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Category: Analysis Assessment

  • MIL-Evening Report: With reports of students abusing peers in primary schools, how can parents help keep their kids safe?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Higgins, Professor & Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University

    An ABC report on Monday revealed a concerning rise in peer-on-peer sexual abuse within Australian primary schools.

    Data on Victorian schools shows hundreds of such incidents were reported in 2022 and 2023, with many involving children under the age of ten.

    The Australian Child Maltreatment Study also showed rates of sexual abuse inflicted by peers has been increasing. Overall, 18.2% of participants aged 16 to 24 reported being sexually abused by a peer during their childhood, compared to 12.1% of those aged 45 years and over.

    Parents may be wondering how they can protect their children at school.

    One of the most effective tools parents have is open, regular and age-appropriate conversations with their kids.



    Read more:
    There are reports some students are making sexual moaning noises at school. Here’s how parents and teachers can respond

    Talk about boundaries and consent early

    What should you be talking about?

    It is crucial for parents to talk with their children about boundaries and consent from an early age. For younger children, this can be as simple as teaching them their body belongs to them and no one else has the right to touch them without permission. Asking if its OK for a hug, and respecting when children say “no” is a great start.

    When discussing consent, it is important to highlight consent is not just about saying “no”, but also recognising and respecting others’ boundaries.

    Peer relationships and trusted adults play a crucial role in a child’s life. Helping children identify adults they can trust if they need to talk about something is also very important. Peers are often the first to hear of concerns or are often the recipients of disclosures, so fostering healthy friendships and teaching children to report to trusted adults is crucial.

    Addressing peer pressure and secrecy

    Children may feel pressured by peers or may be told to keep certain behaviours secret.

    It is essential for parents to emphasise no matter who asks them to keep a secret, they should always share concerns or things they are unsure about with a trusted adult.

    Parents can reinforce the message that if someone tells them not to tell, it is a “red flag”.

    Children can often feel unsure or scared of whether what has happened is wrong. This is why encouraging openness and creating a nonjudgmental space for children to share is important.

    Discussing online safety

    Research shows exposure to harmful material, like pornography, is a contributing factor to inappropriate sexual behaviour among peers.

    Being aware of your child’s internet use and educating them on how to keep themselves safe online is crucial.

    What else can parents do?

    While conversations with your children are vital, parents can also take practical steps to ensure their child’s safety at school. These include:

    • familiarising yourself with school policies: understand the school’s procedures for reporting bullying, harassment and sexual abuse. Parents should ask about how teachers manage supervision during breaks or other occasions where children may be less well unsupervised

    • advocating for comprehensive sex education at your school: when parents are involved in sex education it leads to better outcomes for children. Check what your school covers in the curriculum. Ask about what supports are available to parents, and how you can be involved

    • getting involved in your child’s social world: knowing who your child’s friends are and staying connected with teachers can offer insight into troubling dynamics. Create opportunities for your child to talk about their friendships and school experiences regularly. And as they start navigating the digital world, it’s even more important to know who they are engaging with

    • teach assertiveness and confidence: find ways to empower your child to speak up for themselves when they are unsure, or something feels wrong. Don’t leave this up to a class teacher to deal with in respectful relationship education. At home, you can encourage assertiveness in expressing their preferences and boundaries. You can also model how to stand up to peer pressure. Children can learn and be encouraged to say simple phrases such as, “stop, I don’t like it” or “no, I don’t want to”.

    If there is a problem

    If you do come across an issue or problem, try and work with your school. Despite your distress, try not to be adversarial – rather pitch your conversation to the teacher or principal as “How can I help us work through this together?”

    Parental involvement in education, can reduce the risk of child sexual abuse. If parents and schools can work together, they are more likely to be effective in keeping children safe.

    Prevention requires vigilance, communication and support from both parents and schools. Parents play a crucial role in shaping their child’s understanding of what’s OK, what’s harmful, as well as boundaries, safety and consent.

    By having ongoing conversations, staying informed, and working with schools, parents are the first step to creating safety for children – and supporting them if something goes wrong.

    Daryl Higgins receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and a range of government departments, agencies, and service providers, including Bravehearts. He was a Chief Investigator on the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

    Gabrielle works with the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) team as part of her PhD Candidature. She has also previously worked for Bravehearts in various roles, including for the Turning Corners program, which provides support to young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours.

    – ref. With reports of students abusing peers in primary schools, how can parents help keep their kids safe? – https://theconversation.com/with-reports-of-students-abusing-peers-in-primary-schools-how-can-parents-help-keep-their-kids-safe-241786

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Draft guidelines for ‘forever chemicals’ have been released. Here’s what it means for drinking water safety in Australia

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide

    Alexander_Safonov/Shutterstock

    The Australian National Health and Medical research Council (NHMRC) has today released draft guidelines for acceptable levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in drinking water.

    PFAS chemicals are also known as “forever chemicals”, because they don’t break down easily and can persist in the environment, including drinking water supplies.

    The new guidelines – which are not mandatory but will inform state and territory policy – are expected to be finalised in April 2025. They propose a reduction in the maximum levels previously considered safe for four key PFAS chemicals: PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and PFBS.

    Continually scrutinising and updating our PFAS regulations is important to ensure Australians’ safety. However, these updated guidelines are unlikely to have a significant impact on Australia’s drinking water. The majority of potable water supplies in Australia either have no detectable PFAS, or have levels already below the new limits.

    What are PFAS chemicals?

    PFAS are highly fat-soluble compounds that are very slow to break down. They are basically long chains of carbon atoms studded with fluorine molecules.

    PFAS chemicals are inert, water-repellent and heat-resistant. These properties make them ideal for industrial usage and they have been used in firefighting foams and fire-retardant material. They have also been used in common household items such as nonstick pans and stain-resistant fabrics.

    PFAS chemicals are very slow to break down.
    Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

    Unfortunately, their useful industrial stability means they persist in the environment and can accumulate in the human body. It can take five years for half an ingested dose of PFAS to be removed.

    Given PFAS chemicals have the potential to mimic the body’s own fats, there has been concern they could harm our health if sufficient amounts accumulated in the body.

    What sorts of health effects are they linked to?

    The buildup of a chemical that’s hard to remove from our bodies is always of concern. Despite this, the potential health risks appear to be low. In 2018 the Australian Expert Health Panel for PFAS looked in detail at the evidence.

    One of the largest concerns was PFAS chemicals’ ability to increase levels of cholesterol in the blood, potentially increasing heart disease risk. However, studies of people who have been chronically exposed to significant levels of PFOA have not shown statistically significant increases in heart disease.

    In 2018, the report from Australia’s expert health panel stated:

    Evidence to date does not establish whether PFAS at exposure levels seen in Australia might increase risks of cardiovascular disease… Established risk factors … are likely to be of a much greater magnitude than those potentially caused by PFAS.

    Cancer has also been a concern. However the expert panel found no consistent evidence that PFAS chemicals are associated with cancer. One study even found exposure to PFOA decreased the incidence of bowel cancer.

    However, the impact of PFAS on human health is continuously reviewed as new evidence comes to light.

    Why has Australia revised its drinking water guidelines?

    Australia began to phase out PFAS chemicals in the early 2000s. Since then, the levels of PFAS detected in the Australian population have steadily dropped.

    Now that industrial use is being phased out, the main way we are exposed to PFAS is through things like persistent environmental contamination. While drinking water is not a major source of PFAS, water can be contaminated from environmental sources, for example, if contaminated dust or ground water makes its way into reservoirs.

    Most drinking water levels in Australia either have no detectable PFAS or are already below the new levels.
    Juergen_Wallstabe/Shutterstock

    The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines provide limits for how much PFAS is allowed to be in our drinking water.

    The NHMRC periodically reviews the health evidence around PFAS used to develop these guidelines, which were last updated in 2018. The latest review looks at additional evidence available since then.

    A few developments were of particular interest in this review: studies about the influence of PFAS on thyroid function. Altering thyroid function can be problematic because thyroid hormones regulate our metabolism, growth and development.

    The International Agency for Cancer Research’s (IARC) recent ruling on PFAS and cancer also needed to be investigated. The IARC has classified PFOS – one of the four key chemicals Australia is regulating – as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. However the IARC noted there was “inadequate” evidence PFOS directly causes any type of cancer in people.

    This agency can rule on the probability that a chemical can cause cancer under any possible exposure, no matter how extreme. But it doesn’t evaluate the risk of cancer from ordinary exposure.

    This means the NHMRC needed to reevaluate the evidence that the levels present in drinking water would constitute a risk.

    What are the new PFAS limits?

    The NHRMC considered evidence about PFAS exposure in animal studies, and by looking at human epidemiology.

    In studies involving animals, the NHMRC review paid particular attention to what concentration of PFAS exposure had no effect on their health. This threshold is used to determine limits for humans, by adding a safety buffer usually a hundred times lower than the level that was safe for animals.

    The limits are set are carefully considering the evidence about impact on human health, as well as evaluating how much PFAS exposure is likely from sources beyond drinking water, such as food and inhaled dust.

    The proposed limits are:

    Note: PFOS and PFHxS are now regulated separately.
    NHMRC

    These guidelines are unlikely to have a significant impact on health. As the NHMRC report shows, majority of potable water supplies in Australia have no detectable PFAS, or levels are already below these new limits.

    For example, drinking water sampling for WaterNSW found PFOS levels were between 1.2ng/L and undectable. Similar results were found for PFHxS (between 1.4 and 0.1ng/L) and PFOA (basically undetectable).

    While the concentration of PFAS in bores near contamination sites are higher, these are typically not used as sources of drinking water.

    The Australian guidelines differ from some international guidelines. The draft guidelines note that different jurisdictions place different weighting on animal and human evidence, and this will affect these regulatory levels.

    The draft guidelines are now open to public consultation, with submissions closing on November 22 2024. Final guidelines are expected to be released in April 2025.

    Ian Musgrave has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council to study adverse reactions to herbal medicines and has previously been funded by the Australian Research Council to study potential natural product treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. He has collaborated with SA Water on studies of cyanobacterial toxins and their implication for drinking water quality.

    – ref. Draft guidelines for ‘forever chemicals’ have been released. Here’s what it means for drinking water safety in Australia – https://theconversation.com/draft-guidelines-for-forever-chemicals-have-been-released-heres-what-it-means-for-drinking-water-safety-in-australia-241773

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The best government money can buy? How New Zealanders feel about political party funding

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mona Krewel, Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

    Getty Images

    Companies and shareholders associated with the government’s fast-track projects gave more than $500,000 in donations to National, ACT and New Zealand First, according to a recent analysis by RNZ.

    While it is impossible to say whether these companies were listed for consideration because of their donations, allegations of possible “undue influence” are inevitably made.

    New Zealand’s reputation as a country with little to no corruption owes nothing to our lack of rigour in the regulation of party donations. As Philippa Yasbek, the author of a report by the Helen Clark Foundation calling for tougher rules to combat the risk of political corruption, said:

    Our political integrity and honesty have largely evolved from social norms over many decades. Politicians by and large knew the conduct that was expected of them by New Zealand society. Sadly, today, we’re naive to think that’s enough.

    Some political parties seem to take little heed of the existing rules. The Electoral Commission has issued warnings to several parties about large donations being declared too late.

    The Independent Electoral Review released early this year recommended parties give up access to corporate donations in exchange for greater public funding. Other recommendations included a cap on political donations set at NZ$30,000, and a much lower threshold for disclosing donors’ names.

    As one might expect, the political parties disagree about how funding should be regulated, as their main income sources vary. Labour approves of the proposals, although analysis indicates its revenue streams would suffer most if such policies were in place.

    ACT is strongly opposed to the principle of public funding, although there are already significant public funds supporting parliament and party advertising during election campaigns.

    What New Zealanders think

    But what about public opinion? Do people believe large donors have “undue influence”?

    The latest New Zealand Election Study, conducted after the 2023 election, included a module of questions that give insights into New Zealanders’ attitudes to potential party funding reforms. The study is a representative sample of nearly 2,000 eligible voters.

    What stands out? Many people answered “don’t know” to the questions – which is quite reasonable. The laws that regulate political party activity in New Zealand are complex and of little relevance to most.

    Nonetheless, some clear messages emerge. In general, a near majority of people were concerned about the influence of “big interests”. When asked if they agreed with the statement “The New Zealand government is largely run by a few big interests”, 45% agreed and 27% disagreed.

    Drilling deeper into the data, about 35% of business owners agreed, compared to just under half of people who don’t own a business.

    Asked whether they believed donors exert “undue influence” on politicians, 43% agreed. Only 18% disagreed. Almost 40% had no opinion on this topic and either didn’t know or took a neutral position.

    While Labour, Green and NZ First voters leaned heavily to “undue influence”, National and ACT voters were evenly divided between “undue” and “not undue”.

    National voters also strongly opted for “don’t know”. About a third of business owners perceived undue influence, compared with about 45% of non-owners.

    The 2023 Election Study also included a question on the recommendation made by the Electoral Review that corporate groups and trade unions should be prohibited from making direct donations to political parties: 53% supported this change, while only 17% opposed it.

    The Independent Electoral Review also recommended a limit of $30,000 for any individual donation: 57% agreed, compared to 14% who disagreed. While support was strongest on the left and among New Zealand First voters, significant numbers of National and ACT voters also agreed (47% and 44%).

    Finally, we asked for people’s views on anonymity of “promoter donations”. Promoters are people or groups registered to advertise during an election campaign for an issue, or for or against a political party. They can collect anonymous donations that are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as parties.

    Only 14% of respondents believed in continued promoter donation anonymity on the basis of privacy, and 47% preferred greater transparency. Breaking this down by party vote, some National and ACT voters prefer transparency over privacy, although more were either neutral or answered “don’t know”.

    Support for reform

    These results show public perceptions of undue influence by donors are widespread. While these perceptions are strongest on the left, they also penetrate deeply into groups who vote for the parties on the right, and into the business community.

    And while the political parties have conflicts of interest, there is significant support for the recommendations of the Independent Electoral review across party lines among the New Zealand public, and inside the business community.

    Assuming political parties in a democracy should be responsive to voters’ concerns and demands, this should give them food for thought when it comes to potential party funding reform.

    This article is based on our submission to the Justice Select Committee inquiry into the 2023 general election.

    The New Zealand Election Study (NZES) has been funded by Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, the New Zealand Electoral Commission, the Gama Foundation, and the University of Auckland.

    – ref. The best government money can buy? How New Zealanders feel about political party funding – https://theconversation.com/the-best-government-money-can-buy-how-new-zealanders-feel-about-political-party-funding-241881

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘They do not respect our land. They do not respect our people’. Brazil’s traditional people take on BHP in one of the world’s biggest class actions

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ebony Birchall, Lecturer, Law School, Macquarie University

    Australian mining giant BHP is at the centre of one of the world’s largest class actions, the trial for which started this week in London.

    The Fundão Dam in Mariana, Brazil, co-owned by BHP, collapsed in 2015 spilling a gigantic wave of toxic mud across 700 kilometres of land. Nineteen people were killed, villages and livestock wiped out, vast areas of land rendered uninhabitable and rivers and water supplies contaminated.

    Corporate accountability

    The class action has renewed questions about the responsibilities multibillion-dollar corporations have to local communities.

    Leaders of the traditional people groups impacted by the disaster visited Australia with their lawyer Tom Goodhead from international legal firm Pogust Goodhead to raise awareness of the case two weeks ago.

    Goodhead told a public forum at Macquarie University this was a case of corporate negligence and putting profit before safety. He said the operators were warned of the risk of dam collapse and continued to push operations beyond what was safe.

    The class action is brought on behalf of more than 600,000 claimants. The trial is expected to run for 12 weeks and will be heard in the UK, because this is where BHP was headquartered at the time of the disaster.

    The UK courts will apply the Brazilian laws, which say environmental polluters must pay for the damage they cause.

    Can BHP fix this?

    The claimants’ lawyers say the case is valued at more than A$68.8 billion. The figure is based on an estimation of the impact of the disaster on land, culture and sacred places, as well as some form of recompense for the lost lives.

    Maycon Krenak, one of the Krenak chiefs, explained:

    [the] river has always been there for us to guarantee our livelihoods. It is a sacred space for us. The river is where we carry out our sacred practices. That’s where we sing, where we dance, where we gather. The new leaders, [our] children, have to learn how to swim in a water tank of a thousand litres.

    BHP is reported as saying its Renova Foundation, established in 2016, has spent more than A$11.5 billion to compensate victims and remediate the environment.

    But Thatiele Monic, president of the Vila Santa Efigênia and Adjacências Quilombola Association said the victims don’t trust the foundation.

    In the same way that the mining company invades our land, the Renova Foundation also is invading our space and our territories. They do not respect our land. They do not respect our people, and they are creating more and more conflict. So that people are essentially giving up pursuing this.

    Poor human rights record

    Australian corporations operating overseas have a poor record on human rights.

    Two weeks ago, a preliminary report of the Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment uncovered human rights violations, including risks to life, at Rio Tinto’s abandoned Panguna mine in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

    The gold and copper mine triggered a brutal civil war between 1988 and 1998. Despite decades passing since the mine was decommissioned, the recent report confirms the mine continues to pose risks to life and safety due to the collapsing mine and ongoing contamination down rivers and into new areas.

    Australian mining corporations have also been linked to death and destruction in their operations in Africa.

    Corporate activities within Australia have impacted our own Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. For example, Rio Tinto’s explosion at Juukan Gorge destroyed sites of cultural significance dating more than 46,000 years.

    Where Australia stands

    The Australian government has endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises both of which outline corporations’ human rights obligations.

    The UNGPs say states should set out clearly the expectation that corporations in their jurisdiction respect human rights in all their operations – even those occurring overseas.

    The Human Rights Law Centre found in a 2018 report on this topic that the Australian government was not doing enough to hold corporations to account.

