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“The system is too soft”: Ally Langdon fires up over stabbing death of Vyleen White

<p>Ally Langdon has called for an overhaul of the youth crime system in the wake of the violent death of Queensland grandmother Vyleen White. </p> <p>The <em>A Current Affair</em> host was discussing the death of the 70-year-old, as she became visibly frustrated while talking about the rising rates of youth crime.</p> <p>Langdon hinted at a nationwide issue, citing the recent stabbing death of young doctor Ash Gordon in Melbourne, who was also allegedly murdered by a teenager less than a month ago.</p> <p>“Whatever we’re doing to deal with youth crime, it’s failing,” she said.</p> <p>“The police do everything they can, but the system is too soft on serious crime, and we have lost faith in it and our politicians.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C29TB0HvWGj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C29TB0HvWGj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by A Current Affair (@acurrentaffair9)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Ms White’s daughter and widowed husband echoed Ally's sentiment thoughts on the program, saying, “Justice has to be done, not for my sake, for the memory of Vyleen.”</p> <p>“People want action and harsher laws for crimes they are committing,” her husband Victor said.</p> <p>“For several years (politicians) have been promising a lot, a lot of rubbish talk to the public out there, and nothing happens."</p> <p>“All you hear is increase of violence, car stealing … This is due to slackness in the law."</p> <p>“The law is weak as water.”</p> <p> Ms White’s daughter, Cindy Micallef said harsher penalties for youth crimes are needed.</p> <p>“Youth crime, I hate to say it, it’s like having a koala, it’s a protected species, there’s no action,” she said.</p> <p>“They do heinous crimes and it’s getting worse, I don’t care what nationality or race.</p> <p>“If we let people get away with this, it’s going to increase.”</p> <p>A 16-year-old boy was <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/update-on-tragic-stabbing-of-queensland-grandmother" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> with Ms White’s murder on Tuesday morning, and is also facing charges of unlawful use of a motor vehicle and stealing. </p> <p>Vyleen was <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/grandmother-fatally-stabbed-in-front-of-granddaughter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fatally stabbed</a> in the chest in Town Square Redbank Plains Shopping Centre’s underground carpark around 6pm on Saturday, while she was shopping with her granddaughter. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Facebook / A Current Affair</em></p>

Legal

How does Australia’s health system stack up internationally? Not bad, if you’re willing to wait for it

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-duckett-10730">Stephen Duckett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p>When things are going bad in the health system, we are reassured we’ve got one of the best health systems in the world. But we’re rarely told where we actually stand relative to others.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.oecd.org/health/health-at-a-glance/">new report</a> from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows where Australia is doing relatively well – and not so well. The report is more than 200 pages with dozens of charts and tables.</p> <p>Here we highlight five charts showing Australia’s relative performance. Overall, Australia’s health system performs well, but can come after long waits. And our use of antibiotics is trending in the wrong direction.</p> <h2>1. We spend less than average but live longer than average</h2> <p>Despite the rhetoric about the unsustainability of the health system, Australia performs well. When mapping health expenditure against life expectancy, Australia (marked by the red dot) sits in the best performing quadrant – and has done so for the past decade.</p> <p><iframe id="tc-infographic-996" class="tc-infographic" style="border: none;" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/996/32f7548791bf05b7559d74976bfa0b955319adc5/site/index.html" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>In contrast, the United States is stuck in the worst performing quadrant for the whole period – significantly higher spending than other countries with worse life expectancy.</p> <p>The life expectancy measure is used here but it involves an implicit assumption that the principal impact on life expectancy is from the health system, which is not really the case. Nevertheless, it is a good measure of overall system performance and combined with spending provides a good measure.</p> <h2>2. Most Australians rate their health as good or very good</h2> <p>The vast majority of Australians (about 85%) rate their health as good or very good, with Australia performing better on this metric than most other similar countries. Often good health is conflated with good health care, and the data show that Australia also has more doctors per head than other countries.</p> <p><iframe id="Ygo7Z" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Ygo7Z/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>The founding charter of the World Health Organization (WHO) recognised that health is not just the absence of disease, but a “<a href="https://www.who.int/about/accountability/governance/constitution">state of complete physical, mental and social well-being</a>”. This points to a flaw in the nexus between good health and more health professionals. The WHO focus on well-being helps to explain why it is not surprising that, looking across countries, the number of doctors doesn’t appear to be a key determinant of performance on self-rated health.</p> <h2>3. It’s harder to get a bed in aged care</h2> <p>About 30% of people in OECD countries are over 65, while the Australian proportion is about 20%. The proportion of over-65s is rising everywhere.</p> <p>A minority of older Australians (14%) use aged care, with most of these using home care. However, monitoring access to residential aged care (represented here by the number of long-term care beds per thousand population over 65) might act as a “canary in the coal mine”, highlighting where access problems exist.</p> <p><iframe id="lBe4O" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/lBe4O/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>In Australia, access to aged care beds is falling, by about 27% between 2011 and 2021. We started in the middle of the pack so this is a concern and probably contributes to more Australians being stuck in acute hospitals, rather than being in more appropriate accommodation in residential aged care. This “<a href="https://www.ama.com.au/articles/hospital-exit-block-symptom-sick-system">exit block</a>” in turn leads to problems of ambulance ramping.</p> <h2>4. Australians wait too long for public hospital hip replacements</h2> <p>Most publicly funded health systems are characterised by long waiting times for access to planned procedures such as hip replacements. Some waiting is to be expected as part of efficient management of operating theatre scheduling. But long waits, especially when the person is in pain, reflect poorly on management of the public hospital system.</p> <p><iframe id="LNntD" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/LNntD/2/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>The data shows that almost two-thirds of people waiting for hip replacement surgery in Australia waited more than three months. This is marginally worse than the OECD average. Unfortunately, our performance is deteriorating.</p> <p>A number of states, such as <a href="https://www.health.vic.gov.au/planned-surgery-reform-blueprint">Victoria</a>, have developed strategies to improve the performance of the planned procedure system, or have identified opportunities for <a href="https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/about+us/about+sa+health/reporting+and+advisory+groups/health+performance+council/health+performance+council+reports">efficiency improvements in public hospitals</a> which would help address this issue.</p> <p>Although it’s understandable that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2049080122011554">planned procedures were affected</a> by the first few years of the COVID pandemic, governments should have adapted their funding and provision systems to bring waiting times back to the pre-pandemic levels.</p> <h2>5. Our use of antibiotics is going in the wrong direction</h2> <p>Antibiotics have saved millions of lives. But public health experts have long recognised the emerging <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance">problem of antimicrobial resistance</a>, where inappropriate use of these drugs can lead to their reduced effectiveness over time.</p> <p>Worldwide campaigns to promote appropriate use of antibiotics are bearing fruit and across the OECD, use of antibiotics is going down.</p> <p>Unfortunately, Australia’s trend is in the reverse direction.</p> <p><iframe id="AK4GO" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/AK4GO/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218031/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-duckett-10730">Stephen Duckett</a>, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-australias-health-system-stack-up-internationally-not-bad-if-youre-willing-to-wait-for-it-218031">original article</a>.</em></p>

Caring

Women and low-income earners miss out in a superannuation system most Australians think is unfair

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/antonia-settle-1019551">Antonia Settle</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p>Most Australians think the superannuation system is unfair, with only one in three agreeing the retirement savings scheme is fair for most Australians, according to a survey conducted for the University of Melbourne.</p> <p>In fact, only about half of those <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/publications/research-insights/search/result?paper=4630688">surveyed</a> agreed superannuation works well for them.</p> <p>These results contradict a conventional view based on earlier studies and held by academics and many in the personal finance sector, that Australians give little thought to superannuation.</p> <p>A 2013 survey found Australians have <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/INFORMIT.285049750322819">poor knowledge</a> of how the superannuation system works, while another study in 2022 highlighted <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/4382057/HILDA_Statistical_Report_2022.pdf">low financial literacy</a> in general.</p> <p>Australians also showed <a href="https://behaviouraleconomics.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/projects/retirement-planning-saving-attitudes_0_0.pdf">little interest in superannuation</a>, according to a 2020 Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet survey, with few Australians showing interest in reading their superannuation statements, choosing their fund or making voluntary contributions.</p> <p>With Australian households seen as uninformed and uninterested, their opinions tend to be left out of the public debate. We hear much about the gender pension gap, for example, but little about what women actually think about superannuation.</p> <p>Similarly, the distribution of tax advantage in superannuation is hotly debated by economists but survey data tends to refrain from asking households what they think about equity in the superannuation system.</p> <p>The University of Melbourne survey of 1,003 Australians was undertaken by Roy Morgan Research in April.</p> <p>Its results show women and low-income households are widely seen as disadvantaged in the superannuation system.</p> <p>In fact, only one in five Australians see the superannuation system as well suited to the needs of women and of low-income households, while 70% believe super favours wealthy households.</p> <p><iframe id="5VX3K" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5VX3K/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>This suggests although Australians may show little interest in the management of their super accounts and may report they find the system confusing or even <a href="https://www.professionalplanner.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Attitudes-to-Super-Report-May-2016.pdf">boring</a>, they are surprisingly aware of how superannuation is distributed.</p> <h2>Women, singles and low-income earners miss out</h2> <p>The federal government’s 2020 <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/p2020-100554">Retirement Income Review</a> documents these gaps. Renters, women, uncoupled households and those on low-incomes fare poorly in the retirement income system.</p> <p>With little super to supplement the public pension, these groups are vastly over-represented in elderly poverty statistics, which are among the <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/d76e4fad-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/d76e4fad-en">highest in the OECD</a>.</p> <p>Mirroring the gaps in the superannuation system reported by the review, the University of Melbourne survey shows that it is outright homeowners and those who are married who believe the superannuation system works well.</p> <p>Concerns the system works poorly for women and low-income households are strongest among women and low-income households. Only one in three renters believe the superannuation system meets their needs.</p> <p><iframe id="N9GO6" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/N9GO6/1/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <p>This suggests individuals’ concerns about fairness in the superannuation system are driven by their own experiences of disadvantage, regardless of financial literacy.</p> <p>This is consistent with my own <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13563467.2023.2195159">research</a> into household attitudes to superannuation, which showed some resentment among women who were well aware their male partners had substantially higher superannuation balances than them.</p> <p>This all matters for policymakers.</p> <h2>Why public perceptions are important</h2> <p>In the short term, these results suggest public support for making super fairer is likely to be stronger than previously thought. Recent government changes to tax concessions on large balances, for example, could have gone much further without losing support from the 70% of households that think the system favours the wealthy.</p> <p>But it matters for the longer term too.</p> <p>Public perceptions of fairness, effectiveness and efficiency are crucial to policy sustainability. This is well established in the academic literature from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/spol.12683">B Ebbinghaus</a>, 2021 and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1911-3838.12171">H Chung et al.</a>, and accepted by the Retirement Income Review.</p> <p>The review assessed the public’s confidence in the system to both “deliver an adequate retirement income for them(selves) and (to) generate adequate outcomes across society”.</p> <p>As the review makes clear, the system must avoid a loss of public confidence from perceptions of unfairness.</p> <p>Yet perceptions of unfairness are exactly what the University of Melbourne results suggest. This would have been clearer to policymakers if they asked earlier.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207633/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/antonia-settle-1019551">Antonia Settle</a>, Academic (McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-and-low-income-earners-miss-out-in-a-superannuation-system-most-australians-think-is-unfair-207633">original article</a>.</em></p>

