Ahead of the September opening of the Macquarie University Geopolitical Risk Research Centre, Associate Professor Adam Lockyer explains why preparing for uncertainty requires looking beyond the next crisis – and across disciplines.

There is a familiar sentiment echoing through our post-pandemic world – we are continually living through “unprecedented times”.

And it is not difficult to see why.

Climate tipping points have been surpassed, wars have erupted, and old conflicts have been reignited. The cost of living continues to squeeze households, while tensions between major powers are reshaping alliances and disrupting economies.

But amid all this uncertainty there are people who refuse to sit quietly and wait for the next crisis to arrive. Associate Professor Adam Lockyer is one of them.

When Dr Lockyer began studying international relations in the 2000s, the shockwaves of September 11 were still reshaping how governments, militaries, and researchers understood security.

Now, as the world enters a new era of profound uncertainty, Dr Lockyer is asking how prepared Australia is for what comes next.

It is a question that has led him to a new undertaking, establishing and leading Macquarie University’s Geopolitical Risk Research Centre, which will launch in September this year.

“My background is in international relations, with a speciality in defence and strategic studies,” explains Dr Lockyer.

“That’s looking at the causes of strategic competition, war and conflict.

“Though the centre is housed within the Faculty of Arts, the success of the Geopolitical Risk Research Centre will depend upon collaborations from across the University.”

Australia is increasingly exposed to geopolitical challenges from global threats which were once far away, and Lockyer argues multidisciplinary expertise will help overcome them, pointing to the recent crisis over fuel prices.

A blockade in a distant shipping lane can now quickly empty shelves. A geopolitical dispute can ripple through industries, jobs and household budgets before most people have even heard the name of the place where it began.

And then there is the very real possibility of multiple crises unfolding at once.

Like dry grass in the middle of an Australian summer, the conditions can be quietly accumulating – all it takes is a spark and a hot breeze.

“Australia is one of the most globalised economies in the world - we’re more linked into the international marketplace than almost anyone else,” Dr Lockyer explains.

“Even when we consider one of the few Australian industries where we think that we’re self-reliant we quickly discover that in fact it’s highly exposed to geopolitical risks.”

“Australia is self-sufficient in food production, for example, but this industry is completely dependent upon the reliable importation of fuel, machinery, fertiliser, irrigation systems, labour, pesticides, and the list goes on and on.”

“So what does the possible disruption to international networks, international trade and supply chains mean for everyday people?

“It’s crucial for our lives. It’s not just about what you can buy but also having a job, and doing your job, requires access to global markets.

“One thing we need to do is think through how we can continue to exploit international trade and get all the fantastic benefits that derive from it, while reducing some the vulnerabilities that it creates? Those are the key questions.”

As the world enters a new era of profound uncertainty, Dr Lockyer is asking how prepared Australia is for what comes next. 

This, of course, is where the Centre comes in.

“We’re not just looking at the causes of the risks; we also want to look at solutions.

“Sometimes, that might be political solutions, but often it’s going to be about innovation. That then brings in other parts of the university, including health, medicine, science and engineering. They can come up with discoveries that will help us respond to and mitigate some of these risks.”

Rather than trying to tackle every possible pressure point at once, the Centre will examine areas where Australia’s vulnerabilities and opportunities are particularly intertwined: China and Northeast Asia, supply chains, and maritime security sovereign capability.

“China is the perfect example of an actor that is both a huge economic opportunity that also presents multiple geopolitical risks.

“The size and dynamism of the Chinese marketplace is now second to none – it's no longer a follower or a factory – there is real innovation there.

“One of the key areas we want to look at is China as a potential opportunity, but also a potential risk.

“The second priority is supply chain resilience."

The travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently the surge in fuel prices linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have highlighted another vulnerability - Australia’s reliance on global supply chains.

“Supply chains are, in part, linked to China, but this research area is broader. We want to look at maritime supply chains in particular and what they mean for Australia, because Australia is heavily dependent on maritime supply routes.

Dr Lockyer says a third area of focus is on sovereign capability - ensuring Australia retains the skills, infrastructure and expertise needed to develop and produce technology in strategically important areas – when global supply chains are disrupted.

“We need to start looking at what things need to be built in Australia - either now or being able to ramp up production at short notice.

“It’s going to be important to think through how those three main research priorities can overlap while remaining distinct.”

In a world that can feel increasingly fractured, the instinct might be to retreat, protect and prepare for the worst. But that is the kind of thinking Dr Lockyer wants the Centre to resist.

His approach has been shaped by a career spent studying the nuances of international power and conflict.

After completing his PhD in international relations, Dr Lockyer worked in Washington DC at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies before returning to Australia to join the United States Studies Centre, where he taught American foreign policy. His background in both think tanks and academia shapes his vision for the Geopolitical Risk Research Centre.

“It is going to be something new. Not a think tank. Not a traditional university research centre. But a chimera that combines the best elements of both.”

“We also want to be a Centre that encourages business and government to lean into changing international order. I think we need to be clear-eyed about the risks and never stop searching for the political and economic opportunities,” reflects Dr Lockyer.

“Too much of the conversation these days is binary. There are those who are really pessimistic about the future – they see only challenges ahead and believe the future is going to be much worse than today. There are others who don’t pay sufficient attention to the risks.”

“Of course there are many risks and they are increasing in number and potential severity – but we want to talk about them in a much more objective, clear-eyed and pragmatic way.

“We must be aware of the risks, but we shouldn’t be so focused on them that we become too frightened to seize opportunities.”

It is a subtle distinction, but an important one.

For Dr Lockyer, the Centre is about creating an environment capable of moving with that uncertainty and then being ready to do it all over again when the next problem arrives.

“My expectation is that the Centre will one day be the leading source of objective expert analysis on geopolitical risk in Australia.

“I would like its reputation to be one that strives for balance and interdisciplinary agility, so we have experts being pulled in from all over the university. We have this massive reservoir of expertise in the University that we can tap into.

“We want to be a Centre that is not closed off from the University, but can act as a funnel, capturing all the expertise that is out there and forming these groups around different risks as they emerge. After that crisis moves on, they can disperse, and form the next group.”

Unprecedented times, call for an unprecedented Centre.

Want to know more? Register here for Arts After Dark: The Illusion of Independence, or get in touch with Adam Lockyer at geopolitical.risk@mq.edu.au. You can also follow Adam’s work on his LinkedIn.

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Social media platforms could be forced to give Australians the option to turn off algorithms under draft laws unveiled in parliament this week. We asked five experts to weigh in.

Communications Minister Anika Wells declared a “reckoning” for US tech titans as the government revealed platforms would be subject to $100 million fines under a proposed Digital Duty of Care.

Anika Wells and Anthony Albanese hold a press conference in Canberra. Photo: Getty.

In the draft legislation announced on Tuesday, Labor outlines five key harms to children that companies should prevent under 16s from seeing online: pornography, promoting disordered eating, encouraging “hostile attitudes towards women or gender equality”, glorifying crime or dangerous stunts, and bullying or harassment. Platforms will also be required to remove addictive design features “that have negative behavioural impacts” for young people.

The reforms will also capture online games, apps, and AI chatbots, with new powers given to the eSafety commissioner and researchers to investigate compliance.

The “My Feed, My Way” initiative will compel Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to send notifications to new and existing users of all ages — offering them a feed filled only with accounts they follow. For those old enough to remember, this option will essentially revert your social media feed to how it was pre-2016.

Algorithms have been criticised for amplifying sensationalist content, reinforcing echo chambers and playing a role in radicalising young people in the interests of keeping people on platforms for longer.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to spruik the plan at the United Nations general assembly in New York later this month. “We’ve started a global movement,” Albanese said. “It’s about putting choice back into the hands of Australians online… and it will hold the big tech companies responsible for inaction.”

Opposition leader Angus Taylor and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson will not support the bill on the grounds of  “censorship.” Given their opposition, any new legislation would require support from the Greens to pass the Senate. The Greens have called for stronger opt-in rules, like those supported by Teach Us Consent campaigner Chantel Contos. That model would require social media users to give explicit consent to platforms before being subject to algorithmic content.

So, does the Digital Duty of Care have the teeth to take on Big Tech? Four out of five experts said yes.

Australian adults will be able to choose whether they want an algorithm-driven social media feed under the “My Feed, My Way" initiative. Photo: Getty.

Dr Mark Williams is an internationally recognised Australian cognitive neuroscientist, with over 25 years of experience in brain research. He is an Honorary Professor, Macquarie University School of Psychological Sciences.

MARK: The Albanese Government’s Digital Duty of Care legislation is a welcome and long‑overdue correction to a system that has allowed tech companies to make billions while manipulating our attention, shaping our behaviour and harming our mental and physical health. For years, these platforms have engineered addictive features that keep children and adults online longer than they intend, often at the expense of sleep, wellbeing and real‑world connection. This legislation finally acknowledges that the design of these products, not the users, is the problem.

The My Feed, My Way initiative is a meaningful step toward restoring autonomy. Allowing Australians to opt out of algorithmic feeds is not about restricting choice; it’s about reclaiming it. Algorithms have quietly dictated what we see and how we feel for too long.

Extending the Duty of Care to games, apps and AI systems is equally important. Neuroscience has shown repeatedly that developing brains are highly susceptible to high‑stimulation digital environments, yet tech companies have faced almost no consequences for exploiting this vulnerability.

The fines attached to the legislation, while symbolically significant, are far too small for companies whose annual revenues dwarf national budgets. If we truly want accountability, penalties must be large enough to change behaviour, not simply absorbed as a cost of doing business.

Dr Danielle Einstein is a clinical psychologist and researcher whose work examines the links between technology use, school programs, and anxiety in young people. She is an Adjunct Fellow at Macquarie University.

DANIELLE: I welcome the Australian Government’s recognition that online harm is not caused by algorithms alone. The proposed duty of care would require digital services, including online games, apps and AI chatbots, to protect under-18s from design features that can produce addictive behaviour or damage self-esteem.

This is an important shift away from expecting young people and families to manage these risks by themselves. Awareness alone is not enough. Young people may recognise persuasive design while continuing to scroll. They may identify misinformation in a classroom activity yet still engage with emotionally compelling content later that evening. They may understand that anonymous posting can enable cruelty and remove accountability, yet still create a second account and post things they would never say under their own name.

However, limiting addictive and self-worth based design protections to under-18s remains concerning, because young adults are vulnerable to many of the same traps. I would also like to see visible engagement metrics removed so Australians are not encouraged to trade in outrage or base their self-worth on daily changes in the size of their online audience. New features should be independently audited before release, and accountability should extend to the executives who approve harmful designs, rather than resting solely with the corporate entity after damage appears in our clinics.

Professor Dali Kaafar is Executive Director of the Cyber Security Hub, School of Computing and CEO of Apate.AI.

DALI: My honest view is that the intention is right, but as it stands this will not change much, because an opt-out is the weakest version of a good idea. Here is the problem: The algorithm is not a setting you switch off once and forget. It is constantly learning you, from every tap, pause and scroll, and adjusting what it shows you to keep you watching. An opt-out is a one-off switch against a system that never stops adapting. Turn it off, or simply keep using the app, and it quietly rebuilds its picture of you. And even with the recommended feed turned off, the platform is still collecting your data and profiling you.

You can opt out of the feed. You cannot opt out of being profiled. So a toggle most people will never find is not a real control. If the government wants this to work, two things matter far more than the opt-out button. Make the safer setting the default, rather than something you have to hunt for. And put limits on what these systems are allowed to chase in the first place, which today is simply your attention, for as long as they can hold it.

Dr Wayne Warburton is a Professor of Developmental Psychology and registered psychologist at Macquarie University.

WAYNE: The Digital Duty of Care bill proposed by the Australian Government aims to provide a range of protections to children, including from the addictive design aspects of online products such as social media platforms, online games and AI chatbots. For me, such changes cannot come too soon. I have seen firsthand the sometimes devastating effects of digital addictions on mental health, physical health, school/work, relationships and the ability to negotiate the offline world.

Whilst such effects have been well known to clinicians working in this field for years, big tech have been reluctant to acknowledge such problems, or to make the sorts of changes needed to address them. Recent court cases, however, have forced them to take this issue seriously. A March finding in a Los Angeles court found that the addictive design of platforms run by Meta and Google had contributed  to the plaintiff’s mental ill health, and in August Meta agreed to a historic multi-billion dollar settlement with many US States to resolve claims that it designed addictive social media platforms that harmed young users. Such lawsuits (and whistleblowers) have also made public internal research from big tech companies demonstrating that they knew about harms from their digital products, and were aware of their addictive features.

This proposed legislation will protect Australians, especially those most vulnerable to digital harms, and has the benefit of applying to all like platforms, thus not singling one out to have a competitive disadvantage. Because it is at the cutting edge though, it is also likely to have some teething problems. There are so many elements to addictive design, there may be issues with compiling a sufficient list of design features to address, and tech companies may claim there will be technical difficulties resolving some. Given existing compliance issues around the social media age change, compliance is also likely to also be an issue should the proposed legislation become law. This means that tweaks to the laws and their oversight will need to be made along the way, and that full benefits may come down the track rather than straight away.

My message to the government is: stay the course. This needs to happen. If there are teething issues, ignore the inevitable claims that this isn’t working, or cannot work and should be abandoned. This is about a long game, but one that eventually will benefit many Australians.

Deborah Youdell is an internationally renowned Professor of Education and Dean of Macquarie School of Education.

DEBORAH: I remember back when I lost control of Facebook. It started feeding me all sorts of things I didn’t want to see. I had to hunt among Facebook’s feed to find my friends’ posts. One friend told me how she had influenced the algorithm by liking wildflowers and woodworking. But I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just turn the algorithm off. In the lead up to the social media ban the Government was presented with the competing pull of evidence showing the harms caused by social media; forms of community and connection on social media that are protective for young people; evidence from their own curriculum authority (ACARA) that social media is a key source of young people’s political information and; that social media is, potentially, a democratic freedom to which young people have a legal right.

The proposed Digital Duty of Care begins to fulfil the calls made in advance of the ban to regulate the platforms and require them to provide a safe product, rather than simply restricting young people’s access. We know that social media is embedded in the everyday lives of many young people as well as adult.

The claim that a Digital Duty of Care is Government censorship is dog-whistle politics. The proposed legislation is returning choice and control to users and consumer. It re-opens the possibility that the World Wide Web could be a safe vehicle for dialogue and democratic participation, for young people and adults alike, just as early coders and users hoped it would be.

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Led by A/Professor Jafar Shojaii, A team from Macquarie University has joined CERN’s Large Hadron Collider experiment to develop advanced semiconductor chips that will help scientists search for clues about the origins of our universe.

The story of the universe is written across the cosmos.

It carries the markings of its birth in ancient light, the remnants of dead stars that live within our bodies, and clues to its evolution scattered across billions of galaxies like celestial time capsules.

And yet, one chapter remains largely unwritten.

In the first fractions of a second after the Big Bang, the universe existed in an unimaginably hot and dense state, with the fundamental particles and forces that govern everything - from galaxies to human life - only beginning to emerge. These earliest moments continue to pose some of the deepest questions in modern physics, mysteries scientists have spent decades trying to understand.

That search has led beneath the Swiss French border, where the Large Hadron Collider - the world’s most powerful particle accelerator 100 metres underground in a 27-kilometre tunnel, – centred on a detector the size of a three-storey building.

It is one of humanity’s most ambitious scientific instruments, bringing together thousands of physicists, engineers and computer scientists from more than 70 countries, all working towards a shared goal: understanding how the universe came to be by recreating the conditions of its earliest moments.

Among those contributing to that global effort is Macquarie University.

Recently granted Technical Associate Membership of CERN’s LHCb experiment, Macquarie has joined an international collaboration developing the next generation of particle detector technology.

A/Professor Jafar Shojaii is leading the University’s contribution, designing semiconductor chips that will sit just millimetres from where particles collide. For Dr Shojaii, the collaboration reflects the level of expertise that has established Macquarie as an international leader in semiconductor technology.

Left: Professor Jafar Shojaii, who is leading Macquarie University’s Technical Associate Membership of CERN’s LHCb experiment. Right: Dr Andrea Mazzanti, a postdoctoral researcher and member of the team. Photo: Amy Shidiak

"CERN selected us to deliver this project, and becoming an official technical member shows that we are one of the leading universities in chip design internationally," A/Professor Shojaii explains.

"Macquarie is unique in that it is the only Australian university with a strategic research priority in semiconductor technology. There is no other university in Australia operating at this level, both in terms of the scale of the research and the expertise of the people involved.”

While the Large Hadron Collider stretches for kilometres beneath the Earth, the technology being developed to interpret its collisions measures in mere centimetres.

Small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and light enough to be carried on the wind, these chips may appear unassuming. Yet, within their tiny architecture lies a design that has never been built before - technology engineered to detect and record the traces left behind as particles emerge from high-energy collisions.

Their journey begins years before they reach CERN, inside laboratories where the team simulates, tests and refines every component.

A close-up of the semiconductor chip being developed by Macquarie University researchers for CERN’s LHCb experiment. Image: Amy Shidiak

“Delivering such a complex and advanced technology requires years of fundamental research. We need to start with simulations of nuclear radiation effects in materials -the very fundamentals of science,” explains A/Professor Shojaii.

“Based on that understanding, we need to find solutions for how we deal with these effects when we have millions of transistors integrated onto a single device. We then have to make sure the device can operate while mitigating these effects under extremely demanding requirements.

“Only once we've gathered all that evidence can we deliver the final functional device. Then we work with CERN on commissioning the chips into the particle detectors, and we remain involved in operating them over the decade that the detector is running.”

For a team working on technology where the margin for error is non-existent, the pressure inside the semiconductor laboratory is not immediately visible.

Each 1cm² chip contains billions of transistors – painstakingly designed by hand to withstand extreme radiation while processing information from quadrillions of particles travelling at near the speed of light.

The technology being developed to interpret its collisions measures in mere centimetres. Image: Amy Shidiak

This work is mission-critical because these tiny chips must withstand the most intense radiation environment ever created by humans in a laboratory—far exceeding the conditions experienced by satellites and spacecraft in Earth orbit.

As A/Professor Shojaii explains the complexity of the engineering and science, he appears calm and methodical - walking through simulations, testing processes and design challenges with the quiet confidence of a researcher who understands that breakthroughs are built incrementally over time, through patience and persistence.

For Dr Andrea Mazzanti, a postdoc researcher in the team, part of navigating that pressure lies in trusting that what he’s designing on his computer screen will eventually become a fully formed, functioning chip.

“The engineering challenge is extraordinary,” says Dr Mazzanti.

“These chips are designed for one of the most demanding environments in science. They need to detect extremely small signals, operate at very high speed and continue performing reliably under intense radiation. That requires precision at every stage - it is painstaking work, but it is also what makes this project so exciting.”

But it is not only the expertise of the team that is shaping this extraordinary technology.

From the beginning of the collaboration, Macquarie has placed students at the centre of the project, selecting 10 researchers over the coming decade to work alongside some of the world’s leading scientists and engineers.



Dr Andrea Mazzanti, part of the Macquarie University team developing cutting-edge semiconductor technology for CERN’s LHCb experiment. Image: Elaine Obran

"Through our strong engagement with universities in Italy and Switzerland, we're providing students with the opportunity to go to Europe and work with some of the best chip designers and scientist in the world, along with distinguished academics working with CERN,” says A/professor Shojaii.

“After completing their PhDs, they will each have a very unique set of skills that will set them apart from the rest of the world.”

The first student selected for the program is Ollie Salman, whose path into the project began not through a formal application process, but through the relationships and mentorship built inside Macquarie’s semiconductor community during his master’s degree. His selection for the CERN project is a natural progression of that journey.

“I was relatively new to chip design when I started, but working with such a strong team gave me the ability to develop quickly," says Salman.

“Working on technology for CERN is an incredible opportunity. It combines cutting-edge semiconductor design with some of the biggest scientific questions we can ask.

“Knowing that something we've designed here could help enable discoveries in particle physics is incredibly motivating, and I'm excited to contribute to that effort."

For Salman, these chips form the first chapter of his career, but they are also an incremental part of a much larger story - one written across laboratories, continents and generations of scientists, each contributing a small piece to one of humanity's greatest scientific pursuits.

His work will focus on helping build a new detector to run what’s known as the LHCb experiment, one of four new projects underway in the collider, that are all expected to commence in 2030 and continue well into the 2050’s.

It is this long-term vision that also shapes A/Professor Shojaii’s approach to the project.

“For me, it's about doing something meaningful,” reflects A/Professor Shojaii.

“It's not just about progressing your career or finding a job - it’s about contributing to the most fundamental understanding of the universe. Which is an extremely meaningful contribution to humanity.”

Interested in being part of this project?  Students with backgrounds in physics or microelectronics are encouraged to get in touch with Associate Professor Shojaii and apply: jafar.shojaii@mq.edu.au

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a $600 million program to strengthen aerial and maritime surveillance across the Pacific, targeting the narco-submarines and small vessels used to move drugs through the region. He made the announcement at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau.

The Pacific is increasingly becoming a halfway point for transnational drug smuggling. Its island nations are hard to police and law-enforcement agencies are thinly staffed. This means it’s a haven for drug traffickers.

Albanese hopes the new initiative will combat the surge of drugs making their way into Australia: in May, Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett said 17 tonnes of illicit drugs (mostly cocaine), had been seized in the Pacific since January. In all of 2025, that figure was less than 5 tonnes.

The AFP states most of the illicit drugs being trafficked to and through the Pacific are destined for Australia.

Anthony Albanese pictured at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa in September 2026. Photo: Getty.

What’s in the deal?

The funding sits under the Waqa Moana Initiative (named after a large, sturdy canoe) – a Pacific-led maritime security initiative to counter illicit drug trafficking.

The Australian government said the deal would involve several initiatives, including:

• $49 million for the AFP to invest in new counter-transnational and organised crime programs across the region (in addition to the $140 million the AFP is contributing over the next four years to support regional security objectives, including Waqa Moana)
• $312 million for the Department of Defence over the next ten years to support efforts to counter transnational and organised crime in the region.

Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy said:

Drug trafficking is having a devastating impact on Pacific communities. This initiative responds to the calls of regional leaders to do more, and to step up regional coordination to address this scourge.

Beyond drug trafficking, the program also aims to address the erosion of social cohesion and ease the health burden that cocaine and methamphetamine are placing on island communities.

Why is the Pacific a problem for Australia and New Zealand?

Two shifts over the past decade explain most of it.

The first is the expansion of Australian and New Zealand outlaw motorcycle gangs into the islands – mainly the Rebels and the Head Hunters, whose members include people of Pacific Island descent from countries such as Fiji and the Cook Islands. These gang members can be a link between South American and Mexican cartels and the Pacific – a connection that barely existed ten years ago.

The second is deportation policies. Australia and New Zealand return people with criminal records to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands after living in Australia or New Zealand. Many who arrive without support turn or return to crime.

Why is this new deal needed?

There are four reasons why this is needed.

1. The region is difficult to police. Pacific nations are scattered across roughly 25,000 islands, with about 2,000 of them inhabited. Maritime boundaries are highly porous and, in most places, subject to little or no surveillance.

Law enforcement agencies are thinly staffed, infrastructure is limited and customs and police often cannot share intelligence easily. Together, these gaps make the Pacific an attractive route for shipments bound for Australia and New Zealand.

2. Traffickers have plenty of ways in. Narco-subs carrying tonnes of cocaine can be beached and unloaded without police or local communities knowing. Remote landing strips allow “black flight” importations. This is when small twin-engine planes are used to ship drugs into a country by flying below aerial radar detection, often at night, making them near-impossible to track.

Even pleasure crafts, which rarely attract attention considering how vital they are to tourism in the region, can be used by smugglers.

3. The islands have become a warehouse. The region’s remoteness allows syndicates to stockpile cocaine and methamphetamine in the Pacific, sell some of it locally, and hold the rest before moving it into the Australian and New Zealand markets at an opportune time.

4. Local communities are paying for it through increased violent crime, with users turning to theft, intimidation and standovers to fund addictions or settle debts.

Regional authorities also report organised crime groups generating fear across whole communities, eroding public safety. Some national health systems are feeling the strain too, with hospital admissions rising for psychosis symptoms believed to be linked to methamphetamine use.

How bad is the drug problem in Australia?

Bad, and not improving.

A 2026 European Union Drugs Agency analysis comparing 28 countries found Australians and New Zealanders were among the highest combined per capita consumers of amphetamine, methylamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.

Australian and New Zealand cocaine use remains among the highest per capita anywhere.

Will the Waqa Moana initiative work?

Whether the new deal actually reduces supply remains to be seen.

The $600 million is money Pacific Island nations badly need, so hopefully it should have some impact against this rising threat. But with Australian and New Zealand demand for cocaine as strong as it is, the question is how far $600 million can stretch against it.

This article was originally published in The Conversation.