    It found Australian corporations operating overseas did so with impunity. Efforts to seek justice locally is often thwarted by corruption, lack of resources or ineffective legal process. At the same time, attempts by overseas communities to take legal action in Australian courts face enormous hurdles and rarely succeed.

    This is why cases like the class action for claimants in Mariana are crucial for corporate accountability.

    In my 2023 report with colleagues Surya Deva and Justine Nolan, we found this kind of litigation can raise awareness, facilitate broader industry developments and shape laws and policy.

    Our report also found litigation needs to be supported by strong regulatory responses from governments, and complementary advocacy like shareholder or consumer engagement.

    Cost of litigation

    Litigation comes with significant risks to victims and their allies.

    In a controversial development for corporate accountability in Australia, oil and gas giant Santos is using legal processes to challenge environmental groups who supported traditional owners opposing their Barossa gas project. Santos’ tactics, if allowed to continue, could limit public interest litigation in the future.

    Thatiele Monic ended her speech at the Macquarie University event with a question worth repeating

    This has happened in Brazil, but it has happened in many other places, and if we don’t do anything about it, and we don’t talk about it, it will continue to happen in many more other places. This is not the future I want for myself and for my people. I’d like to know. What future do you want for yourselves?

    Ebony Birchall is affiliated with Macquarie University’s B&HR Access to Justice Lab.

    – ref. ‘They do not respect our land. They do not respect our people’. Brazil’s traditional people take on BHP in one of the world’s biggest class actions – https://theconversation.com/they-do-not-respect-our-land-they-do-not-respect-our-people-brazils-traditional-people-take-on-bhp-in-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-class-actions-241777

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What’s the difference between fusion and fission? A nuclear physicist explains

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Hole, Professor, Mathematical Sciences Institute and School of Computing, Australian National University

    Quality Stock Arts/Shutterstock

    Globally, nuclear power accounts for roughly 10% of electricity generation. In some countries, such as France, this figure is nearly 70%.

    Big tech companies such as Google are also turning to nuclear power to meet the huge power demands of their data centres.

    The source of all nuclear power is the binding energy of an atom. The energy stored in an atom can be released in two main ways: fission or fusion. Fission involves splitting big heavy atoms into smaller, lighter ones. Fusion involves combining little atoms together into bigger ones.

    Both processes release a lot of energy. For example, one nuclear fission decay of U235, an isotope of uranium typically used as the fuel in most power plants, produces more than 6 million times the energy per single chemical reaction of the purest coal. This means they are great processes for generating power.

    What is fission?

    Fission is the process behind every nuclear power plant in operation today. It occurs when a tiny subatomic particle called a neutron is slammed into an uranium atom, splitting it. This releases more neutrons, which continue colliding with other atoms, setting off a nuclear chain reaction. This in turn releases a tremendous amount of energy.

    To convert this energy to electricity a heat exchanger is installed, which turns water to steam, driving a turbine to produce power.

    The fission reaction can be controlled by suppressing the supply of neutrons. This is achieved by inserting “control rods” which soak up neutrons. Historically, nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl have occurred when the control rods fail to engage and quench the neutron supply, and/or coolant circulation fails.

    So called “third generation” designs improve on early designs by incorporating passive or inherent safety features which require no active controls or human intervention to avoid accidents in the event of malfunction. These features may rely on pressure differentials, gravity, natural convection, or the natural response of materials to high temperatures.

    The first third generation reactors were the Kashiwazaki 6 and 7 advanced boiling water reactors in Japan.

    The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station in Japan.
    Tokyo Electric Power Co, CC BY-SA

    An unresolved challenge for fission is that the byproducts of the reaction are radioactive for a long time, in the order of thousands of years. If reprocessed, the fuel source and waste can also be used to make a nuclear weapon.

    Fission power is a demonstrated technology. It is also scalable from large scale (the largest is the 7.97 gigawatt Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan) through to small-to-medium reactors that produce around 150 megawatts of electricity, as used on a ship or nuclear submarine. These are the reactors that will power Australia’s eight nuclear submarines promised as part of a trilateral security partnership with the United Kingdom and the United States.

    What is fusion?

    Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and stars. It is the opposite process to fission. It occurs when atoms are fused together.

    The easiest reaction to initiate in the laboratory is the fusion of isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. Per unit mass, the reaction produces 4 times more energy than the fission of U235.

    The fuel ion deuterium is incredibly abundant on Earth and in the universe. Tritium is radioactive with a half-life of 12 years, so is very rare on Earth. The universe is 13.8 billion years old; the only isotopes of light nuclei (hydrogen, helium and lithium) found in nature are those that are stable on those time scales.

    In a fusion power plant, tritium would be manufactured using a “lithium blanket”. This is a solid lithium wall in which fusion neutrons slow and ultimately react to form tritium.

    However, at present it’s very difficult for scientists to create a fusion reaction outside of the laboratory. That’s because it requires incredibly hot conditions to fuse: the optimal conditions are 150 million degrees Celsius.

    Fusion is the process that powers the Sun.
    SOHO (ESA & NASA)

    At these temperatures the fuel ions exist in the plasma state, where electrons and (nuclear) ions are dissociated. The byproduct of this process isn’t radioactive; rather, it’s helium, an inert gas.

    The leading technology path to demonstrate sustained fusion is called “toroidal magnetic confinement”. This is when the plasma is confined at extreme temperatures in a very large doughnut-shaped magnetic bottle.

    Unlike fission, this technology path requires continuous external heating to reach fusion conditions and a strong confining field. Terminate either and the reaction stops. The challenge is not uncontrolled meltdown, but getting the reaction to occur at all.

    A major unresolved challenge for toroidal magnetic confinement fusion, which attracts the majority of research interest, is the demonstration of a burning self-heated plasma. This is when the heating power produced by the reaction itself is primary. This is the objective of the publicly funded multi-national ITER project, the world’s largest fusion experiment, and the privately funded SPARC experiment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    However, the consensus of much of the scientific community is that fusion will not be commercially viable until at least 2050.

    A climate solution?

    I am often asked if nuclear power could save Earth from climate change. I have many colleagues in climate science, and indeed my late wife was a high-profile climate scientist.

    The science is clear: it is too late to stop climate change. The world needs to do everything it can to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and minimise catastrophic damage, and it needs to have done it decades ago.

    For the planet, fission is part of that global solution, together with widespread rollout and adoption of renewable sources of power such as wind and solar.

    On a longer time scale, one hopes that fusion might replace fission. The fuel supply is much larger and ubiquitously distributed, the waste problem is orders of magnitude smaller in volume and timescale, and the technology cannot be weaponised.

    Matthew Hole receives funding from the Australian government through the Australian Research Council and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), and the Simons Foundation. He is also affiliated with ANSTO, the ITER Organisation as an ITER Science Fellow, and is Chair of the Australian ITER Forum.

    – ref. What’s the difference between fusion and fission? A nuclear physicist explains – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-fusion-and-fission-a-nuclear-physicist-explains-240438

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor looks set for a resounding defeat in Queensland. But the state’s elections have long thrown up surprises

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pandanus Petter, Research Fellow School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University

    On Saturday October 26, Queensland Premier Steven Miles’ Labor is vying for a fourth consecutive term in government, up against David Crisafulli’s Liberal National Party (LNP).

    Although Labor won the previous election in 2020 comfortably, opinion polls in the lead up to this election have consistently pointed to an LNP win.

    Recent Queensland history shows voters can produce dramatic election results, such as the 2012 wipeout of Labor, and its equally dramatic return to government in 2015. With no upper house to provide a check on government power, whoever wins will likely have a relatively free hand to enact their policy agenda.

    A continuing trend of increased early voting means many Queenslanders have already made their judgement. But what have been the big issues dominating the campaign, and what priorities will the next government be working toward?

    The usual suspects

    The big issues of concern to voters in Queensland are likely familiar to people in other states:

    • cost of living

    • housing

    • crime

    • health

    • to a lesser extent, economic management.

    However, the two main parties have different emphases and approaches.

    A campaign on crime and crises

    The LNP is focused on attacking Labor’s record. Crisafulli has largely tried to keep the party firmly on-message, highlighting what they describe as “crises” in housing, youth crime, cost of living, health and government integrity for at least the last year.

    The extent of youth crime, what causes it and what solves it are a matter of debate.

    But the LNP has been keen to present themselves as proposing tougher solutions than their opponents. They’ve made promises to change youth sentencing laws to deter offenders under the slogan “adult crime, adult time”.

    They’ve also promised to provide “tough love” to at-risk youth with mandatory re-training camps.

    On other issues, they’ve been promising more efficient health services, incentives to home ownership and greater government transparency.

    However, they’ve been careful to try to avoid more controversial issues and present a “small target” on economic management. Interestingly, the LNP has largely confirmed they’ll adopt many of Labor’s budgetary priorities on cost of living relief.

    Despite this, a last minute emphasis on the possible reversal of legislation decriminalising abortion and voluntary assisted dying has threatened to derail their careful messaging.

    Reverting to old ways, the LNP is backing an “indefinite” commitment to coal fired power plants and dumping a controversial proposed hydroelectric dam.

    Crisafulli has walked back earlier support for Treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

    If they win government, the LNP would also likely shut down the freshly minted Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry, claiming they will focus on “practical” help for Indigenous communities instead.

    They’re also promising electoral reform with a longstanding commitment to remove “corrupt” compulsory preferential voting and the reversal of laws that banned property developer donations.

    Progressive balancing act

    Steven Miles took over from Annastacia Palaszczuk as Labor leader and premier less than a year ago.

    Labor has also been focused on using incumbency to address key issues, while trying to stake out a position as a force for progressive change.

    They have warned of the potential “hidden” dangers of the LNP, pointing to unpopular cuts to the civil service last time the LNP governed.

    On cost of living, they’ve given direct relief to households, with 50 cent fares for public transport, $1000 household energy rebates and promised free lunches for public school students.

    They have been keen to say this is a dividend from increased royalties charged to coal mining companies.

    On housing, they have continued their focus on addressing the undersupply of social and affordable housing alongside modest reforms to renters’ rights (although ruling out any caps on prices).

    They’re promising a new era of state intervention to improve competition in petrol and energy retail.

    On crime, Labor has followed the LNP’s lead in some matters, such as investing in extra police resources. They’ve also controversially ignored the Human Rights Act to keep youth imprisoned while emphasising diversion over punishment.

    Of more comfort to progressive voters, they have positioned themselves as firmly committed to keeping their abortion and voluntary assisted dying legislation intact. Labor will also continue the transition to renewable energy.

    Disenchantment with the major parties

    Despite their efforts, or perhaps because of Crisafulli’s disciplined messaging, it doesn’t look as if voters have been swayed to keep the government. There’s a clear mood for change.

    However, it should be noted this isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of Crisafulli or the LNP’s whole agenda, as opinion polls show neither is particularly popular.

    After trailing for most of the campaign, Miles is still behind, but has made up a lot of ground in the past week.

    Whoever wins, they will have to govern in an era when more people are disenchanted with the mainstream parties.

    Among those vying to hold or increase their crossbench seats in regional Queensland are the socially conservative Katter’s Australian Party, as well as some popular local mayors running as independents.

    Meanwhile, the Greens are pushing to claim more Brisbane seats.

    The minor parties are campaigning hard on persistent problems in housing, cost of living, health and crime. These are all hard to solve quickly and not necessarily helped by rushed responses.

    The next parliament will have to find a way to represent a state divided in public opinion between those in the city and those in regional areas across all of the key issues.

    Pandanus Petter receives funding from the Australian Research Council to study public opinion polling, democratic responsiveness and the idea of ‘the Fair Go’ in public policy.

    – ref. Labor looks set for a resounding defeat in Queensland. But the state’s elections have long thrown up surprises – https://theconversation.com/labor-looks-set-for-a-resounding-defeat-in-queensland-but-the-states-elections-have-long-thrown-up-surprises-241774

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Are cats good for our health?

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

    Yerlin Matu/Unsplash

    Cats have lived with humans for thousands of years. And long before cat memes and viral TikToks took over the internet, they’ve been comforting us with their purrs and making us laugh with their weird antics.

    But what does the research say – are cats good for us?

    Living with a cat can have a profound – and sometimes surprising – effect on our physical and mental health. Still, living with cats is not without risks.

    Part of the family

    You may have heard cats don’t have owners, they have “staff”. In fact, multiple studies show the humans who live with them feel more like beloved relatives.

    In a study of 1,800 Dutch cat owners, half said their cat was family. One in three viewed their cat as a child or best friend and found them loyal, supportive and empathetic.

    Another US study developed a “family bondedness” scale and found cats were just as important a part of families as dogs.



    Read more:
    Is owning a dog good for your health?

    Many cats would choose human interaction over food or toys. And they can distinguish when we are talking to them (rather than another human).

    In fact we’ve adapted to each other. Cats are more likely to approach human strangers who first give a “kitty kiss” – narrowing your eyes and blinking slowly. And research suggests cats have developed specific meows that tune into our nurturing instincts.

    What does this close relationship mean for health outcomes?

    Cats slow blink when they’re feeling relaxed.
    beton studio/Shutterstock

    A sense of purpose

    Owning a pet is associated with less social isolation. And some cat owners say “providing for the cat” increases their feelings of enjoyment and sense of purpose.

    But the benefits of the relationship may depend on how you relate to your cat.

    One study looked at different relationship styles between humans and cats, including “remote”, “casual” and “co-dependent”. It found people whose relationship with their cat was co-dependent or like a friend had a higher emotional connection to their pet.

    Links to heart health

    People who own – or have owned – a cat have a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases such as stroke or heart disease. This result has been repeated in several studies.

    However a problem interpreting population studies is they only tell us about an association. This means while people with cats have lower risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases, we can’t say for sure cats are the cause.

    People who own a cat – or have in the past – are at lower risk of stroke and heart disease.
    Ruth McHugh-Dillon, CC BY-NC

    Cat ownership has also been associated with some positive changes in the gut microbiota, especially in women, such as improved blood glucose control and reduced inflammation.

    Helping mental health

    Having cat or dog is also associated with higher psychological well-being. For people with depression, patting or playing with their cat has been shown to reduce symptoms (although this was over a short, two-hour period and can’t be extrapolated longer-term).

    Another way to find out about the health impact of cats is qualitative research: asking people what their cats mean to them, beyond the numbers.

    When colleagues and I surveyed veterans, we found people more attached to their pets actually had poorer mental health scores. But their survey responses told a different story. One respondent said, “my cats are the reason I get up in the morning”.

    Another wrote:

    I consider my pet to be a service animal. My cat helps me to relax when I’m dealing with my anxiety, depression or when I wake during the night from the frequent nightmares I have. My cat isn’t just a pet to me, my cat is a part of me, my cat is part of my family.

    It may be that veterans were more attached to their cats because they had worse mental health – and relied on their cats more for comfort – rather than the other way around.

    Mental health downsides

    It is possible being attached to your cat has downsides. If your cat becomes sick, the burden of caring for them may have a negative impact on your mental health.

    In our study of owners whose cats had epilepsy, around one third experienced a clinical level of burden as caregivers that was likely to interfere with their day-to-day functioning.

    People with depression report reduced symptoms after playing with their cat.
    Artacke Pictures/Shutterstock

    Toxoplasmosis

    Cats can also carry zoonotic diseases, which are infections which spread from animals to humans.

    They are the main host for toxoplasmosis, a parasite excreted in cat faeces which can affect other mammals, including humans. The parasite is more likely to be carried by feral cats that hunt for their food than domestic cats.

    Most people have mild symptoms that may be similar to flu. But infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth, or cause problems for the baby including blindness and seizures.

    Pregnant women and people with lowered immunity are most at risk. It is recommended these groups don’t empty cat litter trays, or use gloves if they have to. Changing the litter tray daily prevents the parasite reaching a stage that could infect people.

    Allergies

    Up to one in five people have an allergy to cats and this is increasing.

    When cats lick their fur, their saliva deposits an allergen. When their fur and dander (flakes of skin) come loose, it can set off an allergic reaction.

    People without severe allergies can still live with cats if they regularly wash their hands, clean surfaces and vacuum to eliminate dander. They can also exclude cats from areas they want to be allergen-free, such as bedrooms.

    People with allergies can live with cats if their symptoms aren’t severe.
    Ruth McHugh-Dillon, CC BY-NC

    While cats can provoke allergic reactions, there is also evidence contact with cats can have a protective role in preventing asthma and allergic reactions developing. This is because exposure may modify the immune system, making it less likely allergic reactions will occur.

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

    – ref. Are cats good for our health? – https://theconversation.com/are-cats-good-for-our-health-238993

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: No home left behind: a postcode approach to electrification

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gill Armstrong, Researcher in architecture and urban planning, Climateworks Centre

    EndeavourEnergy

    In Australia and overseas, it’s clear that homes without gas – running on clean energy – are healthier, have cheaper power bills, and produce lower greenhouse emissions.

    The emissions part is crucial. Collectively, homes are responsible for 10% of Australia’s greenhouse emissions. But how do we get Australia’s 11 million homes to ditch gas and switch to electricity for cooking, hot water and home heating?

    The current approach is slow and piecemeal. State and local governments offer incentives to individual households, but few adopt them. For those that do, little coordinated support and guidance is available. The households must deal with suppliers and tradies on their own, which can be a frustrating and lonely process.

    A pilot project to electrify 500 homes in a single postcode south of Sydney could show a better way. After a two-year campaign by residents, “Electrify 2515” has won A$5.4 million in federal funding, along with industry support. Challenges remain, but this pilot promises to demonstrate how household electrification can be accelerated and coordinated at scale.

    As independent climate transitions specialists within Monash University, Climateworks Centre has no direct involvement in this project. But our ongoing Renovation Pathways Program focuses on ways to decarbonise Australia’s existing houses and bring about a national renovation wave. So we are watching with keen interest.

    Testing extra incentives

    The 2515 postcode sits between Wollongong and Sydney in New South Wales. It covers the suburbs of Austinmer, Clifton, Coledale, Scarborough, Thirroul and Wombarra.

    The pilot encourages households to retire three types of gas appliance: water heaters, space heaters and cookers. Financial subsidies of up to $1,000 off electric hot water systems, reverse-cycle air conditioners and induction cooktops, and up to $1,500 off home batteries, are available. Higher subsidies are available to low-income households.

    Successful applicants receive the subsidies as a discount on the purchase price of these new electrical appliances, rather than a rebate. Money for this is coming from the federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

    Such incentives prompt households within a single community to make the switch together, retiring their electric appliances before their gas appliances fail or break, speeding up the transition.

    A fully subsidised smart energy device, valued at around $1,500, is also installed in every home to track and optimise energy use. Subsidies are also available for upgrades to switchboards where required to meet modern safety standards.

    Rooftop solar and electric vehicle chargers can also be purchased through the pilot, but will not be subsidised.

    How it works.
    Electrify 2515

    The 2515 difference

    2515 is not the first community to rally behind clean energy. Grassroots initiatives are scattered around the country, such as in Yackandandah in northeast Victoria, Parkes in central west NSW, and Broken Hill in far west NSW.

    Home energy pilot projects are also already underway through the Cooperative Research Centre Race2030, which partners with industry and research institutions. But these initiatives, along with those at a state and local government level, tend to recruit individual households across a wider geographic area.

    In contrast, Electrify 2515 offers holistic support for households within a community. It is not driven by a single government program, or by a gas supply problem – which was the case for the people of Esperance in Western Australia.

    By electrifying 500 homes in a single community, Electrify 2515 will provide a tangible measure of what’s required to drive rapid household electrification. The main challenge isn’t technological – it’s social. The technology is here. Getting the social drivers and settings right, at scale, is the key.

    The holistic approach will demonstrate what consumers need to make the shift from gas to electricity. This includes what conversations are needed and which incentives enable all households to act in a coordinated way.

    Local 2515 residents explain why everyone should join them in applying for the Electrify 2515 Community Pilot.

    The bright side of a community approach

    The whole-of-community focus brings technical and financial advantages.

    After completing an application form and receiving an offer, households receive guidance and support from the installation partner Brighte, a commercial company that provides consumer loans for clean energy appliances such as solar panels and batteries. The service streamlines the decision-making process, which is often the biggest barrier stopping households from progressing with electrification.

    Being able to work with a larger number of homes at once is likely to streamline and scale up installation with dedicated teams of installers and tradespeople.

    It also helps build households’ trust in literature about payback times and financial benefits through friendly neighbourhood conversations and, importantly, through access to local real-world evidence, not just theory.

    Thermal efficiency is also key

    The electrification pilot is a solid starting point, especially for a community in a relatively mild coastal climate such as postcode 2515.

    For homes in more extreme climates, or for inefficient older homes – which a lot of Australia’s homes sadly are – the fundamental thermal efficiency of the building must be improved alongside electrification of appliances.

    The thermal efficiency of homes can be improved by insulating ceilings, walls and floors, double-glazing windows and sealing gaps. These measures make a home more comfortable for occupants. They can also reduce peak demand on the energy network and save on household energy bills.

    Electrify 2515 currently focuses on appliance upgrades but adding thermal efficiency upgrades could take it to the next level. Without these upgrades, there is a risk of households in harsher climates using more electricity in a heatwave if homes are draughty and inefficient.

    There are various ways to upgrade a home’s capacity to stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
    Climateworks Centre, 2023, Climate-ready homes: Building the case for a renovation wave in Australia.

    When paired with electrification, thermal upgrades could save Australian households around $2,200 annually on their energy bills (based on 2023 gas and electricity prices), according to Climateworks Centre analysis.

    Projects like Electrify 2515 should include both home thermal efficiency improvements and electrification efforts, particularly for communities in harsher climates in order to maximise benefits to households.

    Electrification challenges

    Electrify 2515 caters for low-income households, by offering higher subsidies to households in the lowest 25% income percentile to ensure these groups comprise 25% of community buy-in.

    Renters are encouraged to put their hand up too. But it may still be challenging to encourage their landlords to invest in upgrades.

    Further challenges include decarbonising homes that cannot generate electricity from rooftop solar panels due to being shaded by taller buildings or trees. This can sometimes be an issue for homes in colder winter climates with higher annual energy demands, such as Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT.

    Building momentum for widescale rollout

    The technology for all-electric homes exists. Now we must identify the key social drivers and settings required to spur Australia’s electrification wave.

    Electrify 2515 is a promising approach. It’s a way to build momentum, showcase technology at scale, and prompt meaningful discussions around the benefits and challenges of getting off gas.

    This program, and others like it, can provide a tangible real-world foundation to bring about bills savings, emissions reductions and healthier homes across Australia. And it will help ensure no one is left behind.

    Climateworks Centre is a part of Monash University. It receives funding from a range of external sources including philanthropy, governments and businesses.

    – ref. No home left behind: a postcode approach to electrification – https://theconversation.com/no-home-left-behind-a-postcode-approach-to-electrification-241471

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Rebuilding homes after a disaster is an opportunity to build back better – why isn’t the insurance industry on board?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antonia Settle, Lecturer, Monash University

    For many Australians, 2022 was a dark and devastating year. Major floods wreaked havoc on hundreds of communities in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. But for some, the floods themselves were only half the disaster.

    As a recent report by Financial Counselling Victoria showed, many affected households had their insurance claims rejected or diminished, whether due to complicated exclusion clauses or because their “sum insured” had been whittled away by unexpected costs.

    A long parliamentary inquiry sought to examine the insurance industry’s response to this disaster. Its final report – released to little fanfare last Friday – revealed a sector in crisis.

    The report put forward 86 recommendations, which taken together could deliver real progress in pushing the insurance sector to deliver on its promises.

    Some standout areas of focus included abolishing a principle called “like-for-like reinstatement” and increasing accountability and oversight. Making sure households can rely on their own coverage is a vital step.

    But the report also highlighted just how vulnerable Australia’s housing stock is to climate change, which is no easy problem to solve.



    Read more:
    How extreme weather and costs of housing and insurance trap some households in a vicious cycle

    Forced to repeat the same mistakes

    To address the challenge of rising climate risk, we need to increase the resilience of Australian homes. Insurance will only be affordable if risk exposure can be brought down.

    Recommendation 26 of the inquiry’s final report deals with the principle of “like-for-like reinstatement”. Written into many policies, this protects insurers from having to pay for home improvements in an insurance claim – known as “betterment” in insurance jargon.

    ‘Like-for-like’ rules can prevent households from improving their disaster resilience when rebuilding.
    Anna Mente/Shutterstock

    The underlying idea is to stop households sneaking an extra en-suite bathroom into their insurer-funded rebuild. The same dimensions and building materials have to be used.

    But this can mean a home that has been flooded ends up being rebuilt with exactly the same flood risk.

    This was the experience of Madeleine Serle, whose home was flooded in Melbourne in 2022. She told me she had asked her insurer to rebuild using polished concrete floors in the downstairs rooms of her home, instead of the plasterboard and wood that had soaked up the floodwaters. Serle reasoned that if it flooded again, it wouldn’t cause so much damage.

    Her insurer refused. Even when Serle offered to pay any extra costs herself that might arise from concrete flooring, her insurer insisted on a “like-for-like reinstatement”. This meant using the same low-resilience materials that will likely be destroyed if inundated again by floodwater.

    Bringing ‘betterment’ to the fore

    Serle was actively trying to reduce her future flood risk, but this was precluded by the terms of her insurance contract.

    By seeking an end to like-for-like reinstatement, recommendation 26 is pushing for “betterment” to be brought to the forefront of how we think about insurer rebuilds.

    It proposes allowing households to swap out size for quality in an insurer rebuild. That could allow them to use the money saved from reducing the footprint of their home on resilience measures, which are often much more expensive.

    This wouldn’t just reduce their exposure to climate risks – fire, flooding and so on. It could also improve the energy efficiency of our houses, which is another key part of the climate challenge in Australia.

    Standardised products

    Many of the report’s other recommendations centred on the better handling of claims and better outcomes for households.

    This includes by strengthening accountability through stronger regulatory oversight (recommendations 2, 4, 9, 41, 47, 49), tightening up some key loopholes (recommendations 3, 10, 13), and penalising insurers for delays in the resolution of claims (recommendations 19 and 57).

    It also laid out ways to improve communications between insurers and households (recommendations 6, 10, 24, 25, 28, 33), so people can better understand what they should expect from their insurer – and when their insurer might be falling short.

    These proposed reforms aim to create more standardised insurance products across the industry. But they could have gone further. The report didn’t go as far as recommending a fully standardised insurance product that all insurers would have to offer.

    Making insurance products more standardised could make them easier to compare.
    DC Studio/Shutterstock

    As the Financial Rights Legal Centre has argued, standardisation is vital to untangling the “confusopoly” that leaves households unable to make informed decisions about the merits of different policies on the market without reading reams of product disclosure statements.

    Reform alone isn’t enough

    The inquiry’s final report recommends the government buy back some of the riskiest homes (recommendation 81), alongside much stronger government support for households looking to mitigate their own risks.

    But insurance reform alone isn’t enough to solve the problem that Australian households face in securing their housing amid worsening climate risk.

    The bigger overarching problem faced by Australia is one of climate change mitigation and adaption. While our country is exposed to relatively high levels of climate risk, much of this risk is borne by individuals through home ownership.

    With nearly half of all renter retirees living in poverty, Australians know owning their own home is a powerful way to secure their economic future. That’s why home ownership is referred to as part of the “third pillar” of the retirement income system (voluntary private savings), along with superannuation and the public pension.

    Reforming our insurance system can make important strides in providing households with better tools to manage climate risk.

    Only with stronger safety nets, and by grappling with risks at the societal level, can we counteract the extreme individualisation of climate risk that we experience here in Australia.



    Read more:
    Some New Zealand homes are becoming uninsurable because of natural disasters – but all may not be lost

    Antonia Settle 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. Rebuilding homes after a disaster is an opportunity to build back better – why isn’t the insurance industry on board? – https://theconversation.com/rebuilding-homes-after-a-disaster-is-an-opportunity-to-build-back-better-why-isnt-the-insurance-industry-on-board-241576

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: It would cost billions, but pay for itself over time. The economic case for air conditioning every Australian school

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney

    Later this week the government will receive the report of the year-long independent inquiry into its handling of the COVID pandemic.

    Among the issues it will have to contend with is air quality, in particular the air quality in high occupancy public buildings such as schools, aged-care facilities, shops, pubs and clubs.

    Many already have high quality air. High-fitration air conditioning (so-called mechanical ventilation) is standard in offices, hospitals and shopping centres.

    But not in schools. Almost all of our schools (98% in NSW) use windows.

    In Australia’s national construction code, this is called “natural ventilation” and it is allowed so long as the window, opening or door has a ventilating area of not less than 5% of the floor area, a requirement research suggests is insufficient.

    Windows, but no requirement to keep them open

    There’s no requirement to actually open the windows. School windows are often shut to keep in the heat in (or to keep out the heat in summer).

    The result can be very, very stuffy classrooms, far stuffier than we would tolerate in shopping centres. This matters for learning. Study after study has found that when air circulation gets low, people can’t concentrate well or learn well.

    And they get sick. Diseases such as flu, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) spread when viruses get recirculated instead of diluted with fresh air.

    The costs of the resulting sickness are borne by students, parents, teachers and education systems that need to find replacement staff to cover for teachers who are sick and parents who need to look after sick children at home.

    A pilot study prepared for the Australian Research Council Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection (known as “Thrive”), suggests the entire cost of installing high-filtration air conditioning in every Australian school would be offset by the savings in reduced sickness.

    What classroom air is like

    The study carried out by the education architecture firm ARINA compared the ventilation of 60 so-called naturally ventilated schools in southern NSW and the Australian Capital Territory to that of a school in Sydney that happened to have been fitted with a Standards Australia-compliant air conditioning system to control aircraft noise.

    It used carbon dioxide levels to measure ventilation. Carbon dioxide is a good proxy for ventilation because its levels are determined by both the number of people breathing out concentrated carbon dioxide and the clean air available to dilute it.

    Under a normal load, defined as 26 students, one teacher and one assistant, measured levels of carbon dioxide in the air-conditioned school stayed below 750 parts per million (ppm) and were typically between 500 and 600 ppm.

    A reading of 700 ppm is particularly good. It means the people in the room breathe in less than 0.5% of air breathed out by others.

    But in “naturally ventilated” classrooms the reading often climbed to 2,500 ppm and sometimes more, within an hour of a class commencing.

    At 2,500 parts per million, people in the room are breathing in 5.5% of the air breathed out by others. This is also high enough to affect cognition, learning and behaviour, something that begins when carbon dioxide climbs above 1,200 ppm.

    Research suggests using ventilation to cut carbon dioxide to 700 ppm can cut the risk of airborne transmission of disease by a factor of two and up to five.

    The economic case for healthy air

    In 2023, Australia had 9,629 schools with 4,086,998 students.

    ARINA has previously estimated the cost of ensuring all of these schools are mechanically ventilated at A$2 billion per year over five years.

    Offsetting that cost would be less sickness. Documents released under freedom of information laws show Victoria spent $360.8 million on casual relief teachers between May 2023 and May 2024, 54% more than before COVID in 2019.

    The figures for other states are harder to get, but if Victoria (with 26% of Australia’s population) is spending $234 million more per year on casual relief teachers than before COVID, it is likely that Australia is spending $900 million per year more.

    Add in the teachers in non-government schools (37% of Australia’s total) and the potential saving from air conditioning schools exceeds $1 billion per year.

    Add in the other non-COVID viruses that would no longer be concentrated and circulated in classrooms and the potential savings grow higher still.

    Worth more than $1 billion per year

    And, in any event, the cost of replacement teachers is a woefully incomplete measure of the cost of illness in schools. Many ill teachers can’t be replaced because replacements aren’t available, making schools cancel lessons and combine classes, costing days, weeks and sometimes months of lost education.

    Also, the bacteria and viruses spread by recirculated air infect students as well as teachers, keeping students (and often their parents) at home as well.

    This suggests the costs per year of not air conditioning schools exceed $1 billion and may well approach or exceed $2 billion, which is the estimated cost per year over five years of air conditioning every Australian school.

    Natural ventilation was never a good idea for classrooms: it was cheap at the time, but not cheap at all when the costs are considered. Those costs happen to extend beyond disease to thermal comfort, energy use and the ability of students to concentrate.

    It’s time we gave students and teachers the kind of protections we demand for ourselves in our offices, our shopping centres and often our homes. It would soon pay for itself.

    Geoff Hanmer is a member of the executive of the Industry Training and Transformation Centre for Advanced Building Systems against Airborne Infection Transmission (known as Thrive) which receives funding from the Australian Research Council, QUT, the University of Melbourne and industry partners in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. He is a director of the health expert body OzSAGE and the managing director of ARINA, an architectural consultancy.

    – ref. It would cost billions, but pay for itself over time. The economic case for air conditioning every Australian school – https://theconversation.com/it-would-cost-billions-but-pay-for-itself-over-time-the-economic-case-for-air-conditioning-every-australian-school-241465

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A technical fix to keep kids safe online? Here’s what happened last time Australia tried to make a ‘clean’ internet

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Houlihan, PhD Candidate in History, Monash University

    Prostock Studio / Shutterstock

    For anyone who has been online in Australia longer than a decade or so, the discussion around current proposals to set a minimum age for social media use might trigger a touch of déjà vu.

    Between 2007 and 2012, the Rudd–Gillard government’s efforts to implement a “Clean Feed” internet filter sparked very similar debates.

    Beset by technical problems and facing fierce opposition, the Clean Feed was eventually abandoned in favour of laws that already existed. Will the proposed social media ban face a similar fate?

    How to regulate cyberspace

    The question of how to regulate a cyberspace occupied by both adults and children has puzzled governments for a long time. Traditional controls on physical media are difficult to apply to online spaces, particularly when so much online media comes from overseas.

    As early as 1998, an Australian Broadcasting Authority report noted a key difficulty in online regulation. Namely, balancing adults’ access to legal online spaces and content with restrictions on childrens’ access to age-inappropriate material and bans on illegal content.

    The Clean Feed proposal attempted to address parental concerns about age-inappropriate websites. First raised in 2006 by Labor in opposition, it became a campaign promise at the 2007 election.

    The proposal aimed to solve the issue of overseas content. Australian authorities could already require website owners in Australia to take down illegal content, but they had no power over international sites.

    To address this, the Clean Feed would require internet service providers to run a government-created filter blocking all material given a “Refused” classification by the Australian Classification Board, which meant it was illegal. Labor argued the filter would protect children from “harmful and inappropriate” content, including child pornography and X-rated media. The Australian Communications and Media Authority created a “blacklist” of websites that the filter would block.

    Technical trouble

    The Clean Feed was plagued by technical issues. Trials in 2008 revealed it might slow internet speeds by up to 87%, block access to legal websites, and wouldn’t block all illegal content.

    While the effect on speeds was improved, the 2008 trials and others in 2009 revealed another problem: determined users could bypass the filter.

    There were also fears the blacklist would be used to block legal websites. While the government maintained the filter would only target illegal content, some questioned whether this was true.

    Internet service providers were already required to prevent access to content that had been given a Refused classification. This, along with unclear government statements about removing age-inappropriate material, led many to believe the blacklist could be more far-reaching.

    The government also planned to keep the list secret, on the grounds that a published list could become a guide for finding illegal material.

    The blacklist

    In 2009, the whistleblowing website Wikileaks published a list of sites blacklisted in Denmark. The government banned those pages of Wikileaks, and in response Wikileaks published what it said was the Australian government blacklist. (The government denied it was the actual blacklist.)

    Newspapers noted that around half the websites on the published list were not related to child pornography.

    Wikileaks published what it claimed was the government’s planned ‘blacklist’ of websites, along with a rationale for publishing the list.
    Wikileaks

    The alleged blacklist also contained legal content, including Wikipedia pages, YouTube links, and even the website of a Queensland dentist. This lent weight to fears the filter would block more than just illegal websites.