Retirement Income

The $500 million ATO fraud highlights flaws in the myGov ID system. Here’s how to keep your data safe

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rob-nicholls-91073">Rob Nicholls</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>The Australian Tax Office (ATO) paid out more than half a billion dollars to cyber criminals between July 2021 and February 2023, according to an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-26/ato-reveals-cost-of-mygov-tax-identity-crime-fraud/102632572">ABC report</a>.</p> <p>Most of the payments were for small amounts (less than A$5,000) and were not flagged by the ATO’s own monitoring systems.</p> <p>The fraudsters exploited a weakness in the identification system used by the myGov online portal to redirect other people’s tax refunds to their own bank accounts.</p> <p>The good news is there’s plenty the federal government can do to crack down on this kind of fraud – and that you can do to keep your own payments secure.</p> <h2>How these scams work</h2> <p>Setting up a myGov account or a myGov ID requires proof of identity in the form of “<a href="https://www.afp.gov.au/sites/default/files/PDF/NPC-100PointChecklist-18042019.pdf">100 points of ID</a>”. It usually means either a passport and a driver’s licence or a driver’s licence, a Medicare card, and a bank statement.</p> <p>Once a myGov account is created, linking it to your tax records requires two of the following: an ATO assessment, bank account details, a payslip, a Centrelink payment, or a super account.</p> <p>These documents were precisely the ones targeted in three large data breaches in the past year: at <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-optus-data-breach-mean-for-you-and-how-can-you-protect-yourself-a-step-by-step-guide-191332">Optus</a>, at <a href="https://theconversation.com/medibank-hackers-are-now-releasing-stolen-data-on-the-dark-web-if-youre-affected-heres-what-you-need-to-know-194340">Medibank</a>, and at <a href="https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/guidance-for-consumers-impacted-by-the-latitude-financial-services-data-breach/">Latitude Financial</a>.</p> <p>In this scam, the cyber criminal creates a fake myGov account using the stolen documents. If they can also get enough information to link to the ATO or your Tax File Number, they can then change bank account details to have your tax rebate paid to their account.</p> <p>It is a sadly simple scam.</p> <h2>How government can improve</h2> <p>One of the issues here is quite astounding. The ATO knows where salaries are paid, via the “<a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/business/single-touch-payroll/what-is-stp-/">single touch</a>” payroll system. This ensures salaries, tax and superannuation contributions are all paid at once.</p> <p>Most people who have received a tax refund will have provided bank account details where that payment can be made. Indeed, many people use precisely those bank account details to identify themselves to myGov.</p> <p>At present, those bank details can be changed within myGov without any further ado. If the ATO simply checked with the individual via another channel when bank account details are changed, this fraud could be prevented. It might be sensible to check with the individual’s employer as well.</p> <p>Part of the problem is the ATO has not been very transparent about the risks. If these risks were clearly set out, then calls for changes to ATO procedures would have been loud and clear from the cyber security community.</p> <p>The ATO is usually good at identifying when a cyber security incident may lead to fraud. For example, when the recruitment software company <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-06/australian-data-may-be-compromised-in-pageup-security-breach/9840048?itm_campaign=newsapp">PageUp was hacked in 2018</a>, the ATO required people who may have been affected to reconfirm their identities. This was done without public commentary and represents sound practice.</p> <p>Sadly, the millions of records stolen in the Optus, Medibank and Latitude Financial breaches have not led to a similar level of vigilance.</p> <p>Another action the ATO could take would be to check when a single set of bank account details is associated with more than one myGov account.</p> <p>A national digital identity would also help. However, this system has been in development for years, is not universally popular, and may well be <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/226280-gallagher-warns-community-support-for-digital-identity-not-ubiquitous/">delayed</a> until after the federal election due in 2024.</p> <h2>Protecting yourself</h2> <p>The most important thing to do is make sure the ATO does not use a bank account number other than yours. As long as the ATO only has your bank account number to transfer your tax rebate, this scam does not work.</p> <p>It also helps to protect your Tax File Number. There are only four groups that ever need this number.</p> <p>The first is the ATO itself. The second is your employer. However, remember you do not need to give your TFN to a prospective employer, and your employer only needs your TFN <em>after</em> you have started work.</p> <p>Your super fund and your bank may ask for your TFN. However, providing your TFN to your super fund or bank is optional – it just makes things easier, as otherwise they will withhold tax which you will need to claim back later.</p> <p>Of course, all the usual data safety issues still apply. Don’t share your driver’s licence details without good reason. Take similar care with your passport. Your Medicare card is for health services and does not need to be shared widely.</p> <p>Don’t open emails from people you do not know. Never click links in messages unless you are sure they are safe. Most importantly, know your bank will not send you emails containing links, nor will the ATO.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210459/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rob-nicholls-91073">Rob Nicholls</a>, Associate professor of regulation and governance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-500-million-ato-fraud-highlights-flaws-in-the-mygov-id-system-heres-how-to-keep-your-data-safe-210459">original article</a>.</em></p>

Technology

Outrage after renters confronted with cleaning “scoring system”

<p dir="ltr">An Australian real estate agent has come under fire for their “demoralising” scoring system for tenants during routine inspections. </p> <p dir="ltr">One fired up renter said they were shocked to receive a scorecard from the agent after they complied with an inspection, and shared their feedback on Reddit. </p> <p dir="ltr">The scorecard rated the tenant’s efforts cleaning the property in 17 different rooms and areas, marking them on cleanliness, and if the areas were damaged or required maintenance. </p> <p dir="ltr">The renter was then also given an overall rating out of five stars, based on the upkeep of their rental home. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Reddit user showed that they received just three and half stars, despite being marked down in only one area due to a light globe not working.</p> <p dir="ltr">In their post, the tenant said they had made every effort to clean the home, adding that the rating was “demoralising”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve been renting a long time, and my deep cleaning routine is based around inspections,” they explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I go all out - every room in my little 3x2 villa is given a spring clean, every surface is washed including walls, doors, lights, windows, carpets etc.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Had my latest inspection a few weeks ago and just received the report. Despite the agent commenting once again that she never sees houses as clean as mine, and taking 112 (!) photos of every single thing that shows how great the condition of the house is - having one light globe not working is so terrible that I’m scored three and a half out of five.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The renter went on to say that they had only recently discovered that the broken light globe was the real estate’s responsibility to replace, and does not warrant such a severe marking down in their “score”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The globe in question is a downlight fitting. We have so many downlights that I don’t even use this particular one,” they continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I can’t replace the globe itself, I need to get into the roof to replace the whole unit. Thanks to people here I’ve learned this isn’t even my responsibility to fix!”</p> <p dir="ltr">The renter’s post sparked a huge outrage online, with many up in arms over the current state of the rental market and unrealistic expectations of estate agents. </p> <p dir="ltr">One person said, “I fully believe that the average renter keeps a home to a higher standard than an owner, and it seems deliberately demoralising that someone could be marked down for having a light out.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another added, “This is ridiculously petty, and more importantly, totally irrelevant to the purpose of a periodic inspection. Which is to identify whether any maintenance is needed.”</p> <p dir="ltr">A third person took their anger out on the entire system, summing it up by writing, “I sort of wonder what little lightbulb clicks in your mind and you wake up one day and ask yourself, ‘How can I be a massive c*** who offers no value to society? I know! I will get into real estate.’”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Reddit</em></p>

Real Estate

An El Niño looms over Australia’s stressed electricity system – and we must plan for the worst

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dylan-mcconnell-1602">Dylan McConnell</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/iain-macgill-576">Iain MacGill</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>The Bureau of Meteorology this week declared a 70% chance of an <a href="https://media.bom.gov.au/releases/1170/the-bureau-of-meteorology-issues-an-el-nino-alert/">El Niño</a> developing this year. It’s bad timing for the electricity sector, and means Australians may face supply disruptions and volatile prices.</p> <p><a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a008-el-nino-and-australia.shtml">El Niño events</a> are <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-floods-to-fire-a-climate-scientist-on-the-chances-el-nino-will-hit-australia-this-year-197408">associated with</a> increased temperatures and heatwaves. These conditions drive demand for electricity, especially in summer.</p> <p>These same conditions can also mean some generators don’t produce at full capacity. And unfortunately, the likely El Niño comes as the electricity sector grapples with other significant headwinds.</p> <p>Australia’s electricity grid may be fine this summer. But given what’s on the horizon, it would be prudent to plan for the worst.</p> <h2>How does hot weather affect energy supplies?</h2> <p>Increased air conditioning use in summer can cause <a href="https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/nem/planning_and_forecasting/nem_esoo/2022/forecasting-approach-electricity-demand-forecasting-methodology.pdf">demand to peak</a>, particularly during heatwaves, as the below graph shows.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530604/original/file-20230607-27-m1kddg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530604/original/file-20230607-27-m1kddg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=208&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530604/original/file-20230607-27-m1kddg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=208&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530604/original/file-20230607-27-m1kddg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=208&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530604/original/file-20230607-27-m1kddg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530604/original/file-20230607-27-m1kddg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530604/original/file-20230607-27-m1kddg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Scatterplot of New South Wales demand and temperature, example based on 2017 calendar year" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scatterplot of New South Wales demand and temperature, example based on 2017 calendar year.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AEMO</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>At the same time, electricity generators – including coal, gas, <a href="https://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/projects/esci/esci-case-studies/case-study-heat/">solar and wind</a> – can become less efficient in hot temperatures, and so provide less energy to the system. And the hotter transmission lines get, the less electrical current they can safely carry. This lowers their capacity to transport energy.</p> <p>When the electricity grid is under stress, this can lead to “load shedding” or blackouts – when power companies deliberately switch off the power supply to groups of customers to prevent the overall system from becoming dangerously unstable.</p> <p>This happened in Victoria in early 2019, when more than <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-26/victorian-blackouts-what-caused-them-and-is-this-the-new-normal/10751412">200,000 customers</a> lost power during a period of extreme heat.</p> <p>El Niño events are also associated with reduced rainfall. Among other effects on the electricity grid, this can reduce output from hydroelectricity generators (which produce electricity by pumping water through turbines). This <a href="https://theconversation.com/praying-for-rain-50085">occurred</a> in Tasmania in 2016, and contributed to an energy crisis in that state.</p> <h2>Other headwinds are blowing</h2> <p>Aside from facing a likely El Niño, the electricity sector faces other headaches.</p> <p>Earlier this year, the Australian Energy Market Operator <a href="https://aemo.com.au/newsroom/media-release/aemo-issues-nem-reliability-update">warned</a> electricity demand “may exceed supply” at times over the next decade due to factors such as weather conditions or generator outages.</p> <p>The market operator pointed to delays to the Snowy 2.0 hydro project and the gas-fired <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/new-snowy-ceo-can-t-rule-out-further-delays-at-projects-20230213-p5cjzr">Kurri Kurri Power Station</a>, both in New South Wales.</p> <p>The Kurri Kurri project has been delayed for a year. It was scheduled to begin operating in December this year – in time for the first summer since the Liddell coal-fired power station closed.</p> <p>The Australian Energy Market Operator said the electricity system was expected to meet the “reliability standard” in all regions for the next five years. The <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/energy-system/electricity/electricity-system/reliability#:%7E:text=What%20is%20the%20Reliability%20Standard,to%20be%20met%20each%20year.">standard requires</a> at least 99.998% of forecast demand be met each year. Unmet demand can lead to interrupted supply, or blackouts.</p> <p>But the operator also said delays to the Kurri Kurri project posed risks to reliability in NSW this summer.</p> <p>Adding to the pressures on the system, Queensland’s Callide C coal-fired power station is still not back to capacity more than two years after an explosion at the site. The station’s owners last week <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/energy-grid-fears-as-callide-c-return-delayed-until-mid-2024-20230529-p5dc90">announced</a> the plant would not be fully operational until mid-2024.</p> <p>Combine all this with a likely El Niño, and the electricity sector may be facing a challenging summer.</p> <h2>El Niño years are not normal</h2> <p>In August, the Australian Energy Market Operator is due to publish a new <a href="https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/nem/planning_and_forecasting/nem_esoo/2022/esoo-and-reliability-forecast-methodology-document-2022.pdf">assessment</a> of the grid’s expected reliability over the next decade. It may well show reliability standards will be achieved.</p> <p>On first blush, that sounds like good news. However, the way the assessment is derived may mask the real risk during El Niño periods.</p> <p>The assessment combines a number of scenarios, which are based on different <a href="https://aemo.com.au/en/energy-systems/electricity/national-electricity-market-nem/nem-forecasting-and-planning/forecasting-and-reliability/projected-assessment-of-system-adequacy">forecasts</a> of electricity demand. The scenarios based on average weather conditions are given the most weight.</p> <p>But if an El Niño arrives, this summer will not be average. We’re likely to experience very hot and dry conditions. This may lead to higher demands on the energy system, and a greater likelihood of blackouts.</p> <p>This won’t be properly reflected in the assessment. So the grid may be deemed reliable even though electricity supplies are under immense pressure.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530771/original/file-20230608-30-lb28wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530771/original/file-20230608-30-lb28wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530771/original/file-20230608-30-lb28wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530771/original/file-20230608-30-lb28wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530771/original/file-20230608-30-lb28wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530771/original/file-20230608-30-lb28wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530771/original/file-20230608-30-lb28wc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="repair person climbs power pole" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The grid may be deemed reliable even though it’s under pressure.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>What can be done?</h2> <p>You might find all this news worrying. But there are measures and technologies in place to help reduce the risks.</p> <p><a href="https://aemo.com.au/en/energy-systems/electricity/emergency-management/reliability-and-emergency-reserve-trader-rert">A mechanism</a> exists that allows the market operator to secure emergency energy reserves. It could mean, for example, calling on a large industrial plant to pause operations to reduce its electricity use, or starting up a standby diesel generator. The operator can start procuring this months ahead of time, and will no doubt be monitoring the situation closely.</p> <p>In the medium term, the uptake of so-called “consumer energy resources” such as rooftop solar farms and small-scale battery storage shows promise. These technologies are located at homes and businesses. They can reduce demand on the grid at peak times and can potentially be built faster than big projects.</p> <p>Longer term, we need to build more “stuff”. This includes renewable energy and other “dispatchable” resources – which can provide energy when it’s needed – as well as more transmission infrastructure.</p> <p>Several federal funding measures – the <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/energy-supply/capacity-investment-scheme">Capacity Investment Scheme</a> and <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/news-media/news/rewiring-nation-supports-its-first-two-transmission-projects">Rewiring the Nation</a> – might help realise these projects.</p> <p>The reality is that ageing coal plants are closing – and while they remain open, they’re contributing to reliability challenges in the energy system. Unchecked climate change will also add considerable strain, through natural disasters and more extreme weather.</p> <p>Unfortunately, investment in renewable and other low-emission technology has been <a href="https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/news/clean-energy-construction-peaks-as-investment-pipeline-battles-headwinds">slower than necessary</a>. This has slowed Australia’s emissions reduction efforts and cast questions over the reliability of our energy supplies as an El Niño looms.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207210/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dylan-mcconnell-1602">Dylan McConnell</a>, Senior Research Associate, Renewable Energy & Energy Systems Analyst, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/iain-macgill-576">Iain MacGill</a>, Joint director, Collaboration on Energy and Environmental Markets, and Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-el-nino-looms-over-australias-stressed-electricity-system-and-we-must-plan-for-the-worst-207210">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Technology

Want an easy $400 a year? Ditch the gas heater in your home for an electric split system

<p>Earlier this month, regulators <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-electricity-prices-going-up-again-and-will-it-ever-end-201869">flagged</a> power price rises in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Like many people, you’re probably wondering how you can minimise the financial pain.</p> <p>Getting rid of gas and electrifying everything in your home can save you money. <a href="https://renew.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Report-Limiting-energy-bills-by-getting-off-gas.pdf">Modelling</a> by not-for-profit organisation Renew showed annual bills last year for a <a href="https://www.nathers.gov.au/owners-and-builders/home-energy-star-ratings">seven-star</a> all-electric home with solar power were between 69% (Western Sydney) and 83% (Hobart) cheaper than bills for a three-star home with gas appliances and no solar. </p> <p>There are other reasons to kick the gas habit, too. As renewables form an ever-growing part of Australia’s energy mix, electrifying the home increasingly helps tackle climate change. What’s more, there are sound <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2023/02/a-heated-debate--how-safe-are-gas-stoves--">health</a> reasons to get rid of gas appliances.</p> <p>But where do you start? And how do you get the best bang for your buck? Here, I offer a few tips.</p> <h2>A quick guide to home energy use</h2> <p>Australian home energy use can be separated into a few categories: </p> <ul> <li>space heating and cooling</li> <li>water heating</li> <li>cooking</li> <li>vehicles </li> <li>other appliances (many of which are largely already electric). </li> </ul> <p>Of the appliances that typically depend on gas, the <a href="https://www.rewiringaustralia.org/report/castles-and-cars-discussion-paper">largest component</a> (37%) is space heating, followed by hot water (24%) and cooking (6%). </p> <p>This varies between states. Victoria, for example, is particularly dependent on gas. </p> <p>But the breakdown above gives some insight into the largest contributors to energy costs in the average Australian home – particularly in the cooler southern regions.</p> <p>While both gas and electricity costs are rising, as they are now in most states, all-electric homes can expect lower overall increases. <a href="https://renew.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Report-Limiting-energy-bills-by-getting-off-gas.pdf">Analysis</a> by Renew has shown ditching the old gas heater in favour of a split system/reverse cycle air-conditioner (without solar panels) can lead to average savings of A$546 each year in Canberra, $440 in Adelaide, $409 in Melbourne and $256 in Perth. </p> <p>Heating a space with a reverse-cycle air conditioner is about four times more efficient than using natural gas. And when the electricity is generated by renewables, it can be done with zero greenhouse gas emissions.</p> <p>And what about heating water? Using the existing electricity grid, the cost of using an electric heat pump is around half that of using a natural gas water heater. </p> <p>The costs fall even lower if a household shifts to solar panels subsidised or financed by government, backed by a home battery providing the energy. In this case, heating costs are around a third of using gas.</p> <h2>So what’s the payback?</h2> <p>Buying new appliances costs money. So it’s important to examine the “payback” period - in other words, the length of time it takes for energy bill savings to equal the cost of the initial investment in a new appliance. </p> <p>The payback period can vary depending on:</p> <ul> <li>cost and quality of the appliance</li> <li>an appliance’s energy rating</li> <li>size of the system</li> <li>for space heating, whether a split system is replacing an existing ducted system or being added on externally.</li> </ul> <p>A <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CC_MVSA0323-CC-Report-Gas-vs-Electricity_V4-Single.pdf">report</a> last year by the Climate Council calculated the approximate cost differences between higher and lower-end electric appliances. Lower-end hot water heat pumps, reverse-cycle air conditioner and induction stoves were priced around $7,818 all together, while higher-end appliances cost around $14,936 together.</p> <p>Both scenarios included installation costs and $3,000 for electrical upgrades and other costs. </p> <p>The payback period for low-priced appliances ranged from five years in Hobart and Canberra to 15 years in Perth and Sydney. Higher-priced appliances were in the order of eight to ten years for most cities and 12, 16 and 19 years for Melbourne, Perth and Sydney respectively.</p> <p>Rolled out at scale, household electrification is also a feasible way to reduce gas demand. It may be the only practical option available to decarbonise residential energy. </p> <p>As research <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196890422013802#b0130">recently suggested</a>, so-called “green” hydrogen – made by using low-carbon electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – is unlikely to emerge as a cheap replacement for gas boilers. And why look for a technological solution to a problem we already know how to solve?</p> <p>Modelling by <a href="https://environmentvictoria.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Vic-Gas-Market-Demand-Side-Study-Final-Report-1.pdf">Environment Victoria</a> has shown installing heat pumps for heating and cooling would reduce statewide gas use by 48 petajoules a year, compared to the relatively minimal 0.5 petajoules saved by installing induction cooktops. </p> <p>At the same scale – and using a similar technology – replacing gas hot water with heat pump hot water reduces household gas use by 10 petajoules each year. That’s an enormous saving of gas.</p> <h2>The bigger picture for all-electric homes</h2> <p>Existing homes can benefit from a combination of electrification, rooftop solar and batteries. They can also benefit from energy efficiency measures such as installing insulation, stopping draughts, closing off rooms and wearing the right clothing for the season.</p> <p>We can work together to speed up the transition to renewable energy and reduce the demand for gas.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-an-easy-400-a-year-ditch-the-gas-heater-in-your-home-for-an-electric-split-system-201941" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

Major overhaul of Aussie superannuation system touted

<p>There may be a major change coming to Australia's $3.3 trillion superannuation system, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers looking to crack down on early access.</p> <p>Chalmers will be speaking to call for an objective for superannuation that will emphasise the need for it to be preserved until retirement.</p> <p>This would make it harder for Australians to access their funds early.</p> <p>The federal opposition are taking a different stance and have pushed for early access to remain open as part of a first home buyers scheme.</p> <p>John Kehoe, Australian Financial Review economics editor, told Today $36 billion had been withdrawn from Australians’ collective super during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>"That's something that Labor wants to shut the door on," he said.</p> <p>Kehoe said there were two sides to the first home buyers scheme, saying that people accessing their super early could drive prices higher.</p> <p>"The retirement income system showed the best way to have financial security in retirement is owning your own home," he said.</p> <p>"It is people renting in retirement that do it really tough.”</p> <p>Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie expressed her view on the proposal, saying life wasn't "black and white.”</p> <p>"There are things that happen in our lives where that money may come in handy, whether it is part of that money, or 20 per cent of that money, just to keep us afloat," she said.</p> <p>"And especially in the next two years, if we are going into recession, if there are guys out there who can dig in to make sure we can keep the roof over their head, to continue to pay their house rates, we have to be a bit more flexible than that when we are going through tough times."</p> <p>Image credit: Getty</p>

Retirement Life

"You have to beg for help": how our welfare system pressures people to perform vulnerability

<p>People who rely on welfare payments to survive are often required to repeatedly tell stories of their personal hardships.</p> <p>In a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/07/job-seekers-could-have-welfare-stopped-under-onerous-new-points-based-system-advocates-warn">conditional welfare system</a>, many must regularly attend compulsory appointments, job search training courses, and self-development and treatment programs simply to receive their payments.</p> <p>People in extreme hardship often tell their stories even more frequently as they seek extra relief from non-government charities and community providers.</p> <p>Those on income support payments below the relative poverty line feel the crunch of <a href="https://www.ncoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NCOSS_CostOfLiving22_FINAL_DESIGNED.pdf">inflation and rising living costs</a> most severely. This means many will require extra support from welfare services to meet their basic needs.</p> <p>Integral to this system is the idea of “performing vulnerability”.</p> <p>“Performing vulnerability” – a term I borrow from UK-based researcher <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/vulnerability-and-young-people">Kate Brown</a> to update Australian academic <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/lowest-rung/FA159318C2D046EDD3C9347C8B8E4F2E">Mark Peel’s</a> idea of “performing poverty” – is not just about repeatedly describing personal hardship. </p> <p>It points to the expectation to describe hardship in particular ways that are recognisable – and hence believable – to support providers.</p> <p>My book, <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/making-a-life-on-mean-welfare">Making a Life on Mean Welfare: Voices from Multicultural Sydney </a>shows how the expectation to perform vulnerability to access support shapes experiences on both sides of the welfare frontline. </p> <p>It can compound the cycle of disadvantage associated with receiving welfare in the long term. It does so by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038026119876775">fostering mistrust</a> between welfare users and providers, as well as tainting how people in need of support see themselves and their situation.</p> <h2>‘Tell me your story’</h2> <p>For my doctoral research, I spent 18 months speaking to welfare users and workers in culturally and linguistically diverse southwest Sydney. I also observed different aspects of service delivery while volunteering at a community welfare organisation. I interviewed 25 welfare users and 11 community welfare practitioners.</p> <p>As a researcher of everyday experiences of welfare and poverty, I know all too well what it is like to ask people to tell their stories of hardship yet again.</p> <p>I also grew up in an impoverished family reliant on welfare to get by. I know firsthand what the impact of retelling stories of hardship can be, particularly when the audience is, as Peel <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/lowest-rung/FA159318C2D046EDD3C9347C8B8E4F2E">puts</a> it, “someone who has the power to give or deny them something they need”.</p> <p>One of the community welfare practitioners I interviewed summed it up by saying: "They’re coming again feeling ashamed. They’ve knocked on someone’s door, to tell yet again how shitty their situation is."</p> <p>Her response was to chat and put them at ease before saying, “Can you tell me your story?” She would follow up by saying, “You’ve given me some insight, let’s formalise your story a little bit.”</p> <p>Some welfare workers showed more scepticism, particularly when it came to giving out emergency relief. </p> <p>When someone refused to share more than the minimum information required to be eligible for extra assistance, one welfare worker commented: "That person doesn’t want to take responsibility."</p> <p>Another practitioner told me, “That woman dramatised her situation,” but quickly added, “That doesn’t mean she wasn’t genuine.”</p> <p>The willingness of people seeking assistance to disclose personal hardships and do so convincingly impacts on how deserving they may come across to those delivering support. The pressure to perform can overshadow encounters between welfare users and workers even when it doesn’t determine the outcome.</p> <h2>‘It’s your dignity’</h2> <p>Among the most marginal welfare recipients I spoke to, “performing vulnerability” was another toll of poverty.</p> <p>Those experiencing the worst hardship frequently told me about having to explain “the ins and outs” and feeling “embarrassed”, “intimidated” or “uncomfortable” when they had to present to welfare agencies.</p> <p>Two young people (whom I have given fictional names) powerfully conveyed the cost of telling all about their struggles:</p> <blockquote> <p>Kane: Often if you go to them sorts of people (welfare agencies) you’ve gotta put it all out there, that you’re homeless, that you got nothing, you got no friends, no family – and then they’re gonna go boom “alright” (you get the help you came for)…</p> <p>Nessa: Yeah, that’s what I had to do to get a house and it’s embarrassing (talking over each other) I think it’s embarrassing.</p> <p>Kane: You gotta go down to those levels you know – it’s wrong.</p> <p>Nessa: When you gotta expose everything and don’t want to, it’s, like, your dignity.</p> <p>Kane: Yeah, it’s everything.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Performing is not pretending</h2> <p>The most marginal welfare users get a great deal of practice performing their hardship. But knowing how to tell their story a certain way is not the same as pretending.</p> <p>Not only do people at the sharp end of the welfare system have to endure the hardships of poverty, but they must then recite it in a way that registers as genuine, pressing and beyond reprieve.</p> <p>As a woman living on the disability support pension put it:"You don’t have the flexibility that a rich person has to respond to crisis, so you have to beg for help. That takes time! And you know you’ll be judged like it’s your fault."</p> <p>A welfare system that demands disclosure of personal hardships – even when geared towards being <a href="https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/doi/full/10.1111/1468-4446.12740">supportive</a> rather than suspicious – can undermine dignity and hold back those unwilling or unable to tell their story convincingly or in enough detail.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-have-to-beg-for-help-how-our-welfare-system-pressures-people-to-perform-vulnerability-180975" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Retirement Income

Did COVID harm my immune system?

<p>So you’ve had COVID and have now recovered. You don’t have ongoing symptoms and luckily, you don’t seem to have developed <a href="https://theconversation.com/long-covid-how-researchers-are-zeroing-in-on-the-self-targeted-immune-attacks-that-may-lurk-behind-it-169911" target="_blank" rel="noopener">long COVID</a>.</p> <p>But what impacts has COVID had on your overall immune system?</p> <p>It’s early days yet. But growing evidence suggests there are changes to your immune system that may put you at risk of other infectious diseases.</p> <p>Here’s what we know so far.</p> <h2>A round of viral infections</h2> <p>Over this past winter, many of us have had what seemed like a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-and-my-kids-get-so-many-colds-and-with-all-this-covid-around-should-we-be-isolating-too-179302" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continual round</a> of viral illness. This may have included COVID, <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/influenza-seasonal#tab=tab_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">influenza</a> or infection with <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/respiratory-syncytial-virus/symptoms-causes/syc-20353098" target="_blank" rel="noopener">respiratory syncytial virus</a>. We may have recovered from one infection, only to get another.</p> <p>Then there is the re-emergence of infectious diseases globally such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-talk-about-monkeypox-without-shame-and-blame-188295" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monkeypox</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-latest-polio-cases-have-put-the-world-on-alert-heres-what-this-means-for-australia-and-people-travelling-overseas-188989" target="_blank" rel="noopener">polio</a>.</p> <p>Could these all be connected? Does COVID somehow weaken the immune system to make us more prone to other infectious diseases?</p> <p>There are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128009475000168?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many reasons</a> for infectious diseases to emerge in new locations, after many decades, or in new populations. So we cannot jump to the conclusion COVID infections have given rise to these and other viral infections.</p> <p>But evidence is building of the negative impact of COVID on a healthy individual’s immune system, several weeks after symptoms have subsided.</p> <h2>What happens when you catch a virus?</h2> <p>There are three possible outcomes after a viral infection:</p> <p>1) your immune system clears the infection and you recover (for instance, with <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/ear-nose-throat/Pages/Rhinovirus-Infections.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rhinovirus</a> which causes the common cold)</p> <p>2) your immune system fights the virus into “latency” and you recover with a virus dormant in our bodies (for instance, <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/chickenpox" target="_blank" rel="noopener">varicella zoster virus</a>, which causes chickenpox)</p> <p>3) your immune system fights, and despite best efforts the virus remains “chronic”, replicating at very low levels (this can occur for <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hepatitis C virus</a>).</p> <p>Ideally we all want option 1, to clear the virus. In fact, most of us <a href="https://biosignaling.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12964-022-00856-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clear SARS-CoV-2</a>, the virus that causes COVID. That’s through a complex process, using many different parts of our immune system.</p> <p>But international evidence suggests changes to our immune cells after SARS-CoV-2 infection may have other impacts. It may affect our ability to fight other viruses, as well as other pathogens, such as bacteria or fungi.</p> <h2>How much do we know?</h2> <p>An <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-021-02228-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian study</a> has found SARS-CoV-2 alters the balance of immune cells up to 24 weeks after clearing the infection.</p> <p>There were changes to the relative numbers and types of immune cells between people who had recovered from COVID compared with healthy people who had not been infected.</p> <p>This included changes to cells of the <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/organ-systems/the-immune-system/a/innate-immunity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">innate immune system</a> (which provides a non-specific immune response) and the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21070/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adaptive immune system</a> (a specific immune response, targeting a recognised foreign invader).</p> <p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1009742" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Another study</a> focused specifically on <a href="https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immunology/cells/dendritic-cells" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dendritic cells</a> – the immune cells that are often considered the body’s “first line of defence”.</p> <p>Researchers found fewer of these cells circulating after people recovered from COVID. The ones that remained were less able to activate white blood cells known as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/T-cell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">T-cells</a>, a critical step in activating anti-viral immunity.</p> <p>Other studies have found different impacts on T-cells, and other types of white blood cells known as <a href="https://askabiologist.asu.edu/b-cell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">B-cells</a> (cells involved in producing antibodies).</p> <p>After SARS-CoV-2 infection, one study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI140491" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found evidence</a> many of these cells had been activated and “exhausted”. This suggests the cells are dysfunctional, and might not be able to adequately fight a subsequent infection. In other words, sustained activation of these immune cells after a SARS-CoV-2 infection may have an impact on other inflammatory diseases.</p> <p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-021-00749-3#citeas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One study</a> found people who had recovered from COVID have changes in different types of B-cells. This included changes in the cells’ metabolism, which may impact how these cells function. Given B-cells are critical for producing antibodies, we’re not quite sure of the precise implications.</p> <p>Could this influence how our bodies produce antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 should we encounter it again? Or could this impact our ability to produce antibodies against pathogens more broadly – against other viruses, bacteria or fungi? The study did not say.</p> <h2>What impact will these changes have?</h2> <p>One of the main concerns is whether such changes may impact how the immune system responds to other infections, or whether these changes might worsen or cause other chronic conditions.</p> <p>So more work needs to be done to understand the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on a person’s immune system.</p> <p>For instance, we still don’t know how long these changes to the immune system last, and if the immune system recovers. We also don’t know if SARS-CoV-2 triggers other chronic illnesses, such as <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-cfs-me" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chronic fatigue syndrome</a> (myalgic encephalomyelitis). Research into this is ongoing.</p> <p>What we do know is that having a healthy immune system and being vaccinated (when a vaccine has been developed) is critically important to have the best chance of fighting any infection.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/ive-had-covid-and-am-constantly-getting-colds-did-covid-harm-my-immune-system-am-i-now-at-risk-of-other-infectious-diseases-188899" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Body

AI system sees beyond the frame of famous artworks

<p dir="ltr">A new AI tool can provide a glimpse of what could potentially be going on beyond the frame of famous paintings, giving them a brand new life. </p> <p dir="ltr">OpenAI, a San Francisco-based company, has created a new tool called 'Outpainting' for its text-to-image AI system, DALL-E. </p> <p dir="ltr">Outpainting allows the system to imagine what's outside the frame of famous works such as <em>Girl with The Pearl Earring</em>, <em>Mona Lisa</em> and <em>Dogs Playing Poker</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">DALL-E relies on artificial neural networks (ANNs), which simulate the way the brain works in order to learn and create an image from text. </p> <p dir="ltr">Now with Outpainting, users must describe the extended visuals in text form for DALL-E to “paint” the newly imagined artwork. </p> <p dir="ltr">Outpainting, which is primarily aimed for professionals who work with images, will let users 'extend their creativity' and 'tell a bigger story', according to OpenAI. </p> <p dir="ltr">US artist August Kamp used Outpainting to reimagine the famous 1665 painting <em>Girl with a Pearl Earring</em> by Johannes Vermeer, extending the background in the original style. </p> <p dir="ltr">The results show the iconic subject in a domestic setting, surrounded by crockery, houseplants, fruit, boxes and more.</p> <p dir="ltr">Other Outpainting attempts took a more creative turn, with one showing the <em>Mona Lisa</em> surrounded by a dystopian wasteland, and a version of <em>A Friend In Need</em> showing an additional table of gambling canines.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Outpainting: an apocalyptic Mona Lisa” by tonidl1989<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dalle?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dalle</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dalle2?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dalle2</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/aiart?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#aiart</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/aiartwork?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#aiartwork</a> <a href="https://t.co/puYVxjyFMm">pic.twitter.com/puYVxjyFMm</a></p> <p>— Best Dalle2 AI Art 🎨 (@Dalle2AI) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dalle2AI/status/1565168579376566278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Used DALL-E 2’s new “outpainting” feature to expand the world’s greatest work of art… <a href="https://t.co/0HXQzngt9P">pic.twitter.com/0HXQzngt9P</a></p> <p>— M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) <a href="https://twitter.com/mgsiegler/status/1565398150482784256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">DALL-E is available to more than one million people to create AI-generated images, all with a series of text prompts. </p> <p dir="ltr">DALL-E is just one of many AI systems infiltrating the art world, joining the likes of Midjourney and Imagen redefining how we create and appreciate art. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: DALL-E - August Kamp</em></p>

Art

Australia has a new bushfire danger rating system

<p>Australia has a new bushfire danger rating system.</p> <p>Fire danger ratings describe the potential level of danger should a bushfire start. They provide people with information so they can take action to protect themselves and others from the potentially dangerous impacts of bushfires.</p> <p>The Australian Fire Danger Rating System (or AFDRS) has in many ways been a project more than 50 years in the making – only now it’s replacing the modelling originally developed in the 1960s with more precise scientific understandings of fuel sources, fire and human behaviours.</p> <p>The new system will extend to the way information is delivered to the public. While many roadside signs will be refreshed, some jurisdictions will instead use more modern communications like the internet and social media to relay information to their communities.</p> <p>So how does a sixty-year-old system – and the science behind it – get an overhaul?</p> <h2>The science behind the new fire danger ratings</h2> <p>While the public sees a colour-coded dial on a road sign, or catches an emergency update on the radio, there is a substantial body of scientific modelling underlying a system which covers one of the world’s largest countries by area.</p> <p>One of the most important changes to the AFDRS science is the expansion of vegetation models used to predict fire behaviour.</p> <p>Previously, the system considered just two types of vegetation – grassland and forest.</p> <p>Now, it’s eight.</p> <p>Grassland and forest remain, but the models have been refined and expanded to include grassy woodlands, spinifex, shrubland, mallee heath, button grass and pine forest.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/fire-1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>The left map of Australia shows how fire modelling has seen Australia for the best part of sixty years, the right indicates how the nation will be viewed from September 1.</p> <p>That, says Dr Stuart Matthews, a principal project officer at NSW Rural Fire Service who led the science update for AFDRS, is because Australia is a land of more than just sweeping grassplains and expansive gum forests.</p> <p>“There’s very diverse range of vegetation across the whole country and pretending it’s all either grasslands or open, dry sclerophyll forest just isn’t an accurate representation,” says Matthews.</p> <p>The eight new vegetation models include the ability to consider 22 different fuel types.</p> <p>Creating a system that uses four times as many models is an involved process – one that has covered almost a decade of research, prototyping and public engagement. And the science goes beyond the expansion of vegetation analysis.</p> <p>Working closely with the Bureau of Meteorology to understand weather and climate patterns, the atmospheric science and reporting provided to both the AFDRS and the wider public has been updated to reflect the new vegetation modelling.</p> <h2>How the science moves the dial</h2> <p>Fire authorities use sophisticated systems to determine the rating for any given point in time.</p> <p>These systems – which are to be used nationally – divide the Australian landmass into 2.25 square kilometre units and analyses the fuel source within them.</p> <p>These units also reflect data on when the last time fuel in the region was burnt-through.</p> <p>Combined with the latest forecasts for areas from the weather bureau, information is placed into the fire behaviour model appropriate for the area. The system then creates a textual description of what a burning fire in that area would do, including its rate of spread, heat intensity and flame height.</p> <p>This description is then transferred to a series of tables which converts the description into a numerical value.</p> <p>This value aligns to a rating category on the Fire Behaviour Index, a ‘stepped’ indicator that allows authorities to prepare systems and resourcing to respond in the event of a fire.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/fire-2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>This index effectively guides local authorities’ actions on days of fire risk.</p> <p>For the public, it’s the guide to moving the dial on road signs.</p> <p>There are five categories on the behaviour index: no rating, moderate, high, extreme and catastrophic.</p> <p>Until the end of August 2022, the scale includes ratings like ‘low-moderate’, ‘very high’, and ‘severe’ – these have been retired.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/fire-3.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>The ‘no rating’ acts as the “parking bay” for the roadside needle, advising the public of the lowest risk conditions.</p> <p>But there’s science behind that too.</p> <p>‘No rating’ days align to conditions appropriate for a controlled, prescribed burn.</p> <p>“For instance, in forest, prescribed burnings are normally done at a heat output of about 750 kilowatts per metre,” says Matthews.</p> <p>“So, in forests, if the prediction coming out of the model was that intensity would be less than 750kW, it would be classified in the ‘no rating’ range.”</p> <p>Anything above 750kW in a forest community would force authorities to ‘grade up’.</p> <h2>System overhauled, but we won’t need to wait sixty years for the next update</h2> <p>The previous fire rating system was developed by CSIRO scientist A. G. McArthur in the 1960s.</p> <p>And while familiar characteristics have been transferred to the new project, the ‘back end’ processes and science were rigid.</p> <p>Rigid enough that the system has been largely unchanged for the six decades since it was first implemented.</p> <p>In contrast, the new AFDRS is designed to be updated as new science comes to hand.</p> <p>It’s also informed by real world, operational knowledge and experience.</p> <p>This, says Matthews, provides authorities with more precision in fire preparation and response.</p> <p>“It’s a really big change from the old system, where none of the rating levels had an established and agreed meaning,” he says.</p> <p>“In the McArthur work, they were set up as a suppression difficulty measure, but that was never ‘tied down’ and everyone had their own interpretation of what that meant, which made it really hard to assess how the system was working. It was poorly defined.</p> <p>“It’s taken sixty years to get to where we are and one of the obstacles, from a science point-of-view, was that the system was fixed. You couldn’t make incremental changes to it.</p> <p>“With the new system, we’ve built it in a modular way, and clearly broken down the different parts of the system so we can upgrade and change things if we need to.”</p> <p>An important element of the bushfire rating system is to be able to indicate the impact of a possible bushfire in words a landowner might understand.</p> <hr /> <p>The Country Fire Service (South Australia) describes a ‘Catastrophic Level’ bushfire as:</p> <ul> <li>The worst conditions for a bush or grass fire.</li> <li>If a fire starts and takes hold, it will be extremely difficult to control. It will take significant fire fighting resources and cooler conditions to bring it under control.</li> <li>Spot fires will start well ahead of the main fire and cause rapid spread of the fire. Embers will come from many directions.</li> <li>Homes are not designed or constructed to withstand fires in these conditions.</li> <li>The safest place to be is away from bushfire prone areas.</li> </ul> <p>Dr Matthews points out that the messaging for consequences will continue to be based on fire behaviour and known elements like flame heights, fuel loads, wind speed and spotting.</p> <p>“We are building a case for funding for more research to improve the accuracy in the future of the fire impact.“</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/australian-fire-danger-rating-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Matthew Agius.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Country Fire Authority (CFA)</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Anne Heche's blood test results revealed after horror smash

<p dir="ltr">An investigation of Anne Heche’s blood results have detected “the presence of drugs” following <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/new-details-of-actor-anne-heche-s-fiery-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">her horror smash</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The US actress was pulled out of her burning car after she smashed into a mansion in Los Angeles while driving a terrifying 140km/h on August 5.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 53-year-old suffered severe injuries and soon after the crash fell into a coma and has not regained consciousness since. </p> <p dir="ltr">Almost a week after the incident, a Los Angeles Police Department Public Information Officer confirmed there was a “presence of drugs” in Anne’s blood system. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Based on the blood draw, it revealed the presence of drugs, however additional testing is required to rule out any substances that were administered at the hospital as part of her medical treatment,” they told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/anne-heche-blood-test-revealed-presence-of-drugs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News Digital</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Any secondary drugs [takes] up to 30 days for [a] secondary test to come back.” </p> <p dir="ltr">TMZ previously reported that Anne had cocaine in her system upon arrival at the hospital, but that is yet to be confirmed. </p> <p dir="ltr">The crash is currently being investigated by the LAPD who have confirmed that if Anne is found to have been drunk she would face significant charges. </p> <p dir="ltr">"If found intoxicated, [Heche] could be charged with misdemeanour DUI hit and run. No arrests have been made so far,” a representative said. </p> <p dir="ltr">Anne’s representative has confirmed that she is in an “extreme critical condition”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She has a significant pulmonary injury requiring mechanical ventilation and burns that require surgical intervention,” her representative said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“She is in a coma and has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Caring

Australia’s temporary visa system is unfair, expensive, impractical and inconsistent. Here’s how the new government could fix it

<p>The election of the Albanese Labor government brings an opportunity to end one of the most detrimental elements of Australian refugee law and policy in the past decade: the use of temporary visas. </p> <p>Temporary protection has been the only option available for asylum seekers who arrived by boat a decade ago and were recognised as refugees. Known as the “legacy caseload”, these people are caught in a system of law and policy that keeps them in a state of perpetual limbo. </p> <p>As the new government committed to end temporary protection, we have <a href="https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/news/new-kaldor-centre-policy-brief-proposes-reforms-australia%E2%80%99s-temporary-protection-system">just published a policy brief</a> with the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law outlining how this could be achieved.</p> <p>Our report sets out practical reforms that can be implemented relatively simply, within existing legislative provisions and with only minimal changes to policy and regulations.</p> <p>The 17 recommendations were produced in consultation with refugees and asylum seekers living on temporary protection visas and bridging visas. We also consulted civil society, including former and current temporary protection visa holders and legal groups working with refugees.</p> <p>The impact of temporary protection and the fast-track system on refugees and asylum seekers has left many <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/inm.12325">depressed and suicidal</a>. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/29/the-new-government-gives-me-hope-that-the-cruel-limbo-of-temporary-protection-visas-might-end">Expectations</a> from those living on temporary visas and the wider refugee advocates are high and there is significant apprehension about the transition.</p> <p>The new government understands it will need to approach reforms carefully. Our recommendations are accompanied by a trauma-informed strategy to help reduce mental distress, deterioration and retraumatisation of asylum seekers, while also increasing community engagement.</p> <h2>The current system is damaging</h2> <p>Australia’s temporary protection system is <a href="https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/news/new-kaldor-centre-policy-brief-proposes-reforms-australia%E2%80%99s-temporary-protection-system">unfair, expensive, impractical and inconsistent</a> with our international human rights obligations.</p> <p>In 2014, the Coalition government reintroduced a Howard-era three-year Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) and a five-year Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) for the more than 30,000 people who arrived by boat between August 13 2012 and January 1 2014. </p> <p>However, unlike the earlier Howard policy, the temporary visas this time provided no realistic prospect of applying for permanent protection. </p> <p>The number of people in this “legacy caseload” as <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/uma-legacy-caseload-may-2022.pdf">of May 2022</a> is 31,256. </p> <p>They come from many countries. The largest number are from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The majority – around 19,500 people – have been found to be refugees and have been granted TPV and SHEV. </p> <p>The 10,000 who have been refused a visa were assessed through a “fast-track” process that has <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-biloela-tamil-family-deportation-case-highlights-the-failures-of-our-refugee-system-123685">been neither fair nor fast</a>. </p> <p>People who have been refused have been living in the Australian community for ten years or more while awaiting the outcome of appeals. </p> <p>Some (<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-biloela-family-are-going-home-but-what-will-labor-do-with-thousands-of-other-asylum-seekers-in-limbo-in-australia-183621">such as the Nadeselingham family</a>) are working or have had children in Australia.</p> <p>There are also many asylum seekers from Afghanistan who have been refused visas but who cannot return due to the reemergence of the Taliban in August 2021. </p> <p>In other words, some of those refused visas may well be refugees or have other ties to the Australian community. However, the current legal system does not allow them to apply for other visas without going through cumbersome, expensive appeals and ministerial intervention processes. </p> <p>People who hold TPVs and SHEVs are allowed to work but not to reunite with family or travel freely overseas.</p> <p>Others live on precarious short-term bridging visas, some without the right to work. Many are without access to income support. In either situation, the uncertainty is damaging people’s mental health and well-being.</p> <h2>Key recommendations</h2> <p>The focus of the policy brief was to set out reforms either within the current legislative and policy framework, or with minimal changes. </p> <p>This means changes can occur within a relatively short time frame. </p> <p>Key recommendations include: </p> <ul> <li> <p>refugees on TPVs and SHEVs should be moved onto permanent visas known as Resolution of Status visas. People who have not yet been assessed or who have previously been refused protection should also be able to apply for a permanent visa that does not require another assessment of their protection claims</p> </li> <li> <p>restrictions on travel for TPV and SHEV holders should be removed, pending the grant of a permanent visa and includes specific recommendations in relation to travel documents. Travel is essential for re-establishing links to separated family</p> </li> <li> <p>family reunion, particularly partners and children, should be prioritised. Granting people permanent visas allows them to begin the process of family reunion through the family or humanitarian programs</p> </li> <li> <p>the government should establish a specialised team in the Department of Home Affairs to work closely with migration agents, lawyers and refugee communities. This group could identify other options for allowing reunification of close relatives and children who, under current law, may not fall within the definition of “member of a family unit”. Families have been separated for at least 10 years; many left children at home who have now reached ages where they will no longer be considered dependent.</p> </li> </ul> <p>In 2014, the new minister for immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs Andrew Giles <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/genpdf/chamber/hansardr/a275472e-b699-46e7-ac29-bcf2fb8ee942/0018/hansard_frag.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">said, "</a>Labor has a longstanding policy of opposing TPVs, for good reason. They do not provide a sustainable solution for refugees. The uncertainty exacerbates real mental health issues and denies people the capacity to live full lives. As well as significant international law concerns with these provisions, they put people in limbo. There is no deterrence value here, even if you accept that to be a valid policy objective – they only place vulnerable people in a place of uncertainty."</p> <p>He now has significant power to put those words into action.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-temporary-visa-system-is-unfair-expensive-impractical-and-inconsistent-heres-how-the-new-government-could-fix-it-185870" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

International Travel

What family violence survivors want policy makers to know

<p>For a long time, policy makers and legislators seeking to address the problem of <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/research-areas/statistics-prevalence-and-community-attitudes/">domestic and family violence</a> have sought higher penalties and <a href="https://www.agd.sa.gov.au/documents/Discussion-Paper-coercive-control.pdf">tougher laws</a>. But when it comes to finding practical solutions to this complex problem, the voices of those with lived experience of the system have not always been heard.</p> <p>A recent <a href="https://www.rightsnetworksa.com/_files/ugd/8cf77c_bcc168e3171a46c48efd0aac455df0b0.pdf">study</a> I coauthored with Suryawan Rian Yohanesh from <a href="https://www.unitingcommunities.org/">Uniting Communities</a> (an NGO focused on overcoming disadvantage) involved interviews with survivors of domestic and family violence about what changes they’d like to see.</p> <p>Our interviewees told us they want changes giving them control over legal processes like <a href="https://www.police.sa.gov.au/your-safety/intervention-orders">intervention orders</a> (sometimes called “Apprehended Violence Orders” or AVOs), which are legal orders designed to stop perpetrators of violence or abuse from being near or interacting with their partners or children.</p> <p>Currently, if you want to obtain one of these orders, the police and prosecutor often lead the process. They generally decide whether it goes to court, what evidence is collected or used and what parameters that order has (such as whether the perpetrator can collect kids from school or access firearms). The abuse survivor can feel shut out of these decision-making processes.</p> <h2>Getting the first response right</h2> <p>Survivors of violence, and those working to support survivors, want programs focused on getting the first response right every time. As one service provider said:</p> <blockquote> <p>Being told that your abuse is ‘not serious enough’ or there is no abuse identified is one of the most damaging things that can happen. It can impact the relationship of trust going forward. It is therefore critical first responders are adequately trained in trauma-informed care and practice, and have training in best practice responses to domestic violence, so that the victims can also be referred to suitable support services.</p> </blockquote> <p>If that first response (by police, for example) is dismissive or re-traumatising, it can leave survivors vulnerable to ongoing violence and harm, and distrustful of the legal system. As one survivor said:</p> <blockquote> <p>I didn’t feel like I was taken seriously or believed. [I was] made to feel like I was being judged as hysterical, ridiculous and time wasting. This made me feel unsafe to approach police again which was fairly scary, because they were the place I was supposed to be able to count on to help, and I wasn’t sure where else I could go.</p> </blockquote> <p>This type of response can be devastating for women and families already experiencing disadvantage or isolation, including <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/project/improving-family-violence-legal-and-support-services-for-indigenous-women/">First Nations women</a>, culturally and linguistically diverse women, <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/women-disability-and-violence-barriers-to-accessing-justice-final-report/read/">women with disabilities</a> and <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/domestic-and-family-violence-regional-rural-and-remote-communities">women living in regional areas</a>. Many of these groups already face myriad practical barriers when it comes to reporting violence.</p> <p>A mishandled first response can reinforce <a href="https://theconversation.com/narcissism-and-the-various-ways-it-can-lead-to-domestically-abusive-relationships-116909">narcissistic or controlling behaviour</a> by perpetrators, who use these experiences as evidence of their own power. To say, “See, I told you nobody would believe you.” One interviewee said:</p> <blockquote> <p>The system that is being built to protect women from this type of abuse can be turned into a weapon in the hands of those men that are seeking to perpetuate control against their partner or their family.</p> </blockquote> <p>Survivors said they want greater focus on perpetrator accountability by exposing the true impact of the violence on the lives of others, not just the aspects of the behaviour leading to criminal offences or breaches of the law.</p> <p>This means engaging professionals to help the survivor confront the perpetrator with the broader health, financial and social impacts of their behaviour.</p> <blockquote> <p>With this support team, the victim survivor could be encouraged to develop a strong recorded, accumulative evidence case. And these other professionals could be empowered to confront the defendant about the harm that he is causing to his partner, and in many cases also to his children.</p> </blockquote> <p>These practices should be <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/project/improving-family-violence-legal-and-support-services-for-indigenous-women/">informed by cultural knowledge</a> and supported by community leaders who can help improve awareness of the rights of women. The support team could also help identify pathways for safe repair of relationships, social connection and financial security.</p> <h2>Longer term support</h2> <p>Survivors also need longer term support packages, including opportunities to <a href="https://www.monash.edu/arts/gender-and-family-violence/study/scholarship-opportunity-graduate-certificate-of-family-violence-prevention#:%7E:text=For%20the%20first%20time%2C%20the,for%20family%20violence%20victim%2Dsurvivors.&text=Timeframe%3A%20For%20successful%20scholarship%20candidates,be%20completed%20by%20October%202022.">access tertiary education or training</a> and specialist legal and financial services. </p> <p>As one participant told us:</p> <blockquote> <p>I’d really like to see some kind of focal point, resources for [domestic violence] survivors. To support people to rebuild their lives. Getting the universities and tertiary institutions to help with retraining and teaching, employment. Somewhere where people can break back in. Including social life, as well as financial security and employment.</p> </blockquote> <p>Those with lived experience of domestic and family violence want perpetrators to be held to account – not just in the courtroom, but in their workplaces and their social networks.</p> <p>They want to be put at the centre of the system, and be recognised as the powerful agents for change they are.</p> <blockquote> <p>No legislation is good enough until people with lived experience have been consulted […] All these people with lived experience are not being heard. They are the ones that have the knowledge. Every time you don’t go to the coal face you miss the point.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/all-these-people-with-lived-experience-are-not-being-heard-what-family-violence-survivors-want-policy-makers-to-know-180872" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation.</a></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Image: Shutterstock</span></em></p> </blockquote>

Legal

Pay ‘with a smile or a wave’: Why Mastercard’s new face recognition payment system raises concerns

<p>Mastercard’s <a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2022/may/with-a-smile-or-a-wave-paying-in-store-just-got-personal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“smile to pay”</a> system, announced last week, is supposed to save time for customers at checkouts. It is being trialled in Brazil, with future pilots planned for the Middle East and Asia.</p> <p>The company argues touch-less technology will help speed up transaction times, shorten lines in shops, heighten security and improve hygiene in businesses. But it raises concerns relating to customer privacy, data storage, crime risk and bias.</p> <p><strong>How will it work?</strong></p> <p>Mastercard’s biometric checkout system will provide customers facial recognition-based payments, by linking the biometric authentication systems of a number of third-party companies with Mastercard’s own payment systems.</p> <p>A Mastercard spokesperson told The Conversation it had already partnered with NEC, Payface, Aurus, Fujitsu Limited, PopID and PayByFace, with more providers to be named.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464953/original/file-20220524-22-ga0v7l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="The 'Fujitsu' logo in red is displayed on a building's side" /></a><figcaption><em><span class="caption">Mastercard has partnered with Fujitsu, a massive information and communications technology firm offering many different products and services.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p>They said “providers need to go through independent laboratory certification against the program criteria to be considered” – but details of these criteria aren’t yet publicly available.</p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/mastercard-facial-recognition-biometric-payments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a> reports, customers will have to install an app which will take their picture and payment information. This information will be saved and stored on the third-party provider’s servers.</p> <p>At the checkout, the customer’s face will be matched with the stored data. And once their identity is verified, funds will be deducted automatically. The “wave” option is a bit of a trick: as the customer watches the camera while waving, the camera still scans their face – not their hand.</p> <p>Similar authentication technologies are used on smartphones (face ID) and in many airports around the world, including “<a href="https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/smartgates/arrivals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">smartgates</a>” in Australia.</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/4/16251304/kfc-china-alipay-ant-financial-smile-to-pay" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> started using biometrics-based checkout technology back in 2017. But Mastercard is among the first to launch such a system in Western markets – competing with the “pay with your palm” <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/29/amazon-introduces-the-amazon-one-a-way-to-pay-with-your-palm-when-entering-stores/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">system</a> used at cashier-less Amazon Go and Whole Foods brick and mortars in the United States.</p> <p><strong>What we don’t know</strong></p> <p>Much about the precise functioning of Mastercard’s system isn’t clear. How accurate will the facial recognition be? Who will have access to the databases of biometric data?</p> <p>A Mastercard spokesperson told The Conversation customers’ data would be stored with the relevant biometric service provider in encrypted form, and removed when the customer “indicates they want to end their enrolment”. But how will the removal of data be enforced if Mastercard itself can’t access it?</p> <p>Obviously, privacy protection is a major concern, especially when there are many potential third-party providers involved.</p> <p>On the bright side, Mastercard’s <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/032615/how-mastercard-makes-its-money-ma.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">customers</a> will have a choice as to whether or not they use the biometrics checkout system. However, it will be at retailers’ discretion whether they offer it, or whether they offer it exclusively as the only payment option.</p> <p>Similar face-recognition technologies used in airports, and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/police-surveillance-and-facial-recognition-why-data-privacy-is-an-imperative-for-communities-of-color/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by police</a>, often offer no choice.</p> <p>We can assume Mastercard and the biometrics provider with whom they partner will require customer consent, as per most privacy laws. But will customers know what they are consenting to?</p> <p>Ultimately, the biometric service providers Mastercard teams up with will decide how they use the data, for how long, where they store it, and who can access it. Mastercard will merely decide what providers are “good enough” to be accepted as partners, and the minimum standards they must adhere to.</p> <p>Customers who want the convenience of this checkout service will have to consent to all the related data and privacy terms. And as reports have noted, there is potential for Mastercard to integrate the feature with loyalty schemes and make personalised recommendations <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/mastercard-launches-tech-that-lets-you-pay-with-your-face-or-hand.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">based on purchases</a>.</p> <p><strong>Accuracy is a problem</strong></p> <p>While the accuracy of face recognition technologies has previously been challenged, the current <em>best</em> facial authentication algorithms have an error of just 0.08%, according to tests by the <a href="https://github.com/usnistgov/frvt/blob/nist-pages/reports/1N/frvt_1N_report_2020_03_27.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a>. In some countries, even banks have <a href="https://techhq.com/2020/09/biometrics-the-most-secure-solution-for-banking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become comfortable</a> relying on it to log users into their accounts.</p> <p>Yet we can’t know how accurate the technologies used in Mastercard’s biometric checkout system will be. The algorithms underpinning a technology can work almost perfectly when trailed in a lab, but perform <a href="https://www.csis.org/blogs/technology-policy-blog/how-accurate-are-facial-recognition-systems-%E2%80%93-and-why-does-it-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poorly</a> in real life settings, where lighting, angles and other parameters are varied.</p> <p><strong>Bias is another problem</strong></p> <p>In a 2019 study, NIST <a href="https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2019/NIST.IR.8280.pdf#page=5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that out of 189 facial recognition algorithms, the majority were biased. Specifically, they were less accurate on people from racial and ethnic minorities.</p> <p>Even if the technology has improved in the past few years, it’s not foolproof. And we don’t know the extent to which Mastercard’s system has overcome this challenge.</p> <p>If the software fails to recognise a customer at the check out, they might end up disappointed, or even become irate – which would completely undo any promise of speed or convenience.</p> <p>But if the technology misidentifies a person (for instance, John is recognised as Peter – or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8-yupM-6Oc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twins are confused</a> for each other), then money could be taken from the wrong person’s account. How would such a situation be dealt with?</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464424/original/file-20220520-19-5hfuvx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><em><span class="caption">There’s no evidence facial recognition technology is infallible. These systems can misidentify and also have biases.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Is the technology secure?</strong></p> <p>We often hear about software and databases being hacked, even in <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/2130877/the-biggest-data-breaches-of-the-21st-century.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cases of</a> supposedly very “secure” organisations. Despite Mastercard’s <a href="https://wwmastw.cnbc.com/2022/05/17/mastercard-launches-tech-that-lets-you-pay-with-your-face-or-hand.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">efforts</a> to ensure security, there’s no guarantee the third-party providers’ databases – with potentially millions of people’s biometric data – won’t be hacked.</p> <p>In the wrong hands, this data could lead to <a href="https://www.comparitech.com/identity-theft-protection/identity-theft-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identity theft</a>, which is one of the fastest growing types of crime, and financial fraud.</p> <p><strong>Do we want it?</strong></p> <p>Mastercard suggests 74% of customers are in favour of using such technology, referencing a stat from its <a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/ap/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2020/april/mastercard-study-shows-consumers-moving-to-contactless-payments-for-everyday-purchases/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">own study</a> – also used by <a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/ap/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2020/october/mastercard-idemia-and-matchmove-pilot-fingerprint-biometric-card-in-asia-to-enhance-security-and-safety-of-contactless-payments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business partner</a> Idemia (a company that sells biometric identification products).</p> <p>But the report cited is vague and brief. Other studies show entirely different results. For example, <a href="https://www.getapp.com/resources/facial-recognition-technology/#how-comfortable-are-consumers-with-facial-recognition-technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this study</a> suggests 69% of customers aren’t comfortable with face recognition tech being used in retail settings. And <a href="https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/93521-are-consumers-comfortable-with-facial-recognition-it-depends-says-new-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this one</a> shows only 16% trust such tech.</p> <p>Also, if consumers knew the risks the technology poses, the number of those willing to use it might drop even lower.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183447/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rita-matulionyte-170113" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rita Matulionyte</a>, Senior Lecturer in Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Macquarie University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/pay-with-a-smile-or-a-wave-why-mastercards-new-face-recognition-payment-system-raises-concerns-183447" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Technology

”Fix the system not me”: A first for Australian Fashion Week

<p dir="ltr">In a first for the yearly week-long display of new Aussie fashion, adaptive clothing has taken the fore through a show solely focused on the underrepresented sphere of fashion.</p> <p dir="ltr">Day four of <a href="https://aafw.com.au/index" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Fashion Week</a> saw a collective of designers take to the runway with fashionable garments that can be worn by both abled and disabled people and were modelled by the very people who inspired them.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2d88adce-7fff-0d4e-c964-523093a299c6"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">JAM and Christine Stephens, two designers whose designs were featured, share a mutual goal: to act as a voice for the adaptive designers collective and highlight the possibilities for stylish fashion that is inclusive.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdcVj66rDK8/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdcVj66rDK8/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Australian Fashion Week (@ausfashionweek)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“We want to give people living with disabilities a choice. A choice in fashion, a choice to be included and a choice to be heard,” Jessie Sadler and Carol Taylor, two designers for Christine Stephens, said in a press release.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2b0c32f0-7fff-25fa-e0cb-321770502031"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Taylor, the co-owner and lead designer of the fashion label, said the collection was inspired by a quadriplegic groom-to-be who “would never know what it would be like to unwrap his able-bodied bride”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/fashion-week1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Models with disabilities took to the runway for the Adaptive Clothing Collective show. Image: Getty Images</em></p> <p dir="ltr">The outfits included multiple adaptive features, such as particularly magnetic button closures and zips to improve access for prosthetic users and even particularly contrasting colour choices.</p> <p dir="ltr">One model’s outfit, a sky-blue two-piece suit with contrasting magenta collars and inner linings, was inspired by their visual impairment that prevents them from distinguishing between darker colours, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.elle.com.au/fashion/adaptive-clothing-collective-australian-fashion-week-2022-27051" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elle Australia</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The runway featured disabled models throughout the show, including actress Chloé Hayden, who told <em><a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/2022/05/10974587/adaptive-fashion-runway" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Refinery29</a></em> being asked to participate was an “out of this world” experience.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-785756bc-7fff-3cc7-b5d5-9adacdd5b24c"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“I grew up practising my model walk, doing personal little photo shoots, going to those Dolly model searches … I’m always jaw dropping at Australian Fashion Week,” she told the publication.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdcszIUBLKa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CdcszIUBLKa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Chloé Hayden (@chloeshayden)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Following her appearance in the show, where she wore olive utility-style boots and a trench coat with the slogan ‘Fix the system, not me’, Hayden took to Instagram to share clips and her excitement.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Australian Fashion Week’s first adaptive runway. Let it not be the last,” she captioned the post. “More posts to come once I stop projectile crying and stimming.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Lisa Cox, an author, consultant and disability influencer who modelled for Christina Stephens, said the opportunity made her feel “seen” by the industry.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I feel more accepted and I feel seen by an industry that I haven’t felt a part of since I became disabled over 16 years ago … I feel both honoured and privileged to be part of such a landmark event in Australian fashion history,” she told <em>Refinery29</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cox added that the absence of inclusivity in fashion has left her feeling unimportant and uncatered for - which she noted was also bad for those in the clothing business.</p> <p dir="ltr">“[It’s] offensive and it really hurts,” she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“But on the other hand, people with disabilities are consumers too so that attitude is just bad business. My legs don’t work but my credit card does!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Emma Clegg and Molly Rogers, the creators of JAM the label, said the “universal design” of adaptive clothing is more comfortable, convenient and accessible for everyone, and encourage non-disabled people to also give them a try.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Purchasing from and supporting Australian inclusive [and] adaptive fashion brands will prove to the Australian fashion industry that there is the demand out there, and they need to be including people with disability throughout their businesses,” they told <em>Refinery29</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It shouldn't be newsworthy that there is a designer with disabilities or clothes for people with disabilities at AAFW, but for now it must be celebrated,” Cox said. </p> <p dir="ltr">Whether you approach the issue from a position of fairness or business, with 20 percent of Australians living with a disability, it makes sense to design clothing that can be worn and enjoyed by everyone - and hopefully this show is just the first of many more.</p> <p dir="ltr">Here's a look at the styles appearing at the show.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-216d0ef3-7fff-5cbe-54b7-b8bfd22e2472"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Beauty & Style

"Australian GeoGRAPHIC!": Hilarious echidna pic breaks the internet

<p dir="ltr">A hilarious yet graphic photo of an echidna’s penis has shocked the internet after randomly popping up in their news feed.</p> <p dir="ltr">The photo was uploaded by Australian Geographic asking readers if they had ever seen an echidna’s penis before. </p> <p dir="ltr">The photo in question shows a four-tipped penis with scientists looking into why the mammal’s reproductive system is the way it is. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Have you ever seen an echidna’s penis?” the post read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You’ve probably asked your friends this in jest, but scientists are working away at unlocking the mystery of the bizarre, four-tipped reproductive system. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Labelled one of the ‘weirdest penises of the animal kingdom’, it's bright red and has four heads.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now there's a dinner conversation starter…”</p> <p dir="ltr">The internet’s reaction was lighthearted, with many in the comment section leaving funny remarks. </p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fausgeo%2Fposts%2F10158869200833339&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="780" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">“Such prickly little buggers obviously they need all the help they can get,” someone joked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Australian GeoGRAPHIC,” the best comment read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I'm guessing it's for Russian roulette impregnation,” another commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I cannot unsee this. Scarred for life,” someone else joked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Wears condoms. They fit like a glove,” another comment read. </p> <p dir="ltr">“If I were a female echidna, I’d shuffle away as fast as I could from this thing and if I couldn’t out shuffle it, I’d bury myself as quickly as possible,” someone wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the funny comments, Australian Geographic linked back to a <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2021/05/echidna-penises-why-theyre-so-weird/?fbclid=IwAR3kQEzjVHQDodmTLm7FbqgH7ixIxcm8V0UFNzIHx9xgXofvsqkJaCc2tHI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research article</a> about why echidna penises are weird.</p> <p dir="ltr">”We’re not really sure why it looks so weird but we do know that they only use their penis for mating, not urine,” reproductive biologist Jane Fenelon said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Because they don’t need it for urine, they had the freedom to make it much more elaborate and this is something you see in other species that only use it for mating.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Australian Geographic</em></p>

Family & Pets

Superannuation isn't a retirement income system

<p>Discussions about Australia’s retirement income system typically begin by reciting the political slogan that there are “three pillars” to the system — the age pension, compulsory super, and voluntary savings.</p> <p>It was the way the Abbott and Turnbull government’s <a href="https://slideplayer.com/slide/4872297/">tax inquiry</a> looked at retirement incomes, and a frame of reference used by this government’s <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/c2019-36292-v2.pdf">retirement income system review</a>.</p> <p>Missing is discussion of what makes something a “retirement pillar”.</p> <p>Requiring retailers to <a href="https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/2020/01/the-easiest-retirement-system-retiree.html">provide the elderly free goods and services</a>, with the cost absorbed in the prices paid by others could be another.</p> <p>To be a pillar, something would have to allocate goods and services in retirement to people who are no longer earning wages.</p> <p>In my <a href="https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/p/scrap-superannuation.html">recently released report</a> I argue that superannuation fails this test.</p> <h2>Super isn’t a retirement pillar</h2> <p>Among other things, super can be spent many years before retirement, beginning anywhere from age <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Super/Self-managed-super-funds/Paying-benefits/Preservation-of-super/">55 to 60</a>, even though the retirement age specified the pension legislation is <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/age-pension/who-can-get-it">66 to 67</a>.</p> <p>Many financial planners advise intending retirees to spend a lot of their super quickly in order to shelter it in income-test-exempt assets <a href="https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/finance/property/how-upsizing-protects-your-pension">such as housing</a> and qualify for the pension.</p> <p>The super system also can’t guarantee retirement incomes for people who are self-employed, casually employed, homemakers, have chosen their super fund unwisely or lost the proceeds in things such as online romance scams.</p> <p>As a system, super comes with unnecessary financial risks, such as suddenly losing 21% of its funds, as happened between September 2007 and March 2009 during the global financial crisis.</p> <p>It is better thought of as a growth-sapping, resource-wasting, tax-advantaged asset purchase scheme aimed at the already wealthy, which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/myth-busted-boosting-super-would-cost-the-budget-more-than-it-saved-on-age-pensions-119002">unlikely to do much</a> to reduce reliance on the age pension.</p> <p>We would be better off abandoning it and letting workers spend or save their money as they see fit.</p> <h2>The super system is inefficient</h2> <p>The superannuation system employs <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6291.0.55.003">55,000 people</a> at a cost of <a href="https://www.selectingsuper.com.au/superannuation-fees-fall-for-the-first-time-in-six-years">A$32 billion</a> per year to produce <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/quarterly-superannuation-statistics">$40 billion</a> per year in retirement incomes. This is nearly as many people as the enlisted Australian Defence Force (58,000) with a similar total cost ($34 billion).</p> <p>The rest of Australia’s entire welfare system, including administering the age pension, disability, unemployment benefits and Medicare, costs just $6 billion per year and employs <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018/10/8802-1810-annual-report-web-2017-2018.pdf">33,000 people</a>, while providing <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018/10/8802-1810-annual-report-web-2017-2018.pdf">$45 billion</a> in pension benefits.</p> <h2>It directs money where it isn’t needed..</h2> <p>Each year the superannuation system takes in <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/quarterly-superannuation-statistics">$117 billion</a> and spits out <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/sites/default/files/Quarterly%20Superannuation%20Performance%20Statistics%20September%202019_0.pdf">$80 billion</a> in payments (including lump sum withdrawals), leaving $38 billion in asset markets, sapping spending and economic growth. That’s roughly as much as the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/saving-the-nation-20090203-7wsb.html">$40 billion</a> stimulus package introduced during the 2009 financial crisis. Unlike it, the super system depresses rather than stimulates the economy.</p> <p>Unlike the super system, the age pension system is likely to stimulate the economy because it takes purchasing power away from high-income taxpayers with a relatively low likelihood of spending extra dollars to to lower-income pensioners with a high likelihood of spending them.</p> <h2>…and away from those who do need it</h2> <p>Unlike the age pension system, the super system can’t provide poverty relief, or broadly adequate retirement incomes.</p> <p>For the bottom 40% of earners it does the opposite of smoothing income, making them poorer than they would have been while working, and somewhat <a href="https://theconversation.com/super-shock-more-compulsory-super-would-make-middle-australia-poorer-not-richer-120002">richer</a> than they would have been while on the pension and retired.</p> <p>The <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/p2020-51153">$18 billion</a> of tax breaks on super fund contributions and <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/p2020-51153">$20 billion</a> of tax breaks on super fund earnings are predominately directed to <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/programs-and-initiatives-superannuation/distributional-analysis-of-superannuation-taxation-concessions">high income earners</a>.</p> <p>In a comprehensive study released this week the Grattan Institute has demolished the claim that super contributions come out of employers pockets. Instead it finds that, on average, <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/no-free-lunch/">80%</a> of each super contribution comes out of what would have been wages.</p> <h2>Here’s how to escape it</h2> <p>Scrapping the system altogether would massively improve Australia’s economic performance, including the performance of our only true retirement income system, which is the age pension.</p> <p>It can be done by forcing employers to pay what are now super contributions directly into wage accounts and allowing super fund holders to withdraw up to a maximum amount each year during a transition period, after which all super balances would receive no special tax treatment.</p> <p>The tens of billions saved in the budget could be used to enhance the size and scope of the age pension. It could incorporate <a href="https://theconversation.com/fall-in-ageing-australians-home-ownership-rates-looms-as-seismic-shock-for-housing-policy-120651">appropriate rent assistance</a> and begin at age 60 instead of 67.</p> <p>It’s possible. Certainly, there would be job losses, but in other industries we have come to accept that there is no point in continuing to pay people to do things that aren’t needed, and especially no point in making those payments compulsory.</p> <p>It’d be one of the best things we could do to enhance the working of our economy.</p> <p>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/superannuation-isnt-a-retirement-income-system-we-should-scrap-it-130191">The Conversation</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Retirement Income

"Every city transport system needs a stupidly fearless bus driver"

<p>An investigation has been launched after footage emerged of a bus being driven through flood waters in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.</p> <p>The vehicle on the 185 route from Mona Vale to Narrabeen wasn’t carrying any passengers when a bystander filmed the video.</p> <p>The footage, believed to have been captured during last week’s severe storms and posted to TikTok, showing the almost submerged bus driving through brown water that reached halfway up its windscreen.</p> <p>“Every city transport system needs a stupidly fearless bus driver,” the post was captioned.</p> <blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@elyseelmer/video/7072606510588775682" data-video-id="7072606510588775682"> <section><a title="@elyseelmer" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@elyseelmer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@elyseelmer</a> the 185 parting the brownish seas <a title="sydneyfloods" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sydneyfloods" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#sydneyfloods</a> <a title="sydneyflood" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sydneyflood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#sydneyflood</a> <a title="northernbeachessydney" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/northernbeachessydney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#northernbeachessydney</a> <a title="♬ original sound - Mikayla O'Connor" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7065073627041073967" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound - Mikayla O'Connor</a></section> </blockquote> <p>The NSW Government and SES officials have repeatedly urged residents to avoid driving into floodwaters with an “if it’s flooded, forget it” message.</p> <p>“Please don‘t drive through flood waters, we cannot say that more than enough,” NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said last week as heavy rain cause flash flooding on multiple roads across the state.</p> <p>The video left Sunrise hosts gobsmacked on Monday morning’s breakfast show.</p> <p>Co-host Matt Shirvington said the driver is “absolutely stupid” for ignoring years of warnings from officials.</p> <p>“He or she will be in a huge amount of trouble, because they will be able to track that pretty easily,” Natalie Barr added</p> <p>A spokesman from Northern Beaches bus service operator Keolis Downer said the incident was “under investigation”.</p> <p>“Keolis Downer prioritises the safety of its passengers and drivers at all times, and has strict protocols in place governing driving through floodwaters,” the spokesman said.</p> <p><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

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”Fix the system not me”: A first for Australian Fashion Week

"Australian GeoGRAPHIC!": Hilarious echidna pic breaks the internet

Superannuation isn't a retirement income system

"Every city transport system needs a stupidly fearless bus driver"

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“The system is too soft”: Ally Langdon fires up over stabbing death of Vyleen White

How does Australia’s health system stack up internationally? Not bad, if you’re willing to wait for it

Women and low-income earners miss out in a superannuation system most Australians think is unfair

The $500 million ATO fraud highlights flaws in the myGov ID system. Here’s how to keep your data safe

Outrage after renters confronted with cleaning “scoring system”

An El Niño looms over Australia’s stressed electricity system – and we must plan for the worst

Want an easy $400 a year? Ditch the gas heater in your home for an electric split system

Major overhaul of Aussie superannuation system touted

"You have to beg for help": how our welfare system pressures people to perform vulnerability

Did COVID harm my immune system?

AI system sees beyond the frame of famous artworks

Australia has a new bushfire danger rating system

Anne Heche's blood test results revealed after horror smash

Australia’s temporary visa system is unfair, expensive, impractical and inconsistent. Here’s how the new government could fix it

What family violence survivors want policy makers to know

Pay ‘with a smile or a wave’: Why Mastercard’s new face recognition payment system raises concerns

”Fix the system not me”: A first for Australian Fashion Week

"Australian GeoGRAPHIC!": Hilarious echidna pic breaks the internet

Superannuation isn't a retirement income system

"Every city transport system needs a stupidly fearless bus driver"

Our Partners

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