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Dr Vanessa Pirotta has conducted research in Antarctica and Madagascar, swum with whales in the South Pacific and been featured in international media from Vogue to The New York Times. But what excites the Macquarie University wildlife scientist most is sharing knowledge.

Wildlife Scientist, Dr Vanessa Pirotta. Photo: Don Arnold.

The wildlife scientist has just returned from Tonga where she was training local ‘ocean ambassadors’ to monitor whale sightings and collect environmental DNA, a tool used to detect marine life. The work aims to ensure the sustainability and longevity of whale swim tourism in Tonga.

“It was the first Tongan-led whale research ever, which was conducted on a community vessel,” Dr Pirotta says proudly of the collaboration with the local Vava’u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA).

Tonga, 2026. Photo: Vanessa Pirotta.  

The trip was a pivotal moment in her career. “As a scientist I love not only learning about the animals I study but working with people who also love nature, to empower and upskill them to protect the creatures we all collectively share and love.”

For some of the local team and new ambassadors, it was their first time seeing a whale in the wild.

“I had the hydrophone in the water, and we could hear the whales, and I played that to some of them. All of this was recorded on film and was probably the most special video of my life. The gusto and the willingness to learn was just so wonderful.”

A whale sighting in Tonga, 2026. Photo: Vanessa Pirotta.  

It’s Dr Pirotta’s fifth trip to Tonga since 2013, following in the footsteps of her PhD supervisor Professor Rob Harcourt from Macquarie University.

Accompanying her this time were Gamay Rangers Bryce Liddell and April Allende, who Dr Pirotta first began working with while writing her book The Humpback Highway.

“I've had the opportunity of learning from the Gamay Rangers, but also to open their eyes to a different perspective. It's an extension of Sea Country care for them because we directly share whales [with Tonga], whales do not have international passports, they swim where like, when they like.”

Vanessa Pirotta with Gamay Rangers, Bryce Liddell and April Allende, in Tonga 2026. Photo: Vanessa Pirotta.

In Tonga, the trio swam together with whales, found a pod of spinner dolphins while collecting acoustics and DNA and heard the Tongan Whistler’ - a rare bird found only in Vava’u. This journey also created connections with Tongan locals and opportunities to share indigenous knowledge.

“You've got two people who are the next generation in the community, who have the opportunity to be exposed to these things, and who I'm fortunate enough to be working with. It's the most empowering thing.”

Whale song

Dr Pirotta was always going to work with sea mammals – an obsession that began on the farm she grew up on in Canberra.

“As a little girl, all I wanted was to be a dolphin trainer. Mum bought me Free Willy on tape when we lived on the farm. I had the Free Willy Barbie doll with the killer whale. It was all I wanted to do.”

A whale sighting in Tonga, 2026. Photo: Vanessa Pirotta.  

After leaving high school, she did a gap year in England at St. George's School in Windsor as a teacher's aide, before being accepted into ANU (Australian National University) where she studied Zoology and evolution and ecology and volunteered in the laboratories.

Her childhood dreams then came true when she was offered a job as a dolphin trainer in Coffs Harbour – her first experience as a science communicator.

“When I was giving marine mammal presentations, I remember thinking ‘there is grandchildren and 100-year-olds in the audience - how can I make the information relatable to all of them?’”

Then Dr Pirotta, at 22, received devastating news from home. “My mum died suddenly of an aneurysm at age 52 and my whole life changed. She was so young.”

To be close to her dad, Dr Pirotta took a job in the Federal Government in Canberra, working in marine compliance. But the experience of losing her Mum transformed her - she wanted to make a lasting impact to through her science.

“So, I started harassing Rob Harcourt. I emailed him and said, ‘what can I do now?’ I felt like I had more to give. Every month, he said, ‘something will come up’.”

And it did. Dr Pirotta was invited to be a research assistant on a project trying to prevent whale entanglement. This led to her Masters and then PhD investigating threats to cetaceans.

Her mother’s death had unlocked a new passion. “I look back on it, and yes, it was a really shit time, but I've also grown so much from it. I have that gusto to do things because I know life is too short…I could have been a dolphin trainer forever, and I'd still be doing the same thing to this day, 15 years on.”

Spreading the word

Since then, Dr Pirotta has become a well-known science communicator, a regular in local and international media and an active social media presence – recently hitting a million views on a post about a whale birth.

“It was through my PhD where I started talking about my research because people wanted to know about what I was doing with drones and whale snot. It wasn't that I was going out to be what is now known as a science communicator.”

It’s undoubtably one of her strongest talents – with Dr Pirotta appearing regularly on prime-time Australia television and radio and international media – as well as social media.

“It's sharing knowledge, helping people understand so they're informed. That's why I love it. If people are informed, they can make good decisions.”

But she’s clear, practising science remains her focus – including the recent development of a world-first AI algorithm, capable of detecting marine wildlife being smuggled through airports, using 3D X-ray scans. “I'm very much active in publishing research. I work very hard to produce science and I do that whilst having children as well.”

Vanessa Pirotta in Antartica. Photo: Supplied.  

The mum of two – Hugo, 5 and Xavier, 3 - admits she was nervous having children would impact her career.

“I remember when I first found out I was pregnant, I was like, oh, shit, I can't have anyone finding out because they're not going to offer me any trips or anything. Antarctica will be off the cards.”

It wasn't. She will return this year joining a group of high school students on the Antarctic Classroom.

“When I'm down there, I have an opportunity to do the science and share it with people. We're going to collect environmental DNA samples, tail fluke photos and my dream down there, pending funding, is to collect whale poo and whale snot.”

Having kids, she says, has changed her perspective on science – for the better. They accompany her on whale-watching adventures, and she shares her love of nature when she returns to Canberra.

“My kids have enabled me to do the science I do in the most wonderful ways – the way in which I now ask questions, see things, and relate to other people.”

There have been challenges. Childcare is scarce with her family living in Canberra.

“It hasn’t been easy – but I'm not entitled. I've been brought up to work very hard and that is reflective of how I do science.”

“I've made incredible sacrifices to do this work - I'll have hardly any super because I've been studying my whole life. I probably won’t be able to buy a house, but you know what? I'm happy, and I'm doing incredible things.”

Like leaving a legacy. “A whale lives for 80-plus years so the work that we do on whales this year will be important, but the collective action for that work will be even more important. That idea of teaching a man to fish - that's bullshit - we need to not just teach a man; we need to teach a community.”

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The ABC’s Indigenous department has given Australia some of its best television. Not simply its best “Indigenous television”, but some of the sharpest, funniest and most ambitious programs made in this country.

Now, after 40 years, Lamestream reports the department is being dismantled.

The position leading the department, most recently held by Kelrick Martin, has been made redundant.

Redfern Now. Photo: Supplied/ABC.

Under the ABC’s proposed restructure, some staff will move into a new First Nations Content and Strategy team. Individual programs will be managed through the ABC’s broader teams for drama, documentaries, children’s television and entertainment, with a First Nations commissioning editor.

The change could mean Indigenous program makers lose the freedom to commission their own projects and decide which stories matter.

They may have to compete with other programs and persuade the ABC’s larger production teams to support their work.

Showing Indigenous people on screen is not enough. Indigenous people must also have the power to decide which stories are told, who tells them and how they are told.

Folding the department into a larger structure risks turning Indigenous decision-makers into advocates who must persuade other people our stories are worth telling.

These five programs show what that specialist structure made possible. They came from a department with cultural knowledge, industry experience, strong relationships and the authority to make decisions.

Indigenous stories need more than a place on iview. They need Indigenous people with the power and resources to bring them to the screen.

Message Stick (1997–2012)

Before glossy dramas and international productions, there was Message Stick.

Running for 14 seasons, the documentary series brought Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives, histories and political concerns into Australian homes.

It allowed Indigenous people to tell their own stories to a national audience and helped develop the skills of many Indigenous filmmakers.

Presenters included Rachel Maza, Miriam Corowa, Trisha Morton-Thomas, Kelrick Martin and Deborah Mailman.

Filmmaker Ivan Sen was among those whose work appeared through the series.

Message Stick reminds us brilliant television grows from sustained investment in people, relationships and creative opportunities.

Redfern Now (2012–13)

When Redfern Now arrived, it felt like Australian television had finally caught up with the complexity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life.

It was the first contemporary television drama series written, directed and produced by Indigenous peoples.

Rather than treating Aboriginality as a history lesson or social problem, it followed families dealing with love, work, loyalty, ambition, grief and difficult choices.

It also created more than 250 jobs for Indigenous people across acting, writing, directing, production and post-production.

Across two series and a telemovie, Redfern Now won three Logies and four AACTA Awards, including awards for drama, acting and screenwriting.

It proved Indigenous-led stories could command prime time and be recognised among the best television in Australia.

Black Comedy (2014–20)

Few Australian programs have understood the political power of a perfectly timed joke as well as Black Comedy.

Written and performed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the sketch series took on racism, identity, family, politics and everyday life. Its targets included white Australia, Indigenous communities and the strange encounters between them.

Most importantly, it let Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people control the joke. We were not stereotypes or the humourless subjects of somebody else’s comedy. We were writing, performing and laughing on our own terms.

That creative freedom matters, particularly when Indigenous comedy attracts political pressure. As Lamestream reports, after it aired on January 26 this year, the satirical Always Was Tonight was not picked up for a full series following attacks from conservative commentators and politicians.

Cleverman (2016–17)

Cleverman did something Australian television had rarely attempted. It placed Aboriginal storytelling inside an ambitious speculative-fiction drama.

Created by Ryan Griffen, the series imagined a future in which the Hairypeople were feared, confined and denied recognition. Through this conflict, the show explored racism, policing, borders, citizenship and responsibility.

It showed Indigenous stories can shape superhero stories, political thrillers and imagined futures.

The series screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, received AACTA recognition and earned a Peabody Award nomination, one of international broadcasting’s most respected honours.

It showed Indigenous-led Australian television can be culturally grounded, internationally appealing and completely original.

Total Control (2019–24)

Total Control brought Indigenous political power, compromise and betrayal into prime time.

Alex Irving (Deborah Mailman) enters federal politics and soon discovers the cost of being welcomed into an institution that wants her presence, but not necessarily her power.

The series tackles deaths in custody, land rights, community relationships and identity without reducing its characters to symbols. It understands being visible inside an institution does not mean you control what that institution does.

The first series won three AACTA Awards, including best drama series and best lead actress for Mailman. Mailman also won the 2024 Logie for best lead actress for the show’s final season.

Just days before news of the department’s dismantling emerged, Mailman became the first Indigenous person inducted into the Logie Awards Hall of Fame.

By dismantling the department that helped Indigenous talent flourish, the ABC is making it harder to ensure she will not be the last.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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How can we make the energy transition more equitable? Ask Dr Marjan Nazifi.

For many of us, 2026 has been the year where the need for clean energy really hit home.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a passageway that normally carries 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply – has caused major disruptions to the global energy markets.

Here in Australia, we’ve seen skyrocketing prices across groceries,petrol and imports including fertiliser and plastics.  As people come to terms with the value of energy independence, it’s no surprise that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have surged in recent months.

“Global shocks like this reinforce the need for Australia to reduce its exposure to volatile international energy markets,” says Dr Marjan Nazifi, a Senior Lecturer at Macquarie Business School (MQBS).

But how do we ensure that the clean energy transition brings everyone along for the journey? This is a question Nazifi’s research seeks to answer.

“Growing up and working in Iran, where oil and gas play such an important role in the economy, it was impossible not to appreciate how energy influences people’s lives,” Nazifi explains.

Dr Marjan Nazifi. Picture: Macquarie University

Before she joined Macquarie University, Nazifi was a Senior Advisor to Iran’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs. In her role, she saw how energy decisions affected everything from government revenue and a country’s economic development through to everyday household costs. She often tells people that she didn’t choose energy economics – it chose her.

“That experience inspired me to pursue research that focuses on energy markets and designing smarter and fairer clean energy policies that make the transition accessible to more people,” she says.

“The transition to clean energy should be something everyone can benefit from, not just those who already have the resources to participate.”

Nazifi completed her second PhD – yes, you read that right – on the links between carbon emissions and energy markets at Macquarie University.

Having come to Australia from overseas, she says Macquarie offered a genuinely welcoming and inclusive community, and that strong sense of belonging has been important to her.

“I was looking for an environment where research could make a real contribution to public policy rather than simply remain in academic journals,” she says. “Macquarie stood out because of its strong reputation for applied research and its collaborative culture. I value being part of a university that encourages innovation and strong partnerships with industry and government.”

Did having one PhD under her belt already make the second easier in any way?

“It certainly helped, although a second PhD is never easy,” Nazifi admits. “The first time, I felt that every idea had to be perfect before I could move forward. During the second, I learned to accept that research develops through questioning, revision and sometimes taking the wrong path before finding the right one.”

Nazifi’s recently published research explored the connection between a household’s income and its investment in cleantech such as home batteries, solar panels, and EVs. As part of a team of MQBS researchers, she reviewed data from household surveys conducted by Energy Consumers Australia.

Around one in three homes are equipped with solar panels – making Australia a global leader in this area – but there are still obstacles when it comes to adopting or investing in clean energy.

“People often assume the biggest barrier is income, but our research shows the picture is much more complicated,” Nazifi says.

“For some households, the main problem is the upfront cost of technologies such as batteries and electric vehicles. For others, the barrier is more practical: they may rent, live in an apartment, lack suitable space, or have limited control over changes to their home.”

Navigating information in this space can also be a challenge. In an overwhelming, overstimulating world, learning more about different kinds of technology can feel like another few kilos added to your mental load.

Dr Nazifi’s recent research explores solar panels and EVs. Picture: Adobe

“Even homeowners may simply lack access to information and find the decision difficult,” Nazifi acknowledges. “They may be unsure whether a battery will save them money, which technology is suitable, or how long it will take to recover the upfront cost.”

This mix of expense and inaccessibility could lead to a kind of energy inequality unless we act thoughtfully.

“There is a real risk that renters, apartment residents, lower-wealth households and families without existing solar are being left behind,” Nazifi says. “Some cannot make changes to their property, while others cannot afford the upfront cost, even when the technology could reduce their bills over time.”

Nazifi’s recent research explores whether already having solar panels changes the relationship between household income and investment in batteries and EVs. Solar ownership can be a sign that a household has already overcome some of the financial, practical and institutional barriers to investing in clean-energy technology.

The solution? Better, fairer policy design and more strategic funding.

“Better policy design means using evidence to identify the households facing genuine barriers rather than assuming income alone tells the whole story. This can improve equity and deliver better value for taxpayers,” Nazifi says.

“Australia already invests significant public funding in the clean energy transition. The next challenge is ensuring that these investments are as effective as possible.

“Policies could respond by considering more than annual income – a household’s assets, housing situation and existing access to clean technology may provide a better picture of its ability to invest.

“Governments could also provide more targeted support for renters and apartment residents.”

While it might seem like the ongoing situation in the Middle East would spark greater interest in technologies that improve your household’s energy independence and reduce long-term costs, Nazifi warns that economic uncertainty can make people more cautious.

“While interest may increase, actual investment could slow if people feel financially uncertain,” she says.

She adds that the government can assist with this by expanding renewable generation, storage and grid capacity, while ensuring households are safeguarded against rising costs. On the homefront, strategies such as comparing electricity plans and investing in solar or battery storage can make a difference too.

But if that last sentence made you tense up, remember, it’s not all on you.

“Responsibility should not fall entirely on individuals,” Nazifi says. “A resilient energy transition requires reliable infrastructure and policies that give different households a genuine opportunity to participate.”

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In Australia, Dolly Parton's legacy extends far beyond music, touching the lives of 151,000 children. MQ alumna Dr Claire Galea reveals the true impact of her Imagination Library.

“Well hello, Imagination Library graduates.”

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On average, a woman in Australia is killed by an intimate partner or trusted family member every 11 days, prompting nationwide protests and urgent calls for systemic reform. “We see reform after reform, but what we don’t see is improved safety for women and girls in this country,” says Senior Macquarie Law School Lecturer Dr. Amira Aftab.

It has been a harrowing week for women in Australia. Five Sydney Swans players were stood down for the remainder of the AFL season  following an incident of alleged sexual assault at a Melbourne hotel, which police are investigating. This news broke simultaneously with reports of three 17-year-old boys charged for an alleged gang rape in Western Sydney, while three Scots College boys have appeared in court charged with the rape of a 14-year-old girl in a Sydney alley. Meanwhile, Queensland police confirmed a First Nations woman allegedly murdered by her former partner had contacted them earlier this month seeking help over allegations of domestic violence.

Australian Femicide Watch reports such violence is not unusual — she is the 45th Australian woman killed in 2026.

Dr. Amira Aftab believes efforts to stop DV “aren’t adopted on a cultural level,” due to persistent “victim-blaming myths” perpetuated by “negative actors” like One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Earlier this month, Senator Hanson declared domestic violence was “a two-way street”.

The highly controversial remark saw journalists resurface an episode of the Broken Fathers podcast from November, in which Hanson labelled paid family and domestic violence leave a “holiday”, described it as a “scam” that encouraged false claims and argued child support had become a “cash cow”.  She also claimed police spend too much time on family violence instead of “real crime” and mused that DV-related murders are born of “frustration and jealousy”.

Macquarie Law School Senior Lecturer Dr. Amira Aftab researches the gendered-nature of institutions. Photo: Supplied.

For two decades, Hanson has been beating the same drum. She first called for the Family Court to be abolished in 1996, doubling down on the effort in 2016 after her son, Adam Hanson, pleaded guilty to breaching a domestic violence order in the Cairns Magistrates Court. In 2019, Hanson used parliamentary privilege to call her former daughter-in-law “nasty” and accuse her of making false claims.

Senator Pauline Hanson has campaigned for family law reform since her initial entry into federal parliament in 1996. Photo: Getty.

Dr. Aftab has been working with culturally diverse victim-survivors for the past five years, researching why legal reforms aren’t always as effective as they’re billed to be. For example, coercive control is now legally recognised as domestic violence in New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. Since the law came into force two years ago, just four sentences have been imposed in New South Wales from 41 charges, and more than 300 reports. Dr. Aftab’s work is about understanding why.

“For me, on a really personal level, I can't fathom someone who has experienced violence, turning around and going, well, women should not be believed," she says. “What Hanson’s  saying is deeply problematic but can be easily refuted by academic evidence and case law.”

Child support as a "cash cow"

In the podcast, Hanson argued child support had encouraged custody disputes.

“I believe that you’ve got to wind back a lot of issues to do with the family law court … Go after the child support. A lot of people see it as a cash cow,” she said.

Dr. Aftab says the claim is illogical and contradicted by evidence.

“What the research is actually showing us is that the child support system is one of the sites of continued abuse, overwhelmingly targeting the parent who receives the payments.”

A 2024 study found more than 80 per cent of women felt significantly or completely controlled by an ex‑partner through child support manipulation, which included tactics like income minimisation, inflating care‑time claims, deliberate non‑payment and interference with Family Tax Benefit. “On the surface, incidents may not seem like much, but when it’s all put together it has a huge impact on the victim-survivor parent,” Dr. Aftab says.

Australia currently has $1.9 billion in unpaid child support, and Women’s Legal Services Australia identifies non‑payment as a form of economic abuse, recognised under section 4AB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

Weakening the system, Aftab says, would further disadvantage single‑parent households, who are already among Australia’s lowest‑income families.

Policing “real crime”

Hanson claimed domestic violence takes up “about 75 per cent of police officers’ time”, preventing police from addressing “real crime”.

Police watch over the anti-racism protest outside a One Nation event on August 03, 2026 in Melbourne. Photo: Getty.

Dr. Aftab says the figure is wrong and the framing is dangerous.

Domestic violence accounts for around 40 per cent of NSW Police work, not 75.

“Firstly, domestic violence is crime and usually constitutes things Hanson would consider ‘real crimes’ such as assault, stalking, intimidation, property damage, breach of protection orders, and homicide,” Dr. Aftab says.

National data shows up to 39 per cent of homicide victims are killed in domestic violence contexts, and the Australian Institute of Criminology recorded one‑third of all homicide victims last year were killed by a current or former partner or family member.

Far from being over‑reported, domestic violence is severely underreported. “In First Nations and culturally diverse communities, it’s compounded by fear of the police,” she says. “Will I lose my visa or get deported? Will I lose my children? Will they believe me? All of that is deeply embedded in why people don’t report in the first place. “

Violence against women costs Australia $22 billion annually across law enforcement, health, housing, and lost wages. “If you remove police from the equation,” Dr. Aftab says, “the burden simply shifts to health and emergency services.”

Does the family court favour women?

Asked whether the family court favours women, Hanson replied: “Of course it is,” blaming feminist groups and “too many woke people” in parliament.

Pauline Hanson has argued restrictions on contact between fathers and children should require evidence of physical abuse. Photo: Getty.

Dr. Aftab says the claim is not supported by law or evidence.

“This claim is difficult to reconcile because of the sheer volume of research. Victim-survivors, who are overwhelmingly women, consistently describe the family law system as re-traumatising, unaffordable and unsafe.”

Many have limited access to funds after separation, she says, creating major bargaining power imbalances when one party can afford private representation and the other relies on legal aid.

The Family Court was merged with the Federal Circuit Court in 2021. The 2006 presumption of equal shared parental responsibility — a reform driven by fathers’ rights groups Hanson has long supported — was repealed in 2024 after reviews found it operated dangerously in family violence cases. “Partly because equal responsibility was misread as equal time,” Dr. Aftab says.

Courts now prioritise safety of the child. “If there is evidence of family violence, that will of course impact the assessment of safety,” Dr. Aftab notes.

“Frustration” killings

Hanson suggested some domestic violence killings may stem from men’s “sheer frustration” over family breakdowns or “jealousy” about restricted contact with children.

She argued restrictions on contact between parents and children should require evidence of physical abuse.

Dr. Aftab says this is victim-blaming rhetoric.

“Violence is a choice,” Dr. Aftab says, “and responsibility rests entirely with the person who commits it.”

The legal definitions of family violence in both criminal and family law recognise non-physical forms of violence and abuse (such as economic and psychological).

“A single text message about children, as Hanson suggests, would not meet the threshold for coercive control in NSW. It requires an engaged course of conduct that a reasonable person would consider likely to cause fear of violence.”

Requiring evidence of physical abuse to achieve protective orders “would mean the law is only capturing a really small percentage of cases,” Dr. Aftab says. “It would also exclude a majority of intimate partner homicides on record from protection.”

Coercive control law requires police to identify patterns of abuse rather than individual incidents. Photo: Getty.

Domestic homicide is characterised by escalating control, she says, not grief. “I always think about the case of Hannah Clarke, which was really pivotal to Queensland criminalising coercive control,” Dr. Aftab says.

Clarke left her husband, Rowan Baxter, in late 2019 after enduring years of controlling and abusive behaviour. In 2020, he tragically murdered Clarke and her three young children.

“Loss of control is the trigger and that’s why separation is a high-risk period for victims,” Dr. Aftab says. “To frame murder as valid frustration is dangerous.”

It also echoes the discredited “provocation” defence (also called the “gay panic defence”) which Australian law has moved away from due to its discriminatory impact.

Domestic violence “holiday” leave 

Hanson labelled paid domestic violence leave a “holiday” and a “scam”, claiming it creates “an incentive to go out there and make false accusations”.

An employee is entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12 month period, and unlike annual leave, it cannot be accrued. Photo: Getty.

Dr. Aftab says this myth is one of the most damaging in the DV landscape.

“This simply isn’t true,” Dr. Aftab says. The Australian Law Reform Commission found no clear evidence that false allegations are routinely made in family law matters. Meanwhile, national statistics show one in four Australian women have experienced intimate partner or family violence since the age of 15.

Domestic violence leave is 10 non‑accruable days per year under the Fair Work Act 2009, used for essential safety tasks such as attending court, securing housing, and meeting police. “Ten days of leave is a modest intervention,” Dr. Aftab says, “and rationally would not be an incentive to make up false claims.”

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It’s AFL finals time – and in a season on track for record attendance, the league’s decision to freeze the price of entry-level finals tickets for an 11th straight year is smart economics, writes Dr Paul Crosby.

This story was originally published in The Conversation.

It’s AFL finals time – and in a season on track for record attendance, the league’s decision to freeze the price of entry-level finals tickets for an 11th straight year is smart economics.

Footy fans across Australia will be queuing up to get their hands on finals tickets, including for this weekend’s first-ever wildcard finals round.

Ticket pricing for events has often made headlines for the opposite reason. Dynamic pricing for concert tickets, where prices rise when demand is high, continues to cause controversy here and overseas.

So why are entry-level footy tickets staying cheap? It’s all about investing in the future – especially when there’s a lifetime of spending at stake.

What you’ll pay for finals tickets

Finals matches routinely sell out, so standard economics would suggest raising prices.

Instead, entry-level tickets for the AFL’s qualifying, elimination and semi finals, as well as this weekend’s wildcard round, have been frozen at A$35. Entry-level preliminary finals tickets will be $65, unchanged since 2016.

