By Daryl Higgins, Professor & Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University
It has been a tumultuous and frightening time for Australian families and educators. For more than a year, there has been a litany of claims of abuse and poor standards across the early childhood sector.
Friday marks 12 months since the federal government passed major legislation to try and improve safety…
(Full Story)
|
By John Hawkins, Senior lecturer, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra
The US dollar is said to benefit from ‘exorbitant privilege’ in international trade. But history shows that may not last.
(Full Story)
|
By Kaitlyn Hammond, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Northern British Columbia
Craig Nitschke, Professor in Forest and Landscape Dynamics, The University of Melbourne
Patrick Baker, Director of the AFWI Centre for Climate Smart Forestry and Professor of Silviculture and Forest Ecology, The University of Melbourne
Raphael Trouve, Senior Research Fellow in Forest Dynamics and Statistical Modelling, The University of Melbourne
What’s the best way to manage a forest? Australians have argued about this for decades. The debate is often framed as binary: do we protect forests entirely, or harvest trees to support local economies and communities?
The reality is more interesting, as our new research on a long-forgotten experiment in Victoria’s mountain ash forests reveals.
Since the 1970s, scientists and the public have questioned…
(Full Story)
|
By Mary-Anne Lea, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in Marine/Polar Predator Ecology, University of Tasmania
Christopher Chapman, Senior Lecturer in Oceanography, UNSW
Could marine heatwaves in the cold Southern Ocean be making animals and birds migrate? It’s possible – but we need better monitoring to know.
(Full Story)
|
By Simon Avenell, Professor in Modern Japanese History, Australian National University
Japan’s leader says the country needs a stronger military. This has prompted deep reflection and fierce debate about the country’s post-war legacy.
(Full Story)
|
By Uwe Kirscher, Research Fellow, Curtin University
Last week a government minister in the Northern Territory, spruiking a plan to make Darwin “the datacentre capital of the globe”, suggested it might be a good idea to pump out groundwater to keep Earth’s spin steady. If we don’t, she said, we might risk “flipping the poles again”.
Is she right? And what’s she even talking about?
As a palaeomagnetist – someone who studies Earth’s magnetic field and reads…
(Full Story)
|
By Tess Ryan, Indigenous Academic Lead Australian Catholic University, Australian Catholic University
Kelly Humphrey, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous), Australian Catholic University
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people.
In our new series, we explore influential Australian poems.
We can sometimes underestimate the challenges of others, especially when none have come before them to begin something – something that creates a legacy they probably never imagined. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history is littered with such people. One of these was the late Oodgeroo…
(Full Story)
|
By Simon Louis Opit, Public Health Researcher, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
New Zealand needs more social housing and affordable rentals, but also better pathways for working renters to become home owners.
(Full Story)
|
By Sven Batke, Associate Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange - Reader in Plant Science, Edge Hill University
Complex systems require multiple indicators. A UK food resilience index could identify developing weaknesses in the food system before they become failures.
(Full Story)
|
By Moleboheng Mokhele, Senior lecturer, North-West University
Early childhood is an important stage when children develop curiosity, values and problem-solving skills. This developmental window provides a strong foundation for lifelong learning, making it an ideal entry point for introducing key concepts such as environmental stewardship, cultural identity and social responsibility.
That is the idea behind ReneWable Rangers, a learning game prototype that uses play, storytelling and adventure to teach young children about science and renewable energy.…
(Full Story)
|