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"People took their own lives": Nat Barr fires up over Robodebt report

Sunrise host Natalie Barr has strongly condemned the Robodebt scheme as "unlawful" and accused it of victimising "500,000 people" in a passionate interview with Coalition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie. During the heated exchange, Barr vehemently refuted any suggestion that the situation had simply gone awry. “This was mathematically flawed," Barr said. "It was ruled unlawful. There were half a million victims. People took their own lives over this. Bridget, you must have some kind of view on what should happen?" “It’s pretty obvious that people did the wrong thing here.” Senator McKenzie acknowledged that politicians expected honest advice from public servants and admitted that something had clearly gone "wrong." “This was a comprehensive royal commission, we had from former prime ministers, senior public servants, and indeed, the broader public on this particular issue, and I think the findings are going to be very fulsome and give us, I hope, ways to ensure that this cannot happen again,’’ McKenzie said. Labor frontbencher Jason Clare add that he was thinking of the victims. “Nat, there is a report in the papers today about a mother named Jennifer Miller and her son Reese committed suicide a few years ago,’’ said Mr Clare. “He was being chased for an $18,000 debt that he did not owe. I’m thinking about her and I’m thinking about families like that today. “There were a number of people who committed suicide, others who try to take their own life, end up in hospital, they are still on medication today. They are the real-life human consequences of what happened here.” Earlier on Friday, Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten warned that the "wave of misery" caused by the Robodebt royal commission might result in referrals to the national anti-corruption commission. Senior ministers have already prepared to contest the report's findings, with the government approving taxpayer-funded legal assistance. The bombshell report on the Robodebt scandal is anticipated to include scathing criticisms of key figures in the Morrison Government and senior public servants. Additionally, a secret "sealed section" will cover potential "criminal and civil prosecutions." Royal commission officials have begun briefing departmental heads on adverse findings related to employees prior to the report's public release. Robodebts were debts incurred between July 2015 and November 2019 under the Income Compliance Program. These debts were calculated using averaged income information from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and were later deemed unlawful. In recent months, the Commonwealth has been informed of up to 16 "Notices of Potential Adverse Findings." These findings encompass the conduct of individuals involved in the program's development and implementation. They also pertain to data matching between the Department of Human Services and the Australian Tax Office during the Robodebt process, as well as the circumstances surrounding the Ombudsman's reports on the scheme in 2017 and 2019. The report will examine the prosecution briefs referred to the Commonwealth DPP by the Department of Human Services (DHS), as well as the arrangements of the in-house legal teams in DHS and the Department of Social Services (DSS). Furthermore, it will scrutinise the data and flaws underlying the budget assumptions that formed the basis of the Robodebt Scheme, as well as the debt recovery methods employed by the Department of Human Services. Image: Sunrise

Caring

“I am the woman who took Harry’s virginity”

Speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/21277348/woman-took-prince-harry-virginity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a> on Sunday, the “older” woman detailed in Prince Harry’s memoir Spare has come forward to confirm that it was she who took the young royal’s virginity in a field behind a busy pub in Wiltshire in July 2001. Forty-year-old Sasha Walpole – who is two years older than Prince Harry – told the publication: “I am the woman who took Harry’s virginity. It was literally wham-bam between two friends.” The Sun went on to report that Mrs Walpole admitted that the encounter occurred after she and Harry had consumed 10 shots of tequila, Baileys and sambuca. “The sex was passionate and sparky because we shouldn’t have been doing it,” she said. “One thing just quickly led to another. We ended up on the floor.” The one-off encounter took place in a meadow behind the car park of the historic Vine Tree Inn in Norton, Wiltshire, in July 2001. Mrs Walpole and Prince Harry reportedly knew each other from when she was employed as a stable girl at Highgrove, the country retreat of the then Prince Charles. The evening in question was actually the occasion of Mrs Walpole’s 19th birthday, which was being celebrated at the pub – and the pair became intimate in the meadow after leaving the party. Afterwards Harry hid in a red phone box to avoid being seen, before one of Ms Walpole’s friends delivered a protection officer to the young prince in her blue Ford Fiesta. Mrs Walpole, now a married mum of two, said: “We went outside and both climbed a three-bar fence to the field. We were quite drunk at this point. I gave Harry a cigarette. I lit mine and then his. “We finished our cigarettes – Marlboro Lights – and it just happened. He started to kiss me. He was wearing boxers. There was no chatting, no words. It was exciting that it was happening. It was exciting that it was happening like the way it was. We were away for 15 minutes but the sex was about five minutes. “We didn’t set out to do it and it wasn’t premeditated. He was young. We had been purely friends and it was a little bit naughty, in the sense that it shouldn’t have been happening. “It wasn’t ‘Prince Harry’ to me. It was Harry, my friend – and something that got a little bit out of control. It just so happened that he was a prince. “Afterwards I did grab his bum and gave him a slap. It was with one hand. He had a lovely peachy bum – but he was young.” Mrs Walpole agreed to speak to The Sun after being left shocked by Harry’s disclosures in his book, and also went on to explain why she came forward. “No one warned me about the night being included in the book – and Harry, or his people, could have found me to tell me if they had wanted to do so,” she said. “I lead a peaceful life – I didn’t invite this.” “I don’t understand why he went into such detail. He could have said he lost his virginity and left it at that. But he described how it happened, in a field behind a pub. “That’s fine if you’re not the other person involved. But if you’re me, then you suddenly feel as if your world is getting a little bit smaller. He has done this to my privacy. “I was going to keep my head down and not talk about it. If it wasn’t in the book, none of this wouldn’t be happening. “I can sit quietly and hope it goes away, but then it is like a ticking timebomb, and you’re looking over your shoulder.” To listen to the entire interview with The Sun, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/21277348/woman-took-prince-harry-virginity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">head here</a>. Image: The Sun

News

“Some lowlife took our home”: Retirees wake to devastating theft

Retirees Sue and Tony Hill have been living out of a campervan and driving it on the Big Lap around Australia. They returned home to North Adelaide recently to stop in and visit family when disaster struck. Their home was stolen right from under their noses. "I came out Monday morning around 7.30 ish and it was gone,” Sue Hill told <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/couple-move-life-into-campervan-and-have-everything-stolen/ac17b057-a51d-4b04-b366-9c63307b2984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NineNews</a>. "Some lowlife took our home ... Our life has just been ripped out from under us.” The grey nomad couple, who had spent their retirement savings to buy the camper trailer for their Big Lap around the country, were absolutely distraught – but now an incredible act of charity has given them new hope, and a brand new trailer to call home. "We'd given up hope that we'd ever get back on the road again, which is what we love doing. We'd given up hope that we'd ever get our camper trailer back," Mrs Hill said. But then the owner of local business Eagle Camper Trailers – Brent – heard about the plight of the Hills and just had to act. "I heard it, I watched it and I thought 'I can't believe this'," Brent told NineNews. "The fact that someone had taken their home, I needed to try and do something to sort it out." The Hills also turned to social media to try and track down the stolen trailer or the thieves, with no luck. "I've been on the truckie pages trying to get the truckies of Australia to help," Sue and Tony's daughter Janene Harper said. "Through COVID and the rental crisis, they lived homeless for more than 12 months," she said, on the family’s Facebook fundraiser page. "They decided to invest every last dollar they had to purchase a portable home, something they could call home. They were required to sell most of their belongings to be able to move in." The Hills are now incredibly thankful to Brent at Eagle Camper Trailers for his generosity, and for helping to put them back on their feet and into a new home. Images: NineNews

Real Estate

It took scientists 100 years to track these eels to their breeding ground

The life of a European eel isn’t an easy one. They’re critically endangered, must travel up to 10,000 km to get to their spawning point and then when they get there they <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel_life_history#European_eel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">probably die</a>. But they’re also incredibly difficult to keep track of. In the 1920s a Danish biologist named Johannes Schmidt, discovered the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sargasso Sea</a> – due east of North America – had eel larvae. He spent the next 20 years trying to confirm his finding. But in the century since, researchers have been unable to sample either eggs or spawning adults. Now, a team from Europe has published a paper in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-19248-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scientific Reports</a> that shows the first direct evidence of adult European eels migrating to the Sargasso Sea to breed. This provides vitally needed information on the life cycle of these slippery suckers. “The European Eel is critically endangered, so it is important that we solve the mystery surrounding their complete life-cycle to support efforts to protect the spawning area of this important species,” <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ancient-mystery-of-european-eel-migration-unravelled-to-help-combat-decline-of-critically-endangered-species" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says project lead Ros Wright from the UK Environment Agency.</a> “This is the first time we’ve been able to track eels to the Sargasso Sea … Their journey will reveal information about eel migration that has never been known before.” The team attached satellite tags to 26 female eels that were in rivers in the Azores archipelago – an autonomous region of Portugal in the North Atlantic Ocean – and then waited. When tracking had been done before in areas within Europe, like the Baltic and North Sea, the migratory routes were tracked up to 5000 kilometres, but the tracking had not gone for long enough, and the eels were heading in the right direction, but never made it all the way to the Sargasso Sea. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p219813-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.62 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/nature/animals/european-eels-life-cycle-tracking-schmidt-sargasso-sea/#wpcf7-f6-p219813-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/" aria-invalid="false" /> </form> </div> </div> “The data from the tags were used to identify migratory routes that extended up to 5000 km from release, and which suggested routes taken by eels migrating from different countries converge when passing the Azores,” <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-19248-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the team wrote in their paper.</a> “However, although eels were tracked for six months or more, their migration speed was insufficient to reach the Sargasso Sea for the first presumed spawning period after migration commenced, prompting the hypothesis that the spawning migration period of eels may extend to more than 18 months.” So, the team went directly to Azores to try and get the last leg of the journey, tracking 26 of the female eels with ‘X tags’. These collect data every two minutes and when the tag releases from the eel and bobs to the surface it then connects to the ARGOS satellite. Of course, not every single one worked. Only 23 tags communicated with the system; two became detached from the eels within a week. But the remainder provided a wealth of data to the team. Average migration speed was between 3 and 12 kilometres a day, and they were tracked from 40 days all the way to 366 days. Five of the eels ended up in within the Sargasso Sea boundaries while one eel made it all the way to the presumed breeding area Schmidt discovered those many years before. This isn’t the first time that eels have been tracked in this way. A study published last year, also in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02325-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scientific Reports</a>, which Cosmos covered at the time, looked at the spawning migrations of the Australasian short-finned eel. They found that the eels travelled for five months, around 2,620 km from south-Eastern Australia, as far north as the Coral Sea in Northern Queensland. The researchers in the European eel case still have much to do. The eels didn’t move fast enough to be able to make it to the spawning period on time, which means we still don’t really understand the life cycle. “Rather than make a rapid migration to spawn at the earliest opportunity, European eels may instead make a long, slow spawning migration at depth that conserves their energy and reduces mortality risk,” the team wrote. There’s also questions of what mechanisms the eels use to be able to correctly navigate to the Sargasso Sea. As usual in science, one answer has led to plenty more questions.  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=219813&title=It+took+scientists+100+years+to+track+these+eels+to+their+breeding+ground" width="1" height="1" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/european-eels-life-cycle-tracking-schmidt-sargasso-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Jacinta Bowler. Image: Getty Images </div>

Family & Pets

"He was harassed": Woman tells how son took his life over incorrect Robodebt bill

Jenny Miller has shared the heart-breaking story of how her son Rhys was driven to suicide after relentless "harassment" to pay back a $28,000 Centrelink bill that was dished out under the Robodebt scheme. Rhys Cauzzo, a florist from Melbourne, was just 27-years-old when he took his life on Australia Day in 2017 after he was wrongly billed for the debts he didn't owe. Rhys was just one of over 2,000 Australians who died after received a hefty debt notice under the controversial scheme, which raised over $1billion in debts against 443,000 Australians. Speaking with Nat Barr on Sunrise, Jenny shared the devastating moment she was informed of her son's death. "The police came to our place on the Sunshine Coast early in the morning to tell us that he had passed," she said on Friday. "I arranged to fly down immediately and I found obvious signs of him being under the stress financially." <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> The families of Robodebt victims are hopeful a royal commission will deliver justice after the scheme unlawfully claimed almost $2 billion in payments from Aussies. Jenny Miller's son Rhys took his own life after he was incorrectly told he owed Centrelink $28,000. <a href="https://t.co/eQ9bkj8RAm">pic.twitter.com/eQ9bkj8RAm</a> — Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1562921013217996801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2022</a></blockquote> "There were pictures of him holding a gun to his head and dollar signs coming out of his brain." Ms Miller said before her son took his own life he "got virtually daily" letters and phone calls from debt collectors Dun & Bradstreet. "He was harassed, he was not given the opportunity to speak to anyone at Centrelink," she said. "They just said ''no, you have to sort out.'" "It was the icing on the cake for him." Jenny went on to thank both Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese for sticking to Labor's election promise to <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/money-banking/pm-launches-probe-into-unlawful-robodebt-scheme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launch a royal commission</a> into the "unlawful" scheme, which was announced earlier this week. "Obviously, we are still hoping to get some accountability. I have been fighting this for nearly six years and it is time that there was some answers," she said. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister described the Robodebt scheme as a “human tragedy, wrought by (the Coalition) government." “Against all evidence, and all the outcry, the government insisted on using algorithms instead of people to pursue debt recovery against Australians who in many cases had no debt to pay,” Albanese said. Image credits: Sunrise

News

The awkward moment Karl took a dig Ally Langdon

Karl Stefanovic and Ally Langdon shared an awkward exchange on the Today Show after Karl called his co-host “condescending”. The situation unfolded when Scherri-Lee Biggs was reporting live from Kingfisher Bay Resort on beautiful Fraser Island, when she got her words and facts mixed up. “Guys, I just want to tell you that it is really lovely because this resort was actually built after I was born,” she said. Soon starting to second-guess herself she said: “No... before? No... after? I don‘t know … my brain is coming back from holiday,” she joked. Ally Langdon quickly stepped in to help, asking: “How old are you again Scherri-Lee?" “I am 32 in two weeks,” Biggs replied. Langdon told her that meant the resort was built before she was born. “I was born before – thank you, Ally,” Biggs saids. “Here to help, sweetheart,” Langdon replied. It was at that point that Stefanovic entered the conversation saying: “Gee, that sounded condescending.” Ally quickly jumped in to clarify she meant no ill intention with her words and didn’t mean to come across as condescending. Karl and Ally are known for their classic on-screen banter and quick jokes. The segment ended shortly after, leaving the awkward encounter to fizzle out. Image: The Today Show

“Finally”: What it took to get Ally to walk out on Karl

Karl Stefanovic's on-air antics have sent co-host Ally Langdon walking off set, live on the Today Show. Today newsreader Alex Cullen had just read a piece on a Liberal supporter impersonating a kookaburra at a campaign event for Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Karl then convinced Alex to try his own version of a kookaburra laugh, with the cringing expression on Ally's face speaking volumes about what she thought of it. However, it wasn't until Karl tried to top Alex's impression that Ally got out of her chair and walked off stage. "Finally! Finally, it took a kookaburra to get rid of her," laughed Karl. Ally was a good sport and came back to join her co-hosts, telling them: "I am not leaving." We all know Karl is prone to the dramatic walk-off – especially where Ally is involved. We can think of three prominent occasions: one <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/karl-stefanovic-storms-off-today-show-live-on-air-after-allison-langdon-s-hurtful-tweets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter-related</a>; one <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/he-s-proper-mad-at-you-why-karl-walked-off-set" target="_blank" rel="noopener">snake-related</a>, and one <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/the-dramatic-moment-karl-stormed-off-set" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weight-related</a>. Image: The Today Show

When was the last time you took a bath?

When was the last time you had a bath? Does your home even have a bath tub? If you haven’t used it in a while, it’s actually quite interesting to ask whether your bathroom really needs it. Baths are perfect for parents with young children, to help them shower. Whether you’re thinking of moving house, it is possible that the potential new owners would prefer a bath. However, not every bathroom can have a bathtub because there is just not enough room. Bathtubs are also more prevalent in houses with three or more bedrooms. If you’re looking to sell, keep in mind that a bathtub itself does not exactly affect the value of the house, but is a preferred feature if the space is there. Image: Shutterstock

Home Hints & Tips

"I had no choice": Tragic reason why F1 boss took his own life

The heartbreaking reason why F1 boss Max Mosley committed suicide has been revealed. The 81-year-old was found dead with “significant injuries consistent with a gunshot wound”, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18101716/max-mosley-shot-himsel-terminal-cancer-diagnosis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a> reported. On Tuesday, the Westminster Coroner in London heard that Mosley had shot himself when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Following his terminal diagnosis, Mosley was told that he had “weeks” to live, and there was no cure for his chronic bladder and bowel pain. He was offered palliative care. Mosley was found dead lying in a pool of his blood with a double-barreled shotgun in between his knees on May 24, 2021. Outside on his bedroom door was a note that read: “Do not enter, call the police”. Police had also found a suicide note on the bedside table that was covered in blood. The only words they could make out were, “I had no choice”, the court heard. “It was obvious he had used the shotgun on himself and endured a life-ending injury. It’s clear he had injuries not compatible with life,” the coroner said. Mosley was referred to Dr Rasha Al-Quarainy, a consultant in palliative care from the Central and North West London NHS Trust, a month before his suicide. She told the courts that Mosley’s B-cell Lymphoma was “inoperable” and that he hadn’t mentioned any suicidal thoughts. “On the contrary he said that he had plans to renovate their home in Gloucestershire that wasn’t going to be finished until July. “He was still seeking treatment possibly in the US, possibly in the UK, and some other matters he spoke to me about.” Dr Christopher McNamara, a consultant haematologist, who had been treating Mosley since 2019, said he had spoken about his life. “He emailed me on 22 May 2021, these were questions about the management of the condition. He had accepted this would not be cured,” Dr McNamara said in court. “He was extremely upset as his quality of life was poor and left him uncomfortable. “He had expressed ideas of committing suicide to myself and other members of the team previously. “He never expressed a plan of doing this and all he said was that the problem was his wife would not accept this.” Image: Getty

Caring

"I took a leap of faith": Sam Armytage opens up on life after Sunrise

Samantha Armytage has spoken candidly about her life after Sunrise, and how meeting the love of her life prompted her to make some “massive changes” in her life. Armytage spoke during the launch of Dan Murphy’s new lines of rosé wine in Sydney - including Brad Pitt’s wine, Miraval Côtes de Provence. “I enjoyed the lunch immensely, the French Rosé wines we tasted were truly exceptional,” Armytage said of the event, which included a lunch and tasting of the new wines. “The only thing missing was Brad Pitt!” In her post-lunch speech, Armytage mused on the upcoming one-year anniversary of her leaving the popular breakfast show. “In a few weeks time it would have been 12 months since I made a huge move towards renewal and a massive new beginning of my own,” she <a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/celeb-news/samantha-armytage-media-career-husband-71208" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began</a>. “My mother used to say to us Armytage kids, ‘edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all’. And so finally, I did. “During my ongoing career, I’ve been placed into a huge, wonderful for the most part, highly-scrutinised, high-adrenaline, high-pressure job.” <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/sam-armytage-wine.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Samantha Armytage shared how she came to dramatically change her life at the launch of Dan Murphy’s new rosé wines. Image: Supplied Armytage said she began to “rethink everything” after seeing a “few sign posts” that made her realise her success was just one part of her story. “I was in my 40s. I was independent, financially and emotionally. I’d made it to the top of my tree in my industry. I have nothing to prove to anyone. And it was one chapter, it was not the whole story,” she said. Now 45, Armytage said her mother’s passing in 2020, intense media scrutiny, and her home being vandalised made her realise she had “had enough”, and meeting her now-husband Richard Lavender helped her find her new path in life. “I met a divine and decent man, sweeter than the sweetest rose,” she said. “I found the love of my life at 42. How lucky am I? And I realised you do not find the happy life, you make it.” So she made “massive changes” to her life which led to her leaving Sydney for the NSW Southern Highlands. “I took a huge leap of faith, a scary and risky move and I’m sure many more ambitious types thought I was mad. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. It gave me time, that most precious commodity,” she continued. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/sam-armytage-wine1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Image: Supplied “The universe moved me towards a more honest, joyful and calm place. I found healing, proper rest, a chance to honour feelings and gave my body and mind a break. “I unfollowed negative people on social media accounts, I stopped watching negative TV. I realised I didn’t have to dominate an industry to be successful or to be number one at anything.” Armytage also reflected on the new opportunities she’s had since leaving Sunrise and shared how she couldn’t be happier writing for Stellar Magazine and working on her popular podcast, Something To Talk About With Samantha Armytage. Image: Supplied

Food & Wine

If you took to growing veggies in the coronavirus pandemic, then keep it up when lockdown ends

The COVID-19 pandemic produced a run on the things people need to produce their own food at home, including <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-24/coronavirus-panic-buying-of-edible-plants-at-nurseries/12082988">vegetable seedlings, seeds</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/scramble-for-backyard-chooks-follows-egg-panic-buying-20200401-p54g28.html">chooks</a>. This turn to self-provisioning was prompted in part by the high price rises for produce – including <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/coronavirus/cauliflower-and-broccoli-among-healthy-vegetables-whose-prices-have-skyrocketed-during-coronavirus-pandemic-ng-b881501930z">A$10 cauliflowers and broccoli for A$13 a kilo</a> – and empty <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/mar/27/ive-never-seen-it-like-this-why-vegetables-are-so-expensive-in-australia-at-the-moment">veggie shelves in some supermarkets</a>. As well as <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/bunnings-diy-garden-shopping-frenzy-as-virus-lockdown-takes-hold/news-story/413857a8c40b44af21eb90a1f88a594f">hitting the garden centres</a> people looked online for information on growing food. Google searches for “<a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=how%20to%20grow%20vegetables">how to grow vegetables</a>” hit an all-time worldwide high in April. Hobart outfit Good Life Permaculture’s video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUqkZLSOdm0">Crisis Gardening - Fresh Food Fast</a> racked up over 80,000 views in a month. Facebook kitchen garden groups, such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SAKGF/videos/vb.107400965969813/2830266200384624/?type=3&theater">Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation</a>, sought to share information and inspiration. <h2>The good life</h2> Given the many benefits of productive gardening, this interest in increased self-sufficiency was an intelligent response to the pandemic situation. Experienced gardeners can produce enough fruit and vegetables year-round to supply two people from <a href="https://www.katlavers.com/the-plummery/">a small suburban backyard</a>. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335516301401" title="Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis">Productive gardening improves health</a> by providing contact with nature, physical activity and a healthier diet. Contact with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6780873/" title="Does Soil Contribute to the Human Gut Microbiome?">good soil bacteria</a> also has positive health effects. While Australians have traditionally valued the feeling of independence imparted by a degree of self-sufficiency, psychological benefits arise from the <a href="https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/reclaiming-the-urban-commons">social connectedness encouraged by many forms of productive gardening</a>. Amid COVID-19, gardeners gathered online and community gardens around the world brought people together through gardening and food. In some areas, community gardens were <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ontario-community-gardens-essential-1.5545115">declared essential because of their contribution to food security</a>. Although Australian community gardens paused their public programs, most remained open for gardening adhering to social distancing regulations. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Community gardens have an important role to play in food resilience. Andrea Gaynor <h2>We always dig deep in a crisis</h2> Vegetable gardening and poultry-keeping often surge in popularity during times of social or economic insecurity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These responses are built on an established Australian tradition of home food production, something I have <a href="http://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/key_docs/harvest_of_the_suburbs__andrea_gaynor_with_title_and_content.pdf">researched in depth</a>. Yet history tells us it’s not easy to rapidly increase self-provisioning in times of crisis – especially for those in greatest need, such as unemployed people. This is another reason why you should plant a vegetable garden (or keep your current one going) even after the lockdown ends, <a href="https://www.sustain.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Urban-Agriculture-Manifesto-2020-1.pdf">as part of a broader suite of reforms</a> needed to make our food systems more fair and resilient. In the second world war, for example, Australian food and agricultural supply chains were disrupted. In 1942-3, as the theatres of war expanded and shortages loomed, the YWCA organised women into “<a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/homefront/victory_gardens">garden armies</a>” to grow vegetables and the federal government launched campaigns encouraging home food production. Community-based food production expanded, but it was not possible for everyone, and obstacles emerged. In Australia, there were disruptions in the supply of seeds, fertiliser and even rubber for garden hoses. In London, resourceful gardeners scraped pigeon droppings from buildings to feed their victory gardens. Another problem was the lack of gardening and poultry-keeping skills and knowledge. The Australian government’s efforts to provide good gardening advice were thwarted by local shortages and weather conditions. Their advertisements encouraging experienced gardeners to help neighbours may have been more effective. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Australian government ‘Grow Your Own’ campaign advertising, 1943. National Archives of Australia, Author provided Home food production has also increased during times of economic distress. During the <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/great-depression">Great Depression</a> in the 1920s and 1930s, a health inspector in the inner suburbs of Melbourne reported, with satisfaction, that horse manure was no longer accumulating: <blockquote> … being very much in demand by the many unemployed who now grow their own vegetables. </blockquote> The high inflation and unemployment of the 1970s – as well as the oil shocks that saw steep increases in fuel prices – saw more people take up productive gardening as a low-cost recreation and buffer against high food prices. The urge to grow your own in a crisis is a strong one, but better preparation is needed for it to be an equitable and effective response. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> How to grow your own vegetables… as long as you like endive. Andrea Gaynor <h2>Beyond the pandemic</h2> The <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-home-gardening-explosion-fruits-vegetables-lockdown/3cf0476b-9fe0-432e-b5c9-d37b9390a12f">empty shelves at nurseries and seed suppliers</a> seen earlier this year tell us we were again insufficiently prepared to rapidly scale up productive home gardening. We need to develop more robust local food systems, including opportunities for people to develop and share food production skills. These could build on established programs, such as western Melbourne’s <a href="https://mysmartgarden.org.au/">My Smart Garden</a>. Particularly in built-up urban areas, provision of safe, accessible, free or low-cost gardening spaces would enable everyone to participate. More city farms with livestock, large-scale composting and seed saving, can increase local supplies of garden inputs and buffer against external disruption. Like other crises before it, COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in the systems that supply most Australians with our basic needs. While we can’t grow toilet paper or hand sanitiser, there is a role for productive gardens and small-scale animal-keeping in making food systems resilient, sustainable and equitable. Self-provisioning doesn’t replace the need for social welfare and wider food system reform. But it can provide a bit of insurance against crises, as well as many everyday benefits.<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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135359/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrea-gaynor-285129">Andrea Gaynor</a>, Associate Professor of History, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a> 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/if-you-took-to-growing-veggies-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic-then-keep-it-up-when-lockdown-ends-135359">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Home Hints & Tips

Grant Denyer reveals darkest family secrets: “It took me weeks to recover”

Grant Denyer has become a familiar face on Australia’s TV screens for almost two decades. From featuring on Sunrise as a weather reporter, to checking in daily as the Family Feud host, the TV star has now decided to undertake a quiet patch and spend more time with his family. After welcoming his third child with wife Chezzi Denyer, the dad says he could not be anymore happier to be spending time with his three girls, Sailor, 10, Scout, 5, and their newborn Sunday. Denyer told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/tv/grant-denyer-daughters-67871" target="_blank">Now To Love </a>what he loves most is: "just being there more than I have ever, making lunches, doing school drop-offs, and taking them to sport… all the things that were very hard for me to do in the past because I wasn't here. The effect it has on the girls is quite profound. <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNW4GjKMkEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNW4GjKMkEo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Grant Denyer (@grantdenyer)</a> </div> </blockquote> “They're happier, they feel safer, they just feel like they've got a whole family unit looking after them." While he has been appreciating his time away from work, the TV star couldn’t help but jump at the chance to explore his family history in Who Do You Think You Are?. "It was an instant 'Hell yeah,'" he candidly admitted. "I blindly went in like a dumb boy, just going, 'How cool would it be to be related to a bushranger?'" However, what was meant to be a lightheaded self-discovery turned into an unravelling of "harrowing and dark" secrets. The beloved TV personality was met with a harsh reality; His Scottish ancestors were forced from their homes "in the most brutal way" during the Highland Clearances. "All the women were attacked, and they were driven off their land and had nowhere to live," he said. "I was not expecting to hear that my ancestors had horrific lives. It was really deeply emotional. At times it was very hard to stomach. "It took me weeks to recover, I reckon. It really rocked me." <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMWczCgsMw4/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMWczCgsMw4/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Grant Denyer (@grantdenyer)</a> </div> </blockquote> Thankfully, the star has been able to find solace in his wife and three girls, admitting his youngest Sunday has wrapped his family in a “beautiful baby bubble”. "The glow hasn't worn off," he said. "It's just glowing brighter. It's unreal. "Our favourite thing is just making her giggle because it's just the sweetest sound you've ever heard. Oh my God, it's like warm honey." He went on to say: "If you're going to have a break from work just for a little bit, it's the perfect time to do it. "I'm really thankful that I don't have much on at the moment and I can just savour it."

Family & Pets

"Broke my whole life": Mum reveals horrific hospital mistake that took unborn son's life

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> Western Australia couple Sarah Hassan and Sunny Alam had been trying for a child for five years. The pair felt like their prayers had been answered after learning that Sarah was pregnant last year. However, things would take a dark turn after a doctor offered morphine to manage the pain during labour. Sarah accidentally was administered ten times the dosage of morphine she was prescribed, resulting in her going into a coma and her baby becoming stillborn. “It was devastating, it broke my whole life,” she said. “That destroyed our family within a moment.” Hospital staff didn't know anything was wrong until the next morning, as they thought Sunny was sleeping instead of being in a coma. “I was sleeping,” Sunny said. “My baby was dying and she was fighting for life.” Sarah suffered a heart attack after the accident and her organs began to shut down, but after three days in a coma, she recovered. However, the baby was stillborn. The hospital, St John of God Bunbury, said it is continuing to probe what went wrong. “This is a tragic occurrence. The hospital feels deeply for the family, and will continue to investigate,” it said in a statement. “It appears the incident was caused by human error.” </div> </div> </div>

Caring

Mum who took on road tolls in court loses “faith in the justice system”

Heidi Jackel says she has lost “faith in the justice system” after being hit with a massive bill for unpaid road tolls that could force her to sell her home. The mother of two has taken on the might of toll road giant Transurban and lost. "I've always believed there is some justice in the justice system," she says. Ms Jackel maintains she honestly thought she paid $14,500 in administration fees that were sprung on her after she did not pay tolls. "I would not wish this on my worst enemy," she said back in August to A Current Affair. "No one should have to go through this... no one." Ms Jackel had been hit with a $22,000 bill for unpaid tolls which includes over $14,700 in administration fees. Ms Jackel was unaware her etag had stopped working but accepted that it had and paid the $7000 in unpaid tolls. But she thought the $10 and $20 administration fees were exorbitant, so she took it to court. "It was so hard," Ms Jackel said. "I'm really sorry." Westlink M7 told Ms Jackel the administration fees were charged by Roads and Maritime Services, which she disputed. "They (Westlink M7) know as well as I do that... that charge is, is… it's a rort… it's ripping people off," she said. Unfortunately, a court has backed the road toll company and ordered Ms Jackel to pay the admin fees. "It's very disappointing," she admitted outside of court. "Because it means that anyone can charge an admin fee and not prove that that's the actual, real admin cost. “The rich people and the big companies, they just get away with doing whatever they like. Ms Jackel has revealed she is scared for what her future holds. "I don't know... will I lose my house? I don't know, I have no idea," she said. "I don't have $15,000. I don't even have $5000... all I have is the house." She says she has found “the silver lining in this dark, dark cloud,” which is that she will not have to pay Westlink M7's legal costs.

Legal

How pain med dependence took its toll on Grant and Chezzi Denyer

Thanks to coronavirus lockdowns, all the extra downtime has allowed celebs to kickstart their own podcasts. But the most exciting of all has been Grant and Chezzi Denyer’s podcast titled, It’s All True? The power couple use the platform to give an insight into their whirlwind life in an unfiltered, truthful way. The first episode discussed Grant’s terrifying accident and the subsequent effect pain medication had on him – and the couple's marriage. "Some of the things that have happened to us over the years are so out there, they don't seem true," Grant says at the beginning of the episode. And he isn’t wrong. The Family Feud host was almost paralysed after a shocking stunt which saw him jump seven cars in a monster truck went terribly wrong. "I was jumping seven cars, landed," he recalls. "The suspension broke, I think. My back then broke, instantly. The pain shot up so fast, I was like, 'I'm in a lot of trouble here'." "I was in such a bad way that none of the morphine was working and I could tell veteran [paramedic] was like, I've given enough to put an elephant down here." Doctors believed Grant would never be able to walk again after he shattered his vertebra. Despite the agonising pain and long road to recovery, Grant admits "the medication is the worst part, by far". "We were warned by a friend who had recently gone through a broken back, on all the things that will start going on in our brain as you try and handle the medication – and HOLY HELL!" "The moment you close your eyes, you can't tell the difference between your reality and your dream. "When you wake up you can't tell what's real and what isn't." Grant and Chezzi remembered the hallucinations from believing there were intruders in their home to being convinced Chezzi had flown to London and back one morning. "I couldn't make a phone call without freaking him out, he'd hear voices," Chezzi recalls. "We had so many drug psychosis episodes where Grant would kick me out of the house because I was an imposter dressed up as Chezzi. "I'd be locked out of the house, a crying mess, and I couldn't call my family to tell them how bad it was. "After three months it's a bit of a dependence, you can't tell what's pain and what is dependence at that point." With Chezzi in charge of Grant's medication, she's baffled by those who manage to self-medicate. "I would've thrown them down like MnMs [if I were self-medicating]," Grant admits in response. But Chezzi admits that what was possibly one of the most difficult period in the couple’s relationship, is also the one that “connected us”. "Our whole existence in that period was patient-and-nurse. We went everywhere together." "As it turns out that is not healthy." The couple then had to, years later, try to "untangle" that level of "co-dependence". But, it's easy to see that they've come out stronger than ever.

News

Piers Morgan admits he took Meghan Markle criticism “too far”

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has confessed that he may have “taken things a bit too far” in his criticism of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over the last two years. The controversial British figure has taken aim at Meghan Markle on a number of occasions, even going as far of “ditching” her family. He tweeted in January: “People say I'm too critical of Meghan Markle — but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William and has now split him from the Royal Family. I rest my case.” Morgan even stirred up a feud with actress Jameela Jamil over the duchess after voicing his vicious opinions on the royals. He has since backtracked on his comments, admitting that his regular criticism of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex weren't "wise". <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7FPg17HFTV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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> <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;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7FPg17HFTV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by AllNewsInc (@allnewsinc)</a> on Jan 8, 2020 at 6:20pm PST </div> </blockquote> "It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal," he admitted to The Sunday Times. "Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely." Morgan has been accused of holding a personal grudge against the duchess, whom he allegedly had a friendly relationship with before she joined the royal family. He claimed she "ghosted" him and abandoned their friendship after meeting Prince Harry. The presenter also confessed that "boredom" has played a role in his attitude towards the royals. "It's times of relative peace, calm, quiet and dare I say boredom that might occasionally bring out the worst in me," he admitted. "Having squabbles with people who are never going to change their mind in a million years about stuff that no longer seems remotely important."

How Greta Thunberg took the news of being named TIME's Person of the Year

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg has been named TIME Magazine’s youngest ever Person of the Year. She acknowledged the honour on her Instagram, saying: “Wow, this is unbelievable! I share this great honour with everyone in the FridaysForFuture movement and climate activists everywhere.” <blockquote 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);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B58C1l8JLox/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B58C1l8JLox/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Wow, this is unbelievable! I share this great honour with everyone in the #FridaysForFuture movement and climate activists everywhere. @time</a> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/gretathunberg/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Greta Thunberg</a> (@gretathunberg) on Dec 11, 2019 at 8:04am PST </div> </blockquote> Naturally, the Swedish teen hasn’t let the global honour disrupt the work that she is known for and headed straight to the United Nation’s COP25 climate talks in Madrid. It was here that she demanded once again that world leaders pay attention to the world’s “climate emergency”. Thunberg commanded that global businesses and political leaders have to stop looking for loopholes for their countries’ actions. "A year and a half ago I didn't speak to anyone unless I really had to. But then I found a reason to speak," she told the talks in Madrid, according to MSN. "Since then I've given many speeches and learned that when you talk in public you should start with something personal or emotional to get everyone's attention. "But today I will not do that because then those phrases are all that people focus on. They don't remember the facts - the very reason why I said those things in the first place. "We no longer have time to leave out the science. For about a year, I have been constantly talking about or rapidly declining carbon budgets over and over again. "But since that is still being ignored, I will just keep repeating it." The 16-year-old then took aim at global leaders saying that they need to face up to the ambition that is required to protect the world from climate change. "The real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done, apart from clever accounting and creative PR," she said in the speech. "Finding holistic solutions is what the COP should be all about, but instead it seems to have turned into some kind of opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes and to avoid raising their ambition," she added.

International Travel

Natural history on TV: how the ABC took Australian animals to the people

Most of us will never see a platypus or a lyrebird in the wild, but it’s likely we’ve encountered them on television. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10304312.2019.1669533">Our new research</a> looks at the vital role early ABC television played in making Australian animals accessible to audiences. In the early years of ABC TV, there was very little locally produced animal content. When animals were on the small screen, they were usually imported from the BBC. Foremost among the imports was David Attenborough’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0918481/">Zoo Quest</a> (1954–1964), following the young naturalist’s exploits in Guyana, Borneo and Paraguay collecting live animals for London Zoo. Zoo Quest was formative in the development of natural history television. It launched Attenborough’s career and established many of the cultural conventions of the format: the authoritative and intrepid male narrator venturing to exotic places in search of animals being their wild selves. For Attenborough, the thrill of showing animals in their natural states gave the show “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=1lHs8bTVh8oC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=%22the+spice+of+unpredictability%22&source=bl&ots=PHg_-HorBL&sig=ACfU3U2rfkJS_gutZ9keb76WpQ2Ogzn7Iw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwid_7WvyK7lAhVDuI8KHVWSDJEQ6AEwAXoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22the%20spice%20of%20unpredictability%22&f=false">the spice of unpredictability</a>”. From the farm to the bush The initial strategy for local animal content by ABC TV was to use familiar radio techniques – panel talks and natural sounds – and just add pictures. Junior Farmer Competition, for instance, was a successful radio show. When it moved to television in 1958, live cattle, sheep and poultry were brought into the studio and competitors were asked to handle them before the cameras. This show was a remarkable experiment in visualising a radio format – but it didn’t last. The logistics of wrangling livestock in a TV studio proved too difficult. During the 1960s, the ABC began screening locally made wildlife shows. Wild animals were no longer somewhere else, in Africa or South America: they were all around us. Wildlife Australia (1962-1964) was written by ornithologist and radio broadcaster, Graham Pizzey and produced with the CSIRO. The series took viewers into unique Australian environments, and explored the native wildlife in these habitats. Other shows offered variations on this theme of an emerging environmental nationalism. Around the Bush (1964) starred naturalist and educator <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/green-before-it-was-fashionable-20070912-gdr373.html">Vincent Serventy</a> out in the field; Wild Life Paradise: Australian Fauna (1967), was filmed at the Sir Colin Mackenzie Sanctuary (later Healesville Sanctuary) and offered content about what made Australian animals unique. As recurring references to Australia in these titles suggest, these shows were determinedly national. They often represented animals as living in “the bush” or “the environment”. This early reference to “the environment” framed it as a zone where nature and culture interacted – usually with bad outcomes for nature. As early as 1962, audiences were invited to look at animals as both fascinating and vulnerable. Animals and their habitats were framed as in need of public attention and concern in order to limit human intrusion and impact. While nature conservation movements had been around since the post WWII period, they often focused on preservation of scenic sites for human pleasure. This early environmentalism gave <a href="https://www.mup.com.au/books/defending-the-little-desert-paperback-softback">conservation a more political edge</a>. It valued nature in its own right and questioned development at all costs. Dancing Orpheus Probably the most groundbreaking early natural history show made by the ABC was <a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/tv/dancing-orpheus/">Dancing Orpheus</a> (1962). Celebrated for its visual and technical prowess in capturing the secretive superb lyrebird, the most powerful scene showed a cock bird performing its elaborate courting display. The narration by John West offered scientific explanation, but the focus was on the extraordinary aesthetics of this pure natural expression. Dancing Orpheus was celebrated not just because it captured a rare and beautiful lyrebird performance, but because it also showed the emerging power of television to make remarkable Australian animals visible to audiences. Dancing Orpheus was one of the catalysts for the development of natural history television at the ABC, which really took off with the watershed series <a href="https://beyondtheestuary.com/fire-and-water-vale-charles-ken-taylor-poet-filmmaker-1930-2014/">Bush Quest with Robin Hill</a> (1970). Bush Quest featured the artist and naturalist Hill observing and sketching the wildlife of central and coastal Victoria. It established a new audience for Australian wildlife, breaking with earlier presentations of the remote bush or outback. Bush Quest cultivated a new environmental ethos in viewers increasingly aware of nature’s fragility. An ongoing legacy The ABC’s Natural History Unit was created in 1973. This small unit produced a suite of top rating programs that publicised a huge variety of Australian animals, way beyond the usual kangaroos and koalas. Its watershed moment was the internationally acclaimed series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4590316/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Nature of Australia</a> (1988). Nature of Australia offered audiences an experience of national identification and pride based on our remarkable natural – rather than cultural or military – history. It put nature at the heart of definitions of national uniqueness. Early natural history television on the ABC showed audiences animals and places they didn’t even know existed, and explained natural processes in ways that were accessible and engaging. It also showed audiences how vulnerable these animals and habitats were to human actions and intervention. Natural history television on the ABC didn’t just make animals entertaining: it implicated audiences in their lives and survival, a significant factor in building environmental awareness. Written by Gay Hawkins. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/natural-history-on-tv-how-the-abc-took-australian-animals-to-the-people-125221">The Conversation.</a>

Art

“It’s a nightmare”: How NSW woman took on Centrelink and won

A NSW woman has revealed how she fought back a false $8,000 debt from Centrelink. Single mother Rebecca Wright said she received a notice claiming that she had debts dating back to 2016 and 2017, when she held part-time and casual jobs in hospitality and retail while receiving the Newstart allowance and the Family Tax Benefit. Wright said she spent “hours on end” over a two-week period examining past pay slips and cross-referencing a diary she had used to keep track of her work hours and earnings. After re-entering her work details online, it was discovered that “around 75 per cent” of Centrelink’s claims “didn’t marry up”. Wright’s debt was reduced from nearly $8,000 to about $1,600. She said the debt was probably still too high, but she decided to “wear it” due to the stress and anxiety from disputing the notice. “It put me through such depression and anxiety – I was so upset because it came out of nowhere, and I had always been really particular with my reporting,” she told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/nsw-woman-reveals-her-stressful-robodebt-battle-and-how-she-took-on-centrelink-and-won/news-story/f08ac1d258248ac21643c7778cbf46e5" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>. “I’m a single mum and I was living with this debt over my head which I didn’t expect – it just put me in such a position of stress. “I was crying and so stressed. I was panicking – I thought, ‘As a single mum, I can’t afford this’.” She said the situation was exacerbated by “rude and unhelpful” Centrelink staff and the department’s “mind-boggling” and “confusing” reporting system. Wright has since repaid her reduced debt. Today she works full-time and no longer receives the Newstart payment. She urged other Australians to be wary. “It’s just sad. It’s a nightmare for some people. People need to fact check, ask questions and fight back,” she said. “I’m just lucky I was able to figure it out, but other people don’t know what to do – they might not be aware or they might have disabilities which means they just wear it and start paying.” Centrelink’s controversial robodebt scheme has been criticised for issuing incorrect debt notices against Australians. According to <a href="https://www.nambuccaguardian.com.au/story/6513393/vulnerable-people-hit-with-154m-in-robodebts/?cs=9397">Services Australia</a>, the government has raised more than $15 million in debts against 9,149 people considered vulnerable over the three years the system has been in place. The number of complainants taking part in a <a href="https://gordonlegal.com.au/robodebt-class-action/">class action against the scheme</a> has reached 4,000 as of last week.

Money & Banking

End of economy perk we all took for granted

Passengers were less than impressed on their final 90-minute slog of the 22 hour long flight from London to Sydney. As many were looking forward to a hot breakfast, they were greeted with a sad little sandwich. This could soon be the new norm in economy long-haul flights. However, an aviation analyst has explained that as long-haul flights become the norm, hot breakfasts in economy could be a thing of the past. “It could be the end of the hot breakfast in economy,” one aviation analyst told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/flights/lufthansa-signals-end-to-economy-class-perk-we-all-took-for-granted/news-story/6804d7726aff3584156602e7d8a87d6c">news.com.au</a>. It seems like airlines could be following in the footsteps of the German giant airline Lufthansa, who let it slip that they were ditching their second hot meal on all flights of more than 10 hours in length. However, the airline didn’t put out a press release on the matter but it was picked up by airline blogs. “Over the past few months, we have carried out over 80 flights with various test scenarios. Thus, it was possible for us to establish a modern service according to current customer wishes thanks to feedback from our customers,” Lufthansa’s Asia-Pacific Head of Communications Klaus Pokorny told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/flights/lufthansa-signals-end-to-economy-class-perk-we-all-took-for-granted/news-story/6804d7726aff3584156602e7d8a87d6c">news.com.au</a>. “Many customers like the possibility of either enjoying this second meal immediately or packing it for the rest of their journey,” Pokorny explained. However, Qantas has insisted that they’re not following suit, although an aviation expert warns that others airlines might be tempted to follow the trend. “The price point for most people is the economy fare and so we now have these low fares airlines that aren’t actually low cost airlines,” the aviation consultant explained. “People will buy bundles off a base fare, like having a hot breakfast, and the airlines will end up with more revenue. “It’s the way of the future. It could be the end of the (included) hot breakfast in economy.”

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