Of course, better seats at later finals will cost considerably more.

This year, other ticket categories are rising by 2–4%. Grand Final tickets will go up the most, climbing to $172 for the cheapest ticket, up from $165 last year, while the most expensive seats are $536, up from $515.

More money vs goodwill

On the face of it, keeping a price freeze on entry-level tickets means leaving money on the table.

One good reason to do so is fairness.

A classic study from 1986 by the psychologist Daniel Kahneman and economists Jack L. Knetsch and Richard Thaler showed consumers are much more accepting of price rises driven by higher costs than increases that simply take advantage of stronger demand.

As part of that famous study, they asked a random sample of Canadians about a hardware store that was selling snow shovels for $15. The morning after a large snowstorm, the store raised the price to $20 – which 82% of the respondents declared was unfair.

Perceptions of unfairness can be costly. Customers complain, buy less, or take their business elsewhere.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon explicitly linked the finals price freeze to cost-of-living pressures and keeping the game affordable.

Concert promoters often make a different calculation. American band Green Day faced a backlash in Australia when dynamic pricing pushed some tickets for their 2025 tour to nearly $500.

British rockers Oasis, in contrast, opted out of dynamic pricing for their 2025 Australian shows.

Each approach involves a trade-off: extra revenue now against goodwill later.

The cost of cheaper tickets

But there is a catch. Pricing tickets below what fans would pay does not make unmet demand disappear.

If a fan buys a $35 ticket they would happily have paid $100 for, the $65 difference is what economists call “consumer surplus”. The AFL has effectively left that value with the fan.

A scalper can try to take advantage of that by buying a ticket for $35, then reselling it for closer to what desperate fans will pay. This helps explain why Victoria caps the resale of Grand Final tickets – along with other major events such as the Australian Open tennis – at 10% above face value.

So cheap tickets do come with a cost. They leave more value with the fans, but make tickets harder to get.

If the price alone does not ration scarce seats, queues, membership priority and luck have to do more of the work.

Investing in the future

Cheap tickets can be an investment. A full stadium creates value beyond ticket revenue. Crowds generate the atmosphere that makes live sport attractive to television audiences and, in turn, valuable to broadcasters and sponsors.

An AFL supporter will often remain attached to the same club for decades, buying memberships and merchandise, watching broadcasts and eventually bringing their children along. A fan won over by a $35 ticket is worth far more than the profit on that ticket.

Keeping tickets affordable, and occasionally letting kids in free, helps recruit that next generation.

Clearer rules from July 2027

Dynamic pricing is currently legal in Australia. Businesses can raise prices, provided they are upfront about what consumers will pay.

But from July 2027, new laws will give consumers broader protection against practices that manipulate their decisions or cause them harm. The reforms will also crack down on hidden fees added late in the purchasing process.

The changes will not be a blanket ban on dynamic pricing. Instead, ticket buyers should expect to see clearer information about pricing.

Some concert promoters may still continue to opt for extra revenue by using dynamic pricing, even at the risk of costing some artists goodwill.

That’s why it’s interesting to see the AFL maintain a different strategy for some finals tickets. The league is still making a profit – including on many of its better seats – but over a longer horizon than a single September.

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How do you explore a place where the Sun never shines? China’s space programme will soon embark on one of the most innovative lunar exploration missions in recent years.

We’ve known for nearly two decades that some form of water exists on the Moon. What we still don’t know is exactly how much accessible water ice lies inside permanently shadowed craters, how deeply it is buried or what form it takes.

What we do know is that accessing that water ice will be a real challenge: it is found at the bottom of deep, hard-to-traverse craters where the Sun never shines, remaining untouched for billions of years at temperatures well below –200°C. These are among the most valuable places on the Moon, but the hardest to reach and explore.

Lunar exploration has come a long way since the Soviet Union’s Luna-1 probe reached the Moon’s vicinity in January 1959. The Apollo missions and their successors showed the challenge is no longer simply to reach the Moon. It is to explore places human and conventional rovers cannot easily go, and ultimately determine whether the Moon itself can provide some of the resources that future explorers will need.

China has spent two decades building an increasingly ambitious lunar exploration programme, named after Chang'e, the ancient Chinese goddess of the Moon. The Chang'e-7 mission is expected to set course for our celestial neighbour later this month , although a recent failure involving a different Chinese rocket has introduced some uncertainty over the launch date. Here’s what makes this latest mission so interesting.

Shackleton crater on the Lunar South Pole. Image: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.

What is Chang'e-7 set to achieve?

The mission will test several novel approaches to lunar exploration. It will consist of an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a hopper.

In addition, the Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite is already in place. Launched separately in March 2024, it subsequently supported the Chang'e-6 mission and will facilitate communication between Earth and the lunar surface during the Chang'e-7 mission.

We don’t know precisely where the mission will land, but a site on or near an illuminated ridge close to the Shackleton crater in the Lunar South Pole’s Aitken region is a prime candidate.

The hopper will be the mission’s real star. Unlike a wheeled rover, it’s designed to leap over broken terrain and descend into craters where sunlight never reaches, places conventional vehicles may simply be unable to enter.

Adding it to the mission makes sense, given the steep crater walls, broken terrain, permanent shadow and the need for autonomous navigation and communications.

Chinese scientists won’t be looking for signs of water; we already have compelling evidence for lunar polar water. The question at the mission’s core is where exactly that water is located, in what form and concentration, and whether it could realistically be accessed.

This marks a transition from simply exploring the Moon to determining whether its resources can actually be used.

How NASA is taking a different tack

Other nations are similarly interested in addressing that same question. The United States is pursuing the same longer-term objective of making sustained lunar operations possible. Although NASA will be confronted by the same physical problems, the American space agency has opted for a different solution.

Chang'e-7 is a coordinated state mission whose elements have been designed around a single, specific objective and which can use the already operational Queqiao-2 infrastructure.

NASA, by contrast, is deliberately trying something different: building a lunar marketplace through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme. The agency buys lunar delivery, mobility and technology services from companies that own and operate their own spacecraft.

NASA currently has 17 contracted deliveries carrying more than 60 instruments.

And the American effort has already yielded useful experience: Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission, Athena, attempted strikingly similar undertakings to Chang'e-7. It carried a drill and mass spectrometer looking for volatiles, a small hopping vehicle intended to explore difficult terrain and an experimental mobile communications network. However, the lander fell over at the landing site and was powered down just one day after arriving.

In essence, the destination dictates the problems; different space programmes are experimenting with different ways to resolve them.

Learning how to live on the Moon

Finding lunar resources is only the first step. Chang'e-7 will attempt to determine where useful lunar resources are found near the Moon’s South Pole and characterise their nature.

Chang'e-8, slated for potential launch in 2028, will move towards demonstrating how they might actually be used.

Crewed exploration will likely follow, culminating in the construction of the International Lunar Research Station, jointly led by the China National Space Administration and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.

On the other side of the Pacific, the CLPS will feed technology and science into the broader NASA-led Artemis programme, which the agency explicitly describes as laying the foundation for sustained lunar exploration.

Ultimately, the lunar South Pole doesn’t care which flag is on a spacecraft. Any explorer entering its permanently shadowed craters faces the same darkness, severe cold, broken terrain and communications problems.

Getting to the Moon was one of the great technological challenges of the 20th century. Learning how to live and work there may be one of the great challenges of the 21st.

Disclosure statement

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

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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World-leading tuberculosis (TB) expert, Professor Greg Fox, has been appointed Dean of Medicine at Macquarie University.

Bringing more than two decades of experience in frontline healthcare, medical education and clinical research, Professor Greg Fox will join the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Science.

A trained doctor and respiratory physician, Professor Fox has played a leading role in the global fight against TB – a disease that kills more than one million people worldwide each year. He has led major clinical trials focused on the detection, treatment and prevention of TB and is the Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Tuberculosis and Director of the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at the University of Sydney.

Professor Greg Fox Macquarie's new Dean of Medicine

Professor Fox also holds an appointment at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and has worked with leading international organisations responding to infectious diseases, including the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

His research and clinical expertise have also seen him establish and lead major health interventions in Vietnam, including household screening for TB and lung disease.

Professor Patrick McNeil, Executive Dean of Macquarie University’s Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Science, said Professor Fox was an outstanding addition to the University.

“Macquarie University is committed to improving patients’ lives and outcomes through innovative, research-led and best-practice healthcare,” he said.

“Professor Fox is the embodiment of that mission. He brings an outstanding track record in health leadership, teaching and education, frontline care and cutting-edge research.

“We are thrilled to welcome him to Australia’s most innovative healthcare ecosystem and have no doubt that he will make a profound and lasting contribution as we seek to deliver the very best in clinical discovery, application and care.”

Professor Fox said he was committed to using research to improve health outcomes, particularly among disadvantaged populations.

“I’m passionate about ensuring that the benefits of medical research and innovation reach the people and communities who need them most, including those who experience the greatest health disadvantage,” he said.

“This is why joining an innovative university like Macquarie appeals to me.

“In Australia, Macquarie University is unique; its one-of-a-kind integrated healthcare model brings together world-class research, education and clinical practice to improve health outcomes for individuals and communities all over Australia. The Medical School’s strong international links, including in India, position Macquarie to have lasting global impact.

“I look forward to working with colleagues, students and our health partners to build on Macquarie’s strengths in research and education, strengthen the connection between discovery and clinical practice, and help prepare the next generation of doctors to deliver outstanding care and improve health outcomes for all.”

Professor Fox will commence as Dean of Medicine at Macquarie University on 1 February 2027.

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Growing up in a small town in India, astrophysics was far from an obvious career path. Today, Macquarie University student Mradumay Sadh studies distant planets and what they can reveal about our own.

Picture, for a moment, that you are sitting outside in the sun. Hold a coin between your fingers and raise it towards the sky. From Earth, the coin is just the right size to swallow the Sun whole.

Now, let’s take it a step further.

Forget the coin - imagine instead a star so enormous, and so unnervingly close, that it fills almost one-sixth of the sky. Not the distant pinprick of light our Sun appears to be from Earth, but a vast, burning disc hanging overhead.

Now, let’s imagine that star beginning to set.

While we are accustomed to the Sun’s daily rhythms, on a planet such as this, a sunset could stretch for hours, with the star slowly sinking towards the horizon in what might feel like a never-ending fade of light.

“I love these types of thought experiments,” says Macquarie University PhD student Mradumay Sadh, briefly taking us inside the way his mind works before bringing us back to reality.

As an astrophysics researcher, Sadh spends much of his time buried in calculations, trying to understand how light, radiation and geometry behave in planetary systems.

His research explores what happens when planets exist in extreme environments created by stars that are much larger, hotter or closer than our Sun. In doing so, Sadh is trying to understand what these worlds might teach us about the one we call home.

“By understanding the other planets, we kind of understand how our Earth evolves, and how unique our Earth is,” says Sadh.

So, Sadh looks beyond our own solar system, towards exoplanets orbiting distant stars. Some are vast gas giants; others may be rocky bodies scorched by their stars. Together, they reveal just how many ways a planet can be, well, a planet.

“It is still a mystery how life evolved on Earth because we only have theoretical model predictions. Unless we can access data from the past, we cannot really robustly say that this is how life started,” explains Sadh.

“My research tackles this problem of calculating the radiation. If a planet is very close to its star, what would the radiation be like?”

The further Sadh ventures from our familiar corner of the universe, the more the rules begin to shift, with just a small change in distance creating radically different conditions.

“Let’s imagine that you know the distance from the Sun to Earth – in technical terms, it’s one astronomical unit. The radiation felt at a distance that is one percent of 1 AU is completely different from the radiation felt on Earth. That changes the physical laws that we use to model and understand the climate of these planets.”

As an astrophysics researcher, Mradumay spends much of his time buried in calculations. Image: Elaine Obran

It is this willingness to question what seems familiar that has followed Sadh beyond the stars and back to his own beginnings.

Growing up in a small town in India, astrophysics was far from an obvious career path. Even pursuing high-quality education was not necessarily a given, let alone choosing a field where the career path was uncertain.

But Sadh imagined a future in the field anyway, eventually completing his master’s degree before continuing his journey to Australia.

“I grew up in a normal middle-income household,” reflects Sadh.

“The reality of that kind of income bracket is that not a lot of people pursue ambitious fields like astrophysics, or even arts or other fields which promise fewer employment opportunities.”

“I think I'm the only astronomer in my city within my age group. And this is a city of 2.5 million people.”

While it is easy to romanticise studying distant stars and imagining alien skies, Sadh doesn’t downplay the hard work it has taken to get here – a humbling reminder that a PhD still has to be done one equation at a time, often beneath the fluorescent lights of Macquarie’s library rather than the night sky.

“More times than not, I’m more frustrated than excited,” explains Sadh.

“I have been in my own headspace trying to figure out the equations and the mathematics all by myself. It’s been quite a while since I've been working on this problem.

“Almost seven years ago, a researcher did her PhD thesis on this exact topic, and there was a mistake in her thesis.

“I took some time to understand what was happening, and that was really frustrating, as there was a mismatch between the way I approached the problem and the way other researchers had approached the problem.

“But I ended up finding the mistake in that research. That was a really exciting moment. From there, I submitted my paper and got it published.”

While there is no telling where Sadh’s curiosity might take him after graduation, for now, he is focused on doing the best research he can, leaving room for curiosity to lead the way - one coin held to the Earth’s Sun at a time.

“I think what kept me going was this drive that I have to find the answer,” says Sadh.

“Even though I had made mistakes, one of the things which I learned, and I would like to share, is that I allowed myself to make mistakes.

“That was a turning point for me because if I'm very strict about not allowing myself to make mistakes, it puts me in a very narrow corner.

“Now, if I make a mistake, I just laugh - it’s okay. I'm human. I think resilience and tenacity are more important in my journey than intelligence.”

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ABC documentary series The Assembly, whose neurodivergent students are taught journalism at Macquarie University, has won a Logie for Best Factual or Documentary Program.

The Assembly follows a group of neurodivergent and autistic journalism students as they interview Aussie celebrities.

On-screen, the talented cohort are mentored by veteran journalist Leigh Sales and behind-the-scenes, they are taught by Macquarie University Senior Radio and Journalism Lecturer, Dr. Helen Wolfenden.

Season two saw students interview the likes of singer Guy Sebastian, comedian Julia Morris, and cricket legend Steve Waugh. Now, they've been awarded one of the highest honours in Australian showbusiness.

"Thank you… to the celebrities who trust us and come in and do a two-hour interview where anything can be [asked of] them, and also to the public who have just gotten so behind this show," Sales said as she accepted the Silver Logie for Best Factual or Documentary Program for The Assembly on Sunday.

"People stop me all the time to talk about it and say how much they appreciate the representation of the autistic community. So thank you very much."

Leigh Sales and Melissa Maclean accept the Best Factual or Documentary Program Award for "The Assembly" during the 66th TV WEEK Logie Awards. Photo: James Gourley/Getty.

Australian stories were front-and-centre at the 66th Annual TV Week Logie Awards, with the national broadcaster taking home eight gongs on the night.

Other contenders in the documentary category were:

• But Also John Clarke (ABC)
• Revealed: Death Cap Murders (Stan)
• Revealed: Joh – Last King of Queensland (Stan);
• The People vs Robodebt (SBS)
• The Secret DNA Of Us (SBS)

The win was a major milestone for the ABC series after being nominated but missing out on the trophy the previous year.

Journalism lecturer Helen Wolfenden and The Assembly star James Rapp take us behind-the-scenes of ABC's groundbreaking series. Photo: Chris Barlow/Macquarie University.

Adapted from the French series Les Rencontres du Papotin, the show allows student interviewers to ask unfiltered, unconventional, and deeply direct questions without standard media taboo.

Speaking to the media in the room afterward, Sales admitted that the show's autistic student journalists have the courage to ask celebrity guests tough questions that she “doesn't have the guts to ask herself”.

Showrunner Melissa Maclean added that because the students are so delightfully unpredictable, some mainstream personalities actually turn down the show because they don't like the lack of control. “And there are some personalities that just don’t work well and they don’t like the unpredictability of it,” she said.

Melissa Maclean and Leigh Sales pose with the Best Factual or Documentary Program Award for "The Assembly". Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty.

"The Logie is wonderful recognition of what The Assembly has achieved, and we are proud of Macquarie University’s contribution to the program," Wolfenden told Lighthouse.

"From the beginning, our role has been about taking the students’ development seriously: giving autistic students the training, support and opportunity to develop and demonstrate their skills as journalists.

"It has been particularly rewarding to see Macquarie journalism student and Assembly participant James Rapp bring his own skills and perspective to the program. This award is wonderful recognition of the students and of a program built around genuine opportunity, appropriate support, and high expectations."

Rapp, 25, joined season two after responding to an open casting call while studying at Macquarie. “I was elated to join the show,” he said.

“I think the thing I appreciate the most about Helen’s teaching style is that she really meets us where we are. She’s very good at opening the floor up to questions and calling on people who might not feel confident enough to ask them.”

Helen and James want to break down popular misconceptions about autism and learning Photo: Chris Barlow/Macquarie University.

"Participation stops being something you assume and becomes something you design for," Wolfenden said. "You pay more attention to preparation, to clarity, to removing environmental barriers. You stop thinking about support as something that gets withdrawn once someone is 'ready', because readiness isn’t fixed. It shifts with the conditions."

The Assembly has produced three seasons, 19 episodes and interviewed guests ranging from the Prime Minister to A-list actors and athletes. That’s the visible outcome. The more important question, at least for Wolfenden, is what counts as success for the people doing the interviewing.

It isn’t one thing, and it isn’t always what ends up on screen.

Success might be asking a question in a room that feels manageable. It might be staying for the full session. It might also be leaving the room when that’s what’s needed, or asking for an adjustment that makes participation possible. It might be deciding that this is something you want to keep doing.

“We did studies with Helen on campus, where we gained the theoretical knowledge that we’d later put into practice in our filming sessions with Leigh Sales,” Rapp said.

“I found that journalism really suited me, and as a result, I’ve changed my degree so I can continue exploring it. I think it’s so great that something like The Assembly exists. Because until something’s been done before, it’s really hard to picture what that might look like."

Go behind the scenes with The Assembly cast this September on campus at The Assembly: Three Seasons of Journalism Training and Wellbeing, a panel discussion exploring what The Assembly can teach us about journalism, neurodivergence, wellbeing and inclusive practice. Tickets are available here.

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US President Donald Trump has this week signed an executive order that recasts the country’s childhood vaccination policy to 'support maximal parental choice'. It will have serious long-term effects.

This story was originally published in The Conversation.

US President Donald Trump has this week signed an executive order that recasts the country’s childhood vaccination policy to “support maximal parental choice”.

The order:

• reduces the vaccines recommended for every child from 18 to 11. Vaccines no longer routinely recommended, but up to parents to discuss with their health-care provider, include vaccines against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, influenza and COVID. Some immunisations, including against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), are only recommended for certain high-risk groups or populations
• calls for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) to be given separately once individual products become available
• encourages separate medical visits for each childhood vaccine (despite no evidence having multiple vaccines at the same time overwhelms children’s immune systems)
• asks states to reconsider their requirements for children to be vaccinated before they start school.

The order does not ban vaccines or immediately overturn state vaccine mandates. But it gives presidential credence to the idea that the established vaccine schedule may be excessive or unsafe. Amid rising vaccine hesitancy that signal may matter more than the legal text of the executive order.

Yet Trump’s order is only the most visible part of a larger story.

Vaccination risks can rise suddenly

Vaccination is not simply an individual choice. High coverage interrupts infectious transmission and protects infants, those with weakened immune systems and other vulnerable people who cannot be fully vaccinated.

Take measles. Preventing sustained spread requires around 95% of the population receiving two vaccine doses. Kindergarten MMR coverage in the United States is already below that herd immunity level nationally and considerably lower in some communities.

In 2026 to date, the US recorded 2,465 measles cases; and in 2025, 2,289 cases, three deaths and an 11% hospitalisation rate: its highest case count since 1992.

Splitting the MMR vaccine into its component vaccines, each needing its own appointment, creates delay and makes people less likely to complete a course. People may also be confused about what to do as separate MMR vaccines are not currently available.

The MMR vaccine is considered safe. There is no credible evidence that separating the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines is safer than the combined MMR vaccine.

There is also no credible evidence supporting the White House’s argument that the vaccine causes autism.

Over five years, the likely result of vaccine disruption or distrust include:

• recurrent outbreaks, including extra influenza and rotavirus illness
• more infant RSV hospital admissions
• more unvaccinated children being excluded from school
• costly containment campaigns to control outbreaks that could have been prevented.

Over 10 years, successive groups of under-vaccinated kids would mean more of the population becomes susceptible.

If, as is likely, distrust and confusion spreads to other vaccines, additional cancers will emerge. Lower rates of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine would lead to more cervical cancer, and less hepatitis B vaccination to more liver cancer.

Losing health cover will cost lives

But the largest effect on premature deaths in the US may come not from vaccine hesitancy, but from reduced access to health care.

The Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” requires people on lower incomes to work, or be in training or school, to be covered for health care. States must generally implement this “80-hours-a-month” requirement from 2027.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates these and other barriers to access will leave 7.8 million more people uninsured by 2034.

So poor people will miss out on care, diagnoses and medicines. Blood pressure and diabetes will be less-well controlled. Cancer will be detected later. Mental-health and opioid-use treatments will be interrupted.

Institutions weakened

The healthiness of a country like the US also depends on institutions most people rarely see: epidemiologists connecting unusual cases, laboratories identifying disease-causing microbes, inspectors tracing contaminated food, and regulators evaluating medicines.

The US administration has earlier announced major restructuring and workforce reductions across the Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies.

In an ordinary year, the damage may appear as slower investigations or fewer inspections. During an epidemic or product failure, this can be catastrophic.

The largest toll is international

The US withdrawal from the World Health Organization and disruption of international aid programs affect countries where funding changes rapidly become immediate matters of life and death.

These programs support HIV treatment, malaria control, tuberculosis diagnosis, childhood vaccination, maternal care, nutrition and outbreak surveillance.

One study estimated a major reduction in international funding could cause about 4.4–10.8 million extra HIV infections and 770,000–2.9 million HIV-related deaths by 2030.

The real issue is cumulative damage

Courts may block executive actions. States can retain stronger policies. Congress can restore funding. Future administrations can reverse regulations.

But even a complete reversal cannot restore every loss. A child infected with measles cannot be retrospectively vaccinated. A cancer diagnosed late cannot be cured just by reinstating health coverage. An interrupted HIV program creates infections that continue spreading. For years.

The proper unit of analysis is not one presidential vaccine order. It is the health system’s cumulative capacity to prevent harm, detect danger and ensure access to care. The current US administration is weakening all three.

Its legacy may be counted not only in budget cuts and unhealthy regulations, but in illnesses that need not have occurred and lives that might otherwise have been saved – not just in the US but around the world.

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US technology companies’ investments in artificial intelligence in Southeast Asia risk reproducing existing patterns of technological dependency, writes Dr Govand Azeez.

This story was originally published in the EastAsiaForum.

Technologies are never just tools, they are accompanied by patterns of labour, know-how and social relations. In Southeast Asia, unequal ownership structures and geopolitical factors have always shaped technological sovereignty. Deepening this techno-societal divide is growing investment by US technology companies in artificial intelligence (AI) in the region.

The deals struck by US firms such as OpenAI, Meta and Google with telecommunications and digital service providers from India and Southeast Asia demonstrate this trend. Companies like Singapore’s Singtel, Indonesia’s Telkomsel and India’s Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries provide US technology companies with two fundamental resources — nearly a billion consumers whose usage and behavioural data train and refine their models, as well as local infrastructure, payment interfaces, identity systems and regulatory cover. This integration drives customer acquisition costs towards zero, embeds their models inside existing data flows and shapes governance frameworks.

While 83 per cent of Southeast Asian firms are still in the early stages of AI adoption, telecommunications companies have been early adopters. These companies sell partnerships as enabling their evolution from connectivity providers into AI distribution platforms. States are promised productivity gains and a futureproofed economy while the public is promised access, empowerment and the democratisation of AI. US hyperscalers promote their data centres and large language models as ways to end global poverty, advance equality of access and facilitate innovation.

The public reception has, on the surface, been optimistic. The 2025 AI Index and 2026 Anthropic survey across affluent urban Southeast Asian populations found that AI was more associated with growth and economic opportunity than job displacement and surveillance.

But applications of the AI stack must be analysed beyond an interface running on some ethereal cloud. It must be understood in the context of how they interact with divisions of labour, production methods, trade regimes and geopolitical realities. These deals, dictated by foreign ownership, could carry considerable consequences.

At the model development layer, data harvested through these deals is repackaged and monetised under US technology companies’ control, including via commercialisation through third parties. Despite Southeast Asia’s progress towards data localisation and governance — and the region’s limited development of ‘sovereign large language models’ like Malaysia’s ILMU, Cambodia’s Khmer model and Singapore’s SEA-LION — these deals rely on US companies’ proprietary algorithms and fall under foreign laws like the US Cloud Act. Jurisdiction is dictated by corporate control rather than physical storage and app development, enabling US technology companies to use native data to train models like Gemini, Llama and ChatGPT.

Beneath this sits the infrastructural layer, which involves rare earth extraction, graphics processing unit manufacturing, data centres, energy grids, computational power and satellite connectivity networks. The governance layer sets the assumptions by which infrastructure, models and applications are built, trained and integrated into governance institutions.

Central to each stage is the ‘hidden abode of AI’, labour. The exploitation of miners, image taggers and gig workers demonstrates the power of monopoly finance and platform capital, both of which extend their control of telecommunications companies via joint infrastructure investments and direct ownership. AI is projected to impact 57 per cent of Southeast Asia’s workforce.

Ownership of model development and infrastructure allows US technology companies to export high-value goods to the United States, while Southeast Asia receives minimal returns, only gaining 6–18 months of free app access.

Local telecommunications conglomerates, with their own billionaire-class and monopolistic ambitions, operate as intermediaries between core and periphery, with limited control over the models, as demonstrated by Washington’s suspension of foreign access to Anthropic’s Mythos.

Asian multinationals also play a role in building the material parts of the AI stack. Samsung, SK Hynix and Naver lead South Korea’s US$1 trillion drive to produce semiconductors, physical AI and data centres. Other projects include Japan’s US$180 million GENIAC Program, Japanese company Softbank and Chinese transportation service provider Didi’s US$2 billion investment in Grab and Indian conglomerate Adani’s US$100 billion investment into AI infrastructure.

The rise of this semi-periphery ‘pole’ will not necessarily lead to technological sovereignty. Regional capital remains tethered to foreign technology, investment and production networks, with local economies unable to retain surplus value. Regional companies can only maintain profit levels by exploiting local natural resources and labour power, which applies downward pressure on wages.

As this uneven reality becomes apparent, optimism is subsiding, even among the region’s urban and affluent populations. The 2026 AI Index Report recorded a 14 percentage point rise in ‘nervousness’ about AI in India, with majorities in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand also expressing ‘nervousness’.

Neither US technology companies, local capital, their partnerships nor the regional ‘third way’ offer a lasting solution. The latter advocates for a public–private consortium pooling compute, model co-development and talent to provide an alternative to AI monopoly. Yet it risks only challenging who extracts value, rather than whether extraction, exploitation and control continue. The ‘third way’ remains silent on the question of private ownership and the role of local corporations and regional powers whose aspirations mirror those of US technology companies.

Production and the AI stack must be reorganised so that local populations, not US technology companies and their regional collaborators and competitors, own and govern AI. This requires critically rethinking the private appropriation and centralised control of AI’s core layers and bringing their productive capacities under collective ownership, democratic planning and social use.

Govand Khalid Azeez is Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the School of International Studies

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A world-first facility to advance research into motor neurone disease (MND) is now operating at Macquarie University thanks to A$2 million in funding from FightMND and a partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The science of proteomics isn’t necessarily easy to explain to the uninitiated.

But Associate Professor Albert Lee, Academic Director of the new National Neuroproteomics Facility (NNPF) at Macquarie University, draws on an evocative metaphor.

“I liken it to being at the top of Sydney Tower looking down on the Sydney CBD,” he says. “Much of the important research in neuroscience focuses on individual receptors or pathways or molecules – I guess that’s like looking up close at the Pitt Street Mall or the Opera House or Town Hall Station.”

“But with proteomics, we can add a ‘big picture’ perspective on what’s going wrong – where traffic is banking up, where people are congregating, or where the power has gone out, and what the knock-on effects are likely to be for all the other systems.”

The world-first NNPF, established with a A$2 million five-year National Research Infrastructure grant from awareness and advocacy organisation FightMND, has just commenced operations at Macquarie. Associate Professor Lee, who has led proteomics within the MND Research Centre at Macquarie University since 2014, says the inception of NNPF aims to revolutionise research into MND and other neurodegenerative diseases by using powerful tools to measure and analyse thousands of proteins in nerve cells.

“FightMND's support has been transformative – it's allowed us to build the infrastructure needed to take MND proteomics to a national scale, giving researchers across Australia access to capabilities that simply didn't exist before,” he says.

Associate Professor Albert Lee (left) with Associate Professor Marco Morsch (right), Director of the MND Research Centre at Macquarie. Photo: Chris Barlow, Macquarie University

Abnormally formed and misfolded proteins clumping together inside neurones – disrupting function and eventually leading to cell death – are a characteristic finding in MND. Applying proteomics techniques and tools will help give researchers an unprecedented of the roles played by numerous different proteins in MND disease processes.

“Neuroproteomics gives us the ability to look across the complete set of proteins in brain tissue and provides the functional context for what's going on in the cells,” says Associate Professor Lee. “To return to the Sydney Tower analogy, if we can see from up there that, say, Bathurst Street is blocked up, then that’s what we’d then advise researchers with a more specific focus: ‘There's something wrong in Bathurst Street – maybe you should investigate that further and do some more detailed experiments.’”

Support from analytical equipment company Thermo Fisher Scientific will strengthen NNPF by providing researchers with greater access to advanced mass spectrometry technologies, technical expertise and workflow development support, says Associate Professor Lee.

Associate Professor Albert Lee loads a sample into a mass spectrometer in the new NNPF labs. Photo: Chris Barlow, Macquarie University

“We already use high-performance Thermo Fisher Scientific technology platforms extensively, and this partnership helps accelerate our ability to produce robust, reproducible data at scale and translate discoveries into meaningful outcomes for patients.”

He says NNPF will help researchers not only identify therapeutic targets and accelerate the development of clinical trials but also find biomarkers for MND severity and progression.

“In addition to there being no specific treatment for MND, a key issue is that there's nothing that can help us predict how long you'll live with the disease once you're diagnosed.”

While the search for a single biomarker specific to MND has so far not proved fruitful, he says, it’s increasingly likely that a panel of biomarkers will be needed to distinguish between different MND subtypes and variations.

“There's a long way to go, but neuroproteomics is a means of getting us closer to the answers.”

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How Macquarie University PhD student Selina Kosak is helping restore habitat in Sydney's Inner West – one artificial tree hollow at a time.

If Shrek has taught us anything, it's that onions have layers – and, well, so do swamps.

Far from the muddy, misunderstood landscapes of fairy tales, wetlands and forests are complex ecosystems; neighbourhoods filled with life, shelter and intricate relationships between species.

But across Sydney's Inner West - in a land not so far, far away - those relationships are being increasingly disrupted. As old trees disappear, so too do the natural hollows that countless native animals rely on for nesting, shelter and survival.

As with any good fairy tale however, a looming threat doesn't have to mean there has to be a bad ending.

Step beneath the canopy at Marrickville's Gumbramorra Swamp and the city begins to fade. The steady rumble of traffic gives way to the chatter of boisterous cockatoos, and sunlight filters through towering gum trees, casting shifting shadows across the winding boardwalk.

Sulphur-crested cockatoos on dead tree branch. Photo: Stephen Downes

To most visitors, it looks like any other pocket of urban bushland - But to Macquarie University PhD student and Smart Green Cities Research Centre researcher Selina Kosak, it symbolises something far different.

Working with Inner West Council, Kosak is meticulously designing, tailoring and installing a new generation of artificial hollows throughout the gum trees of the area.

Each hollow is engineered for the needs of a particular species, with the aim of restoring habitat for native wildlife including several parrot species such as the red-rumped parrot and several species of microbats recorded in the area.

It's a process that goes far beyond simply building a box and hanging it from a tree.

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"Not every natural tree hollow suits every species, and in the same way, not every piece of artificial habitat suits every species," explains Kosak.

"Each piece of habitat has been designed to target a specific species that we know occurs in the area. What we're trying to do is design habitat that firstly targets species known to occur and then incorporates characteristics that are preferred or are required by those species.

"We've considered the species' natural behaviours and designed the habitat around those requirements."

Male red-rumped parrot above dead branch hollow. Photo: Stephen Downes

Rather than creating a one-size-fits-all solution, Kosak tailors each structure to the habits, size and preferences of the animals she hopes to attract. The result is a collection of bespoke homes that mirror nature as closely as possible, giving wildlife the best chance of accepting an artificial substitute.

"The aim is that the big parrot box will primarily be used by red-rumped parrots, which have been recorded in the area," Kosak explains.

"Potentially, it could also be used by smaller species of parrots found in the area.

"Rainbow lorikeets are sometimes considered a pest when it comes to urban hollows and nest boxes because they are so good at adapting and finding homes, so we are trying to cater to the other species that seem to be less common.”

Kosak pauses beneath another towering eucalyptus and looks toward the sky. From the ground, the hollow is almost impossible to spot - a nod to its careful design, made for the eyes of wildlife, not those who pass by.

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Email: selina.kosak@hdr.mq.edu.au

Macquarie University historian Leigh Boucher gives Lighthouse a sneak peak of what’s to come in the ‘Sydney Confidential’ of ABC history podcasts.

History is just gossip that was good enough to write down.

That is the ethos of Macquarie University Associate Professor Leigh Boucher and the genesis of his new ABC project, The Dead Can’t Sue.

The weekly Australian history podcast, co-hosted by Boucher and fellow historian Alecia Simmonds, will see the long-time friends and “serious academics” spill “all the dirty details” you won’t find in the history books.

The roster of historical figures up for discussion includes the likes of former Prime Minister Harold Holt, the Eora diplomat Bennelong, notorious criminals Chopper Read, William Buckley, and Tilly Devine, “1800s opera diva” Dame Nellie Melba, and colonial-era explorer Mathew Flinders (who wrote hundreds of love letters to his secret male companions).

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“Our aim is to have a diversity of figures from different parts of Australia, different periods of time, and different backgrounds – but who also allow us to talk about dominant themes in Australian history,” Boucher says.

“For instance, we're talking about Chopper Read, but he allows us to have a conversation about why Australians have always been fixated with crime stories. As a nation, there is a kind of identification with the outlaws and the larrikins, and he really sat in that space."

Each episode will take a biographical approach to unpacking the life story of one historical figure, but the series will analyse what our enduring fascination (or lack thereof) with these figures says about us.

One of the most persistent themes Boucher has uncovered is that “Australians love a loser”.

“A lot of Australian stories are about loss. They’re about being defeated by landscape, defeated on battlefields, struggle, and victimhood,” he explains. “In one sense, the convicts were losers. They were turfed over the other side of the world.

“I think the notion of ‘the Aussie battler’ totally has its roots in these stories of victimhood, and often the people being described as battlers also have a lot of privilege. Highlighting loss and struggle is often a way not to talk about other more thorny questions, like  dispossession.”

Harold Holt (1908 - 1967)

Harold Holt, the 17th Prime Minister of Australia who died by presumed accidental drowning in 1967, is a prime example.

Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt skin diving at Portsea, Melbourne in 1966. Holt went missing the following year and was presumed drowned. Photo: Keystone Hulton Archive/Getty.

Born in 1908, Holt had a modest childhood as the son of schoolteachers but later became a successful lawyer and politician with properties in North Queensland, the Mornington Peninsula and Toorak.

“Harold went to private school and Melbourne University, but because he didn’t come from wealth, the story he told himself is that he never quite belonged,” Boucher says. Even when he was PM, he still considered himself a bit of an outsider.

Holt’s sudden disappearance sparked numerous conspiracy theories, which Boucher can finally put to bed. “Sorry, he just drowned,” he says. “Harold had a real cockiness about the ocean and a long history of doing dumb things in the water that came back to bite him, maybe literally. I suspect his foolhardy approach to dangerous waters was produced by a deep need to impress those around him.”

Dame Nellie Melba (1859 - 1931)

“I’m also equally interested in the people who have not captured the imagination of the Australian public,” Boucher says.

Dame Nellie Melba was added to the Australian $100 banknote in May 1996. Photo: Getty. 

Dame Nellie Melba features on the $100 banknote but few people today would recognise her face. “But in the late 1800s, she was one of the most famous tabloid figures in the world.”

Melba, who took her stage name from her hometown Melbourne, was the first Australian classical musician to achieve international superstardom.

“There was definitely a pride that this colonial girl was making it in one of the most elite and rarified forms of European culture, but this was a double-edged sword,” Boucher says. “We can see a similar thing play out in the recent Kylie Minogue Netflix documentary. She’s put through a mincer in terms of press. That same thing happened to Nellie.”

Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, circa 1895. Photo: Paul Hulton Archive/Getty.

The UK tabloids feasted on Melba’s ‘diva’ antics and turbulent extramarital affair with Prince Philippe, the Duke of Orléans.

“I was really struck by how few historians talk about gender in relation to Nellie,” Boucher says. “She did some wild things. For instance, one of her rivals was singing a role she wanted on stage in London. So, she crept into the wings and sung the song along with her to show that she was better than the person on stage."

Circa 1926; A queue outside the Covent Garden Royal Opera House to see Dame Nellie Melba's performance. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty.

“But I don’t think she was a bad person,” Boucher adds. He believes that years of press attacks labelling Melba as “a drunk, too competitive, and mean-spirited,” had broken her down. “What we’re looking at is an 1890 example of celebrity cancel culture.”

Matilda 'Tilly' Devine (1900 - 1970)

When Queen of Sydney’s underworld Tilly Devine died in 1970, the tabloid newspaper obituaries described the brothel madam as a “wretched woman” who “no one bothered” to mourn. Since her death, however, the “high priestess of savagery” has taken on a legendary stature in pop culture and fiction.

In 1925, Tilly was sentenced to two years in the State Reformatory at Long Bay for maliciously wounding Sydney Corke with a razor blade. He needed 17 stitches. Photo: Getty.

The New South Wales Police Offences (Amendment) Act of 1908 made it an offence for men to operate a brothel, act as a pimp, or profit from the earnings of prostitution. The loophole was this prohibition did not extend to women.

By the end of the 1920s, Tilly owned of a string of brothels throughout Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Paddington and Woolloomooloo, and at one point, was even said to be the richest woman in Australia. To guard her empire, she employed a large staff of standover men to protect both her premises and the women working in them.

“I think somebody rebelling against the gender order for their own gains doesn’t necessarily make them a feminist, right? That’s the lesson of Tilly,” Boucher says. “Although, she really did look after her girls. If somebody hurt one of her sex workers, she would retaliate with razor blades.”

Tilly Devine arrived in Sydney in 1920 as an English war bride after marrying Australian soldier 'Big' Jim Divine during World War I. Photo: Getty.

Tilly categorised her sex workers in a three-tier class system, which Boucher delves into in her episode. The lowest ranked sex workers were on the street and the highest ranked sex workers were “educated and attractive young women,” based inside brothels catering to exclusive clients.

“The ones I found really interesting were the second tier,” Boucher says. “Often, these single mothers lived in the brothels with their children and Tilly would provide them with a safe environment.”

She provided food and lodgings, medical care and importantly, protection from violent or deviant customers.

“Tilly was a remarkable human being,” Boucher says. “She was an incredibly charismatic and skilful businesswoman, who applied that set of skills to the criminal world.

“In her early twenties, she could already see the loopholes and hypocrisies of the law. She’s astutely aware that all the respectable folk who write and enforce the rules… are coming to her on the weekends for sex and drugs. Tilly refused to live by rules written by people who she saw were happy to break them.”

For all this and more, tune into The Dead Can’t Sue on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes will be released on Tuesdays.

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Jessica Lewis has loved frogs since childhood. Now, as a Macquarie University alumna and research assistant to Dr Anthony Waddle, she is transforming that lifelong fascination into conservation research focused on protecting one of Australia’s most threatened amphibians.

When Jessica Lewis, then a Master’s student at Macquarie University, volunteered to help save one of Australia’s most endangered frogs, she imagined her first day would involve, well, frogs.

Instead, it involved 500 bricks and a Toyota Camry.

Loaded into the back of Associate Professor Anthony Waddle's car, the bricks were supposed to be transported to Sydney Olympic Park, where they would become part of Waddle's research into frog saunas designed to protect the critically endangered green and golden bell frog. There was, however, one problem: the Camry wasn't designed to carry half a tonne of bricks.

It wasn't exactly the glamorous introduction to wildlife conservation Lewis might have imagined. But she came back the next day, despite the unloading it took to get the car moving – continuing to leap into every opportunity Waddle offered her.

Looking back, Waddle jokes he wasn't entirely convinced she would return, but it didn't take long for him to realise Lewis’s enthusiasm for frogs rivalled his own – a fascination that had taken root long before she ever stepped onto a field site.

"I was obsessed with reptiles," Lewis reflects.

"I got my first lizard when I was four, and every spring my mum and I would rescue tadpoles from little ponds we knew would dry up. We would raise them until they became frogs and then release them again.

"Later, I worked for a reptile breeder, which reignited that passion and made me realise I wanted to study zoology.

"I then came to Macquarie to complete a Master of Conservation Biology, and that's how my journey into frog conservation began."

Jessica Lewi has always had a deep love for animals. Photo: Elaine Obran

But it wouldn’t be until Lewis reached out to researchers across the university who might need volunteers that she crossed paths with Waddle. And while the species at the centre of the project was small, the work they had to take on was anything but.

With the green and golden bell frog facing dramatic population declines due to habitat loss, introduced predators and chytrid fungus – a deadly disease that attacks amphibian skin and has devastated frog populations worldwide – the pair found themselves at the forefront of efforts to help save the species.

"The chytrid fungus doesn't affect all frogs the same, but in the green and golden bell frog, it has caused major population declines, and it attacks the skin," explains Lewis.

"The project we did back in 2024 when I first started volunteering with him was a pilot study. We brought frogs in from Sydney Olympic Park, treated them and released them, to show that it worked and didn't negatively affect the frogs – which it didn’t."

The success of that first trial laid the foundations for a much larger conservation effort.

Today, Lewis is helping monitor one of the team's largest breeding and release programs.

"We did this huge release program where we brought in a bunch of adult frogs from Sydney Olympic Park, bred them here at the university and raised all the babies.

"And then since then we've been doing post-release monitoring, where we capture them, swab and test their chytrid infection levels. It’s too early to speak on the data just yet, but the results so far are looking really good."

Inside the laboratory, the tiny, expressive faces behind this ambitious conservation effort bring home the significance of the work.

Rows of clear containers line the benches, each holding flashes of emerald green and gold. Some frogs are scarcely larger than a coin, their entire bodies fitting comfortably into the cup of Lewis's hand.

She carefully holds them, containing their back legs so they can’t jump away. The moment reflects the delicacy and determination it has taken to get the frogs to this point – with Lewis preparing food, cleaning enclosures and recording data, despite moments when she has asked herself, “How am I going to be able to do this?”

Today, Lewis is helping monitor one of the team's largest breeding and release programs. Image: Yorick Lambreghts

But it’s this work that has shaped her time at Macquarie University – learning from the research as much as she learns from the frogs themselves.

"One thing I've learned from these frogs is their resilience and adaptability.

"People will build beautiful ponds and habitats, and a frog, like the green and golden bell frog, chooses to live in the brick pit, which is an old, rundown industrial site turned conservation land.

"And they are not just surviving; they are thriving."

It’s a lesson Lewis has carried into her own journey.

Born in Canada, Lewis travelled across continents before moving to Australia, building a career in conservation while navigating the challenging conditions caring for the frogs requires.

It’s advice she now encourages other students to follow.

"Reach out to the animal research teams at the university and stick with the opportunities if they open up,” says Lewis.

"Not every day, especially working with animals, is glamorous – to be honest, most of my days are spent cleaning up poo.

"But I have found that by jumping on every opportunity Anthony’s offered me, I now have connections across Australia in conservation."

Of course, saying yes is only one part of what it takes to carve out a career in such a demanding industry.

Much like her first day volunteering, Lewis’s learning and knowledge has been shaped by the people who have helped her carry the weight of being a student.

For Lewis, that person was Associate Professor Anthony Waddle – a working relationship as symbiotic as the frogs they are helping to save.

"I have been extremely fortunate to find that in Anthony,” reflects Lewis.

“He's been an incredible mentor and supervisor, and someone who has given me the tools and stepping stones to get into the field.

“I’m like one of his biggest cheerleaders, but I also feel like he returns that to me and has really given me the confidence to enter this field.

"Sometimes, I ask myself, can I do this? But he believes in me, and that makes me feel like I can too."

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Revolut is the latest challenger seeking a foothold in Australia’s highly concentrated banking market. Its large existing customer base and strong global backing give it an advantage, but they do not guarantee success.

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Meet the wildlife researcher myth-busting Australia’s reputation as a deadly destination.

Australia is famously home to some of the world’s most dangerous animals, from land creatures like venomous snakes, crocodiles, and spiders, to marine life like sharks and jellyfish.

Dr Chris Jolly, a research fellow at Macquarie University’s School of Natural Sciences, has spent his career studying how wildlife interacts with humans and the environments we share with them.

He’s well known for his field work in places like Kakadu, where he helped test whether endangered northern quolls could be trained to survive the spread of poisonous, introduced cane toads.

Dr Chris  Jolly pictured with a coastal taipan caught during an ecological survey in the Kimberley. Photo: Max Jackson.

While Australia is viewed globally as a mecca of dangerous animals, on average there are only about 32 animal-related fatalities per year, while 1.5 million people are killed worldwide by animals every year.

A focus of his research is debunking the myths around deadly wildlife, while explaining our interactions with animals and their connection to fatalities in Australia.

He says widespread media coverage of deaths, involving predatory animals like snakes, sharks and crocodiles, has generated a belief that Australia is one of the world’s most dangerous places to live.

“The reputation mostly comes from sharks and snakes," Dr Jolly says. “But actually 71 per cent of animal-related fatalities involve land mammals – including animals that we interact with on a daily basis like horses, dogs and even insects like honeybees.”

The National Coronial Information System (NCIS) 2020 fact sheet summarised a study done between 2001 to 2017. During that period, 541 animal-related deaths were reported, and a quarter of deaths involve vehicle incidents.

An average of three people die in Australia from shark attacks each year, based on data from the Australian Shark Incident Database. Photo: Getty.

“Bovines, cattle and other animals like buffalo, kill people most often through car strikes,” Dr Jolly says.

Horses and dogs are the other two big contributors to animal-related fatalities, followed by kangaroos, snakes, and bees, with sharks and crocodiles combined contributing only 48 deaths in those 16 years.

“People falling from horses is an incredibly dangerous animal-related event,” he says.

To further emphasise this point, while snakebites are serious, people rarely die from them because of access to anti-venom and medical care.

“Australia has many highly venomous snakes but we don’t have many snake fatalities - and those rare and unfortunate fatalities often involved in incidents with brown snakes,” Dr Jolly says.

Cattle kill more Australians each year than the venomous animals we are famed for, most often in road accidents. Photo: Getty.

A brown snake bite can trigger a rapid change of blood pressure, that can result in a person falling unconscious and risk hitting their head.

He says those who are unable to get medical support are in danger from a range of complications related to their venom consuming the blood’s ability to clot.

“They can essentially bleed to death internally. Which is often why people die from brown snake envenomation, but in Australia, venom-related fatalities are extremely uncommon,” he adds.

His research also examines how man-made environments may increase our interaction with wildlife.

“It’s less so animals moving into human-dominated areas, but us expanding into animal habitats and reducing the critical resources available to them. Animals aren’t necessarily adaptinging to climate change, but climate change is a selective pressure, and it alters animal behaviour and distribution,” he argues.

With rising temperatures, Aussies are increasingly heading to the beach to swim and cool down. As water activities increase, so does the chance for encountering a shark or a crocodile.

“The trend for shark attacks is going up through time, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect a change in sharks, but rather because of our very active beach culture.” Dr Jolly explains. “The probability of a fatal shark encounter increases with the number of humans in their habitat, not necessarily the number of sharks. Same with crocodiles and snakes."

Chris  Jolly pictured radio-tracking cane toads in central Northern Territory. Photo: Terri Shane.

Dr Jolly says that while climate change could contribute to the amount of interactions we have with animals, more importantly it is human populations expanding into animal habitats, which increases the probability of dangerous human–animal interactions.

“Extreme weather events could push animals into areas where humans are… but the effect of climate change on our interactions with dangerous wildlife such as crocodiles, sharks and snakes, via changes in their distribution, is likely to be more subtle and progressive.”

He says flying foxes are a better example of the type of animals interacting more with humans.

“Flying foxes are increasingly roosting in cities and towns and people are concerned because they think they are loud, they smell, and they can carry Hendra virus. But they are moving into these areas because the resources that would have once been available to them outside cities and towns are not anymore,” he says.

Australians have access to a great variety of medical treatments, but education is the most important factor in staying protected.

“We are incredibly lucky to have access to world class medical treatment for snakebites, and we have an educated public when it comes to snakebite first-aid. The most effective strategy for being safe around wildlife is education. Understanding the risks, the times of days and places that are risky for certain species and taking preventative measures to reduce the chance of encounter,” he cautions.

Although for decades Australia has had the reputation of being one of the world’s most dangerous places for its wildlife, animal-related human deaths in our wild environments are extremely low.

“It is our behaviour that results in animal-related human deaths. The risks are driven by people,” he says.

“The reality in Australia is that animals are not as dangerous and threatening to human life as the media would have you believe.”

Dr Jolly says an important part of his role as an academic is helping the public to understand how our emotions and fears around animals like snakes, sharks and crocodiles, can actually blind us to the everyday dangers in homes, roads, and workplaces.

But the risks posed by animals to humans are relatively small. Dr Jolly's research is increasingly looking at how native animals evolve to persist in our rapidly changing world. That includes everything from exotic species like cane toads, introduced by humans into sensitive environments, through to wide-scale climatic events like bushfires that can disrupt entire ecosystems.

His most recent publication in Trends in Ecology and Evolution reviews how humans have reshaped the physical, behavioural and social traits of wild animals and the effect this has had on the interactions between predators and their prey.

Dr Chris Jolly is a Macquarie Research Fellow in the School of Natural Sciences.

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Professor Dali Kaafar, Executive Director of Macquarie University’s Cyber Security Hub: “We’re about to find out whether privacy can survive surveillance becoming fashionable.”

George Orwell imagined Big Brother as an omnipresent dictator with a heavy black moustache and piercing eyes that “follow you about when you move.” His image is accompanied by the slogan, "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU", a warning enforced by the two-way telescreens found in every home, workplace and public square.

George Orwell imagined a dark future created by surveillance technology. Photo: Getty.

The dystopian author described 1984 as satire of the “perversions to which a centralised economy is liable.”

“Something resembling it could arrive,” Orwell said in 1949, and now academics argue it has.

Meta's new AI glasses have restyled Kylie Jenner as an ever-present ‘Big Sister’.

Earlier this month, Facebook’s parent company released its signature line of Kylie ‘Starfire’ smart glasses that feature an AI assistant with her own voice. They retail in Australia for $649.

The social media mogul was just 9-years-old when she began filming Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Speaking on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast in January, Jenner described the constant surveillance of reality TV cameras as a “harrowing experience” that made it “hard” to leave the house.

The Meta x Kylie Jenner Starfire AI glasses include an AI assistant voiced by Kylie. Photo: Kylie Jenner/Instagram.

Professor Dali Kaafar, Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Hub at Macquarie University, says Australian privacy laws aren’t ready for such an intrusion.

“There is a great irony in Kylie, who has spoken openly about the psychological toll of being watched her whole life, becoming the face of a product that wants to normalise covert surveillance,” he says.

“Surveillance is being sold to us as a lifestyle rather than as a technology, and my long-standing view is that the biggest privacy shifts do not arrive through legislation, but through cultural normalisation. Normalisation runs through aspirational culture, and once a technology lands there it becomes very difficult to reverse, or even resist," he warns.

"But I believe in Australia being one of the very few societies that can and should restrict the use of these glasses, except in genuine use cases such as disability.”

Industry insiders speculate the Meta and Kylie Jenner collaboration to be worth US$30million. Photo: Kylie Jenner/Instagram.

Meta’s slick marketing roll out is the same play that worked with early social media: make it aesthetic first and convince the public to argue about the rules later.

Prof. Kaafar thinks Australia should put a blanket ban on the invasive AI facial recognition tech.

"In recent privacy lawsuits involving Bunnings and Kmart, the privacy regulator found they'd collected customers' biometric data through facial recognition without proper consent," he says.

Bunnings challenged the outcome and was granted permission to use the technology for security purposes.

"That tells you the law here is unsettled and struggling to keep pace," Prof. Kafaar says, "and that was just about cameras fixed inside a handful of stores. Now, we're talking about putting that same capability in the hands of millions of people."

Google Glasses, released in 2013, were broadly rejected by the public. Photo: Getty.

Smart glasses are not a new technology. Google Glasses, released in 2013, have the same core capability. But wearers were labelled ‘glassholes’, many venues banned them outright, and the controversial product died on arrival.

A decade later, Meta is heavily promoting its new product (with a Super Bowl ad starring Spike Lee, a brick-and-mortar store on New York’s Fifth Avenue, and a donation of 100,000 pairs to blind veterans on US President Trump’s birthday). It appears to be paying off, with seven million sold last year.

“The technology itself has barely changed. What’s changed is the branding,” says Prof. Kaafar, who believes that Meta has done nothing to answer privacy concerns about its product.

“The issue of consent is not really about the wearer of the glasses. It is about everyone else in the frame,” he says.

“The recording indicator light is a weak safeguard at best. It can be trivially disabled (there are plentiful tutorials online), and even when it is lit, no one walking past is meaningfully consenting to being filmed and potentially processed through Meta's biometric pipeline.”

He points to the online evidence: hundreds of “manfluencer” clips shot by young men on Meta’s glasses: point‑of‑view interactions with women at gyms, beaches and train stations, framed as ‘pick up’ content.

In many cases, the creators also monetise the covert interactions with women into content that amasses millions of views. The unmoderated comments on each video are flooded with sexual and derogatory remarks aimed at the unsuspecting women involved.

One woman in London told the BBC a man secretly  filmed her with smart glasses, posted the video where it was viewed 40,000 times, and later requested payment to take it down. The ABC reported a Sydney woman’s “soul destroying” account of being “harassed” by an American content creator who shared a covert video to his 1.3 million Instagram followers.

Meta has leveraged high-profile partnerships with Ray-Ban, Kylie Jenner, Jennie from BLACKPINK, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Pratt to market its AI glasses. Photo: Kylie Jenner/Instagram.

Australian TikToker Blue‑Eyed Kayla Jade has urged her 3million followers not to buy into the hype. “As someone who has been filmed without her consent, I know that Kylie Jenner’s collab with Meta glasses is going to cause more harm than good to women,” she shared. “I don’t think this campaign is about getting women to buy Meta glasses; I think it’s about making everyone else feel comfortable around the creepy men already wearing them.”

On that point, Prof. Kaafar says Meta’s advertising of smart glasses “undersells the problem.”

“These devices are not just wearable cameras,” he stresses. “They are a continuous, first-person feed that serves as an input pipeline for AI data collection and model training.”

He likens the glasses to “wearing a stalker on your face,” and is concerned we have “a very short collective memory,” about Meta’s business practises. The company has already paid more than US$7 billion in settlements and fines for privacy violations.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said people who don't wear AI glasses will suffer “pretty significant cognitive disadvantage”. Photo: Getty.

Two Harvard students showed that by pairing Meta's glasses with off-the-shelf facial-recognition software, they could identify strangers;  finding names, addresses and personal phone numbers, within seconds. In a leaked internal memo, Meta said political tumult in the United States would distract critics from their facial recognition feature’s release.

Then in March, Swedish journalists revealed that third-party contractors in Kenya had reviewed intimate footage, private messages and banking details captured through Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. More than 1,000 low-paid Kenyan data-labelling workers lost their jobs shortly after the investigation became public.

Meta now faces a class action over alleged false advertising and consumer deception. “Designed for privacy, controlled by you,” might be the slogan on the box, but Meta argues the fine-print T&C’s give implicit consent to share and store users’ data any time they use look-and-ask AI functions.

“The Australian regulatory context is genuinely not built for this,” Prof. Kaafar stresses.

Australian privacy laws, in their current form, are no match for facial recognition technology. Photo: Getty. 

Currently in Australia, each state and territory has its own surveillance devices laws that dictate people’s rights. Under the Surveillance Devices Act in NSW, recording a conversation without all parties’ consent can carry a penalty of up to five years imprisonment. While other states have a Human Rights Act that includes a right to privacy.

While it is legal to film people in public, the covert nature of Meta’s glasses, and repeated targeting of women by wearers has raised legal and ethical questions about who this technology benefits.

“The Privacy Act review has been protracted. We now have a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy, which is a step forward, but it's a high-threshold, after-the-fact civil remedy—not a control on the devices themselves," Prof. Kaafar says. "The OAIC is under-resourced for something that could reach the mainstream very quickly. If people begin wearing these devices to the shops in the way they now wear Air Pods, the person on the other side of the interaction has almost no legal protection.”

That’s why he “totally supports” placing a moratorium on their sale. “I don’t think many Australians want being unrecorded in public to become an afforded luxury,” Prof. Kaafar adds.

“More often than not, society asks the wrong questions of new technology. Can we? The real question is, should we?”

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Experts say the NSW state government must move beyond piecemeal policies and adopt a more ambitious blueprint for reducing gambling harm.

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New Macquarie University research shows the way someone’s eyes move when they look at medical images mirrors their underlying cognitive processes.

We commonly say an art curator casts “an expert eye” over a painting, or an auditor over a set of accounts.

But what is it that, for example, allows an experienced birdwatcher to identify an uncommon species rapidly, at a distance, and against a chaotic background in the wild?

And what separates the gaze of a qualified brain surgeon from that of a first-year medical student? How is that kind of visual expertise acquired?

These questions are all highly relevant to the design and training of future artificial intelligence (AI) applications capable of analysing and interpreting complex medical images. Researchers in Macquarie University’s Computational NeuroSurgery (CNS) Lab, led by Professor Antonio Di Ieva, have long argued the answers aren’t just a matter of additional knowledge but also involve measurable, structural differences in how the eyes of an expert move and scan the relevant field for information.

Now they’ve been able to put hard data behind that idea with the publication of three new studies in which they harness the mathematical power of fractals to chart the development of visual expertise from novice to neurosurgeon.

Their work started with high-resolution tracking to record the eye movements of medical students, surgical trainees and qualified neurosurgeons as they viewed images ranging from simple X-rays to CT and MRI scans. Then they combined fractal mathematics and machine learning – a form of AI – to make sense of the overall pattern of those movements, translating the structure and complexity of visual scanning into geometric and numerical expressions.

Heatmaps comparing eye gaze fixation between naïve and expert groups when looking at an MRI image showing a brain lesion. (Images supplied by Macquarie University CNS Lab)

“Fractal analysis is a mathematical way of measuring how complex and organised a pattern is,” explains Dr Ghasem Azemi, Research Associate in the CNS Lab. “It goes beyond simply recording where or how long people look and helps reveal the extent to which their gaze is random or follows organised, repeating patterns.”

In a study published in the journal Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, CNS Lab researchers recorded the eye movements of 13 Doctor of Medicine (MD) students from Macquarie Medical School as they viewed a range of medical images and followed them for three consecutive sessions (semesters) of their training.

When combined into a single measure, the Fractal Eye-Gaze Expertise Index (FEI), the analysis showed a clear, statistically significant trend.

“As students progressed through the MD program, their gaze became less erratic and more structured, closer to the efficient scanning patterns of experts,” says Dr Azemi. “This pattern suggests a shift from reliance on low-level image features to more targeted, diagnostic-driven visual processing. Fractal analysis allowed us to quantify that growing expertise.”

A second study, published in the Journal of Eye Movement Research, helped broaden the lens further. PhD student Poonam Kumari and the CNS lab team tracked the eye movements of 69 participants – a mix of naïve observers, neurosurgery registrars (trainee specialists) and qualified neurosurgeons – as they viewed normal and abnormal brain MRI scans.

Analysis showed experts were more efficient, spent longer looking at diseased regions, and sampled the structural complexity of the images differently depending on the type of pathology. An AI model combining duration of gaze at a specific point with 3D fractal dimension was able distinguish between naïve, trainee and expert viewers with better than 93 per cent accuracy.

Professor Antonio Di Ieva, who established the CNS Lab in 2018, says the research program – initially funded by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship – began as a question about transferring expert cognition into computer vision systems, but has now produced an objective, scalable framework for measuring visual expertise as it develops.

Professor Antonio Di Ieva. 

“I was struck by a phrase I encountered some time ago: Machines are learning, but what are we teaching them?” says Professor Di Ieva. “This led me to the idea that we could use experts' eye movements as a proxy for higher-order cognitive function and train a novel AI model on this gaze data.

“Measures using fractal geometry show us that expertise changes not just what you look at, but the very structure of how you look – from medical students right through to consultant neurosurgeons, visual expertise leaves a measurable fractal signature.

“We think our findings have important implications for how medical trainees are assessed, how radiology and neurosurgery curricula are designed, and how AI systems might eventually be trained to interpret medical images the way an expert does.”

Professor Antonio Di Ieva is Professor of Neurosurgery in the Macquarie Medical School, Macquarie University, and a consultant neurosurgeon at Macquarie University Hospital

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From the NSW Institute and Western Sydney Wanderers to Macquarie University's 2025 Athlete of the Year, Amy Chessari is taking the next step in her football journey after signing with Sydney FC.

While a typical four-year-old might be learning to write their name, inventing imaginary friends and counting to 10, Amy Chessari was being introduced to the sport that would eventually shape her life.

At the time, she had no idea how far football would take her. In fact, she admits that despite her Italian background and her family's passion for the game, it was not something she was immediately drawn to.

But slowly, almost imperceptibly, football became part of her life. And as Chessari's love for the game grew, so too did her talent.

“When I started, there wasn’t any pressure, outside of just trying to do my best,” reflects Chessari.

“It was just something I loved to do. Then eventually, I climbed up the ranks, made some rep and teams when I was in my early teens, and then moved to the New South Wales Institute, and then the Wanderers.”

What began as a childhood introduction to football gradually became a pathway through the ranks of Australian sport.

Fast-forward to today, and Chessari is taking another major step in her football journey, having signed with Sydney FC. The move comes after a breakthrough 2025, which saw Chessari named Macquarie University's Athlete of the Year.

The honour placed her alongside some of the country's most accomplished athletes – a moment she admits she never expected.

Chessari is taking another major step in her football journey, having signed with Sydney FC. Image: Robbie Szafranek, Digital Content Manager at Sydney FC 

“I was nominated, but there were so many other incredible athletes, and I was just happy to be there,” says Chessari.

“I actually was Athlete of the Year with Olivia Wunsch, and she's amazing. She's competed in the Commonwealth Games and won gold in the Olympics for Australia, so just to share the stage with her was incredible. And so, when I found out that I was named Macquarie University's Athlete of the Year this year, it was such a shock, but really an honour.”

The award reflects the discipline it has taken Chessari to reach this point, a quality that extends well beyond the football field.

When she is not playing, Chessari is studying a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in economics and international business at Macquarie University. Like many female athletes, she is learning to navigate the demands of university alongside an elite sporting career, bringing the same determination to her studies as she does to football.

“Like a lot of female athletes, I have to juggle a lot of things.

“When I was coming through, I made my early debut in Year 12 when I was doing my HSC. I was trying to get into uni, and I was also working at the time, so it was tricky balancing all those things. I think that's a challenge for most girls at the moment.”

But the demands of sport, study and work are only part of the equation. For Chessari, finding the motivation to keep moving forward has also meant seeing other women do it first.

When she is not playing, Chessari is studying a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in economics and international business at Macquarie University. Image: Amy Shidiak

Through much of her childhood, women's sport was not as visible as it is today. But as the profile of the A-League Women's and other women's competitions has grown, women's soccer is quickly becoming as attainable as men's football.

Chessari knows the power of that visibility first-hand. One player, in particular, showed her that being one of the smaller players on the field did not mean she needed to match that size in ambition.

“I really loved Katrina Gorry and how she played, and she was always the - I'm obviously one of the smaller players, and she was one of the smallest as well, so it was just nice to see just her grit and just how she's climbed the ranks over the years, and it was just really an inspiration.”

There is a familiar sentiment in sport: you cannot be what you cannot see.

And as she begins the next chapter of her career with Sydney FC, Chessari hopes she can become part of the new generation of Australian soccer stars.

“I definitely want to play for the Matildas. I think if you ask a lot of young girls, that would be the end goal. But I definitely wanted to also have an educational background and be confident in my studies in economics as well and business.”

Amy Chessari hopes she can become part of the new generation of Australian soccer stars. Image: Robbie Szafranek, Digital Content Manager at Sydney FC 

And by showing young women that both paths are possible, Chessari wants to encourage girls to take that first step.

“I think now's definitely the time to get into it. I think women's football is growing. I think since the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia, you just saw how much investment there is, how many fans are so excited for it.”

“Macquarie's helped me balance my sport commitments, and I'm incredibly lucky for that – but the only way to know is to just get started.”

While the path ahead may look very different from the one she first stepped onto, Chessari's advice to her four-year-old self finds its way back to a simple message: a love of playing the game.

“I would say keep going,” reflects Chessari.

“Don't be afraid of the ball, and just play because you love it, and I think that's the kind of advice I've always followed. If I didn't love what I was doing, I would have stopped a long time ago.”

Top image: Robbie Szafranek, Digital Content Manager at Sydney FC

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As we age, low back pain becomes more common. Between the ages 20 and 59, persistent low back pain (lasting more than three months) affects nearly one in five. While you may be tempted to reach for heat packs, medication or a massage, new evidence suggests that the common advice to go for a swim is much more effective.

Until recently, there was no research to back up this advice. Our new trial shows for the first time that swimming can improve low back pain.

Participants in the swimming group reported improved function, less pain and more confidence to manage future back pain. Photo: Getty.

What we did

We recruited 76 adults aged 26 to 74 who experienced persistent and bothersome low back pain for more than three months. They needed to be able to swim 25 meters independently, but didn’t swim regularly.

The participants were randomly allocated to receive either a swimming and education program (the intervention group) or education only (the control group).

The intervention involved an eight-week individualised swimming program, supported by four telehealth sessions with a physiotherapist, and free access to a local indoor or outdoor swimming pool.

The amount of swimming was tailored to each participant’s ability and fitness level, with the goal of completing three 30–45 minute swimming sessions per week by the end of the program. Participants were encouraged to continue swimming after the program completed.

The education, provided by a physiotherapist, aimed to help them better understand their pain, reduce the fear associated with movement and exercise, and increase confidence to manage their back pain.

While many people with back pain believe they should avoid activity to protect their back, a large body of evidence shows remaining active is better.

Participants in the education-only (control) group had one to two sessions with a physiotherapist to cover the same key messages about back pain, but otherwise continued their usual treatment and activity.

What did we find?

Participants in the swimming group reported improved function, less pain and more confidence to manage future back pain.

Their disability reduced by more than 50% at the end of the eight-week program. This could mean that a person improved their ability to do daily activities such as standing from a chair, walking or sleeping.

The swimming group’s improvements were 30% greater than those who received education only (control) group.

Participants told us swimming appealed to them because it was low-impact, it reduced weight-bearing and strain, and it enabled them to exercise more confidently and with less pain. They also reported additional health benefits, including better mood.

Swimming can be used as a way for people with back pain to start exercising and break the cycle of pain and limited activity.

People with chronic low back pain can now consider swimming as an evidence-based exercise option. Photo: Getty.

What happened after the program ended?

At the end of the eight-week program, some people kept swimming, others swapped to another form of exercise and some stopped exercising.

Although most participants reported enjoyed swimming, some found accessing a pool and the time required a barrier to keep going in the longer term.

Twelve months after starting the program, there were still benefits for the swimming group for disability, function and confidence. But the difference between groups became smaller over time.

What were the limitations?

Our study’s sample size was relatively small, so these findings need to be confirmed in future, larger studies.

Further trials are also needed to test whether the results still hold for people with more severe or disabling back pain.

Finally, the volunteers in our study knew we were investigating swimming and had positive expectations of swimming before starting. This is a limitation that could affect the findings.

How does swimming compare to other exercises for back pain?

A range of different exercises – including Pilates, functional exercises (a type of strength training that helps you perform daily activities) and structured walking – have been shown to be beneficial for treating disability and preventing low back pain recurrences.

While we didn’t compare swimming to another type of exercise, the benefits we identified were as large or larger than previously reported for other exercises.

People with chronic low back pain can now consider swimming as an evidence-based exercise option and be more confident in choosing it as part of their long-term management.

But if you find it a hassle to get to a pool, or don’t like swimming, it may help get your back pain under control before moving to a type of exercise you prefer or can more easily access.

Mark Hancock is a Professor of Physiotherapy at Macquarie University. Deborah Wareham is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Spinal Pain Research Centre of Macquarie University.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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The ancient Greeks would have enjoyed current controversies about the “historical accuracy” of Christopher Nolan’s new adaptation of The Odyssey.

The Greeks loved arguing about the “truth” of Homer’s stories. They weren’t precious about their myths. Greek storytellers could – and did – criticise them. They competed to make people see old stories in new ways .

For the ancient Greeks, their deep past – the time of gods and monsters – was a paradox. On the one hand, it was full of fantastic happenings. On the other, those events mainly took place in familiar locations around the Mediterranean and featured heroes who were the ancestors of people living in the present.

We have been mapping the real-world locations tied to Greek myths. The Greeks didn’t locate their deep past in far-off fantasy lands. Instead, these stories happened in places all around them. So what about the journey of Odysseus?

Christopher Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey is now in theatres. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Traversing the Beyond

Homer’s epic The Odyssey, probably composed around 800 BCE, follows Odysseus’ journey home from Troy to Ithaca. Much of the voyage takes place in “The Beyond”: a storyworld with its own logic, full of eerie, strange and monstrous creatures.

Although Homer placed this part of the story in a fantasy world, it didn’t have to stay there. As the Greeks spread throughout the Mediterranean, they started wondering: could Odysseus have travelled here?

Although the myth of the Trojan war freely invents some aspects of the topography, the Greeks agreed Troy was located on the Dardanelles, in modern-day northwestern Turkey. They identified various landmarks there with events in the epics. When Heinrich Schliemann excavated a Bronze-Age citadel in the region, he claimed this was Homer’s Troy.

Homer calls Odysseus’ island homeland off the western coast of mainland Greece Ithaca. An island in the right area still goes by that name today, although Homer’s description does not exactly match it.

Odysseus gets as far as Cape Malea (modern Maleas), off southern mainland Greece, before he is hit by a storm. That storm drives him into “the Beyond”.

Homer’s description of what happens next can’t be plotted on a map. Nothing is familiar; directions like north and south are meaningless.

Recreating the journey

Homer’s epics reflect the geo-politics of his time. Around 800 BCE, hundreds of city-states across the Greek mainland were jostling for prestige. The idea local heroes had once gotten together to conquer Troy was very attractive.

From the 5th century BCE we find ancient geographers debating where exactly Odysseus voyaged. Their texts – some only surviving in fragments – are the best evidence we have for how ancient communities laid claim to the fabulous places described by Homer.

Some ancient geographers were sceptical that the Beyond was in the Mediterranean and pointed instead to the Atlantic.

Eratosthenes commented cynically:

you’ll find where Odysseus wandered when you find the cobbler who sewed up the bag of winds [that Aiolos gave to Odysseus].

In other words: you won’t.

But the attraction of identifying Homer’s fantastic locations with real places was too strong.

There were competing claims. In Homer’s account, Odysseus encounters lotus-eaters drugged by the “honey sweet” fruit of the lotus flower. Ancient geographers located their home in several regions of north Africa. Meninx, a large island off modern Tunisia, was a popular candidate: Strabo cites as proof its altar of Odysseus and trees with sweet fruit called lotus.

Artemidoros placed the lotus-eaters further west. He argued they were nomads in what is now Morocco who survived in waterless deserts by chewing a juicy root.

From the early 7th century BCE, the ancient Greeks had begun to migrate to Sicily and southern Italy. When these migrants claimed their new homelands were the places Homer described, they gave their new homes very old – and prestigious – pasts.When Greeks founded modern Naples, they called it “Parthenope”, for one of the Sirens said to be buried on a nearby headland.

Ancient artists painted the Sirens as part-woman, part-chicken. Today the islands are known as Li Galli (The Chickens).

Circe, the goddess who transformed Odysseus’ men into animals by giving them a potion, was said to have lived on a headland south of Rome, still called Monte Circeo today.

Homer says Odysseus buried one of his crew on Circe’s island after he fell off a roof. Ancient Greeks identified this tomb on Monte Circeo. Moly, the drug Odysseus used to counter her magic, was still picked nearby.

Some said Odysseus entered the underworld via an oracle of the dead at Cumae: the surrounding area is highly volcanic, which fit with stories about vaporous rivers in the underworld.

Scylla and Charybdis, a multi-headed monster and a whirlpool, were placed in the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the tip of Calabria, which had exceptionally dangerous tides.

And people pointed out large rocks off the coast of Sicily the Cyclops had hurled at Odysseus’ ship as it escaped as proof it happened there.

These kinds of claims show the Greeks making fantastic landscapes seem familiar, while highlighting the strangeness of the real world with its psychotropic plants, volcanoes and ancient relics.

Innovative interpretations of the Odyssey are nothing new. The Greeks would have enjoyed our continued grappling with the “truth” of this story.

Greta Hawes is an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow in Ancient History at Macquarie University.

R. Scott Smith is a Professor of Classics, Humanities and Italian Studies, University of New Hampshire.

This article was originally published to The Conversation.

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Zendaya has  sparked an online debate about fashion and ethics after donning 3000-year-old Iranian artefacts as earrings on the red carpet.

Zendaya has found herself in the middle of an unlikely fashion furore during the full-scale Hollywood spectacle of The Odyssey press tour.

Zendaya paired a custom white Jacquemus halter gown with a pair of earrings made from 3000-year-old Iranian gold discs. Photo: Getty.

Roach described the historic look as “method dressing” and the striking jewellery became one of the biggest talking points of the event.

The gold earrings, which reportedly date back to the first millennium BCE, feature ancient Iranian sun motifs and were controversially remounted with new diamonds and 18-karat gold by jeweller Glenn Spiro.

“It’s believed the items Zendaya wore came from quite a problematic hoard that was discovered in Ziwiye in Iran in the late 1940s,” says Professor Edwell.

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Today, prime minister Anthony Albanese laid out how his government plans to manage artificial intelligence (AI) and ensure the rapidly advancing technology works in Australia’s interest.

In a major speech at the University of Sydney, Albanese declared that AI “is a bigger challenge and a bigger opportunity than social media”, and that Australia must move now to determine its “social licence” and capture the opportunities it presents.

Key to the government’s plans is the immediate establishment of an Office of AI within the prime minister’s own department and the creation of new national standards for AI.

This news comes as a group of leading economists and AI researchers urge policymakers and tech companies around the world to prepare now for how the technology could reshape the global economy on a much bigger and faster scale than the Industrial Revolution did.

On  July 15 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the immediate establishment of an Australian Office of AI. Photo: Getty.

A new office and new standards

Albanese said the new Office of AI will coordinate AI policy across government, rather than leaving individual departments to develop their own approaches. This will be similar to how the government developed coordinated approaches for other significant technologies such as civil aviation and genetics.

The office will also help coordinate the design of new national standards for AI.

These standards, which Albanese said will be legislated early next year, will build on the government’s previously announced expectations for data centres. They will, for example, create a new legal obligation for large data centre operators to underwrite their own power supply, not increase household power prices, and minimise water usage.

Other countries are also grappling with how best to handle this issue. Indeed, hours before Albanese’s speech, New York enforced a one-year moratorium on the building of new data centres.

There are growing calls for Australia to do the same.

But Albanese suggested his government would not be heeding these calls. As he said:

No government can turn back the clock or press pause on all of this. Nor would we want to. That would only mean cutting ourselves off from the opportunities that are there to be seized.

Read more: Should Australia pause building new data centres? We asked 5 experts

Photo: Getty.

Protection for artists and creative industries

Albanese also reiterated his government’s commitment to the “strongest possible protection” for artists, musicians and journalists, who should retain ownership and control of their works in the AI age.

Last year the Labor government rejected a copyright exemption that would allow AI companies to use protected content for free when developing AI models.

In contrast to other jurisdictions (such as the United States, European Union and Japan), Australian AI developers will still have to pay for creators’ content.

This approach is fair. But the government has since been grappling with how to ensure this policy does not disadvantage Australian AI developers and the payments reach actual creators.

In his speech today, Albanese promised laws to address this. But he did not provide any clarity on what they might look like.

Where does Australia sit internationally?

By establishing the AI Office and developing national standards for AI, Australia is trying to position itself as an international leader in AI policy.

But Albanese’s claim that Australia “will be the first country in the world to bring [AI] issues into a single, national framework” is overstated.

For example, the European Union adopted the AI Act back in 2024. This established strict regulation especially for high-risk AI. It also established the EU AI Office to coordinate the implementation of the AI Act and protect people against the risks of the technology.

This year, however, the EU Commission introduced amendments to weaken some of the requirements in the AI Act and postponed certain implementation deadlines.

This “watering down” of the AI Act is intended to boost AI innovation in the EU. It comes after AI developers have been complaining that strict EU regulation slows down AI development.

Other countries seem to also favour a pro-innovation approach, instead of strong regulation. South Korea, for example, has introduced an AI Basic Act for high impact AI systems, but its rules are much less strict than in the EU.

Japan has opted for voluntary guidance for the AI sector.

So Australia’s decision not to introduce hard regulation (such as mandatory AI guardrails) but rather rely on softer standards and national-level coordination appears to align with international trends.

Albanese’s claim that Australia “will be the first country in the world to bring [AI] issues into a single, national framework” is overstated. Photo: Getty.

A starting point

The new standards and office announced today are a good starting point for managing AI. So too is Albanese’s promise to protect creative industries whose content has been used by AI companies to train their large language models without consent.

However, we don’t yet know how, or how well, the government will do this.

Much more work and leadership from the government is needed – especially in relation to mitigating the wide array risks of AI, from misinformation and deceptive deep-fakes, anti-democratic propaganda, health AI apps causing health safety issues, and public security challenges.

And while the government hopes its new AI standards will allay community fears about data centres, the news out of New York is likely to only fuel the push in Australia to hit “pause” on them.

Rita Matulionyte is an Associate Professor in Law at Macquarie University.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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Sleep debt is the cumulative difference between the amount of sleep your body actually needs and the amount of sleep it actually gets.

Maybe you’re a new parent or someone who lies awake at night. If so, you may have started to worry you’re not getting enough sleep.

Sleep wearables don’t help. They can show your “sleep debt”, a running total of how far you’ve fallen behind.

But the word “debt” assumes your sleep works like a bank account. It assumes lost hours stack up, carry over, and you must eventually repay them in full.

But sleep doesn’t really work this way. And chasing “enough sleep” may not be helping.

The word "debt” assumes your sleep works like a bank account. Photo: Getty.

What is a sleep debt?

Two systems control your sleep. One is your body clock, which helps keep wakefulness and sleep aligned with the day and night. The other is the one that matters here: sleep pressure.

Sleep pressure builds the longer you stay awake and eases while you sleep. At its highest, it’s hard to resist. Someone pulling an all-nighter might find themselves nodding off unintentionally.

This biological process is what “sleep debt” is trying to describe. If you sleep less than your body needs, pressure for sleep builds. Given the opportunity to recover after lost sleep, you sleep longer. In this broad sense, the debt metaphor works.

But this metaphor has some assumptions that don’t fit with our biology.

If you have a financial debt, the maths is exact: you owe a precise sum, which stays there until you pay it down. Sleep pressure does none of those things. Our sleep systems are more dynamic and adaptable.

What happens next?

To study the effects of short sleep, researchers bring volunteers into a lab and restrict how much they can sleep, such as four or six hours a night, sometimes for a week or two. Watching what happens under these conditions tells us how our body handles the shortfall.

The first thing it does is reorganise. When sleep is cut short, the body protects its deepest sleep (the stage that does most of the restorative work) and sacrifices lighter sleep.

People also fall asleep faster and spend less time awake in bed. In other words, given less time, the body spends that time more carefully and efficiently.

When people are freed from sleep restriction conditions, we watch what the body does to recover. “Recovery sleep” is characterised by a few nights of longer, deeper sleep. After this point, the debt appears to be cleared. But you do not sleep “back” the same number of hours you lost.

What this means in everyday life is that after a run of short nights, you tend to sleep a little longer and deeper for a night or two, then your sleep settles back to its usual length.

What about the sluggishness that follows after a few nights of short sleep?

These same sleep experiments also measure sleep-sensitive outcomes such as cognitive performance.

These outcomes follow their own recovery timelines and often take a little longer to return to baseline. You may have had all the recovery sleep you are going to get, but you still need a few more nights of normal sleep before your cognitive performance catches up.

How much sleep you need is not fixed. Photo: Getty.

Could knowing my sleep debt make things worse?

Receiving feedback about the previous night’s sleep seems to affect your mood, energy levels and alertness the next day.

One study showed giving participants negative feedback about their sleep – for example “your sleep quality was poor” – made them feel more tired and negative the next day.

Another small experiment showed people’s cognitive performance was influenced by how long participants believed they had slept.

No study has directly examined what happens if we tell people how much sleep debt they have. But, based on what we know, it is possible that knowing it can make you more worried about your sleep, and have worse sleep as a result.

False precision and moving targets

There is a deeper problem with the whole idea of calculating a sleep debt.

To calculate a debt, you need to know exactly what you owe in the first place, that is, a precise idea of how much your body needs. Trackers try their best to model how much sleep you need, but it is a slippery number.

How much sleep someone needs varies widely from person to person. Some healthy adults feel fine on around six hours, others need closer to nine.

How much sleep you need is not fixed. You need more sleep when unwell or start training hard at the gym. Sleep shifts with the seasons, with people generally sleeping more in winter.

Sleep trackers also estimate how much sleep you had overnight. They are increasingly accurate, but this is still an estimate, not the truth. So, trackers measure one guess (how much we slept) against another (how much we need).

The bottom line

Sleep debt is a handy metaphor to help us understand sleep regulation. Sleep pressure builds the longer you’re awake, and a short night can leave you needing a longer one to follow.

However, the way our bodies manage short sleep is not an ever-accumulating tally you must repay in full. To calculate a debt you’d also need to be certain how much you need and how much you got, which are both hard to know.

The good news is that we are built to withstand and recover from the times life gets in the way of a good night’s sleep. There’s no need to carry a ledger or chase a sleep debt to zero.

Amelia Scott is an Honorary Affiliate and Clinical Psychologist at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, and Macquarie University Research Fellow, Macquarie University.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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A Senior Research Fellow from the Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy fact checks Pauline Hanson's new Medicare photo ID policy and finds the $3billion savings don't add up.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says Medicare is being “rorted” by up to A$3 billion a year, and that “a lot of this could be prevented” by requiring photo ID on Medicare cards.

But where did this $3 billion figure come from? And would putting photos on Medicare cards really help claw back billions a year in taxpayer dollars?

In Hanson’s own words, “Please explain”.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Photo: Getty.

What is One Nation proposing?

One Nation suggests putting a photo on every Medicare card would make it harder for people to fraudulently use another person’s card to access subsidised medical care.

The party’s website also mentions its concern about other examples of Medicare fraud. These include medicines funded by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme being obtained and then sold on, and doctors billing Medicare for appointments that never happened.

Medicare is taxpayer-funded, and every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar not spent on patient care. But the cure One Nation proposes runs into a problem from the start.

The party’s own examples of fraud describe quite different things. A patient using someone else’s card is an identity problem. A doctor billing for an appointment that never happened is a provider-compliance problem. While a photo on your card may catch the first, it does nothing about the second.

This distinction matters, because the $3 billion a year figure One Nation leans on is not an estimate of Medicare card fraud, or even an estimate of deliberate fraud.

It bundles fraud with a much broader category of “non-compliance”, which covers a range of things including incorrect claims from unintentional billing errors to deliberate deception.

Medicare is taxpayer-funded, and every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar not spent on patient care. But the cure One Nation proposes runs into a problem from the start. Photo: Getty.

Where did the $3b figure come from?

The figure comes from the 2023 Independent Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance, known as the Philip Review.

The government commissioned this review after a period of intense debate about non-compliant Medicare billing. This was sparked by PhD research that concluded non-compliant billing was driven mainly by the complexity of the Medicare system, rather than deliberate fraud by doctors, who were left trying to comply with rules they could not understand.

The Philip review noted the available data are too weak to measure Medicare fraud and non-compliance with precision. Even so, the review stated it is “entirely feasible” that $1.5–$3 billion is lost each year to a combination of Medicare fraud and non-compliance.

That covers a wide spectrum of behaviour. For example, it can mean a doctor mistakenly claiming the wrong Medicare item, billing unnecessary or repeated services, deliberately billing more expensive services, or claiming for a service that was never provided.

The review does not single out individuals misusing Medicare cards. Most examples given relate to provider billing behaviours, intentional or unintentional.

It also does not conclude $3 billion a year is being deliberately “rorted”.

What’s wrong with the photo ID solution?

A photo on a Medicare card helps confirm the person holding the card is the one named on it. It is not a solution for the range of non-compliance issues the Philip review identifies.

These range from criminal fraud at the extreme end to honest billing errors at the other. It talks about the complexity of the claiming system, a lack of clarity on compliance rules, limited decision support to help providers bill correctly and a lack of continuous monitoring.

This is because Medicare is a third-party payer system. A patient receives care, a provider bills, and the Commonwealth pays. Almost everything that goes wrong happens between the provider and the payer. Patients also have little visibility over what is billed in their name.

Photo ID cannot help providers work out which item numbers to claim, whether a service was necessary, or help spot odd claiming patterns across thousands of providers.

Photo ID is unlikely to deter Medicare fraud on the scale we saw in a $7.5 million Melbourne case in 2024. This involved stolen identities of Medicare providers and bogus bank accounts.

Photo IDs are also costly. Reissuing photo cards to 27.5 million Medicare customers would require a large, certain expense set against an uncertain marginal benefit. Back in 2019, rolling out photo ID on Medicare cards was costed at half a billion dollars.

What are some solutions?

The Philip review made several recommendations to address Medicare non-compliance. Many are not catchy enough to fit on a campaign poster, including:

• improving governance: including establishing a Medicare integrity oversight committee, bringing together agency stakeholders and independent experts to improve risk reporting and monitoring
• simplifying and redesigning billing rules and support systems: including reducing the number of ways to claim, providing guidance at the point of claim, and improving post-payment investigations
• strengthening provider education: increasing education for practitioners, providers and administrative staff on Medicare claiming requirements, and giving continuous feedback so mistakes are caught early
• modernising technology and data systems: introducing continuous claims monitoring, pre-payment checks and stronger data links to identify unusual or non-compliant claiming and to allow analysis of patterns across the whole population.

In response to the review, the Australian government funded and set up a taskforce to advise on improving Medicare integrity.

Since 2023, the taskforce has changed the law to strengthen compliance and auditing, introduced claiming controls to stop incorrect billing, built data models to find fraud and non-compliance faster, and published a plain-English handbook to help providers with billing.

Two bills passed parliament in 2025 to tighten up the system further.

All these actions target the claiming and compliance issues the Philip review identified, on the provider and system side.

None of these actions puts a photo on a card, because nothing in the evidence suggests this would help.

This article was originally published in The Conversation.

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Is your child addicted to their phone? Clinical psychologist Dr. Danielle Einstein reveals the warning signs to look out for— and four simple strategies to help you swap out screen time for family time.

Phones and devices have become inextricably linked with everyday life. They store our credit cards, provide critical bus updates, and allow us to communicate whenever we need to.

But when our device use starts to affect our mood, replace real-life experiences, or interfere with face-to-face relationships, it’s a sign our habits have crossed the line from healthy to unhealthy.

We cannot expect children or teens to break from the “addictive pull” of phones if the adults around them don’t either. Photo: Getty.

How are teens more affected?

Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to excessive device use, as the part of the brain responsible for planning, imagining consequences and working for delayed rewards has not yet fully matured. They also have heightened sensitivities to rewards and social evaluation (in other words, what your peers think of you).

Research shows teenagers are more prone to mood swings, are still evolving their ability to manage uncertainty and are learning how to regulate their emotions.

All of this makes them more susceptible to online triggers that can trap a vulnerable teen in a cycle of conflicting and constantly changing emotions, particularly when information is arriving constantly.

For teens (and adults) it can become a complete world of its own where daily responsibilities are avoided and challenges are only faced with a dependency on phones.

So how do you know when it’s become a problem?

Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to excessive device use. Photo: Getty. 

What to look out for

There are some obvious signs excessive device use is becoming a problem for teens (or yourself).

1. They use phones to fill in spare time. If every quiet moment is filled with scrolling, checking notifications or opening apps, it shows a teen’s device is the primary way they respond to spare time, stress or discomfort.

2. They appear distracted when you talk to them. If your teen automatically reaches for their phone midway through conversation, it might be a sign they devalue face-to-face exchanges and have lost the discipline to wait.

3. They put off important tasks. When teens routinely avoid everyday responsibilities such as work, homework, school, household chores or tasks that involve mixing with new people.

4. They seem tired all the time. Teens may block negative thoughts by scrolling in bed, socialising online late in the night, or even getting into bed after the school day.

How does it get to this stage?

The devices we rely on have the potential to develop what I call the “addictive pull” due to the features and services available on them. The “pull” begins when notifications, such as likes, messages, loot box wins and emails, arrive on devices unpredictably. Some are positive while others are neutral. And some also relieve worries. This creates a powerful dopamine-driven loop.

Over time, the device itself becomes a conditioned stimulus. This means even something as simple as seeing your phone case, or watching your device’s screen light up, is enough to trigger an urge to check it. It’s almost as if we are magnetically pulled to the device in the hope of a reward (such as more messages or likes), or to soothe a preoccupying worry.

This can also create an anxiety loop which means even without a notification, a person checks their device, rechecks it and experiences brief moments of relief via a message or app. When the loop occurs on repeat, it winds up worry and creates emotional dependence on others or apps.

The “addictive pull” can be hard to resist. Over time these unnoticed habits can become associated with the space where devices are often used (such as the bedroom, the apartment, the bus). The “pull” to re-engage with a device is a result of predictable conditioning and reinforcement processes rather than a lack of willpower. The bedroom – a place of rest, privacy and study – can be particularly problematic for teens and adults.

The bedroom – a place of rest, privacy and study – can be particularly problematic for teens and adults. Photo: Getty.

Leading by example

We cannot expect children or teens to break from the “addictive pull” if the adults around them don’t either.

As a parent, these are some ways you can lead by example to be more intentional when using devices.

1. Recognise the subtle tension that builds when you have a worry and want to reach for your device immediately.

2. When you walk into your home, place your phone or smartwatch out of the way and in a bag.

3. Do not have your phone or tablet in arm’s reach when it is designated family time.

4. Work with each family member to put apps being used without restraint onto one device per person. For instance, a parent or older teen might have TikTok on a tablet and not on their phone (so they can use their phone without distraction). They should then try to use that tablet in only one room of the house, outside of the bedroom.

Remember, an honest picture of everyone’s screen time habits sit on the device’s screen time records. We may get a minor fright when looking at it, but rather than resigning ourselves to this new way of life – and ignoring the insidious impact on attention, mood and wellbeing – we can commit to one another to make small changes.

This was originally published in The Conversation.

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Trump's red card scandal at the FIFA World Cup incensed the world.  Macquarie University Senior Lecturer of Modern European History and Sports History, Keith Rathbone, asks  if the US President has stolen the tournament's shine.

The World Cup has entered its quarter-finals, and so far the tournament has had it all: a strong team ousted early (Germany), debate over whether an ageing superstar (Lionel Messi) still “has it”, and an underdog in the form of a tiny nation (Cabo Verde) making it through to the knockout stages.

But by far the biggest off-field talking point has centred around the United States vs Bosnia and Herzegovina game. After the match, US President Donald Trump personally intervened to ask FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the red card shown to US striker Folarin Balogun that brought with it a one-match ban.

Shockingly, FIFA sided with the US and reinstated Balogun two days before the US’s next match.

While much of the debate around the incident has centred on Trump, there are also questions to be asked about Infantino’s actions, FIFA’s politics, and whether the World Cup still has its gleam.

U.S. President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw. Photo: Jia Haocheng/Getty Images.

An independent decision?

FIFA’s judgement has raised questions about Infantino’s close relationship with Trump. FIFA has mechanisms – labyrinthine and hidden inside its own Disciplinary Code – to settle disputes between players, federations and teams. FIFA officials insisted the Disciplinary Committee acted independently, and denied Trump’s phonecall had any impact.

Even Infantino took the extraordinary step of issuing his own denial.

Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.

I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree. “What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.

Friends in high places

Trump clearly felt conformable reaching out to Infantino because the two leaders have a strong relationship.

In December 2025, Infantino awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, a decision that seems to have been a unilateral one by the FIFA president.

In the six months since, the Trump administration has launched a war on Iran that has killed thousands of innocent civilians.

The love seems to go both ways: after the Balogun red card decision, Trump lauded Infantino, saying:

He’s a smart, tough man, and his stock has gone through the roof because the job he has done has been great.

Infantino has made a habit of buddying up to authoritarian leaders. He has played favourites with them in the past and even ignored when their policies interfered with significant football matters.

In the run up to the 2026 World Cup, Infantino remained remarkably quiet about US travel bans that have affected fans and players alike. The US has banned travel from a quarter of the qualifying countries, many fans (and at least one referee) have been turned back at airports.

Infantino was forced to accept American restrictions to the travel of the Iranian National Team. Following the outbreak of the Iran war, the team was forced to relocate their homebase to Tijuana in Mexico. The players were only able to travel to the US for games the day before the kickoff and were subjected to sustained examinations by immigration officials.

After Iran’s opening draw against New Zealand, Infantino visited their locker room. Iran’s coach offered a withering critique of the competition’s fairness.The Athletic labelled Infantino as being reduced to the role of the “court jester”, unable to challenge Trump’s power.

He has form kowtowing to bullies. In 2014, the Russian armed forces seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Infantino was the General Secretary of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and while he banned Crimean clubs from competing in Russian competitions, he also oversaw the formation of a local league that separated those clubs from Ukraine too.

In 2018, he was FIFA’s president when Russia hosted the World Cup, an event he called “the best […] ever”. The following year, for his service to Russia, Putin awarded Infantino with Russian Order of Friendship. Infantino has also been on the record supporting the reintroduction of Russian athletes into FIFA competition despite the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

He was similarly supportive of Qatari officials in 2022. When the Qataris faced criticism for their labour practices, a brutal system of forced work that resulted in roughly 6,500 deaths in the years leading up to the World Cup, Infantino defended the hosts.

Folarin Balogun #20 of the United States is challenged by Tarik Muharemovic #4 of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between USA and Bosnia. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

An anti-corruption campaign?

Infantino’s closeness to authoritarian leaders such as Putin and Trump might surprise some football watchers, because Infantino only became FIFA’s president as part of a reform process. In May 2015, US federal prosecutors indicted 14 football bureaucrats with crimes including wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering. The scandal implicated the then president, Sepp Blatter, who was forced to resign in December 2015.

Infantino was a member of the 2016 reform committee, and was supported by European and North American federations as an anti-corruption candidate. His narrow victory over Jordanian Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa was lauded as a victory for real change in the footballing body.

Ten years into his presidency, however, Infantino has become increasingly authoritarian and less transparent. He has ended the reform processes that brought FIFA’s poor governance to light. He has fired officials involved in the ethics investigations.

Infantino’s tit-for-tat style allows for close rapport with autocrats and has had benefits for FIFA. In 2026, US investigators ended their probe into financial fraud in global football, saying it “no longer fits the Trump administration’s priorities”.

FIFA’s financial resources have been buoyed by support from US television dollars and Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Infantino has a close relationship with Saudi Arabian ruler Mohammed bin Salman. Eager to repay favours, Infantino oversaw the process to award the hosting right for the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia despite the regime’s poor human rights records. The other possible bidder – Australia – was blindsided by backdoor manoeuvring between FIFA, Saudi Arabia, and the Asian Football Confederation.

Pressure to resign?

Blatter, the man Infantino replaced, was sharply critical of Infantino and Trump’s conduct. On X, he wrote:

Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence, and independent bodies.

With the fiction of FIFA’s neutrality now visible, the pressure is mounting for the executive committee to replace Infantino. Calls for him to resign are coming from football insiders in Europe: Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling labelled it an “absolute disgrace” and called for Infantino to resign.

German manager Jürgen Klopp also called for his resignation, as did British journalist and former England captain Gary Lineker.

UEFA officials have reportedly been discussing possible alternatives to Infantino. North American football leaders seem to prefer the Canadian Victor Montagliani, who might have some support beyond the Americas given Canada’s handling of the 2026 World Cup.

Likely more troubling for Infantino are demands for an investigation by 72 European lawmakers in the European parliament. His predecessor was also seen off by an external legal probe.

Even so, despite some in the press seeing his position as “untenable”, the twice re-elected FIFA President will likely be able to see off threats to his rule, unless the European Union (and potentially also North American) officials can put financial pressure on FIFA.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Netherlands and Morocco. Photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images.

Infantino is well-liked by sports officials in the global south, who have benefited from the money he brings into the game. The most important federations for voting purposes – the African and Asian confederations – seem likely to back him for an unprecedented fourth term.

What goes unsaid is that FIFA cannot be and has never been politically neutral. Tensions remain between the global north and south inside of the organisation.

Yet the bigger problem is the concentration of power inside FIFA, and how it exercises it on the outside. The organisation’s connections to government are essential to hosting an increasingly complicated global tournament. Infantino’s global game runs on money and power. As they become increasingly concentrated in the hands of fewer individuals, the possibility for challenging his leadership diminish.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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First year Macquarie University student Lauren Blunden has taken home the Young Archies prize for her self-portrait of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

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It’s easy for us to tell if someone is enjoying their meal or not. They lick their lips if they like it, grimace if they don’t.

Our new research, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows we might be able to read insects’ facial expressions in a similar way.

This offers potential insights into their inner lives – and builds on a wave of new work that is daring to suggest insects might have a form of consciousness.

An idea dating back to Darwin

Humans read each other’s expressions and body language all the time. By doing so, we can typically get a pretty accurate read on what another person is feeling.

Naturalist Charles Darwin was one of the first to discuss how facial expressions in other animals might also give us a read of their emotions.

Most dog owners would agree that dogs can communicate clearly through body language and expression when they are joyful, afraid or in pain. In mammals, at least, basic features of facial expressions associated with liking and wanting seem to be deeply conserved through evolution.

Psychologist and neuroscientist Kent Berridge and his colleagues pointed out just how eerily similar the facial expressions of newborn baby humans and baby rats are when they receive a surprising sweet treat versus a bitter one. In both species the former triggered lip licking, whereas the latter triggered a mouth gape of revulsion.

Based on a combination of careful neurobiological and behavioural studies, Berridge has convincingly argued that we can use facial expressions to read what a rat likes and dislikes, and he has used this as a measure to understand the neurobiology of liking in rats.

What about other animals with radically different brains, bodies and faces? What about, say, insects?

Getting a read on an insect’s inner life

Insects have a hard exoskeleton. Their faces are impassive masks, but bumblebees do have highly mobile mouth parts. They can extend their long glossa (the equivalent of a tongue) to reach deep into flowers to sip nectar.

In experiments performed at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, colleagues and I studied how bumblebees moved their glossa and other mouth parts when sampling different tastes.

To a single bumblebee we offered a tiny droplet of sugar water from a pipette. The bee vigorously extended her glossa to drink the droplet, but even after she finished drinking and the pipette was taken away she kept extending and retracting her glossa into thin air – almost as if smacking her lips.

By stark contrast, when we offered the bee a droplet of dilute salty water she sampled it with her glossa, then backed away shaking her head and wiping her glossa as if in disgust.

Testing alternative explanations

Could these responses be simply innate reactions of the glossa to the different chemistry of sugar and salt?

To test this we changed the bee’s physiological state. We heated the bee to 40°C for a short time. While this didn’t harm the bee, it was equivalent to the bee being active on a hot day and caused her to become dehydrated.

Now when we offered the bee dilute salty water, rather than shaking her head and wiping her mouth, she drank thirstily and showed those glossa extensions.

This showed the glossa movements were not automatic responses to sugar and salt. Rather they had more to do with the bees’ physiological state. A dehydrated bee needs dilute salty water, and now when offered it she showed the glossa extension responses she would otherwise show to sweet sugar.

It’s somewhat like those oral rehydration electrolyte drinks. Most of the time they are bearable – just. But if you have just completed a long run and are dehydrated, they taste so much better.

In other experiments we directly manipulated the bees’ neurochemistry.

We found that if we treated bees with different neurochemicals we could change the glossa response to sugar. Bees treated with the neuromodulators octopamine and dopamine were more reactive to sugar, but did not show those post-drinking glossa protrusions to a sucrose drop.

However, bees treated with an endocannabinoid (a different neuromodulatory system that in mammals is related to mood, appetite and physiological regulation) showed enhanced post-drinking glossa protrusions, but were not more reactive to sugar.

This told us two things. First, the glossa protrusion is independent from a sugar reaction. Second, very specific changes in bee neurochemistry can enhance the glossa protrusion response.

A subjective inner state

Together these experiments showed that the glossa responses were subjective to the bee, related to her physiological state, and not simple reactions to chemicals.

This evidence suggests the bee’s responses to what it likes and dislikes are similar to those of humans and other mammals. At the very least, we can say that the bee’s responses gave us a read of her subjective inner physiological state.

Does our study tell us conclusively that a bee feels emotions like liking and disliking? No. But it does add to the body of work showing that insects have some sort of inner life and are more than mere reflex machines.

Now that we can read bees’ faces to get a read on their subjective state, we can do a lot more work to probe what the inner life of an insect is like.

This article was originally published in The Conversation.

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A broken ankle threatened to stall Jasmine Williams' research career before it began. Instead, it set her on the path to discovering how the world's deadliest infectious disease outsmarts antibiotics.

Jasmine Williams had just started mapping out her postgraduate research career in molecular biology at Macquarie University when fate tripped her up.

“Two weeks into my research Masters, I broke my ankle playing soccer,” says Jasmine, who’s a keen competitive player in Super League, leading the team’s defence as a centre back.

“The project I had planned to work on involved lots of standing at a lab bench, and that just wasn’t going to be feasible while I wore a ‘moonboot’ for five months.”

PhD candidate Jasmine Williams in the molecular biology lab at Macquarie.

Fortunately for Jasmine, another opportunity presented itself at just the right time in the laboratory of Professor Amy Cain, whose research focus is understanding the genetic mechanisms that underlie the worldwide problem of antibiotic resistance.

“The data from some incredible lab work on tuberculosis (TB) in partnership with Mahidol University in Thailand had just arrived, and I was offered the chance to work on the analysis for that project instead,” says Jasmine.

Fast forward three years and the findings from that lab work and Jasmine’s data analysis have just been published in the journal Microbial Genomics. The research represents a significant advance in understanding mechanisms of antibiotic resistance to the world’s deadliest disease.

For many people in wealthy Western countries, the mention of TB may evoke historic images of sanatoria and tragic Victorian literary figures. But for millions elsewhere in the world, it remains an urgent and very current reality: TB affects a quarter of the world’s population and is responsible for around 1.2 million deaths each year, making it the leading global cause of death from a single infectious agent.

Treating TB is unusually demanding. Standard treatment involves patients diligently taking a combination of antibiotics for a minimum of six months to eliminate the slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Interruptions to antibiotic treatment and factors like limited access to healthcare can rapidly lead to resistant strains of bacteria emerging and becoming dominant, posing an enormous global public health threat.

Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, where resistant TB was bred in the lab.

The Cain Lab at Macquarie has pioneered the use of “directed evolution”, in which disease-causing bacteria are allowed to evolve under carefully controlled conditions so genetic mechanisms underlying how antibiotic resistance develops and spreads can be studied in detail.

“By the time resistant strains are detected in the clinic, tuberculosis can have acquired multiple mutations for antibiotic resistance,” Jasmine explains. “But by growing bacteria in the lab under conditions that encourage the evolution of resistant strains, we can monitor and detect each of these mutations as they appear, allowing us to understand how each mutation helps tuberculosis gain resistance.”

The technique had never been applied to TB before.

“Directed evolution is easier with bacteria that grow very quickly, but M. tuberculosis grows much more slowly, so the process documented in our study took over a year for just one strain,” she says.

Co-researchers from Siriraj Hospital at Mahidol University in Bangkok effectively bred TB “superbugs” in a secure lab, exposing the bacteria to gradually increasing doses of the antibiotics rifampicin and linezolid – critically important first-line and last-line treatments respectively. At each step, only the bacteria that had evolved resistance survived to the next stage of the experiment.

“We sequenced the genome of the whole population of the bacteria at each step of their evolution so we could see which genetic mutations appeared when,” Jasmine says. “Some of those we found were already known from clinically resistant TB strains, but we also identified mutations in six genes not previously linked to rifampicin or linezolid resistance.”

“Surprisingly, on further investigation we found these antibiotic resistance genes aren’t only linked to TB, but they also confer antibiotic resistance in another critical antibiotic-resistant species – Escherichia coli – which is associated with an estimated 950,000 annual deaths worldwide.”

Jasmine and fellow researchers at Macquarie and in Thailand hope the outcomes of their study will help in the design of new treatment strategies to minimise the risk of antibiotic resistance and guide development of much-needed new drugs and drug combinations to treat TB.

Jasmine Williams is a PhD candidate in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University.

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At first glance a data centre looks like a bland, boring warehouse. But these buildings, stacked with thousands of servers, are the beating heart of the internet and the booming artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

As data centres have grown in size and number in Australia, they have also become the subject of fierce public debate. State and federal governments, as well as the tech industry, are pushing for new data centres to be rapidly built in addition to the roughly 160 that already exist around the country.

But many local communities, from Perth to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, are pushing back. Their opposition stems from the vast amounts of water and energy data centres consume, the noise pollution they generate throughout day and night, the large tracts of land they occupy, the upward pressure they could place on inflation and power prices, and the lack of transparency and community involvement in the development process.

Against this backdrop, the Greens have called for a moratorium on the building and approval of new data centres in Australia. Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens Senator for South Australia and chair of the ongoing federal parliamentary inquiry into AI and data centres, said a moratorium was needed “until we get the regulations right”.

So should Australia pause building new data centres? We asked five experts. Three out of five said yes.

State and federal governments, as well as the tech industry, are pushing for new data centres to be rapidly built in addition to the roughly 160 that already exist around Australia. Photo: Getty.

Tamika Worrell

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Critical Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University

Yes.

Data centres impact Country through their extensive consumption of water, energy and minerals, as well as their vast physical footprint.

But as well as posing a risk to the environment, the current speed of data centre development poses serious risks to Indigenous rights to land and resource governance. This reflects broader global struggles for Indigenous sovereignty over land and ecosystems in settler-colonial nations.

One of the issues with most technology development is that accountability usually flows upwards. Systems are accountable to investors, companies or governments.

What is often missing is accountability to the communities whose lives are shaped by these technologies – especially Indigenous communities. Responsibility cannot stop at the point of deployment. If institutions build and use these systems, they also have to take responsibility for the social and cultural impacts that follow.

For Indigenous peoples, this means not being treated as users or data sources at the end of the process. It means being part of decision making from the beginning. It means Indigenous communities having a say in how systems are designed, what data is used, and how those systems are governed.

Browwyn Cumbo

Lecturer, Transdisciplinary School, University of Technology

Yes.

Communities across Australia are raising legitimate concerns about the pace and scale of data centre expansion. We have not yet seen any systematic response from governments to these concerns, or approaches to support greater community inclusion in industry expansion.

Done well, a moratorium would provide time to develop strategic policies and planning processes that reflect the wide range of community concerns. This would support the creation of a more equitable and trusted data centre industry nationally.

But a moratorium on new data centre developments could have unintended consequences for the region.

Singapore implemented a moratorium from 2019 to 2022 to develop stronger policies around energy and water use, and has since introduced clear strategies for attracting green data centres integrated with renewable infrastructure. But instead of "greening" the industry, many developers simply shifted to other regional locations – exporting the problem to less regulated markets.

This is a global industry, and it isn't going anywhere. A moratorium would help Australia better mitigate the social and environmental harms of data centres at home. But governments also need to do more to ensure the industry becomes more sustainable for everyone, regionally and globally.

Data centres impact Country through their extensive consumption of water, energy and minerals, as well as their vast physical footprint.

Ehsan Noroozinejad

Senior Researcher and Sustainable Future Lead, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University

No.

AI is becoming core infrastructure for future economies, and Australia is already behind many developed countries in building the digital capacity needed for research, industry, government services and global competitiveness.

A temporary stop may sound safe, but it risks widening that gap. The real issue is not whether we build data centres, but how we build and operate them.

New projects should be approved only where they can show clear public benefit: clean energy supply, responsible water use, transparent environmental reporting (as the United Nations recently called for), local jobs, skills development and fair contribution to grid and infrastructure costs.

Australia should not accept a “build anywhere, consume anything” model. But nor should it pause essential digital infrastructure. The better approach is a strict public-interest test: fast-track the good projects, reject the poor ones, and make sustainability a condition of growth.

An aerial view of a 33 megawatt data centre with closed-loop cooling system, amid warehouses in Vernon, California. A surge in demand for AI infrastructure is fuelling a boom in data centres across the country and around the globe. Photo: Getty.

Michael Vardon

Associate Professor of Environmental Accounting, Australian National University

Yes.

A moratorium is a temporary pause, not a permanent ban, and right now we need one, because we cannot clearly see what data centres cost or deliver.

They use a lot of energy and, directly or indirectly, a lot of water. Yet they’re invisible in our national energy, water and economic accounts. The economic upside is real but easily overstated: the big productivity dividends are in the industries that use AI, often offshore, not in the centres themselves, which are capital-intensive, require imports of expensive hardware, and employ few people once built.

A brief halt on new approvals in the most stressed catchments and grids would buy time to fix the information problem. The Australian Bureau of Statistics can already collect operators’ energy, water and economic data and keep it confidential. Once we have it, the moratorium lifts.

The aim isn’t to stop the sector, but to make decisions based on measurement rather than guesswork.

Visitors peer through a transparent enclosure to closely inspect the intricate red and blue neon-lit cooling pipelines of a data centre infrastructure model on June 03, 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: Getty.

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One of the biggest misconceptions about NAIDOC Week is that it’s simply a celebration.

While it is a time to celebrate, it grew from an Aboriginal political movement. Its origins lie in the 1938 Day of Mourning, when Aboriginal leaders gathered on January 26 to protest 150 years of colonisation and draw national attention to discrimination, dispossession and the denial of basic human and civil rights.

The Day of Mourning was one of Australia’s first major civil rights protests. It challenged the triumphant national story being told about colonisation and instead demanded citizenship and justice for Aboriginal people.

That spirit of resistance and collective action continues to define NAIDOC today. While the week has evolved into a national celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and achievements, its foundations remain firmly rooted in the pursuit of justice, equality and self-determination.

An expanding celebration

Over the decades, what began as a single day of protest grew into one of Australia’s most significant national observances. Aboriginal organisations continued to push for recognition, rights and justice, ensuring the movement did not lose momentum.

In the 1950s, the annual Day of Observance was moved from January to July to distinguish it from Australia Day and encourage broader community participation. Moving the observance away from Australia Day also allowed Aboriginal communities to commemorate the occasion on their own terms, rather than alongside celebrations of colonisation.

By 1975, it had expanded into a week-long event.

In 1991, the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee changed its name to the National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC), formally recognising Torres Strait Islander peoples alongside Aboriginal peoples.

While the committee itself gave NAIDOC its name, today the acronym is most commonly associated with NAIDOC Week, which is celebrated in communities across Australia.

Decades of advocacy

One of the most interesting things about NAIDOC is that if you look back over the annual themes, they tell a story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander political priorities over the past decades. They capture what communities were advocating for at particular moments in time.

Early themes focused on self-determination, land rights and treaty, while others challenged Australia to confront its history and recognise the ongoing impacts of colonisation.

More recent themes have celebrated the strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, Elders, languages and young people, while also emphasising truth-telling, caring for Country and Indigenous sovereignty.

Themes such as Voice. Treaty. Truth., Always Was, Always Will Be, and Heal Country were never simple slogans. They have reflected the conversations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were having about the future we wanted to build. The themes provide a remarkable timeline of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aspirations, achievements and the issues that continue to shape our lives today.

Perhaps the greatest achievement, though, is that NAIDOC has managed to hold onto its political beginnings while becoming one of Australia’s most widely recognised national events. Every year schools, workplaces, sporting clubs, governments and communities take part.

That visibility matters because it creates opportunities to learn, celebrate and have conversations that might not otherwise happen.

50 Years of Deadly

This year’s theme, 50 Years of Deadly, is particularly significant because it highlights that Australia has been celebrating NAIDOC as a week-long celebration for half a century. The committee’s website describes it as:

[…] a tribute to the people who built this movement. The Elders who stood firm, the organisers who made space, the artists who turned resistance into expression, and the communities who keep showing up, year after year.

The word “deadly” is important too. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, “deadly” is a term of praise, respect and admiration. It’s used to describe someone or something that is excellent, impressive or worthy of celebration.

This year’s theme recognises what has always been deadly is our people. It honours the generations of people that carried NAIDOC forward.

At the same time, it’s a reminder that the work isn’t finished. The issues that inspired the Day of Mourning in 1938, including justice, equality, self-determination and truth telling, are still very much part of the national conversation.

‘Blak Xmas’

For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, NAIDOC is affectionately known as “Blak Christmas”. It’s a time when families and communities reconnect, often travelling long distances to be together.

Across the country there are marches, community days, award ceremonies, sporting carnivals, cultural performances, music, dancing and opportunities to celebrate culture, honour our Elders and share in the joy of community.

That’s why it’s important not to reduce NAIDOC to a morning tea or a few cupcakes in the office. While those events can play a role in bringing people together, they should be the beginning of the conversation, not the end of it.

NAIDOC is an invitation to engage with the history that gave rise to the week, to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, and to reflect on the work that still needs to be done.

Its enduring significance lies in the fact that it remains both a celebration of one of the world’s oldest continuing cultures and a reminder of the ongoing pursuit of justice, equity and self-determination.

This article was originally published  on The Conversation.

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In a speech that left the room silent, Ben Bruseker shared his experience of living with Motor Neuron Disease (MND) – the loss of strength, loss of independence and loss of time. But he also shared something unexpected about his disease.

This story was edited on 22 July to update the total amount raised.

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With El Niño officially declared for summer 2026, Dr Laura Fernandez and researchers at Macquarie University are testing the use of recycled water to irrigate trees, helping to cool Western Sydney.

It’s January 2020, and Penrith has just been declared the hottest place on Earth.

The streets lie empty beneath a relentless sun. Melted tar glimmers in the heat, and air conditioners strain, while those without access search for any relief they can find. Even after sunset, temperatures remain stubbornly high, offering little respite from the scorching day.

Six years later, extreme heat is no longer an anomaly but a reality - one that Western Sydney remains particularly vulnerable to.

As heatwaves become longer, more frequent and intense, a combination of rapid urban development, reliance on heat-absorbing materials, and a need to continue increasing tree canopy is driving higher temperatures across the region.

Concerningly, it’s only on track to get worse.

As climate change drives more extreme weather, the official declaration of El Niño for the summer of 2026 has heightened concerns about another season of above-average temperatures.

But for researchers at Macquarie University, the question is not simply how to endure hotter summers, but how we can use research to make cities more resilient.

Their solution lies in understanding the relationship between trees and recycled water.

In collaboration with Sydney Water, researchers from Macquarie University and Botanic Gardens of Sydney created a research arboretum at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, where they have spent the past three years monitoring 600 trees across 15 species to assess whether recycled water can successfully support tree growth in urban environments.

Macquarie University are testing the use of recycled water to irrigate trees, helping to cool Western Sydney. Image: Sophie Daniel (Manager Interpretation and Placemaking, Botanic Gardens of Sydney)

Dr Laura Fernandez is a Research Fellow at Macquarie University who co-leads the project along with Professor Michelle Leishman and Dr Martyna Kotowska.

Dr Fernandez explains that understanding how recycled water can support and maintain urban green space is critical - particularly in cities like Sydney, where heat and population growth are colliding - and every drop of water counts.

"Western Sydney is very hot and dry,” says Dr Fernandez.

"That means recycled water presents a valuable opportunity to irrigate parks, gardens and urban green spaces. The challenge is that there has been very little research into how recycled water affects the soil or plants themselves.”

“In this project, we planted 15 native tree species and watered half with recycled water and half with potable water. We then monitored how the trees responded over time.”

To collect this data, the team used a network of sensors across the site - building a detailed picture of how recycled water is affecting the environment and long-term health of the trees.

"Although we can’t be in the field all the time, we are able to get data every 15 minutes from a smart sensing system which measures things like air temperature and humidity as well as soil water content and salinity. We can then compare the microclimate of the plots planted with trees to the unplanted areas to see the impact of the growing trees.”

But it’s only when you step into the field that the importance of the data is visualised.

Rows of young eucalypts, paperbarks and bottlebrushes stretch across the site, their canopies gradually thickening under the Western Sydney sun. To those wandering through, it’s hard to tell which trees have been irrigated with recycled water – which, is exactly the point.

“The data is showing that, so far, recycled water is not having a negative impact on soil salinity or on tree growth, and the growing urban forest is reducing ambient temperature,” says Dr Fernandez.

The project is also seeking to build a stronger connection between the community and the resources that sustain the city.

In collaboration with Sydney Water and Botanic Gardens of Sydney, researchers have developed educational signage and a Flow Trail at the Australian Botanic Garden, allowing visitors to build greater awareness of the role water and trees play in adapting to a warmer future.

Mike Elgey, Manager of the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman, and staff from Sydney Water. Image: Sophie Daniel (Manager of Interpretation and Placemaking at Botanic Gardens of Sydney).

“There are 11 signs around the garden, and two at the Arboretum, with QR codes, to help people understand how important water is, but in particular, water in Western Sydney.”

With El Niño looming and another hot summer on the horizon, the researchers are now turning their attention to the next phase of the project.

Recently extended until 2028, the trial will continue to explore how different species respond, grow and thrive – helping to grow hope for Western Sydney setting a different kind of record: not for how it became the hottest place on Earth, but for how it learned to stay cool.

“As we move into summer, we’re considering what other variables are important to understand the impact the recycled water is having,” says Dr Fernandez.

“We’ve also changed how we’re using the sap flow sensors. Initially, we installed them on one species for a week and then moved them to another species. This summer, however, we’re testing five species simultaneously to compare how they respond to the same temperature conditions.”

“The past summers have been quite wet and mild, so it will be fascinating to see the impact of the more extreme summer conditions that are expected under the coming El Niño period.”

The findings will be shared through industry conferences and scientific publications, as well as with partners such as Sydney Water, to help guide landscape managers, horticulturalists and urban planners in selecting resilient species and optimising irrigation for Western Sydney’s future.

Contact: Laura Fernandez

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Email: laura.fernandez@mq.edu.au

In our modern world, it can feel impossible to focus on any one task. But science tells us there are ways you can reclaim your attention.

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“Making peace with Iran may be just as painful as winning the war,” a recent CNN report noted. As negotiations roll on during a shaky ceasefire, what a deal between the US and Iran might look like and whether it holds is anyone’s guess.

As a scholar of ancient Persia (which eventually became Iran), the difficulties US President Donald Trump is now facing don’t exactly surprise me.

After dozens of wars between the two ancient empires of Rome and Persia, peace deals often failed to solve problems, and sometimes made the situation worse.

Lurching from conflict to conflict

The powerful empires of ancient Persia (ruled by the Parthians from 247 BCE to 224 CE, and then the Sasanians from 224 to 651 CE) rivalled the Roman Empire for centuries. They often went to war and the peace deals they struck were mostly about buying time.

The first major conflict between Rome and Persia was the disastrous invasion led by the Roman general Crassus in 53 BCE. Crassus himself died and thousands of Roman soldiers were killed in the plains near Carrhae in southern Turkey.

Ongoing conflict emboldened the Parthians and in 20 BCE, the Romans were forced to recognise the Euphrates River as a boundary as part of a peace agreement. For Rome, this represented a concession because up to this point its territorial expansion couldn’t be stopped.

Conflict between Rome and Parthia would break out again in the middle of the first century CE. This time, it was over the kingdom of Armenia, which sat strategically between the two empires in modern Armenia and eastern Turkey.

Following the war, the Roman emperor Nero and the Parthian King, Vologases I, struck the Treaty of Rhandeia in 63 CE. Under this deal, the king of Armenia was to be nominated by the Parthians but actually crowned by the emperor in Rome. The treaty settled the immediate dispute but over time became unwieldy.

Later, when the Parthians simply brushed the treaty aside, the Roman emperor Trajan punished them with a major invasion in 114 CE. Despite some impressive initial successes, including the capture of the Parthian capital, the invasion failed. All of Trajan’s gains were lost by the time of his death in 117 CE.

Following the replacement of the Parthians by the Sasanians as rulers of Persia in 224 CE, conflict with Rome escalated even further. Control of Armenia was often the focus and formed a key element of peace agreements.

After the Roman emperor Gordian III’s death in an invasion of the Sasanian Empire in 244 CE, a fresh agreement was struck between the two powers. The Sasanians imposed financial penalties and a clause banning Roman involvement in Armenia.

But within a few years Rome ignored the treaty. This led to a series of devastating Sasanian invasions of Roman territory and the capture of the Roman emperor Valerian in 260 CE.

In the late 290s, Rome would extract some revenge with a significant victory over the Sasanian king, Narseh. The Treaty of Nisibis that followed in 299 CE contained a number of clauses, which extended Roman power further east. It also gave control of Armenia to Rome.

But this treaty sowed the seeds of considerable enmity. When the Sasanian king Shapur II invaded Roman territory in the 350s, his main aim was to repudiate the treaty made 60 years earlier. This was reinforced when the Roman emperor Julian invaded the Sasanian Empire and suffered a heavy defeat (including his own death) in 363 CE.

While the level of conflict between Rome and ancient Iran was lower in the fifth century CE, it was even more pronounced in the sixth and seventh centuries. Rome and Iran were almost constantly at war during this period.

There were numerous treaties and attempts to strike peace but none lasted. Perhaps the most futile was the so-called Eternal Peace of 532, which lasted less than eight years.

Easier to make war than peace

As history shows, peace deals may be trumpeted at the time they are signed but can end up sowing the seeds of discord and future conflict.

Rome and Persia’s fight over Armenia was eventually settled in an agreement to partition the kingdom between Rome and Iran in the 380s. But it took more than 400 years to achieve, despite dozens of attempts.

An ongoing ebb and flow of conflict, invasions, threats and stalemates punctuated the entire time frame before.

Does a lasting peace arrangement between the US and Iran face similar prospects? Only time will tell. Hopefully this time, it won’t take centuries to get there.

Top image: An Anti-war demonstrator holds up a sign with a symbol of peace as they gather near the White House. Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images

This article was originally published to The Conversation.

Contact: Peter Edwell

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Email: peter.edwell@mq.edu.au

After every shark bite, the culling debate returns. But scientists say new technologies are offering safer ways for people and sharks to share the ocean.

The recent shark bite incident at Coogee Beach has reignited debate about how Australia manages sharks along its coastline. While calls for shark culling often follow these events, the science increasingly points towards smarter ways to reduce risk without harming the marine ecosystems we all value.

As ocean lovers, surfers and scientists who spend much of our lives in and around the water, shark bite incidents hit close to home. We understand the community’s heightened fear. Rather than revisiting the debate around shark culling, we want to highlight where the science is heading and why new research is pointing towards more effective ways of reducing risk while protecting the health of our oceans.

Ocean conditions are changing where sharks are found on the Australian coastline.

What the science says about shark bite occurrence

There is currently no scientific evidence that shark bite incidents are being driven by increasing shark numbers.

Research suggests the breeding population of white sharks along Australia's east coast has remained relatively stable in recent years. In fact, recent genetic studies estimate there are only around 500 breeding white sharks in Australian waters, highlighting how vulnerable this species could be to population decline if lethal control measures were widely adopted.

Instead, environmental factors such as water temperature and prey availability appear to play a major role in determining where sharks are found. As ocean conditions change, sharks may spend more time in areas used by swimmers, surfers and divers, increasing the likelihood of encounters.

In other words, changing shark distribution, rather than increasing shark numbers, may help explain why shark interactions are becoming more common.

Why lethal measures aren't the answer

Australia has relied on shark nets and other lethal control measures for decades, yet shark bite incidents still occur at beaches where these programs operate.

Importantly, shark nets are not barriers that prevent sharks from reaching beaches. Instead, they entangle a wide range of marine life, including dolphins, turtles, rays, whales and non-target shark species.

There is also little scientific evidence that reducing shark numbers provides a lasting solution to shark bite risk. Many of the species involved in serious incidents are highly mobile, meaning sharks removed from one area can simply be replaced by others moving through the region.

At the same time, sharks play a critical role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems. They grow slowly, mature late and produce relatively few offspring, making them particularly vulnerable to population decline.

Healthy oceans need healthy shark populations. Losing them would have consequences far beyond shoreline safety.

The technologies that actually work

A suite of new technologies has emerged in recent years that can genuinely improve ocean safety.

One of the most visible examples is drone surveillance. Around 80 beaches across Australia now use drone patrols to monitor for sharks and provide real-time information to beachgoers and lifeguards. Studies have shown drones can reliably detect sharks under a range of conditions.

The main limitation is coverage. Drones cannot monitor every beach simultaneously and require trained operators. However, expanding drone surveillance and improving automated shark detection systems represents an important and achievable step towards safer beaches.

Personal shark deterrents offer another tool that allows ocean users to take risk reduction into their own hands. However, effectiveness varies considerably between products.

When choosing a deterrent, look for devices that have been independently tested and evaluated in peer-reviewed scientific journals rather than relying solely on marketing claims.

It is also important to remember that different shark species respond differently to deterrents. A product that works well on one species may be less effective on another. Ideally, deterrents should be tested against white, tiger and bull sharks, the three species associated with most serious shark bites in Australia.

The Western Australian Government's shark deterrent rebate scheme provides a useful guide to productssupported by scientific evidence. Among the available options, electronic deterrents that emit strong electric pulses are among the most rigorously tested and have been shown to reduce interactions across multiple shark species.

Other emerging technologies include bite-resistant wetsuit materials designed to provide additional protection should a bite occur.

A new approach: changing what sharks see

An example of a surfboard with LED lighting. Picture: Supplied

Our research explores the use of LED lighting to reduce white shark bites on surfers.

The idea starts with a simple question: what does a surfer look like to a white shark?

White sharks are visual hunters that often attack from below. Viewed from beneath, a surfer on a board can resemble natural prey such as a seal. By fitting high-intensity LEDs to the underside of a surfboard in carefully designed patterns, we can alter that silhouette and remove a key visual trigger.

In controlled field trials, white sharks stopped attacking seal-shaped decoys fitted with the lighting system. These findings, published in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrate how a better understanding of shark behaviour and sensory biology can be used to develop non-lethal technologies that reduce bite risk.

We are now working to bring this technology to market through Kraken Systems, a Macquarie University spin-off and social enterprise co-founded with world-renowned surfboard shaper Nev Hyman. Supported by the Taronga Hatch accelerator and the Macquarie University Incubator, the project aims to translate scientific research into a practical solution that improves surfer safety without harming marine life.

Importantly, a portion of all profits will be returned directly to shark research, helping fund the next generation of ocean-safety innovations.

What you can do right now

Technology works best when combined with smart behaviour in the water. Evidence-based ways to reduce risk include:

• Swim between the flags at patrolled beaches.
• Never swim alone.
• Avoid the water around dawn and dusk when shark activity is generally higher.
• Stay away from areas used by recreational or commercial fishers.
• Avoid river mouths, estuaries and murky water, particularly after heavy rainfall.
• Leave the water if large schools of fish are present.
• Check the SharkSmart app for recent sightings of white, tiger and bull sharks in your area.

Living safely alongside sharks

A greater understanding of how and why shark encounters occur is driving better technology and more effective prevention strategies.

Early warning systems, personal deterrents and continued research into shark behaviour all have a role to play. Shark bites will never be eliminated entirely, but science is giving us increasingly effective tools to reduce risk while protecting the marine ecosystems that make Australia's coastline unique.

The challenge is not choosing between people and sharks. It is using evidence to develop solutions that keep both safe.

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There’s more than one way a spider can spin its web. Some construct large vertical orb webs, while others build horizontal sheet webs or tangled cobwebs that ensnare crawling insects.

Photo: Ajay Narendra, Pranav Joshi, Daniele Liprandi, Gregory J Anderson, Jonas Wolff, CC BY

There’s also more than one way a spider can catch its dinner. Net-casting spiders throw small silk nets over unsuspecting prey, while slingshot spiders use their conical webs like catapults, launching both themselves and the web toward nearby prey.

In the tropical rainforests of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, we discovered a spider with a new hunting strategy: a small nocturnal animal of the genus Propostira which we call the ballista spider.

As we describe in a paper published today in Current Biology, it constructs a unique spring-loaded snare triggered only by a single kind of prey: the highly territorial and aggressive green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina).

How the ballista spider catches ants

During the day, this spider rests within a silken retreat on the underside of leaves. As the night unfolds, the spider slowly descends on a silk line until it finds a suitable structure on which to lay an anchor point.

Photo: Ajay Narendra, Pranav Joshi, Daniele Liprandi, Gregory J Anderson, Jonas Wolff, CC BY

Next it returns to the core web, leaving a “tension line” behind it, and repeats the process with incredible precision to build a fan-shaped web of silk tension lines. This gradually leads to the formation of a small conical scaffold which the spider then wraps in a thinner kind of silk before retreating to the core web.

The thinner silk seems to attract ants and provoke an attack response, possibly by means of pheromones. After the thinner silk is laid, worker green tree ants appear in moments. The ants react aggressively, biting the cone.

The bite detaches the cone from the surface, and the ant is pulled up and propelled into the core web in a fraction of a second. The ant is hauled off at accelerations of up to 1,367 metres per second squared – that’s roughly 140 times the acceleration due to gravity, or 15 times the most extreme g-forces experienced by jet pilots.

The spider waits for the ant to be fully entangled in its web. When it’s safe to approach, the spider wraps the ant in silk until it is ready to eat.

A superior system

The ballista spider’s snare exhibits superior energy performance compared with other silk-based catapult systems.

Gram for gram, the webs store more energy and exert more power than any known biological catapult. A kilogram of the web would store 78.17 kilojoules of kinetic energy and very briefly exert 11.73 megawatts of power.

The exceptionally high power of the ballista spider’s snare has likely evolved to rapidly yank ants away from the vicinity of their nests and trail, where fellow ants might come to their defence.

Extreme specialisation

There are two more unusual things about the ballista spider.

First is its extreme specialisation to a single prey species. This suggests the spiders may add specific pheromones to the thin wrapping silk on their snares to attract green tree ants.

Second is that the snare is triggered by the prey itself, rather than the more common situation in which the predator senses the prey and triggers the snare.

The ballista spider demonstrates how extreme prey specialisation can drive the evolution of exceptional biomechanical performance.

By cartoonist and illustrator Ivy Shih.  

This article was originally published to The Conversation.

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From Roman emperors to mythological beasts, thousands of ancient coins at Macquarie University’s ACANS are stepping out of the vault and into the digital world – reshaping how history is seen, studied and shared – and helping us understand how modern leaders like Donald Trump are using modern currency to define and shape his own legacy.

There is something instinctive that happens when we hold a coin in our hands.

First comes the movement, the way it balances between thumb and forefinger, turning over almost absent-mindedly as we examine its surface. Then comes the heat, as the round metal settles into the fold of our palm and slowly absorbs our warmth. In that moment, a small object becomes symbolic of a much larger history carried across generations, empires and continents.

It is a sensation that we experience less often. In an increasingly cashless society and digitised world, the physical presence of coins is slowly fading from everyday life.

The physical presence of coins is slowly fading from everyday life. Photo: Elaine Obran

At Macquarie University’s Australian Centre for Ancient Numismatic Studies (ACANS), however, that connection is exactly what the institution exists to preserve, home to one of Australia’s most significant collections of ancient coins.

Inside its vault and across its long worktables is a space designed for careful handling, study and collaboration - where each object is treated not simply as an artefact, but as a fragment of a much larger story.

More recently, the preservation of these stories has taken on a new form. ACANS has begun the meticulous process of digitising its entire collection, creating detailed records that will allow the coins to be studied, shared and explored far beyond the walls of the vault itself.

Associate Professor Peter Edwell, recently appointed as Director of ACANS, is overseeing the project. It was the brainchild of the centre’s now retired former director, Ken Sheedy. Edwell hopes the digitised collection will make it easier to explore individual coins and themes in detail.

Associate Professor and recently appointed Director of ACANS, Peter Edwell inside the coin vault. Photo: Elaine Obran

“In having around 6,000- 7,000 coins in this collection, we want to be able to access those in in a way that is accessible beyond just visiting the centre in person,” says Edwell.

“But we need that data to be accurate, consistent and also searchable. Which then allows you to go into the collection and search for specific images like a horse, for example, or a particular ruler, like Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

“It also allows us to feed into that broader numismatic community. Even though we are well regarded internationally, it will help us connect more closely with organisations such as the American Numismatic Society.”

But this process is no easy feat. Each coin must first be photographed, catalogued and accurately identified - a challenging process when dealing with objects that have survived for centuries and travelled thousands of kilometres from their place of origin.

As Edwell explains, parts of the collection reveal just how interconnected the ancient world was. Roman gold coinage has been unearthed in Vietnam, Roman silver in India and Athenian silver coinage in Arabia.


Emily Salhab, the digitisation specialist who is photographing the entire ACANS coin collection. Photo: Elaine Obran 

Alongside Roman imperial portraits and Greek mythological designs, the collection includes some of the most recognisable ancient coins, from Athenian “owl” tetradrachms to Corinthian Pegasus staters, as well as a diverse collection of Roman Republican coinage.

Others, coated in fingerprints as much as they are in history, include the enigmatic lion coins struck in ancient Thrace by an unidentified mint - small silver pieces dating back more than 2,000 years that continue to baffle historians, their origins still widely debated.

"Coins are very important as historical sources," explains Edwell.

“One of the reasons for that is they're contemporary. The rulers have chosen the images and design very carefully and deliberately as part of the way to legitimate their own power, positions and communicate information out to the populations that they're in control of.”

The coins are coated in fingerprints as much as they are in history. Photo: Elaine Obran

For Edwell, these ancient coins also offer a lens in which we can understand the political messaging embedded in modern currency.

“We see similar processes playing out in modern coinage when it comes to messages of legitimacy and power. Take the timeless image of Queen Elizabeth on Australian coinage and attempts by the Trump administration to mint a one-dollar coin and a $250 note containing the president’s image as examples.

“While the coins (and notes) some of still use on a daily basis might not grab our detailed attention every time we use them, the images contained in them become familiar symbols of power, legitimacy and stability over time. Ancient coinage operated in a similar way.”

But beyond access, digitisation also changes the way we see ourselves reflected in these timeless objects.

Associate Professor Peter Edwell, and Emily Salhab. Photo: Elaine Obran

Charlotte Mann, Deputy Director of ACANS, says that by capturing the small details of a coin's surface, the project brings into focus much larger human stories, that can often be overlooked by history.

“Through the incredible photography of Emily Salhab, who is our digitisation specialist, we can also explore the tiny nuances that make these coins and their histories so unique,” says Mann.

“Often, these stories aren’t just those represented in ancient texts - they weren’t Caesar fighting Octavian in the Battle of Actium, they were ordinary people just buying a drink or a pie on their way to school. These stories don't really make it into the history books, but ironically, the stories that make history real to us because we can see ourselves in them.”

The scale and detail of this enormous project mean safeguarding these stories won’t be a coin toss, but a considered curation - held carefully in place until they are once again warmed in the palms of the next generation.

“In 50 or 100 years I hope that people can look back at the digitisation project as something that has allowed us to build on knowledge for generations to come,” adds Edwell.

“That is something that is really exciting and significant.”

To browse the digitised collection, visit: https://collections.mq.edu.au/new/

Contact: Peter Edwell

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Email: peter.edwell@mq.edu.au

Shaun Evans has denied a hand gesture he made during a live broadcast signalled 'white power'. Far-right scholars explain how the upside-down 'OK' hand signal became associated with extremism.

An Australian referee has been cleared by FIFA of wrongdoing amid calls from an anti-discrimination body for him to be stood down from the World Cup.

Soccer fans watching Germany’s 7-1 win over Curaçao were expecting controversy to come from a decision made on the pitch.

But when video assistant referee Shaun Evans was captured on camera making what appeared to be an upside-down “OK” sign against his thigh, social media feeds erupted.

Australian referee Shaun Evans pictured during the  Germany vs. Curaçao FIFA World Cup match on Monday.

FIFA's  anti-discrimination monitor at the World Cup called for Evans to be removed from the tournament. Fare (Football Against Racism in Europe) deploys trained match observers to monitor stadiums and broadcasts at major tournaments for racist chants, far-right flags, and discriminatory symbols.

"Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down OK hand symbol used as a 'white power' symbol in global far-right circles," the network said.

In a statement to FIFA, Evans adamantly denied intentionally communicating any hate symbol or message.

“The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers," Evans said.

"The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am. Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted, and I regret this. However, I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested.”

Following the statement, FIFA's independent disciplinary committee said it "found no evidence of breaches of the FIFA disciplinary code".

Shaun Evans has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2017, a full-time A-league referee since 2012, and this is his second World Cup. Photo: Getty.

Historic uses of the “OK” sign date back to at least the early 17^th century, with different meanings across cultures, including as a pose during yoga and meditation. In the early 2000s, sitcom Malcolm in the Middle popularised the gesture as a game, where characters flashed the symbol below the waist and punched anyone who looked at it.

But in recent years, another highly provocative meaning of the symbol has emerged. The inverted OK sign has become associated with far-right racism, with appearances in internet memes, social posts and public events.

In 2019, Marine Le Pen was criticised after being spotted making the gesture in a selfie, but responded that she understood it to mean “Everything’s OK”. Brenton Tarrant, the gunman who massacred 51 people in the 2019 Christchurch Mosque shootings, also displayed it during a televised court appearance.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, an unnamed official had his accreditation revoked after he was accused of making the symbol during the skateboarding final.

“The idea is that when you make the gesture, the three fingers represent a ‘W’, and when you close your thumb and index finger it makes a ‘P’,” Macquarie University extremism Research Fellow, Associate Professor Kurt Sengul explains.

“It’s one of those interesting trolling gestures and slogans that emerged around 2017 on far-right message boards like 4chan, along the same lines as the ‘It’s Okay to be White’ slogan.”

American far-right group the Proud Boys pictured in 2021. Photo: Getty.

The inverted OK symbol was adopted by online alt-right groups “to essentially troll journalists and left-wing figures into an overreaction to a seemingly innocuous gesture,” Associate Professor Sengul says. “People who know what the intent is react and then look a bit silly to those who don’t."

Right-wing groups have adopted gestures and slogans such as this one precisely because they appear innocuous and provide plausible deniability.

Against a background of intensifying online hate speech and culture-war conflict, the New York-based Anti-Defamation League added the OK sign to its hate symbols database in 2019. However, it cautioned that the gesture is highly ambiguous and has other “innocuous and harmless” meanings.

Professor Julian Droogan, Head of the School of International Studies, argues the resurgent far-right playbook is to adopt signs and symbols from popular culture for their own purposes.

“This really relies on a strategy of ambiguity,” Professor Droogan says. “In 2017, the style guide for The Daily Stormer, an American neo-Nazi message board, was leaked. They made it quite clear in that style guide that using ambiguity was an important part of mainstreaming their messages to the broader public.

“Symbols of the far right and white supremacy should be couched to look innocent because they are aware that your average Australian is turned off by neo-Nazism. A swastika is not going to land for the public as well as something that is more ambiguous."

Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant displayed the gesture during a televised court appearance in 2019. Photo: Getty.

In addition to being a political tactic, Professor Droogan points out appropriation is also a cultural process that far-right activists have successfully exploited to engage digital audiences.

“Often these symbols begin as forms of irony or trolling on sites such as Reddit, 4chan, 8kun, the Gab ,” he says. “These sites feed off meme culture and inside jokes and symbols that signal insiders versus outsiders.”

Professor Droogan warns that the rapid take-up and dissemination of memes, gestures and symbols means individuals and organisations, including FIFA, have to be incredibly careful. Simple actions and objects can carry loaded meanings that can spread negative messages rapidly if not properly addressed.

He says elite sporting competitions — where national pride and global attention are part of the mix — are an obvious target for white supremacists and other extremists hoping to draw attention to their causes.

“Symbols are tricky and context is always king,” he warns. “I do think we have to be aware of how even very innocent symbols can be co-opted by these movements.

“We have to always remember that the far right, and I’m not referring to Evans here, do try to find any means to align their messages with the broader public. And so we must be very vigilant in trying to call out these forms of propaganda when we see them.”

For its part, FIFA says it is working to combat racism through stronger rules, tougher sanctions, education and closer monitoring of discrimination at its tournaments. But the controversy proves even ancient gestures can acquire toxic new meanings, powerful enough to disrupt the spectacle of a World Cup.

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A pioneering team of female health professionals led by Dr Fiona Foo and Professor Veronica Preda at Macquarie University is supporting Australian women with a highly collaborative focus on integrative care.

Do us a favour: stop reading this article and search the term “heart attack” in Google Images. What do you see?

Most likely, a sea of anatomical heart models, blocked arteries, and, perhaps more tellingly, countless depictions of men clutching their chests in pain.

There is, of course, nothing inherently malicious about these images. Men are significantly affected by cardiovascular disease. But this simple search reveals a much larger problem that extends far beyond Google Images: women’s heart diseases – and the risk factors that cause them - remains both underrepresented and misunderstood.

At its beating heart lies a dangerous reality – risk-factors like pregnancy, diabetes, thyroid disorders, or kidney conditions like fibromuscular dysplasia – are often overlooked among women. Preventable cardiovascular disease remains a silent killer, accounting for approximately 42,300 deaths in Australia each year, despite decades of public health messaging and major advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Dr Foo says some of the most obvious warnings of heart disease are often missed.

”While chest pain remains the most common symptom of a heart attack in women, they are more likely than men to experience symptoms beyond chest pain, including shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue, and jaw or neck pain - signs that can be easily dismissed or missed by sufferers, family members, and even healthcare professionals viewing the disease through a gendered lens,” she said.

Enter: the HER Health Network – with the acronym signalling its unique focus on Heart, Endocrine and Renal care.

An integrated team of cardiac, renal, and metabolic specialists, working alongside dietitians, exercise physiologists, and clinical psychologists, is helping women to tackle drivers of cardiovascular risk like diabetes, obesity, and kidney disease. Dr Fiona Foo, a cardiologist who helped establish the HER Network, says poorly integrated care has profound consequences for women of all ages.

She says her earlier advocacy work with the US-founded Go Red for Women campaign helped her recognise that the complex conditions increasing women’s risk of heart disease, deserve far greater attention.

“In the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion in cardio-kidney-metabolic disease, particularly obesity and metabolic syndrome, and we’re finding that medications used for kidney disease and diabetes can also help the heart,” Dr Foo explains.

The shift toward integrated care was a lightbulb moment for Dr Foo. Based at Macquarie, she reached out to endocrine and kidney specialists, who were seeing the same barriers in women’s healthcare.

The conversation moved quickly to collaboration. Working from the same clinic building, with shared systems and close links to Macquarie University Hospital, the specialists had a rare opportunity to build Australia’s first dedicated women’s cardio-kidney-metabolic team.

Dr Foo says the multidisciplinary approach avoids the pitfalls of what critics call “bikini medicine” - a narrow focus on reproductive and sexual health that often excludes broader, systemic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and even renal disease, which can present differently or be under-recognised in women despite affecting both men and women.

Dr Foo says women’s cardiovascular risk can be shaped by a range of sex-specific and gender-related factors, including:

• pregnancy-related conditions, such as pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension
• menopause, including premature or early menopause.
• metabolic conditions, including PMOS, formerly known as PCOS.
• endometriosis
• autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
• some breast cancer treatments.
• psychological risk factors, including depression and anxiety.
• social determinants of health, including race, ethnicity, education and income.
• environmental stressors, including air pollution.

“All of these things affect women, but there has been a longstanding assumption that heart disease is a man’s disease,” says Dr Foo.

Members of the HER Health Network at the network launch event (left to right): Professor Veronica Preda, Dr Fiona Foo, Dr Mona Razavian, Dr Catherine Smillie, Associate Professor Amanda Wang and Dr Yu Fang Wu.

Professor Veronica Preda is an endocrinologist at Macquarie University Hospital and another key specialist within the HER Network.

She says that one of the network’s greatest strengths lies not only in specialist expertise, but in its ability to create continuity between disciplines that have traditionally worked independently of one another.

“It is a different approach, but it’s also about upskilling,” explains Professor Preda.

“There has been a significant shift in guidelines in this area. For example, in Australia, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) has implications for cardiometabolic disease across the reproductive lifespan, so the goal is to identify it early and ensure continuity of care from the outset.”

For Preda, that continuity is critical in addressing the fragmented experience many women face when navigating health conditions across multiple specialists.

“If your colleagues are seeing a certain patient, and then their GP is a key anchor point, it can be very piecemeal. The fragmented care is what we are overcoming as well all work collaboratively together through the lifecycle journey with women's health.”

For Dr Foo, however, perhaps one of the biggest challenges remains awareness, not just within medicine, but, as a quick Google search reveals, in the images we collectively associate with a heart attack itself.

“I think females need to realise that heart disease can be more of a problem than issues like breast cancer,” says Dr Foo.

“But if you get checked early many of these risk factors are actually preventable.”

Women’s heart health: what to know and when should I get checked?

Dr Foo says many cardiovascular risks can be reduced if they are identified early.

• Book a Heart Health Check with your GP from around age 45, or earlier if you have diabetes, chronic kidney disease, a strong family history or other risk factors. First Nations people are eligible from age 30.
• Use menopause as a heart health checkpoint, particularly if you have premature or early menopause.
• Know your numbers, including blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, and weight.
• Ask about regular follow-up if you have sex-specific risk factors, including pregnancy-related complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, or gestational diabetes.
• Support the basics of heart health: eat well, stay physically active, avoid nicotine, prioritise sleep and maintain a healthy weight.
• Manage key clinical risk factors, including blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure.
• Look after psychological health, including stress, depression, and anxiety.
• Reduce environmental stressors where possible, including exposure to air pollution.

When should I seek help?

Women should know the warning symptoms of heart disease and seek medical advice if something feels wrong.

• See your GP for assessment if you experience symptoms such as chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, dizziness, palpitations, unexplained fatigue, or fainting.
• Call 000 immediately or go to the nearest emergency department if symptoms are sudden or severe, or include chest pain, significant breathing difficulty, or loss of consciousness.
• For women in Sydney seeking specialised support, the HER Clinic provides dedicated, integrated women’s health care. To learn more or book an appointment,  visit: https://www.mqhealth.org.au/services/find-a-service/her-health-network
• The specialists behind the HER Health Network include cardiologists Dr Fiona Foo and Dr Catherine Smillie; endocrinologists Professor Veronica Preda and Dr Yu Fang Wu; and renal physicians Dr Mona Razavian and Associate Professor Amanda Wang.

Contact:

Phone:

Email: herhealth@mqhealth.org.au