    More debates emerged surrounding how the Refused classification category was applied offline as well as on the internet.

    In January 2010, the Australian Sex Party reported claims from pornography studios that customs officials had confiscated material featuring female ejaculation (as an “abhorrent depiction” or form of urination) and small-breasted adult women (who might appear to be minors). Many questioned whether these should be banned, and if such depictions would be added to the blacklist – including members of hacker-activist group Anonymous.

    Operation Titstorm and the end of the Clean Feed

    While Anonymous members had already protested the Clean Feed, this new information sparked a new protest action dubbed Operation Titstorm.

    On February 10 2010, activists targeted several government websites. The Australian Parliament site was down for three days. Protesters also mass-emailed politicians and their staff the kinds of pornography set to be blocked by the filter.

    While Operation Titstorm gained media attention, other digital activists (such as Electronic Frontiers Australia and other members of Anonymous) criticised its illegal tactics. Many dismissed the protest as juvenile.

    In February 2010, hacker-activists from Anonymous launched denial-of-service attacks and email campaigns in protest of proposed internet filters.
    WIkipedia

    However, one participant argued that many protesters were children, who had used these methods because “kids and teenagers don’t really get the chance to voice their opinions”. The protesters may have been the very people the Clean Feed was supposed to protect.

    The government abandoned the Clean Feed in 2012 and used existing legislation to require internet service providers to block INTERPOL’s “worst of” child abuse list. It remains to be seen whether the social media minimum age will similarly crumble under the weight of controversy and be rendered redundant by existing legislation.

    The same, but different

    The Clean Feed tried to balance the rights of adults to access legal material with protecting children from age-inappropriate content and making cyberspace safer for them. In a sense, it did this by regulating adults.

    The filter limited the material adults could access. Given it was government-created and mandatory, it also decided for parents what content was age-appropriate for their children.

    The current proposal to set a minimum age for social media flips this solution by determining what online spaces children can occupy. Similar to the filter, it also makes this decision on parents’ behalf.

    The Clean Feed saga reveals some of the difficulties of policing the internet. It also reminds us that anxiety about what Australian youth can interact with online is nothing new – and is unlikely to go away.

    Rebecca Houlihan 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. A technical fix to keep kids safe online? Here’s what happened last time Australia tried to make a ‘clean’ internet – https://theconversation.com/a-technical-fix-to-keep-kids-safe-online-heres-what-happened-last-time-australia-tried-to-make-a-clean-internet-241371

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Genome sequencing developed to trace COVID is now protecting babies in intensive care from infectious diseases

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rhys Thomas White, Scientist, Genomics and Bioinformatics, ESR

    Getty Images

    Anyone who has spent time inside a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) knows it’s intense.

    For the tiny babies cared for in these wards, any infection could prove fatal. Great care is taken to prevent the spread of pathogens, but outbreaks still occur.

    Traditionally, detecting outbreaks within a NICU has been reactive – only after multiple babies fall ill at the same time.

    Our research is advancing the use of whole-genome sequencing technologies to detect outbreaks early and stamp out bacteria before they threaten more babies.

    From reactive to proactive

    NICU outbreak surveillance usually involves monitoring rates of illness and identifying spikes and long-term trends that may point to a pathogen circulating on the ward.

    When a potential outbreak is identified, bacteria may be cultured and retrospectively sequenced to determine if they can be linked to a shared source or transmission on the ward.

    Wellington Regional Hospital has changed its approach to infection surveillance in the NICU. Rather than waiting for infants to fall ill, they are using the same sequencing technology we developed at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) for genomic contact tracking during the COVID pandemic.

    Infants in the unit have diagnostic swab samples taken as part of routine practice. If any key bacteria are cultured from these samples, they are sequenced promptly to identify possible transmission events in near real time. This allows us to monitor the situation closely and respond quickly to emerging outbreaks.

    Genome sequencing allows NICU teams to monitor infectious bacteria before babies fall ill.
    Getty Images

    Because not all infants carrying a particular bacterial strain will experience a severe infection, this proactive approach can detect an outbreak before any babies fall ill.

    And because whole-genome sequencing decodes the entire genetic makeup of bacteria, it also provides the NICU team with information on how pathogens are related to each other. This allows them to differentiate one-off cases imported to the unit from any circulating within it.

    This level of detail allows for precise infection monitoring and fast, informed decisions on outbreak control.

    A case study

    This shift was recently tested when proactive genomic surveillance showed two infants in the NICU had eye infections caused by the same organism, an uncommon strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

    MRSA is notorious for its resistance to common antibiotics, making it particularly dangerous in hospitals.

    The onsite sequencing showed the two cases were likely linked. The priorities were to establish whether other infants were affected and limit the pathogen’s spread as quickly as possible. Screening of infants in the NICU found six more carrying the same strain of MRSA (though none with serious illness).

    This meant these infants could be isolated rapidly and the outbreak contained before any others developed a significant infection. ESR’s experience as genomic contact tracers helped establish how these infections spread in the unit.

    An outbreak response takes up resources and involves multiple steps, from the initial confirmation of the infection and its transmission route to communication with parents.

    This proactive approach to infection surveillance provides an early-warning system. It means the NICU team can be confident an outbreak is underway and act quickly to contain it.

    MRSA in New Zealand

    The power of genome sequencing extends beyond immediate outbreak control.

    By comparing the genomic data generated in the lab to that collected in national surveillance projects, our team was able to show the strain that caused the eye infections may have emerged in the early 1990s.

    This strain has slowly accumulated the genes required to evade first-choice antibiotics, underpinning the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Aotearoa New Zealand.

    We also highlighted the power of genomics to reveal connections when we found the MRSA strain causing illness in the NICU was related to bacteria collected from cattle. This discovery underscores the concept of “One Health” – the idea that human health, animal health and environmental health are inextricably linked.

    The data suggest bacteria from a cow milk tank and from babies in a hospital may have shared a common ancestor at some point.

    Future focus

    As we continue to unravel the complex world of microbes, tools like whole-genome sequencing offer hope in the ongoing battle against infectious diseases. The work at Wellington Regional Hospital’s NICU is just the beginning.

    From protecting our most vulnerable newborns to uncovering unlikely connections between farm animals and hospital patients, genomic technology is changing how we combat infectious diseases.

    As this technology continues to evolve, it promises to play an increasingly crucial role in safeguarding public health, one DNA sequence at a time.

    In the face of growing antibiotic resistance and emerging pathogens, this proactive, genomics-based approach to infection control may well be our best defence.

    We would like to acknowledge the contributions by Max Bloomfield and the teams at Awanui Labs, and Emma Voss and team at Livestock Improvement Corporation.

    Rhys White received a travel bursary from Oxford Nanopore Technologies and a travel grant from the UK Microbiology Society.

    David Winter and Suzanne Manning 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. Genome sequencing developed to trace COVID is now protecting babies in intensive care from infectious diseases – https://theconversation.com/genome-sequencing-developed-to-trace-covid-is-now-protecting-babies-in-intensive-care-from-infectious-diseases-240299

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What are executive function delays? Research shows they’re similar in ADHD and autism

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney

    ABO Photography/Shutterstock

    Neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism affect about one in ten children. These conditions impact learning, behaviour and development.

    Executive function delays are core to challenges people with neurodevelopmental conditions experience. This includes skills such as paying attention, switching attention, controlling impulses, planning, organising and problem-solving.

    These skills are important for learning and long-term development. They have been linked with future occupational, social, academic and mental health outcomes. Children with improved executive function skills and supports for these skills do better long term.

    Decades of studies have described how difficulties in attention and impulse control underpin ADHD. Meanwhile, difficulties with switching attention and flexibility of thinking have been proposed to underpin autism.

    As a result, different supports and interventions developed for different neurodevelopmental conditions target these skills. It sets up a system where a diagnosis is made first, then a set of supports is provided based on that diagnosis.

    But our recent study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, shows executive function problems are similar across all neurodevelopmental conditions. Understanding these common needs could lead to better access to supports before waiting for a specific diagnosis.

    Our study found more similarities than differences

    We looked at 180 studies, over 45 years, that compared executive function skills across two or more neurodevelopmental conditions.

    We brought the research together for all neurodevelopmental conditions that have been defined by diagnostic manuals, including ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, communication disorders and intellectual disabilities.

    Surprisingly, we found most neurodevelopmental conditions showed very similar delays in their executive skills.

    Children with ADHD showed difficulties with attention and impulse control, for example, but so did children with autism, communication and specific learning conditions.

    There were very few differences between each neurodevelopmental condition and the type of executive function delay.

    This suggests executive function delay is best considered as a common difficulty for all children with neurodevelopmental conditions. All of these children could benefit from similar supports to improve executive skills.

    But supports have become siloed

    For decades, research has failed to integrate findings across conditions. This has led to siloed research and practices across the education, health and disability sectors.

    Our data showed a gradual shift in the type of conditions that have been studied since 1980. In the earlier days, as a percentage, there were a far greater proportion of studies conducted on tic disorders, such as Tourette’s syndrome. In the past ten years, autism has been of greater focus.

    This means research and practice is also siloed, based on the focus on funding and interest in the community. Some groups miss out from good science and practice when they become less visible in the political landscape.

    This has led to a skewed support system where only children with a specific diagnosis can be offered certain interventions. It also reduces access to supports if families can’t access diagnostic services, which can be particularly difficult in regional and rural communities.

    Due to these diagnosis-driven research practices, there are now assessment services, guidelines and treatments that are recommended for autism. These are usually independent from and not offered to children with ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, communication disorders or intellectual disabilities despite a significant overlap in children’s needs.

    How does this affect access to support

    Families often find it hard to get the help they need. They often describe the assessment and support process as confusing, with long wait times and lots of barriers.

    We have previously shown caregivers often attend assessment and support services with a broad range of needs, but leave with many needs unaddressed.

    Recent national child mental health, autism and ADHD guidelines call for more integrated supports for children. But most services are not well set up to do this. It will take time to drive such system change if this is to be achieved.

    Why we need integrated research

    More integrated research will lead to more cohesive support systems across education, health and disability for all children in need.

    Studies show, for example, that many risk factors (genetic and environmental) are common to all neurodevelopmental conditions. These include a broad overlap of risk genes that are the same between conditions, and common environmental factors that influence development in the womb, such as the use of certain drugs, stress and a significant immune response.

    Other studies show how most children diagnosed with one neurodevelopmental condition will also be diagnosed with others.

    But gaps remain. While we know certain stimulant medications can work well for ADHD, for example, we have less information about how they might help children with other neurodevelopmental conditions who have attention difficulties.

    Unlike our knowledge about social supports for children with autism, we don’t have much research on how we can help children with ADHD with their social needs.

    We should take a wider view of children’s needs

    It’s important for families to be aware that if their child meets criteria for one neurodevelopmental condition, it is very likely that they will meet criteria for other neurodvelopmental conditions. They will likely have many needs relevant to other conditions.

    It is worth asking clinical services about broader needs beyond a diagnosis. This should include developmental, mental and physical health needs.

    It is also important to consider that many common interventions may have potential to support all children with neurodevelopmental conditions.

    This is an important issue for government. Reviews are under way for supporting the needs of people with autism, intellectual disability and ADHD.

    It’s time to establish more integrated systems, supports and strategies for all people with neurodevelopmental conditions for their home, school, play and work.

    Adam Guastella receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council for research into neurodevelopmental conditions. He is director of the Clinic for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research and scientific chair of Neurodevelopment Australia, a scientific group seeking to improve the knowledge and supports for all people with neurodevelopmental conditions.

    Kelsie Boulton 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 are executive function delays? Research shows they’re similar in ADHD and autism – https://theconversation.com/what-are-executive-function-delays-research-shows-theyre-similar-in-adhd-and-autism-238760

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  • MIL-Evening Report: How light helped shape our skin colour, eyes and curly hair

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mike Lee, Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders University

    Pictrider/Shutterstock

    Welcome to our ‘Light and health’ series. Over six articles, we look at how light affects our physical and mental health in sometimes surprising ways.

    For most of our evolutionary history, human activity has been linked to daylight. Technology has liberated us from these ancient sleep-wake cycles, but there is evidence sunlight has left and continues to leave its mark.

    Not only do we still tend to be awake in the daytime and sleep at night, we can thank light for many other aspects of our biology.

    Light may have driven our ancestors to walk upright on two legs. Light helps explain the evolution of our skin colour, why some of us have curly hair, and even the size of our eyes.

    As we’ll explore in future articles in this series, light helps shape our mood, our immune system, how our gut works, and much more. Light can make us sick, tell us why we’re sick, then treat us.

    Million of years of evolutionary history means humans are still very much creatures of the light.

    We stood up, then walked out of Africa

    The first modern humans evolved in warm African climates. And reducing exposure to the harsh sunlight is one explanation for why humans began to walk upright on two legs. When we stand up and the Sun is directly overhead, far less sunshine hits our body.

    Curly hair may have also protected us from the hot Sun. The idea is that it provides a thicker layer of insulation than straight hair to shield the scalp.

    Early Homo sapiens had extra Sun protection in the form of strongly pigmented skin. Sunlight breaks down folate (vitamin B9), accelerates ageing and damages DNA. In our bright ancestral climates, dark skin protected against this. But this dark skin still admitted enough UV light to stimulate vital production of vitamin D.

    However, when people colonised temperate zones, with weaker light, they repeatedly evolved lighter skin, via different genes in different populations. This happened rapidly, probably within the past 40,000 years.

    With reduced UV radiation nearer the poles, less pigmentation was needed to protect sunlight from breaking down our folate. A lighter complexion also let in more of the scarce light so the body could make vitamin D. But there was one big drawback: less pigmentation meant less protection against Sun damage.

    How our skin pigmentation adapted with migration patterns and changing light.

    This evolutionary background contributes to Australia having among the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.

    Our colonial history means more than 50% of Australians are of Anglo-Celtic descent, with light skin, transplanted into a high-UV environment. Little wonder we’re described as “a sunburnt country”.

    Sunlight has also contributed to variation in human eyes. Humans from high latitudes have less protective pigment in their irises. They also have larger eye sockets (and presumably eyeballs), maybe to admit more precious light.

    Again, these features make Australians of European descent especially vulnerable to our harsh light. So it’s no surprise Australia has unusually high rates of eye cancers.

    We cannot shake our body clock

    Our circadian rhythm – the wake-sleep cycle driven by our brains and hormones – is another piece of heavy evolutionary baggage triggered by light.

    Humans are adapted to daylight. In bright light, humans can see well and have refined colour vision. But we see poorly in dim light, and we lack senses such as sharp hearing or acute smell, to make up for it.

    Our nearest relatives (chimps, gorillas and orangutans) are also active during daylight and sleep at night, reinforcing the view that the earliest humans had similar diurnal behaviours.

    This lifestyle likely stretches further back into our evolutionary history, before the great apes, to the very dawn of primates.

    The earliest mammals were generally nocturnal, using their small size and the cover of darkness to hide from dinosaurs. However, the meteorite impact that wiped out these fearsome reptiles allowed some mammalian survivors, notably primates, to evolve largely diurnal lifestyles.

    If we inherited our daylight activity pattern directly from these early primates, then this rhythm would have been part of our lineage’s evolutionary history for nearly 66 million years.

    This explains why our 24-hour clock is very difficult to shake; it’s so deeply ingrained in our evolutionary history.

    Successive improvements in lighting technology have increasingly liberated us from dependence on daylight: fire, candles, oil and gas lamps, and finally electric lighting. So we can theoretically work and play at any time.

    However, our cognitive and physical performance deteriorates when our intrinsic daily cycles are disturbed, for instance through sleep deprivation, shift work or jet lag.

    Futurists have already considered the circadian rhythms required for life on Mars. Luckily, a day on Mars is around 24.7 hours, so similar to our own. This slight difference should be the least of the worries for the first intrepid martian colonists.

    How would humans cope on Mars? At least they wouldn’t have to worry too much about their body clocks.
    NikoNomad/NASA/Shutterstock

    Light is still changing us

    In the past 200 years or so, artificial lighting has helped to (partly) decouple us from our ancestral circadian rhythms. But in recent decades, this has come at a cost to our eyesight.

    Many genes associated with short-sightedness (myopia) have become more common in just 25 years, a striking example of rapid evolutionary change in the human gene pool.

    And if you have some genetic predisposition to myopia, reduced exposure to natural light (and spending more time in artificial light) makes it more likely. These noticeable changes have occurred within many people’s lifetimes.

    Light will no doubt continue to shape our biology over the coming millennia, but those longer-term effects might be difficult to predict.

    Mike Lee receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Hermon Slade Foundation

    – ref. How light helped shape our skin colour, eyes and curly hair – https://theconversation.com/how-light-helped-shape-our-skin-colour-eyes-and-curly-hair-237240

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  • MIL-Evening Report: Do electric cars greatly increase the average mass of cars on the road? Not in Australia

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robin Smit, Adjunct Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney

    Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock

    Statements have been circulating online, including leading news platforms, that battery electric cars will greatly increase the average mass of the on-road fleet. This claim is used as an argument against these cars.

    Even the Australian motoring organisation NRMA has posed the question: “EVs are heavy. Are they safe on our roads and carparks?” (It does say the answer is yes.)

    The stated reason for such concerns is generally that electric car batteries are heavy and increase overall vehicle mass. A heavier vehicle needs more energy to drive it and so will typically increase emissions. A greater mass also reduces traffic safety and could have damaging impacts on parking spaces and roads.

    A critical review released yesterday took a closer look at these claims to see if they hold true in Australia. It finds these claims don’t stack up in a country where sales of fossil-fuelled (petrol, diesel, LPG) vehicles skew towards large and heavy utes and SUVs.

    When adjusted for actual top 10 vehicles sold and using realistic mass values, the average mass of battery electric and fossil-fuelled cars differs by just 68 kilograms. That difference is not significant, especially because electric cars are much more energy-efficient.

    Oversimplifying a complex topic

    The claims being made often oversimplify a complex reality. They tell only part of the story, which can be misleading.

    For instance, internal combustion engine cars have consistently increased in mass over time. Known as car obesity, this fact is often unfairly ignored in comparisons.

    Similarly, these statements pretend to know how complex consumer behaviour will respond to future availability of battery electric cars and their fast-changing and improving features. Often, the results of overseas studies cannot be directly applied to different Australian conditions.

    4 points of contention

    Our report identifies and unpacks four main points of contention.

    First, there are different ways to define and compare the mass of battery electric and combustion engine cars. In practice, the choice is rather arbitrary. Depending on the method, the comparison may be neither adequate nor accurate.

    Often the comparison is made between similar or similarly sized battery electric and combustion engine cars. Or electric cars can be compared only to an equivalent non-electric version of models such as the VW Golf. Another variation is to simply compare the average mass of a large range of cars currently on sale, without considering the impact of sales volumes.

    Second, a common argument is that batteries are heavy, so electric cars are heavier than fossil-fuelled cars. But this is simplistic – it’s not only the battery that matters.

    Offsetting the extra battery mass, other parts of the electric car such as their motors are smaller and lighter. They can cut its mass by up to 50%.

    And actual extra battery mass itself depends on a range of factors. Battery chemistry, battery size and energy storage capacity (which determines how often a car needs recharging) all affect the mass. Indeed, battery mass varies between 100 and 900 kilograms for cars.

    Third, car obesity has greatly and consistently increased fossil-fuelled car mass. Unless we include this rise in car obesity, the comparison with battery electric cars tells only half the story.

    Finally, it is challenging to accurately predict the mass impacts of electric cars. A common assumption is that future vehicle buyers’ behaviour does not change when switching to battery electric cars. This assumption seems unlikely and again oversimplifies the comparison.

    For instance, market availability, marketing focus, purchase price and performance characteristics will largely guide buyers’ decisions. These considerations are all highly dynamic. They are changing significantly and fast.

    So how do they compare in Australia?

    A proper comparison needs, at least, to include realistic vehicle mass and sales data. Our study compares the differences in vehicle mass between the top ten best-selling cars for both battery electric and fossil-fuelled vehicles in Australia in 2022, as shown below.

    Masses of the top 10 most popular new battery electric (top) and fossil-fuelled (bottom) passenger cars sold in Australia in 2022. Circle sizes represent sales volumes. The top-selling internal combustion engine car is the Toyota Hilux (64,391 sold). For pure battery electric cars it’s the Tesla Model 3 (10,877 sold). Vehicle mass is defined as ‘mass in running order’, adjusted for average vehicle occupancy.
    Author provided, Transport Energy/Emission Research (TER)

    Currently sold top 10 models of battery electric cars cluster more at the heavy end, but the most popular cars are relatively light. The top 10 models of fossil-fuelled cars have a larger spread in mass. Yet, when it comes to sales, most are relatively heavy SUVs or utes.

    When ranked by popularity and compared, battery electric cars are not always heavier. They can be almost 300kg (12%) lighter to almost 800kg (55%) heavier than the corresponding fossil-fuelled car. Importantly, the overall difference in the average mass of the two categories when adjusted for sales is just 68kg (about 3% of total vehicle mass).

    This small difference is insignificant in terms of energy and emission impacts. A more important factor here is the superior energy efficiency of battery electric vehicles.

    How will they compare in future?

    Clearly, future sales profiles may differ from current sales profiles. The current profile may be largely defined by a certain type of customer (such as a high-income early adopter). They might not be typical of mainstream consumers in coming years.

    Buyers’ future behaviour is uncertain and hard to predict. It would depend on the effectiveness of (new) policy measures such as Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, the actual vehicles offered for sale, marketing efforts by car suppliers and possibly also cultural changes.

    Any shifts in buyer behaviour could greatly influence the car fleet’s average mass. They could continue the current trend towards larger and heavier vehicles, or shift to smaller and lighter vehicles.

    But this is the point: the impacts of electrification of passenger vehicles on average mass are highly uncertain. Statements on the matter are often speculative and can be unfairly biased by the methods used.

    In markets where heavy petrol and diesel vehicles dominate car sales, such as Australia and New Zealand, current evidence suggests increased electric car sales are unlikely to greatly increase average vehicle mass. In fact, average mass could actually go down as cheaper and lighter electric cars go on sale here.

    Vehicle mass remains important

    Importantly, the report is not downplaying the importance of vehicle mass for transport emission abatement.

    In previous research it was estimated that only a passenger vehicle fleet dominated by small and light battery electric vehicles may get Australia close to achieving the net-zero emissions target in 2050.

    To meet the target, it is thus important to reverse the trend of increasing car obesity, for all cars. But vehicle mass should not be used as an argument against electrification.

    Robin Smit is the founding Research Director at the Transport Energy/Emission Research (TER) consultancy.

    – ref. Do electric cars greatly increase the average mass of cars on the road? Not in Australia – https://theconversation.com/do-electric-cars-greatly-increase-the-average-mass-of-cars-on-the-road-not-in-australia-240555

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  • MIL-Evening Report: Why do some schools still force girls to wear skirts or dresses?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kayla Mildren, PhD Candidate in the politics of school uniform policies, Griffith University

    A Queensland tribunal has ruled it is not discriminatory for a school to require girls to wear a skirt at formal events.

    The private high school said girls needed to wear skirts for occasions including excursions, ceremonies and class photographs.

    A female student had complained to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal about different treatment for boys and girls.

    While the tribunal acknowledged there was “different treatment between the sexes”, it found there was not enough evidence to show this was “unfavourable”.

    Why are female students still made to wear skirts and dresses? And why is this a problem?

    Who decides?

    In Australia, uniform rules are largely determined by individual schools.

    Schools have some obligations to their communities, governing bodies (such as state education departments and independent school peak bodies) and anti-discrimination legislation.

    For example, Victoria’s Education Department requires policies to include an exemption process and “support inclusion”.

    But ultimately, it’s up to the school to decide how their uniform looks, who can access different items, where and when items may be worn, and what non-uniform items are regulated.

    School uniforms are ultimately decided by the school.
    Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock



    Read more:
    No mullets, no mohawks, no ‘awkwardly contrasting colours’: what are school policies on hair and why do they matter so much?

    The pants question

    Pants occupy an odd space here. For public schools, most state education departments require girls to have the option of pants (which can include shorts or trousers), for both sport and regular uniforms.

    This is a relatively new standard. For example, Queensland introduced this in 2019 and New South Wales allowed it from mid-2018.

    Often, these changes were prompted by sustained campaigning by families and lobby groups.

    But private schools do not have the same obligations. Some are starting to update their policies and allow girls to wear shorts or pants if they choose.

    Others, however, have been met with conservative backlash when they do.

    So, when can girls wear pants?

    Girls’ access to pants is not as straightforward as a school including them within the uniform policy.

    As researchers note, simply allowing girls to wear pants may not be enough. If school cultures are not welcoming, or if the design is uncomfortable, girls may still avoid them.

    Or, as can be the case with private schools, a school may offer pants on a limited basis, such as only during winter. Alternatively, there may be a special order process for pants, making them difficult to obtain.

    Or schools may permit their use, except on special occasions such as photo days or excursions, like the Queensland case.

    Why does it matter?

    The skirt itself isn’t the issue. The element of choice is.

    As researchers note, skirts and dresses are linked to outdated expectations of modesty and femininity. They can be targets of fetish and harassment, and entrench binary ideals of gender.

    Flexible policies support gender-diverse youth and enable all students to select uniform items based on their body rather than their gender. Research shows offering students pants or shorts can also promote physical activity.

    These school uniform debates are also taking place amid concerns about misogyny and harassment of female students and teachers in schools and concern for queer young people’s wellbeing.

    The longer gender-normativity is baked into school policies, the longer students are denied their right to equitable education. And the longer that schools promote the idea of “girl” and “boy” as opposite and concrete categories, the harder it will be to combat schoolyard misogyny and queerphobia.

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

    – ref. Why do some schools still force girls to wear skirts or dresses? – https://theconversation.com/why-do-some-schools-still-force-girls-to-wear-skirts-or-dresses-241484

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  • MIL-Evening Report: View from The Hill: We have bigger issues around freedom of speech than Lidia Thorpe’s noisy protest

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

    King Charles – as the old-fashioned saying goes – didn’t come down in the last shower. He’s unlikely to have been fazed by the outburst from independent senator Lidia Thorpe, who disrupted Monday’s Parliament House reception for the royals.

    And neither, frankly, should anyone else.

    Thorpe, clad in a possum-skin cloak, shouted: “You are not our king.”

    “You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty in this country. You are a genocidalist.”

    “You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.”

    The conduct of Thorpe, who used to be with the Greens and is an outspoken advocate of ‘Blak sovereignty’, was rude, albeit absolutely in character. She acts up in the parliament regularly.

    As a senator, Thorpe, who was escorted out of the Great Hall, still yelling, had the right to be at the reception. And it is not the only time a parliamentarian has created a fuss when a dignitary was visiting. In 2003, Greens senator Bob Brown shouted out during the address to the joint houses by US President George W. Bush.

    While not at all condoning Thorpe’s exhibitionism, she wasn’t inciting violence. Was she bringing our parliament into disrepute? Sadly, many parliamentarians do that all the time in less dramatic ways, as visitors to question time will tell you.

    Those muttering that perhaps there should be some parliamentary censure of Thorpe are misguided. As Senate Opposition leader Simon Birmingham pointed out on Tuesday, Thorpe “would probably revel in being censured by the Senate”. The one thing she wants is publicity.

    Thorpe pushes her right to air her views to the limit, but her antics are not at the sharp end of the current “free speech” debate in this country. There are two, very different and much more important, fronts in that debate.

    One relates to the pro-Palestine demonstrations. The other is the government’s attempt to crack down on misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms.

    Those on the political right tend to play down worries about limiting free expression when it comes to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations. On the other hand, they are worried about putting more restrictions on the internet. Those on the left tend to support the battle against misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms, and are less worried about its free speech impact.

    Increasing antisemitism has fuelled calls for the ubiquitous pro-Palestinian protests to be curbed in some way.

    Critics highlight the hate preached on occasion; they say the demonstrations make Jewish Australians feel unsafe, disrupt citizens’ weekends, and are a drag on police resources.

    What are the relevant rights here, and their comparative weights? The right to free expression and protest. The right to feel safe. The right for people to go about their business without undue inconvenience. The tradeoffs are much more complicated than any questions thrown up by Thorpe’s behaviour.

    The number and regularity of the pro-Palestine demonstrations have driven some critics to argue enough is enough. That is not convincing, and nor is the argument that these protests soak up police resources. Unfortunately, these are the costs of preserving the right to protest.

    Much more troubling is that these protests can foster hate and make people feel threatened in their own country. Here balances must be carefully struck, and that’s hard.

    Incitement laws must be enforced. Beyond that, demonstrations have to be managed, so that the protesters’ right to have their say and the safety of others, especially a vulnerable section of the population, are both preserved.

    So for example, it’s important university campuses can have protests (as they always have). But “encampments” on campuses have been properly condemned and should not be allowed.

    Even more complex in the free speech debate is how to deal with disinformation (the deliberate spread of false information) and misinformation (where the misleading is not deliberate).

    The government presently has a bill in parliament seeking to combat misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms. It is a reworked version of a much-attacked earlier draft.

    In her second reading speech on the bill last month, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said:

    To protect freedom of speech, the bill [which does not apply to “professional news content”] sets a high threshold for the type of misinformation and disinformation that digital platforms must combat on their services – that is, it must be reasonably verifiable as false, misleading or deceptive and reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm.

    The harm must have significant and far-reaching consequences for Australian society, or severe consequences for an individual in Australia.

    Among the “serious harms” in the bill is “harm to the operation or integrity of an electoral or referendum process in Australia”.

    The struggle against misinformation and disinformation on digital platforms will always be a losing one. The reach is just too vast.

    But more particularly, there is also the problem that what is “misinformation” and “disinformation” can be less clear than one might think. On occasion, what seems wrong at the time turns out to be correct later.

    Beyond those obvious points, some material so-labelled is not one or the other but disputed information.

    For example, proponents of the Voice have blamed its loss at least partly on misinformation and disinformation. However, much of this involved highly contested claims, especially about an unpredictable future.

    What this legislation does is push as much responsibility as it can, backed by a regulatory framework, onto the platforms to do the censoring of misinformation and disinformation, thus trying to avoid constitutional issues of implied freedom of political communication.

    Human rights lawyer Frank Brennan has written, “The real challenge for Minister Rowland is that debating such a detailed bill without the backstop of a constitutional or statutory bill of rights recognising the right to freedom of expression, there are no clear guard rails for getting the balance right for ‘the freedom of expression that is so fundamental to our democracy’.”

    All things considered, It is hard to see the bill clearing its obstacle course before the election.

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

    – ref. View from The Hill: We have bigger issues around freedom of speech than Lidia Thorpe’s noisy protest – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-we-have-bigger-issues-around-freedom-of-speech-than-lidia-thorpes-noisy-protest-241906

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Tech can help kids connect with nature and go outdoors – here are tips to make it work

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kellie Vella, Postdoctoral researcher in Human-Computer Interaction, Queensland University of Technology

    RasaBasa/Shutterstock

    Young children’s lives are increasingly spent indoors. They have less access to green spaces, their parents are concerned about safety, and there’s also the draw of digital entertainment. This shift away from the natural world has been evocatively named “the extinction of experience”.

    By being in green spaces, children benefit in many ways, including greater physical activity and improved concentration and self-control. The outdoors is also good for children’s learning. Benefits such as these have fuelled the rise of forest schools and the integration of nature play in early childhood education.

    The things that play the biggest role in limiting children’s time in nature are urbanisation and parental attitudes. Despite this, digital devices are often blamed for keeping kids indoors.

    Digital entertainment is widely perceived as addictive and detrimental. While the concept of screen time is contested, most Australian children are exceeding the current recommended guidelines.

    Our research took a different approach, asking: could digital technologies be designed to foster nature connection? After looking at studies of digital technologies used by children aged eight years and under, we found a wide range of ways technology can help children find their way back into the great outdoors.

    Being in nature

    The ways children connect to nature go through several phases: “being in nature, being with nature, and being for nature”. Key experiences that boost this connection include free time in nature, seeing others like oneself in natural settings, recording nature experiences, and gaining confidence and a sense of agency outdoors.

    We found technologies that help children to

    • have social and playful experiences outdoors
    • discover nature
    • show their care for and learn about other species and the environment, and
    • focus their creative and artistic abilities on the world around them.

    The most commonly used technology were digital cameras in various forms: handheld, GoPros, or built into smartphones or prototype devices.

    Case studies from all around the world show how digital imagery opens doors into the natural world. In São Paulo, Brazil, photography helped children notice urban nature they had overlooked. In the United States, it allowed them to collect images of species to learn about.

    In Australia, children took photos in parks for creative manipulation later, while in Finland, an augmented reality “forest elf” encouraged imaginative nature exploration that children could photograph. In Italy, the ABBOT prototype used a screenless camera device linked to a tablet application, enabling nature exploration without the distraction of screens.

    Julle, the augmented reality ‘forest elf’ used in the Finnish study.
    Kumpulainen et al. (2020), CC BY

    Young citizen scientists

    Nature photography is also a gateway to citizen science. Apps like QuestaGame, though not a subject of our research, bridge the appeal of photography and the game design of Pokémon Go. The goal of the game is to collect images of species for science.

    Our study found one citizen science project with seven- and eight-year-old children text logging seashore species they found. While the youngest children needed parental support to do this, they were reportedly the most enthusiastic.

    Sound technologies can also help connect kids with nature. The Ambient Birdhouse plays nature videos in the home so that children are sensitised to bird sounds when outside. Another tool, the Eko nature sound collector, pairs with an app to let children manipulate sounds they’ve collected outdoors.

    Like photography, sound technologies are an entry point to noticing the natural world. And children can use these even if they can’t yet read.

    How can we use tech to connect children with nature?

    There are many ways to appropriate existing technologies and make new ones to help children connect with nature. Parents and educators can use accessible technologies like cameras, and applications such as QuestaGame, including their schools-oriented challenge.

    To add mystery and excitement by having to look at the images later – much like with film cameras – parents can cover up the screen of a smartphone or digital camera. (A few inches of painter’s masking tape can do the trick.)

    Going out to check an automatic nature camera can also be exciting. It can even turn into a daily ritual. These cameras are available both commercially and DIY. To find the best places to put them, children can engage in backyard experimentation, adding another dimension to this activity.

    To further encourage their children’s creative and scientific learning, parents can help children make digital stories out of nature photos, or learn about species together.

    Finally, tech developers can use all this evidence to design dedicated tech tools for children to use in nature. These designs should be easy for young children to use, engage more senses than sight, and encourage outdoor play, wonder and care for nature.

    If such technologies are designed in collaboration with children, families and educators, they have the chance to be widely embraced, both at home and in the classroom.

    Our work shows there are ways to use technology to build kids’ interest in the outdoors. By listening to parents’ concerns about addiction to smart devices and children’s safety, we can ensure a world where children play outdoors freely, without veering towards surveillance.

    Kellie Vella is a Research Fellow with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.

    Madeleine Dobson is an Associate Investigator with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.

    – ref. Tech can help kids connect with nature and go outdoors – here are tips to make it work – https://theconversation.com/tech-can-help-kids-connect-with-nature-and-go-outdoors-here-are-tips-to-make-it-work-240442

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Preventing falls: Google Street View offers a quick way to assess risks for older New Zealanders

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angela Curl, Senior lecturer, Department of Population Health, University of Otago

    Google Street View has fast become a tool for people trying to get the feel for a community, look at real estate – and sometimes prank the tech giant when its mapping car drives by. But it also has the potential to help prevent falls and injuries in New Zealand’s urban environments.

    Falls are a leading cause of injury and accidental death among older adults, but identifying the location of risks outside is labour and time intensive.

    In our new research, we have created a tool using Google Street View to audit the places where people walk.

    The goal of our new tool – Fall-SAFE – is to identify the risks in New Zealand’s built environments and create a database for local councils and community groups to understand where an older person might fall – and why.

    A costly risk

    Annually, one-in-three people over 65 are injured in a fall. This figure rises to one-in-two for people over 80.

    In 2023 alone, ACC received 236,985 new claims for falls from people over the age of 60. Many of these falls resulted in serious injury, such as a hip fracture, hospitalisation or even death.

    It’s not just older people who are at risk of falling – though they are, by far, the largest group. Last year, ACC paid out NZ$2.15 billion to cover claims for falls.

    The flow-on effect from falls extends further than just medical recovery. Older people who have fallen outside, or who fear falling due to perceived risks, may be less willing to go for walks. They then miss out on the physical, mental and social benefits of this sort of activity.

    Assessing the environment

    Using data from ambulance service Hato Hone St John, we identified 2,117 falls between July 2016 and June 2018 in urban areas involving adults aged 65 and over. Wellington was excluded as the city uses a different ambulance service.

    Auditors then used Google Street View to assess the locations of these falls and identify risks in the built environment that might have contributed. These risks included trip hazards, uneven foot paths, obstructions (such as overgrown bushes) and slopes.

    Auditors used a “drop-and-spin” approach to their assessment, where they completed a 360° audit of the fall location. The Google Maps imagery was set to be as close to the date of the accident as possible.

    Drop-and-spin virtual audits are quicker than physical audits, but similarly reliable. Furthermore, drop-and-spin virtual audits enable assessment over large geographic areas that would be difficult to examine in person.

    Understanding New Zealand’s streets

    After examining the different fall sites, we gained a better understanding of where falls happened and the hazards that could have contributed to the falls.

    Half of all the falls had occurred in residential locations (49.1%) and one quarter occurred in commercial locations (22.4%). A further 16.2% of the falls had occurred in “other” locations (such as rural or industrial areas).

    Over 60% of fall sites had at least one trip hazard due to poorly maintained footpaths. The most common obstructions were manholes, service covers or grates (71.5 %), poles (65.4%), utility boxes (46.6%) and overhanging vegetation (39.5%). Other obstructions such as bus shelters, chairs and tables, or drains were noted at 64.5% of the sites.

    Three-quarters of the falls had occurred in locations that had a flat or gentle slope (76.3%). Only 15.5% of the falls had occurred on a moderate slope, while 8.2% had occurred on a steep slope.

    Most (95.6%) of the fall locations had a normal kerb height (ten centimetres). Few locations had no kerbs (2.3%) or storm drains (2%). Streetlights were present in most fall locations, either on one side of the street (including partial or very sparse locations) (54%) or on both sides (44%). Streetlights were not visible in 0.9% of sites.

    Of all the locations we assessed, just under 6% had no obvious risk whatsoever. This seems to indicate that external hazards were a contributing factor to the vast majority of falls – though without information from the person who fell, it is hard to know for sure.

    A cheaper and faster option

    The current approach to assessing the safety of urban environments – sending people out to physically look at a footpath to identify issues – can be time consuming and costly.

    And the money to do the work is simply unavailable. Several councils, including Hamilton and Masterton, have announced significant cuts in funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency to maintain and repair footpaths and cycle lanes.

    Another problem is that these assessors may not fully understand the experiences of older people in these locations. A hazard for someone aged 65+ may not seem like one for someone in their 30s or 40s.

    Understanding the factors that contribute to a fall for older people – such as obstructions and trip hazards – allows city planners to address problems in the built environment.

    Our free auditing tool provides a way for councils and advocacy groups to look at environments to understand the risks. Our research applied this to places where we know people had fallen, but the tool can be used to assess the risk of any environment.

    Investing the time and effort now to address these fall risks early could save money – and lives – further down the track.

    Angela Curl receives funding from Healthier Lives and Ageing Well National Science Challenges and Lotteries Health.

    – ref. Preventing falls: Google Street View offers a quick way to assess risks for older New Zealanders – https://theconversation.com/preventing-falls-google-street-view-offers-a-quick-way-to-assess-risks-for-older-new-zealanders-241343

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Cheap grog, new drunkenness offence and mandatory rehab: why 9 experts think proposed NT alcohol reforms would be a disaster

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Wright, Alcohol and other Drugs Program Lead, Menzies School of Health Research

    logoboom/Shutterstock

    The new Northern Territory government is planning a swathe of changes to alcohol policy.

    If implemented, these changes fly in the face of what evidence shows works to reduce alcohol-related harms. Some are also out of step with the rest of Australia.

    Among our concerns are plans that would lead to harmful alcohol products becoming cheaper, alcohol becoming more easily available, criminalising public drunkenness, and a particularly worrying type of mandatory alcohol treatment – all of which evidence suggests will cause more harms.

    No one is downplaying the magnitude and complexities of alcohol-related issues in the NT. But we hope the territory government will pay more heed to the evidence and voices of those most impacted.

    Alcohol-related harm in the NT is complex

    Alcohol-related harms in the NT are significantly higher (for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people) than elsewhere in Australia.

    In the territory, these harms contribute to health and social outcomes costing at least A$1.4 billion a year. Alcohol harms result in costs related to health care, deaths, crime, policing and child protection.

    Aboriginal communities in the NT have for decades cried out for solutions and services that effectively respond to alcohol-related harm. Instead, they found their lives made part of a political football match on law and order. Policies have been reactive and mostly ineffective. They’ve been overturned at each election.

    Now, the new NT government is discussing changes that promise to exacerbate the very issues it aims to address.

    1. Cheap alcohol that contributes most harm would be on the market

    The World Health Organization recognises that raising the price of alcohol is one of the most effective ways for governments to reduce alcohol-related harm.

    So some governments around the world, including in the NT, have set a price below which alcohol cannot be sold, known as the minimum or “floor price”. This targets cheap, high-strength alcohol associated with patterns of drinking that cause the most harm.

    The new NT government plans to repeal this, despite evidence showing this works to reduce harms.

    Since the NT alcohol floor price was set at $1.30 per standard drink in 2018, there has been a:

    • 14% reduction in alcohol-related assaults in Darwin and Palmerston

    • 11% reduction in domestic and family violence assaults

    • 21% reduction in domestic and family violence assaults involving alcohol

    • 19% reduction in alcohol-related emergency department attendances.

    Originally, experts recommended a $1.50 floor price but this was reduced to $1.30 after a backlash from alcohol industry lobbyists. Had the policy not been watered down, evidence suggests the impacts above would likely have been greater.

    The floor price has likely also lost some of its initial impact as it has never been indexed for inflation.

    The best available research shows the floor price has reduced alcohol-related harms with no evidence of unintended consequences or negative impacts on the alcohol industry, despite claims otherwise.

    Researchers and experts from around the world have been writing to NT ministers urging them to reconsider repealing this effective policy.

    This includes researchers from the United Kingdom and Canada, who have coauthored this article. In these countries, evidence on the effectiveness of minimum pricing has been used to increase the floor price by 30%, not abolish it.

    2. Bottle shops could be open longer

    There are also proposals to repeal current restrictions on bottle shop trading hours. Such restrictions are highly effective in reducing alcohol harms, including violence.

    Our paper from earlier this year found that in the town of Tennant Creek, restrictions to reduce trading hours and introduce purchase limits at bottle shops resulted in a 92% reduction in alcohol-involved domestic and family violence assaults.

    Preliminary analyses of the reduced trading hours introduced in Alice Springs following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit in early 2023 also suggest a clear reduction on violence rates.

    Bottle shops would be open for longer, making alcohol more easily available.
    AustralianCamera/Shutterstock

    3. New public drunkenness offence

    Ministers were also set to pass laws to create a new offence for “nuisance” public intoxication (also known as public drunkenness). This would allow police officers to arrest people and fine them up to $925, in addition to current powers to seize and tip out alcohol from people drinking in prohibited areas.

    This is at the time when nearly every other jurisdiction in Australia is in the process of decriminalising public drunkenness, making the NT out of step with the rest of the nation.

    The NT’s proposed new laws on public drunkenness would criminalise more people who are already locked out from our society, placing them at risk of the negative, intergenerational and preventable impacts that often arise from contact with the justice system.

    4. Mandatory rehab

    Mandatory alcohol treatment was also an election commitment.

    In its previous term of government, mandatory alcohol treatment was focused on people with a public intoxication offence rather than providing quality care to people with alcohol dependence in life-saving circumstances. If the same model is reintroduced, this is potentially harmful and at best ineffective.

    In the NT, this model of mandatory alcohol treatment had no better outcomes than for those who may not have received any treatment at all. But it cost the taxpayer three times as much.

    Where to from here?

    Researchers, health professionals and partner organisations have urged the NT government to reconsider these decisions, as we have well-founded concerns these may worsen the very issues the government aims to address.

    There’s no need to guess the outcomes of changing, repealing or introducing alcohol policies. We can draw on robust evidence, including extensive research from the NT, on what works in our communities.

    Cassandra Wright receives funding from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Music NT, NT Motor Accident Compensation Commission and Commonwealth government Department of Health.

    Beau Jayde Cubillo receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and Fisheries Research Development Corporation on behalf of the Australian Commonwealth.

    John Holmes receives funding from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research and has previously received funding from UK Research & Innovation, the Wellcome Trust, Alcohol Change UK and other similar public health charities and government bodies. He has received funding from NHS Health Scotland (now part of Public Health Scotland) to evaluate the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland. He has also received funding from UK and international governments to model the potential impact of minimum unit pricing in various jurisdictions.

    Mark Mayo receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Ian Potter Foundation, Ramaciotti Foundation.

    Mark Robinson currently receives, or has previously received, funding from Health and Wellbeing Queensland, Queensland Health, National Health and Medical Research Council, and Australian government Department of Health and Aged Care. He was a member of the Consumption and Health Harms Evaluation Advisory Group for the evaluation of minimum unit pricing led by Public Health Scotland.

    Michael Livingston receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, HealthWay, VicHealth and the Commonwealth Department of Health. He is on the board of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

    Nicholas Taylor receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Cancer Council, VicHealth, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Northern Territory government, and the Queensland government Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability.

    Sarah Clifford receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council, Music NT, and NT Motor Accident Compensation Commission.

    Tim Stockwell receives funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, the the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. He has accepted travel expenses from IOGT-Sweden, the Swedish temperance society. He has been an expert witness in court cases in Canada relating to contested liquor licence applications and damages for the victims of alcohol-related violence and road crashes. He has received research funds, travel expenses and minor personal fees for conducting public health related research for government-owned alcohol retail monopolies in Finland, Sweden and Canada.

    – ref. Cheap grog, new drunkenness offence and mandatory rehab: why 9 experts think proposed NT alcohol reforms would be a disaster – https://theconversation.com/cheap-grog-new-drunkenness-offence-and-mandatory-rehab-why-9-experts-think-proposed-nt-alcohol-reforms-would-be-a-disaster-241373

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Why are some Australian students having to pay to do PE at public schools?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Amy Sears, Lecturer, School of Education, Charles Sturt University

    mattimix/Shutterstock

    Health and physical education is one of the key subjects students learn at school. In Australia it is mandatory for students from the first year of school to Year 10.

    It involves theory and practical components to help students manage their health and wellbeing. This includes healthy eating habits, sexual health, cyber safety and mental health. It also incorporates fundamental movement skills (such as throwing and catching), sports (such as swimming, gymnastics and football) and team-building.

    Because it is a core, compulsory part of the curriculum it is supposed to be free for students at government schools. But our research shows some students are being asked to pay – and those who cannot are missing out.

    Our research

    In our recent study, we looked at the staffing and delivery of health and physical education in New South Wales government schools.

    We surveyed 556 schools, which make up about 30% of public schools in the state. This included primary and high schools with a mix of locations and levels of advantage.

    We used an online survey, which was completed by the teacher in charge of health and physical education.

    Many schools are outsourcing lessons

    We asked survey respondents who was teaching health and physical education to students at their schools. Some schools were using more than one option.

    • For all schools: 67% were using external provider, 44.5% were using a specialist teacher and 55.4% were using another teacher.

    • For primary schools: 78.4% were using an external provider, 17.9% were using a specialist teacher and 48% were using another teacher.

    • For high schools: 44.8% were using an external provider, 95.9% were using a specialist teacher and 69.2% were using another teacher.

    Previous research has shown how schools outsource to external providers to “fill the gap” of teachers lacking confidence and competence to provide quality health and physical education lessons.

    This study did not measure how frequent outsourcing was, however, comments from respondents suggests it is regular. For example, one teacher said: “a typical [outsourced] class would have one lesson a week for a term”.

    Another teacher similarly said

    one 40 min[ute] lesson per week. Company comes in with equipment and young university students to run different activities. They also assess our students for us.

    Another teacher told us:

    We use [company name], they offer different sports/programs that run for one lesson a week per term.

    Families are being asked to pay

    Of the schools who were outsourcing lessons, 78% of the schools outsourcing lessons said they were asking parents to help pay for these lessons.

    One respondent told us, the costs were “A$45 for one term, $80 for two”.

    Of this group, 64% reported students who did not pay did other school work (either for health and physical education or another core subject). About one fifth of schools said students that don’t pay just had to “sit and watch”.

    This suggests some students are missing out on basic learning opportunities at school for financial reasons. As one teacher told us:

    the school uses some off-campus sporting/gaming facilities that students can choose to pay extra for instead of free on-campus teacher run [activities].

    Some students are just made to ‘sit and watch’ if they can’t pay.
    nannycz/Shutterstock

    Why is this a problem?

    The outsourcing of health and physical education lessons comes in the middle of an ongoing teacher shortage in Australia and around the world.

    A 2024 UN report estimates a global shortage of more than 44 million teachers, with many teachers teaching outside of their areas of expertise.

    Specific shortages of health and physical education teachers have been noted for more than a decade.

    However, outsourcing lessons away from qualified teachers, is a significant concern. Little is known about the external providers’ qualifications or quality. Unlike teachers, they are not subject to registration requirements or professional standards.

    Even more concerning is some students are missing out on lessons or some components of lessons because their families have not been able to pay.

    This links to wider concerns about unequal access to sport in the school system. This includes some private schools with new Olympic pools and boat ramps when other public schools don’t have access to council playing fields.

    More research is needed

    Our study suggests more research is needed. We need further information on staffing, outsourcing and lesson delivery in other areas of the country and in other subjects.

    We need to be sure all students are being taught the core curriculum, free of charge and by qualified teachers – ideally specialists.

    Jessica Amy Sears is affiliated with ACHPER (Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation) NSW.

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

    – ref. Why are some Australian students having to pay to do PE at public schools? – https://theconversation.com/why-are-some-australian-students-having-to-pay-to-do-pe-at-public-schools-239489

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A decade after the US version ended, Australia remakes The Office. It’s not new, but it’s funny

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philippa Burne, Honorary Fellow (Screenwriting), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne/PhD Candidate, UniSA Creative, The University of Melbourne

    Amazon/Bunya Entertainment

    Firstly, let’s revisit the question: why are they remaking The Office?

    Just over ten years after the United States version of the British series ended, Australia has decided to make its own version. It follows franchises in Canada, Greece, India, Sweden and Poland, to name a few.

    But we all have offices to go to, we all have our particular office cultures, co-workers and complaints. Post-pandemic, office life is becoming routine again. The more things change, the less things change, and that could be the theme of The Office Australia.

    In fact, this is probably the perfect timing for this remake: post work-from-home, when large corporations are demanding workers return (often unwillingly) to shared workplaces. That’s the premise of the pilot episode of The Office Australia – everyone stops working remotely and reunites at the office. It’s timely and a good way of updating the concept to make it relatable.

    ‘A riddle, swallowed by an idiot …’

    Modern nods, same old business

    A few more nods to contemporary office culture are included, such as Zoom meetings and standing desks. But apart from that, the Australian Office could be set anytime from the 1990s onwards in terms of the look, practices and low-fi tech of the office itself.

    The remake mirrors closely the US version: a romance storyline, tensions between office and warehouse, an old-school boss who loves, craves and needs camaraderie, and a staff for whom work life comes second to what they’d rather be doing.

    The original United Kingdom series of The Office, by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, only had 12 episodes, which is still surprising to realise given how much it defined television sitcom in the decades following. Parks and Recreation (2009–2015) owes a huge debt to The Office. Whether we would have had Utopia (2014–present) without it is debatable. The late, great John Clarke broke in Australia with The Games (1998–2000) and Australia has long done this sort of observational comedy very well.

    Will Australia’s version capture local flavour? It does feature the Melbourne Cup.
    Amazon

    Despite a deep vein of experience and success to draw on, The Office Australia sticks closely to The Office format in terms of stories, characters, tone, look and laughs.

    This might be because the show – made by Amazon and BBC Australia – is launching into around 240 countries and territories. It needs to find a line between being Australian and being international. That said, it has probably veered more into the international end of the scale, with enough Australiana (venomous snakes, barbecues) to ground it here, but still universal enough to be widely relatable and understandable.

    The US version had 201 episodes, giving it scope to develop the characters and the storylines and make it a massively popular and frequently rewatched series. (There’s a follow up series in the works called The Paper.) So it’s no wonder writers Julie De Fina and Jackie van Beek looked to the this version for guidance for the Australian series. This is less an adaptation than a remake with a different accent.

    Familiar and new faces

    Hannah Howard (Felicity Ward) is the devoted office manager who loves her job too much and runs an under-performing, dysfunctional workplace of uninterested staff.

    The show centres on her, with the familiar mockumentary style. Like David Brent and Michael Scott before her, Hannah Howard is optimistic, naive, relentless and terrible at staff management. She forces pyjama days and bus trips on her employees, who are clearly unwilling yet never actively rebel. There is plenty of comedy in the awkwardness and small moments.

