collections of literature. Incorporating AI-powered technology in these digital libraries can help users access and understand these texts.

    But the new technology also comes with limitations.

    In 2019, staff at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centre in the United States used AI translation to process an asylum application. The voice-translation tool was unable to understand an applicant’s regional accent or dialect, leading to the asylum seeker spending six months in detention without being able to meaningfully communicate with anyone.

    In 2021, a court in the US determined Google Translate wasn’t reliable enough to ensure someone’s consent. A trooper had used the translation app to ask a Spanish-speaking suspect if he could search her car. Google Translate used the word “registrar” (which translates as “register” but can be used to say “examine”) when, in fact, the word “buscar” (to search) would have been more appropriate.

    Brain health and other benefits

    Learning additional languages also stands out as one of the best ways to improve ourselves, with benefits for brain health, social skills, cultural understanding, empathy and career opportunities.

    An analysis of studies from 2012 to 2019 found speaking more than one language can enhance the brain’s flexibility, delay the onset of dementia, and improve cognitive health later in life. The analysis also recommended starting language learning early.

    In 2022, the Council of Europe emphasised the significance of plurilingual and intercultural education for fostering democratic culture, noting its cognitive, linguistic and social benefits.

    And this year, the council launched the “Language education at the heart of democracy” programme. The goal is to highlight the importance of learning language for a fairer society.

    Lost in translation

    In Aotearoa New Zealand, English is widely used. Te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language are also recognised as official languages. Some 29% of citizens are born overseas. There are more than 150 languages spoken, with at least 24 spoken by more than 10,000 people.

    But interest in learning languages has fallen. In 2021, 980 full-time equivalent students studied a language other than Māori or New Zealand Sign Language at one of the country’s eight universities, falling from 1,555 less than a decade earlier.

    As a consequence, a number of universities have closed, or announced plans to close, their language programmes.

    While AI-powered translation technology has its uses, a great deal can be lost if we rely solely on it to communicate. The nuances of languages, and what they say about different cultures, are difficult to communicate via translation tools.

    And the benefits of being bilingual or multilingual – both personally and for the wider community – risk being lost if we don’t support second language learning.

    Elba Ramirez 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. With AI translation tools so powerful, what is the point of learning a language? – https://theconversation.com/with-ai-translation-tools-so-powerful-what-is-the-point-of-learning-a-language-238068

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From Ancient Rome to Persia, eunuchs often led armies and were powerbrokers of the ancient world

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael B. Charles, Associate Professor, Management Discipline, Faculty of Business, Arts and Law, Southern Cross University

    The person to the right of the haloed emperor is thought to be the eunuch Narses, a powerful Byzantine general. Bender235/Wikimedia

    When people think of eunuchs, someone like Lord Varys from Game of Thrones often springs to mind. Chubby, obsequious and a flatterer, he is involved in court intrigues and manipulates people and events behind the scenes.

    These traits oppose military prowess and valour endorsed by traditional models of masculinity across various times and cultures. According to those tropes, a eunuch’s weapon is the whisper, not the sword.

    In reality, not every eunuch in the ancient world was a servile, cloistered being. In fact, eunuchs sometimes led armies on campaign, and were entrusted with high-level administrative tasks.

    What was a eunuch?

    A eunuch was someone whose testicles had been deliberately crushed or excised.

    In Greek myth, Cronus (the father of Zeus) castrated his own father Uranus to overthrow his tyranny and become king of the Titans.

    Greek historians reported castration as war punishment, and persistently linked the castration of young boys to sexual slavery.

    The ancient Greek historian Herodotus stressed the demand for castrated boys at the court of the Persian kings. But the market for eunuchs was evidently larger than just the Persian court.

    The Romans replicated the Greeks’ negative view of eunuchs. They are often portrayed in Roman texts as being in the company of “bad” emperors such as the supposedly cruel and narcissistic Domitian – even though he forbade the practice of making eunuchs.

    The notion of the unmanly eunuch in antiquity was reinforced by Orientalist literature, which imagined ancient eunuchs in charge of something akin to a Turkish sultan’s harem. Unable to procreate, the eunuch is paradoxically surrounded by beautiful women, his in-between-ness granting him access to the psychological makeup of both genders.

    Orientalism drew inspiration from historical accounts written after the Greco-Persian wars, which the Greeks won in 449 BCE. These accounts were written in the shadow of Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Near East (including areas such as modern-day Iraq, Iran and Syria), which was followed by the Roman hegemony.

    Instead of critically evaluating the sources, colonial writers and their readers indulged in a world of fantasy where eunuchs offered a sensualised peek into the “secrets of the harem”.

    In fact, a deeper look at the historical record reveals that eunuchs often occupied positions of great military power and civil authority.

    Eunuchs as bodyguards, enforcers and governors

    Cyrus, the first Persian king (590–529 BCE), praised eunuchs for their reliability. He insisted that gelded men, like gelded horses, are easier to control. He believed they made up for their lack of physical strength with their loyalty.

    Cyrus may have owed his life to eunuchs, who played a role in saving him as a baby from a murderous plot by his grandfather.

    The Greek historian Herodotus also reports that eunuch-bodyguards tried to protect, albeit unsuccessfully, the man on the Persian throne just before Darius the Great took power in 522 BCE (Darius contended that this man was not a real king but an imposter).

    The historical record also mentions a Persian eunuch being in charge of a garrison at Gaza around 332 BCE.

    The Egyptian pharaoh Amasis, who reigned in the sixth century BCE, also relied on eunuchs to recover fugitive slaves.

    Eunuchs appeared in the courts of the Hittites and Assyrians (civilisations in modern-day Turkey and Iraq respectively) from the 13th century BCE.

    Assyrian kings often appointed eunuchs as provincial governors. The Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad V (who ruled Assyria 824–811 BCE) praised his chief eunuch Mutarris-Ashur as “clever and experienced in battle”. Mutarris-Ashur led the Assyrian army on a military campaign to the Nairi lands in the Armenian Highlands.

    King Ashurbanipal, who ruled the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to 631 BCE, sent his chief eunuch on missions against neighbouring Mannea (a kingdom in modern-day Iran) and the rebellious Gambulu tribe in ancient Babylonia.

    This Assyrian relief shows the head of a beardless royal attendant, possibly a eunuch. Eunuchs were key figures in the Assyrian court.
    The Metropolitan Museum of Art

    Bagoas the eunuch

    In the fourth century BCE, there was Bagoas, a Persian court eunuch who is sometimes conflated with a eunuch lover of Alexander the Great who had the same name. Bagoas became the second most important person in the Persian court, after the Persian king.

    Bagoas had served in Persian king Artaxerxes III’s campaign against Egypt, and rose to the rank of Chiliarch (the leader of the royal infantry guard).

    Bagoas developed a reputation as a kingmaker – he was instrumental in replacing Artaxerxes III with his son, Artaxerxes IV. He later poisoned Artaxerxes IV and installed as king Darius III, who was eventually defeated by Alexander the Great.

    Bagoas had plotted to replace Darius too, but Darius outsmarted him; he forced Bagoas to drink the poison the latter had prepared for Darius to drink.

    Eunuchs in Rome

    Despite the bias of the Greco-Roman sources, including their suspicion of eastern cults that involved eunuch priests, eunuchs were important in Roman imperial service.

    The emperor Claudius rewarded his eunuch Posides for his service during Rome’s invasion of Britain in 43 CE.

    In 399 CE, the eunuch Eutropius became a powerful consul in Rome’s eastern empire under the emperor Arcadius. Some Romans, however, attacked the appointment of a semivir (half man) as consul as an abomination.

    In early Christianity, the concept of becoming a eunuch for the kingdom of God acquired currency. According to some interpretations of the Bible, being a eunuch was connected to the virtues of chastity and celibacy.

    By the sixth century CE, Byzantine eunuchs found themselves in charge of large armies. (What we now call the Byzantine Empire, or the Eastern Roman Empire, was known by its people as the Roman Empire until 1453 CE).

    Narses was a eunuch and one of the Byzantine emperor Justinian’s great generals. He managed to recapture Italy, including Rome, from the Goths (a Germanic people who had invaded Italy).

    Narses, possibly an Armenian by birth, was no armchair general. At the battle of Mons Lactarius (552 or 553 CE), Narses fought on foot with his fellow soldiers against the Goths. He encouraged his men to hang on against a brave enemy.

    Despite the stereotypes, eunuchs clearly often played important roles in the ostensibly masculine world of strategic planning and combat.

    This plurality of masculinities in the ancient Mediterranean world remains relevant to modern society as it challenges notions of a simple gender binary.

    Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Gerda Henkel Foundation.

    Michael B. Charles 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. From Ancient Rome to Persia, eunuchs often led armies and were powerbrokers of the ancient world – https://theconversation.com/from-ancient-rome-to-persia-eunuchs-often-led-armies-and-were-powerbrokers-of-the-ancient-world-235957

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Is it possible to have a fair jury trial anymore?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arlie Loughnan, Professor of Criminal Law, University of Sydney

    Shutterstock

    The decades-long mystery about what happened to 19-year-old Amber Haigh made it to court in New South Wales earlier this year. Those accused of murdering Haigh were found not guilty.

    Usually we don’t know precisely why someone was found guilty or not. But in this case, the reasons were given.

    This is because the trial was “judge alone”: a trial without a jury. This means the judge decides on the factual questions as well as the legal ones. And as judges are required to give reasons for their decisions, we learned what was behind the verdict, something usually hidden by the “black box” of the jury room.

    Judge alone trials are increasing in New South Wales. Moves are being made in some other Australian jurisdictions to increase access to judge alone trials.

    While it’s only possible to hold a judge alone trial in certain circumstances, and there are small numbers of such trials relative to other trials, some lawyers and judges think these trials have advantages over those with a jury.

    This is because jury trials face a lot of challenges. Some have pondered whether, in this media-saturated environment, there is such a thing as a fair jury trial. So what are these challenges, and where do they leave the time-honoured process?

    What happens in a jury trial?

    The criminal trial brings together knowledge of the facts that underpin the criminal charge. The task of the jury is to independently assess that knowledge as presented in the trial, and reach a conclusion about guilt to the criminal standard of proof: beyond reasonable doubt.

    Crucially, lay people provide legitimacy to this process, as individuals drawn from all walks of life are engaged in the decision-making around the guilt of the accused.

    The jury is therefore a fundamental part of our democracy.

    The changing trial

    For its legitimacy, the criminal trial traditionally relies on open justice, independent prosecutors and the lay jury (the “black box”), all overseen by the impartial umpire, the judge, and backed up by the appeal system.

    But these aspects of the criminal trial are being challenged by changes occurring inside and outside the courtroom.

    These challenges include high levels of media attention given to criminal justice matters.

    Another is the questioning about the way public prosecutors are using their discretion in bringing charges against individuals. This is happening in NSW, ACT and Victoria.

    There are also concerns about “junk science” being relied on Australian courtrooms. This is where unreliable or inaccurate expert evidence is introduced in trials.

    Some legal bodies are also demanding a post-appeal criminal cases review commission to prevent wrongful convictions.

    Added complexity

    It is not just juries that must come to grips with complex evidence in criminal matters. Judges and lawyers are also required to grasp intricate scientific evidence, understand new areas of expertise, and get across changing practices of validating expert knowledge.

    The difficulty of these tasks for judges and lawyers was on show in the two special inquiries into Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions for the murder of her children, held in 2019 and 2022–23. Rapid developments in genetic science, alongside other developments, came to cast doubt on the accuracy of Folbigg’s convictions. This was just a few years after the first inquiry concluded there was no reasonable doubt about her guilt.

    The challenges facing criminal trials are one dimension of much wider social and political dynamics. News and information is produced and consumed differently now. People have differing degrees of respect for scientific knowledge and expertise. Trust in authority and institutions is low.

    These factors come together in a perfect storm and pose existential questions about what criminal justice should look like now.

    What does the future look like?

    The future of criminal law and its institutions depends on their legitimacy. It’s legitimacy that gives courts the social license and power to proscribe conduct, prosecute crimes and authorise punishment. Juries are a vital piece of this picture.

    Amid the changing environment, there are things we can do to improve jury trials and in turn, safeguard and enhance their legitimacy.

    One is providing extremely careful instructions to juries to make sure jurors understand their tasks, and do not feel frustrated.

    Another is introducing higher and better standards for expert evidence. Experts testifying in court need firm guidance, especially on their use of industry jargon, to decrease chances of wrongful convictions.

    These sorts of changes might be coupled with changes in criminal laws, like enhancing laws of self-defence so they are more accessible to women in domestic violence situations.

    Together, this would help to future-proof criminal law, ready to meet the challenges of coming years and decades that we are yet to detect.

    Arlie Loughnan 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. Is it possible to have a fair jury trial anymore? – https://theconversation.com/is-it-possible-to-have-a-fair-jury-trial-anymore-239401

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What’s at stake in elections in Georgia and Moldova this week: a stark choice between Russia and the West

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, International Studies, University of South Australia

    Two former Soviet republics have important elections this week that will likely be pivotal in their respective journeys toward tighter integration with the West against the backdrop of rising Russian influence and the Ukraine war.

    What happens in Georgia and Moldova is being closely watched across the European Union and Moscow. Russia has invested heavily in trying to influence the outcomes of both elections. If it succeeds, this will be a cause of significant concern in other ex-Soviet states, as well as the West.

    Moldova takes a tentative step towards the EU

    On Sunday, Moldovans voted in the first round of their presidential election. A referendum was also on the ballot to amend the country’s Constitution to include an aspiration to join the EU.

    Pre-election polls had suggested the referendum would easily pass and the popular pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, would be re-elected.

    However, Russia launched a significant “propaganda blitz” ahead of the vote, including credible allegations of widespread vote buying, to undermine the electoral process.

    Sandu won the first round comfortably, with over 42% of the vote, though not by enough to avoid a run-off on November 3. The country’s pro-Russia parties are now likely to coalesce behind the second-place candidate in an attempt to oust her.

    The referendum, however, teetered on the edge of failure before narrowly passing by the tightest of margins.

    Though Moldova’s negotiations with the EU were certain to continue under Sandu regardless of the outcome, the result was nonetheless concerning. It demonstrates the strength of Russia’s influence operations to destabilise a nation seen as key to security on the eastern boundaries of the EU and NATO.

    Moldova has a 1,200-kilometre border with Ukraine in the east and borders Romania, an EU and NATO member, in the west.

    Polling suggests a majority of Moldovans condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but a significant minority retain pro-Russian views.

    Russia also has a history of interference in Moldova’s sovereignty.

    Moldova declared independence in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union but Transnistria, a small part of the country along the border with Ukraine, was taken over by separatists in a military operation backed by Russian troops.

    Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe formally recognised Transnistria as Moldovan territory still occupied by Russia.

    What’s at stake in Georgia?

    On the day of Moldova’s vote, tens of thousands of pro-EU supporters staged a demonstration in Tblisi, Georgia’s capital, calling for their country to choose a pro-EU path in their own election

    The Georgian Dream party has been in power since 2012 and while it remains nominally pro-EU, it has gradually shifted towards a more pro-Russia stance.

    The Georgian Dream-dominated legislature recently passed an antidemocratic, Putinesque law that requires groups receiving at least 20% of their funding from overseas to register as “agents of foreign influence”. And earlier this month, it passed a sweeping anti-LGBTQ+ bill that bans same-sex marriages, adoption by same-sex couples and changing one’s gender on identity documents.

    The EU suspended Georgia’s accession process after the foreign agents law was passed and has recently cancelled €121 million (A$196 million) in funding due to “democratic backsliding”. This month, the European Parliament also overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for a freeze on EU funding to Georgia until its undemocratic laws are repealed.

    The opposition parties are now working together to try to remove Georgian Dream from power, support the re-election of the current pro-EU president and return the country to the road of rapid integration with the EU.

    Polls show support for joining the EU remains very high at nearly 80%. However, as the Moldovan election demonstrates, this may not necessarily be reflected in the vote on election day.



    Read more:
    ‘We do not want to be like Russia’: a first-hand account of Georgia’s fight for democracy

    Russian interference

    Russia has long meddled in its southern neighbour. After an invasion of Georgia in 2008, Russian troops supported two pro-Russian breakaway republics, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as they had done in Transnistria.

    Russia has now established military bases in both regions, as well as a new naval base in Abkhazia to serve as a permanent base for parts of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

    These incursions set the stage for Russia’s invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014. As the post-Soviet Baltic states have argued, the lack of an adequate response from the West to these invasions set the stage for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    Georgians are understandably concerned that Russia may invade their country again. Polls suggest two-thirds of people support joining NATO.

    There are concerns that Saturday’s election could also be tainted. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued a declaration earlier this month, saying there are “alarming reports” indicating the Russian-backed Georgian Dream party might be “preparing to steal” the election.

    The report accused the ruling party of a “massive intimidation campaign” against opposition candidates and their supporters, including physical attacks. It also said the Central Election Commission has apparently been brought under the control of Georgian Dream.

    The opposition and civil society groups claimed electoral fraud after the 2020 elections, which resulted in mass protests and a political crisis when the opposition boycotted parliament.

    Why these elections matter

    These elections in Georgia and Moldova are crucial for reinforcing democratic rights in vulnerable former Soviet states. Any outcome that shifts their trajectory towards Russia will likely result in increased repression of both minorities, including the LGTBQ+ community, and the political opposition.

    Wins by pro-Russian candidates and parties – legitimate or otherwise – will also drive greater military and economic integration with Russia. Despite popular support in both countries for joining NATO, wins by Russian-backed candidates will likewise undermine support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

    While it looks like pro-EU results might have squeaked through in Moldova, the elections in Georgia are potentially more hazardous for European relations.

    The stakes in both elections could not be higher.

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

    – ref. What’s at stake in elections in Georgia and Moldova this week: a stark choice between Russia and the West – https://theconversation.com/whats-at-stake-in-elections-in-georgia-and-moldova-this-week-a-stark-choice-between-russia-and-the-west-240675

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Reportage: BNZ offers support for Otago customers affected by severe rainfall  

    Source: BNZ statements

    BNZ is offering an assistance package to customers affected by severe rainfall in the Otago region.  

    Available immediately, the assistance package includes:  

    • Ability to review home lending facilities on a case-by-case basis. 
    • Access to temporary personal overdrafts to support customers who require access to funds urgently while they await insurance pay-outs. Standard interest rates and credit criteria applies. 
    • Access to temporary overdrafts of up to $10,000 with no application fee for Small Business customers. Standard interest rates and credit criteria applies. 
    • Access to temporary overdrafts for Agri, Business, and Commercial customers up to $100,000, with no application fee. Standard interest rates and credit criteria applies. 

    “We understand the challenges that can be posed to households, businesses and communities as a result of severe weather events,” says Anna Flower, BNZ Executive Personal and Business Banking. 

    “We’ve put together a range of practical support options to help ease some of the immediate financial pressure our customers might be facing. 

    “We also have a range of other options available, especially for customers who are facing hardship, so I encourage people to get in touch so we can see how we can help,” says Flower. 

    To discuss support options, business and agribusiness customers should reach out to their BNZ Partner. Small business owners can call 0800 BNZSME, while personal banking customers can access support through BNZ’s digital platforms or by calling 0800 ASKBNZ. 

    BNZ PremierCare Insurance customers who need assistance can call IAG NZ on 0800 248 888 or submit an online claim https://iagnz.custhelp.com/app/bnz  

    With local authorities in Otago, including Civil Defence, advising locals to avoid any unnecessary travel, BNZ is temporarily closing its Dunedin branches and Partner Centre. 

    “It’s important that our customers and our BNZers stay safe. Our teams in Dunedin can work from home and our people who would normally be working in our branches will instead be available to support customers via telephone banking and they continue to do their banking online or through our BNZ app,” says Flower.  

    BNZ’s ATM network in the affected areas remains operational, ensuring customers have continued access to cash and basic banking services. 

    Customers can check whether their local BNZ branch is open here: http://www.bnz.co.nz/locations 

    The post BNZ offers support for Otago customers affected by severe rainfall   appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Reportage: To celebrate the BNZ Kāhu making women’s sporting history, BNZ gifts home game tickets to fans

    Source: BNZ statements

    BNZ says “To celebrate the BNZ Kāhu making women’s sporting history, it’s our shout.”

    Less than a week before women’s basketball season tips off, in a bid to increase access to the hotly contested Tauihi season, BNZ has announced that BNZ Kāhu fans attending home games in Auckland and Whangārei won’t have to pay for general admission tickets.

    Last week, the championship franchise revealed BNZ Kāhu’s all-female ownership team of Jo Caird, Jody Cameron, “Georgie” Paula George, Rachel Howard, and Dani Marshall, making New Zealand’s top women’s basketball team the first sports team in the world to be fully owned, managed, and coached by women.

    “The feedback we have been getting from across Aotearoa New Zealand has been extraordinary. Our mission is to celebrate and grow our passionate community of fans by making women’s sports more accessible and family-friendly,” says co-owner Jo Caird.

    “That all starts at home, where we want our fans to turn Eventfinda Stadium and Whangārei McKay Stadium Kensington into our fortresses. And what better way than a sold-out stadium stacked with screaming BNZ Kāhu fans,” says co-owner “Georgie” Paula George.

    Starting this Sunday, when BNZ Kāhu hosts Dunedin’s Southern Hoiho for the first game of the season, BNZ Kāhu fans will be “shouted” their tickets by the team’s naming sponsor, Bank of New Zealand.

    “We were already absolutely stoked to have BNZ as a key partner and supporter. And we were committed to welcoming overlooked communities and reimagining the possibilities. Turning that commitment into a reality is so much easier when you have partners like the team at BNZ who believe with you,” says co-owner Dani Marshall.

    “It’s an absolute no-brainer,” says BNZ’s Executive Corporate and Institutional Banking Penny Ford.

    “What better way to celebrate this groundbreaking team of leaders than by giving them and the brilliant players they support a home stadium filled with passionate fans – all season long,” she says.

    BNZ Kāhu fans who have already purchased general admission tickets will have the option to refund their purchase price or transfer that purchase into admission into a brand-new Kāhu Supporters Club.

    “Those early bird ticket holders will be some of our most passionate fans. We can’t wait to see them on Sunday,” says co-owner and coach Jody Cameron.

    • Sunday 6 October – BNZ Kāhu hosts Southern Hoiho at Eventfinda Stadium.
    • General Admission tickets to six BNZ Kāhu regular-season home games will be available for free at http://www.eventfinda.co.nz starting Tuesday 1 October.

    The post To celebrate the BNZ Kāhu making women’s sporting history, BNZ gifts home game tickets to fans appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Reportage: BNZ launches new anti-scam tool to lock scammers out of online banking

    Source: BNZ statements

    BNZ is rolling out its latest anti-scam and fraud measure, launching an ‘online banking lock’ feature which gives customers the ability to disable all online banking activity and lock access to their online banking if they suspect a scammer has gained access to their accounts.

    “BNZ is continually looking for new ways to enhance protection for customers and combat criminal scammers,” says BNZ’s Head of Financial Crime Ashley Kai Fong.

    “While anyone who thinks they’re being scammed should call their bank straight away, this new tool – available in the BNZ app – gives customers the ability to lock their online banking while they’re making the call, potentially speeding up the process to lock their accounts and shut scammers out,” says Kai Fong.

    Once the online account lock is activated, it disables all current internet banking and BNZ mobile account activity and locks all access.

    To prevent scammers from regaining access, customers will need to verify their identity at a BNZ branch to regain access to their accounts.

    Customers will still be able to use their cards online, instore and at ATMs while their account is locked, unless they have also chosen to block their card. To minimise disruption, scheduled payments, like rent or mortgage payments, will still go out as scheduled.

    Kai Fong says BNZ invests tens of millions of dollars every year in scam and fraud protection measures.

    “While there is no silver bullet in the fight against scammers, this is another tool in the anti-scam and fraud toolbox to help protect our customers. It’s just one of a number of new features, BNZ has introduced, including:

    • introducing a way for customers to verify their identity through the BNZ app when prompted by a BNZ staff member to confirm it is the bank calling
    • introducing additional two-factor authentication (2FA) within internet banking for high-risk actions such as changing personal contact details, creating a new payee, editing an existing payee, or making payments to unsaved payees. This is required regardless of whether a customer has already completed 2FA in their current session.
    • deploying ID readers in branch to help identify fraudulent documents

    Kai Fong says customers also have a role to play in keeping themselves safe from scams and fraud:

    • keeping account details, passwords and pin numbers safe
    • never clicking on links or attachments sent by someone you don’t know or that seem out of character for someone you do know
    • keeping your computer and phone security software up to date
    • contacting your bank as soon as possible if you think you’ve been scammed

    Top tips to stay scam savvy – BNZ will never:

    • email or text you links to online banking and ask you to log in
    • send you a text message with a link to a website, or link to call us
    • ask you for information about your PIN number, bank account number, or password
    • ask you to verbally share the authentication codes sent to you by text or email, even with a BNZ staff member
    • ask you to transfer money to help catch a scammer or a bank employee who is scamming customers
    • send you a text message about account issues with a link to log in
    • ask you to download software to access your Internet Banking remotely
    • use international phone numbers to call or send you notifications.

    The post BNZ launches new anti-scam tool to lock scammers out of online banking appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Reportage: BNZ to provide Confirmation of Payee to customers in November

    Source: BNZ statements

    BNZ will be one of the first New Zealand banks to provide Confirmation of Payee when it rolls out the service at the end of November.

    “At BNZ we’re continuously looking for new ways to help protect customers from scammers,” says BNZ CEO Dan Huggins.

    “We’re pleased to be able to deliver Confirmation of Payee as quickly as possible after it becomes available in New Zealand, adding it to the suite of tools to help our customers be safer online.”

    BNZ’s other recent anti-scam features include:
    • An ‘online banking lock’ feature in the BNZ banking app which allows customers to disable all internet banking and BNZ mobile app activity and lock access to their accounts if they suspect a scammer has gained access to their online accounts.
    • Additional two-factor authentication (2FA) within internet banking for high-risk actions such as changing personal contact details, creating a new payee, editing an existing payee, or making payments to unsaved payees. This is required regardless of whether a customer has already completed 2FA in their current session.

    Confirmation of Payee will provide BNZ customers with an extra level of assurance when making payments from one bank account to another within New Zealand.

    It will help customers be confident that they are paying who they think they are before the payment is made, which will help reduce payment errors and stop some instances of scams and fraud.

    From next week, BNZ will start contacting customers to let them know Confirmation of Payee is coming, what it is and how it will work.

    “BNZ invests tens of millions of dollars in scam, fraud and anti-money laundering protection each year. As always, we encourage our customers to get in touch with us straight away if they think they may be being scammed,” says Huggins.

     

    The post BNZ to provide Confirmation of Payee to customers in November appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-Evening Report: I have hay fever. How can I tell what I’m allergic to?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ryan Mead-Hunter, Senior lecturer, School of Population Health, Curtin University

    Kaboompics.com/Pexels

    When we think of spring we think of warming weather, birdsong and flowers. But for many people, this also means the return of their seasonal hay fever symptoms.

    Around 24% of Australians get hay fever, with sneezing, a runny or blocked nose, and itchy or watery eyes the most common symptoms. In severe cases, this may impact sleep and concentration, or be linked to increased frequency of sinus infections.

    The exact timing of the symptoms depends on your exposure to an allergen – the thing you’re allergic to. Those impacted by tree pollen (from plane trees or cypress pine, for example) may experience symptoms at different times of the year than those impacted by grass pollen (such as rye grass). This will also vary around the country.

    In Perth, for example, tree pollen (cypress pine) is generally present in August to October, while grass pollen counts tend to be highest in October to November. Other cities and regions may have longer pollen seasons, which may extend further into summer.

    Remind me, how does hay fever impact the body?

    What we know colloquially as hay fever is called allergic rhinitis. Exposure to a specific allergen (or allergens) triggers an immune response in the body. This leads to inflammation and swelling of the tissue lining the nasal passages in the nose.

    A range of allergens may trigger such a response: pollen (from trees, grass or weeds), dust mites, pet fur, dander, mould and some air pollutants.

    Those with allergies that are only present for part of the year, such as pollen, experience what we call seasonal hay fever, while those with allergies that may be present at any time, such as dust mites and pet dander, experience perennial hay fever.

    Getting a diagnosis

    Many people with hay fever self-manage their symptoms by limiting exposure to allergens and using over-the-counter antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays.

    But this may require assistance from your GP and confirmation that what you’re experiencing is hay fever. Your GP can assess your symptoms and medical history, provide a diagnosis, and help with treating and managing your symptoms.

    Your GP may also be able help you identify potential allergens, based on when you experience symptoms and the environments to which you’re exposed.

    If symptoms persist, your GP may suggest allergy testing. They may refer you to a specialist called an immunologist, to determine what particular allergen is causing your symptoms, using skin prick tests or blood tests. Tests typically involve controlled exposure to small quantities of suspected allergens.

    But note, there are a number of tests marketed online that are unproven and not recommended by reputable bodies.

    How else can I work out what I’m allergic to?

    For those with seasonal hay fever, resources are available to help manage exposures, based on the flowering seasons for common allergy-related species or through pollen forecasting services.

    The Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy provides a useful pollen guide for each species and when they’re most likely to cause symptoms, broken down for each state and territory.

    Pollen monitoring and forecasting services – such as Perth Pollen, Melbourne Pollen and Sydney Pollen, as well as for other cities – can help you plan outdoor activities.

    There are also associated phone apps for these services, which can give notifications when the pollen count is high. You can down load these apps (such as AirRater, Perth Pollen, Melbourne Pollen and Sydney Pollen) from your preferred app store.

    Apps such as AirRater also allow you to enter information about your symptoms, which can then be matched to the environmental conditions at the time (pollen count, temperature, smoke, and so on).

    Using statistical modelling, the app may be able to establish a link between symptoms and exposure. If a sufficiently high correlation is established, the app can send you notifications when the exposure risk is high. This may prompt you to limit outdoor activities and have any medication readily available.

    Further information about managing allergic rhinitis is available from healthdirect and Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia

    Ryan Mead-Hunter receives funding from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (WA) and the NHMRC. He is part of the Perth Pollen team.

    – ref. I have hay fever. How can I tell what I’m allergic to? – https://theconversation.com/i-have-hay-fever-how-can-i-tell-what-im-allergic-to-240450

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From Camilla to the ‘ugly’ Elizabeth of Austria: a problematic history of obsessing over royal women’s looks

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University

    Elizabeth of Austria and Casimir IV of Poland in the woodcut from the Łaski Statute. Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych

    Throughout history, queens have often been judged on their looks. Beauty standards shaped early-modern queenship. Even today, royal women such as the UK royal family’s Camilla, Catherine and Meghan are scrutinised for their looks, while their male counterparts aren’t held to the same standard.

    One woman who faced particular scrutiny for her looks was Elizabeth of Austria (1436/37–1505). Known as the “mother of kings”, Elizabeth married Casimir IV of Poland and had 13 children, securing the Jagiellon dynasty’s future. Yet she is still remembered for her supposed lack of beauty.

    This obsession with her appearance overlooks what really mattered for queens in her time: fertility, motherhood, political alliances and dynastic stability.

    Beauty versus duty

    Elizabeth was a powerful queen consort of Poland who played a significant role in European politics. Yet for centuries, she has been chiefly labelled as unattractive. This narrative likely began as early as 50 years after her death, with commentators focusing on her supposed ugliness.

    But the foundation for these claims is shaky, at best. Medieval chroniclers, such as Jan Długosz, who documented the lives of Polish rulers and their families, made no mention of Elizabeth’s appearance.

    This omission is significant as Długosz often commented on the beauty, or lack thereof, of other royal women. The absence of such remarks in Elizabeth’s case suggests her physical appearance was not a matter of public concern during her lifetime.

    Later chroniclers such as Maciej of Miechów (1457–1523) and Marcin Bielski (1495–1575), who drew heavily from Długosz, also failed to comment on Elizabeth’s looks, further underscoring the lack of focus on her beauty.

    In 1548, Polish nobleman Andrzej Górka alleged in a rhetorical speech that King Casimir IV was disappointed by Elizabeth’s appearance and considered breaking off their engagement. Górka claimed the king expressed doubts about the impending marriage because of Elizabeth’s lack of beauty – and the only thing that persuaded him to wed was a sense of duty.

    However, Górka’s speech took place almost a century after the actual events. It was delivered in a political context where the goal was to influence Casimir’s grandson not to marry for love.

    This saga mirrors a well-known English story involving Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. In 1540, Henry, eager to meet his new bride, rode in disguise to surprise her. The meeting didn’t go as planned. Henry’s disappointment in Anne’s appearance became notorious and the marriage was speedily annulled.

    Both of these stories reflect the pressure queens faced to meet idealistic beauty standards, often with serious consequences. Henry’s judgement of Anne based on her looks altered the course of their marriage and, by extension, future political alliances. His behaviour reinforced the idea that a queen’s worth was tied to her physical appearance, overshadowing her political or dynastic significance.

    Elizabeth as the ‘ugly queen’

    The primary role of a queen in early-modern Europe was to provide heirs and secure political alliances through marriage. Beauty was arguably not the most important factor.

    This 1454 painting depicts the marriage of Elizabeth of Austria to Casimir IV of Poland.
    Wikimedia

    Elizabeth of Austria’s marriage to Casimir IV of Poland was about strengthening ties between the Habsburg and Jagiellon dynasties, not about physical attraction. Of Elizabeth’s 13 children, several went on to become kings and queens across Europe. Her ancestry and status as a mother were the basis of her political influence – far more valuable than her looks.

    Around 1502, in anticipation of the birth of her grandchild, Elizabeth commissioned a treatise to provide practical advice on raising a future ruler. She believed a royal child should embody values, attitudes and behaviours befitting a future monarch.

    However, as history shows, the perception of a queen’s beauty could still end up influencing her legacy. While Elizabeth’s contemporaries didn’t seem to care about her appearance, later generations did.

    The myth of Elizabeth’s unattractiveness gained traction primarily after a 1973 investigation into the royal tombs at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. Skeletal remains identified as belonging to Elizabeth showed facial deformities, reinforcing the myth. However, there’s no solid proof these bones were even hers, and the findings have since been questioned.

    Nonetheless, the idea that a queen had to be beautiful to be politically capable took hold over time. Even though Elizabeth helped secure the future of one of Europe’s most powerful dynasties, her legacy is clouded by a narrative focused on her appearance.

    Royal beauty standards today

    Royal women in the 21st century continue to be haunted by the same narratives that plagued Anne of Cleves and Elizabeth of Austria. Queen Camilla, for instance, has been criticised for her looks throughout her public life, especially in comparison to the late Princess Diana.

    Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle also face intense media scrutiny over their appearance, with headlines dissecting everything from their fashion choices to their weight. Queen Mary of Denmark, Princess Charlene of Monaco and Queen Letizia of Spain face similar scrutiny.

    Sure, queens were and are aware of this. Many even weaponised beauty, ritual and fashion for their own gain. Cleopatra did this to hold onto power in ancient Egypt, and Marie Antoinette to protect herself from the hostile French court.

    A circa 1774 portrait of Marie Antoinette.
    Marie Antoinette, with her extravagant dresses, became as renowned for her fashion as her scandalous behaviour.
    British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA

    Elizabeth I’s reign in England gave rise to a concept of “Elizabethan beauty”, characterised by pale skin and rosy lips and cheeks. And the late Elizabeth II understood the need to dress the part.

    By reducing royal women to their looks – or framing them as fashion icons – we fail to reckon with their individual characters and influence in the world. Meanwhile, men such as King Charles, King Frederick of Denmark and King Felipe of Spain are more likely to be judged by their virility, actions and policies.

    Should beauty really matter when it comes to royal women? Shouldn’t we be more interested in their contributions to history, politics and society?

    It’s time to shift the conversation away from appearance and focus on what matters: the impact these women have on the world. Like their male counterparts, they are crucial figures in shaping history and politics, so we ought to think carefully about how we judge them.

    The Conversation

    Darius von Guttner Sporzynski receives funding from the National Science Centre, Poland as a partner investigator in the grant “Polish queen consorts in the 15th and 16th centuries as wives and mothers” (2021/43/B/HS3/01490).

    Magdalena Biniaś-Szkopek receives funding from the National Science Centre, Poland, as the principal investigator in the grant “Polish queen consorts in the 15th and 16th centuries as wives and mothers” (2021/43/B/HS3/01490).

    Robert Tomczak receives funding from the National Science Centre, Poland, as a post-doctoral fellow in the grant “Polish queen consorts in the 15th and 16th centuries as wives and mothers” (2021/43/B/HS3/01490).

    – ref. From Camilla to the ‘ugly’ Elizabeth of Austria: a problematic history of obsessing over royal women’s looks – https://theconversation.com/from-camilla-to-the-ugly-elizabeth-of-austria-a-problematic-history-of-obsessing-over-royal-womens-looks-241674

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Bringing the river into the gallery and the future: reimagining Birrarung 50 years from now

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Crosby, Associate Professor, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney

    Postcards from the future: the river-cleaning Birrabot REALMstudios/NGV Australia

    The Ian Potter Centre at Melbourne’s Federation Square is located on the banks of the lower stretches of Birrarung, the Yarra River. For Reimagining Birrarung Design Concepts for 2070, on until 2 February 2025, the river flows into the gallery through ideas, images, objects and stories.

    In this bold and unusual exhibition, we listen to traditional owners and get inside the imaginations of eight of Australia’s most innovative landscape architecture studios. By looking at “possible” and “preferred” futures, this exhibition frames the river as a complex, diverse, interconnected ecosystem that nurtures our health and is essential to human and non-human communities.

    Urban rivers are being rethought internationally. In Australian cities, where big city rivers are often estuaries, the problems of waterways and wetlands are inseparable from colonisation and urbanisation. The fate of these cities as the climate heats up is tied to their rivers.

    Melbourne was established in 1835 at the lower stretches of Birrarung where salt water from Port Phillip Bay travels about 10 kilometres upstream. Now metropolitan Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches.

    Rivers are Country

    Entering the gallery, we are invited to listen to Birrarung. The river’s voice is spoken by Uncle Dave Wandin, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Elder and Birrarung Council member. Originally commissioned by the 23rd Biennale of Sydney,
    the video portrait provides an important transition from the bustle of Melbourne, into the contemplative space of the exhibition.

    Many will know the river as the Yarra, or Yarra Yarra – but this was a mistranslation by a surveyor in the 1830s of another Aboriginal word Yarro Yarro, “it flows”.

    The misnamed river has suffered from disconnection from its traditional owners and severe environmental degradation.

    In 2017, the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act was passed by the Parliament of Victoria, to protect the river for future generations and to recognise the river and its lands as a single living and integrated entity. Uncle Dave Wandin is a member of the Birrarung Council, appointed to work with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Elders and communities, to provide independent advice to the government on the implementation of the Act.

    Barracco and Wright’s contribution to the exhibition builds on the impact of this legislation. Speculative Policies displayed as an historic document from the future in a 2035 cabinet.

    Installation view of McGregor Coxall’s design for reimagining Birrarung.
    NGV Australia/Photo: Sean Fennessy

    Colonial histories

    Thinking about legislation in future worlds helps remind us the challenges of urban rivers – pollution, storm water management, and flooding – have colonial histories.

    Waterways have long been treated as dumping grounds for Australia’s industrial progress.

    In their work Aqua Nullius, not-for-profit multidisciplinary design and research practice OFFICE points to viticulture (winegrowing) and golf courses as culprits of water extraction in the Birrarung catchment.

    The problems arise not only where water is redirected as a resource for elites, but also where the connections between waterways and wetlands are disrupted by roads, estates and colonial land use. Billabongs are cut off from their sources and creeks are converted to drains. Wildlife such as turtles, platypus and birds lose their habitat corridors.

    Terra Nullius is well known as the concept that shaped colonists approach to Australia. Aqua Nullius, OFFICE argue, is just as significant. Rivers are country – and need to be respected, cared for and healed.

    Designers from OFFICE assert the Terra Nullius concept applies to water too.
    NGV Australia/OFFICE

    Seeing like a landscape architect

    By combining ecological knowledge with architectural forms, landscape architects are often leading these goals alongside Aboriginal people. While many of Melbourne’s residents and visitors enjoy the outcomes of their designs in city parks and green infrastructure, landscape architects are rarely the focus of exhibitions in major art galleries. This exhibition shows how design projects can invite us to imagine urban rivers differently using a range of tools that bring life to possible futures.

    In this exhibition we see images, maps, models, flags, plans, animations, timelines, and even a uniform design for a future “bio-zone guide”.

    The Birrarung Catchment by McGregor Coxall projects an animated map at waist height. It shows us the past, present and potential future of the catchment, highlighting the evolution of Birrarung’s lands, health, waterways, and its relationship to people.

    Presented as a map that shifts over time, the table top animation shares a rhythm with two screens on the wall, one with a population counter and one with the changes of flow within the catchment. These three elements link the growth of urban population to the disruption of the rivers flow. Dealing with Melbourne’s anticipated population growth, the projection looks forward in time proposing ways to care for the river by establishing the Great Birrarung Parkland.

    What’s good for Birrarung …

    Not all rivers are created equal. Melbourne is a river city, planned, designed, built and managed around Birrarung.

    A short walk from the gallery, rowers launch into the river and lovers hold hands on its banks. Melbourne is Birrarung and we can see it as we move around the city. But all cities have waterways and wetlands, many less visible.

    Place-based approaches to caring for urban water is needed everywhere. And this can have flow-on effects. If we start to care for minor creeks and estuaries that are built over and forgotten, we understand connections between people, nature, water and Country. This exhibition shows those visions for the future require research, vision and political will.

    Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 is on until 2 February 2025 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. Free admission.

    Alexandra Crosby receives funding from the Australian Research Council

    – ref. Bringing the river into the gallery and the future: reimagining Birrarung 50 years from now – https://theconversation.com/bringing-the-river-into-the-gallery-and-the-future-reimagining-birrarung-50-years-from-now-239499

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Are academics more likely to answer emails from ‘Melissa’ or ‘Rahul’? The answer may not surprise you

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan MacKenzie, Professor and Simons Chair in International Law and Human Security, Simon Fraser University

    Onehundredseventyfive/Unsplash, CC BY

    Universities are supposed to be places where all students can learn, free from discrimination.

    A key part of this ideal is academics welcoming all students to study and research, regardless of their racial background.

    But as our new research shows, Australian academics responded differently to potential PhD students, depending on whether they were called “Melissa” or “Rahul”.

    Racism on campus

    Many overseas and Australian studies have shown racism is both a historical and ongoing problem for universities.

    A 2020 Australian study showed universities tend to be run by older, white men. A 2021 UK study showed academics from different cultural backgrounds face racism at work.

    But there has been less specific attention paid to those trying to become academics.

    The main way people start an academic career is via a doctoral degree. In the Australian system, before a student is accepted they usually require an established academic to agree to supervise them. So a student’s initial communication with a potential supervisor is very important.

    To start a PhD, students usually need to have a supervisor lined up.
    Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

    How we set up our research

    To investigate whether racism is playing a role at the entrance point to PhD study, in 2017 we sent about 7,000 emails from fictitious students to academics based at the main campuses of Australia’s Group of Eight universities (billed as Australia’s top research universities).

    These are the Australian National University, Monash University, University of Adelaide, University of New South Wales, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Western Australia and University of Queensland.

    We emailed staff ranked senior lecturer or above, as these are the levels most likely to be supervising PhD students. Academics were identified by university websites, and we sent emails to everyone who fit our rank criteria across all disciplines.

    In this process, we found 70% of relevant academics were male and 84% were white. This did not improve in the more senior ranks – more than 68% of professors were white men.

    What did the email say?

    The emails asked for an meeting to talk about potential PhD supervision.

    They were identical apart from the senders’ names. These names were tested to be associated with male and female and with white-European, Indigenous, South Asian, Chinese and Arab identities. Recipients were randomly allocated to different name groups.

    The emails indicated the sender was an Australia-based student with fluent English. It conveyed an interest in the recipient’s research and urgency in meeting because the sender was only on campus for several days. It also noted “I have recently finished my honours degree” (a common path into a PhD in Australia) and was sent from a University of Sydney email address.

    We emailed about 7,000 senior academics as part of our study.
    Tipa Patt/Shutterstock

    What did we find?

    Responses agreeing to a meeting or requesting further information were categorised as “positive”. Those who declined a meeting were “non-positive”. Automated replies and those who did not reply were “non-responses”.

    Of 6,928 emails sent, 2,986 (43.1%) received a reply within 24 hours and 2,469 (35.6%) received a positive reply. There were 3,942 (56.9%) non-responses and 517 (7.5%) non-positive responses (declining a meeting).

    We initially planned to give academics a week to respond, but after IT at one university noticed several staff had received emails with identical text, we ended the experiment after 24 hours.

    From here, the results were stark: emails from names associated with non-white racial groups received significantly fewer responses and positive replies than those from names typically associated with white individuals.

    An email from “Melissa Smith” was far more likely to get a positive response than an identical email from “Grace Chen Jinyan” (six percentage points lower) or “Omar al-Haddad” (nine percentage points lower).

    The most dramatic gap was in the positive response rates to Melissa Smith, compared with “Rahul Kumar”. The rate of positive responses to Melissa was 12 percentage points higher than for Rahul.

    Overall, our statistical analysis showed the white-sounding names averaged a 7% higher reply rate and a 9% higher positive response rate than the non-white sounding names. Both these findings were highly statistically significant, meaning we can be very confident the results were not due to chance.

    Of course, some faculty members may simply have been unable to meet with the student, or may have missed the email. However, given the randomisation used, it is reasonable to assume bias explains the gap in responses to students with different names.

    This is alarming because it suggests racial bias is quietly influencing who gets a foot in the door of academia even before formal admissions processes begin.

    Silver linings

    One seemingly positive finding was academics at the more junior end of our study group appeared to show less bias towards students of different backgrounds.

    For academics at senior lecturer or associate professor levels, Melissa was 10.5% more likely to receive a positive response than Rahul, while the corresponding figure for full professors was 14.7%.

    However, junior academics often have little institutional power or much of a say on hiring. More research is needed to explore whether generational change is achievable (albeit painfully slow).

    We also found that, unlike similar US studies, there was no significant bias against female students. In fact, there was some evidence of positive bias, or preference, for female students.

    Our study found academics did not discriminate against potential candidates based on gender.
    Matej Kastelic/ Shutterstock

    Backlash to our study

    We based our study on a peer-reviewed study carried out in the United States, and followed a research ethics protocol approved by our university.

    However, minutes after academics received our follow-up email telling them they had been part of a research study (part of our ethics protocol), the backlash began.

    The University of Sydney, our home institution at the time, received more than 500 inquiries about the study. While some were curious or supportive, the majority were complaints. These were primarily about our use of deception (a well-researched and supported method of studying bias). Megan MacKenzie, the more junior author (at the time a senior lecturer), received calls threatening her with consequences for her career.

    Although unpleasant, the reaction was revealing. It reinforces other research on how defensive racial majorities can be when they believe they are suspected of bias. It also complements work showing internal resistance to diversity efforts in higher education.

    What can we do?

    Universities pride themselves on being meritocracies, where the best ideas and brightest minds rise to the top. But our study suggests racial bias is undermining this principle by influencing who is even considered for an academic career.

    There is growing acknowledgement racism is a significant problem on Australian university campuses (as well as in broader society). In May, the federal government asked the Australian Human Rights Commission to study the prevalence and impact of racism at Australian universities.

    But this study is not due to deliver its final report until June 2025, and any ensuing action will be further away still.

    What can be done now to tackle this issue?

    First, universities need to acknowledge academia remains overwhelmingly white and male, in spite of efforts to increase diversity.

    Second, universities also need to acknowledge the existence of racial bias, the need for ongoing research into how it operates in higher education and the most effective strategies to tackle it.

    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. Are academics more likely to answer emails from ‘Melissa’ or ‘Rahul’? The answer may not surprise you – https://theconversation.com/are-academics-more-likely-to-answer-emails-from-melissa-or-rahul-the-answer-may-not-surprise-you-241352

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Where there’s smoke: the rising death toll from climate-charged fire in the landscape

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fay Johnston, Professor, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania

    Daria Nipot, Shutterstock

    Inhaling smoke is bad for you. Smoke from any kind of fire, from bonfire to burn-off to uncontrolled wildfire, can have serious consequences.

    Even low levels of smoke can make many heart and lung diseases worse, sometimes triggering a rapid deterioration in health. When we are repeatedly exposed over months and years, air pollution, including smoke, makes us more likely to develop heart, lung and other chronic diseases.

    Now, new international research has linked the warming climate to some of the deaths from exposure to fire smoke in large parts of the world, including Australia.

    In 2012, I led the first team to estimate the number of landscape fire smoke-related deaths globally each year. Our estimate of 339,000 deaths did not attempt to pull out the influence of climate change. But we noticed much higher impacts during hotter and drier El Niño periods.

    The researchers behind the new study took this a step further, estimating how much of the historical burden of fire smoke-related deaths might be attributable to climate change. They found a considerably increasing proportion, from 1.2% in the 1960s to 12.8% in the 2010s.

    Where there’s fire, there’s smoke

    A wall of flames is way more deadly than a bit of smoke in the air – isn’t it? It’s not so simple. When you look back at a fire disaster, the smoke-related death toll in the aftermath can be surprisingly high.

    During the extreme Australian bushfire season of 2019–20, there were 33 deaths directly related to fire. But my team found the number of smoke-related deaths was 429, more than ten times higher.

    Smoke travels vast distances and can affect very large populations. Millions of people in Australia and New Zealand breathed smoke from the 2019-20 Australian fires. The sheer scale of the air quality impacts means the associated public health burden can be very large.

    Smoke harms our health in two ways. In the short term, it makes existing diseases worse. As soon as the body detects smoke, it initiates immune and stress responses that affect, among other things, blood pressure, blood glucose and the risk of forming blood clots.

    For some people with serious chronic illness such as heart and blood vessel disease, these subtle changes can trigger deadly complications including heart attacks or strokes.

    When smoke reaches our eyes, throats and lungs, it acts as an irritant. This can be enough to make people living with asthma or other lung conditions seriously unwell.

    Over the longer term, air pollution is a known risk factor for developing heart disease, lung disease, asthma, diabetes and stroke, and landscape fire smoke is increasingly contributing to the load.

    How did the researchers find this out?

    Most research on the health impact from air pollution focuses on the damage done by fine particles called PM2.5. These particles are defined as those less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, meaning they are small enough to get into the lungs and bloodstream.

    In the new paper, the authors used computer models to estimate how global changes in fire-related PM2.5 emissions between 1960 and 2019 had been influenced by the warming climate. To do this, they evaluated climate factors known to promote fire activity, such as higher air temperatures and lower humidity. Then, they used modelling to estimate how these changes would have influenced fire activity, smoke exposure and smoke related deaths globally.

    Using this approach, the authors attributed 669 (1.2%) of the wildfire-induced smoke-related deaths in the 1960s to climate change. But that rose to 12,566 (12.8%) in the 2010s. They found the influence of climate change was higher in some regions, including Australia.

    Climate change is making fires worse

    These reported numbers seem to be surprisingly low when put in context with previous global and regional estimates of deaths due to air pollution from landscape fires.

    But estimating how many deaths can be attributed to landscape fire smoke is a challenging task, requiring assumptions about the size and strength of the links between meteorology, fire activity, smoke production and dispersal, population vulnerability and health outcomes in the huge diversity of landscapes, climates and cultures across the world.

    Importantly, the estimates in this recent study were driven by changes in climate. But the modelling approach can less easily account for fluctuations and trends in another incredibly important driver of fire activity on Earth, human activity.

    For example, huge volumes of smoke globally are created by setting fires to burn and clear tropical forests for agriculture. Corporate activity and government policies drive these fires more than climate change, and are harder to capture in a modelling study.

    Nevertheless, these new results clearly support empirical studies showing increases in extreme fire activity attributable to climate change, and illustrates the relative impacts when other influences are held constant. Importantly, it points to parts of the world – including the north and southeast of Australia – where we can expect harmful population smoke impacts to get worse.

    The likely geographic impacts can be put together with information about the location of more vulnerable population groups, or higher population densities, to focus on responses where they are most needed. But in Australia that means pretty much everywhere, including the tropical north.

    What we can do about it?

    To adapt to a smokier world, we will need comprehensive education about escalating air quality hazards and ways to reduce the harm for both the general public and health professionals.

    These include keeping on top of long-term health conditions that could be made worse by air pollution, knowing how to keep track of air quality, and when to use strategies such as face masks, air filtration and managing the ventilation of homes and buildings to reduce individual smoke exposure.

    Adaptive responses alone do not get around the urgent need to act on climate change. Watching fire seasons around the world get steadily worse year on year really frightens me. We are getting into a vicious cycle where the hotter climate is driving more and more fire. These fires are increasingly venting long-stored carbon and contributing to further climate change.

    As well as ending the massive combustion of fossil fuels, we must halt the burning of tropical rainforests and agricultural crop residues globally. These actions will also dramatically improve air quality and health globally and support ongoing capture and storage of atmospheric carbon.

    Fay Johnston receives research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Environmental Science Program, Asthma Australia and the health departments of the Tasmanian and ACT governments. She led the development of the air quality app AirRater, and is a founding director of AirHealth Pty Ltd, which provides air quality information services.

    – ref. Where there’s smoke: the rising death toll from climate-charged fire in the landscape – https://theconversation.com/where-theres-smoke-the-rising-death-toll-from-climate-charged-fire-in-the-landscape-241590

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Donald Trump and Peter Dutton have both embraced populism. Are working-class voters buying it?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Smith, Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has often been accused of copying former US President Donald Trump’s tactics. Some analysts even refer to Dutton, like Trump, as a “populist” who seeks political gain by pitting ordinary citizens against corrupt “elites”.

    There is evidence of this populism in the willingness of Trump, Dutton and other figures in their parties to attack “big business”.

    This is unusual for the conservative parties, and it has alarmed business-aligned outlets like the Wall Street Journal and the Australian Financial Review.

    Republicans and Liberals have always preferred to identify with small business rather than big business. Their relationship with corporate interests has not always been smooth.

    But they do not believe there is a natural conflict between business and workers, or between different sections of the economy. And they usually align with big business on the critical issues of taxation and government regulation.

    So Dutton’s declaration earlier this year that the Liberal Party is “not the party of big business” but “the friend of the worker” marks a notable rhetorical shift, even if there is reason to doubt the substance behind it.

    It mirrors a similar shift to pro-worker rhetoric among leading Republicans. Florida Senator Marco Rubio said in 2020, for instance, the future of the Republican Party is based on “a multiethnic, multiracial, working-class coalition”.

    Expanding their share of the working-class vote may be necessary for both parties, given their losses of tertiary-educated, middle-class voters and seats in recent elections. Economic populism may be one path to do it.

    But how economically populist can conservative parties get in either country?

    Why attack big business?

    A lot of Republican and Liberal attacks on big business are fundamentally cultural rather than economic.

    Publicly-owned corporations have embraced diversity, equity and inclusion policies. They declare commitments to “sustainability”. And plenty of them have backed causes like marriage equality, Black Lives Matter and the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

    However cosmetic these gestures are, many conservatives see major corporations as culturally hostile to them. More importantly, they no longer see big business and finance as reliable political backers.

    And they don’t need them like they once did. Dynastic wealth in both countries has seen the ascendancy of private companies owned by super-rich individuals and families. These, not corporate donors, are now the most consistent sources of financial and political support for conservative parties.

    These changing conditions have given Republicans and Liberals a free hand to make big business – never a popular entity – into a target of populist campaigns.

    Many of their attacks are about “wokeness”. But not all. Consumer protection has also become an opportune theme, given the cost of living crisis in both the United States and Australia.

    Trump, for instance, has floated capping credit card interest rates at 10%. Dutton has proposed using the government’s divestiture powers to break up supermarket and hardware chains that are accused of using their monopoly power to exploit consumers and suppliers.

    They can propose these ideas because voters usually trust the Republican and Liberal parties more than their opponents on economic issues. Most Democratic and Labor politicians would be unwilling to take populist measures that far because of their perennial fears of being seen as economically irresponsible.

    But when it comes to actually siding with workers over business, a different picture emerges.

    The Republican romance with ‘union workers’

    As president, Trump had a notably anti-union record. His appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces labour law, consistently ruled against unions.

    In Trump’s current campaign to re-enter the White House, unions have criticised him for holding a rally appealing to “union workers” at a non-union shop, and for praising tech billionaire Elon Musk because he sacked workers who threatened to strike.

    Trump also said recently that as a business owner he hated paying overtime. He has also previously said he preferred to use non-union workforces.

    Despite all this, the Trump campaign is making a serious play for the votes of unionised workers, who could be critical in Midwestern battleground states.

    Although unions as organisations usually support Democrats, the number of voters in union households who support Republicans is sometimes more than 40%.

    This year, Trump sought the endorsement of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the North American truck drivers’ union with 1.3 million members. The Teamsters have supported Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 2000, but prior to that, the organisation had also backed Republican candidates like Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush.

    This year, the Teamsters did not join most other unions in quickly endorsing Democratic incumbent Joe Biden before he stepped aside for Vice President Kamala Harris.

    The Teamsters’ president, Sean O’Brien, almost got into a fight with a Republican senator in a committee hearing in 2023 after calling him a “greedy CEO who acts like he’s self-made”. Nonetheless, he got an invitation to speak at this year’s Republican National Convention. He praised Trump as a “tough SOB”, but then blasted various businesses and business organisations for being anti-union, to the discomfort of the audience.

    Teamsters President Sean O’Brien addressing the Republican National Convention.

    The Teamsters ultimately endorsed neither candidate. However, they released polling showing nearly 60% of their members supported Trump compared to a third for Harris.

    Trump-era Republicans frequently praise “union workers” rather than actual unions. When Senators JD Vance (now Trump’s running mate) and Josh Hawley supported the striking United Auto Workers last year, they criticised the union’s leadership. But they are happy to be seen as being on the side of unionised workers against big businesses who send manufacturing jobs overseas, a trend Trump promises to reverse.

    The term “union workers” prompts conservative nostalgia, especially for a group like the Teamsters with their mostly male membership and reputation for toughness. It evokes the anti-communist, blue-collar workers of the 1960s and ‘70s who supported Nixon and brawled in the streets with college-educated anti-Vietnam War protesters.

    That is not the only nostalgic element. Through heavily protectionist measures, Trump is promising to restore millions of manufacturing jobs to the United States – the kinds of jobs that used to be largely unionised. He also promises to roll back environmental regulations to expand mining, drilling and fracking on federal land. Again, these are the kinds of jobs often associated with “union workers”.

    When Trump and others praise “union workers”, they are not really talking about unions, but a certain type of blue-collar job they are promising to create and protect. “Union” in this context has the positive connotation of well-paid, stable work.

    But Trump claims it is his policies that will guarantee these jobs, making unions themselves virtually irrelevant.

    Where Liberals won’t follow

    Dutton may praise workers, but he is unlikely to add the prefix “union” anytime soon. It is hard to imagine any Liberal leader courting the support of a union because Australia’s party system effectively enshrines the country’s adversarial industrial relations system in its politics.

    The Australian Labor Party began as the parliamentary wing of the union movement, and to this day affiliated unions are entitled to 50% of delegates at party conferences. American unions are not linked to the Democratic Party in the same way.

    This does not mean the votes of union members are off-limits to other parties. In 2006, then-economist (now Labor MP) Andrew Leigh estimated about a third of union members voted for the Coalition on a two party-preferred basis from 1966 to 2004. But Liberals will not appeal to these voters as “union workers” in the same way Republicans do.

    Trump’s dream of restoring American manufacturing dominance would involve a resurgence of long-term employment in large and medium-sized firms. He is promising the stability once associated with unions, not the “flexibility” that Australia’s Liberals want in workplaces.

    For the most part, Liberals still prefer to talk about blue-collar workers as independent tradespeople or aspiring business owners rather than employees.

    Dutton says the modern Liberal Party is the friend of “small business owners and employees in that business”. This conjures images of family-like operations where staff loyally put in unpaid overtime – instead of larger, impersonal workplaces (where unpaid overtime is also the norm).

    And unlike Trump Republicans, the Liberal and National parties still believe in free trade. After a long bipartisan opposition to protectionism, Labor has recently embraced a major new industrial policy. The Coalition is not on board.

    Some doubt whether Trump is a genuine populist. But he has a wider scope for genuinely populist rhetoric than Dutton, at least for now.

    Even though he’s a symbol of capitalist excess, part of Trump’s message is that capitalism has taken a wrong turn. Not just into excessive wokeness, but into globalisation and financialisation, where investment and speculation are more profitable than production.

    There are limits to how much any Liberal leader, even Dutton, can tap into anger with capitalism itself.

    David Smith 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. Donald Trump and Peter Dutton have both embraced populism. Are working-class voters buying it? – https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-and-peter-dutton-have-both-embraced-populism-are-working-class-voters-buying-it-240309

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –