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The Conversation
The Conversation is a network of not-for-profit media outlets that publish news stories on the Internet that are written by academics and researchers, under a Creative Commons — Attribution/No derivatives license.
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Opening with 70% of adults vaccinated, the Doherty report predicts 1.5K deaths in 6 months. We need a revised plan
One consequence of the escalating COVID outbreak in New South Wales has been increased political tension around the “national plan” for COVID reopening. Continue reading »
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Why cities planning to spend billions on light rail should look again at what buses can do
Many cities in Australia and around the world have recently made or proposed investments in new light rail systems. They often do so in the belief this will not only increase public transport use, but also lead urban renewal and improve a city’s global image. However, compared to light rail, my research shows a system of buses running along dedicated corridors, known Continue reading »
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Seriously ugly: here’s how Australia will look if the world heats by 3℃ this century
Imagine, for a moment, a different kind of Australia. One where bushfires on the catastrophic scale of Black Summer happen almost every year. One where 50℃ days in Sydney and Melbourne are common. Where storms and flooding have violently reshaped our coastlines, and unique ecosystems have been damaged beyond recognition – including the Great Barrier Continue reading »
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Yes, Australia is a land of flooding rains. But climate change could be making it worse
Over the past three years, I’ve been working on the forthcoming report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I’m a climate scientist who contributed to the chapter on global water cycle changes. It’s concerning to think some theoretical impacts described in this report may be coming to life – yet again – in Australia. Continue reading »
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Vital Signs: timing of Yallourn’s closure shows it’s high time for a carbon price
If you ever doubted the price of renewable energy was falling so rapidly it would eventually replace fossil fuels, the expedited closure of the Yallourn coal-fired power plant should change that. Continue reading »
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The death of coal-fired power is inevitable — yet the government still has no plan to help its workforce
Yallourn power station — Australia’s oldest, dirtiest coal plant — will close four years ahead of schedule in 2028. Announcing the move this week, operator Energy Australia said it will build a giant energy storage battery on the site to make room for more renewables. This is a powerful statement about where our energy system is heading. Continue reading »
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The gender bias of all-boys’ schools is obvious from the books they study in English
Fiction affects students’ social empathy. The English classroom can foster inclusion and develop appreciation for gender equity. While our private school system must denounce the most conspicuous elements of misogyny, we must also contend with the profound role that classroom learning plays in affirming or challenging a culture of oppression. Continue reading »
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Has Christian Porter been subjected to a ‘trial by media’? No, the media did its job of being a watchdog
Trial by media occurs either when media coverage prejudices the outcome of legal processes or when the media initiate an issue and then proceed to play prosecutor, judge and jury. Neither applies in the Porter case. Continue reading »
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Against the odds, South Australia is a renewable energy powerhouse. How on Earth did they do it?
Less than two decades ago, SA generated all its electricity from fossil fuels. Last year, renewables provided a whopping 60% of the state’s electricity supply. The remarkable progress came as national climate policy was gripped by paralysis – so how did it happen? Continue reading »
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‘Existential threat to our survival’: 19 Australian ecosystems already collapsing
This is not a warning but a dire wake-up call. Current changes across the continent, and their potential outcomes, pose an existential threat to our survival. But there are actions we can take to help protect or restore ecosystems. Continue reading »
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Media bargaining code dire for public interest journalism if small outlets aren’t protected
In Spain in 2014, when Google shut Google News, small independent publishers were hit far harder than the big players. If Facebook plays a similar role in Australia, then the consequences of Facebook’s recent action will be dire for public interest journalism and Australian media diversity. Continue reading »
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Porter’s IR bill: ‘tearing a gaping hole in the award safety net’
The government’s Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill before parliament was drafted at the end of a six-month consultative process that brought together employer and employee representatives to chart what the prime minister hoped would be “a practical reform agenda, a job making agenda”. Continue reading »
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National water policy: outdated, unfair and not fit for climate challenges
The findings of a report by the Productivity Commission National Water Reform 2020 matter to all Australians, whether you live in a city or a drought-ravaged town. If governments don’t manage water better then entire communities may disappear. Agriculture will suffer and nature will continue to degrade. Continue reading »
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Underinsurance entrenching poverty as the vulnerable are hit hardest by disasters
It is after extreme weather events that people’s lack of insurance is particularly distressing. But simply telling people to get more insurance is not necessarily the answer. We first need to understand why people are underinsured and work out how insurance can work better for people. Continue reading »
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A major report excoriated our environment laws. In response the environment minister cherrypicks
It’s official: Australia’s natural environment and iconic places are in deep trouble. They can’t withstand current and future threats, including climate change. And the national laws protecting them are flawed and badly outdated. Continue reading »
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Biden’s economic centrism isn’t exciting, but it’s right for these divisive times
In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it’s also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become an increasingly polarised approach to economic policy. Continue reading »
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Australia can phase out coal power while maintaining energy security
The end of coal-fired generation in Australia is inevitable. The key is for an orderly transition to spread the costs fairly. Continue reading »
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Research reveals shocking detail on how Australia’s environmental scientists are being silenced
Ecologists and conservation experts in government, industry and universities are routinely constrained in communicating scientific evidence on threatened species, mining, logging and other threats to the environment, our new research has found. Continue reading »
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Hotel quarantine report blasts government failures, but political fallout is likely to be minimal
The final report of the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry, issued by former judge Jennifer Coate, outlines monumental errors made by the Victorian government and its public servants. Continue reading »
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After two decades, the national electricity market is on its way out, and that’s alright (Dec 10, 2020)
It has been more than 20 years in the making, but there is now a new order in Australia’s grandest (and most problematic) example of cooperative federalism: the National Electricity Market. Continue reading »
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Labor is set to have itself a nervy little Christmas. It’s not too late to make 2021 sing (The Conversation Dec 8, 2020)
Federal Labor marginal seat members face a very nervy Christmas. Continue reading »
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Australia needs a national approach to combat the health effects of climate change (The Conversation Dec 6, 2020)
Australia has just recorded its hottest November on record, only months after the devastating bushfires of last summer that ruined the lives and livelihoods of thousands. Continue reading »
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The Anzac legend has blinded Australia to its war atrocities. It’s time for a reckoning (Dec 7, 2020)
For years, Australians have faced a steady stream of investigative media reports about atrocities allegedly committed by the country’s most elite soldiers in Afghanistan. Continue reading »
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What’s behind China’s bullying of Australia? It sees a soft target — and an essential one (The Conversation Dec 2, 2020)
As the diplomatic fallout continues over the digitally altered war crimes tweet sent by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, earlier this week, it’s important to note this inflammatory and offensive post is not an isolated case. Continue reading »
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Why New Zealand is ideally placed to broker a truce between China and the Five Eyes alliance (The Conversation Dec 2, 2020)
With tension escalating between China and members of the Five Eyes security alliance, most recently over a Chinese tweet that used a doctored image to attack Australia, New Zealand is arguably in a prime position to broker a kind of truce. Continue reading »
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Jeff Borland. New finding: boosting JobSeeker wouldn’t keep Australians away from paid work
Incentives, the Freakonomics author Steven Levitt once quipped, are the “cornerstone of modern life”. To this I would add: only if the incentive is big enough. Continue reading »
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JobMaker is nowhere near bold enough. Here are four ways to expand it (The Conversation Nov 10, 2020)
The government has targeted its JobMaker Hiring Credit too narrowly. Continue reading »
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Hotel quarantine interim report on outsourcing recommends changes but accountability questions remain (Kristen Rundle, The Conversation 6.11.20)
If the front line of the hotel quarantine system was simply too important a responsibility to be outsourced, it is time to get to the bottom of why this was the case, and why it might also be the case for other high-stakes government functions that carry serious consequences for public health or safety. Continue reading »
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Angelique Chan. Asian countries do aged care differently. Here’s what we can learn from them (The Conversation Oct 23, 2020)
Unlike in Western countries like Australia, traditional Asian cultures place a heavy emphasis on filial piety — the expectation children will support their parents in old age. Continue reading »
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Bruce Mountain and Steven Percy. Pumped hydro isn’t our energy future, it’s our past (The Conversation 29.10.20)
It’s now beyond dispute that — for new electricity generation — solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy are cheaper than anything else: cheaper than new coal fired power stations, cheaper than new gas-fired stations and cheaper than new nuclear power plants. Continue reading »