    Felicity Ward plays the boss (sort of) of this particular office.
    Amazon

    Her devoted assistant and receptionist Lizzie (Edith Poor), a former Scout, wears a grey suit and will pursue any idea no matter how ill-conceived or illegal to make Hannah’s plans come to fruition.

    Long-suffering human resources manager Martin (Josh Thomson) tries to keep them from actually breaking laws, while Nick (Steen Raskopoulos) and Greta (Shari Sebbens) gaze awkwardly across their workstation divider at each other in a slow-burning love story. There are the usual office roles which offer story beats: accounting, IT, sales.

    The first Australian season of The Office might not be anything new, but I kept watching. It felt safe, even comforting. Perhaps in a similar way going to someone else’s family for Christmas lunch can feel familiar: recognisable foods, decorations, known characters – but with the frisson that maybe something different will happen this time.

    This remake knows what it is. It’s been made to satisfy an audience wanting to be in a world that reflects their own experiences, but takes it just that bit too far. It’s not setting out to break moulds, but to bring the mould up to date and give it an Australian voice for the world to hear.

    The Office premieres on October 18 on Prime.

    Philippa Burne 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. A decade after the US version ended, Australia remakes The Office. It’s not new, but it’s funny – https://theconversation.com/a-decade-after-the-us-version-ended-australia-remakes-the-office-its-not-new-but-its-funny-241356

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A sister’s last hope to save her brother from addiction – David Vincent Smith’s He Ain’t Heavy is a triumphant debut

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Thompson, Lecturer, Australian Catholic University

    Bonsai Fims

    So, on we go
    His welfare is of my concern
    No burden is he to bear
    We’ll get there
    For I know
    He would not encumber me
    He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother
    – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother by The Hollies

    Writer–Director David Vincent Smith’s reference to The Hollies’ 1969 hit as the title for his new film is not without irony.

    Max (Sam Corlett) – drug-dependent and out of control – is clearly a crushing weight on his sister Jade (Leila George) and mother Bev (Greta Scacchi).

    The opening scene of this compelling new Australian production throws us right into the chaos he visits upon them. The desperate, violent, off-camera shouts of abuse from Max as his sister sneaks past concerned neighbours and into their mother’s house are obviously nothing new.

    Bev, seated at the kitchen table, shows none of the anxiety we see in Jade. Perhaps she’s beyond reacting to Max’s outbursts. Perhaps she looks past the ugly side of her son through eyes that see only with a mother’s love.

    Jade, however, is at the end of her tether. Everything she’s tried has failed. She’s left with just one last desperate measure.

    This desperate measure didn’t come to David Vincent Smith as a narrative conceit. It was much closer to home.

    One night, Smith got a call from his mother who told him his own drug-addicted brother was outside their home. As he explains in the film’s press kit:

    I could hear smashing windows in the background as he tried to claw his way inside. I was done. There had been many years of violence, emergency rooms and mental trauma […] my own life was suffering as a result […] what could I do? I had an idea – I could kidnap him. Take him out to the desert, throw away the car keys and resolve this once and for all.

    Smith didn’t pursue that extreme thought in real life. Instead, it found its way onto the screen, first as a short “proof of concept” film – I’m Not Hurting You, which played at the 2019 Sydney Film Festival – and then as He Ain’t Heavy, his first feature film.

    The kidnapping and withdrawal

    Jade does indeed kidnap her brother. She sedates him and brings him to their dead grandparents’ home in the country, which Jade and Bev have been packing up in preparation to for its sale.

    Here, we see Jade’s methodical preparation of the room where she will incarcerate Max, the food she will feed him, the posters and pamphlets that inform her how to manage a drug addict’s withdrawal.

    The film follows Jade (Leila George), who has spent much of her life trying to bring her brother Max out of his drug addiction.
    Bonsai Fims

    The choice of the grandparents’ home is significant for our understanding of this fractured family. Here we find evidence that things weren’t always like this.

    We see old photo albums of happier times, toys and games that are now just reminders of fun family visits, a guitar that was once part of Max’s promising singing career, the nearby waterhole where lazy days were spent, and pencil marks on the door jamb recording the siblings’ growth.

    Perhaps the resonance of their better days will be as powerful as the enforced withdrawal in bringing Max back. But, of course, Jade’s best-laid plans don’t go as she might have hoped.

    Sam Corlett, who plays Max, also plays the role of Leif Eriksson in the popular Netflix series Vikings: Valhalla.
    Bonsai Fims

    In many ways, Max’s drug addiction is what Alfred Hitchcock would have called a McGuffin – the story element you think the film is about, when in fact the film is about something else entirely.

    In this case, that something else is love: the love Jade feels for her brother that leads to this extreme action, the love Bev feels for her son that makes her vulnerable to his unpredictable and violent behaviour, and the absence of love Max feels for himself – a void that sucks him into a self-destructive spiral.

    He Ain’t Heavy is essentially a three-handed chamber piece that delivers a triumvirate of distinctive, grounded and well-delineated performances, each one serving a sharply written screenplay imbued with an authenticity that reflects Smith’s lived experience.

    Bev (Greta Scacchi) feels a lot of lover for her son, which makes her vulnerable to his unpredictable and violent behaviour.
    Bonsai Fims

    A powerful portrait of familial love

    Without giving any spoilers, there are some narrative conveniences along the way that might detract from a lesser film. In this case, however, they are easy to forgive, in favour of the powerful viewing experience they help deliver.

    If only for the curiosity factor, it’s worth noting Leila George is also Greta Scacchi’s real-life daughter (her father is Vincent D’Onofrio). This obviously doesn’t hurt when it comes to casting for family resemblance. But this tidbit of trivia is quickly forgotten in the moments of each of their finely crafted, absorbing performances.

    In Smith’s earlier short film version, we see a plaque on the grandparents’ kitchen wall with the following aphorism:

    RECIPE FOR LIFE – pinch of persistence, dash of kindness, spoonful of laughter, heap of love.

    This is a story about a family that has exhausted its persistence, and for whom laughter is something of the past. But Jade’s extreme action is really an act of kindness. Both she and Bev, in their own ways, are driven by that heap of love.

    He Ain’t Heavy is a film that deserves the same heap of love from its audience.

    The film serves a sharply written screenplay imbued with authenticity.
    Bonsai Fims

    He Ain’t Heavy is in select cinemas from October 17.

    Chris Thompson 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. A sister’s last hope to save her brother from addiction – David Vincent Smith’s He Ain’t Heavy is a triumphant debut – https://theconversation.com/a-sisters-last-hope-to-save-her-brother-from-addiction-david-vincent-smiths-he-aint-heavy-is-a-triumphant-debut-237764

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How did public service leaders talk to staff about Robodebt? What they said – or didn’t – is revealing

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Casey, Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University

    In July 2023, after the release of the damning Robodebt Royal Commission report, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared:

    it was wrong, it was illegal, it should never have happened and it should never happen again.

    A major finding was some senior public servants were overly responsive to the wishes of ministers, to the detriment of the general public. The report describes an environment that was:

    fraught […] characterised by a powerful drive for savings, strongly expressed ministerial policy positions […] and intense pressure experienced by public servants.

    Investigating the scheme, which ran under the Morrison government, Commissioner Catherine Holmes was disturbed by “the lengths to which public servants were prepared to go to oblige ministers”, undermining the concept of impartiality and frank and fearless advice.

    The release of Rick Morton’s new book Mean Streak brings a renewed focus on the lessons from Robodebt. To learn from such a serious crisis, organisations need to openly confront what happened, discuss and understand what the failure means. What were the systemic causes? What cultural failings did it expose? How can we ensure a similar disaster does not happen again?

    Our research found little evidence these questions were being asked by many public service leaders immediately after the royal commission.

    In the six months after the royal commission report’s release, almost half of the heads of Australian Public Service (APS) agencies apparently decided they didn’t need to communicate with their staff about Robodebt and explain what it meant for them.

    What did department leaders do?

    Learning from the failure of Robodebt will take time. In 2024, the public service is investigating and punishing some of those involved and implementing a new integrity plan.

    Our research focuses on the six months after the release of the royal commission report: July to December 2023. Research shows the immediate post-crisis period is crucial to effective learning.

    But before organisations can respond, they have to interpret and understand the meaning of the failure.

    Just as the public turns to political leaders in a crisis, employees look to management. Leaders’ communication, whether by email, an all staff video, or a town hall meeting, is crucial.

    These messages set the organisational narrative that explains what happened and why, what the repercussions are, how it can be resolved, and what lessons (if any) should be drawn from the crisis.

    Three days after the royal commission report was released, the secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Glyn Davis, and Australian Public Service Commissioner Gordon de Brouwer, emailed all public service employees saying:

    we are committed to working through the findings in an open and constructive way with you — the APS — and with the Australian public.

    Our focus, however, is on how leaders of individual departments and agencies responded. Using Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, we asked how leaders communicated with staff in the crucial period straight after the commission reported.

    Departments are where policy development occurs and they often work closely with ministers.

    But only half of all public servants work for departments. The rest work across the 100 or so agencies.

    While most department heads communicated with their staff about Robodebt, only 54% of agencies’ leaders did.

    The 50 agencies that did not communicate with their staff about the meaning of Robodebt in the months following the report employ more than 45,000 people, more than 25% of the public service.

    Not my problem mentality

    Three large departments told us that “no documents were identified” or “the Department does not hold documents […] that meet the terms of the request”. This indicates they did not communicate with staff in the first six months after the Robodebt report was handed down. The departments were:

    It is not clear why those secretaries decided not to write to their staff directly about Robodebt, but the absence of communication sends a message.

    This was explicit in some responses. For example, in declining our request, we were told that the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority:

    […] is not an outwardly facing organisation and as such does not provide payments to individual recipients. Consequently, it is not required to respond to the Royal Commission and there are no documents that are relevant to your request.

    Even when there was some communication, agencies were not necessarily addressing the cultural issues. For example, the Clean Energy Regulator was focused on public perception:

    there is a heightened sense of scrutiny on regulators […] please be vigilant if you are approached by anybody working for a media outlet.

    In such circumstances, it is unlikely cultural change will occur.

    Some positive signs

    On the positive side, there were examples of agencies that addressed the serious implications of Robodebt for their work, which is likely to improve their organisational culture.

    The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) identified a number of recommendations “albeit directed at other agencies […] that ASIC should act on”. They noted that “given most of our people come from the private sector”, there was a need to improve training on “our obligations as public servants”.



    Read more:
    Two former federal departmental heads breached public service code 25 times in Robodebt scandal

    Similarly, Australian statistician David Gruen emphasised creating a culture where “people feel supported if and when they seek to raise difficult issues with their colleagues or superiors”. Similar discussions were had at AUSTRAC.

    Departments are closest to ministers, so we hoped their communications would address problems in the relationships between senior public servants and ministers, a key issue exposed in the Robodebt case.

    Unfortunately, only four departments discussed over-responsiveness with their staff or in executive meetings, in the period studied.

    The department of industry and science was the most comprehensive. Secretary Meghan Quinn wrote to staff several times, reflecting that the “findings go to the heart of leadership and culture and this should be our focus going forward”. The department’s integrity branch wrote to staff:

    public servants [must] […] provide the government with advice that is frank and honest. If you ever feel pressured to do or sign something you are not comfortable with, it’s important you speak with your supervisors […] you have the Executive’s backing not to put your name to anything that is not true or not in the public interest.

    However, this was one of the few departments where senior staff confronted these core issues directly in the early months after the royal commission reported. Most departments did not name or discuss the underlying cause of the failures: over-responsiveness to ministers at the expense of protecting the public.

    While many of the errors of Robodebt can be solved through new procedures and rules, changing public service culture is a bigger learning project.

    It requires a shift in norms and reweighting the competing duties of public servants. They must serve elected ministers, but equally, they must serve the public by ensuring probity, fairness and legality.

    Robodebt illustrated the harm that occurs when the balance tips too far towards ministers and away from the public interest.

    That this was rarely part of the communication from public service leaders to their staff in the immediate aftermath of the royal commission does not bode well for lessons being learnt from the crisis.

    Daniel Casey worked in the Department of Social Services during the period of Robodebt, but did not work on the Robodebt program.

    Maria Maley received funding from the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. How did public service leaders talk to staff about Robodebt? What they said – or didn’t – is revealing – https://theconversation.com/how-did-public-service-leaders-talk-to-staff-about-robodebt-what-they-said-or-didnt-is-revealing-240015

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Can NZ’s supply chain build enough resilience and sustainability to survive the next global crisis?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Fehrer, Associate Professor, Business School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    New Zealand is highly reliant on trade – particularly on maritime routes, which are lifelines for exports and imports. Key sectors such as agriculture, construction, and wholesale and retail trade depend heavily on this global network.

    External events can severely disrupt the flow of goods, delay deliveries or damage critical infrastructure.

    But a crisis like the COVID pandemic can also disrupt business commitments to sustainability goals such as reducing carbon emissions, minimising waste and improving resource efficiency.

    This is important, because several major New Zealand companies have introduced sustainability measures into their operations over the past decade.

    Fonterra, for example, adopted low-carbon logistics and distribution practices. Zespri uses blockchain technology to improve the transparency of its sustainable practices and enhance tracking across its supply chain. Air New Zealand partners with local suppliers and adopts initiatives to lower its carbon emissions.

    In our recent research, we reviewed 287 studies on supply chains. We identified key tensions between efficiency and sustainability, and how major disruptions to supply chains and operations can swing the balance between the two.

    On one hand, businesses are pressured to maintain lean, cost-effective operations. On the other, there is a growing recognition of the need to build resilience and sustainability, particularly in the face of climate change.

    Traditional strategies

    New Zealand’s supply chains are susceptible to disruptions from natural disasters (such as earthquakes and floods), geopolitical tensions and global health crises.

    Businesses have historically responded in a variety of ways: diversifying suppliers, increasing inventory buffers and securing alternative transport routes.

    The use of technology, such as radio frequency identification, has played a crucial role in tracking goods across the supply chain. It provides real-time visibility and accurate inventory management.

    Blockchain is becoming a key tool for making supply chains more sustainable. This technology uses a digital ledger to keep information safe and easy to trace.

    But the ongoing technological innovation risks disadvantaging people and businesses with limited resources and capabilities along the supply chain.

    Embracing a circular economy

    During the pandemic, businesses experienced shortages of critical supplies, delays in shipments and fluctuating demand. This forced them to temporarily abandon long-term sustainability strategies in favour of short-term survival tactics.

    This made sense from a business perspective. But to build more resilient and sustainable supply chains, businesses will need to move beyond traditional strategies.

    Our research found integrating circular economy principles into supply chain management can help create a buffer for businesses.

    The circular economy model focuses on minimising waste – keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible. There is also a focus on regenerating natural systems to foster economic, social and environmental resilience.

    Companies can reduce their reliance on external supply chains by focusing on reusing materials, creating closed-loop systems with regional partners and by boosting the technologies already in place.

    By fostering stronger links with local suppliers and focusing on regional sourcing, businesses can reduce their exposure to global risks. This will also help build more self-sufficient supply chain ecosystems.

    Building sustainable supply chains requires investing in advanced technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. But implementing these technologies should be done carefully and in stages to minimise disruption. Going slowly can also allow for the inclusion of all supply chain partners in these technological transitions.

    The way forward

    New Zealand’s supply chain future hinges on greater collaboration between everyone involved, including businesses, policymakers and communities.

    In practice, this means working together to build systems that are not only efficient and cost-effective but also resilient and sustainable.

    Equally, resilient supply chains require regional manufacturing ecosystems. To mitigate the risks from global supply chain disruptions, it’s essential to support local manufacturing, even when offshore manufacturing costs are lower.

    This will require government support and strategic investment in regional manufacturing innovation.

    While New Zealand’s supply chains face significant challenges, there are great opportunities to reshape them for a more resilient and sustainable future.

    By integrating circular economy principles, using advanced technologies and fostering regional collaboration, New Zealand can build supply chains that are prepared for future crises and which also contribute to the country’s sustainability goals.

    Julia Fehrer receives funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.

    Christina Stringer, Sunny Kareem, and Timofey Shalpegin 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. Can NZ’s supply chain build enough resilience and sustainability to survive the next global crisis? – https://theconversation.com/can-nzs-supply-chain-build-enough-resilience-and-sustainability-to-survive-the-next-global-crisis-241348

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Do IUDs cause breast cancer? Here’s what the evidence says

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Montgomery, Senior Lecturer in General Practice, The University of Western Australia

    PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    A new study has found a link between hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs) and breast cancer.

    The research is important, but media reports of a large increase in risk may be causing unnecessary worry.

    Let’s put the findings in perspective for people who use IUDs.

    What are IUDs?

    IUDs are commonly used contraceptive devices. They sit inside the uterus (womb) to prevent pregnancy.

    Older versions contain copper as their active ingredient. Newer “hormonal” IUDs slowly release a synthetic progesterone called levonorgestrel. This mimics the body’s natural progesterone hormone.

    Both the copper and hormonal types of IUD are highly effective at preventing pregnancy over many years. Fertility is readily restored when they’re removed.

    But the hormonal IUDs have the extra advantage of making periods lighter and less painful. Some people have one inserted for these reasons, even if they don’t need contraception.

    Many women experience pain on insertion or spotting in the first few months of use. But compared to other contraceptives, women generally find IUDs very acceptable and continue to use them.

    What did the new study find?

    The new study, by researchers from Denmark, used data from national health registries to look for links between hormonal IUD use and breast cancer.

    They tracked nearly 80,000 people who started hormonal IUDs across two decades. They compared these people to an equal number of people born at the same time who did not use hormonal IUDs.

    On their raw numbers, you might think hormonal IUDs prevented breast cancer, because there were 720 cases of breast cancer in the hormonal IUD group, and nearly 900 in the other group. But that’s not the full story.

    Ideally, when researchers study the effects of medicines, they do a “randomised controlled trial”, where researchers use chance to decide whether people get one treatment or another. This ensures the two groups are very similar apart from the treatment being studied. That’s not what happened here.



    Read more:
    Randomised control trials: what makes them the gold standard in medical research?

    Instead, they simply studied people who had decided to have a hormonal IUD, and compared them to people who didn’t. This means the groups were different in many other ways.

    So, the hormonal IUD group and the other group might appear to have a different risk of breast cancer – not because of the IUDs, but because of their other differences. For example, more highly educated women might be more likely to choose IUDs, and also more likely to attend breast cancer screening, where their breast cancer would be discovered.

    The researchers “adjusted” their results to account for many differences between the two groups (including education, age, number of children, and some other medicines and medical conditions). After this “adjustment”, the numbers pointed in a different direction: towards a higher risk of breast cancer among people who used a hormonal IUD.

    However, there are many other important risk factors for breast cancer the authors seem not to have adjusted for, such as body weight, alcohol use, smoking and physical activity. If there were differences between the two groups in these things, then the study’s results may still be biased. This makes me quite uncertain about the results.

    Ultimately, we can’t say the IUDs caused the breast cancer – just that there’s an “association” or “link”.



    Read more:
    Clearing up confusion between correlation and causation

    How big are the risks?

    There are two different ways researchers express risk: “relative” and “absolute” risks. Here, the “relative” risk increase was about 30% for women using the IUDs for up to five years, 40% after 5–10 years, and 80% after 10–15 years of use.

    These sound like massive risks. But though these statistics compare the risk of breast cancer in IUD users to the risk in non-users, they do not tell us the proportion of women who will get breast cancer. For that, we need to look at “absolute” risk increases.

    These are much smaller. For every 10,000 women, this study suggests we might see an extra 14 cases of breast cancer after up to five years of use, 29 cases after 5–10 years use, and 71 cases after 10–15 years use. In “absolute” terms – as a proportion of all the IUD users – all of these risk increases are comfortably under 1%.

    Absolute risk increases are much smaller.
    Frame Stock Footage/Shtterstock

    Reporting the dramatic relative risks, and not the much smaller absolute risks, is a common flaw in stories about health risk, and goes against science reporting recommendations.

    What does other research say?

    There are other studies on this topic, including a much larger recent study from Sweden based on data from more than half a million users of hormonal IUDs.

    This suggested only a 13% relative risk increase in breast cancer – much smaller than the risk increases in the Danish study. This would mean an additional 1.46 cases of breast cancer for every 10,000 women per year.

    This is in keeping with a recent large review of studies on this topic, which also found a much smaller risk than the new Danish paper.

    The Swedish study also looked at other cancers. The results suggested a decreased risk of cancers of the cervix, ovaries and endometrium (womb lining). This mixed picture of some cancer risk and some cancer protection is also seen for traditional contraceptive pills.

    And of course, all contraception protects women from the risks of pregnancy.

    What does it mean for me?

    The link between hormonal IUDs and breast cancer is probably very small, and might be a statistical illusion rather than a real thing.

    Even if it’s a real risk, it may be offset by protection against other cancers.

    And it may be dwarfed by other risks for breast cancer, such as high body weight, physical inactivity, alcohol use, and smoking. Online resources can help you visualise these risks.

    Hormonal IUDs aren’t the right contraceptive choice for every woman. However, they deserve to stay high up on the menu of options.

    Brett Montgomery is a GP who works academically and clinically. In his clinical work he sometimes discusses contraception with patients, including IUDs, but he does not insert IUDs himself. He has no commercial relationship with any IUD manufacturer.

    – ref. Do IUDs cause breast cancer? Here’s what the evidence says – https://theconversation.com/do-iuds-cause-breast-cancer-heres-what-the-evidence-says-241663

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A giant biotechnology company might be about to go bust. What will happen to the millions of people’s DNA it holds?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan Prictor, Senior Lecturer in Law, The University of Melbourne

    isak55/Shutterstock

    Since it was founded nearly two decades ago, 23andMe has grown into one of the largest biotechnology companies in the world. Millions of people have used its simple genetic testing service, which involves ordering a saliva test, spitting into a tube, and sending it back to the company for a detailed DNA analysis.

    But now the company is on the brink of bankruptcy. This has raised concerns about what will happen to the troves of genetic data it has in its possession.

    The company’s chief executive, Anne Wojcicki, has said she is committed to customer privacy and will “maintain our current privacy policy”.

    But what can customers of 23andMe themselves do to make sure their highly personal genetic data is protected? And should we be concerned about other companies that also collect our DNA?

    What is 23andMe?

    23andMe is one of the largest companies in the crowded marketplace for direct-to-consumer genetic testing. It was founded in 2006 in California, launching its spit test and Personal Genome Service the following year, at an initial cost of US$999. This test won Time magazine’s Invention of the Year in 2008.

    Customers eagerly took up the opportunity to order a saliva collection kit online, spit in the tube and mail it back. In a few weeks when the results were ready they could find out about their health, ancestry, and other things like food preferences, fear of public speaking and cheek dimples.

    The price of testing kits dropped rapidly (it’s now US$79). The company expanded globally and by 2015 had 1 million customers. The firm went public in 2021 and initially the stock price soared. As of 2024, the company claims 14 million people have taken a 23andMe DNA test.

    23andMe is one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies.
    T. Schneider/Shutterstock

    23andMe rode the wave of popular excitement and investor interest in genetics. It wasn’t alone. By 2022 the direct-to-consumer genetic testing market was valued at US$3 billion. The three largest players – 23andMe, AncestryDNA and MyHeritage – together hold the genetic data of almost 50 million people globally.

    There are dozens of smaller players too, with some focusing on emerging markets such as MapMyGenome in India and 23mofang and WeGene in China.

    What happened to 23andMe?

    23andMe has had a rapid downfall after the 2021 high of its public listing.

    Its value has dropped more than 97%. In 2023 it suffered a major data breach affecting almost seven million users, and settled a class action lawsuit for US$30 million.

    Last month its seven independent directors resigned amid news the original founder is planning to take the company private once more. The company has never made a profit and is reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy.

    What this might mean for its vast stores of genetic data is unclear.

    When people sign up for a 23andMe test the company assures them: “your privacy comes first”. It promises it will never share people’s DNA data with employers, insurance companies or public databases without consent. It puts choice in the hands of consumers about whether their spit sample is kept by the company, and whether their de-identified genetic and other data is used in research. Four in five people who bought a 23andMe test have agreed to their data being used in research.

    However, if you dig a bit deeper, it’s clear that 23andMe uses people’s data in many different ways, such as sharing it with service providers. Perhaps most importantly, if the company goes bankrupt or is sold, people’s information might be “accessed, sold or transferred” as well.

    In a statement to The Conversation, a 23andMe spokesperson said Wojcicki is “not open to considering third-party takeover proposals”, and that in the event of any future ownership change, the company’s existing data privacy agreements with customers “would remain in place unless and until customers are presented with, and agree to, new terms and statements – and only after receiving appropriate notice of any new terms, under applicable data protection laws”.

    Tips for people to protect their genetic data

    With 23andMe in the spotlight, people might want to take steps to protect their genetic data (although experts say there’s not really any more risk now than there has always been).

    The simplest thing is to delete your account, which opts you out of any future research and discards your saliva sample. But if your data has already been de-identified and used in research, it can’t be retrieved. And even if you delete your account, 23andMe says it will keep hold of information including your genetic data, date of birth and sex, to comply with its own legal obligations.

    Buying a DNA test online might feel fun and rewarding and it’s certainly been marketed that way. There are plenty of good news stories about how getting those test results has helped people to connect with lost family or understand more about their health risks. People just need to buy tests with their eyes open about what this might mean.

    First, the results might not be all positive. Finding out about health risks without guidance from a health professional can be scary. Learning that the person you thought was your mum or dad actually isn’t, is an outcome for as many as 1 in 20 people who’ve bought a DNA test online.

    Second, every company selling DNA tests does so with lots of legal conditions attached. People click through these without a second thought but researchers have shown it is worth taking a closer look. Consider what the company says about what it will do with your data and your sample, how long they will keep it, who else can access it, and how easy it will be to delete later.

    There are guidelines from organisations like Australian Genomics that can help. And bear in mind that if a company holding your DNA profile is sold, it might be hard to make sure that data is protected.

    So maybe reconsider giving a DNA test as a Christmas gift.

    Megan Prictor is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law.

    – ref. A giant biotechnology company might be about to go bust. What will happen to the millions of people’s DNA it holds? – https://theconversation.com/a-giant-biotechnology-company-might-be-about-to-go-bust-what-will-happen-to-the-millions-of-peoples-dna-it-holds-241557

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: When does the love of the game outweigh the cost? ABC’s Plum brings rugby league’s concussion crisis to the fore

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University

    ABC

    Brendan Cowell’s 2021 novel Plum has expertly wed two seemingly unnatural partners: rugby league and poetry. Cowell’s story is both an ode of love to rugby league, and a powerful exploration of the catastrophic effects of sport-induced brain injury.

    This story has now been brought to life in an ABC drama of the same name. It brilliantly reflects the experience of many players who are left to suffer – often in silence – with the long-term costs of the game.

    A theatre of damage revealed

    Our introduction to the main character, Peter “The Plum” Lum (played by Cowell), is jarring. Plum’s body lies motionless in a darkened changing room, enveloped by the distant sounds of a roaring stadium full of fans, a sharp referee’s whistle and the commentator’s pitched voice: “this poor bloke, he has had his head absolutely battered”.

    We watch the doctor’s light worryingly cast to and fro across Plum’s dazed gaze, while his heavily pregnant wife’s concerned face looms large. Much larger, however, is the coach’s demand: “get the salts doc” – and his insistence that “the only way he (Plum) isn’t going back out there (on the field) is if he is fucking dead”.

    And so the act proceeds, with Plum, like many athletes before and after him, returning heroically to the field. Though his team is victorious – another trophy retained – we’re forced to consider the unspoken costs of his love for the game.

    These costs are amplified once the adoration from Plum’s fans and teammates, and his mantle as Cronulla’s king, are no more. We come to know a shell of a man who is desperate to deny, despite the advice of his doctor, the cognitive and other effects of the “little jolts” and “hard head knocks” experienced throughout his career.

    The intensity with which Plum keeps his health condition a secret, and the ongoing abuse he levels on his body, provide a window into the lived experiences of many rugby league players. While this game gives, it also takes more than its fair share.

    Asher Keddie stars as Plum’s former wife, Renee.
    ABC

    Masculinity and collision sports

    The series highlights the emerging scientific link between collision sports such as rugby league and degenerative brain conditions including CTE-induced dementia – as well as attempts to discredit this science and silence the voices of athletes and families seeking redress from league administrators.

    Contact and collision sports have often required athletes to sacrifice their brains and bodies in the pursuit of glory and success.

    While a diagnosis of the degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) can only be made posthumously, Plum displays many of the hallmark symptoms: impaired judgement, impulse control issues, aggression, depression and anxiety.

    Viewers are taken into the deep fog of this existence. As a 1990s playmaker, Plum had fame but not fortune. Nearing 50, working at an airport, we see a traumatic near-miss as he experiences an epileptic seizure.

    His forgetfulness leaves him unable to remember his favourite player’s name at a Cronulla Sharks corporate event. He suffers confusion and anxiety. Aggressive acts, including punching holes in bedroom walls, become his daily pain and shame.

    Plum’s absent father’s advice to “never take a backwards step” also echoes throughout the series, reflecting the deeply embedded view of rugby league as a hard sport played by equally hard men.

    This hard man veneer is grounded in stoicism – and for Plum and his former teammates, in unhealthy addictions to gambling, drugs and grog. Plum repels his family and friends, making his world intentionally small for fear he might forget something or someone. The series brings to the fore the raw and visceral effects of hypermasculinity and not speaking out.

    Cowell himself hails from the Sydney suburb of Cronulla, where the show is set.
    ABC

    Rugby league and poetry

    The series also features poetry and the presence of past literary figures (conjured in Plum’s mind) such as Charles Bukowski and Sylvia Plath. As viewers, we see Plum’s internal dialogues with these apparitions, but his family and friends can’t.

    Plum also joins a local poetry group, where his decaying brain finds purpose and connection. This unlikely outlet becomes his therapy. It comforts him and provides him a space to communicate his experiences with the outside world. Through his ode to rugby league, we witness him come closer to clarity.



    Read more:
    Why a portrait of a former NRL great could spark greater concussion awareness in Australia

    All the while, Plum’s son is a talented player on the verge of a professional rugby league contract. And although Plum doesn’t regret a minute of his playing career, his prognosis leaves him urging his son away from the sport’s theatre of damage. This is a decision echoed by many parents in real life.

    The future of collision sports

    Reflecting on the potential impact of his book and the ABC series, Cowell imagines a space where the competitive commercial rivalries between football codes such as AFL, rugby union and soccer are suspended.

    Instead of competing for a greater share of the market via trivial one-upmanship, sport leagues could pool their resources to invest in science that helps us understand and prevent sport-induced brain trauma.

    Considering how many rugby players conceal and/or fail to report concussive episodes, we’ll need a major cultural shakeup at all levels of the game – because a love for the game should never come at the expense of oneself.

    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. When does the love of the game outweigh the cost? ABC’s Plum brings rugby league’s concussion crisis to the fore – https://theconversation.com/when-does-the-love-of-the-game-outweigh-the-cost-abcs-plum-brings-rugby-leagues-concussion-crisis-to-the-fore-240550

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Sex dolls and ‘Diddy’ costumes: the latest AFL drama shows Australian sport still can’t eradicate misogyny

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Wescott, Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences, Monash University

    Disturbing details emerged this week about AFL men’s football team GWS’ end-of-year event, themed “controversial couples”.

    The AFL handed down a range of sanctions to the players involved, including fines and suspensions.

    While those defending the players have suggested their actions were lighthearted and in the spirit of the season-end celebration, research has established a connection between rape jokes and sexual assault.

    The AFL has a tarnished history when it comes to players perpetrating violence against women.

    Despite pledging support for ending gender-based violence in Australia, this incident proves problematic cultural problems persist within AFL clubs.

    What happened?

    Following an anonymous tip-off to GWS management, it was revealed a number of players engaged in sexist, racist and degrading acts during an end-of-season event.

    Player Josh Fahey dressed up as former NRL player Jarryd Hayne and “simulated inappropriate acts on a sex doll.”

    Hayne was sentenced to four years and nine months prison for raping a woman on the night of the 2018 NRL grand final but was released earlier this year after his convictions were overturned.

    Players Connor Idun and Lachie Whitfield performed a skit involving slavery, while another pair simulated the September 11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.

    It has also been reported a sketch involving Sean “Diddy” Combs — an American rapper currently jailed on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation — was performed.

    Scholars and activists are working tirelessly to change public perceptions around violence against women. Jokes and skits themed around violence and sexual assault are harmful because they trivialise the immense harm gendered violence causes women and children.

    The AFL’s woman problem

    There are many historic examples of AFL players and athletes of other codes acting violently and disrespectfully towards women.

    Numerous current and former players, who have faced criminal charges for assaults and sexual violence towards women, have been allowed to continue playing or retain their status as celebrated players.

    Current AFL player Jordan De Goey has faced sexual assault allegations, and was briefly stood down by his club in 2021 after being charged with assault in the United States.

    He pleaded guilty to harassment and in 2022, Collingwood extended De Goey’s contract for five years.

    Recently, one of the AFL’s greatest former players, Wayne Carey, was set to be inducted as a legend in the New South Wales Football Hall of Fame, despite having a number of charges for assaulting women. However, the AFL did eventually block the move after public outcry.

    The AFL, and parts of the media, often distinguish players’ violence against women from their achievements on the field. This allows men to continue playing or repair their public image.

    It also sends a message that misogyny and violence against women are tolerated as long as the perpetrator’s talent provides value to the sport.

    The impact of athletes

    In the case of the GWS players, the AFL’s sanctions indicate the code’s willingness to take a stance on breaches of conduct.

    However, that the players believed their costumes and skits were acceptable in the first place indicates deep-seated issues in attitudes towards women.

    In each of the costume examples, sexual and racial violence formed key elements of the “joke”, indicating the AFL’s education and training on equity and diversity is not working.

    The general public tends to have high expectations of athletes’ behaviour due to their position as role models.

    It is often suggested that boys and young men require positive role models and that AFL players fit the bill, although research is not clear on whether the gender of supportive adults is relevant.

    At the moment, there is significant concern within the community about the influence of dangerous misogynist influencers on boys’ attitudes and behaviour towards women.

    Research suggests that while some young men have the skills to be critical about the messages they receive about violence and sexism, they still experience pressure to live up to restrictive rules on what it means to be a “real man.”

    Many Australians highly value AFL players’ skills and abilities on the field. This admiration and respect can also extend to their off-field lives.

    But it doesn’t mean AFL players are beyond reproach.

    More needs to be done

    The impacts of men’s violence on their victims are horrific and myriad.

    This year, the AFL partnered with Our Watch – a national leader in the primary prevention of violence against women and their children – to provide training to players and clubs and help them understand:

    • the link between gender inequality and violence against women
    • the role of sport in promoting gender equality
    • and what players can do to be active allies including taking action when they see or hear disrespect.

    While this is promising, this education must result in changed behaviour, attitudes and accountability.

    The Australian government has recently labelled violence against women a “national emergency”. Major sporting codes need to take a leading role in addressing it.

    It’s time for the AFL to honestly confront their problems with misogyny and violence against women.

    Stephanie Wescott receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)

    – ref. Sex dolls and ‘Diddy’ costumes: the latest AFL drama shows Australian sport still can’t eradicate misogyny – https://theconversation.com/sex-dolls-and-diddy-costumes-the-latest-afl-drama-shows-australian-sport-still-cant-eradicate-misogyny-241562

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –