Minister Clare confirmed he would use next week’s trip to India to sign the most “broad-ranging” agreement of its kind in Australia’s history.
He said:
“Next week I will head to India. There I will sign the Mechanism on the Recognition of Australian and Indian Qualifications. It locks in the rules for mutual recognition to access education in both our countries, including the qualifications we provide online and offshore. And, I am advised, it’s the broadest and most favourable recognition agreement that India has signed with any country to date.”
This step comes as the Australian government is gearing up to ramp up development prospects in the tertiary sector.
In 2022, Australia has seen a 160 percent jump in the number of students coming from India to start a degree.
International education is the biggest export we don’t dig out of the ground.
It was kneecapped by Covid. Next week I will head to India to help rebuild it. pic.twitter.com/kLukpiCjnj
India has already announced new education regulations that will allow foreign universities to open offshore campuses in a range of courses such as financial management, science, technology, engineering and Stem.
Minister Clare will be accompanied by Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator Penny Wong, eleven Vice-Chancellors, five associations and an education regulator on his trip abroad. This is the first of two trips that Minister Clare will make to India in 2023.
From 9 to 11 March 2023, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will also visit India to discuss key issues.
A Sydney woman, 51, has been jailed for 12 years for her role in an international crime syndicate attempting to import millions of dollars’ worth of dangerous drugs into Australia.
In October 2019, the woman travelled to Brisbane and attempted to possess 150 kilograms of MDMA (Ecstasy).
The woman was arrested by the AFP in Sydney on 11 November 2019 and extradited to Brisbane following a joint investigation by the Queensland Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (QJOCTF), working in collaboration with the National Police of the Netherlands (NPN) Criminal Investigations Division.
She was charged with;
Attempting to possess a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs, contrary to Section 307.5 and Section 11.1 Criminal Code (Cth) and;
Dealing in money or property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 400.4 of the Criminal Code (Cth).
The woman was found guilty in the Supreme Court of Queensland on 16 February, 2023 and sentenced to 12 years’ jail, with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.
AFP Commander John Tanti said this operation was an excellent example of the strong partnerships the AFP had built with international law enforcement over decades.
“The AFP’s strong relationship with National Police of the Netherlands and our partners through the QJOCTF, allowed us to dismantle an organised crime group which was targeting the Australian public, pumping dangerous and illicit drugs onto Australian streets to increase their own wealth,” Commander Tanti said.
“We are committed to targeting organised crime that impacts the Australian community, wherever they may be hiding.”
In total, authorities seized 850 kilograms of crystalline MDMA and 548 litres of MDMA oil (capable of producing an additional 600 kilograms of crystalline MDMA) from locations in the Netherlands and Belgium under Operation Parazonium.
At the time of seizure, this amount of MDMA had an estimated street value of up to AUD $301.6 million in Australia, with the potential to be processed into 15 million MDMA tablets.
The QJOCTF is a multi-agency taskforce comprised of members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Queensland Police Service (QPS), Australian Border Force (ABF), Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and Australian Transaction Reporting and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). The role of the QJOCTF is to investigate transnational serious and organised crime threats impacting Australia.
For free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drug treatment services call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.
India lost to Australia in WCT20 semifinal; Image Source: Twitter-Cricket Australia Women
India’s wait for a world title continued as they succumbed to a heartbreaking five-run loss to Australia in the semifinal of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on Thursday, where nerves of Aussies prevailed over top knocks from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues.
Australia is through to the finals. They will play either England or South Africa. Chasing 173, India was off to a terrible start. They lost three wickets before the end of the powerplay.
Megan Schutt started India’s fall of wickets, dismissing opener Shafali Verma for just nine runs. India was 11/1 in 1.3 overs. Ashleigh Gardner delivered another big blow to India, dismissing Smriti Mandhana for just two runs. India was 15/2 in 2.2 overs.
Yastika Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues tried rebuilding for Team India, but Yastika had to go back to the pavilion after a run out for just four runs. India was 28/3 in 3.4 overs, in a huge spot of bother. India reached the 50-run mark in 5.1 overs.
At the end of the mandatory powerplay after six overs, India was 59/3. The pair of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (28*) and Jemimah (25*) had upped the run rate during the remainder of the powerplay.
Harmanpreet-Jemimah brought up their 50-run partnership in just 31 balls. At the end of 10 overs, India was 93/3, with Jemimah (39*) and Harmanpreet (33*) unbeaten at the crease.
Just when India was looking threatening, Darcie Brown stepped up to give Australia a breakthrough by dismissing Jemimah for 43 off 24 balls. India was 97/4 in 10.2 overs.
The finisher and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh took to the crease. With her being in fine form, her arrival was a huge moment in the match.
Harmanpreet delivered big time and made a return to form where it mattered the most, bringing up her 10th T20I fifty in just 32 balls, with six fours and a six.
But Australia delivered yet another game-changing moment in the game after Harmanpreet was run out for 52 off 34 balls by the duo of Gardner and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy. Half of the Indian lineup was inside the hut for 133 runs.
Deepti Sharma, the all-rounder was next up on crease. At the end of 15 overs, India was 134/5, with Richa (14*) and Deepti (1*) unbeaten. India needed 39 in the final five overs.
Australia got another big scalp of in-form Richa for 14. Darcie took yet another game-changing wicket for the Aussies. India was 135/6 in 16 overs, needing 38 in the final four overs.
At the end of 17 overs, India was 142/6, needing 31 in the final three overs. India crossed the 150-run mark in 17.3 overs with a four from Sneh Rana. In the final two overs, India needed 20 runs. In the final over, India needed 16. Jess Jonassen had taken the wicket of Rana on the last ball of the 19th over for 11 runs. India was 157/7 in 19 overs. Radha Yadav was dismissed for a duck. India was 162/8 in 19.4 overs.
Shikha Pandey was next up on the crease. But India failed to chase the target, finishing at 167/8 in 20 overs. Shika (1*) and Deepti (20*) were unbeaten.
Darcie ended as the pick of the bowlers for Australia, with 2/18. Gardner took two wickets, while Schutt and Jonassen picked one each.
Earlier, Beth Mooney’s sublime 54 and Meg Lanning’s fiery unbeaten knock of 49 runs propelled Australia to 172/4 against India in the first semi-final at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 here at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday.
Australia set India a target of 173 to win the first semi-final at Newlands. A half-century from opener Beth Mooney was the stand-out knock, with each of the Aussie top four making good starts. Opted to bat first, Australia got off to a decent start as Alyssa Healy stroked the first ball of the innings for four to spark a solid opening partnership that made it through the Powerplay unscathed. The duo of Beth Mooney and Healy slammed Indian bowlers all around the ground with their stunning shots.
Healy and Beth Mooney gave Australia a smooth start, 43/0 at the end of the powerplay. India did make a breakthrough, with Radha Yadav tempting Healy down the wicket and Richa Ghosh pulling off the stumping, with Healy departing for 25. But at 78/1 after 11 overs, Australia were confidently pushing on to a big score.
Mooney slammed back-to-back two-fours on Shikha Pandey’s delivery to brought up her half-century in 34 balls. However, Mooney’s stint at the crease came to an end as she was dismissed by Shikha who gave her team a big breakthrough. Mooney reached her half-century and fell just moments later for 54.
Ashleigh Gardner also shifted gear as she joined hands with Lanning to slam Sneh Rana for 14 runs in the 15th over of the innings.
Gardner and Lanning belted India bowlers while slamming 13 runs in the 16th over and 11 runs in the 17th over of the innings. Deepti Sharma provided India with a breakthrough as she dismissed Gardner for 31 runs. In the 19th over Shikha bagged Grace Harris’ wicket to put some pressure on Australian batters.
In the last over of the innings, Lanning hammered Renuka for 18 runs, while slamming two sixes and one four taking Australia’s score to 172/4 in 20 overs.
Brief score: India 167/8 (Harmanpreet Kaur 52, Jemimah Rodrigues 43, Darcie Brown 2/18) lost to Australia 172/4 (Beth Mooney 54, Meg Lanning 49*; Shikha Pandey 2-32) by 5 runs.
ChatGPT and its powerful capacity to generate original text has taken the education sector by surprise. Not only are universities hurrying to adapt to it, schools are also grappling with this new technology.
NSW and most other states blocked the tool in public schools, to protect students from possible misinformation and curb cheating. But South Australia has allowed use of ChatGPT, in part so students can better learn and understand the potential and risks of artificial intelligence.
The range of responses to ChatGPT shows how education has yet to figure out the best way to use such tools.
ChatGPT is also just the latest example of technology coming into classrooms. Education technology (or “edtech)” is a common – and rapidly growing – part of day-to-day learning. But we need to understand it better.
Edtech in Australian schools
The global edtech market is estimated to be worth about US$300 billion (A$432 billion). More than one billion students globally are expected to use edtech by 2025. Google and Microsoft are major players, but investment is also increasingly fueled by China, India and the European Union.
Edtech includes teaching support platforms, with sample lesson plans, tasks, games and tests. It also includes AI-backed personalised learning tools to help with maths, literacy and other school subjects. As of 2019, Australian teachers were using an estimated 250 different types of edtech, although there is no reliable number of how many use AI.
We already know some of these edtech tools are having positive results, including in disadvantaged areas. Studies suggest adaptive tutoring, which adjusts to the precise needs and level of the individual student, is especially promising.
Edtech also allows for more personalised assessment. As students move through a lesson answering questions, they can automatically get feedback, find additional instruction and branch into easier or harder content as needs be. Most importantly, teachers get detailed insight to student progress that allows them to adjust their teaching to better match what students need.
But despite these advancements, we also know edtech delivers the best results when the tools are based on proven teaching techniques. Poorly designed tools also can undermine education. In the United States, national funding laws now push school districts to make sure edtech and other teaching tools are independently evaluated for positive impact.
There are significant risks to these tools as well, especially around privacy and the marketing of student and teacher data collected when they use the tech. These risks increase if autonomous AI is behind the tool.
How can we prepare for more edtech in schools?
With a rapidly expanding edtech market, it’s easy for teachers and parents to be confused about what’s on offer, how to use it and whether it will help students learn.
ChatGPT highlights quickly products are emerging and how quickly education systems will need to respond. We need governments to be shaping what and how technology is used in classrooms to ensure high quality, safe products and avoid being caught by surprise.
Globally, some steps are underway. The EU has adopted a comprehensive digital education plan, the US has created a dedicated national edtech office, and the United Kingdom and Singapore want to use edtech to tackle specific learning needs.
What Australia needs to do
Australia also needs to ramp up government leadership in managing the opportunities and risks that come with this edtech. This includes:
quality requirements for the tech itself – including evidence it is based on education research
professional learning and support for schools and teachers using it
regulation and transparency around how student data will be collected, stored and used.
Independent websites in the US are also helping schools and families find high-quality learning resources (including digital tools). For example, EdReports assists teachers to evaluate curriculum materials, while Evidence for ESSA reviews the quality of research behind claimed edtech impact.
What next
A growing body of research shows that high-quality education technology can be a powerful tool to improve student outcomes, particularly for students facing education disadvantage.
But not all edtech tools work well and much depends on how schools use them.
The most important impact of ChatGPT may be to galvanise governments and education systems to ensure Australian schooling can proactively and properly use edtech in our classrooms.
The next National School Reform Agreement offers the perfect opportunity to do this. This agreement ties federal, state, and territory funding mechanisms to lifting student learning outcomes. It is currently being negotiated and is due in December 2024.
It is important we use the opportunities provided by edtech, rather than edtech using us.
Fiji PM rabuka at Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital (Source: Facebook)
By Sakul Kundra
Recently, the Prime Minister of Fiji Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka enhanced the morale of Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital on the occasion of achieving the milestone of accomplishing one-hundredth life-saving heart surgery.
This hospital is a project by Sai Prema Foundation Fiji, a leading local charitable organisation founded to serve the poor and underprivileged, that provide free health care and social services.
The @SaiPremaFiji's intent to build a hospital dedicated to saving the lives of children who live with congenital heart disease is nothing short of a blessing to many families who would never be able to afford open heart surgery abroad.
This humanitarian effort of providing a Gift of life began last year in April. A number of free services in this regard have been provided by the hospital, which is an immense support to the parents who could not have supported the expensive surgeries required for their children.
— Sai Prema Foundation Fiji (@SaiPremaFiji) March 16, 2021
The charity provided by the hospital to young children by completing 100 life-saving heart surgeries, cannot be described in words but can be seen in the wet eyes of parents with emotional tears triggering out; prayers of thousands of mothers; and smiles and thankfulness on the face of recovered children.
This op-ed is to congratulate the immense work performed by Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital and also applaud PM Rabuka for motivating charitable humanitarian work in Fiji.
Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital (Source: Facebook)
Bringing Smile at Heart
This would not have been possible without the contribution of Sumeet Tappoo, the Foundation Director of the Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital Fiji.
He observed:
“For a young Hospital to make such a significant impact upon our beloved nation is truly remarkable. Tremendous amounts of hard work, dedication and sacrifice has been made by medical and non-medical individuals in Fiji and around the world to enable this Hospital to carry out this monumental task.
This has set a new benchmark in the field of cardiac care for our nation and a solid platform upon which many more feats will be achieved for the benefit of the children and people of Fiji and the Pacific”.
The surgeries were conducted by world-renowned international teams of surgeons and Pediatric Cardiac super-specialists in their respective.
This $25 million state-of-the-art Paediatric Cardiac Super Speciality facility has been treating children born with congenital heart disease.
Fiji PM Rabuka at Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital (Source: Facebook)
No Billing Counter: Now and Forever
Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital does “NOT have a billing counter. All surgeries and treatments are completely FREE OF COST” (Press Release, 2 Feb 2023).
It was highly difficult for Fijians to get expert paediatric cardiac facilities in Fiji, before the opening of this hospital. Parents had to depend on overseas treatments that were highly unaffordable and challenging.
On this accomplishment, Sumeet Tappoo said:
“It is a matter of great pride that Fiji is the first nation in the Pacific and Oceania region to have such a hospital. All surgeries and treatments are performed absolutely free of cost. The Hospital does not and will not ever have a billing counter!”
This hospital has brought a transformation in the Pacific that has attracted children across Oceania to get treatment in the field of paediatric cardiac care from expert medical doctors. This made Fiji proud and gave a sense of deep satisfaction.
Sumeet Tappoo also assured that despite the charitable nature of the project, the Sai Prema Foundation has created a world-class facility with the aim of providing the best possible surgery and treatment to the children of Fiji and the Pacific. He added:
“The Hospital houses state-of-the-art equipment for its Operating Theatre, Intensive Care Unit, Preoperative and Post-operative Wards. The Hospital also includes a Training Centre with technological capabilities for international Video Conferencing. The vision of this children’s hospital is to become the most important Paediatric Cardiac Centre for Fiji and the Pacific Island nations”.
International standards are maintained to give the best treatment to the children of Fiji and around the world.
Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital (Source: Facebook)
The facts and figures of international organizations like the World Health Organization show a huge concern and sad state of children affected by Congenital Heart Disease, that are not able to survive without surgical treatment.
However, the selfless service was also reflected in the message given by Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai during the inauguration of the hospital last year. He noted:
“Human birth is the beautiful moment that everybody wants to celebrate—when a child is born in a family, it is the most auspicious moment. But it turns into a sad moment when the parents realise that the child is born with a congenital heart disease, and though it is preventable or curable, they can’t do anything but see the child die, because of the financial barrier that does not allow them to treat the child.”
He added:
“Therefore, it is our vision to see to it that education, health and nutrition are fundamental rights given to all the children of the world. We can create a world where every child has access to healthcare and no child is denied healthcare for want of money. This is the vision of Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Child Heart Care Hospitals, which is setting up pediatric heart care hospitals around the world and the first international chapter opens today in Fiji, for which we are very honoured. Let us work, learn, and live together!”.
The message speaks for itself about the global mission to eradicate Congenital Heart Disease from this world.
Fiji PM Rabuka at Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital (Source: Facebook)
What an Achievement!
While delivering the Chief guest’s speech, the Hon. PM of Fiji became emotional as he shared a story of a child’s open heart surgery experience.
PM Rabuka congratulated the hospital for its humanitarian task, which is a blessing for many families; thousands of families are grateful to the hospital for conducting 100 free heart surgeries; 25,000 mothers were served and 10,000 heart surgeries screening were performed.
“What an Achievement!” were the words expressed by the Hon. Rabuka.
I applaud the Gift of life work that made humanity proud for their charitable work. Hoping these efforts will bring more smiles to the ones who need the most not just in the Pacific Islands but across the globe.
Disclaimer: Dr Sakul Kundra is Associate Dean (Research) and Assistant Professor at the College of Humanities and Education at Fiji National University (FNU). The views expressed are his own and not of this newspaper or his employer. Email dr.sakulkundra@gmail.com
Dr Sanjay Kumar Shukla, the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering, is well-known for sharing academic tips with young researchers, especially on how to plan and improve their research journey, resulting in high-quality publications.
Dr Shukla has authored more than 300 research papers and technical articles, 25 books, including 7 textbooks, and 24 book chapters. He collaborates regularly with several world-class universities, research institutions, industries and individuals on academic and field projects.
Dr Sanjay Shukla (Image: supplied)
In 2019, Dr Shukla presented the following “Seven Research Mantras” that took him more than 25 years to accomplish:
Mantra #1: Define a new problem for its possible solution, or work on a known problem for its new or improved solution.
Mantra #2: Do your experimental and/or mathematical works with great accuracy and precision.
Mantra #3: Prepare the list of assumptions and/or limitations of your completed research work as applicable with a suitable discussion in the article.
Mantra #4: Try to explain the mechanism(s) of your research observations and findings, as possible, and attempt to develop scientific theory, equation/expression, design chart or design table for field applications.
Mantra #5: Compare your new/improved research findings and solutions with currently available ones, if any, with a critical discussion.
Mantra #6: Describe your research work in the article using short and clear sentences in simple and plain English, and avoid any kind of errors, including grammatical and presentation errors.
Mantra #7: At any stage of research process, there should not be any rush that can cause errors in your research outcomes and their publications.
Dr Shukla says that researchers have appreciated the ‘Seven success mantras’. He adds
“Because they may easily and quickly understand how research and innovation should be carried out even without doing a full one-semester course on ‘Research methodology’ as many universities/organisations offer.”
Dr Shukla observes that these mantras are going to give the right direction to research and innovation. He says:
“We all will keep creating so many problems, including plagiarism, digital wastes, unnecessarily large number of publications on the same problem with no real practical value, unusual stress for the researchers, irrational world rankings of institutions and individual researchers, unethical authorships, and so on.”
Dr Shukla is hopeful that these mantras will save young researchers valuable time for effective research. He adds:
“Practising engineers/companies may also learn a lot as they can easily know how they need to solve a problem by a new technique/method so that they can have their IPs/patents/publications. This article can also be shared with high school students who often work on new/innovative projects.”
Additionally, he says, these mantras may make their research and innovation journey successful and enjoyable.
Listen to Dr Sanjay Kumar Shukla’s exclusive conversation with Dr Amit Sarwal where he shares his experience as a researcher, an author, and a journal editor to talk more about his ‘Seven Research Mantras’.
Representative image: School examination (Source: CANVA)
By Jessica Holloway, Glenn C. Savage and Steven Lewis
Australia’s education ministers have just announced changes to NAPLAN that will start right away. These include bringing the testing date forward and changing the way results are reported. According to the ministers:
These new standards will give teachers and parents better information about what a student can do.
What will the changes mean for schools and students?
Remind me, what is NAPLAN?
NAPLAN was introduced in 2008 and is an annual test of all Australian students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
It aims to see whether students are developing basic skills in literacy and numeracy.
Earlier testing date
NAPLAN is done by schools in a specific testing window. As of this year, the window will move from May to March.
This year’s test will also be administered entirely online for the first time (with the exception of the Year 3 writing test).
Because it will be done online and completed in term one, results can be made available faster. Parents and schools are due to receive students’ individual reports in July 2023.
Experts have long criticised the late reporting of NAPLAN scores, arguing it did not allow enough time to actually use the results in a given school year. The new approach gives schools more of a chance to work with and respond to NAPLAN data.
Australia’s education ministers have agreed to big changes to the standardised NAPLAN tests undertaken by students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.https://t.co/5z7N2G4TKq
The earlier testing date will mean schools have less time for test preparation. This is not necessarily a negative thing. “Teaching to the test” has always been a significant concern for parents, teachers and researchers because it takes away from more authentic learning opportunities.
With NAPLAN in March, schools have little time to explicitly teach for the test and more of the school year to focus on other content. However, there is a risk it could lead to more intensive test preparation in the first months of the school year for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Or it could see teachers in earlier grades spend more time on test preparation for subsequent years.
New standards
Another key change to NAPLAN is students’ results will now be reported against four levels of achievement instead of the existing ten “proficiency bands”. These new levels are “exceeding”, “strong”, “developing” and “needs additional support”.
Some media commentary has suggested the new standards will “water down” existing expectations. However, there will actually be a higher threshold for students to meet the new minimum standard.
It is also hoped the new easy-to-read standards will make the results more accessible for students and parents.
However, schools will likely need more resources, such as teacher aides and professional learning, to ensure that students actually receive the extra help they need.
What isn’t being proposed?
The proposed changes are primarily targeted at how NAPLAN data is reported, with a particular focus on more user-friendly forms for teachers, parents and students.
They do not tackle deeper inequalities and achievement disparities in the education system. For example, a recent Productivity Commission report showed 5% to 9% of Australian students in 2021 did not meet NAPLAN minimum standards in reading or numeracy, which translates to “tens of thousands of students” each year.
The report raised important questions about whether minimum standards are set too low and whether systems and schools are doing enough to identify and support students who are falling behind.
For example, students who are below minimum standards at Year 3 struggle to catch up in later years. Also, more than half of all struggling students are not in identified priority equity cohorts (such as Indigenous or rural students). This could mean they are less likely to be identified as needing additional support.
Will this make a difference?
While the new changes are intended to produce positive impacts, it remains to be seen how meaningful they will be. Theoretically, making it easier to receive and understand results will make it easier to improve student performance.
But measuring student learning and achievement is a very complex process and requires nuanced interpretations. All measurement is prone to errors and blind spots. While the new changes might offer schools and parents simpler reports, we must not assume this automatically means cleaner or more useful data.
The changes will certainly be welcomed by many who have argued for earlier and simpler NAPLAN reporting. Hopefully, they will also lead to better outcomes for students and more fruitful conversations about the purpose and importance of NAPLAN for Australian schools.
The awards recognise contributions in a wide range of areas such as arts and media, education, volunteering, community advocacy and inclusion, and women’s safety.
Very pleased to share my nomination for, and selection as a finalist for the 2023 ACT Woman of the Year award.
I am confident Australia is on the cusp of major leaps in diversity and inclusion.
Lets raise awareness, support peers and help organisations achieve DEI goals! pic.twitter.com/6wpMDbyjPJ
Dr Talaulikar’s clinical experience covers a broad range of malignant blood disorders with a special interest in leukaemia, myeloma, lymphoma and myeloproliferative neoplasms.
She moved to Australia two decades ago and has been dedicated to improving patient well-being and tailoring personalised treatment plans for those in her care.
“It has been nearly 2 decades since I moved to Australia with my young family. I started work at Canberra Health Services and at the fledgling ANU Medical School soon after, and was the first PhD student of the school.”
Dr Talaulikar completed her PhD investigating occult bone marrow involvement in Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma. She has also been the principal investigator and co-investigator of several lymphoma, leukaemia and myeloma trials. She says:
“As a blood cancer doctor, my initial training in India in a highly competitive and gender-biased environment fostered a keen awareness of inequities in medicine, both for patients and for healthcare workers.”
Dr Talaulikar adds:
“My subsequent training in Australia for my Fellowships and PhD, has allowed me to use my core knowledge and skills to develop socially meaningful and impactful programs that support diversity and inclusion.”
Image: Dr Dipti Talaulikar (Supplied)
At ANU, Dr Talaulikar started as an associate lecturer at CHS and recently was awarded the full academic title of Professor at the Australian National University (ANU). She says:
“I have enjoyed the journey of learning and growth very much and look forward to contributing to the territory and more broadly to the Australian and global community. There is much I want to achieve for all of us.”
In 2020, Dr Talaulikar was awarded the prestigious ANU VC Award for Excellence in Education. She has published several clinical research articles in leading publications and is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) and Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA).
Dr Dipti Talaulikar (Image source: ANU)
With reference to her nomination in the ACT Women’s Awards, Dr Talaulikar says that she is pleased to be nominated. She observes:
“I am here to do everything I can to raise awareness, support coming generations, and help organisations with increasingly diverse workforces optimise their outcomes.”
The ACT Women’s Awards recognises women, non-binary, and gender diverse people who improve the status and lives of women and girls in the ACT or achieve significant advancements towards gender equality.
All awards finalists will also be added to the ACT Women’s Honour Roll, a compilation of women who have received one of the following awards since ACT self-government began in 1988.
The ACT Women’s Awards and the ACT Honour Roll ceremony will take place as part of International Women’s Day celebrations in early March 2023.
Listen to Dr Dipti Talaulikar’s exclusive conversation with Dr Amit Sarwal about her journey and life in Australia.
Online dating has revolutionised romance, creating more opportunities to meet potential partners than ever before.
However, alongside the benefits is the risk of abuse, harassment, and exploitation. In late January this year, the Australian government convened a national roundtable on online dating to explore what could be done to improve safety.
Alarming figures compiled by the Australian Institute of Criminology showed three out of four Australian dating app users who responded to the survey had experienced sexual violence on dating apps in the last five years.
One such harm is “catfishing” – when someone creates, or steals, an identity with the purpose of deceiving and exploiting others.
In a study by myself and Cassandra Lauder at Federation University, we wanted to find out what psychological traits were common among people who conduct behaviours associated with catfishing. We surveyed the perpetration of catfishing behaviours in nearly 700 adults.
We found a cluster of psychological traits that are associated with catfishing – known as the “dark tetrad” of personality. This includes psychopathy, sadism, narcissism, and Machiavellianism.
So what are these traits, and how can you spot a potential romance scam?
What’s catfishing again?
What differentiates catfishing from phishing and other online scams is the lengths the catfisher will go to to deceive and exploit their targets. Often, this includes establishing long-term relationships – with some accounts of these relationships lasting over a decade.
For many of these scams, the goal is often financial exploitation. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), in 2019 Australians reported just under 4,000 romance scams, costing Australians over A$28 million. In 2021, that number was just over $56 million.
However, not all catfishing scams involve financial exploitation. In some cases, there may appear to be no real reason why the victim-survivor was psychologically exploited and manipulated – a form researchers have termed social catfishing.
The experience of catfishing can cause significant psychological and financial damage to the victim-survivor.
The ‘dark tetrad’
In our study, we recruited a sample of 664 participants (55.8% men, 40.3% women, 3.9% other/missing) via social media. We asked participants to indicate how often they perpetrated a range of catfishing-related behaviours. This included “I orchestrate online scams” and “I present inaccurate personal information online in order to attract friends or romantic partners”.
We also assessed participants on a range of personality traits commonly associated with antisocial behaviour, known as the “dark tetrad” of personality.
We found people who perpetrated catfishing behaviours had higher psychopathy, higher sadism, and higher narcissism. Sadism in particular was a very strong predictor of catfishing behaviours.
We also found that men were more likely than women to catfish.
It’s worth noting that in this research, participants filled out the survey themselves, meaning the data are what we call “self-reported” in research. As we asked people if they performed socially undesirable behaviours such as interpersonal manipulation, exploitation, and deception, a key issue is that people may not be entirely honest when responding to the survey. This could lead to bias in the data.
We addressed this by measuring participants’ “social desirability” – the degree to which a person conceals their true self to look good to others. We used this measure in all of our findings to reduce some of this potential bias.
Previous research found those who catfished cited motivations such as loneliness, dissatisfaction with physical appearance, identity exploration, and escapism.
Knowing why people might catfish could be empowering for catfishing victim-survivors. Although the above motives may certainly still play a part, our findings add to the story.
6 signs of a potential romance scam
We found people who perpetrate catfishing behaviours are more likely to be callous, egotistical, lack empathy, and – importantly – enjoy harming other people. This suggests that not all catfishers are necessarily indifferent to the harm they could cause. Indeed for some, harm could be the goal.
There are other practical ways to identify a possible online romance scam. I have been researching antisocial online behaviours for almost a decade. Drawing on The Psychiatry Podcast, and in collaboration with the Cyberpsychology and Healthy Interpersonal Processes Lab at Federation University, here are six signs of a potential catfishing scenario:
They contact you first. It’s unusual for the victim-survivor to have made the initial contact. Typically, the catfisher will make the first contact.
They are too good to be true. Great profile? Check. Good looking? Check. Maybe even educated and rich? Check. The catfisher wants to look good and lure you in.
Love bombing. Prepare yourself for the pedestal you are about to be put on. The catfisher will shower you with compliments and protestations of love. It’s hard not to be flattered by this amount of attention. You may also find terms of endearment are common – saves the catfisher having to remember all those different names.
They never call. There’s always something that will get in the way of phone calls, video calls, and meetings.
Strange communication. There may be typos, delayed or vague responses. Something about this communication feels a bit off.
They ask for money. Money isn’t always the goal of the catfisher. But any of the signs above combined with asking for money should be a red flag. Don’t make any decisions before talking to someone – a trusted friend or family member. Often, people on the outside have a clearer view of the situation than those who are involved.
Representative image: International student (Source: CANVA)
The Australian Federal Government has announced an increase to the working hour cap for international students, from 40 to 48 hours per fortnight, when the cap is reinstated on 1 July 2023.
The allowable work hours cap for international students will be increased from 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight.
The Hon Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education and the Hon Clare O’Neil MP, Minister for Home Affairs established a Post‑Study Work Rights Working Group to provide advice on the measure.
Minister for Education Jason Clare (Source: Twitter)
Minister for Education Jason Clare MP said in a statement:
“As well as delivering the skills and qualifications Australia needs, the measure will make Australia more attractive as a study destination, helping the recovery of the international education sector and boosting earnings from Australia’s education exports.”
From 1 July 2023, international higher education graduates with eligible qualifications will also be granted an extra two years of post-study work rights.
This two-year extension of post-study work rights is available for international graduates with select degrees that are in areas of verified skill shortage.
The extension is in addition to the existing additional one to two years of work rights for eligible students who study, live and work in regional areas.
Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil (Source: Twitter)
Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil said:
“Enabling students that gain an education in Australia to stay longer and contribute to our economy benefits us all.”
Post-study work rights for select degrees in areas of verified skill shortages will be increased from: • Two years to four years for select Bachelor degrees • Three years to five years for select Masters degrees • Four years to six years for all doctoral qualifications.
The Australian government believes that this increase will help international students to support themselves financially, gain valuable work experience and contribute to Australia’s workforce needs while they study.
The NSW Liberal Party is scrambling to fill a suddenly vacant spot on their upper house election ticket, weeks out from the state ballot.
Prospective candidates are jostling for the position on the party’s upper house ticket after MP Peter Poulos was expelled from the party over an explicit photo scandal on the weekend.
Pallavi Sinha was the only Indian-origin candidate for the Liberal Party at the 2019 NSW State elections.
Pallavi in an earlier interview told The Australia Today that she “always wanted to fight and stand up for what is right”.
During the last elections, Ms Sinha assisted candidates in areas such as Parramatta and polled the second-highest personal votes which assisted the eighth Upper House Coalition candidate to be elected.
This comes in light of senior Liberal Party members, including Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are encouraging state and federal party office bearers to select more ‘Women candidates.’
Pallavi Sinha with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet at Diwali celebrations.
As a cue to what can be expected in NSW candidate selection, On Tuesday night an Indian-Australian woman of colour, Barrister and Melbourne City councillor Roshena Campbell was chosen as the Liberal Party candidate for Victoria’s marginal seat of Aston vacated by former federal education minister Alan Tudge.
Voters from the electorate in Melbourne’s outer east will head to the polls on April Fools’ Day to select their replacement for Mr Tudge.
House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick has set the date for Saturday, April 1, with candidate nominations to close on March 9.
About half a dozen senior party figures, including Mr Dutton, voted on the selection in a secret ballot of the Victorian administrative committee in Melbourne on Tuesday night, The Age reported.
Liberal Leader Peter Dutton with Aston Candidate Roshena Campbell; Image Source: Twitter Simon Love
The Liberals’ margin in Aston was cut from 10.1 per cent to 2.8 per cent at the May election.
However, NSW’s outgoing Transport Minister David Elliott told 2GB radio he had asked Premier Dominic Perrottet to consider him for the No.2 spot on the ticket – which would secure him another eight years in parliament.
Mr Elliott, from the party’s centre-right, announced his retirement last year after failing to secure sufficient support to keep his seat after a redistribution.
However, with less than five weeks until voters go to the polls, the premier is under pressure to get more Liberal women into parliament.
When asked about Mr Elliott’s chances, Mr Perrottet failed to endorse him for the upper house spot.
“That’s a matter for the organisation,”
the premier told reporters.
Treasurer and moderate powerbroker Matt Kean is pushing for a woman to pick up the spot, with his faction endorsing the party’s Women’s Council president Jacqui Munro on Monday afternoon, according to The Daily Telegraph.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for a strong female candidate,”
Mr Kean told reporters.
So far there seems to be zero ethnic diversity on the Liberal party Upper House ticket which will come as a disappointment for many in the ethnic diaspora who are hoping to see Indian-origin Pallavi Sinha on the ticket.
This is despite the party’s own review of the 2022 Federal election stating “To successfully win seats, the Party must reflect modern Australia. It is, therefore, important the Party, as a priority, has a greater gender and ethnic diversity in pre-selection candidates”.
Ms Sinha is a multi-award-winning Lawyer and Notary Public and was selected in the prestigious AFR and Westpac 100 Women of Influence. She is the Principal of Lawyers with Solutions and lectures at the University of Sydney Law School.
A well-known speaker and commentator, Ms Sinha was the first Indian Australian woman to be invited to join Saxton Speakers Bureau. She is also an Appointed Supporter of the Joint Federal and State Government campaign to stop Domestic or family violence (DV).
As the state edges towards the March 25 election, Labor leader Chris Minns says the government is “focused on themselves” and mudslinging.
“I think for many voters, they’d see that as a preview of the next four years if the coalition is re-elected,” he told reporters.
Dr Mridul Kirti receiving the Vishva Hindi Samman from Dr S. Jaishankar (Source - Twitter)
By Amit Sarwal and Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj
Melbourne-based well-known Hindi and Sanskrit writer and translator Dr Mridul Kirti has been awarded ‘Vishv Hindi Samman’ (World Hindi Award) at the 12th World Hindi Conference.
Dr Kirtihas translated Hindu scriptures such as Samaveda and Ashtavakra Gita written in the classic Sanskrit language into an easily understandable Hindi and Brij Bhasha.
ऑस्ट्रेलिया में रहने वाली डॉ. मृदुल कीर्ति सांस्कृतिक,आध्यात्मिक और अंतर्बोध की भाषायी सेतु हैं। उन्होंने बहुत सारे ग्रंथों का हिन्दी काव्यानुवाद किया है । उनकी भारतीय संस्कृति और अध्यात्म के प्रति गहरी निष्ठा है।#विश्वहिन्दीसम्मानpic.twitter.com/apiZBNGKpK
During the Conference, noted Hindi scholars from India and other countries were honoured with “Vishwa Hindi Samman” for their special contribution to the field.
Image: Delegates and awardees at the 12the World Hindi Conference, Nadi, Fiji.
The main theme of the conference was “Hindi – Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence”.
Dr Jaishankar, in his first-ever visit, thanked the Government of Fiji for hosting the conference and added that such events promote a long-standing relationship between the two nations. He observed:
“In events like World Hindi Conference, it is natural that our focus should be on various aspects of the Hindi language, its global use, and its dissemination. We will discuss issues like the status of Hindi in Fiji, the Pacific region and indentured countries.”
The decision to organize the 12th World Hindi Conference in Fiji was taken at the 11th World Hindi Conference held in Mauritius.
Image: Delegates at the 12the World Hindi Conference, Nadi, Fiji.
The concept of World Hindi Conferences was envisaged by Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha in 1973. As a result, the first World Hindi Conference was organized four and half decades back from January 10-12, 1975 in Nagpur, India.
The 12th conference also featured exhibitions on the evolution of Hindi.
Dr Mridul Kirti with PM of India Narendra Modi (TWITTER)
Listen to Dr Mridul Kirti’s exclusive conversation with Dr Amit Sarwal and Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar; Image Source: Supplied DFAT
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong has announced the launch of the inaugural Maitri Cultural Partnerships grants round to support greater exchange and collaboration between Australian and Indian creative industries.
‘Maitri = friendship’ will underpin the series of partnerships and grants to help creative sector to collaborate with India’s thriving cultural industries.
Minister Wong said that ‘Maitri Cultural Partnerships program’ will foster on-going relationships between Australian and Indian artists, performers and cultural organisations to deepen understanding and connections between our two countries.
“Today I announce the launch of the inaugural Maitri Cultural Partnerships grants round to support greater exchange and collaboration between Australian and Indian creative industries,”
Minister Wong added
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar; Image Source: Supplied DFAT
This initiative is among the first taken under newly established Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR) which will support greater exchange and collaboration between Australian and Indian creative industries.
The inaugural grants round is now open and Applications will close at 11.00pm (Canberra time) on Monday 3 April 2023.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar meeting CAIR chair Ms Swati Dave; Image Source: Supplied DFAT
The Maitri Cultural Partnership grant round is divided into three programs:
Maitri Cultural Partnerships Major Collaboration Grant Supporting major Australian cultural organisation collaboration to engage Indian partners (funding up to $250,000)
Maitri Cultural Partnerships Visual and Performing Arts Grants Cultural collaboration that supports First Nations’ participation (funding up to $250,000)
Maitri Cultural Partnerships Collaboration Grants Small to medium sized Australian cultural organisations and community groups collaboration (funding up to $70,000)
However its not yet notified how many grants will be allocated under each programs.
The Australian Government is launching the inaugural Maitri Cultural Partnerships.
Maitri – friendship – will underpin the series of partnerships and grants to help our creative sector collaborate with India’s thriving cultural industries.
Both Australian and Indian cultural and creative industries are major economic drivers with internationally renowned film, music and performing arts sectors. This funding will help the Australian creative sector collaborate with India’s thriving cultural industries.
The Maitri program will be administered by the Centre for Australia-India Relations which will open later this year. The Centre will serve as a national platform to strengthen business, policy, institutional, cultural and community engagement with India.
The Maitri Cultural Partnerships are one of DFAT’s flagship Maitri initiatives. However some other programs will be launched in the coming year, include Maitri Grants, Scholarships and Fellowships.
Dr S Jaishankar with CAIR chair Swati Dave: Image Source: Supplied DFAT
More information can be seeked about Maitri Cultural Partnership grants by sending queries at email maitrigrants@dfat.gov.au.
As the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) uses the SmartyGrants online grant application platform hence application forms for these grants and instructions for lodging an application can be found here: SmartyGrants.
Recently, Mark Waugh, the Australian cricket legend turned commentator, snapped at his Indian counterpart Dinesh Karthik.
This happened on day three of the Australia vs India test match for the Border-Gavaskar series.
57-year-old Waugh, who is part of as Star Sports’ commentary team, was asked a series of questions about Australia’s field placings by Karthik.
Earlier, Waigh had said: “I’m astounded at this field, honestly. I cannot believe you would not have a silly mid off. You’ve got 100 something runs on the board, you’ve got Pujara who is struggling for runs, he does pad the ball away a lot on the off side. Surely you can have a bat pad off side.”
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
Karthik: “I know you’re not happy with the field set, let’s go – what are you talking about?”
Waugh: “I want a bat pad off-side and I want my point up and sort of a coaching cover, that can stay there, that would be a reasonable field.”
The next shot from Pujara went through point.-ADVERTISEMENT-
Karthik: “Mark, if you had the point up that ball probably would have gone to the boundary.”
Waugh: “If you had point up, it would have gone straight to him in the circle.”
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
Karthik: “You don’t think he would have found the gap on that one? He had time.”
Waugh: “We obviously think different but if I’m playing against Pujara, I want a bat-pad off-side because I think he’s a big chance of squeezing one out there.”
Karthik: “But there’s not for Rohit Sharma, not talking about that?”
Waugh: “We’re not talking about Rohit Sharma. he’s a completely different player DK.”
Karthik: “So you’re happy with the field? There’s nobody for Rohit Sharma, you’re okay with that? You’d do the same as a captain?”
Waugh: “I didn’t know this was a press conference.”
Karthik: “It’s a bit of banter.”
Waugh: “I’m going to limit your questions per session, you’re going to get one question right? No more.”
Cricket lovers took to Twitter to highlight how everyone could see the tension building in the above exchange. Some even pointed out that Mark Waugh was definitely ‘struggling to keep his cool’ live on air.
Representative image: Successful family (Source: CANVA)
By Robert Breunig and Matthew Taylor
The notion of the “fair go” is meant to be central to Australia’s national ethos.
It’s not easy to define, but most of us would agree it means the chance to reach your full potential, regardless of your background. This doesn’t necessarily mean equality, but it does imply social mobility, where you can do better than your parents based on merit.
Education is a major driver of social mobility, with research showing educational attainment explains up to 30% of the transmission of economic advantage between parents and children.
But a Productivity Commission report published last month shows the education system is not doing well in correcting for the disadvantage students face in the classroom.
For example, Year 3 students whose parents did not finish secondary school are an average of 1.3 years behind in numeracy, compared with those whose parents have a bachelors’ degree or higher. By the time these students reach Year 9 this gap widens to almost four years.
The Productivity Commission report was commissioned under the Morrison government to review the 2018 National School Reform Agreement between the federal and state governments to improve student outcomes. The deal came with A$319 billion in extra funding. But after five years, the report concludes, this has so far failed to make any difference in results.
Given the magnitude of the funding, this is troubling on its own. The broader implications for social mobility in Australia are even more concerning.
The commission’s report highlights the need for better data on educational attainment and social mobility. This will enable better analysis of the links between the two – and ultimately more effective education policy.
If policymakers don’t know what works, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, they will spend money on the wrong things.
The importance of longitudinal data
As children from less educated families perform significantly worse than the children of the more educated, it is far less likely their relative economic situation in adulthood will exceed that of their parents.
Unravelling the links between education and social mobility requires longitudinal data – tracking the same individuals over decades.
The best example of longitudinal data in Australia is the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, conducted by the Melbourne Institute at the University of Melbourne.
Since 2001, HILDA has tracked a nationally representative sample of about 18,000 Australians, asking them about things such as income, employment, health and wellbeing. By surveying the same people, researchers can use this data to understand influences on people’s lives over time.
The Australian Taxation Office’s ALife dataset, an anonymised sample of 10% of all Australian taxpayers also provides significant insight into intergenerational income mobility.
By following individuals over decades, researchers can observe and compare the labour market outcomes of parents with those of their children as they grow into adults.
For example, University of Technology Sydney researchers Tomas Kennedy and Peter Siminski have used HILDA and other survey data to conclude about two-thirds of Australians aged 30-34 have higher incomes than their parents at the same age.
Australian National University researchers Nathan Deutscher and Bhashkar Mazumder have used ALife to conclude about 12% of Australians born into the bottom 20% of family income join the top 20% between the ages of 29 and 35. If a family’s wealth at birth had no bearing on a child’s wealth as an adult, that number would be 20%.
Deutscher has also used ALife to follow individuals over 25 years and calculate the effect of where they lived as a child on their income in adulthood. Where a child grows up has a causal impact on their adult outcomes. This typically matters most during the teenage years.
The question is how much of this relates to their school.
To answer this and other questions, researchers need more comprehensive longitudinal data that enables linking things such as child-care attendance, test scores, and school choice across time and with other data sources.
Unique student identifier
One important policy initiative of the National School Reform Agreement is the introduction of a “unique student identifier” (USI) to track individual student performance over time. This will enable data on educational outcomes to be more easily linked with other data held by state and federal governments, and provide researchers with a clearer picture of how educational outcomes shapes social, economic and health outcomes later life.
However, the Productivity Commission report notes the rollout of this initiative is well behind schedule.
The USI offers more than mere standardisation. Once in place, researchers will also be better able to evaluate the impact of education policy interventions by conducting randomised control trials, similar to those used by in medicine to assess the efficacy of new drugs and treatments. Such trials are crucial for assessing whether a particular education policy reform, for instance a new teaching method, has a causal impact on learning outcomes.
To date, the dearth of randomised control trials in education policy has held back the Australian education evidence base.
As noted in the University of Newcastle’s Teachers and Teaching Research Centre’s submission to the Productivity Commission, the use of randomised control trials in evaluating education policy is hampered by the expense of collecting data from students via surveys. Better data linkage can help solve this problem.
Building a more effective education system to support, maintain and improve social mobility requires the right tools. Without better integrated data and a more reliable education evidence base, taxpayers are far less likely to see a return on the billions being spent.
PM Anthony Albanese and Indian PM Narendra Modi; Image Source: @PIB
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will embark on his three day India visit next month on 9th-11th March. He will hold important bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital city New Delhi.
A source close to the preparations for the visit told The Australia Today, “First two days are scheduled for some intense negotiations and concerns to be resolved from both sides.”
During the visit, PM Albanese will also travel to Ahmedabad and watch India-Australia cricket Test match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
This visit is expected to see Australia becoming India’s most reliable supplier of critical and rare-earth minerals. However, spin friendly Indian pitch will start testing Australian delegation when issues around defence, security and cyber security ties will be scrutinised under the growing anti-India rhetoric in Australia by US and Canada based Khalistan players.
The Australia Today can reveal that the officials responsible for schedule doesn’t want PM Albanese to watch Test match on the third day because of Australia losing last two games.
This is PM Albanese’s first India visit to India after taking charge of the country in May 2022. We are given to understand a large entourage of officials, business-persons and media will accompany PM Albanese on this trip.
Business leader Sheba Nandkeolyar is CEO of MultiConnexions Group and former National Chair of Australia India Business Council.
Sheba Nandkeolyar is CEO of MultiConnexions Group; Image Source: Supplied
Sheba told The Australia Today that she has a clear wish list, “My wish list would be more flexible negotiations for a win win outcome for both countries.”
“India is keen to ensure greater flexibility in issuing visas for skilled migrant and critical skill shortage talent from India. Australia will look at greater access in India for its agricultural industry,”
added Ms Nandkeolyar
On Saturday, the PM Albanese met with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
He was at his charming best teasing Indian Minister by saying, “Can I welcome you, very much, back to Australia. You’re a regular visitor here.”
“I am looking forward to being in India in just a few weeks’ time now for the bilateral visit. And I thank Prime Minister Modi for the invitation,”
said PM Albanese.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar met with PM Antony Albanese; Image Source: PMO
“Our relationship goes from strength to strength…our economic relationship is important. I think we have complementary economies. I look forward to strengthening that as well, as well as on security issues,” he added.
Ms Nandkeolyar says, “The FTA would also help Australian companies look at India as a reliable partner in many industries where it is doing more business with other Asian countries such as – automobiles, textiles, footwear, leather products, gems & jewellery amongst others.”
A source close to the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations told The Australia Today Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is keen to draw definitive roadmap for concluding the talks.
Ministers Piyush Goyal and Don Farrell (Pic: Twitter – @AusHCIndia)
Source said that the Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell is aiming at concluding the CECA before the end of 2023.
Both countries signed and implemented the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in 2022. ECTA came into affect on 29 December last year (2022) and 96 per cent of goods and services sent from India to Australia without any tariffs.
Australian Federal Parliament (Source: Anthony Albanese - Twitter)
By Bruce Baer Arnold
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus yesterday released a report with 30 proposals for updating Australia’s privacy regime. The proposals are practical, necessary and overdue. However, they are just proposals, which have been made several times in the past before disappearing into the “too hard basket” of the Australian, state and territory governments.
We can expect to see lots of noise about specific proposals and hope the Albanese government (copied by state/territory counterparts) gives us the legislation we need.
The review of the Privacy Act was commissioned back in 2019, but the former government never finished it.
Today we've published the review as the first step in reforming our outdated privacy laws, so Australians' private information is kept safe and secure in the digital age. pic.twitter.com/9yjTGcw1PQ
At a superficial level, the report gives effect to an election commitment – a promise to do something about federal privacy law, which is centred on public/private data collection and use (often online), rather than state/territory law dealing with activity such as strip searches, public hospital records, hidden cameras in toilets or senior figures distributing nude photos of rivals.
More deeply, it is a recognition that, as part of the global economy where data and investment flow across borders, Australia continues to limp behind law and administration where protecting privacy is concerned. Updating the Privacy Act also reflects recognition of challenges facing business and government in the world of ransomware, big data and artificial intelligence.
Unhappiness with the “she’ll be right, mate” approach of some large organisations and the failure of the key national privacy regulator (under-resourced, under-skilled and slow to act) was evident in the recent Optus and Medibank data breaches.
The proposals are not new. They have been voiced in detailed law reform commission reports, national and state parliamentary committee reports, statements by independent bodies such as the Law Council and academics over the past 20 years. The lack of action to date means Australians might be sceptical about what will happen once the government is lobbied by those whose interests are served by keeping things as they are, and it is again tempted to kick the can down the road.
What do the proposals cover?
It is important to remember that states and territories have significant responsibilities regarding privacy. The proposal to set up a working party involving those governments provokes thought about why that hasn’t been done already.
The initial proposal calls for changing the 1988 Privacy Act to explicitly recognise that privacy is in the public interest, something that shouldn’t be controversial and offsets the absence of a human rights framework in the national constitution. After that, we are into some positive steps forward. However, these are tempered by a lot of “let’s wait and see the administration” before starting to celebrate.
The report retains the overall structure of the 1988 Act but, crucially, extends its coverage, in particular on what is “personal information”. It calls for consultation about criminal penalties and for prohibiting some of the ways organisations have got around restrictions.
It proposes consultation about removing the exemption for small businesses (those under A$3million) and about the handling of employee records. The major exclusion of political parties – a common source of unhappiness – would be modified. Journalists would be expected to behave better.
The report emphasises meaningful consent. In the collection of personal information, consent must be
voluntary, informed, current, specific and unambiguous.
This would bring Australia into line with Europe and indeed with much of our existing law, such as that administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
We can expect controversy about a proposed right of “erasure” and about “de-indexing”. This is referred to as the “right to obscurity” in Europe, and means some personal information stays online but is not highlighted in search engine results. Individuals would need to ask for that obscurity, and it would not be granted for serious criminal offences.
There have been recurrent proposals for a “privacy tort”: this means people whose privacy has been seriously invaded could take action in a court to stop the invasion and/or gain compensation.
The report endorses this recommendation by the Australian Law Reform Commission. It also proposes a “direct right of action” under the current act. This implicitly offsets the weakness of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), one of the two national information privacy watchdogs.
The report grapples with data breaches such as the recent Optus and Medibank incidents. Proposals regarding mandatory reporting of such breaches tweak the current regime.
There is likely to be more push-back from business and public sector organisations regarding a proposed requirement for those bodies to “identify, mitigate and redress actual and reasonably foreseeable loss”. This is a first step towards persuading organisations to meaningfully lift their game and compensate for harms.
It’s too soon to cheer
On the surface, the report is a major step forward, something that business and the community should strongly endorse. In practice, we need to look beyond the headlines and see the details of how the proposals would be written into law, and whether the attorney-general can harness support in the face of the usual strong lobbying.
Proposals that there will be discussion, yet again, don’t provide much comfort. More worryingly, the proposals centre on the development and implementation of guidelines and standards by the OAIC.
In practice, the report proposes to perpetuate existing problems involving a regulator with a timid corporate culture and a commitment to interpreting the legislation through the eyes of the bodies it is meant to regulate. Change is better than good intentions.
Mobile Phone Detection Cameras; Image Source: NRSPP
With the introduction of new rules from 31 March 2023, Victoria is all set to crack down on drivers who use smart devices while driving.
Victoria is rolling out $33.7 million investment as part of the Victorian Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 to introduce new mobile phone and seatbelt detection camera technology that will help catch people using their mobile phones and not wearing their seatbelts while driving.
. Melissa Horne – Twitter
Announcing the roll out, Victoria’s Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said:
“Distraction is deadly – which is why we’re introducing these new road rules to protect the lives of Victorians.Everyone has a role to play in keeping our roads safe, so when you’re driving, please make the right choices – pay attention and don’t be distracted.”
The rules are expanded from mobile phones and visual display units to cover:
Portable devices (unmounted mobile phones, tablets);
Inbuilt devices (Information, navigation, and entertainment systems, heads-up display that is an inbuilt part of the vehicle);
Mounted devices (Heads-up display, tablet, mobile phone, media player etc if securely mounted in or on a vehicle); and
Motor bike helmet devices.
The penalty for using smart devices will attract a $555 fine and four demerit points. Further, if a driver is taken to court then the fine may escalate to $1849.
A person who drives a truck, taxi or ride share is permitted to do the following with a device:
Accepting or rejecting a job
Gathering information
Maintaining safety and security
Facilitating passenger movement
These drivers can’t scroll on a device or enter information or text while on the move.
Anthony Carbines – Twitter.
Victoria’s Minister for Police Anthony Carbines said:
“Too many drivers continue to put lives at risk using mobile phones behind the wheel. We’re deterring this type of risky behaviour on our roads with these new road rules, as well as phone and seatbelt detection technology.
We need every motorist to make the right decisions when they’re behind the wheel. When they don’t, road safety cameras and Victoria Police are there to hold them accountable.”
According to these New Victorian road rules 2023, while full licence holders’ limit is 11 demerit points over a three-year period, learner and probationary drivers will lose their permit or licence if they accumulate more than four demerit points in a year.
This includes use of smart device that is securely mounted in a cradle. So, from March 2023, a driver can’t enter text, numbers or symbols, scroll or take video calls, nor can you view videos, games, photos, emails or social media.
A driver is allowed to manage an audio call, stream music, adjust volume or use navigation or any other function designed to help you operate the vehicle.
The new road rules apply to all riders and operators of bicycles, electric scooters, “recreational vehicles” such as skateboards and rollerblades, and electric personal transporters.
A three-month warning period will apply from the technology’s activation before drivers face infringement and demerit penalties.
Representative image: children with mobile (Source: CANVA)
By Catherine Page Jeffery
The surgeon general is the “nation’s doctor” in the United States. They are tasked with giving Americans the “best scientific information” about their health.
Late last month, the current US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warned 13 is too young to join social media. He said it poses a risk to young people’s “self-worth and their relationships”, adding:
I, personally, based on the data I’ve seen, believe that 13 is too early […] the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children.
Is 13 too young? What should parents think about when it comes to their kids and social media accounts?
Why are we talking about 13?
Major social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, require users to be at least 13. This includes those in Australia and New Zealand.
This minimum age requirement stems from 1998 US legislation which banned the collection of children’s personal data without parental consent.
For many parents, schools and cybersafety experts, this minimum age has become something of a benchmark. Many assume it comes with the implicit assurance social media platforms are appropriate and safe for children once they turn 13. Conversely, they also assume they are unsafe for children under 13.
Stories documenting the potentially harmful effects of social media are rarely out of the news. Studies claim links between social media and poor mental health and low self-esteem.
These findings are concerning, and there is no doubt social media may negatively affect some young people’s wellbeing. However, it is not a straightforward question.
While these studies might find a correlation or link between excessive social media use and poor self-esteem, for example, they rarely point to direct causation. Young people already experiencing low self-esteem and depression may use social media significantly more than others.
So why don’t we just increase the age?
Murthy acknowledges it is difficult to keep kids off their devices and social media. But he suggests parents band together,
and say you know, as a group, we’re not going to allow our kids to use social media until 16 or 17 or 18.
But any increase in the age – whether formal or informal – will not necessarily keep children safer online. Children can easily falsify their ages (many already do). And young people are good at finding creative and secretive ways of doing what they want regardless.
Why can’t parents just say no?
It is often suggested – by cyber safety experts – that parents just say no. This message has been reinforced by celebrity commentators such as British actress Kate Winslet, who recently told the BBC:
My children don’t have social media and haven’t had social media.
While these approaches may work with younger kids, older children are unlikely to simply comply. Blanket bans and restrictions not only lead to family conflict, but are also more likely to lead to children using social media without parental consent or knowledge.
This is a problem because parents play an important role in helping children navigate online spaces, including the sometimes fraught nature of peer relationships on social media.
If a child has a social media account without parental permission, they are much less likely to seek out their parents for help if they have a problem online, for fear of getting into trouble or having their device taken away.
Children also have a right to be online
Discussion about risks also tends to ignore the potential benefits of being online.
Social media is incredibly important for many young people. It keeps them connected with friends and extended family, provides a platform for creativity and self-expression, and enables civic participation and activism.
Social media also provides access to like-minded individuals and communities who may provide solidarity and support, especially for marginalised teens.
Children, particularly teenagers, also have a right to participate in online spaces, including use of social media.
The United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of the Child notes children have the right to “meaningful access to digital technologies” as a way of realising the full range of their civil, political, cultural, economic and social rights.
So, when should my child get a TikTok account?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach here. Children vary tremendously in terms of their maturity, skills, life experience and judgement.
On top of this, online risk is not equally distributed, as children who are more vulnerable offline are more vulnerable online. For example, children with mental health problems, learning difficulties, a disability or who have problems at home are more likely to experience high-risk situations online.
In deciding whether your child is ready for a social media account, parents might consider:
Is my child especially vulnerable to online harms?
Does my child have the required maturity and resilience to manage potentially negative online social interactions?
Does my child listen to advice and follow rules?
Is my child aware of the risks, and do they have strategies for managing them?
Will my child come to me with any problems they encounter online?
Parents might also consider their children’s offline lives, as these often carry over into online spaces. This includes what their friendships are like, their propensity for taking risks, and their ability to consider the consequences of their actions.
Start talking early
The best thing that parents can do is initiate conversations about social media and the internet early and often.
Many issues that play out on social media are extensions of young people’s existing peer relationships. Parents can talk to their children about their friends and peers, show an interest in their child’s online activities, and openly discuss their child’s rights and responsibilities online.
Some parents may wish to set reasonable expectations and rules about appropriate use of social media. Documenting these expectations through a “family technology agreement” that is negotiated democratically as a family, rather than through top-down rules, is more likely to succeed .
The AFP has charged 49 travellers in separate incidents at Australia’s major airports as part of an operation targeting illegal behaviour during the busy holiday season.
AFP officers stationed at nine major airports across the country charged the 49 people with 69 offences including alleged assault, drug possession and weapon offences during the 2022/2023 Christmas and school holiday travel period.
The operation – codenamed Operation Sleigh – aimed to crack down on offensive, disruptive and illegal behaviour in the air and on the ground.
Another 24 people were handed infringement notices for intoxication, offensive and disorderly behaviour, creating a disturbance and failing to comply with directions from airline staff over the same period (20 December, 2022 to 29 January, 2023).
Incidents the AFP responded to during the Operation Sleigh included:
A 78-year-old woman was issued with a notice to appear before court, after an alleged assault on board a flight from New Zealand to the Gold Coast on 29 January, 2023. The woman allegedly struck another passenger in the face during an argument on board the aircraft and then bit the arm of a flight attendant who had intervened in the dispute. The woman is scheduled to appear in court on 3 April, 2023.
AFP officers issued a 47-year-old man with an infringement notice for alleged disorderly behaviour and causing a disruption on board a flight forced to turn back to Sydney on 10 January, 2023. It is alleged the man consumed duty-free spirits and became intoxicated before verbally abusing other passengers and airline staff.
AFP officers responded after a 41-year-old Australian man allegedly consumed 700mls of duty-free scotch on an international flight from New Zealand to Sydney on 9 January, 2023. The man lost consciousness and allegedly became verbally abusive towards airline staff upon landing. AFP officers organised the man to be taken to hospital for medical care. The alcohol was not purchased on board the flight.
A 42-year-old NSW woman was charged with disorderly conduct after an alleged incident at Gold Coast Airport on 8 January, 2023. AFP officers intervened after the woman allegedly refused to leave a Melbourne-bound flight due to intoxication. AFP officers attempted to persuade the woman to leave the aircraft but she refused and was arrested and removed. The woman is scheduled to face Southport Magistrates’ Court on 20 March, 2023.
The targeted operation during the holiday season was sparked after the AFP responded to about 20,000 incidents at AFP-protected airports across Australia last year.
The AFP charged more than 360 people with about 520 offences at airports during 2022.
AFP Commander Geoff Turner said an increase in bad passenger behaviour had been identified during Operation Sleigh, compared to the same holiday period last year.
The AFP charged 28 people with 49 offences during the same period of the 2021-22 summer school holidays. Another 16 people were issued with infringement notices for a range of incidents including intoxication, smoking in aircrafts and traffic offences around the airport.
“In recent months we have seen thousands more passengers travelling through airports across Australia, as state and international borders reopened after the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions,” Commander Turner said.
“The AFP was more than prepared to manage the expected spike in passenger numbers, with increased patrols resulting in teams responding to a range of incidents to assist the travelling public across the country.
Commander Turner said the AFP would continue to focus on keeping the public safe by cracking down on bad passenger behaviour throughout 2023.
“We have more than 500 AFP officers, including specialised teams and canines, keeping watch to protect the travelling public across all of Australia’s biggest airports,” Commander Turner said.
“Most people do the right thing and they should not have their travel disrupted or feel unsafe because of the minority’s bad behaviour.
“We again remind the public that airports are not nightclubs. We have zero tolerance for abusive and aggressive behaviour at airports and on aircraft.
“Passengers who are convicted of an act of violence at an airport or endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight face serious penalties.”
Offenders can face up to 20 years’ imprisonment. If you require police presence at an airport, or wish to report an incident or provide information please call the AFP’s Airport Watch on 131 AFP (131 237).
Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar met with PM Antony Albanese; Image Source: PIB
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today on the sidelines of the Raisina@Sydney Business Breakfast.
Prime Minister Albanese welcomed Minister Jaishankar with a very Australian banter.
“Minister, can I welcome you, very much, back to Australia. You’re a regular visitor here.”
PM Antony Albanese met with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar; Image Source: PM office
PM Albanese is visiting Indian in just a few weeks time and is looking forward to being in India for the bilateral visit.
“I think we have complementary economies. I look forward to strengthening that as well, as well as on security issues. Operation Malabar, of course, will occur in the coming period, which we are hosting,” added PM Albanese.
“We have much to talk about today. And you are a very welcome visitor in our country.”
During the meeting, Prime Minister Albanese took a tour of his residence and showed Minister Jaishankar all the important locations that were visible from his garden area.
PM Antony Albanese met with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar; Image Source: PM office
Two different sources in the know how of the meeting told The Australia Today, “Minister Jaishankar was upfront with India’s concerns regarding safety of Indian Diaspora specially International students in light of Khalistan related violence in Melbourne.”
“PM Albanese heard Minister Jaishankar patiently and assured him about steps Australia is taking to confront foreign interference within different Diaspora communities.”
Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar met with PM Antony Albanese; Image Source: PIB
Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.
“Our discussions reflected the full spirit of our strategic partnership. Apprised @AlboMP of recent developments in that regard.”
The importance of Australia-India relationship can be understood by the fact that PM Albanese will be visiting India atleast twice this year and Indian PM Narendra Modi will be in Australia around midle of the year.
PM Albanese also stressed that “And I know that my Treasurer is there, I think, next week for a series of meetings that will be hosted in India for the G20. It will be an important period.”
“Our relationship goes from strength to strength. I’ve already had a number of meetings with your Prime Minister. And our economic relationship is important.”
Prior to their meeting, Minister Jaishankar addressed the audience at Raisina@Sydney Bussiness Breakfast on Saturday and talked about the economy and the COVID issue.
Minister Jaishankar said, “India is targeting 7 per cent growth this year, but we expect it to improve in the next five years. And definitely, we would stay in the 7-9 per cent range at least for a decade and a half”.
“And you can today see the same reflected in the investment climate, both in the flow of FDI, FII as well as in the investments which the government itself is leading the capital outlay in this year’s budget,”
he added.
Raisina@Sydney Bussiness Breakfast was organised by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and India’s Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Sydney.
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at Raisina @ Sydney Business Breakfast: Image Source: PIB
Taking about the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between Australia and India on April 2 2022, and came into force on December 29, 2022, Minister Jaishankar said that the ECTA has a “good impact on trade”.
“Encouraging greater investments should be the focus, especially during CEO Forum meets or the Prime Minister and Trade Ministers visit,”
he suggested.
Jaishankar also spoke about migration mobility and said, “We’ve seen a very substantial movement of Indian talent to Australia. We have roughly about a million students staying in here.”
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at Raisina @ Sydney Business Breakfast: Image Source: PIB
“We would welcome Australian universities to India. For us, it’s not just about Indian students coming to Australia but it’s also about Australia and India working together to produce skilled, competitive talent in India for the entire world,”
added Minister Jaishankar.
While addressing the audience Jaishankar also said that India has overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic “quite strongly.”
He also said that the impact of COVID has been devastating on the world economy, and added, “Perhaps we in India and Australia feel it much less.”
“Perhaps we in India and Australia feel it much less as someone who travels a fair amount to other parts of the world when we look at Africa and Central America and some other parts of Asia in my own neighborhood. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal,”
he said.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar met with PM Antony Albanese; Image Source: PIB
After the keynote address of Jaishankar, a panel session will be held that would cover topics like “Next steps in the Australia-India economic partnership: stability, security and sovereignty,” and it will be addressed by keynote speakers: Vivek Lall, Chief Executive, General Atomics Global Corporation; Jodi McKay, National Chair, Australia-India Business Council; Vikram Singh, Vice President, and Country Head – ANZ, Tata Consultancy Services and facilitated by Bec Shrimpton, Director, The Sydney Dialogue, Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Image: Screenshot of cockatoos transporting and using toolset (Source: Osuna Mascaró et al., Youtube)
By Rob Heinsohn
From pocket knives to smart phones, humans keep inventing ever-more-sophisticated tools. However, the notion that tool use is an exclusively human trait was shattered in the 1960s when Jane Goodall observed our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, retrieving termites from holes with stripped twigs.
Tool use among non-human animals is hotly debated. It’s often thought a big brain is needed to understand the properties of objects, how to finely manipulate them, and how to teach this to other members of a species.
Until recently, humans and chimps stood out among tool-using species. They were considered the only species that used “toolsets”, wherein a collection of different tools is used to achieve a task. They were also thought to be the only animals that carried toolsets, in anticipation of needing them later.
A third species joined the exclusive club of toolset makers in 2021, when scientists in Indonesia saw wild Goffin’s cockatoos using three distinct types of tools to extract seeds from fruit. And in research published this week, researchers have shown Goffin’s cockatoos can also take the next leap of logic, by carrying a set of tools they’ll need for a future task.
Bright, enigmatic creatures
Parrots have proven to be something of an enigma. They’re known to be highly intelligent creatures, yet they’ve rarely been observed using tools in the wild.
Curiously, the only parrot species known to use tools regularly in the wild is Australia’s own palm cockatoo, which uses them in a very unusual way. Males in northern Australia “manufacture” drumsticks and seedpod tools to use during their complex mating displays. They grasp the drumstick or seedpod in the left foot and beat it against a hollow trunk in a rhythmic performance, with all the hallmarks of human instrumental music.
The 2021 study of wild Goffin’s cockatoos was particularly significant as it showed the birds’ tools were similar in complexity to those made by chimps, meaning their cognitive skills could be directly compared.
A small number of Goffin’s cockatoos were seen crafting a set of tools designed for three different purposes – wedging, cutting, and spooning – and using them sequentially to access seeds in fruits. This requires similar brain power to a chimp’s method of using multiple tools when fishing for termites.
Anticipating problems
An initial stumbling block in interpreting chimps’ use of toolsets was that nobody could show whether they visualised a collection of small tasks as one problem, or used single tools to solve separate problems.
Researchers finally solved this when they observed chimpanzees not only carrying their toolsets with them, but doing this flexibly and according to the exact problems they faced. They must have been thinking it through from start to finish!
This is precisely what Goffin’s cockatoos have now been shown to do (albeit in a captive setting). They’ve been confirmed as the third species that can not only use tools, but can carry toolsets in anticipation of needing them later on.
This panel of photos shows Figaro the cockatoo flying with two tools towards a box with a cashew. Thomas Suchanek, CC BY-NC-SA
Inspired by the toolsets chimpanzees use and transport in the wild for extracting termites from the ground, the authors of the study designed clever experiments to test Goffin’s cockatoos under similar circumstances.
The birds, initially ten in total, had to extract cashews from boxes that required either one or two tool types. They were tested in various ways to examine their flexibility and innovation, but the pièce de resistance came when reaching the box with the tools required additional movement, including climbing a ladder, and horizontal and vertical flight.
Though only five of the ten birds made it through the earlier experiments, four of those that did tended to transport both tools in one go, in anticipation of needing them to open the two-tool box. In other words, these birds could categorise both tools as a “toolset” and use it accordingly. Mission accomplished!
Nothing wrong with a bird brain
But what about needing a big brain for complex tasks?
Like primates, some bird species have enlarged forebrains that provide them enhanced cognitive abilities including insight and innovation, understanding of others’ mental states, symbolic communication, episodic memory and future planning.
Parrots are especially well endowed with these abilities, so we shouldn’t be surprised they can use toolsets as easily as chimpanzees. Rather, what’s surprising is that more parrots haven’t been seen transporting toolsets for future use.
One has to conclude it’s because wild parrots are rarely presented with problems that require this. Parrots have powerful feet and beaks that allow them to reach the most difficult places and break the hardest fruits and seeds. Yet bright individuals in captivity can spontaneously invent new tools to solve new problems – so there’s no doubting how capable they are.
This new study is further proof parrots belong in the animal world’s exclusive version of Mensa. Between the considered planning shown by Goffin’s cockatoos, and the palm cockatoo’s ability to play instruments, it seems we’ve only scratched the surface of what these remarkable birds can achieve.
President and Vice President of Brisbane’s Gayatri Mandir (Hindu Temple) have received intimidating calls from Khalistan extremists.
A Khalistani goon who identified himself as ‘Guruawadesh Singh’ called President Dr Jai Ram at 11.30 am and Vice President Dharmesh Prasad at 9.30 am on Friday 17 February.
The goon intimidated him to raise ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ slogans and ordered that you Hindus should support (bogus) ‘Khalistan Referendum.’
The Khalistan extremist claimed that he was calling from “Nankana Sahib in Lahore, Pakistan”.
He threatened:
“I have a message in relation to Khalistan … if you plan to celebrate Maha shivratri on 19 February … then ask the priest to support Khalistan … raise ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ slogans five times during your event … now show me how you will raise this slogan.”
Nankana Sahib, a district in Punjab province of Pakistan, is the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Interestingly, this holy place for Sikhs is missing from the map of Khalistan as proposed by the banned organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).
The Khalistan extremist sitting in Lahore went on to say that Dr Jai Ram should tell the priest of Gayatri Mandir (PT Suresh C. Shandil) to support Khalistan Referendum.
He added:
“Ask the members of your congregation to support Khalistan Referendum on 19 March.”
Further, In a separate call to Temple’s Vice President Mr Dharmesh Prasad Khalistani extremist threatened to send his men from Melbourne to make sure that the Hindu devotes of Gayatri Mandir support Khalistan.
“It’s a shame we live in one of the best country in the world however being intimidated by these rouge elements. Our government has to come a protect may that be state or federal government.”
Dharmesh Prasad told The Australia Today, “Violence towards religious place is biggest crime and we as Hindus should be able to practice our religion without fear.”
“Queensland Police refused to take our complain, the police officer told me we don’t have manpower for all this.”
just to put things into perspective Australian Hindu community is one of the highest taxpayers in the country, however their safety is not Queensland Police’s concern.
Temple’s Public relation officer Neelima told The Australia Today that she also recived several calls from an American number ( )at from 8.30 am onwards.
“We have notified authorities about these intimidating calls, and we really worried about the safety of our patrons, devotes and volunteers,”
said Neelima.
The Hindu Society of Queensland (HSQ) was founded in 1992 by former residents of the Fiji Islands as a place of worship for Hindus. HSQ is the first organisation that was formed to meet the needs of Hindus in Australia to promote Hindu culture, education in Hindu philosophy, and classical languages among the community by being inclusive and supportive of friendship, respect, peace, and tolerance.
Gayatri Mandir – Facebook.
Most recently, Kali Mata Mandir (Hindu Temple) in Melbourne’s northern suburb of Craigieburn has also received a threatening call to cancel a bhajan and puja event or face consequence.
The Indian-Australian community is still recovering from the events where three of its most iconic Hindu temples outside the Indian subcontinent were vandalised with anti-Hindu graffiti by Khalistani extremists.
The Australia Today has also revealed how Khalistan supporters recorded videos of their despicable and disrespectful act at the Hindu temples especially BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir and sahred it via social media accounts.
Khalistan supporters have allegedly written praises of an Indian terrorist Bhindrawale on the walls of all the Hindu temples. Bhindrawale was responsible for killing more than twenty thousand Hindus and Sikhs.
India was rocked by Khalistan terrorism through the 1980s with thousands of innocent Hindus and Sikhs killed in Punjab by Khalistani terrorists who were allegedly supported by Pakistan’s intelligence agency the ISI.
These Khalistani terrorists wanted a separate state for the Sikhs carved out only from Indian Punjab leaving no one in doubt about who was pulling the strings. While Khalistan terrorism was brought to an end by India within its territory almost thirty years ago, some groups of Khalistani separatists and their supporters have remained active in some western countries allegedly with support from Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
In one of the deadliest terror attacks in aviation history before 9/11, 329 people were killed by Khalistani terrorists on Air India flight 182 which was flying from Montreal to Mumbai via London and New Delhi on this very day 37 years ago.
The terrorists planted a bomb on the flight which blew up mid-air while flying from Montreal to London killing everyone on board. Among those killed were 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens and 24 Indian citizens.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (left) issued a formal apology to USP vice-chancellor Prof Pal Ahluwalia (second from left), who was exiled by the previous FijiFirst administration. Picture: USP COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
By GERALDINE PANAPASA
The University of the South Pacific is expected to receive the first instalment of the promised $10 million part payment of grants owing soon.
This, according to Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, was a show of the Coalition Government’s commitment to restoring Fiji’s outstanding grant contributions since 2019. It is understood that by June this year, the total grant to be paid to USP would reach $116m.
Thank you for agreeing to come back @pal_vcp. To quote the words in the Fijian ceremony, we’ve been orphans since you left, now we have our parents back. pic.twitter.com/4xGvnLdtZT
Mr Rabuka made the comment during a moving thanksgiving service at USP’s Laucala campus last night to mark the return of exiled Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia to Fiji.
Since 2019, the previous government under FijiFirst remained steadfast in its decision to withhold grant contributions to USP until independent investigations into alleged mismanagement by current vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia were carried out, ultimately leading to Prof Ahluwalia and his wife, Sandra’s deportation from Fiji.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (left) issued a formal apology to USP vice-chancellor Prof Pal Ahluwalia (second from left), who was exiled by the previous FijiFirst administration. Picture: USP COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
Prof Ahluwalia, who has since been operating in exile from USP’s Samoa campus, was offered an invitation by Mr Rabuka to return to Fiji, a move that has gained widespread support from USP students and staff.
“The power of one vote on the floor of Parliament made it possible for me to sit as Prime Minister in parliament and Cabinet, and allowed me and Fiji to say to Pal Ahluwalia to come home, come back,” Mr Rabuka said.
“I want to apologise to you, very simple. It doesn’t matter who did it. As far as the world is concerned, Fiji did it to you. Now, I am Fiji by the power of one vote. We’ve corrected that. Thank you for agreeing to come back. I reiterate the USP students’ apology, we were orphaned since you left; now we have our parents back.”
The PM said USP was the best example of regional cooperation, breaking new ground in bringing people together not only from the Pacific but within Fiji.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (left) issued a formal apology to USP vice-chancellor Prof Pal Ahluwalia (second from left), who was exiled by the previous FijiFirst administration. Picture: USP COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
In accepting the apology, Prof Ahluwalia said the thanksgiving service was a day to celebrate and expressed his appreciation to the PM and Deputy PM for their support and commitment to the regional University.
“After 107 weeks of exile, I never thought I would see the day I get to thank my staff and students in person,” he said.
“I am overwhelmed by the heart of the University, our students, for standing by me, our staff; how do I thank people who sacrificed without expecting anything in return.
“Universities have to become beacons for education and to speak truth to power. I am here, I am here to serve you and the nation.”
USP Pro-Chancellor and chair of the USP Council, Hilda Heine, expressed her gratitude to Mr Rabuka for allowing Prof Ahluwalia to return to Fiji and for providing assurances and support towards the region’s premier institution.
She also acknowledged Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa for hosting the Vice-Chancellor and his family in Samoa since January last year, and Nauru’s Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and former president Lionel Aingimea and the Government of Nauru for hosting the VCP following his removal from Fiji in February 2021.
Neal Mohan will be the next Chief Executive Officer of YouTube; Image Source: Twitter
An Indian-American Neal Mohan will be the next Chief Executive Officer of YouTube after Susan Wojcicki announced her resignation citing “personal projects.”
Neal Mohan is currently the Chief Product Officer of YouTube. Before joining YouTube, Mohan was the Senior Vice President (SVP), Display and Video Ads at Google.
In the message, Out going CEO Wojcicki announced that Neal Mohan will be the successor. She further stated that Mohan is an excellent leader who understands this community and its needs better than anyone.
Taking to Twitter, Mohan said, “Thank you, @SusanWojcicki. It’s been amazing to work with you over the years. You’ve built YouTube into an extraordinary home for creators and viewers. I’m excited to continue this awesome and important mission. Looking forward to what lies ahead…”
The YouTube Creators also shared Wojcicki’s message which stated, “Earlier today I sent an email to employees announcing that I’d be stepping back from my role as the head of YouTube to start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects I’m passionate about.”
Thank you, @SusanWojcicki. It's been amazing to work with you over the years. You've built YouTube into an extraordinary home for creators and viewers. I'm excited to continue this awesome and important mission. Looking forward to what lies ahead… https://t.co/Rg5jXv1NGb
Wojcicki planned to stay around the office for a period of time to help Neal with the transition and will serve as an advisor to Google and Alphabet.
“It has been the honour of my career to have a front-row seat to the incredible YouTube community you have built. Your stories of perseverance, creativity, and inspiration were a daily source of motivation and inspired me to be an advocate and steward for this community you all created. It was a constant highlight of my job to sit down with you, hear how you were using the platform, and listen to feedback. Sometimes what you said was tough and candid, but it was important for me and the wider YouTube team to listen and do better. Today, the YouTube community is incredibly strong. You’re building businesses and following your dreams,” the letter further read.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced her resignation: Image Source: Twitter
Wojcicki concluded her letter by thanking people and stated, “Finally, thank you for everything over the years. Thank you for welcoming me into your studios, your homes and your lives. Thank you for letting me be a part of the incredible stories you’re sharing with the world.”
Representative image: Open classroom (Source: CANVA)
By Anika Stobartand Jordana Hunter
If you step into a newly built school these days, chances are you will see classrooms that look very different to the classrooms most of us spent our school years in as children.
On a recent visit to a new primary school in Melbourne, Grattan Institute’s education team entered a large room that contained two classes, separated not by a wall but a wide pillar that left room for teachers and students to move between the two “classroom” spaces.
In the first space, students were leaning forward at their desks, concentrating on their teacher. The room was very noisy. The teacher was only metres from her students, but her voice was all but drowned out by the second “classroom” on the other side.
This appears to be the trend in new classroom buildings around Australia.
What does the research say about open-plan classrooms?
Arguments in favour of open-plan classrooms use phrases such as “21st century teaching” and “innovative design”.
The idea is to have flexible classroom spaces that can cater for large groups of students, while also allowing students to break into smaller groups, directing their own learning while receiving support from a team of teachers working collaboratively.
But there is limited evidence open-plan classrooms help learning. In 2018 the University of Melbourne published a systematic review that only found 21 relevant studies since the 1960s that evaluated the impact of educational spaces on student learning outcomes. Of these, the studies showed open-plan environments had mixed effects on academic performance.
We do know too much noise is bad for learning. A 2015 Australian study compared speech perception in traditional and open-plan kindergarten classrooms and found noise coming from other classes in the open-plan setting made it more likely for students to misunderstand their teacher. The study found traditional classrooms were the only classroom type to be within or close to recommended noise levels.
Many open-plan learning spaces don’t align with internationally recognised evidence-based strategies for high-impact teaching.
For example, explicit teaching – where the teacher explains key concepts and procedures clearly and models how to solve problems to the whole class – is difficult to do well in a noisy environment. Imagine trying to teach division of fractions to your Year 5 class while the Year 4 class on the other side of the pillar practices their Mandarin oral language presentations.
Too much noise is bad for all students
Of course, traditional classrooms can also be noisy, but a 2013 United Kingdom survey of 2,500 high school students across six schools suggested students at schools with traditional classrooms were more positive about their school acoustics than students at schools with open-plan classrooms.
Too much noise is bad news for all students. But it is particularly worrying for students who have issues with hearing, auditory processing, and other additional learning needs, such as ADHD.
This is also inconsistent with state governments’ stated priorities of ensuring schools are inclusive spaces that cater for students with additional learning needs.
New classrooms should be built using evidence
State governments need to review the existing research – and seek more if needed – and ensure all new classrooms can support the learning of all students. This includes those with additional learning needs and those unlucky enough to be seated at the back of an open-plan classroom.
This is consistent with a 2022 NSW parliamentary inquiry into school infrastructure, which recommended school design should follow evidence, not fads.
Where necessary, state governments should also provide schools with funding to fix existing open-plan classrooms so teachers can reduce noisy distractions. Teachers should not have to build their own classroom walls “with whiteboards and shelving”.
Some state governments are spending significant funds building new schools and upgrading others in coming years. For example, the NSW government is spending A$8.6 billion on school infrastructure over the next four years. Queensland is spending A$2 billion on education infrastructure this year alone.
While investments in school infrastructure are of course welcome, the danger is many classrooms may be built in ways that undermine effective teaching. Classrooms designs should not create more work for teachers, just to make sure their students can hear them – and each other – speak.
Brigette Garbin contributed to the analysis of this piece, and previously worked as a researcher at the Grattan Institute.
Priest Bhawna, Kali Mata Mandir, Melbourne; Image Source: Supplied
Tuesday’s are very busy at Kali Mata Mandir (Hindu Temple) in Melbourne’s northern suburb of Craigieburn as a large number of people come for daily Bhandara (food for all).
Tuesday three weeks ago was no different when female Priest Bhawna completed her daily rituals and set to have prasad at the end of bhandara around 3 PM.
Bhawna just had few bites and her phone rang. It was a call from “No caller Id” (people who don’t want to display their number use this function in Australia). Priest Bhawna receives multiple calls like this from temporary migrants/international students enquiring if the bhandara still going.
“I thought the group of students studying in nearby university got late and now want to know if they can still make it.”
Priest Bhawna told The Australia Today
But this phone call was different, it changed the life (for worse) of temple management including Priest Bhawna.
Priest Bhawna, Kali Mata Mandir, Melbourne; Image Source: Supplied
Bhawna asked the caller, who was calling and what does he want?
The person told her in Punjabi language, I am calling because I am your well wisher.
“He questioned, are you doing a bhajan evening with an Indian singer named Kanhiya Mittal?”
“Yes, we are doing a big bhajan-kirtan (Hindu prayers) programme on 4th March and almost five thousand devotes will attend but you need to call other number for any sponsoring enquiries,” Bhawna replied.
Bhawna told The Australia Today, “We were receiving a lot of calls regarding sponsoring the programs, I thought he was also enquiring about the seva.”
“Caller said in a threatening tone with a (Amritsar-Jalandhar accent in Punjabi language)
“You listen carefully, cancel your singers bhajan-puja programme otherwise get ready to face consequences.”
“I was stunned by what I just heard,” Bhawna recalled.
Bhawna told the caller, “Bhai ji, we have been preparing for it for last few months, have spent so much money with support from our devotes, we can’t cancel it.”
Image Source: Supplied
“Tannu pata hai vo banda kattar Hindu hai, vo aaya to panga ho jana hai mandir te,”
caller said in Punjabi language.
Translation: “Do you know your singer is staunch Hindu, If he comes, a fight is sure at the temple.”
Bhawna told The Australia Today, “I pleaded with him, bhai ji this is Ma Kali’s (Hindu Goddess Kali) place even Guru Maharaj (Guru Govind Singh) used to pray her, why would someone come and fight here.”
“Caller said, Saddha kaam tennu cheta dena siga, hun tui jo marji karo. Sannu jo karna hai aasi vikha dene hain”
Translation:
“My job is to warn you if you don’t listen its up to you. We will show you what we can do”
Bhawna told The Australia Today, “I could not belive my ears that someone can really threaten a place of worship from conducting a religious programme in Melbourne.”
Kali Mata Mandir, Melbourne; Image Source: Supplied
Kali Mata Mandir (Hindu Temple) is a place for spiritual solace for almost Hundred thousand devotees living in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
It’s Hindu festival programs draw big crowds for last several years.
Bhawna told The Australia Today, “Next couple of days were very tough as we came across the news of three Hindu temples vandalised with anti-hindu graffiti by Khalistan supporters.”
“I with one other person went to Craigieburn Police station to make formal complaint,” said Priest Bhawna.
“Sergeant Nathan took our complain and reassured us that they will take rounds of our street every half an hour on 4th March programme day.”
“I told at the police station that they need to ensure security of our devotes who are coming from Sydney, Adelaide and regional areas of Victoria and New South Wales.”
A worried Bhawna told The Australia Today, “We have arranged boarding and food for free for anyone who is travelling to Melbourne to attend the bhajan puja (prayer) program and hope police ensures the safety.”
Earlier, the Indian-Australian community was dismayed with three of its most iconic Hindu temples outside the Indian subcontinent vandalised with anti-Hindu graffiti.
This act of vandalism came to notice on Monday 16th January morning when Temple devotees came for ‘darshan’ as three days long “Thai Pongal” festival is being celebrated by the Tamil Hindu community.
BAPS Temple and Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple vandalised with anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti (Image Source: The Australia Today)
The Australia Today has also revealed how Khalistan supporters recorded a video of their despicable and disrespectful act at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir. And soon, the social media accounts started sharing the images and videos claiming it to be their brave act against Indian-Australian Hindus.
Khalistan supporters have allegedly written praises of an Indian terrorist Bhindrawale on the walls of all the Hindu temples. Bhindrawale was responsible for killing more than twenty thousand Hindus and Sikhs.
India was rocked by Khalistan terrorism through the 1980s with thousands of innocent Hindus and Sikhs killed in Punjab by Khalistani terrorists who were allegedly supported by Pakistan’s intelligence agency the ISI.
These Khalistani terrorists wanted a separate state for the Sikhs carved out only from Indian Punjab leaving no one in doubt about who was pulling the strings. While Khalistan terrorism was brought to an end by India within its territory almost thirty years ago, some groups of Khalistani separatists and their supporters have remained active in some western countries allegedly with support from Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
Newspaper clippings related to the bombing of Air India flight 182: Supplied
In one of the deadliest terror attacks in aviation history before 9/11, 329 people were killed by Khalistani terrorists on Air India flight 182 which was flying from Montreal to Mumbai via London and New Delhi on this very day 37 years ago.
The terrorists planted a bomb on the flight which blew up mid-air while flying from Montreal to London killing everyone on board. Among those killed were 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens and 24 Indian citizens.
The regulator alleges in the Federal Court that between February 2017 and December 2019, the University breached the Fair Work Act when it failed to pay 14 casual academics for all hours of marking work at the hourly rates required under its enterprise agreements.
Instead, the University allegedly paid the staff based on “benchmarks”, which varied depending on the school in the Faculty, and in some cases described payment for marking at a rate based on “4,000 words per hour” and at one school on “one hour per student”.
It is alleged that total underpayments of the 14 staff were $154,424, and ranged from $927 to $30,140 for individuals.
Staff allegedly had to enter their hours worked into the University’s human resources information system according to the benchmarks, rather than according to the actual hours worked. The Fair Work Ombudsman therefore alleges The University of Melbourne failed to record all hours worked by the casual academics, and further that the University made and kept records known to some managers within the Faculty to be false or misleading.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that the University’s breaches of its enterprise agreements were ‘serious contraventions’ under the Fair Work Act from 15 September 2017 (when the serious contraventions provisions commenced).
The FWO alleges that the University expressly, tacitly or impliedly authorised the contraventions because of a corporate culture involving the use of marking benchmarks. It is also alleged that a number of specific senior leaders in the Faculty knew of the benchmarking practices and that they resulted in employees not being paid for all time spent marking.
The maximum penalties for serious contraventions are 10-times higher than the penalties that would otherwise apply.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the court action highlighted why the university sector was one of the regulator’s top priorities.
“Allegations of universities underpaying their employees by systematically failing to follow their own enterprise agreements are of great concern. It is important that where we find alleged serious contraventions we take employers to court and seek penalties to deter non-compliance,” Ms Parker said.
“Universities, like all employers, should have proactive measures in place to ensure they are meeting workplace laws and paying employees correctly for all hours worked. If employers become aware of concerns their employees may be being underpaid, they must promptly seek advice and rectify any compliance issues discovered.”
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that the benchmarking practices continued despite the inadequacy of the benchmarks being raised with certain managers within the Faculty in April 2016, February 2017 and on multiple occasions during 2018 and 2019.
The academics worked at the Parkville campus. Three of the academics held a PhD for at least part of their employment, which entitled them to higher hourly rates under the enterprise agreements. At least 12 of the employees have been fully backpaid.
In addition to penalties for the alleged serious contraventions of up to $630,000 per breach, The University of Melbourne faces up to $63,000 per breach for the other allegations.
A date for a directions hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne has yet to be scheduled.
The regulator’s separate litigation against The University of Melbourne, commenced in August 2022, involves two casual academics in a different faculty. The litigation is ongoing.
Employers and employees can visit or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance about their rights and obligations in the workplace. An interpreter service is available on 13 14 50.
Papuan separatist rebels with their hostage at an undisclosed location in Papua province. Picture: West Papua Liberation Army
Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s restive Papua region have released a series of photos showing a pilot from New Zealand who was taken hostage more than a week ago, reported CNN.
The photos released on Tuesday show the pilot, identified by local police as Philip Mehrtens, standing fully clothed and apparently uninjured among a group of fighters who are holding guns, bows and arrows and other weapons.
Last week, Mehrtens was captured after landing a commercial Susi Air charter flight at Paro Airport in the remote highlands of the Nduga regency, with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) claiming responsibility and saying it had burned his plane.
Mehrtens of Christchurch, a pilot for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, was abducted by independence fighters from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, who stormed his single-engine plane shortly after it landed on a small runway in Paro in remote Nduga district.
Papuan separatist rebels with their hostage at an undisclosed location in Papua province. Picture: West Papua Liberation Army
The plane, carrying five passengers, was scheduled to pick up 15 construction workers who had been building a health centre in Paro after a group of separatist rebels led by Egianus Kogoya threatened to kill them, said Nduga district chief Namia Gwijangge, reported NBC News.
The rebels released all five passengers because they are indigenous Papuans, rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom said earlier.
Meanwhile, as per reports, separatists said he would not be released until the region is granted independence.
The group previously demanded that all incoming flights to Paro Airport be stopped and said the pilot would not be released until the Indonesian government acknowledged Papuan independence, reported CNN.
The TPNPB released the photos of Mehrtens on its Facebook page along with a statement reiterating its position.
“TPNPB has admitted the responsibility for the burning of the plane and taking hostage of a Susi Air pilot who is a citizen of New Zealand, and we keep our promise and are politically responsible,” it said in the statement.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told CNN it was “aware of the photos and video circulating but won’t be commenting further at this stage.”
Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua – a former Dutch colony – have been demanding independence since the region was brought under Indonesian control following a controversial 1969 vote overseen by the United Nations.
Papuan separatist rebels with their hostage at an undisclosed location in Papua province. Picture: West Papua Liberation Army
However, fighting in the impoverished but resource-rich region, where the Indonesian military maintains a heavy presence, has escalated in recent years.
The Indonesian government designates the TPNPB as a terrorist group.
Smriti Mundhra is an Indian-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She has previously been nominated by Oscar & Emmy-nominated and will be returning to Netflix after the phenomenal success of Indian Matchmaking and the Never Have I Ever franchise.
The Romantics, released on Feb 14, is a tribute to the father of romance – Yash Chopra – in Hindi cinema.
This docu-series is Smriti’s vision to dive into the history of Hindi cinema through the lens of YRF – India’s biggest and mightiest production house which is home to the country’s biggest IP’s like DDLJ, Tiger, Pathaan, War, Dhoom, etc.
This global docu-series that is a tribute to Yash Chopra, who is regarded as the ‘Father of Romance’ in India because of his iconic romantic films like Silsila, Lamhe, Kabhi Kabhie, Veer-Zaara, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Chandni, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, etc.
The docu-series showcases the impact of YRF films in shaping India’s pop culture for the past 50 years and Aditya Chopra’s vision of building the first and only studio in India – YRF.
Smriti Mundhra spent a great deal of time before she started filming this documentary. She was in India and she researched on the history of Yash Raj Films before shooting the documentary.
Smriti interviewed 35 leading personalities from the Hindi film industry, including mega-stars like Aamir Khan to Salman Khan, from Shah Rukh Khan to Ranbir Kapoor, from Amitabh Bachchan to Ranveer Singh, from Rani Mukerji to Hrithik Roshan, from Katrina Kaif to Anushka Sharma, who have worked with the production house over the past 50 years.
Smriti also managed to convince Aditya Chopra for his first-ever video interview which sure must have been a mammoth task. (The docu-series traces back on how Aditya Chopra always wanted to be a filmmaker, how he assisted Yash Chopra on many films before he made his debut as a director with DDLJ and how he had a sharp acumen for film-making). Aditya Chopra’s last interview was in 1995 for a film magazine (print).
The Romantics showcases the last interview of the iconic star, Rishi Kapoor who can be seen candidly talking about his deep relationship with Yash Chopra and what made their combination one of the most cherished director-actor duo of India.
The docu-series brings to the forefront how all the stars do not like the term ‘Bollywood’ and how they expressed their displeasure over it.
Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan to share screen space in a project for the first-time ever and it’s for The Romantics to talk about YRF’s legacy in shaping Indian cinema and culture.
The global docu-series is available for people to watch in 192 countries!
If you’re really feeling the heat this summer, it might be down to more than the temperature outside.
Some types of medicines can increase your core body temperature or make you feel hotter than you really are. Some can affect your body’s ability to cool down.
Here’s what you need to know about heat intolerance and medicines.
What is heat intolerance?
Some people simply dislike the feeling of feeling hot, while others feel hot at temperatures most people find comfortable. Both are examples of heat intolerance.
Typical symptoms during warm weather include excessive sweating (or not sweating enough), exhaustion and fatigue, nausea, vomiting or dizziness, and changes in mood.
A number of factors can cause heat intolerance.
This includes the disorder dysautonomia, which affects people’s autonomic nervous system – the part of the body that regulates the automatic functions of the body, including our response to heat.
Conditions such as diabetes, alcohol misuse, Parkinson’s disease, the autoimmune disease Guillain-Barré syndrome and mitochondrial disease can cause dysautonomia. People in old age, those with some neurological conditions, or people less physically fit may also have it.
But importantly, medications can also contribute to heat intolerance.
1. Your body temperature rises
Some medicines directly increase your body temperature, which then increases the risk of heat intolerance.
These include stimulant medications to treat ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), such as methylphenidate, dexamfetamine and lisdexamfetamine.
Antipsychotic medications (such as clozapine, olanzapine and quetiapine) used to treat mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are other examples.
These ADHD and antipsychotic medicines raise your temperature by acting on the hypothalamus, the region of the brain essential for cooling.
The drug levothyroxine, used to treat an under-active thyroid, also increases your body temperature, this time by increasing your metabolism.
2. Your blood flow is affected
Other medicines constrict (tighten) blood vessels, decreasing blood flow to the skin, and so prevent heat from escaping this way. This means your body can’t regulate its temperature as well in the heat.
Examples include beta-blockers (such as metoprolol, atenolol and propranolol). These medications are used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, angina (a type of chest pain), tachycardia (fast heart rate), heart failure, and to prevent migraines.
Decongestants for blocked noses (for example, pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine), triptans for migraines (such as sumatriptan and zolmitriptan) and the ADHD medications mentioned earlier can also act to decrease blood flow to the skin.
3. You can get dehydrated
Other medicines can cause dehydration, which then makes you more susceptible to heat intolerance. The best examples are diuretics such as furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, acetazolamide and aldosterone.
These are used to control high blood pressure and heart failure by forcing your kidneys to remove more fluid from your body.
Laxatives, such as senna extract and bisacodyl, also remove water from your body and so have a similar effect.
4. You can sweat less
Other medicines have a drying effect. This can be needed for medicines to do their job (for instance, to dry up a runny nose). For others, it is an unwanted side effect.
This drying reduces the amount you sweat, making it harder to lose heat and regulate your core temperature. A number of medicines have these effects, including:
some antihistamines (such as promethazine, doxylamine and diphenhydramine)
certain antidepressants (such as amitriptyline, clomipramine and dothiepin)
medicines used to treat urinary incontinence (for example, oxybutynin and solifenacin)
nausea medicine (prochlorperazine)
medicines for stomach cramps and spasms (for instance, hyoscine)
the antipsychoptics chlorpromazine, olanzapine, quetiapine and clozapine.
5. You don’t feel thirsty
Finally, some medicines, such as the antipsychotics haloperidol and droperidol, can aggravate heat intolerance by reducing your ability to feel thirsty.
If you don’t feel thirsty, you drink less and are therefore at risk of dehydration and feeling hot.
What can you do about it?
If you are feeling hot this summer and think your medicine may be contributing, it’s very important you keep taking your medicine.
Speak to your pharmacist or doctor about your symptoms. They will offer advice and discuss alternatives.
Image: Jessica Bruce, Jessica Halliwell and Stacey Wensing (Source: AFP)
The AFP is celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science by highlighting the diverse work of three female AFP Forensics members using science in the fight against crime.
From collecting evidence from crime scenes and analysing fingerprints, to searching for the truth for the pursuit of justice, Stacey Wensing, Jessica Halliwell and Jessica Bruce all have an important role to play in keeping Australians safe from serious crime.
Image: Stacey Wensing (Source: AFP)
Ms Wensing is a crime scene investigator who collects and examines evidence including fingerprints, trace DNA, shoe marks, blood, glass and hairs.
She has worked in forensics for the past 12 years, but said she is continually challenged by things she has not come across before.
“I like that I don’t know what to expect from each day and that there is always something else to learn,” Ms Wensing said.
“Science always evolves; techniques change and working with different people encourages adapting and letting in different perspectives. I am lucky that I am surrounded by so many wonderful women, those to learn from and those to mentor.”
Image: Jessica Halliwell (Source: AFP)
Fingerprint expert and specialist in the Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology cohort Ms Halliwell spends her days comparing fingerprints from crime scenes and the morgue, maintaining the national fingerprint database and presenting evidence in court.
“The work I do is very dynamic. I am exposed to a diverse range of case work where I get to apply my skills and knowledge to contribute to an investigation,” she said.
“Over 60 per cent of my team are women, and there are a lot of women throughout the different disciplines and teams in AFP Forensics, which is fantastic to see. For me, seeing women in leadership roles is inspiring and helps me overcome my own self-doubts.”
Image: Jessica Bruce (Source: AFP)
Ms Bruce is also a specialist in the Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology cohort as well as a forensic officer with the Forensics Operations Centre where she manages forensic cases with investigators.
The search for knowledge and truth for the pursuit of justice, together with practising science, is what led her to pursue a career in forensics.
“That constant pursuit of the truth to help people that have had something horrible happen to them just feels like such a worthy career,” Ms Bruce said.
“It is part of my job to accrue knowledge, from how the world works and knowledge about an investigation, to knowledge about other forensic disciplines and their capabilities. I get to spend my whole day being curious and searching for answers.”
Ms Bruce encouraged women and girls interested in a career in forensics to take the leap.
“Determine which discipline interests you, but by no means think that this is who you will be or what area you will have to work in forever,” she said.
“I started as a biomedical scientist, but I have been a technical officer, an archaeologist and physical anthropologist and a crime scene investigator. I now do none of these roles, and on top of that, I am now a mother and work flexibly.
“The idea you have to fit a specific mould to be a forensic scientist is outdated. You can be yourself and your career will mould around you. You just need to take the leap and make career decisions that suit your life at that specific time.”
From left: The Fiji Times editor in chief Fred Wesley, USP Journalism Programme coordinator Dr Shailendra Singh, Attorney-General Siromi Turaga, Dialogue Fiji executives director Nilesh Lal and Communications Fiji Ltd news and sports director Vijay Narayan at the launch of the Fiji Media Industry Development Act 2010 – An Analysis report in Lami yesterday. Picture: FIJIAN GOVERNMENT FB PAGE
By GERALDINE PANAPASA
While steps are being taken behind the scenes by the Coalition Government to review the existing media legislation in Fiji, civil society organisation Dialogue Fiji says coming up with a legislation that protects media freedom and safeguards against reporting that can have negative implications is difficult.
Speaking at the launch of the Fiji Media Industry Development Act 2010 – An Analysis report in Lami, Dialogue Fiji executive director Nilesh Lal said Fiji’s punitive Media Industry Development Act was promulgated in 2010 and remained in place, although the new Fijian Government had expressed its intentions to replace the controversial legislation.
The report was produced by Dialogue Fiji and contained important lessons and insights on the challenging issue of media freedom and regulation in a multiethnic society with conflict dynamics like Fiji.
“We will need to consider elements such as capacity of the Fijian market to sustain a multiplicity of media players. Media ownership has been a key element of the regulatory regime under previous administration and this will need to be looked at,” Mr Lal said.
“The challenges to traditional media posed by social media in a small market context will need to be considered to ensure that media organisations remain financially viable and a robust and diverse media sector is maintained.”
Mr Lal said many lessons had been learnt from the experience of the past 12 years, operating under a highly restrictive and punitive media regulation.
He said it was important that stakeholders be consulted at every stage of the review process of the media legislation, including pre-drafting.
“If the draft does not meet expectations, it is going to unduly create friction between the government, media and other interest groups such as CSOs,” Mr Lal said.
The launch programme also included a panel discussion on the issue of media regulation and features of the media legislation desirable in Fiji.
Mr Lal said as an organisation that championed democratic freedoms, dialogue and deliberations, Dialogue Fiji believed it was important to create opportunities for Fijians to deliberate on issues that affected their lives.
“Media freedom is an important element of freedom of expression. We need the media to be able to exercise this right, which is afforded to them in Fiji’s Constitution,” he said.
Panelists during the launch of an analysis report on the Fiji Media Industry Development Act 2010 by Dialogue Fiji. Picture: FIJIAN GOVERNMENT FB PAGE
Analysis
The comprehensive analysis on the Act was authored by USP Journalism Programme coordinator Associate Professor Dr. Shailendra Singh, Mr Lal and the chief deputy Attorney-General of Arizona, USA, Daniel Barr.
Dr Singh said a major complaint against the Act from the media sector and observers was the ambiguities in some of the provisions.
“Section 22 is a good example of this. Section 22 states no content must include materials against the public interest, order, national interest or anything that might create disharmony in society,” he said.
“The national interest/order can be subjective matters. The question is, who decides what is national interest or public interest, especially when these terms are so ill-defined in the Act.
“The reality is that the media, government and the public all have different viewpoints about what constitutes the national interest in any particular time or year. Vagueness in some of the provisions in the Act is another shortfall when it comes to international benchmarks.”
Assoc. Prof. Shailendra B. Singh speaking at the launch of an analysis report on the Fiji Media Industry Development Act 2010 by Dialogue Fiji. Picture: FIJIAN GOVERNMENT FB PAGE
For issues like hate speech, he said it was important to ensure key terms were first defined.
“The broader the definition, the more it opens the door for arbitrary application of these laws. Some people might say, in all its years of existence, no one has been charged or prosecuted under the Media Act. Sometimes this is touted as a positive development but the problem is, it can be invoked at any time,” Dr Singh said.
“Even though no one might have been charged or cited, it is still like an axe hanging over the news media’s heads. This is why Media Act is accused of instilling a chilling effect on journalism in Fiji.”
Dr Singh noted that penalties in the Act were also in breach of some international benchmarks, adding that excessive sanctions should be reserved for exceptional cases. In Fiji’s Media Act, penalties applied across the board regardless of the seriousness of the offence.
He noted that there was little evidence of the separation of powers in the Act and that all powers were invested in the Communications Minister and Attorney-General, breaching international benchmarks on independence of regulatory bodies of government.
“Any national media regulatory body should be independent from the government in a democracy. The A-G and Communications Minister, who have so much power in the Act, are part of government and are expected or required to work in the interest of government first and foremost. So two ministers had so much powers and are expected to work in unison, rather than in the interest of media organization,” Dr Singh said.
“What we found peculiar is that, with the previous government, the Communications Minister and A-G positions were held by the same person, one person with two different portfolios controlling everything. When we talk about separation of powers, it was almost non-existent in the Media Act.”
Dr Singh also noted that a core grievance with the Act was the criminalisation of ethics, adding that Fiji was one of the few countries in which journalism ethics had been criminalised.
Under self-regulation, ethics are considered non-punitive breaches but under the Media Act, a breach of ethics is treated as criminal offences.
“Ethics are not set in stone; you cannot have the same response for every ethical dilemma out in the field,” he said.
“Another key analysis in the Act is the lopsided hearing and appeal procedures where the appeal provisions for the media are restricted. It raises some really serious questions, for example, why are complainants against news media given full appeal whereas media can only appeal decisions for penalties more than $50,000?
“There is non-compliance of universal human rights, all should be equal before the law, provided equal protection of the law.”
Dr Singh said the Act was well protected legally that no court of any kind could entertain any challenges by any person or body in relation to the validity or legality of the Act, and any decision of the Tribunal except for appeals.
“The immunity clause shows how the Act and its entities are bestowed all the powers without being bound by some of the core accountabilities of the justice system,” he said.
Panelists during the launch of an analysis report on the Fiji Media Industry Development Act 2010 by Dialogue Fiji. Picture: FIJIAN GOVERNMENT FB PAGE
Government’s commitment
Attorney-General Siromi Turaga, who joined the panel discussion alongside newsroom editors from Fiji’s mainstream news media, said the Coalition Government recognised the pivotal role that the media played in Fiji, in terms of ensuring the circulation and responsible reporting of information.
He reaffirmed Government’s support of a free, independent and responsible media and reiterated that the Media Industry Development Act 2010 would be reviewed with the assistance of a committee, that would be established for the task.
While there is no set timeframe on the completion of the review, Mr Turaga said this was a priority for Government as they continued to encourage robust journalism, urging journalists to also “practise fair and balanced reporting, and most importantly, allow for the right of reply at all times”.
Mr Turaga said the analysis by Dialogue Fiji provided an insightful commentary on the Act and was a helpful resource for the review process.
This article was first published in Wansolwara Newsand is republished here with their kind permission.
When Warren Mundine, one of the lead “no” campaigners of the Voice to parliament, suggested that migrants be recognised in the Constitution along with Indigenous Australians, it was criticised as a diversionary and potentially destabilising intervention.
It did, however, focus momentary attention on how Australia’s culturally diverse communities were being engaged on the Voice referendum – and whether they would support it.
Mobilising support in culturally and religiously diverse communities
The Voice campaign must capture the support of a majority of electors in a majority of states. In the referendum, there will be three possible voting choices – yes, no or an informal vote. The yes vote effectively requires an absolute majority to succeed, while the no vote can depend on unconvinced or confused voters to boost its impact.
Although the informal vote was less than 1% in the 1999 republic referendum, it can be high in multicultural communities. For example, the electorate of Fowler in western Sydney, which has large Vietnamese and Chinese populations, had an informal vote of 10.5% in last year’s federal election.
Recognising how important the multicultural vote is, the “yes” campaign has already identified several broad coalitions whose support is critical.
First is the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA), which announced its full support of the Voice at its annual conference in late 2022.
Its chair, former Victorian state MP Carlo Carli, has been using the media to push back at Mundine’s comments, saying there is no interest in ethnic community organisations for a multicultural Voice to parliament.
FECCA is a federation of state and regional councils, each of which comprises many individual ethnic organisations. As such, it neither controls nor completely reflects the opinions of the broad masses of unaffiliated ethnic voters.
However, in the case of the Voice, these bodies may well influence how voters think – this will be tested in coming months.
"Migrant and refugee communities are natural allies with First Nations communities," said FECCA CEO Mohammad Al-Khafaji, adding there was "resounding support" for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Voice to Parliament. https://t.co/Lb0rpY1NVh
While FECCA is an important body, individual ethnic community organisations have much closer relationships with the electors who will vote in the referendum. And within these smaller groups, trust in government is sometimes lacking and support for progressive causes less assured. Many of the important conversations about the Voice will also need to be in people’s native languages.
The various Chinese communities offer a good example here. They are increasingly dominated by university-educated mainland China or Hong Kong migrants. And they’ve been badly hurt by the upsurge in anti-Chinese rhetoric and harassment over the past few years of the pandemic.
This very diverse community does not have a necessary attachment to the Voice. On the one hand, many Chinese migrants may have a shared experience of racism that helps shape their attitudes. But on the other hand, some may retain a suspicion and anxiety about Indigenous people, as well.
Another coalition that matters is religious-based. The heads of various religious congregations gathered last year to decide whether a consensus on the Voice would be possible. They soon reached agreement on supporting the referendum, finding in all faiths a moral, if not religious, imperative to endorse Indigenous aspirations for recognition.
Mundine argued that migrants rejected the idea Australia was deeply racist – a notion the “no” campaign will try to seize on.
However, my research into the political mobilisation of ethnic communities over many years has shown that immigrant communities have a more complex relationship with the politics of race.
Some communities, for example, have questioned the ideology of integration that was reintroduced by conservative governments in recent years in response to earlier multicultural movements of the 1970s to 1990s.
COVID also disproportionately affected migrant communities. In early 2022, it was revealed that deaths from COVID were three times higher among migrants than those born in Australia. For those born in the Middle East, death rates were 13 times higher.
This caused trust in government to erode among the most badly affected groups – largely working class, non-English-speaking people, often born overseas.
And in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement ignited similar action in Australia. Although driven by Aboriginal activism, BLM rallies also attracted many Australians with backgrounds from Africa, the Middle East, the Americas and the Pacific, in particular.
These events may have heightened the awareness in immigrant communities of the prevalence of racism in Australia. They may also have enhanced empathy for Indigenous people’s struggles, and potentially, support for the Voice.
Building trust in the Voice matters for everyone
So far, the Albanese government has called for citizens to support the concept of the Voice and trust parliament to get the details sorted. Yet, research shows trust in government has declined significantly over the past year or so after being very high early in the pandemic.
So, how best to engage with multicultural communities?
The central challenge is to detach support for the Voice from the broader idea of trust in government. To do this, the “yes” campaign has to galvanise grassroots engagement by demonstrating how the Voice is important not only to Indigenous Australians, but also to every citizen from every background.
To this end, some local government initiatives, such as that in Sydney’s inner west, have been running training courses that both educate people about the Voice and enable them to become advocates in their communities.
This approach recognises that group dynamics supporting individuals to do the “right thing” can have far more impact than endorsements from distant elites. This was successfully used in Independent MP Dai Le’s campaign for parliament in the Fowler electorate in last year’s election.
Moreover, teams of advocates from diverse communities will also need to be mobilised to create narratives convincing voters of the need for a Voice. Otherwise, the trust deficit that has been so apparent in these communities may contribute to their turning away from the idea.
The “no” campaign is already aware that confusion and mistrust are useful weapons in their armoury. The “yes” campaign needs to recognise this danger and ensure multicultural communities understand how the Voice can combat wider issues of racism and discrimination to their common benefit.
The auction for the first-ever Women’s Premier League (WPL), a landmark moment in the history of women’s cricket, concluded on Monday.
The affair was full of surprises, wholesome moments, unpredictability and thrill that can change the sport and thousands of lives associated with it for the better. The auction started off with a bang, with Indian star opener Smriti Mandhana becoming the first-ever player to be picked.
Royal Challengers Bangalore splurged a massive sum of $593K, making her the most expensive player in WPL. Just moments later, her skipper and batting star Harmanpreet Kaur was picked up by Mumbai Indians for $314K.
International talent from Australia got a lot of attention in the auction. Ashleigh Gardner, the No.1 allrounder in women’s T20Is, has attracted the joint second-highest bid of $558,000 at the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.
The subject of a fierce three-team bidding war, Gardner was bought by the Adani Group-owned Gujarat Giants, the last of the three franchises to express their interest in the 25-year-old during the auction on Monday afternoon.
The new tournament will last 23 days, from March 4-26.
With Rachael Haynes, who was recently recruited as the Giants head coach, present at the auction table at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, the imprint of the former Australia captain on the side picking Gardner was unmistakable.
Ash Gardner watches herself get auctioned off for A$558,000!
Gardner, for her part, watched the auction live on her phone, alongside Australia team-mates Megan Schutt and Kim Garth, from the sidelines of her team’s afternoon training at St George’s Park in Gqeberha ahead of their T20 World Cup fixture against Bangladesh on Tuesday.
“Ashleigh’s such a great allrounder,” Australia head coach Shelley Nietschke said after the team’s practice session. “She delivers in three skills. She’s been really important to
us over the last 12 months to two years, and even beyond that.
“But I think what we’re finding in recent times is she’s really coming into her game and maturing as a cricketer. So she plays a key role for us.
“It was fantastic to see her perform with the ball and her career-best figures against New Zealand. I’m looking forward to seeing what the tournament (WPL) brings for her.”
Gardner, who returned her career-best figures in T20Is – 5 for 12 – in Australia’s opening fixture at the T20 World Cup against New Zealand, had a reserve price of $87,000.
She was the fifth player from the seven-member Set 1 to go under the hammer after India’s Smriti Mandhana, the first and most expensive player to be sold on the day at $593,000, and Harmanpreet Kaur, New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and the unsold Hayley Matthews.
England’s Natalie Sciver-Brunt was snapped up at the same price as Gardner by Mumbai.
They also bought Heather Graham, who had picked a hat-trick in Mumbai two months ago, for $52,000 towards the close of the auction that lasted almost six hours.
Ellyse Perry was the second Australian to be bought. Royal Challengers Bangalore shelled out $297,000 on the star allrounder, with Beth Mooney ($350,000/Gujarat) later surpassing her as the second-most expensive Australian buy.
No.1-ranked T20I batter Tahlia McGrath ($245,000/UP), Australia captain Meg Lanning ($192,000/Delhi Capitals), vice-captain Alyssa Healy ($122,000/UP), allrounder Annabel Sutherland ($122,000/Gujarat) also picked up impressive bids.
Medium-pacer Megan Schutt and wrist-spinner Alana King were the first two Australians to go unsold. However, when Schutt went under the hammer for a second time, Bangalore, who hired Sydney Sixers head coach Ben Sawyer in the same role, picked her up at her base price of $70,000.
They also made the winning bid for Erin Burns, who isn’t part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, for $52,000.
Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen was snapped up by Delhi for $87,000 for the second time asking. King’s name also came up twice, but she found no takers.
Garth and Tess Flintoff were the other Australians to feature on the final list at the auction who went unsold.
Gujarat outbid Bangalore to secure the services of legspinner Georgia Wareham for $131,000.
The coveted Harris sisters — Grace ($131,000) and Laura ($78,300) – were bought by UP and Delhi, respectively, after closely contested bidding wars.
A total of 87 players were bought at the auction, 30 of those being overseas recruits.
Australia accounted for the highest representation from a single country.
Only one Associate player – USA’s Tara Norris – found any takers
Here are the squads of WPL teams:
Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Jasia Akhtar, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Taniya Bhatia. Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Arundhati Reddy, Aparna Mondal.
Students visit Rugby Run Solar Farm: Image Source: Supplied
For the second consecutive year, Rystad Energy has crowned Bravus’ Rugby Run solar farm Queensland’s top-performing utility-scale PV facility.
Bravus is at the forefront of the global energy transition. Its energy products, and the businesses that transport and export them, are fuelling positive growth for the future.
They are deeply committed to creating Australian jobs and opportunities in regional communities and operating responsibly. The safety and well-being of our people and the community, responsible environmental management and governance are at the heart of all they do.
Bravus’ Business Manager – Renewables, Derek Chapman, said the performance was a testament to the quality of the facility and the broader Adani Group’s expertise in delivering exceptional renewable energy projects.
Mr Chapman said, “Since the facility was officially switched on in 2019, Rugby Run has consistently ranked as one of the top-performing solar assets in Australia and the best in Queensland.”
“Adani’s expertise as India’s leading generator of solar power and manufacturer of solar panels was leveraged throughout the construction of the facility and this continues to pay dividends today.”
Rugby Run staff member checks solar panel; Image Source: Supplied
Rugby Run is a 65MW solar farmfacility
1.3 million galvanized zip ties to be used in the stringing of electrical cables
More than 247,000 solar panels installed
175 jobs at peak construction
18km of fence line installed
7.2km of road built to access the site
6,500 holes pre-drilled
The solar panels rotate to track the sun and maximise efficiency
The solar panels are programmed to rest at an angle that withstands inclement wind and weather conditions.
Located near Moranbah in central Queensland, Rugby Run is Bravus’ first renewables project in Australia. The 65 MW solar farm provides power for the equivalent of around 23,000 regional Queensland homes and businesses and comprises 247,000 solar panels.
“We built this facility for Queensland’s conditions, with the panels programmed to rotate to track the sun most efficiently and also to move to the most effective angles to withstand inclement wind and weather,” Mr Chapman said.
“This included a selection of panels from the Adani Group’s solar panel manufacturing plant in India which have delivered consistently high performance.”
The Adani Group is the world’s largest multinational solar energy company with 4803 MW of solar power in operation and a further 10080 MW under construction, producing power for the equivalent of 5.2m households.
Rugby Run at sunset; Image Source: Supplied
Adani Solar, the photovoltaic manufacturing and research arm of the Group is building the world’s first fully integrated and comprehensive solar ecosystem manufacturing facility. The facility will include the entire solar manufacturing ecosystem from metallurgical grade silicon to PV modules, ancillaries and supporting utilities.
They have recently introduced India’s first large-sized monocrystalline silicon ingot which will drive indigenisation to produce renewable energy from silicon-based PV modules exclusively for Adani’s solar wafers, cells and modules production.
The Bravus
Bravus claims to walk the talk on the energy transition. Their diversified group of Australian businesses produce high-quality thermal coal at the Carmichael Mine and renewable energy from the Rugby Run solar farm, both in central Queensland. Bowen Rail Company, Abbot Point Operations and North Queensland Export Terminal businesses proudly transport high-quality coal from Bravus Mining and Resources Carmichael mine, and from their other mining customers to the world.
These operations provide reliable and affordable energy solutions that help reduce poverty in the Asia Pacific region and power growth.
They are part of the global Adani Group, which is headquartered in India and is leading the way in progressing the transition to a lower emissions future. The Adani Group is the world’s largest multinational solar energy company, and India’s leader in the emerging hydrogen energy industry. The Group also has businesses in the energy, transport, infrastructure, agribusiness, ports, airports, data centres, cement, and utility sectors.
Adani Solar and Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL)
Adani Solar is the Solar PV manufacturing arm of the Adani Group. It is India’s first and largest vertically integrated Solar PV cell and modules manufacturer that offers services across the spectrum of photovoltaics manufacturing. The company offers and produces high-efficiency monofacial and bifacial modules (in PERC Technology) with superior efficiency, higher performance and enhanced reliability. Adani Solar is currently building the world’s first-ever fully integrated and comprehensive ecosystem of 10 GW solar PV manufacturing in India.
AGEL is one of the largest renewable energy companies in India with a current project portfolio of 20,434 MW. The company develops, builds, owns, operates and maintains utility-scale grid-connected solar and wind farm projects.
Note: Above article is published as per The Australia Today’s global content partnership initiative.
'Quad Cyber Challenge' to improve online security; Image Source: QUAD
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad comprising India, United States, Japan and Australia on Wednesday launched a public campaign ‘Quad Cyber Challenge’ to improve cyber security across their nations.
Governments, corporations, nonprofits, universities, and schools around the world are invited to take the Cyber Challenge. It’s a call to action for every Internet user to learn more about cybersecurity and protect themselves, their devices, or their customers from the growing threats of online attacks.
Australia’s Minister for Cyber Security Clare O’Neil said, “Together with our Quad partners, we are launching the Quad Cyber Challenge to help everyone become more cyber secure.”
“With malicious cyber threats becoming more and more frequent, Quad countries including Australia are focusing on ensuring everyone has the knowledge and tools they need to best guard themselves against cyber-attacks.”
Minister O’Neil also urged the community to take the challenge and test their knowledge of safe and responsible cyber habits.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil; Image Source: Twitter
Everybody knows the risks of being hacked, but few know all the simple steps they can take to prevent being hacked. That’s why we want millions of people around the world to learn more by taking the challenge and committing to safe and secure online practices.
The Quad has invited Internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to become part of the challenge and practice “safe and responsible cyber habits,” India’s National Security Council Secretariat said in the press release.
The ‘Quad Cyber Challenge’ shows the continuous efforts of Quad nations to bolster cyber security awareness and action and to foster a more secure and resilient cyber ecosystem to benefit economies and users.
In an official release, India’s National Security Council Secretariat said, “The Internet users are being invited across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to join the Challenge and pledge to practice safe and responsible cyber habits.”
It further added,
“The Challenge reflects the continuing Quad efforts to strengthen individuals’ and communities’ cyber security awareness and action, as well as to foster a more secure and resilient cyber ecosystem to benefit economies and users everywhere.”
Cybersecurity (Image source: CANVA)
India’s National Security Council Secretariat noted, “Internet users worldwide are targets of cybercrime and other malicious cyber threats that can cost trillions of dollars each year and compromise sensitive personal data.”
“Many successful cyber-attacks can be guarded against by simple preventative measures. Together, Internet users and providers can take small steps to significantly improve cybersecurity and cyber safety.”
The steps include routinely installing security updates, enabling enhanced identity checks through multi-factor authentication, using stronger and regularly changing passphrases, and knowing how to identify common online scams, like phishing.
The Quad Cyber Challenge provides resources, including basic cybersecurity information and training for all users, from corporations to educational institutions, small businesses and individuals and will culminate in events during the week of April 10.
The action in India is being coordinated by the office of the National Cyber Coordinator with the National Security Council Secretariat.
The Quad nations are working to ensure everyone has access to the resources needed to make informed decisions while online and using smart devices, the National Security Council Secretariat said in the press release.
It further said that people and organizations can learn what they can do to foster a “safe, more secure, and resilient cyberspace so that the nations collectively be better protected from cyber threats.
Facing court are Design Wolf Solutions Pty Ltd, which trades as Designwolf Building Solutions, and company director Brenton John Bound.
The regulator investigated after receiving a request for assistance from a worker Design Wolf Solutions Pty Ltd had employed on a full-time basis as an adult apprentice builder between August 2020 and May 2021.
A Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice to Design Wolf Solutions Pty Ltd in September 2021 after forming a belief that the worker, who was aged 23 when he commenced his employment, had been underpaid annual leave entitlements under the Fair Work Act’s National Employment Standards.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges Design Wolf Solutions Pty Ltd, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with the Compliance Notice, which required the company to calculate and back-pay the worker’s outstanding entitlements. It is alleged Mr Bound was involved in the contravention.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the regulator would continue to enforce workplace laws and take business operators to court when they fail to act on Compliance Notices.
“Where employers do not comply, we are prepared to take appropriate legal action to ensure employees receive their lawful entitlements. A court can order a business to pay penalties on top of having to back-pay workers,” Ms Parker said.
“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free advice and assistance.”
The Fair Work Ombudsman is seeking penalties against Design Wolf Solutions Pty Ltd and Mr Bound for allegedly failing to comply with the Compliance Notice. The company faces a penalty of up to $33,300 and Mr Bound faces a penalty of up to $6,660.
The regulator is also seeking an order for Design Wolf Solutions Pty Ltd to rectify the alleged underpayment in full, plus interest and superannuation.
A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Brisbane on 13 February 2023.
Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance. An interpreter service is available on 13 14 50.
After lifting interest rates for a record nine times in a row, and flagging more raises still to come, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest set of forecasts make for grim reading.
The forecasts are part of the central bank’s quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy, its main communication (aside from interest rates) on how it sees the economy faring over coming few years.
The bad news is the bank tips economic growth to slow, inflation to remain high, spending to stagnate, unemployment to increase, and real wages to fall further.
The good news is that it could be wrong.
1. Growth is expected to slow
The central bank expects Australia’s economy to slow this year due to rising interest rates, higher cost of living, and declining house prices.
It tips GDP growth for 2022 will be 2.75% (the Australian Bureau of Statistics won’t publish this data until March), and 1.5% over 2023 and 2024.
This compares to the RBA’s expectation three months ago of 3% growth in 2022, but is the same as the previous prediction for this year and the next.
The bank says inflation, which hit 7.8% in 2022, is likely to have peaked and will stay high for several months, but should decline to 4.5% by the end of 2023.
By mid-2025 the bank expects inflation to have fallen to back to 3% – the top end of its inflation target range of 2-3%.
However, the pace of this fall depends on wages and prices. The bank acknowledges inflation could fall more quickly or more slowly.
Australian consumer price inflation has been high due to factors including global supply-chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, strong domestic demand, a tight labour market, and capacity constraints.
The bank expects rising energy prices to continue to drive inflation but expects this to be offset by the government’s Energy Price Relief Plan, which caps gas and coal prices, will subsidise household and business bills.
Price increases for goods such as food and furniture are expected to moderate. But the cost of services will continue to rise, due to wage growth.
This is the main reason the RBA has flagged more interest rate hikes this year. It is determined to get inflation back to its target band, and will keep increasing borrowing rates until it is sure this goal will be achieved.
3. Consumer spending will stagnate
The bank’s statement says higher consumer prices, higher interest payments and lower household net wealth are expected to curb consumer spending in 2023.
But it says spending should improve once interest rate rises stop, household wealth recovers and disposable incomes are boosted by tax cuts.
The household saving ratio (which doubled during the pandemic) is expected to fall below the pre-pandemic norm of 5% before clibing back to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
4. Unemployment will climb
The bank expects the unemployment rate to remain at about 3.5% until mid-2023, and then to climb to 4.5% as demand for labour moderates.
4.5% remains well below where it has been for most of the past half century.
RBA unemployment rate forecasts
Confidence intervals reflect RBA forecasting errors since 1993. RBA
Jobs growth is forecast to slow from 4.8% in 2022 to about 1% by mid-2024.
Despite this, the participation rate in the labour force is not expected to fall, due to structural trends such as higher female and older worker participation.
5. Real wages will fall
The RBA’s forecast for wages growth is now higher than three months ago, due to a tight labour market, higher staff turnover, higher inflation outcomes and Fair Work Commission wage decisions.
It tips the Wage Price Index, which hasn’t been above 4% in a decade, to hit 4.25%.
Given the inflation rate, however, this won’t be enough wages growth to stop real wages from continuing to fall.
The wage price index is tipped to fall back to 3.75% in mid-2025 as the demand for labour subsides and unemployment climbs.
Uncertainty remains high
These forecasts make for grim reading. But they could all be quite wrong. As the saying goes, it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.
Huge uncertainties hang over the global economy, including the war in Ukraine, the emergence of new COVID variants, and the unique challenges of recovering from the pandemic.
That means all these forecasts could be – and likely will be – wrong in one dimension or another.
Even the governor’s very clear message that there will be more interest rate rises this year could change if the prevailing circumstances do too. Time will tell.
Image: Raman Sharma (Source: 9News Screenshot) - representative images: Uber Eats bag and kamini balls
Raman Sharma, a 29-year-old Adelaide man, has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply and appealed in the Adelaide Magistrates Court to spare him from jail.
In 2021, Mr Sharma posed as an Uber Eats food delivery driver and tried to smuggle illegal opioids wrapped inside a burrito into Adelaide’s Tom’s Court Hotel at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Image source: Screenshot ABC News and 9News)
These drugs included heroin and Kamini, popularly known as “Indian Viagra”, banned for sale by the the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
“Kamini”, a herbal drug which contains highly addictive opioids, Papaver somniferum, is again in news. These bottles are produced in India and sold as “Indian viagra” to improve mens’ virility in India.
A bottle of Kamini contains 40 balls, each tablet varies in size and weight: between 0.2 and 0.4 containing up to five per cent opium. These bottles are covertly shipped across Australia’s borders to be distributed via Indian grocery stores.
People, mostly South Asian-origin taxi and truck drivers, are known to be using 30 each day which was the equivalent of taking a strong 60mg tablet of OxyContin. Experts believe that taking merely two tablets of this opioid ball can give the user a “hit”.
(Representative image: Uber Eats bag and Kmaini balls)
Suspicions were raised at the medi-hotel when the Uber Eats bag did not have any receipts or details attached. According to the SA Police when the bags were searched, small amounts of heroin and other drugs were found.
The court was told that Mr Sharma made the deliveries to strangers under the direction of an associate in Melbourne.
New South Wales’ (NSW) pool of language professionals has grown substantially over the past four years.
The state government is going to fill 400 positions through the Multicultural NSW Interpreting Scholarship Program.
Facilitated by a number of educational institutions, including TAFE NSW, University of NSW and RMIT, the program has enabled people speaking more than 50 different languages and dialects to join the NSW Government’s interpreting ranks.
Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said the Interpreting Scholarship Program empowers people to use their language skills as a career and help their communities access government information and services.
“We have seen through the latest Census data that more and more people are speaking a language other than English at home, including new and emerging languages that weren’t prominent in communities five, ten or even fifteen years ago.”
“We have worked with various universities and TAFE NSW so the program could evolve to train those who speak these languages and have them become qualified interpreters. By doing this, we have been able to bolster our interpreting ranks with a greater breadth of language capabilities and ensure we have the people available to support our state’s diverse communities,” Mr Coure adds.
Amharic
Filipino
Kurdish- Kurmanji
Thai
Arabic
Greek
Macedonian
Tibetan
Arabic/Sudanese
Hakha Chin
Malayalam
Tigrinya
Assyrian
Hazaragi
Mongolian
Tongan
Burmese
Hmong
Nepali
Turkish
Chaldean
Hungarian
Persian
Twi
Chinese Hakka
Igbo
Portuguese
Ukrainian
Chinese-Chiu Chow
Indonesian
Samoan
Urdu
Cook Islands Maori
Italian
Serbian
Uyghur
Creole
Kannada
Somali
Vietnamese
Dari
Karen
Spanish
Zomi Chin
Dinka
Khmer
Swahili
Ewe
Kinyarwanda
Tamil
Fiji Hindi
Kirundi
Telugu
Fijian
Krio
Temne
Languages Spoken by Scholarship Students
The program’s most recent graduates include TAFE and university-trained interpreters speaking Amharic, Dari, Hazaragi, Kannada, Karen, Mongolian, Swahili and Tamil.
NSW Federation of Community Language Schools president Lucia Johns said the program was further evidence of the value of multi-lingual study.
“Language is one of NSW’s greatest cultural, social and business assets. So it cannot be ignored and must be fostered and developed. By teaching children languages at community language schools throughout the state we are protecting and guaranteeing our future linguistic skills.”
“Children who learn a second language at community languages schools will have the option of developing a career in interpreting and translation which benefits all aspects of our society,” Mrs Johns adds.
Mr Coure added that the program had attracted a great mix of people of various ages across the state interested in using their language skills as a career, including from regional NSW.
“More than 20 per cent of students participating in the program are from regional NSW, which shows our multicultural state isn’t in one city or suburb.
“We have also had many people from refugee backgrounds use their language skills to gain employment and support their community. This year alone, 30 per cent of scholarship participants were on refugee or special humanitarian visas.
“Everyone who completes the program and attains their certification can join our expert panel of language professionals.”
Through the 2022-23 NSW Budget, $16 million was secured over two years to improve the state’s whole-of-government language service.
“The NSW Government understands that a strong and robust language service is key to a future without barriers for diverse communities, and ensure no one is restricted in accessing information or services because of the language they speak,” Mr Coure said.
For more information about the Multicultural NSW Interpreting Scholarship Program, visit multicultural.nsw.gov.au.
Domestic violence and women of colour; Image source: @CANVA
By Michael Flood, Chay Brown, Kirsti Mills, and Lula Dembele
Some 1.6 million women (17%) and 548,000 men (6.1%) in Australia aged 15 or older have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or previous cohabiting partner. This means significant proportions of the population in Australia have perpetrated domestic or sexual violence.
There are no national Australian data on people’s perpetration of domestic or sexual violence. While we have good data on violence victimisation, we know far less about violence perpetration.
The State of Knowledge Report on Violence Perpetration, released today, reviews the current data and research on who perpetrates domestic, family, and sexual violence, how, and why, in order to enhance national efforts to end this violence. Here’s what it found.
Data from victims and police
One of the consistent findings from victimisation data, legal system data, and survey self-reports is that most violence is perpetrated by men.
Among all people in Australia who have suffered violence, nearly all have experienced violence from a male perpetrator (95% of male victims and 94% of female victims). Around one-quarter of all victims have experienced violence from a female perpetrator (28% of male victims and 24% of female victims).
The vast majority of perpetrators of homicide in Australia – 87% – are male. Three-quarters (75%) of all victims of domestic violence reported the perpetrator as male and 25% reported the perpetrator as female. Among all victims of sexual violence aged 15 or older, six times as many people reported violence by a male perpetrator as by a female perpetrator.
As most victims do not formally report to authorities, police and legal data are limited sources of information on perpetration. Police data tend to capture only the most severe cases, legal definitions vary across Australia, and existing data are shaped by the over-policing of First Nations and ethnic minority communities.
Another stream of data comes from surveys in which people report on their own use of violent behaviours. A key issue here is that most self-reported data on domestic violence relies only on asking individuals if they or their partners have ever committed any violent acts from a specified list (slapping, kicking, punching, and so on).
Much self-reported data on domestic violence do not measure the pattern of power and control exerted by an individual over their intimate partner or former partner, although many researchers and advocates see this as defining domestic violence.
Studies of domestic violence that use the Conflict Tactics Scales or other similar, acts-based measures tend to find males and females perpetrate aggression against intimate partners at similar rates, or in some instances that women report higher rates of perpetration than men.
Such studies also often find substantial proportions of people have used at least one type of aggression or abuse against a partner. For example, in a US study among university students, 18% of men and 34% of women reported perpetrating physical aggression towards their partners and 98% of both men and women reported perpetrating psychological aggression.
Apparent findings that men and women are using domestic violence at similar rates must be interpreted with caution, for four reasons.
Third, women’s violence is more often in self-defence than men’s.
And fourth, even where overall rates of the use of various violent acts are similar among males and females, males’ use of violence typically is more frequent, severe, fear-inducing, injurious, and harmful than females’ use of violence.
Gender contrasts in rates of perpetration are far stronger for sexual violence. Boys and young men have significantly higher rates of sexual violence perpetration than girls and young women, as documented in reviews of studies among teenagers and young people.
Significant numbers of males have perpetrated sexual violence. For example, close to one-third (29%) of men at universities in the USA and Canada reported having perpetrated sexual violence. In a multi-country self-report study in the Asia-Pacific, the proportions of men reporting they had perpetrated some form of rape against a woman or girl ranged from 10% to 62%.
Domestic violence and women of colour; Image source: @CANVA
Perpetrators in society
People’s use of violence often starts young. Substantial proportions of adolescents perpetrate dating violence against their intimate partners and ex-partners. US studies find the average age of first perpetration of sexual violence by males is 16.
Few perpetrators are held to account for their crimes. The vast majority of perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence do not ever come to the attention of police or legal systems.
We need to know far more about perpetrators and perpetration. We need national data on the extent and character of people’s use of domestic and sexual violence. We need well-designed methods that capture the character, breadth, severity, impact, and contexts of violence perpetration. We need research on female and LGBT perpetrators and on diverse forms of violence. We need to know more about the risk and protectivefactors that either feed into perpetration or protect against it.
Without this information, we do not know where best to target interventions against perpetration effectively, when to intervene early, and whether Australia’s efforts to reduce the use of violence are making progress.
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
A fiery five-wicket haul by Ravichandran Ashwin combined with the all-round brilliance of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel helped India clinch a massive win by innings and 132 runs within the first three days of the first Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at Nagpur after the visitors were bundled out for just 91 runs before the end of the second session on Saturday.
With this, India has a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. In the second innings, Australia was once again off to a tricky start in their bid to overcome a lead of 223 runs by India. Ravichandran Ashwin started Aussie’s downfall by dismissing Usman Khawaja for just five runs off nine balls.
Australia was 7/1.
Marnus Labuschagne was the next man on the crease and he continued his good form, slamming three great boundaries. However, Ravindra Jadeja’s golden arm did the trick again and he trapped the world’s number one Test batter lbw for 17 off 28 balls. Australia was 26/2.
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
Ashwin was breathing fire with the ball. He went on to dismiss David Warner (10) and Matt Renshaw (2) in quick succession. Australia was slowly choking under the pressure built by spinners and sunk to 42/4, with a mountain of runs still left to climb.
A boundary by Smith helped Australia cross the 50-run mark in 16.2 overs. Ashwin got his fourth wicket of the match and he sent back Handscomb in the fourth lbw dismissal of the inning. Australia was in a huge spot of bother at 52/5, trailing by 167 runs.
Despite trying, there was no stopping Ashwin. Australia’s downward spiral seemed endless and went one step further after Ashwin trapped Alex Carey for 10. Aussies were reduced to 64/6.
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
Jadeja and Axar joined Ashwin and the trio was running riot on Aussies. Jadeja picked up Cummins (1) while Axar dismissed Todd Murphy (2). Australia was 75/8 and trailed by 148 runs and just two wickets away from an embarrassing third-day defeat.
Pacer Mohammed Shami’s made pace bowling’s first entry in the wicket-taking charts for the inning. He dismantled Nathan Lyon’s stumps for 8 runs. Australia was left struggling at 88/9, trailing by 135 runs. The Aussies were just one wicket away from a loss.
Shami hit Australia with one final blow, dismissing Scott Boland for a duck. Australia was all out for just 91 runs in 32.3 overs. They lost the match by an inning and 132 runs. Smith was left stranded at 25 runs.
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for hosts, taking 5/37 in 12 overs. Jadeja also took 2/34 while Shami got figures of 2/13. Axar also took a wicket for six runs in three overs.
A brilliant 84-run knock by all-rounder Axar Patel and an entertaining cameo by Mohammed Shami put India in a commanding position, with a lead of 223 runs at lunch on the day three of the first Test against Australia at Nagpur on Saturday.
India started the day at 321/7, with Ravindra Jadeja (66*) and Axar Patel (52*) at the crease. The hosts had added barely seven runs to their previous day’s total when debutant Todd Murphy struck gold for Aussies, rattling Jadeja’s off stump. The all-rounder was gone for a well-made 70 off 185 balls. India was 328/8.
Mohammed Shami was next up at the crease. Shami put a price on his wicket and played some fine strokes, including a four and a six. Axar continued to guard his wicket as well. India crossed the 350-run mark in the 128th over of their innings.
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
The duo took India’s lead beyond 180 runs. Shami continued entertaining fans, smashing Murphy for two sixes in the 131st over, which also brought up the fifty-run stand for the ninth wicket. However, the debutant had the last laugh in his next over as he dismissed him for a well-made 37 off 47 balls with two fours and three six. With this, Murphy bagged his seventh wicket in the inning.
India was 380/9 in 132.4 overs and led by 203 runs.
Mohammed Siraj was the last man to arrive at the crease for India. Cummins dismissed Axar Patel for a well-made 84 off 174 balls, consisting of 10 fours and a six. India was out for 400 runs and had a lead of 223 runs heading into lunch.
Murphy had a dream spell on his debut, taking 7 wickets for 124 runs in 47 overs. Cummins got two for 78 runs in 20.3 overs. Spinner Nathan Lyon could only get one scalp for 126 runs in 49 overs. Earlier electing to bat first, Australia was bundled out for 177 runs in their first innings. Aussies were no match for Indian spinners as Labuschagne (49), Smith (37), Carey (36) and Handscomb (31) were the only ones who could score something decent and resist the Indian spin web. Jadeja took a five-wicket haul, ending with figures of 5/47. Ashwin got three scalps while Siraj and Shami took one wicket each.
India clinch massive innings win in first BGT Test against Australia; Image: BCCI Twitter
India came out to bat and top-order, except skipper Rohit Sharma failed again. KL (20) continued his frustrating show with the bat and was dismissed by debutant Murphy. Nightwatchman Ashwin scored a handy knock of 23. Pujara fell for just seven while attempting a sweep. Virat also continued his worrisome string of low scores in Tests, falling victim to spin once again. Murphy got the crucial wicket of Virat.
Debutants Suryakumar Yadav (8) and KS Bharat (8) could not touch double digits. Rohit however, kept the other end steady and scored 120 off 212 balls with 15 fours and two sixes. On a tough surface that was nightmarish for the batters, the Indian skipper put on a batting masterclass. India was reduced to 240/7 after Rohit and Bharat’s dismissals.
Jadeja and Axar then took the baton and guided India to a dominant position at the end of day two, ending at 321/7 on the second day. It gave India a 144-run lead. They kept Australia toiling hard for a wicket, made them chase the cherry all over the park and reached their respective fifties.
Ravindra Jadeja fined 25 pc of the match fee for breaching ICC Code of Conduct
Jadeja was found to have breached Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game. In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Jadeja’s disciplinary record. This was his first offence in a 24-month period.
The incident occurred during the 46th over of Australia’s first innings on Thursday, 9 February, when Jadeja was seen applying a soothing cream to his index finger. In the video footage, the left-arm spinner took a substance from Mohammed Siraj’s palm and appeared to rub this onto the index finger of his left hand.
The India team management had explained that the finger spinner was applying the cream to a swelling on the index finger of his bowling hand. This was done without asking for permission from the on-field umpires.
Jadeja admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
In reaching his decision to sanction the player along with the Level 1 sanction he imposed, the Match Referee was satisfied that the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes. The cream was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and consequently, it did not change the condition of the ball, which would have been in breach of clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions – Unfair Play – The Match Ball – Changing its Condition.
Brief Scores: India: 400 in 139.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 120, Axar Patel 84*, Todd Murphy 7/124) defeated Australia: 177 and 91 (Steve Smith 25, Marnus Labuschagne 17, Ravichandran Ashwin 5/37) by an inning and 132 runs.
The man, 48, faced Perth Magistrates Court (10 February, 2023) charged over allegations he was separated but not divorced from his first wife when he married a second woman in July 2020.
He has also been charged for allegedly making false declarations on legal documents for that second marriage and on application forms for a third marriage, which took place in late 2022.
The man allegedly declared on his application for a marriage certificate in both matters that he had ‘never validly married’ and signed a formal ‘declaration of no legal impediment to marriage’.
The AFP began investigating the bigamy allegations in late 2022 after the man’s first wife, who is based in the eastern states, contacted the second wife via social media and exposed his alleged duplicity.
Police will allege the man married his second wife in WA in July 2020 but had not told her of his previous marriage, declaring on a marriage application form that he had never been validly married.
He allegedly did not finalise his divorce from his first wife until more than one year later in September 2021.
The man allegedly separated from his second wife in September 2022 and married a third woman in November (2022).
Investigations have found the second marriage was not considered valid in Australia because the man was allegedly still legally married to his first wife.
As he had divorced his first wife before his third wedding and the second marriage was invalid, there are no allegations of bigamy in relation to the third marriage.
However the man allegedly submitted an application for a marriage certificate to the Department of Justice’s Births, Deaths and Marriages ahead of his third marriage, describing his conjugal status as ‘never validly married’ including signing a formal ‘declaration of no legal impediment to marriage’.
AFP Leading Senior Constable Kevin Loermans said allegations of deception and bigamy were serious matters. He said:
“This type of deception and offending has long-lasting and negative real life impacts on the victims and families involved and the AFP will ensure allegations like this are investigated fully.”
The man, from South Guildford, was arrested yesterday (9 February, 2023) and refused bail to face court charged with:
One count of bigamy, contrary to section 94(1) of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is five years’ imprisonment.
Two counts of giving a defective notice, contrary to section 104 of the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is six months’ imprisonment.
Many children come down with a case of the back-to-school blues as summer slips away. Having spent the holidays staying up late and having fun with friends and family, it can be a struggle to get back into a routine.
For some children, going back to school can also be daunting if they are worried about keeping up with schoolwork, friendship problems or how they might go with a new teacher and class. Nerves about returning to school can manifest in a number of ways, from irritability to tears at the school gates.
How can you cope with this routine challenge? And how do you tell if is it something more serious?
How to tackle black-to-school blues
There are a few ways you can support your child and the family as you all head back the daily routine of school.
Plan ahead together
There are lots of ways you can gently work in a new routine – from encouraging kids to pack their bag the night before, to thinking of lunchbox ideas together.
Giving your child choices and the chance to be part of the decision-making process around routines will give them a sense of ownership and independence. For example, you could negotiate bedtime for the school term.
There are other fun, simple ways you can support them through this time. For example, you could could create a music playlist for the school run, set aside a regular time after school to do something you both enjoy (like a play at the park, seeing friends or buying an ice-cream) or set up a reward system for getting homework done on time.
Chat about school
Check in regularly with your child about how they are feeling, particularly in the early weeks.
Try to do this in a way that shows that you’re interested rather than concerned. For example, keep the questions open-ended: “what happened in your day?”. And keep a positive focus: “what was the best bit of your day?”
Look after yourself
With a hundred different things to think about, many parents and carers often forget about their own needs. But it is crucial to give yourself time to recharge, and reach out for support from friends, family or a health professional if needed.
If you are calm and positive, your kids will find it easier to remain calm and positive, too.
When is it more than the blues?
Nervousness about returning to school is normal. But some children will experience a level of anxiety about going to school that causes them significant problems.
Because everybody feels worried or anxious from time to time, it can be really tough to know how to distinguish between “normal” nervousness and problematic (or clinically significant) anxiety.
There are two key ideas to keep in mind: are the feelings causing high and persistent levels of distress? Are they stopping your child from doing what they want or should be able to do?
What should I look for?
When it comes to school-related anxiety, here are some specific signs to look for:
frequently feeling physically sick (such as a tummy or headache) and unable to go to school. Anxiety causes real physical changes in our bodies, so when kids say they’re feeling sick, they’re telling the truth. It’s just they might be describing “worry sick” as opposed to “doctor sick”
becoming teary, angry or aggressive when thinking or talking about school
being uncharacteristically slow to get moving on school mornings
avoiding activities that relate to school, such as joining a sporting team, putting on their uniform or going on a play date.
Is this school refusal?
School refusal or avoidance (when a child regularly fails to attend class for some or all of the day) has anecdotally been on the increase since COVID. The Senate is currently conducting an inquiry into the issue, with a report due in March.
If you’re starting to think your child’s anxiety may be falling into the problematic zone, you are not the only one. Anxiety is the second most common mental health problem experienced by all children in Australia (among girls, it takes first place).
Without treatment, children with clinically significant anxiety don’t tend to “just grow out of it”. Anxiety (often together with ADHD), tends to be the cause of school reluctance or refusal.
Next steps
If you notice your child is struggling to get to school, it’s important to act quickly. The more time kids miss in school, the harder it becomes for them to return.
The first thing to do is work with school staff. Your child’s classroom teacher will be able to tell you if they or someone else in the school is the best person to be talking to.
If necessary, seek further support from a health professional. You can start with your GP, who may suggest a referral to a psychologist. There are also free, evidence-based programs been developed by clinical psychologists for parents of children who are experiencing anxiety.
Although it can be daunting, it is important to know you are not alone and there are interventions that can help.
If this article has raised issues for you or someone you know, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.
What happens when democracy is wedded to a select few? And, what happens when literature becomes a cultural gatekeeping exercise?
At a time, when democratic ethos is eroding and literature is controlled by marketing rules, it is time we renew our relationship with these two highly vital catalysts for life. One might oppose the idea of establishing a relationship between democracy and literature, but it is useful to think of them together since the literariness of a country is also a reflection of the healthy pulse rate of any democracy.
Both democracy and literature require a commitment to freedom, responsibility, and inclusivity. Whereas democracy provides citizens an opportunity to select their leaders with an aim to strengthen the social infrastructures, literature is a platform to engage with the world-making exercise in an unprejudiced and secular manner. Both in democracy and literature, we are accountable to each other, to society, and to the world.
This accountability, therefore, demands interpretative skills, empathy, and collective well-being. Unfortunately, the constant supply of populist narratives and our imaginative failure has brought us to a situation where thinking, engaging with others, and concern for social assets are being drawn away from us.
A good reader is expected to engage with the text carefully, in an unconditioned way; he reads between the gaps and silences, digs out the hidden meanings, and is inclined to live with the unliveable, recognizing himself in the sufferings of others, and formulating ways of emancipation.
Listening, seeing, and performing social responsibility are basic tenets of literature and democracy. However, these are exactly what democracy stoked by neoliberal ideologies dislike. It is afraid of dissent, of questions, of the common good, and of responsibility.
In literature, readers are in conversation with the text, the author, and the world, and the same is expected of our leaders in a democratic set up, engaging with citizens and listening to their woes. A text’s wrong interpretation or its bad review can often lead to the death of the author, as is the case in a democracy, where non-interpretative citizens can blur and obfuscate the democratic ethos.
As citizens, we seem to have forgotten that no democratic life is feasible without indulging in interpretation, careful reading, and interpretation. Yet, it is exactly what one witness in the present moment. Pitted against the rampant rise of social media platforms, and our inability to think, democracy and literature are losing their meanings lest we slow down and engage with the rhetorics of our leaders analytically.
A case can be made that ours is a time that suffers from symptoms of jargon and narcissism. No wonder then, that literature is always in need of good readers, and democracy of thinking citizens. As Pramod K. Nayar argues,
“if democracy is built on the negotiations of difference and plurality in order to plot a common narrative for the nation, then Literature is the domain in which both difference and plurality find their strongest articulation.”
Any democracy that evades questions can be compared to medical doctors who do not know how to check the pulse of their patients, thus proving suicidal to patients and society. For, both the doctors and leaders have a greater responsibility to save lives, protect them, heal them, and nourish them. Apparently, we seem to be living in times where such leaders can be abundantly found, even celebrated and eulogized by many colour-blinded citizens Nations cannot be so weak as to ignore other colours and voices. The idea of any nation is also an idea of the celebration of differences and pluralities.
To counter the present situation, literature and democracy must always provide contingencies to engineer our collective freedom and the subsequent cultures of rights and responsibilities. Literature needs to be freed from the clutches of market rules and maintain its democratic outlook to envision a better future. It must continue asking questions to our leaders, to elites, to marketing gimmicks, exposing their self-accumulative interests and narrow-mindedness. Neither literature nor democracy can maintain its health and purpose in the absence of questions. After all, questions are seeds of life, creativity, empowerment, and building blocks of societies as well as democracy.
That said, democracy loses its meaning if it mutes its citizens, denying their voices as well as existence. Democracies must stop putting Socratic figures and enquiries to death if they wish to escape the same fate. It is another matter that most of our leaders have shown a perennial fear of questions.
Contributing Author: Dr Om Prakash Dwivedi is Head, School of Liberal Arts, Bennett University, India. He tweets @opdwivedi82
Disclaimer: The author is solely responsible for the views expressed in this article. The opinions and facts are presented solely by him, and neither The Australia Today Newsnor its partners assume any responsibility for them.
When booking a flight, do you ever think about which seat will protect you the most in an emergency? Probably not.
Most people book seats for comfort, such as legroom, or convenience, such as easy access to toilets. Frequent flyers (this author included) might book their seat as close as possible to the front so they can disembark more quickly.
We rarely book a flight with hopes of getting one of the middle seats in the last row. Well, guess what? These seats are statistically the safest ones on an airplane.
According to the US National Safety Council’s analysis of census data, the odds of dying in a plane are about 1 in 205,552, compared with 1 in 102 in a car. Even so, we pay little attention to fatal road accidents, but when we hear about an ATR72 crashing in Nepal it’s the lead story on every news page.
Our interest in plane crashes might lie in wanting to understand why they happen, or what the odds are of them happening again. And perhaps it’s not a bad thing; our concern ensures these tragic incidents are thoroughly investigated, which helps keep air travel safe.
Frankly speaking, there is no real need to worry about safety when you board a commercial flight. But if you’ve still got that nagging question in your head, driven by sheer curiosity, read on.
In the middle, at the back
It’s worth remembering accidents by their very nature do not conform to standards. In the 1989 United Flight 232 crash in Sioux City, Iowa, 184 of the 269 people onboard survived the accident. Most of the survivors were sitting behind first class, towards the front of the plane.
Nonetheless, a TIME investigation that looked at 35 years of aircraft accident data found the middle rear seats of an aircraft had the lowest fatality rate: 28%, compared with 44% for the middle aisle seats.
This logically makes sense too. Sitting next to an exit row will always provide you with the fastest exit in the case of an emergency, granted there’s no fire on that side. But the wings of a plane store fuel, so this disqualifies the middle exit rows as the safest row option.
At the same time, being closer to the front means you’ll be impacted before those in the back, which leaves us with the last exit row. As for why the middle seats are safer than the window or aisle seats, that is, as you might expect, because of the buffer provided by having people on either side.
Some emergencies are worse than others
The type of emergency will also dictate survivability. Running into a mountain will decrease chances of survival exponentially, as was the case in a tragic 1979 disaster in New Zealand. Air New Zealand Flight TE901 crashed into the slopes of Mt Erebus in Antarctica, killing 257 passengers and crew.
Landing in the ocean nose-first also decreases chances of survival, as witnessed with the 2009 Air France Flight 447, in which 228 passengers and crew perished.
Pilots are trained to minimise potential risk in an emergency event as best as they can. They will try to avoid hitting mountains and look for a level place, such as an open field, to land as normally as possible. The technique for landing in water requires assessing the surface conditions and attempting to land between waves at a normal landing angle.
Aircraft are designed to be very robust in emergency situations. In fact, the main reason the cabin crew remind us to keep our seat belts fastened is not because of crash risk, but because of “clear air turbulence” that can be experienced at any time at high altitudes. It is this weather phenomenon that can cause the most damage to passengers and aircraft.
Manufacturers are designing new planes with more composite materials capable of handing in-flight stress. In these designs, the wings are not rigid and can flex to absorb extreme loading to prevent structural failure.
Does the type of plane make a difference?
Granted, there are certain variables, such as impact from airspeed, that can vary slightly between different airplane types. However, the physics of flight is more or less the same in all planes.
Generally, larger planes will have more structural material and therefore more strength to withstand pressurisation at altitude. This means they may provide some additional protection in an emergency – but this, again, is highly dependent on the severity of the emergency.
That’s not to say you should book your next flight on the largest plane you can find. As I’ve mentioned, air travel remains very safe. So I’d suggest thinking about what movie you’ll watch instead, and hoping they don’t run out of chicken and only have the shrimp left!
Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel helped India notch up 321 runs at the loss of seven wickets: Image Source: BCCI Twitter
Rohit Sharma’s ton and unbeaten half-centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel helped India notch up 321 runs at the loss of seven wickets at stumps on the second day of the first Test against Australia in Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday.
Resuming post Tea session at 226/5 India lost the prized wicket of captain Rohit Sharma as he was cleaned up by Aussie captain Pat Cummins for 120. India lost their sixth wicket with 229 runs on the board. Debutant KS Bharat joined Ravindra Jadeja at the crease but he was dismissed by another debutant Todd Murphy for eight and the hosts lost their seventh wicket for 240 runs. Debutant Murphy notched up his five-wicket haul.
Axar Patel then joined Jadeja at the crease and the duo took the team’s total beyond 250-run mark. Comeback man Jadeja also notched up his half-century.
The Jadeja-Patel pair helped India extend their lead beyond the 100-run mark as India took their score to 277. The duo also took their partnership beyond the 50-run mark.
India got to 300-run mark adding more pressure on Australia. Axar went on to score a half-century and India ended the day with 321 runs for 7 wickets taking a 144 run lead.
Earlier in the day, in the 32nd over of the innings, Rohit slammed Australia skipper Pat Cummins for a six on the last delivery taking India’s total beyond the 100-run mark. Scott Boland started building the pressure from his end as he conceded no run in the 38th over of the innings.
Todd Murphy then gave India a big blow as he dismissed Ashwin for 23 of 62 deliveries. The right-handed batter Cheteshwar Pujara came out to bat and slammed Murphy for an excellent four. Rohit started the 43rd over of the innings with a beautiful six through midwicket on Murphy’s delivery. Murphy continued his brilliant form as he gave another blow to India, removing Pujara for 7 in the 45th over of the game. At this point India trailed by 42 runs.
Virat Kohli came out to bat at the crease. At lunch, the duo of Virat and Rohit took the team’s total to 151 with a three-wicket loss.
At the time of Tea, India’s score read 226/5 in 80 overs with Rohit Sharma leading Team India from the front with a magnificent century while Ravindra Jadeja (34) was unbeaten at the crease. Resuming the post-lunch session at a score of 151/3, India got off to a bad start. Todd Murphy hit the deck hard and provided his team with a massive breakthrough on the first ball after the lunch break as he removed Virat Kohli for 12. Debutant Murphy bagged his fourth wicket.
The right-handed batter and debutant Suryakumar Yadav then came out to bat at the crease. Suryakumar brought out the sweep shot against Murphy to send the ball to the backward square leg region for a four. Rohit Sharma kept holding one end tight and scored boundaries regularly. Nathan Lyon then joined the wicket-taking party as he bowled a stunner to dismiss debutant
Suryakumar for 8 runs, leaving India in a vulnerable position of 168/5 in the 60th over of the game. With this wicket, Lyon brought Australia back into the game.
India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja then walked out to bat. With a solid four over the in-field, Rohit brought up his much-needed century in testing conditions in 171 deliveries. This was the 9th Test hundred for the India skipper.
The duo of Jadeja and Rohit slammed Australian bowlers all around the ground while bagging singles at regular intervals to keep India in command. The star all-rounder and India skipper stitched up the much-needed partnership of 55 off 107 deliveries in the 77th over of the game.
India’s lead started to grow gradually as Rohit and Jadeja guided India to 49 runs lead over the visitors at the time of tea.
Brief Scores: Australia: 177/10 (Marnus Labuschagne 49, Steve Smith 37; Ravindra Jadeja 5-47) vs India 321/7 (Rohit Sharma 120, Ravindra Jadeja 66*, Axar Patel 52*; Todd Murphy 5-82).
USP Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia is greeted by USP staff and student representatives at the Nadi International Airport this morning. Picture: SUPPLIED/USP MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
By GERALDINE PANAPASA
The University of the South Pacific’s vice-chancellor and president, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, received a warm welcome at the Nadi International Airport this morning, returning to Fiji two years after he and wife Sandra Price were detained and deported by the previous government for allegedly breaching certain provisions of the Immigration Act.
“We have arrived in Nadi. What a fabulous reception. USP staff, students and so many well wishers to meet us fills out hearts with joy. Beautiful singing and prayer. Thank you Fiji,” he wrote on Twitter, as the couple were received by USP deputy vice-chancellors and vice-presidents, Professor Jito Vanualailai and Dr Giulio Paunga.
We have arrived in Nadi. What a fabulous reception. USP Staff, Students and so many well wishers to meet us fills our hearts with joy. Beautiful singing and prayers. Thank you Fiji.
USP Council Secretariat representative, Totivi Bokini-Ratu, Lautoka Campus director Pramila Devi, and representatives from the USP Students Association, USP Staff Association and Association of the USP Staff were also at the airport to greet Prof Ahluwalia.
“I’m so humbled to see everyone. It is an absolute joy to be back and an opportunity for us to continue serving USP,” he said in a statement.
“The support from staff, students and regional governments has just been incredible.
“It was so beautiful to see how much our staff fought. The fight wasn’t just for me; it was for a bigger cause and I’m just a catalyst for the bigger change they wanted to see.”
USP Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia is greeted by USP staff and student representatives at the Nadi International Airport this morning. Picture: SUPPLIED/USP MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Prof Ahluwalia said the next step was to work with his senior management team to ensure they got the best out of their students and the region.
He is expected to visit the USP Pacific TAFE Centre in Namaka and Lautoka Campus today with other events and meetings scheduled for the coming week including the launch of the Alumni Relationship Management Service, and the welcoming of international students.
We’re so excited to have our Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia back in Fiji!
— The University of the South Pacific (@UniSouthPacific) February 9, 2023
Prof Ahluwalia and his wife’s controversial exile from Fiji followed months of increased tensions between USP and the previous government over allegations of financial mismanagement and corruption.
With the new Coalition Government in power after ousting the FijiFirst administration in the 2022 General Election, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has vowed to right the wrongs of the past administration, indicating in December last year that Prof Ahluwalia and Dr Padma Lal, widow of another exiled academic, the late Professor Brij Lal, were free to enter the country.
“I am ready to meet Dr Lal and Professor Ahluwalia personally. I will apologise on behalf of the people of Fiji for the way they were treated,” Mr Rabuka had said.
He said prohibition orders against Prof Ahluwalia, Dr Lal and the late Prof Lal, were unreasonable and inhumane, and ‘should never have been made’.
I am ready to meet Dr Lal and Professor Ahluwalia personally. I will apologise on behalf of the people of Fiji for the way they were treated.
Prof Ahluwalia has been working out of USP’s Samoa campus since 2021, and said he looked forward to working with the new Coalition Government to strengthen the relationship between USP and Fiji.
“As a regional institution, USP will continue to serve its island countries, particularly Fiji and work hard to shape Pacific futures,” Prof Ahluwalia had said.
Meanwhile, USP and the Fijian Government are expected to conduct a joint traditional welcome ceremony for Prof Ahluwalia, followed by a thanksgiving service at the Japan-Pacific ICT Multipurpose Theatre, Laucala campus next Tuesday.
This article was first published as “‘I’m just a catalyst for the bigger change’, says USP vice-chancellor as he returns to Fiji” in Wansolwara News. Republished here with their kind permission.
The Hindu Council of Australia (HCA) is organising religious prayers and performing a celestial wedding of a deity which has come from the state of Telengana in India to Sydney.
A similar event was organised by the HCA in 2018 as part of Deepavali celebrations and marking the 20th year of the Hindu Council. Now, the HCA is celebrating its 25th year and they are kicking off the celebrations with a Celestial Wedding.
Yadagirigutta Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy utsava deities have arrived in Sydney, Australia along with the temple priests for the very first time.
The Yadagirigutta Temple, from where the deities have arrived, is situated on a hillock in Telangana’s Nalgonda district . It witnesses a heavy rush of devotees (estimated 5000-8000 pilgrims on an average each day) offering their vows, performing pujas, kalyanam, abhishekam etc. while the crowd grows substantially during weekends, holidays and festivals.
There are several legends associated with this temple. It is believed that in Treta Yuga, there was a sage called Yadarishi, who performed penance inside a cave with Anjaneya’s blessings. Pleased with his devotion Lord Narasimha reportedly appeared before him in five different forms namely Sri Jwala Narasimha , Sri Gandabherunda, Sri Yogananda, Sri Ugra and Sri Lakshminarasimha which later manifested into finely sculpted forms and hence it is worshipped as Pancha Narasimha Kshetram.
The temple also has a ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ on its gopuram which can be seen from a distance.
Australian Telangana Forum along with collaboration and support with HCA and organisations like JET Sydney chapter and many others based in Sydney is organising “Kalyana Mahotsavam” i.e. Celestial Wedding of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy.
For those who want to take part in these divine celebrations and get blessed by Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, the event is happening on Saturday, 11th February 2023 at the Whitlam Leisure Centre, 90 Memorial Avenue Liverpool, NSW 2170.
Image: Vedant Sawant (Photo by WinkiPoP Media; Supplied)
Gymnastics Australia has just announced that Indian-Australian athlete Vedant Sawant from Queensland has been selected for the Artistic World Cups – Cottbus, Doha and Baku.
In 2021, Vedant was in a position to be an all-around national champion at the coming Australian Gymnastics Championships. However, on 10th March 2021, Vedant’s feet hit the Horizontal bar while he was individually performing a double layout dismount. Soon, his right foot swelled up and there was concern it could have been broken.
The specialist said that Vedant would have to undergo surgery where bone from his pelvis will be taken and placed into the navicular and held by a screw.
Image: Vedant Sawant (Photo by WinkiPoP Media; Supplied)Image: Vedant Sawant (Photo by WinkiPoP Media; Supplied)
Vedant was still persistent to compete at the upcoming National Championships and convinced the specialist to allow for just 1 singular landing on the day of comp on the Pommel Horse.
At nationals, Vedant won the Pommel Horse scoring 13.850 on Day 1. And winning by 1.950 and scoring 13.8 on Day 2. Winning by 1 full mark. He also placed third on Rings scoring 11.8 without a dismount.
Vedant then had surgery on the 27th of May 2021. He told The Australia Today:
“The hardest thing was the first 47 days after my second surgery on my foot. Because of the bone infection, I had to have a bottle of antibiotics going into my arm for that period of time for which I was made to just stay in bed.”
Vedant Sawant (Image: Supplied)
Vedant says his long-term goal is to achieve the highest level in gymnastics. He adds:
“I want to produce the highest level of gymnastics I can possibly produce. That goal is never ending and that is the beauty of it … because no matter how good I get I can always be better. Which means I always get to keep working. And I enjoy that work.”
Listen to Vedant Sawant’s exclusive conversation with Dr Amit Sarwal about his inspiring journey in Australian gymnastics.
Representative image: Underpaid (Source: Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety and CANVA)
Seven subsidiaries of Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety Pty Ltd (WIS) will back-pay more than $4.8 million to more than 3,400 underpaid employees nationally and have signed an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
J. Blackwood & Son Pty Ltd, Protector Alsafe Pty Ltd, Bullivants Pty Limited, The Workwear Group Pty Ltd, Coregas Pty Ltd, Blacksmith Jacks Pty Ltd and Lawvale Pty Ltd are the seven WIS entities which form a group of three main businesses engaging workers nationwide.
Between them, the main businesses supply industrial and safety products and services, work clothing and uniforms, industrial gases and installations, and environmental and consulting services.
WIS reported underpayment issues by the WIS entities and two now former subsidiaries of WIS, Greencap Pty Ltd and Trimevac Pty Ltd, to the Fair Work Ombudsman in October 2019 after finding anomalies while implementing a new payroll system across the corporate group.
A broader review found that because of payroll system errors adopted by WIS in the course of its acquisition of various employing entities in 2013 and 2014 which it failed to correct, more than 3,400 current and former full-time, part-time and casual employees had been underpaid by the WIS entities and former WIS entities between January 2010 and June 2020.
Entitlements underpaid included base and overtime penalty rates; annual leave and casual loadings; laundry, first aid and vehicle allowance or kilometre reimbursements; and termination payments. These entitlements were owed under 59 industrial instruments applying to various WIS entities and former WIS entities.
The seven WIS entities and two former WIS entities underpaid the employees $4,836,036, plus $246,779 in superannuation, in that period of more than a decade. The EU requires the WIS entities to back-pay all known underpayments and superannuation, plus total interest of $1,476,827, by February 2023.
Individual underpayments were up to $38,362 and the average underpayment was $1,392.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said an EU was appropriate as the WIS entities had demonstrated a firm commitment to rectifying all underpayments and changing their practices.
“Under the Enforceable Undertaking, the WIS entities have committed to implementing stringent measures to improve compliance and protect the rights of its workforce. These measures include commissioning, at the companies’ own cost, independent annual audits to check their compliance with workplace laws during the next two years,” Ms Parker said.
“This matter demonstrates how important it is for employers to identify and fix non-compliance in their processes, including the continued use of out-of-date and unsupported software systems and the incorrect interpretation and creation of pay rules.”
“Businesses who fail to invest the time and resources to ensure they are meeting all lawful entitlements risk facing large-scale back-payment bills.”
Underpaid employees worked in locations including Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Mackay, Canberra, Perth and Darwin. They worked in a range of roles including retail and customer service; manufacturing; clothing and textiles; engineering; management; laboratory technology; transport and logistics.
Under the EU, the WIS entities must make a $100,000 contrition payment to the Commonwealth’s Consolidated Revenue Fund. Factors involved in determining the contrition payment include the companies’ payment of remediation entitlements outside the statutory limitation periods as well as their co-operation to rectify the breaches and ensure future compliance.
The companies must also display notices that apologise for the contraventions across their Facebook pages, public websites and intranets. Additionally, the companies must ensure all relevant staff have the right training regarding workplace entitlements; run a hotline for employees; and give free taxation and financial advisory services to affected workers.
Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94.
Australia Vs India First Test Match; IMage Source: BCCI Twitter
After Ravindra Jadeja’s five-wicket haul helped India bundled out Australia for 177, captain Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 56 put the hosts in a dominant position against visitors at the end of Day 1 in the first Test match of Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium here on Thursday.
India’s score read 77/1 at stumps on Day 1, with Rohit Sharma (56) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0) unbeaten at the crease. The hosts still trail by 100 runs. Resuming the day after the tea break, Indian bowlers wreaked havoc on the Australian batters as Jadeja bagged five wickets haul while Ravichandran Ashwin scalped three wickets to bundle out visitors for 177.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma made a statement to begin his side’s innings with a boundary on the bowling of Australia captain Pat Cummins, before hitting another two fours in the over and giving the strike to KL Rahul. 13 runs came off the first over.
The duo of Rohit and Rahul gave India a solid start as the India captain slammed Australian bowlers for quick boundaries at regular intervals.
Rohit looked in ominous touch as he ended Nathan Lyon’s over with a four. On the final ball of the 14th over, Sharma charged Lyon and smacked him for six.
India kept picking up the loose balls to keep Australian bowlers under pressure. After having trouble scoring earlier on, Rahul also picked up the pace to gather runs at regular intervals. The Indian duo also brought up their 50-run partnership in the 16th over of the game.
After a sublime four off Lyon’s delivery, Rohit brought up his half-century in 66 balls. Rohit was on the front foot from the start and followed his 50 with another boundary.
In the 23rd over, Todd Murphy provided Australia with a breakthrough as he broke the partnership of 76 runs in 138 balls between Rohit and Rahul. Murphy managed to make a ball grip and turn with Rahul only able to paddle it back to him for an easy catch. Rahul went back to the pavilion after scoring 20 runs from 71 balls.
Ashwin was promoted to bat at number three and walked out as the nightwatchman with 7 balls left in the day.
Earlier in the day, Opting to bat first, Australia was off to a terrible start as the Indian pace duo of Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami dismissed openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner for one run each. Khawaja was trapped lbw, while Shami sent Warner’s off-stump cartwheeling to reduce Australia to 2/2 in 2.1 overs.
The #MenInBlue make early inroads with the red cherry in hand, putting pressure on the Aussies.
Following this, Steve Smith and world number one ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne staged a fightback, braving raging Indian bowlers one ball at a time. Labuschagne looked extremely confident from ball one while Smith took some time to settle in.
Resuming the second session at 76/2, Ravindra Jadeja’s back-to-back strikes after lunch dented Australia’s progress.
Jadeja did not waste any time as he struck soon after lunch, and KS Bharat got his first stumping in Test cricket. Ravindra Jadeja bagged back-to-back wickets as he removed Marnus Labuschagne, the Australia batter fell one run short of his 15th Test fifty. Matt Renshaw then fell prey to Jadeja as he was trapped by a duck.
However, Steve Smith kept on scoring runs at a brisk pace. Smith slammed Axar Patel for 12 runs featuring three beautiful fours.
Jadeja then delivered a stunner straight ball and rattled through Smith’s stumps, claiming his third wicket of the match. Smith went back to the pavilion after scoring 37 runs in 107 deliveries, leaving Australia tottering at 109/5.
The left-handed batter Alex Carey then came out to bat. Carey opened his account with two fours off Ravichandran Ashwin’s deliveries.
The duo of Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey then held the fort and charged at Indian bowlers at regular intervals for boundaries.
Carey slammed Mohammed Siraj for two fours in the 50th over, both of them with cover drives from outside the off-stump. Carey also brought up the 50-run partnership with Peter Handscomb in the 50th over. Carey continued to play drives and reverse sweeps as he worked up to 36 runs, and Handscomb remained stoic at the other end.
The veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin provided the answer India needed when he broke through Carey’s line of defence to strike the stumps for his 450th Test wicket.
The right-handed batter and Australia captain Pat Cummins then came out to bat at the crease. Jadeja nearly stumped Handscomb with a ripping spin delivery that went past the bat in one over, but Handscomb was able to escape both times.
That 𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 when @imjadeja let one through Steve Smith's defence!
Ashwin once again demonstrated his ability to win games by tricking Cummins into edging the ball to Kohli at slip. Kohli missed a couple at slip but made no mistake this time and caught Cummins’ edge at the slip. Indian bowlers’ dominating performance left Australia stuttering at 172/7 in the 58th over of the game.
Jadeja bagged his fourth wicket of the match and India’s 8th as he dismisses batter Todd Murphy for a duck.
At the tea break, Australia’s score read 174/8, with Peter Handscomb (29) and Nathan Lyon (0) unbeaten at the crease.
Jadeja celebrated his comeback to Test cricket after a five-month layoff with five wickets against Australia.
Vaughan, Australian media accuse Jadeja of ball tampering
But the left-arm spinner’s comeback was marred by controversy after allegations of ball tampering against him.
In the 46th over Australia were 120/5 with Alex Carey and Peter Handscomb batting at the crease when Jadeja took the ball in his hand.
It was seen that he had a small interaction with pacer Mohammed Siraj and also took some ointment or vaseline kind of thing from him. The all-rounder was seen rubbing that thing on his finger.
The Australian media sensed that Jadeja was rubbing the ball with it whereas Tim Paine and Michael Vaughan alleged the Indian Cricket Team of wrong-doing.
“What is it he is putting on his spinning finger ? Never ever seen this … #INDvsAUS,”
tweeted former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine was among those to take note of what Jadeja was doing ahead of one of his overs.
Team 36 in action #bgt one player giving grippo to the bowler and him rubbing it all over his spinning finger to me. Thoughts?#INDvsAUSpic.twitter.com/yLywbT5ucs
“Interesting.” A debate has erupted after a vision of a questionable moment was spotted during the first innings of the first Test between Australia and India. #INDvAUS,”
tweeted Fox Cricket.
Jadeja’s superlative performance of 5/47 helped India bowl out Australia for a paltry 177. Ravichandran Ashwin too scalped three wickets while Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami took one wicket each. In reply, Indian batters scored 77/1 going into stumps on Day-1, trailing Australia by 100 runs with nine wickets in hand.
Representative image: social media users (Source: CANVA)
By Divna Haslam and Sabine Baker
Have you ever found yourself scrolling through social media and noticed you felt a bit down? Maybe a little envious? Why aren’t you on a yacht? Running a startup? Looking amazing 24/7?
The good news is you are not alone. Although social media has some benefits, it can also make us feel a little depressed.
Why does social media make us feel bad?
As humans we inherently compare ourselves to others to determine our self-worth. Psychologists call this social comparison theory.
We primarily make two types of comparisons: upward and downward comparisons.
Upward comparisons occur when we compare ourselves to someone else (in real life or on social media) and feel they are better than us (an unfavourable comparison for us) in whatever domain we are assessing (such as status, beauty, abilities, success, and so on).
For example, comparing your day at work to your friend’s post from the ski fields (we’re looking at you Dave!) is likely to be an upward comparison. Another example is making appearance comparisons which can make you feel worse about yourself or your looks .
Although upward comparison can sometimes motivate you to do better, this depends on the change being achievable and on your esteem. Research suggests upward comparisons may be particularly damaging if you have low self-esteem.
In contrast, downward comparisons occur when we view ourselves more favourably than the other person – for example, by comparing yourself to someone less fortunate. Downward comparisons make us feel better about ourselves but are rare in social media because people don’t tend to post about the mundane realities of life.
Comparisons in social media
Social media showcases the best of people’s lives. It presents a carefully curated version of reality and presents it as fact. Sometimes, as with influencers, this is intentional but often it is unconscious bias. We are just naturally more likely to post when we are happy, on holiday or to share successes – and even then we choose the best version to share.
When we compare ourselves to what we see on social media, we typically make upward comparisons which make us feel worse. We compare ourselves on an average day to others on their best day. In fact, it’s not even their best day. It’s often a perfectly curated, photoshopped, produced, filter-applied moment. It’s not a fair comparison.
That’s not to say social media is all bad. It can help people feel supported, connected, and get information. So don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Instead, keep your social media use in check with these tips.
Concrete ways you can make yourself feel better about social media
Monitor your reactions. If social media is enjoyable, you may not need to change anything – but if it’s making you exhausted, depressed or anxious, or you are losing time to mindless scrolling, it’s time for change.
Avoid comparisons. Remind yourself that comparing your reality with a selected moment on social media is an unrealistic benchmark. This is especially the case with high-profile accounts who are paid to create perfect content.
Be selective. If you must compare, search for downward comparisons (with those who are worse off) or more equal comparisons to help you feel better. This might include unfollowing celebrities, focusing on real posts by friends, or using reality focused platforms like BeReal.
Redefine success. Influencers and celebrities make luxury seem like the norm. Most people don’t live in pristine homes and sip barista-made coffee in white sheets looking perfect. Consider what real success means to you and measure yourself against that instead.
Practise gratitude. Remind yourself of things that are great in your life, and celebrate your accomplishments (big and small!). Create a “happy me” folder of your favourite life moments, pics with friends, and great pictures of yourself, and look at this if you find yourself falling into the comparison trap.
Unplug. If needed, take a break, or cut down. Avoid mindless scrolling by moving tempting apps to the last page of your phone or use in-built focus features on your device. Alternatively, use an app to temporarily block yourself from social media.
Engage in real life. Sometimes social media makes people notice what is missing in their own lives, which can encourage growth. Get out with friends, start a new hobby, embrace life away from the screen.
Be the change. Avoid only sharing the picture-perfect version of your life and share (in a safe setting) your real life. You’d be surprised how this will resonate with others. This will help you and them feel better.
Seek help. If you are feeling depressed or anxious over a period of time, get support. Talk to your friends, family or a GP about how you are feeling. Alternatively contact one of the support lines like Lifeline, Kids Helpline, or 13Yarn.
Dr Asha Chand has been awarded the Nav Rattan (Nine Jewels) of India award on the eve of the country’s Republic Day (January 26, 2023) celebrations.
Every year, this award is given to nine Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to honour their work in making a difference to the world.
Dr Chand is presently Associate Dean International in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts at the University of Western Sydney (UWS).
She told The Australia Today:
“My recognition was for journalism, education, service to community and the diaspora.”
Dr Asha Chand (Image: Supplied)
She adds:
“I pay tribute to the hundreds of students whom I have had the opportunity to share my wisdom with as a teacher, and who are now working in local communities, for the NGOs, governments, corporate world, and as journalists and influencers in Australia and across the globe, carrying the baton of change for a better world.”
Dr Chand, originally from Fiji, began her career as a journalist for Fiji Sun and The Fiji Times. She migrated to Australia in 1998 and joined Western Sydney University’s journalism program in 2003.
She has more than 35 years of combined industry experience in academia, journalism and newsroom management, and international relationship management in the higher education sector.
She says:
“Western Sydney University gave me a chance when I arrived in Sydney, Australia, with a Permanent Residency (status) 25 years ago. I took that opportunity to prove my capabilities as a journalist, and later worked towards developing my skills as an educator. The abundance of UNLIMITED at WSU has kept me growing and learning.”
In 2018, she was recognised for her journalism and research at the House of Commons in London with the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman award. This was followed in 2019 by Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) award on the eve of India’s Republic Day in Delhi.
Listen to Dr Asha Chand’s exclusive conversation with Dr Amit Sarwal.
'Hire Her': Campaign to give chance to migrant and refugee women: Image Source: Supplied
To celebrate the organisation’s 10th anniversary, the SisterWorks ‘HireHer: Migrant and Refugee Women’ campaign kicks off on 31 January 2022 with the launch of its 2023 Yarra Trams Community Partnerships Program sponsored tram.
SisterWorks CEO Ifrin Fittock said:
‘Our vision is that migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women, our Sisters, are economically empowered and can fully participate in the Australian workforce’.
‘We seek partners and pathways to employ our Sisters and support our training programs and are excited that our Yarra Trams campaign can help advocate for and help remove barriers in hiring migrants and refugees.’
SisterWorks provides training and coaching, on-the-job experience, and professional support to ensure that vulnerable women have the best advantages to become gainfully employed. To that end, SistersWorks campaign artwork was licensed from one of our Entrepreneur Sisters, Camila Paz, and features products made by five other Sisters in its Entrepreneurship and Business Mentor Program.
‘Hire Her’: Campaign to give chance to migrant and refugee women: Image Source: Supplied
The Hire Her campaign seeks to broaden awareness of SisterWorks as a not-for-profit social enterprise and highlight its mission to enable migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking to have the opportunity to be confident, independent and learn new social and vocational skills to improve their economic outlook.
This four-month, public campaign is made possible through the Yarra Trams Community Partnership Program which provides in-kind advertising annually to community organisations committed to creating a more sustainable and equitable Melbourne.
Yarra Trams’ Acting CEO Adele McCarthy also celebrated the partnership, saying, ‘I’m incredibly proud to have SisterWorks as one of Yarra Trams’ community partners for 2023.
Keolis Downer is proud to have been operating Melbourne’s iconic tram network since 2009, and from the outset has been committed to contributing to our community, including supporting organisations that make Melbourne a more inclusive and welcoming city. SisterWorks is a stand-out organisation achieving this, and I can’t wait to work with them on their Hire Her campaign.’
In 2023, SisterWorks is celebrating its 10th anniversary and over those ten years has assisted more than 2,000 migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women from 102 countries. The women have worked with SisterWorks programs to build their confidence, well-being and economic independence. To learn more about SisterWorks vocational programs and its social enterprise Crafted Culture, visit sisterworks.org.au.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has for the first time commenced a legal action against a franchisor alleging that as a “responsible franchisor entity” it is legally liable for alleged contraventions by its franchisees, including underpayments of workers.
Facing the Federal Court is 85 Degrees Coffee Australia Pty Ltd (‘85 Degrees’), the head franchisor of the ‘85°C Daily Café’ brand that operates outlets across NSW and the ACT.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that 85 Degrees was liable as a “responsible franchisor entity” under the Fair Work Act for alleged non-compliance by eight 85°C Daily Café franchisee-operated outlets in Sydney in 2019.
The FWO alleges that while 85 Degrees did not directly underpay nine workers a total of $32,321, it is legally liable for the alleged underpayment contraventions because it should reasonably have known its franchisees would underpay the workers or commit similar contraventions.
It is alleged that 85 Degrees is also legally liable for record-keeping and pay slip contraventions that allegedly occurred across the relevant franchisee outlets and affected 20 workers (including the nine allegedly underpaid).
The FWO now alleges that 85 Degrees’ knowledge of compliance issues as a result of the Enforceable Undertaking and subsequent audits, its knowledge of its franchisees’ financial circumstances, and its knowledge that the franchisees had limited English and limited awareness of workplace laws, is also relevant to its liability.
The 20 affected workers in Sydney – who were engaged in cashier, baker and kitchenhand positions – included a number of young workers and visa holders.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the litigation highlighted that franchisors could be held accountable if they did not take action to prevent breaches in their networks.
“Under federal law, where franchisors operating in Australia do not take reasonable steps to prevent contraventions by their franchise outlets, we will act,” Ms Parker said.
“In this case we allege 85 Degrees – who had been on notice for many years about compliance issues – should reasonably have known some of its franchisees would underpay their workers and breach record-keeping and pay slip requirements.”
“We also prioritise protection of vulnerable workers. Any workers with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us,” Ms Parker said.
This legal action follows 85 Degrees being penalised $475,200 in court last year for exploiting young Taiwanese students in Sydney under the guise of a purported internship arrangement in 2016 and 2017. That case related to 85 Degrees’ direct employees who worked at factories and cafes operated by 85 Degrees in Sydney.
The Fair Work Ombudsman discovered the latest alleged underpayments and pay slip and record-keeping breaches when it conducted proactive audits.
It is alleged the nine of the affected workers were underpaid minimum rates; overtime entitlements; penalty rates for weekend, public holiday and evening work; casual loadings; and a laundry allowance under the General Retail Award 2010; and annual leave entitlements under the National Employment Standards, between 1 January and 31 December 2019.
The FWO also alleges that pay frequency laws were breached and that one worker was not paid a penalty rate payable when workers do not receive an adequate break between shifts.
Alleged individual underpayments range from $239 to $15,198.
The alleged record-keeping contraventions include an allegation that time records were falsified.
The alleged contraventions occurred in relation to workers at the 85°C Daily Café franchisee outlets in Parramatta, Castle Hill, Hurstville, Campsie, Chatswood, Burwood, Eastwood and Chippendale.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that 85 Degrees is liable for each of the alleged franchisee contraventions.
The individual franchisees back-paid the workers in full as a result of the FWO’s proactive audit and the Fair Work Ombudsman has not taken court action against the franchisees.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is seeking penalties against 85 Degrees Coffee Australia Pty Ltd in relation to multiple contraventions of the Fair Work Act. The company faces penalties of up to $63,000 per contravention.
The first directions hearing in the Federal Court in Sydney is still to be scheduled.
Knee-deep in seawater a few metres away from the shore, Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon Kofe, gave an emotional and gripping speech in his address to COP26, with the hopes of drawing the world’s attention to the suffering of his people and other Pacific Island nations.
It felt like a scene straight out of a futuristic, post-apocalyptic movie, yet it is the cold reality that island nations such as Tuvalu are currently grappling with.
Mr Kofe emphasised:
“We must take bold, alternative action today to secure tomorrow.”
Of course, this is not the first time Pacific Island nations have voiced their concerns about climate change. Leaders of these vulnerable islands have been advocating for and making bold progress for years, in hopes of giving their nations a better chance of survival in the face of rising temperatures and sea levels.
Tuvalu’s foreign minister giving his speech to COP26 while half-submerged in water (Photograph: Tuvalu Foreign Ministry)
The story of Tuvalu is a bleak one.
With a population of just 12,000 people, this island nation is predicted to be uninhabitable by the end of this century – that is less than 80 years from now. Faced with such a devastating outlook, Tuvalu has made dramatic efforts to ensure the preservation of its culture, natural beauty, and way of living by becoming the first nation in the world to exist in the metaverse.
But if the rest of the world continues to watch and make minimal progress in reducing global warming, we can expect more countries to follow Tuvalu into the metaverse, a space to keep culture and tradition alive in the worst-case scenario.
For Vanuatu, another island state in the Paicifc, it is a similar story.
With over 80 small islands to its name and with a GDP per capita of roughly 3000 USD, it was given the title of “Most at risk of natural disasters” by the UN in 2020, a fate that seemed to lock Vanuatu in a tragic and hopeless future.
But despite having limited resources and constantly being battered by extreme weather events, it may be surprising to learn that Pacific Island countries are making substantial progress toward a future where they can save their homes.
Tuvalu has made a breakthrough discovery in mitigating extreme weather events; using state-of-the-art technology, it can survey its numerous smaller islands to collect data on land height, which is hoped to bring clarity to the issue of sea-level rise.
In the case of Vanuatu, not only has the nation converted to being carbon-negative, but it has also pledged to phase out all fossil fuels to operate the economy using 100% renewable energy by 2030. What’s more, it is one of the first developing nations to produce a comprehensive plan to address the issue of “loss and damage” and provide thorough detail on how the costs are calculated. Vanuatu is also taking the lead in a global engagement with UN seeking International Court of Justice advice on the legal obligations to tackle the climate crisis.
Vanuatu’s ambitious goals and bold steps demonstrate the resilience and proactiveness of the country’s institutions and leadership, a trait shared by many other island nations in the region.
Fiji, for example, has turned towards innovative, nature-based solutions to tackle climate change.
From restoring mangrove swamps to building natural seawalls, nature-based solutions will not only help communities but also the environment. This is all part of Fiji’s ambitious Climate Change Act that came into action in 2021, which highlighted the importance of harnessing the power of nature to create climate solutions, rather than constructing artificial infrastructure.
Pacific Island countries have proven time and time again that they are willing to fight for their homeland. But tackling climate change is a global effort, and any actions these individual nations take, no matter how ambitious and progressive, will not be enough if the rest of the world is not ready to back them up.
In fact, for the rest of world, particularly the developed world, it is not just backing up such smaller island states, but taking moral responsibility for the losses and damages through climate change.
A simple question puzzles me as I wrap up this Letter: if small countries on the brink of disappearing are able to achieve such substantial positive progress with limited resources, why are we still accepting lackluster and subpar climate policies from wealthy nations, especially when they are the most responsible for global warming?
We can keep debating who should do what, but what is worrying is that we are crossing the tipping point to reverse the effects of climate change. It is time that developed nations take moral responsibility and take urgent action to help those who are most vulnerable to climate change.
By Adam Guastella, Kelsie Boulton, and Natalie Silove
With childcare and schools starting the new year, parents might be anxiously wondering how their child will adapt in a new learning environment. Some parents may be concerned about their child’s development or that they need specialised support.
One in five children have a developmental vulnerability when they start school. And one in ten will meet criteria for a neurodevelopmental condition, such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Getting the right assessment can be surprisingly difficult. But there are ways you can get the most out of the process.
Reasons for concern
Research shows a lack of support and poor educational environments can contribute to long term disadvantage for children.
Yet it can take many years to get an assessment. We recently found that, for more than 900 children attending a public developmental assessment service in Sydney, the average wait time from when parents first noticed concerns to receiving an assessment was 3.5 years.
There are some common things caregivers notice that prompt them to consider assessment:
slowness to talk, missing communication milestones or odd ways of talking, such as repetitive phrases
a preference for solitary or repetitive play (like lining objects up repeatedly). Difficulties with reciprocal and imaginative play, eye contact and use of gestures
slowness to walk, uncoordinated movements, repetitive hand gestures or body movements, excessive tip toe walking
trouble maintaining attention (other than for special interests), excessive irritability or hyperactivity
difficulties with learning or taking on new information
If you are concerned, the first step is to speak to an early childhood nurse or general practitioner about your concerns. They may refer your child for a hearing and vision test first. A developmental specialist is usually next, such as a paediatrician, psychologist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, or social worker.
What assessment is not
Assessment is not about identifying something that is wrong with your child, but determining what supports might be needed to help them reach their potential.
Children might have a specific delay that will respond to a specific intervention. A smaller proportion of children may have a more complex developmental condition requiring comprehensive assessment and management. Some common neurodevelopmental needs are addressed by national guidelines for assessment and support for ADHD and autism. They can be helpful for caregivers, educators and clinicians to understand evidence-based practices.
That’s why multidisciplinary assessment teams, consisting of professionals with different expertise, are often recommended. In the private sector, families may need to navigate several costly specialist appointments. Multidisciplinary assessment teams in the public sector can coordinate assessment in a matter of days, but waiting lists are long.
How to prepare for assessment
Caregivers know their children best and your input during the assessment is crucial. Bring school reports or doctor referrals to help the service understand your child better.
In the days before assessment, complete any questionnaires and explain what’s happening so your child knows what to expect. Some services have resources for this, including pictures and videos.
On the day, let the service know if your child is behaving very differently to usual or is stressed about any recent social or family changes.
Let the service know if there is a favourite activity for your child to play or whether there are any triggers that may cause them distress or to run away. Bring a favourite toy, snacks or activity with you if that helps make your child feel comfortable.
Once the assessment is complete, you will be given a clinical report of outcomes. In our recent study we evaluated 85 reports from one developmental assessment service. We found the report could not easily address all of the child’s needs. We also found reports were often too complex for many caregivers to understand and they would likely need further explanation and guidance.
While reports focused on developmental needs (speech, diagnosis, motor and cognitive development), they were less likely to investigate challenging behaviours, mental health concerns or broader family needs. So it is very important you understand what further assessment might be needed after this process.
How to get the most out of assessment
discuss your child’s support needs with the service and make notes about these conversations
don’t be afraid to ask questions and check how to ask follow up questions of the service. Better understanding will increase the likelihood your child will benefit
ask if a repeat assessment is required and when
communicate reports to any key professionals involved in your child’s care. Discussions between assessors and learning support teams in schools are particularly encouraged and should focus on practical supports for your child as they grow
follow up with your health professional or service to ensure recommendations are being implemented.
The disconnect between assessment and support
A frequent frustration for parents is the disjointed relationship between assessment and support. After waiting years to receive a developmental assessment, families are often left waiting years longer for services to support child needs.
Access must be improved, particularly for families from disadvantaged backgrounds who are more reliant on public services. Our research shows that these families who need the support, with lowest education and financial resources, are waiting the longest to get what their child needs.
Two years ago, the Mental Health Commission recommended the establishment of regional and urban hubs where families could get developmental, medical and mental health assessments completed in one place. A small number of hubs will be announced soon. Unless these are linked to immediate support and interventions, however, we will continue to see longer wait lists and frustration for families.
The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions to this article by Angela Papanicolaou, who is a researcher and senior social worker within the Child Development Unit, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.
McDonald’s Australia (Macca’s) has launched a new Valentine’s Day McNugget box with a message in Hindi (मुझे तुमसे प्यार है) and Punjabi (ਮੈਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਪਿਆਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ).
As per reports, this limited-edition Chicken McNugget box will feature the word “I love you” written around the outside of the box in the top 10 languages spoken in Australia based on ABS Census Data 2021.
The box will have a message in English, Hindi, Punjabi, Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Italian, Filipino/Tagalog, Spanish, and Greek.
It will also feature heart-shaped pop-up handles to celebrate the day of love.
(Picture: McDonald’s)
McDonald’s Australia senior brand manager Maxine Netrayana said in a statement:
“We’re all about sharing the love with our 10-piece Chicken McNuggets box this Valentine’s Day. Because everyone has their own way of saying ‘I love you,’ we’ve said it in 10 different languages on the box to reflect the many different backgrounds of our customers and crew. It’s the perfect way to treat yourself or spread a little love this Valentine’s Day, whether it’s with your mates, family or someone special.”
This special 10-piece McNugget box and will be available for only a limited time until February 14.
Representative image: Women of color (Source: CANVA)
The Andrews Labor Government is helping more women of colour to reach their leadership aspirations, thanks to a new program.
Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins today encouraged culturally diverse women across the state to apply for the Women of Colour Executive Leadership Program.
Minister Hutchins said in a statement:
“Our record on gender equality leads the nation, and I encourage all culturally diverse women from across the stateto apply for this Women of Colour Executive Leadership program.”
The program will support 20 diverse women – including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women – to upskill and navigate the distinct barriers that women of colour face in advancing their careers through workshops, mentoring and coaching over seven months.
It will also help women to complete an individual strategic challenge project and improve their board capabilities.
The Labor Government is investing $1 million in leadership programs for women – with the Women of Colour Executive Leadership Program one of four initiatives announced in 2022 to help women gain leadership roles and build-more inclusive workplaces.
The program is the first leadership program of its kind in Australia – designed by Women of Colour Australia, with an advisory group of Women of Colour leaders including First Nations leaders from Women’s Business.
Under the program, workplaces of the participants will also contribute a one-off $10,000 co-payment to help identify ways they can strengthen diversity in the workplace and be more inclusive.
Barriers to women’s leadership are not about lack of ability but the systemic issues – including workplace racial discrimination – that limit women’s leadership progression.
Minister Hutchins added:
“Diverse women are ready to lead, they are capable and ambitious. This program presents a real opportunity for businesses to do more than just talk about supporting diversity and inclusion, it’s an opportunity to show it.”
In June 2021, Women of Colour Australia released the findings of its ‘Women of Colour in the Australian Workplace’ survey, which looked at what was needed to improve women’s experiences in workplaces and boardrooms.
The survey respondents included 543 women – of which seven per cent identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and named having access to executive leadership programs as a key priority to advancing their career.
Applications to join the program are now open until 28 February 2023. The program will run from May.
The AFP is working with a global taskforce that will take rapid and coordinated action against criminals financially sextorting youth.
On Safer Internet Day, the AFP is warning parents and teenagers to be aware of the growing threat of sextortion, which has led to some young people in Australia and other countries self-harming.
The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) is an alliance of 15 international law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and New Zealand Police.
Victims believe they are sending explicit images or videos of themselves to a person their own age. However, often they are being tricked by adult offenders, who demand money in return for the images not being released to friends, family or online.
The AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) recently reported a 100-fold increase in reports of financial sextortion followed by a further 60 per cent surge during the summer school holidays.
Police fear the true number of victims in Australia is much higher with conservative estimates indicating that fewer than a quarter of minors report to police.
Law enforcement agencies globally have reported a similar surge in cases, leading to the joint warning and effort to counter the new online child exploitation threat.
AFP Acting Commander of the ACCCE Detective Jayne Crossling said organised offshore criminal syndicates were continuing to monetise the sexual exploitation of Australian teenagers.
“Our intelligence suggests this threat will be ongoing, which goes to the importance of the international partnerships to disrupt, deter and take action against these offenders,” acting Commander Crossling said.
“The online sexual exploitation of anyone aged under 18 is a criminal offence and in Australia this crime should be reported to the ACCCE at accce.gov.au.”
Acting Commander Crossling said current reporting indicated offenders were predominantly targeting teenage boys aged 13-17 years old and often there were multiple victims within the same online friends group.
“Offenders are becoming more aggressive in their approaches and they are manipulative in making victims feel isolated, with no way out of the situation,” she said.
“Fear, coercion and manipulation keep the crime going.
“Victims often report feeling like they have done something wrong and will be punished by parents or carers, or prosecuted by police if their actions are discovered.
“The ACCCE is here to protect children from online child sexual exploitation. Please know that if you have been targeted, you are a victim and won’t be criticised or blamed. Our specialist investigators will make sure you get the help you need.
“If this has happened to you, it’s likely happening to your friends. By speaking up, we can help you, and we can help to prevent further harm to people you know.”
VGT Chair, Director General NCA, Robert Jones said the taskforce enabled global law enforcement to share expertise, boosting their ability to take rapid coordinated action against emerging global trends such as the rising threat of financial sextortion.
“As Chair, I am determined to maximise every opportunity afforded by the VGT to help us to continue to bear down on the threat, protect children and target offenders,” Mr Jones said.
“The most important reminder for Safer Internet Day is to continue having open conversations about online safety within our communities and especially with the young people in our lives.
“Thankfully there is an arsenal of preventative tools available globally to support caregivers, professionals and young people.”
The AFP-led ACCCE and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.
In response to financial sextortion, the ACCCE recommends
The AFP is aware that criminals are attempting to financially sextort adults and anyone who has been targeted should seek advice from the eSafety Commissioner and state and territory police.
Victims can also contact eSafety for help to quickly remove naked or sexual images shared without consent through www.esafety.gov.au/report.
For free and confidential support at any time call Kids Helpline 1800551800 or www.kidshelpline.com.au.
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.accce.gov.au/report. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety.
An award-winning podcast launched last year by the ACCCE ‘Closing The Net’ is working to change that, showcasing that knowledge is power and that our only chance to help prevent this issue is if we bring a ‘whole-of-community’ response.
The podcast series offers valuable tips and advice on how to keep kids safe online. Listen to the Closing The Net podcast on your favourite streaming platform.
If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation there are support services available at www.accce.gov.au/support.
Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found at www.thinkuknow.org.au, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
21-year-old Tarikjot Singh has pleaded guilty to the murder of Adelaide nursing student Jasmeen Kaur.
Jasmeen’s body was found in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges.
In March 2021, Tarikjot was accused of abducting Jasmine, killing her, and then dumping her body in a shallow grave.
Jasmeen’s remains were found more than 400 kilometres away from where she was last seen by the SA Police. Her ID and shoes were found stuffed in an outback bin.
Jasmeen Kaur
Jasmeen had been living with her aunt and uncle in Adelaide. She was also working as an aged care worker while studying to become a nurse.
Rashpal Gathwal, Jasmeen’s mother who resides in India, then said in a media statement to 7NEWS:
“I regret the day I said yes to sending my daughter to Australia. I didn’t know dropping her at the airport would be the last time I gave her a hug. I miss my daughter everyday.”
Police claimed that Jasmeen was “taken by force” by Tarikjot after finishing her shift at Southern Cross Homes in North Plympton just before 10 pm on March 5.
Tarikjot Singh
Earlier, Tarikjot pleaded not guilty and was due to stand trial. However, in in the Supreme Court Tarikjot changed his plea to guilty.
Outside court, Jasmeen’s aunt told media that the family was “pleased and satisfied” with the guilty plea.
“Nothing will bring Jasmeen back, but we are pleased she will get some justice.”
In 2021, Jasmeen’s family and friends visited the shallow grave where she was buried and planted native plants, laid teddies and flowers, and prayed.
Murder carries a mandatory minimum 20-year non-parole period in South Australia and now this matter returns to court in April 2023.
First Nations (Image source: Anthony Albanese - Twitter)
By Gabrielle Appleby
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that sometime between August and November this year, the Australian people will go to a referendum for the first time since 1999.
We’ll be asked whether we support changing the Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the establishment of a representative Voice to inform government and parliamentary decisions.
For many people, following the process leading up to the referendum so far has been confusing.
So where are we, and what’s ahead?
Unorthodox and historic
This week, following a meeting of the government’s Referendum Working Group, the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser claimed the process leading up to this referendum had been “unorthodox”, in that it hadn’t included a constitutional convention, a parliamentary inquiry or further public consultation.
This statement is both right and wrong.
It’s right in that the process leading up to this referendum has been unorthodox. But that’s because this referendum is historic. It’s about recognising the place of First Nations in the Australian Constitution.
This isn’t the first time we’ve attempted this: some may remember the failed attempt made by Prime Minister John Howard in 1999, when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were referred to passingly in a preamble. That was a proposal that involved no consultation with the Australian public or First Nations people.
Leeser is wrong in that, while there is a custom to have a constitutional reform mechanism of some kind prior to a referendum, that hasn’t always been the case. A constitutional convention has only been held three times since 1901. So the type of mechanism isn’t set. And in contrast to the 1999 attempt, behind the current attempt at recognition sits a world-leading deliberative process that was conducted by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
An extraordinary, unorthodox and historic process unfolded across 2016 and 2017. Funded by the government with bipartisan support, 12 regional dialogues with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were held, which culminated in the First Nations Constitutional Convention and the delivery of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in May 2017.
That statement was issued directly to the Australian people, asking for constitutional recognition in the form of a First Nations Voice to speak to Parliament on decisions, policies and laws that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This constitutional reform process may be unorthodox, but it’s entirely appropriate. This referendum isn’t about what form of recognition Australian people want to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but whether they will accept the form of recognition being sought by First Nations. Australia is engaging in an exercise of mutual recognition that offers a respectful relationship forward for all Australians.
But that’s not to say there hasn’t been formal public consultation, or a parliamentary inquiry. That’s where Leeser is also wrong. This is one of the most scrutinised and critiqued proposals ever developed. Since 2010, there have been ten reports on constitutional recognition, many of which engaged in extensive public consultation.
Let’s take a look at just a few.
The Referendum Council, which oversaw the regional dialogues, also conducted an extensive public inquiry, including digital and public submissions. This revealed the strongest support (more than 90%) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people having a say when parliament makes laws and policies relating to Indigenous affairs.
In 2018, a joint parliamentary inquiry, chaired by Leeser and Labor Senator Patrick Dodson, looked at the question of constitutional recognition. It received almost 500 public submissions, and undertook hearings. While its terms of reference were wide, the committee concluded, based on its public consultations and inquiries, that the Uluru Statement from the Heart “was a major turning point in the debate”, and focused all of its attention on the Voice proposal.
In 2021, the Morrison government’s co-design process in relation to the design of a Voice delivered a report on the design of a non-constitutional Voice. Despite the question of constitutional enshrinement being outside the terms of reference of that body, the final report noted high levels of support for it. Indeed, the Indigenous Law Centre reported that more than 90% of the thousands of public submissions made to that process expressed support for a constitutional First Nations Voice.
What we know already
There has been a lot of political debate about whether we know enough “detail” about the Voice. There is, unfortunately, a fair amount of confusion about what detail we need to make an informed vote on the constitutional amendment, and what detail should – appropriately – be left for future legislation to determine.
But we do know a lot about what we’re going to be voting on. Here’s a brief run-down:
the referendum is about recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Nations of Australia, and providing a structural change to our Constitution that gives them a body to speak to Parliament and government in order to improve decisions, policies and laws that affect them. It’s about making a practical difference in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
we have seen a draft version of the words that the Australian people are going to be asked to vote on, which was released by the prime minister at Garma in July 2022. The Referendum Working Group and the Constitutional Expert Group has been working on this drafting for a number of months, with publicly available summaries of their advice
it’s not about giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people special rights, but providing them input in the decision-making processes of government and Parliament. This is the type of participation right that articles 18 and 19 the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (to which Australia is a signatory) guarantees
as it doesn’t have a veto power, constitutional enshrinement of the Voice is vital to its success. The extensive submissions to the 2020-2021 co-design process explained constitutional enshrinement was the only way the Voice would be set up for success with the stability, independence and authority it needed to shift the political dynamic in Indigenous law and policy. We know legislated and non-legislated bodies have been tried in the past – and failed. So it’s not a case where we could legislate the Voice first, because that would be a different beast
There are a lot of other questions out there about the eligibility of individuals to serve on the Voice, the selection of members, the number of members, the cost of the body, and more detail about its operations and accountability. We don’t yet have specific answers to these questions – although there are agreed principles that provide a general guide to some of them.
But these aren’t details that will be included in the constitutional amendment. They won’t be set into the Constitution, unable to be changed. These are details that will need closer consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and within government and parliament, to determine. They’re likely to be subject to change as circumstances change. We are not being asked to vote on these details.
There’s nothing sinister about this, and nothing is being “hidden” from us. The detail will be included in legislation to follow the referendum. Just like legislation establishing the High Court, the number and qualifications of judges, and the scope of its jurisdictions was introduced after the Constitution was passed, and has been amended occasionally subsequently.
The legislation that establishes the detail of the Voice will be subject to the ordinary, public and transparent parliamentary processes, to which the government and Parliament are ultimately accountable to the Australian people.
The next steps
While we know a lot, there’s more to come. Here are three key moments in the referendum timeline which will unfold in the next couple of months:
1. This month, the Yes and No campaigns will launch (these aren’t government-funded or affiliated). On February 18, the Yes campaign will launch a national week of action on the referendum proposal. There will be lots of information and opportunities to learn more about the proposal, and the key arguments for and against it.
2. On February 10, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters will report on the government’s proposed changes to how the referendum will be conducted, including removing the partisan Yes/No pamphlet and replacing it with a government-funded information campaign. More information will follow about the government’s planned information campaign, and of course, the campaign itself will roll out soon.
3. In March, the referendum working group will finalise its recommendations to the government, with the constitutional amendment bill introduced into parliament. The bill needs to pass with an absolute majority in both houses, before being put to a referendum within two to six months. The government is saying the referendum will likely be held between August and November, depending on the passage of the bill. The bill will contain the government’s final proposed wording for the constitutional amendment, and it will be subject to robust parliamentary inquiry, including in the Senate’s scrutiny committees, and a public submission and hearing process.
Reserve Bank of Australia has raised interest rates by a quarter-percentage point and said further tightening will be needed, sending the currency and government bond yields higher.
At its first meeting of the year 2023, the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.35 per cent. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent.
This is the highest interest rate level since September 2012, in a widely-anticipated decision. It was the ninth consecutive hike since policymakers embarked on their tightening cycle in May.
“The board expects that further increases in interest rates will be needed over the months ahead to ensure that inflation returns to target,” RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a statement.
The Australian dollar jumped to trade at 69.40 US cents, while three-year bond yields climbed 15 basis points to 3.25% and stocks erased gains to drop 0.5%.
Reserve Bank Of Australia; Picture Source: @CANVA
It is, however, moderating in response to lower energy prices, the resolution of supply-chain problems and the tightening of monetary policy. It will be some time, though, before inflation is back to target rates. The outlook for the global economy remains subdued, with below-average growth expected this year and next.
In Australia, CPI inflation over the year to the December quarter was 7.8 per cent, the highest since 1990. In underlying terms, inflation was 6.9 per cent, which was higher than expected. Global factors explain much of this high inflation, but strong domestic demand is adding to the inflationary pressures in a number of areas of the economy.
Inflation is expected to decline this year due to both global factors and slower growth in domestic demand. The central forecast is for CPI inflation to decline to 4¾ per cent this year and to around 3 per cent by mid-2025. Medium-term inflation expectations remain well anchored, and it is important that this remains the case.
The Australian economy grew strongly over 2022. The central forecast is little changed from three months ago, with GDP growth expected to slow to around 1½ per cent between 2023 and 2024. The recovery in spending on services following the lifting of COVID restrictions has largely run its course and the tighter financial conditions will constrain spending more broadly.
RBA to raise cash rate within a week; Image Source: @CANVA
The labour market remains very tight. The unemployment rate has been steady at around 3½ per cent over recent months, the lowest rate since 1974. Job vacancies and job ads are both at very high levels but have declined a little recently. Many firms continue to experience difficulty hiring workers, although some report a recent easing in labour shortages.
As economic growth slows, unemployment is expected to increase.
The central forecast is for the unemployment rate to increase to 3¾ per cent by the end of this year and 4½ per cent by mid-2025.
Wages growth is continuing to pick up from the low rates of recent years and a further pick-up is expected due to the tight labour market and higher inflation. Given the importance of avoiding a price-wages spiral, the Board will continue to pay close attention to both the evolution of labour costs and the price-setting behaviour of firms in the period ahead.
“The Board recognises that monetary policy operates with a lag and that the full effect of the cumulative increase in interest rates is yet to be felt in mortgage payments. “
There is uncertainty around the timing and extent of the expected slowdown in household spending.
Some households have substantial savings buffers, but others are experiencing a painful squeeze on their budgets due to higher interest rates and the increase in the cost of living.
RBA to raise cash rate within week; Image Source: @CANVA
Household balance sheets are also being affected by the decline in housing prices. Another source of uncertainty is how the global economy responds to the large and rapid increase in interest rates around the world. These uncertainties mean that there is a range of potential scenarios for the Australian economy.
The Board is seeking to return inflation to the 2–3 per cent range while keeping the economy on an even keel, but the path to achieving a soft landing remains a narrow one.
“The Board expects that further increases in interest rates will be needed over the months ahead to ensure that inflation returns to target and that this period of high inflation is only temporary.”
In assessing how much further interest rates need to increase, the Board will be paying close attention to developments in the global economy, trends in household spending and the outlook for inflation and the labour market. The Board remains resolute in its determination to return inflation to target and will do what is necessary to achieve that.
Aaron Finch – Australia’s longest-serving and most successful men’s T20I captain and batter – has called time on his international career, conceding his body can no longer withstand the rigours of the short-format game at the highest level.
Finch will continue to play in the KFC BBL and is expected to confirm he’s signed a further one-year contract with Melbourne Renegades – where he earned Team of the Year selection as a middle-order batter this summer – and will also consider options to play in overseas T20 competitions.
But having retired as captain of Australia’s ODI outfit last year after a much-publicised struggle for form in the 50-over arena, he now walks away from international cricket having played almost 250 white-ball matches and five Tests for his country across a 12-year career.
Finch is the only Australia men’s player to date to play more than 100 T20 Internationals (103), and in addition to being its most-capped skipper (76 matches) led his team to the nation’s first T20 World Cup triumph in the UAE in 2021.
The 36-year-old also holds the record for the highest T20I score among all nations – an extraordinary 172 from 76 balls faced against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2018 – and has scored more runs (3120) than any other Australia batter, ahead of his long-time opening partner David Warner (2894).
But when he injured a hamstring in Australia’s penultimate group game of their home T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland at Brisbane last November, speculation grew as to whether the hard-hitting right-hander had made his final international appearance.
While men’s team coach and Finch’s long-time confidante, Andrew McDonald, encouraged the veteran opener not to make any rushed calls about his T20 future with Australia not scheduled to play again in the format until next August, the decision became painfully clear during the recently concluded BBL|12 season.
“I always wanted to get through the Big Bash and re-assess after that, and I found my body was sore after a BBL game and took a couple of days to recover,” Finch told cricket.com.au prior to making today’s retirement announcement.
“He (McDonald) said give yourself time to make a decision that’s not an emotional call, but one that’s right for you and your family.
“I feel as though that’s what I’ve done.
“I thought long and hard about it, but with a big break between games it gives everyone involved time to plan and prepare for the next T20 World Cup in 2024 (in the West Indies and USA) because I can’t see myself getting there at all.
“It would be doing the position and the team a disservice to play on for purely selfish reasons.
What the Aussie players love about Aaron Finch
“Whoever takes over the leadership of that team, and as new opening batter, you’ve got to give them enough time and space to work into those roles and give them a great opportunity to make the team their own over the next 18 months.
“I’ve been bloody fortunate to play for 12 years, and I think the team’s in a really good spot now for me to move on.”
When he announced his decision to quit the ODI leadership and game last September, Finch indicated he planned to continue playing T20 cricket at international level beyond the most recent T20 World Cup.
But his aching body coupled with Australia’s disappointing showing at that event – the host nation failed to qualify for the play-off rounds – meant those plans have been shelved.
Instead, he’s eyeing another season in red for the Renegades, where he admits he became “a reluctant captain” after regular skipper Nic Maddinson went down with a season-ending knee injury this summer.
“I loved the new role in the middle-order with the Renegades, and being around the youngsters keeps you young for a little while,” Finch said.
“Obviously Nic (Maddinson) does the leadership job, but I think helping out the youngsters is almost more important than captaining yourself.
“I’d like to see someone develop into that role and help mentor them while I’m still playing.
“It’s important they can learn with a bit of experience around them so when it’s my time to finish up totally from all cricket, the team is in a better place.”
There are also other playing options he’s interested in taking up, provided they fit with plans to spend more time with wife Amy and the couple’s 18-month-old daughter, Esther.
But while Finch is looking to keep his hand in by resuming his roles in overseas domestic competitions, having previously represented nine IPL franchises and a couple of English counties, he acknowledges he won’t be playing sufficient cricket to consider an international return.
“I’m hopeful to play in The Hundred (in the UK) because that’s a competition I was really excited about for a couple of years, but then didn’t get the opportunity with COVID and then some tours that came up,” he said.
“And if anything else pops up and it’s at the right time, I’d definitely be interested.
“It’s really only international cricket that I’m walking away from at the moment.
“Plus I’ve been lucky enough to sign with Star India for some commentary stuff through the IPL and the 50-over World Cup (in India later this year), so that will be good fun.
“I’ve loved the broadcast side of it since I’ve done a bit more of it this year and last year.
“You get to sit there and watch cricket and talk about it – it’s the best job in the world, besides playing.”
Finch earned plaudits during BBL|12 for providing television viewers with remarkable insights into his on-field leadership style and tactical nous when wearing a microphone.
He’s also interested in exploring coaching roles when he finally draws stumps on his decorated playing career, revealing he prefers the planning and research that comes with devising T20 blueprints to training sessions and on-field leadership responsibilities.
“I love diving through all the numbers, trying to find weaknesses or matching-up strengths of teams,” Finch said.
“That’s definitely an attraction, and if a coaching opportunity comes in the near future I’ll consider that as well.
“It’s an exciting time but anything I do, my family situation will be the first box that has to be ticked.
“And if everything falls into place there, I’d love to be involved wherever I can, whether it be playing, coaching or commentating.”
Reflecting on his now-concluded international career, Finch confirmed the 2021 World Cup triumph – where Australia overcame pre-tournament form woes to secure the trophy against odds and expectations – as a stand-out highlight.
He also gleans great satisfaction from being the first – and to date, the only – Australia men’s player to reach 100 T20I appearances, although Warner (99) and Finch’s former housemate Glenn Maxwell (98) are expected to join him in that club later this year.
“I’m really proud of being able to achieve that, it proves I’ve been a decent player over a long period of time and not just a flash in the pan,” he said.
“I tend to not think about myself in that way a lot of the time because I’ve spent a lot of my career being envious of Davey (Warner) and Smudge (Steve Smith), and what they can do.
“And then guys like Maxy (Maxwell) come along with all their innovations, so you spend most of your time being envious of your teammates rather than appreciating what you actually do quite well.
“It’s a bit silly I guess when I should feel like I’ve been a decent player for quite a period.”
Despite setting the benchmark for the highest T20I score, Finch claims his most cherished 20-over innings is the 156 he bludgeoned from 63 balls against England at Southampton in 2013.
At the time, he was just seven matches into his T20I career and – having posted just one half-century in his preceding appearances, and single-figure scores in each of his three previous innings for Australia – felt his tenure hung in the balance going into that game.
“It was the first time I actually believed I could play and be successful in international cricket,” Finch recalled of the knock that stood as the highest individual T20I score for almost five years, until he bettered it at Harare.
“That was my break-out game, I guess, so it was really important for a number of reasons.
“It was a pretty special day, and nice to hold a world record for a while.”
Disclaimer: This article was first published at Cricket.com.au
Safer Internet Day is a global event that brings together communities, families, schools and organisations from more than 200 countries to help create safer online spaces.
This worldwide initiative is celebrating 20 years in 2023, making it a great time to reflect as well as look forward.
Technology has evolved dramatically in the past two decades and the benefits have been huge. These developments have also exposed us to many risks with real-world impacts, making online safety awareness even more important.
That’s why we are calling on Australians to Connect. Reflect. Protect.
Connect safely and with purpose – by keeping apps and devices secure and using social media in positive ways.
Reflect before we act – by taking a moment to consider how what we do and say online may affect others.
Protect ourselves and others by taking action – by telling family, friends or colleagues about eSafety and how we can help.
By doing these simple things, we can work towards making every day a Safer Internet Day.
Nearly one in four Australians speak a language other than English at home and Australians identify with more than three hundred different ancestries.
People from culturally and linguistically diverse communities have a broad range of digital literacy skills. Young people are often highly digitally connected, but older people and those with lower levels of English often face a ‘digital divide’. This means they can miss out on the features and benefits that others access online.
eSafety undertakes research, consultation and community engagement to understand the online risks and identify the needs of people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Serious online abuse
Our research shows that some individuals and communities are more at-risk of being targeted online, and at-risk of serious harm, due to a range of intersectional factors. These factors include race, religion, cultural background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and mental health conditions. The risk can also increase because of situational vulnerabilities, such as being impacted by domestic and family violence.
eSafety has legal powers to help protect people who live in Australia from the most serious online abuse and harmful content. This includes cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse and image-based abuse (sharing intimate images without the consent of the person shown). The harmful content can posted publicly or communicated through an online or electronic service or platform, including social media, games, chat apps, emails, messages (including SMS), forums and websites.
Cyberbullying of children: If seriously harmful content is sent to a child or young person under 18, or shared about them, it is called ‘cyberbullying’. The content can be seriously threatening, seriously intimidating, seriously harassing and/or seriously humiliating. If the online service or platform used to send or share the harmful content does not help, eSafety can investigate and have the content removed. Read our advice about how to deal with cyberbullying.
Adult cyber abuse: If content sent to an adult or shared about them is menacing, harassing or offensive and also intended to seriously harm their physical or mental health, it is called ‘adult cyber abuse’. If the online service or platform used to send or share harmful content does not help, eSafety can investigate and have the content removed. Read our advice about how to deal with adult cyber abuse.
Image-based abuse: If someone shares, or threatens to share, an intimate image or video without the consent of the person shown, it is called ‘image-based abuse’. This includes images and videos that show someone without attire of religious or cultural significance that they would normally wear in public (such as a niqab or turban). Image-based abuse should be reported to eSafety immediately, so we can have the harmful content removed. Read our advice about how to deal with image-based abuse.
Illegal and restricted online content
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By Libby Rumpff, Brendan Wintle, John Woinarski, Sarah Legge, and Stephen van Leeuwen
The Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 were cataclysmic: a landmark in Australia’s environmental history. They burnt more than 10 million hectares, mostly forests in southeast Australia. Many of our most distinctive, ancient and vulnerable species were worst affected.
A new book released today, titled Australia’s Megafires, synthesises the extent of the losses. The work involved contributions from more than 200 scientists and experts. It provides the most comprehensive assessment yet of how the fires affected biodiversity and Indigenous cultural values, and how nature has recovered.
The work reveals a picture of almost unfathomable destruction. More than 1,600 native species had at least half their range burnt. And hundreds of species and ecosystems became nationally threatened for the first time, or were pushed closer to extinction.
We must use Black Summer as an opportunity to learn – and make fundamental changes. Here, we outline six lessons to heed.
1. Natural systems are already stressed
Problem: Even before Black Summer, most Australian ecosystems were already struggling due to multiple threats.
The threatened alpine bog communities in the Australian Capital Territory, for example, were already being damaged by climate change, weeds and feral animals. Then the Black Summer fires came through and burnt 86% of known sites.
Put all these threats together, and recovery for these ecosystems – which are slow to develop – will not be easy. They may be lost altogether, along with threatened animals that call the bogs home, such as the broad-toothed rat.
Solution: Managing crises such as fires is not enough on its own. Our natural systems must be made more resilient. More effective legislation and management is needed to control all threats that degrade nature. And in some cases, threatened species may need to be relocated to put them out of harm’s way.
2. We don’t know what, or where, all species are
Problem: Thousands of Australian species are not (or barely) known to science. It’s very hard to protect a species if we don’t know it exists, where it lives or how it responds to fire.
For example, it’s likely that the Black Summer fires sent many invertebrate species – such as insects and spiders – to extinction. But we’ll never know because they were never described by Western science, and their distributions were never traced.
Only about 30% of Australia’s estimated 320,000 invertebrate species have been described by taxonomists. Of those that are described, most are known from only one or two records, which provides only limited insight. Information is similarly poor for fungi.
Solution: We need to gather more information about how species and environments respond to fires, and to what extent conservation efforts after fires are working. This is especially true for poorly known species groups. And the data should be made accessible to all who seek it.
3. Emergency responders don’t have enough information
Problem: Emergency responders told us that during the fires, they didn’t have the information to prioritise the most important areas for conservation.
We found across 13 agencies, just two threatened species were covered by a specific and accessible emergency plan: the Wollemi pine and the eastern bristlebird. These plans told emergency responders what rescue action was needed.
For example, a plan was in place to protect the only known natural stand of Wollemi pines, in New South Wales. This prompted an extraordinary firefighting effort during the Black Summer fires. The effort was successful.
Solution: More than 1,800 of Australia’s plant and animal species are at risk of extinction. We must identify which are a priority, where they are, and how to protect them from bushfires. This information must be communicated to emergency responders and incorporated into regional fire management plans.
4. Biodiversity usually comes last
Problem: Traditionally, the hierarchy of what to protect in disasters goes like this: first human life, then infrastructure, and finally biodiversity. If this hierarchy continues, some of our most significant species and natural environments will be lost.
In one example recounted to the book’s researchers, fire authorities decided to prioritise saving a few farm sheds over 5,000 hectares of national park.
Solution: There are cases, such as avoiding extinctions, where protecting nature is more important than saving infrastructure. Community priorities should be surveyed, and the information used to inform planning and policy.
Legal obligations to protect biodiversity in fires are few. The current re-working of federal environment laws provides an opportunity to change this.
5. Conservation funding is grossly insufficient
Problem: Decades of sustained management effort is needed to recover many species and environments affected by fire. Unfortunately, funding for the task is short-term and inadequate.
For example, both state and federal governments invested heavily in controlling feral herbivores, such as deer, in the months after the fires. This was done to protect unburnt and regenerating vegetation. Yet, eventually the funding dries up and feral populations rebound.
Extra funding for some short-term recovery projects flowed in the wake of the Black Summer fires – from governments, the private sector and the community. But for many species, recovery will be a long-term proposition – if it happens at all.
Solution: Governments must stop seeing spending on the environment as optional. It’s as fundamental to our society and well-being as health and education – and funding levels should reflect this.
6. First Nations knowledge has been sidelined
Problem: First Nations people have used fire to manage forested landscapes for millenia. Yet their knowledge and perspectives have not been incorporated into forest fire management and recovery.
So how has this come about? Barriers identified in the book include inadequate employment and training opportunities for First Nations people to undertake cultural burning activities. Also, First Nations people are frequently denied access to Country to rekindle and develop their land management skills, and lack the legal authority to undertake cultural burning.
And as the book shows, cross-cultural challenges mean non-Indigenous fire officers can have limited appreciation or knowledge of Indigenous cultural burning protocols.
Solution: Indigenous people should be supported to rekindle cultural fire practices in forests. And non-Indigenous fire managers should, with consent from First Nations people, incorporate these practices into policies governing fire management and recovery.
What’s more, species and sites that are culturally important to First Nations people should be prioritised for protection and recovery.
Harnessing our grief
The Black Summer fires showed people care. The disaster triggered an outpouring of grief from Australia and around the world. We understood one thing clearly: we were losing what enriches our lives.
But protecting our precious natural assets requires a fundamental reset of Australia’s fire management.
More broadly, the Black Summer fires kickstarted a huge collaborative recovery effort from governments, conservation and research organisations, and First Nations groups. If we’re to be better prepared for future megafires, this impetus must continue.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong with Ms Swati Dave, the inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Australia-India Relations (Source: DFAT)
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator Penny Wong has announced Ms Swati Dave as the inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR).
CAIR will open this year and serve as a national platform to further strengthen our relationship with India.
Ms Dave has more than 30 years’ of experience in finance and banking across a range of sectors in both domestic and international markets.
Ms Swati Dave (Image source: Twitter)
Ms Dave said in a statement:
“I feel deeply honoured to be appointed as the inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board to the new Centre. We are at a pivotal moment in our engagement and relationship with India and it’s time to pursue the opportunities before us. I’m excited about positioning the Centre to drive a broader and deeper level of co-operation between the two countries.”
Ms Dave is currently serves as Deputy Chair of Asia Society Australia and as a member of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations’ Advisory Board. She is also an Investment Committee member for QIC Global Infrastructure.
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator Penny Wong (Image source: Twitter)
Senator Wong said in a statement:
“I am very pleased to announce the appoint of Ms Swati Dave as inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Australia-India Relations. Ms Dave brings valuable strategic, leadership and business experience to the role from her extensive senior executive and non-executive director roles across the public and private sector.”
Experts believe that CAIR will further promote stronger business ties and cultural understanding between Australia and India.
Senator Wong added:
“Australia’s partnership with India is a critical part of shaping the region want: prosperous, stable, secure and respectful of sovereignty.”
Ms Dave was most recently Managing Director and CEO of Export Finance Australia, and has held senior positions at National Australia Bank, Deutsche Bank, AMP Henderson Global Investors, Bankers Trust and Westpac.
Ms Dave added:
“The creation of this national platform will enable us to build upon the significant work being done across government, business, and communities to lift Australia-India business literacy and links, promote greater policy and business dialogue, engage our valuable Indian diaspora, and deepen cultural understanding. I look forward to working with the Advisory Board, the Centre and the Foreign and Trade Ministers on this important new initiative.”
Last year, the Morrison government announced the establishment of a new Centre for Australia-India Relations to help foster new ties and support our expanding exchange and cooperation with India, including by engaging Australia’s rich Indian diaspora community.
PM Anthony Albanese and Indian PM Narendra Modi; Image Source- @PIB
With then-estimated funding of $28.1 million dollars, the Centre will focus on four key areas of work:
promoting policy dialogue
building Australian business literacy and links
engaging Australia’s Indian diaspora communities to support the Australia-India bilateral relationship, and
deepening cultural connections and understanding.
The Centre will also administer the $20.8 million Maitri (friendship) scholars, fellowship programs and cultural partnership, which I announced on 14 February.
The Centre will complement existing institutions such as the Australia India Council (AIC) and the Australia India Institute (AII) to function as a centre of gravity for the bilateral relationship.
Austrade signs MoUs to improve India's skill and vocational training standards: Image Source: Twitter @bijoyghosh70
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) has signed an MoU with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to collaborate on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.
This MoU will focus on Australian training standards and delivery in sectors ranging across automotive, allied health, mining, IT, cyber security, renewable energy, logistics, supply chain and water management.
Austrade’s Australia-India Future Skills Initiative team in India will execute these actions with CII. This initiative is to support India’s workforce and skills development through partnerships with Australian vocational education, training and skills providers.
Leo Bremanis, Trade and Investment Commissioner for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) said in a statement, “I am delighted to sign this MoU between Austrade and CII today, to collaborate on the Australia-India Future Skills Initiative.”
Austrade signs MoUs to improve India’s skill and vocational training standards: Image Source: Twitter @bijoyghosh70
“Australia’s education and vocational training system are world-class, and Australian skills provision in India is a wonderful opportunity for our bilateral relationship and India’s workforce development. “
“CII’s strong industry interface will see our skills collaboration go from strength to strength,” added Mr Bremanis
Sougata Roy Choudhury, Executive Director of Skill Development & Livelihood with CII, said, “CII is happy to collaborate with Austrade under their Future skills initiative.”
“This collaboration will help to bring the latest Australia based Vocational programs to India which will enable youth to get World-class training and certification.”
“It is our endeavour to bring such International certifications in India helping youth to find good job opportunities within India and abroad,” said Mr Choudhary.
Further, Austrade also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India’s Leather Sector Skill Council.
Leo Bremanis, Trade Commissioner, Austrade, and Rajesh Ratnam, CEO, of Leather Sector Skill Council, exchanged copies of the MoU. Sarah Kirlew, Consul-General, Australian Consulate, Chennai; and Sanjay Leekha, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports, were present.
The MoU will be implemented through the Future Skills Initiative team in Austrade India and focus on job roles relating to the following fields: 3D printing, product design, automation engineering, 3D scanning, computerised stitching machine operations, computerised cutting machine operations, automatic machine programming, AI-driven quality inspection and many other innovative areas.
This MoU will help in building collaboration in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes. It will also introduce Australian training standards in the Indian leather sector. There will be a specific focus on sustainability, net zero, industry 4.0, virtual and augmented reality and other applications.
Leo Bremanis, Australian Trade and Investment Commissioner to South Asia, said:
“Through the Australia-India Future Skills Initiatve we will work together to introduce Australian technical and vocational education programs and standards in India across sectors, ranging from #IT and #cyber to #automotive and allied #health. We’ll focus on developing India’s #workforce capability and opportunity for its #youth.”
Such initiatives also encourage bilateral collaboration on delivering Australian skills training to India through trade missions, G2G agreements, webinars, seminars and business matching in the education and training sector.
In its inaugural assessment on global minorities, the Centre for Policy Analysis (CPA) ranked India #1 amongst nations for how it treated religious minorities. On measures of inclusivity towards religious minorities, India has come out on top.
According to the Global Minority Report’s analysis of 110 nations, India has the highest level of religious minorities acceptance, followed by South Korea, Japan, Panama, and the US. Maldives, Afghanistan, and Somalia are at the bottom of the list, with the UK and the UAE coming in at positions 54 and 61, respectively.
According to the research, India’s minority policy is based on an approach that emphasises diversity enhancement.
The Constitution of India contains specific and exclusive provisions for the advancement of religious minorities in culture and education. According to the report, there are no explicit provisions for the promotion of linguistic and religious minorities in any other Constitution.
It highlights how, unlike many other nations, there is no restriction on any religious sects in India.
Due to its inclusiveness and lack of discrimination against many religions and their sects, the UN may utilise India’s minority policy as a model for other nations, according to the report. However, it frequently does not provide the expected outcomes because there are numerous reports of conflicts between the majority and minority communities, notably with the Muslim community, over a variety of concerns.
In light of this, the report extensively highlights India’s minority policy to be reviewed and re-examined from time to time. It further states that, if India wishes to keep the country free of conflicts, it must rationalise its approach towards minorities.
Indian Muslim; Image source: Twitter
The Significance
The purpose of the CPA-created Global Minority Report is also to educate the world community on the prevalence of discrimination against minorities based on their faith in different nations.
This research also considers the issues that various religious groups and sects deal with internationally.
The significance of this study as claimed by its proponents resides in the fact that it is the first international assessment to assign a grade to nations based on how they treat their respective religious minorities. In addition, it is the first report by a group of non-Western and Afro-Asian nations to index different nations according to specific standards.
Since there is no religionist majority in every country, this research takes a therapeutic general strategy that is in the best interests of all religionists. If a religion’s adherents are the majority in some nations, they are the minority in other nations.
The Methodology
In this research, countries have been graded according to how they treat minority religions and religionists, how inclusive they are of religious minorities, and how they treat religious minorities with discrimination through their laws and policies. The paper claims that it was astonishing to see that several nations that are regarded as developing slowly and having weak economies had more progressive religious laws than many developed and wealthy nations.
There are 3 components to The Global Minority Report. The first examines theoretical concerns with regard to human rights, the rights of minorities, the idea of religious freedom and its flaws, and how to balance them. Additionally, it covers cultural difficulties, the predicament faced by religious minorities, and the root of religious diversity. There are several important reasons behind any atheist or secular nation’s discriminatory policies against religious minorities. Furthermore, it covers a wide range of topics concerning religion, conversion, and culture.
The differences in the underlying orientations of religions are categorised into large categories and explained in this report.
The policies towards minorities in various nations are covered in the second part. While case studies of numerous other nations are also constructed, the minority model in India is explained as a specific case study. According to a set of criteria, the survey ranks India as the most inclusive nation out of 110.
The third component contains statistical information, which includes four separate indices: the State Religion Neutrality Index, the State Inclusive Index, the State Discrimination Index, and the Global Minority Index. A group of indicators for the condition of religious minorities in a nation are made up of all the indices.
Additionally, other G20 nations are also included. Final recommendations are made for the United Nations and other nations based on the findings of the study.
Indian PM Narendra Modi with Muslim Community: Image Source: supplied
Minorities’ Obligation
The study discusses religious minorities’ responsibilities to protect the sovereignty and general welfare of the nation in which they dwell. According to the report, the United Nations shouldn’t disregard minorities’ commitments to the country when the state is susceptible to being contested.
According to the report, certain rights must be granted with the understanding that they must fulfil certain minimum requirements. Minority rights shouldn’t be used as a threat against any nation. In order to make the relationship between the State and its minorities cordial and to eliminate the “trust deficit” between them, this study firmly believes that some obligations must be decided for the beneficiary of the rights, even though it endorses all of the privileges suggested for minorities by the UN.
The report states that the protection of minority rights becomes challenging if minority groups question a nation’s territorial integrity, the report said. There are other nations that are struggling with this issue. When a nation’s sovereignty is questioned by religious minorities, there is a “trust gap” in the relationship between the minorities and the State. According to the report, under these situations, the State punishes minorities, which leads to their persecution. The report also notes that a significant problem is the under-recognition of minorities.
Certain sects in both Abrahamic religions go unrecognised as minorities and frequently experience hostile treatment. For instance, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Scientology are treated unfavourably in nations with a dominant Christian population, whereas Ahmadis and Baha’is are treated poorly in Islamic nations.
The issue of acknowledgements for sectarian minorities exists in many nations. For instance, a sizeable portion of the Alevi community wants to be recognised as a minority, but Turkey, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims, is hesitant to do so. Therefore, it is crucial that a standard be established on a global scale in order to be eligible for minority status in a nation.
Author: Ashif Shamim is a communicator by Profession, A Blogger by Choice, A Layman’s Photographer, Politically updated and sees life in terms of music.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The Australia Today is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts, or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of The Australia Today and The Australia Today News does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
This article was first published in The Critical Script and we have republished it with kind permission.
You might think evolution is glacially slow. At a species level, that’s true. But evolution happens every time organisms produce offspring. The everyday mixing of genes – combined with mutations – throws up new generations upon which “selection pressure” will act.
This pressure is popularly known as survival of the fittest, where fittest means “best adapted” individuals. Tiger snakes with a mutation for a larger head can eat larger prey. Evolution is the zoomed-out version, where species change – or evolve into new ones, better adapted to the environment they find themselves in.
Evolution acts over millennia. But given the right conditions, it can also work surprisingly rapidly. Australia’s isolation produced our distinctive animals. But until recently in a geological sense, it had no camels, cats, toads and dogs. Now it does. Millions of feral animals, birds and amphibians now call Australia home. And their new home is beginning to change them in turn.
Can evolution run fast?
We’ve long thought evolution grinds slowly. But given the right conditions, pressure can bring change much faster. A recent study found evolution acting up to four times faster than previous estimates. On average, species in the study saw an 18.5% increase per generation in their ability to survive and reproduce. This remarkably rapid change suggests many species (not all) may be well able to adapt to rapid environmental changes.
Australia’s feral animal species all arrived through human efforts. Dogs came first through by contact between First Nations peoples and traders from what is now Indonesia. Cats came next, accompanying European colonists in the 1700s (and maybe earlier). Camels in the 1840s. Cane toads came in the 1930s. That’s to say nothing of deer, horses, goats, pigs, water buffalo, mynahs, foxes and rabbits.
Once here, dogs, camels and cats rapidly gave up domestication, becoming dingoes, feral camels and feral cats. With each generation, these animals have become better adapted to their new environments. They are now evolving in Australia.
Given the dingo’s closest relative is the New Guinea singing dog, which howls like a wolf with overtones of whalesong, the dingo may have already evolved away from its ancestors. There’s certainly evidence of unique selection pressures but nowhere near enough to be considered a separate species. Similarly, dingoes tend to have broader heads than domestic dogs and more flexible joints. They don’t woof but howl.
An Australian camel?
It’s a similar story for camels. Australia’s one-humped dromedaries were imported from Afghanistan and Pakistan because of their ability to live in arid environments. It’s no surprise they have thrived. Hundreds of thousands now roam the Red Centre. We may now have the largest wild population of dromedaries in the world. Given their numbers, in time, we may have a uniquely Australian camel.
Though we have a huge population of camels, they have low genetic diversity as they came from a small original population. Low diversity usually means a species is less able to adapt to changes in the environment.
Cats are getting larger
Domestication sits lightly on cats, with the difference between a pet cat and a feral just a couple of missed meals.
Cats are one of the most invasive species globally. In Australia, they have done the worst damage, killing everything from native mice to wallabies with abandon and pushing many to the brink of extinction.
Ferals are getting bigger, with reports of 7 kilogram cats now common, well up from their domestic range of 4–5kg. Tales of panther-like felines may well be huge feral cats. Some have been estimated at 12–15kg. Take the estimated 1.5 metre feral killed in 2005 – double the nose-to-tail length of a domestic cat.
What’s going on? One reason is feral cats aren’t desexed, meaning toms can grow as large as a small dingo. But it also seems selection pressures are favouring larger cats. We don’t know if it’s due to genetic changes or the rich diet of endangered animals. Normally, gigantism – where species grow to larger than usual sizes – is associated with islands. Think of the giant Komodo dragon, or of the extinct dodo – in reality, a giant pigeon.
Cane toads: phase shifters with longer legs
In 1935, the infamous cane toad was brought in to eat the cane beetles plaguing sugar plantations. As we know, cane toads soon figured out there was a lot more to eat. Protected by poisonous glands on their back, they have spread across the tropical north to the Kimberley and down the east coast approaching Sydney.
Toads at the front of the invasion have developed longer legs, making faster travel possible. Remarkably, in some shady gorges in the Kimberley, some have switched from being nocturnal to diurnal.
Adaptation is under way – but will we actually see new species?
Consider too Darwin’s famous Galápagos finches. On these isolated islands, finches calved off into separate species. Seed-eaters evolved thicker beaks, while the vampire finch evolved to drink blood from larger birds.
So could it happen here? Yes – if conditions are right. Let’s speculate that natural selection keeps pushing feral cats to get larger and larger.
Eventually, these giant cats would see any domestic cats fleeing from farms or homes not as mates – but as prey. Once the gene flow from smaller cats was cut off, the gene pool would be limited – and we would be on track for a new species. Perhaps one day, we will have a uniquely Australian cat alongside our uniquely Australian dog.
Australia's Steven Smith plays a shot during a 3rd test cricket match between India and Australia, in Sydney on Thursday. (Photo Courtesy: ICCTwitter)
From the epic face-off between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne to Harbhajan Singh’s web over Ricky Ponting, Tests between India and Australia have witnessed several legendary rivalries.
Here’s a look at some of the ongoing battles which will be reignited during the upcoming Test series that will be key in deciding the ICC World Test Championship finalists, as per ICC.
1- Virat Kohli-Nathan Lyon
Virat Kohli’s dream-like start as India’s Test skipper at Adelaide was ruined by Nathan Lyon’s 7-152, which handed Australia a 48-run win in the opening Test of the series in 2014/15. Among his wickets was Kohli, who fell to a miscued pull after a masterly 141.
Virat Kohli, Indian Cricket Captain; Picture Source: Twitter @BCCI
Since then, Kohli-Lyon battles have become even more engaging. While Kohli has succeeded in scoring runs against the bowler, Lyon has gotten the better of Kohli on seven occasions.
Adding further flavour to the contest is the fact that Kohli has struggled a bit against spinners of late. Lyon will look to take advantage of the turning tracks in India but Kohli, going great guns in the white-ball game, can never be counted out.
2- Cheteshwar Pujara-Josh Hazlewood
Cheteshwar Pujara’s defiance has tested and tormented Australia’s bowling attack in recent years. Few other bowlers have been more frustrated by Pujara’s stone-walling than Josh Hazlewood.
Hazlewood identified Pujara’s resilience as one of the reasons why Australian pacers could not make regular breakthroughs in the Test series in 2018/19. The batter faced 1258 balls over the series and managed to tire the Australia bowlers with his obdurate batting. He repeated the feat in 2020/21, wherein he faced 928 balls, keeping the Australia bowlers on the field for a long time. India won both series 2-1.
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood bowls during a fourth test match between India and Australia, in Gabba on Sunday. (Photo Courtesy: ICC Twitter)
Australia’s premier fast bowler Hazlewood has dismissed Pujara six times in the past and would love to see his back as soon as possible in India. Pujara’s early departure can provide a big boost to Australia’s quest for regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
3- Ravichandran Ashwin-David Warner
David Warner has been Australia’s mainstay at the top for almost a decade. He has scored more than 5000 runs in Australia at an average of 58.39. This includes 19 centuries and 14 half-centuries. However, his record visibly changes in India. He averages 24.25 from eight Tests, with no century to his name.
This is mainly due to the presence of Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He has dismissed Warner on 10 occasions in Tests, with five of these dismissals coming in India. Ashwin appears to have an overall advantage over the left-hander. Warner has scored 388 runs in India for Australia and has made three fifties in eight matches and 16 innings.
India’s Ravichandran Ashwin appeals during the 2nd test match against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Sunday. (BCCI Twitter)
An aggressive batter like Warner will probably take the attacking route against the wily off-spin of Ashwin, making this battle a mouthwatering prospect.
4- Rohit Sharma-Pat Cummins
Though the two skippers have not faced each other on many occasions in Tests, the match-up between them will be interesting.
Both Rohit Sharman and Pat Cummins have had great success with their leadership so far. While Cummins has dismissed Rohit twice in Tests, they have never faced each other in India.
Picture Source: Twitter @Pat Cummins,
India’s captain, who will also open the India batting, will look to provide solid starts at the top while Cummins will try to get rid of Rohit early on to establish Australian dominance.
5- Ravindra Jadeja-Steve Smith
With a Test batting average of 60.89, Steve Smith is one of the modern-day greats. His record is exemplary across nations, and the same holds true against India. He has an overall Test average of 72.58 against India, and also averages 60.0 in India in Test cricket.
Image source: Ravindra Jadeja – Instagram.
At the same time, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has managed to get the better of Smith on a few occasions. He has picked Smith’s wicket four times in Tests. Apart from this, Jadeja’s sharp fielding has also proved deadly for his opponent, as Smith realized after being caught short of the crease during the Sydney 2021 Test between the two nations.
Jadeja will be an even bigger challenge for Australia’s finest batter on pitches suited to his style of bowling.
Have you ever worried if the play between your cats was getting too rough? A new study published in Scientific Reports has investigated play and fighting in cats.
Their aim was to use simple behaviours anyone could observe to work out what was play and what might lead to fights. This is important because the consequences of fights include injuries to animals and humans. At worst, you may even have to rehome one of your cats if they’re not getting along.
Categorising cat ‘fights’
The study, led by Noema Gajdoš-Kmecová from University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Slovakia and from the University of Lincoln, UK, analysed 105 videos of interactions between 210 cats.
The research team then developed an ethogram – a list of specific behaviours used in the study of animal behaviour. These were put into six groups:
Inactive: head and body motionless and in specific position, for example crouching
Wrestling: cats in physical contact with wrestling movements
Chasing: one cat runs in pursuit or another cat runs away
Other interactive activities: for example grooming, approaching, raised fur on back
Non-interactive: activity directed towards themselves or an inanimate object, for example drinking, self-licking
Vocalisation: for example growl, hiss, meow
The researchers used terms such as “cats play fighting” to find relevant videos on YouTube.
Each video was analysed to identify which of these behaviours were shown by each cat. Each interaction was then analysed statistically to work out which behaviours appeared together in clusters.
From this, the researchers separated the videos into three categories of interactions.
Playful: included 40% of cats from the videos and included wrestling and a lack of vocalising.
Agonistic: agonistic behaviours are any social behaviours that include threatening, aggression and submission. Cats in this group vocalised and had recurring bouts of inactivity; 32% of cats from the sample landed in this group.
Intermediate: this group included 28% of cats and was more closely associated with the playful group than the agonistic group. Cats in this group interacted for prolonged periods with pauses in between.
As a crosscheck, these behavioural categories observed from the videos agreed fairly well with how the four authors, experts in cat behaviour, described each interaction.
What does this tell you about your cats’ play?
If your cats are wrestling, they are most likely playing. When there is friction between cats in a multi-cat household, they tend to avoid physical contact. Instead, they’ll use offensive or defensive manoeuvres that don’t involve extended direct contact, such as slapping.
If your cats are vocalising, and chasing between periods of inactivity (such as crouching) they are most likely fighting. Vocalisation is an especially important clue here to an aggressive, rather than playful interaction. Chasing is OK if it’s mutual, but if one cat is chasing or one cat is running away, that’s not so positive.
The intermediate group is the tricky one. It contains elements of both playful and agonistic behaviours, though was more closely related to the playful than the agonistic group. This suggests play could become agonistic, depending on what happens during the interaction.
In particular, the authors observed frequent breaks within the interaction, which may allow cats to reassess their partner’s interest in playing, and avoid escalation from play to aggression.
The big fights are easy to spot
This study is the first to apply a scientific approach to cat behaviours anybody can identify, describing three types of interactions to help identify between play and fighting in cats.
We all know when cats are really fighting, but the main strength is in working out intermediate examples – where it could be OK, but could also escalate.
The study focused on obvious behaviours anybody can observe, but cats can be quite subtle, too. They also use facial expression, ear and tail placement, and pheromones to communicate. These subtle signals may be just as important in differentiating between what is playing and what is fighting.
If your cats really are besties (sleep in close contact and share food and toys) the occasional bit of agonistic play is okay.
But if your cats don’t get on as well, you might need to watch for signs of agonistic behaviours. Tension between cats is not always obvious, but can affect their physical and mental health.
If you are unsure if your cats are really getting along, seeking help early from an expert in cat behaviour can prevent a cat-astrophe.
Dr Sadhana MAHAJANI has been awarded AM in General Divison of the Order of Australia for significant service to aged care, and to community health.
Dr Sadhana Mahajani, popularly known to many as Dr M, retired in 2011 after 38 years of working as a doctor in the Northern Territory, most recently as a geriatrician. In 2013, Dr Mahajani was awarded the Senior Australian of the Year, Northern Territory.
Dr Sadhana Mahajani (Source: cotant.org.au)
She worked out of Royal Darwin Hospital, in the jail as a medical officer, and in community health centres right around the Territory.
Dr Mahajani has devoted considerable energy and time to the care of the elderly, particularly in the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
On 26 January, Governor-General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE, announced 2023 Australia Day Honours and Awards for 1047 Australians. This includes awards in the Order of Australia (General and Military Divisions), meritorious awards and recognition for distinguished and conspicuous service.
Image: Governor-General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE (Source: Wikipedia)
On this occasion, Governor-General Hurley awarded 736 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (6 AC, 47 AO, 177 AM and 506 OAM). He said:
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s Honours List. The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring.”
The Governor-General has prioritised ensuring the Order reflects the diversity of our community. There are 736 awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia, with 48 per cent for women and 45 per cent for service to local communities. With 354 awards, this is the highest percentage of female Order of Australia recipients in an honours list since the introduction of the Australian honours system in 1975.
The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) commenced the court action against the CFMMEU and several of its officials in 2020.
The penalty was imposed against the CFMMEU and Beau Seiffert, Te Aranui Albert, Blake Hynes, Shaun Desmond, Craig Davidson and Anthony Harding.
The court found these employees of the CFMMEU breached section 500 of the Fair Work Act when they entered the Logan and Gateway motorways extension construction site in Brisbane in 2018 and neither left when asked nor produced any entry permit.
The CFMMEU officials variously entered the site on four dates in May and June 2018, walked around the premises, failed to display entry permits when requested and did not leave when asked. Mr Seiffert entered the site on each of the four dates.
The court found the CFMMEU to have accessorial liability for the actions of its officials, and ordered the union to pay penalties totalling $275,000 for 11 contraventions.
Mr Seiffert was ordered to pay a total of $24,000 for his four contraventions. Mr Hynes was ordered to pay a total of $12,000 for his two contraventions. Mr Albert was ordered to pay a total of $10,000 for his two contraventions. Mr Desmond was ordered to pay a penalty of $3,000 for a single contravention, and Mr Davidson and Mr Harding were each ordered to pay $2,000 for their respective single contravention.
Under federal legislation, responsibility for the case transferred from the ABCC to the Fair Work Ombudsman in December 2022.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said court penalties are important to affirm the seriousness of breaching right of entry laws in the building and construction sector.
“Consistent with other industries, in commercial building and construction the Fair Work Ombudsman will investigate reports of non-compliance and hold to account those who are acting outside the law.”
In imposing the penalties, Federal Court Justice Berna Joan Collier referred to the previous breaches of the union and some of the officials.
“I am satisfied that the [union] has a substantial record of contravening the Fair Work Act,” Justice Collier said.
Four of the officials, Mr Seiffert, Mr Hynes, Mr Albert and Mr Desmond, had also previously breached the Fair Work Act on multiple occasions.
The court made personal penalty orders in relation to Mr Seiffert and Mr Hynes “given the[ir] record of previous contraventions”. These orders require them to pay their penalties without financial support from the CFMMEU.
Only Mr Seiffert and Mr Albert continue to act as CFMMEU officials.
Several trading sessions before the $100 billion crash in Adani group valuation, and soon after the release of the Hindenburg report, a friend had said, “Market shoots first and asks questions later.”
There is nothing here to malign or defend Adani. Just an objective subjective statement observing the wealth creators and the mercenaries, and India as their playground.
1. Transparency about Market Trades
There is no transparency on the volume of short-selling done by Hindenburg and associated parties before publishing their report on the eve of Adani flagship’s now-recalled US$2.5 billion equity offering.
They claim to have traded in derivatives listed outside India in regimes that do not require disclosures of their trades.
In Indian markets, institutional investors must disclose their short-sold positions, and no big names appear there in the case of Adani.
2. The Spark and the Throttle
Now, most Adani companies are majority owned by the family, leaving relatively little float compared to their peers. Neither the public shareholding is large enough to generate wide cash against delivery sell-off nor the lenders to who the founder shares are pledged have sold out.
Therefore, it seems that while Hindenburg triggered the derivatives sell-off, it is the Indian retail speculators who have gone severely bearish on the listed Adani stocks, which have continued to fall every trading session since the report, wiping out US$ 100 billion in market capitalisation.
3. You Could Either be a Company Predominantly for Investors or One for Mercenaries
With initially very high leverage (not very high right now), extreme speed of organic and inorganic growth, extreme diversification from ports to energy to cement to food using an incubator Holdco model, rumours of political favours and no credible analyst coverage, Adani had poised itself to become the darling of mercenaries (traders, speculators, potentially insiders and investment bankers) riding on its scale and ambition.
It was always tough for sensible investors to see Adani valuations not as a multiple of income, but as a multiple of peer valuations!
These companies were enjoying stratospheric valuations for the group’s resources, infrastructure, food and other brick-and-mortar businesses at EV to Sales ratios that would put tech giants to shame.
The same mercenaries who may have gained by bidding up the stocks are probably gaining by beating them down, with onlookers joining in egged on by the Hindenburg assault. They were not Adani’s supportive investors as described in the recent corporate communication.
4. Lessons
A couple of lessons for Adani and everyone interested.
(a) Even while you hold a large majority shareholding in your listed companies, traders can wreck your fortunes if you operate in the grey zone.
(b) For market mercenaries, which include not only mom-n-pop punters but also the so-called “research firms”, activist investors, hedge funds and other capital market players, a wealth creation opportunity is supreme and it is not to be lost to the notions of factual research, conflicted position of the researcher, nationalism issues and so on.
5.My Advice if Adani Cares
As someone invested in the growth and prosperity of India, I hope that regulators and lenders will continue to stiffen the margin requirements for short sellers to avoid a market-wide panic and a temporary but expensive stalling of the fast-moving Indian economic juggernaut.
I hope Adani sobers up and works to save the large and high-quality ports, airports, energy assets, food businesses, etc. he has built.
From Sydney, my best wishes to wealth builders and mercenaries everywhere, and to the success of India!
Author: Chetan Shah is Principal Consultant with Active Directions Sydney-based consulting firm. He specialises in cross-border partnerships, M&A, strategic investment, funding of capital-intensive projects, debt restructuring, disposal of businesses and managing private equity investors and capital market / IPO bankers.
Fiji PM Sitiveni Rabuka with Chargé d'Affaires (CDA) ad interim Mr. Wang Xuguang of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; Image Source: Supplied
Fiji’s remarks over the termination of police training deal with Beijing had signalled that China has virtually lost the chance to be an ally of Suva and also to extend its influence in the Pacific region, The Singapore Post reported.
Recently, Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said there is no need for Chinese state security personnel to continue working with the country’s Police Force as the systems are different.
Referring to the memorandum of understanding that Fiji and China signed in 2011, Fiji’s PM said, “There’s no need for us to continue, our systems are different”, according to The Fiji Times.
The MoU, linked in 2011, resulted in Fijian police officers undergoing training in China and Chinese officers being deployed to Fiji on attachment programs for three to six months.
Officers from other countries like Australia and New Zealand could stay because their systems were similar to Fiji.
This statement was not in favour of China, which is seeking to extend its influence in the Pacific region.
–#Fiji has finally understood the threat of #China & pivots back to well-established partners -It cancelled its police training & exchange agreement with China -New Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says officials from #Australia & #NewZealand will continue for the exchange program pic.twitter.com/FZH5JNcwZn
Rabuka, who is known for speaking his mind, has categorically said that he did not believe Beijing would have “too much influence” in the Pacific region, citing the new Labour government’s swift focus on the region since coming to power, according to The Singapore Post.
His remarks are in sharp contrast to Fiji’s earlier stand according to which China was more of a friend than a foe and a crucial partner in development. Rabuka had made his views known about China much before the elections. He had said that Fiji would pivot away from Beijing under his leadership. He had stated in August last year that he would rule out a security pact with China if he wins the government. He had also said that it was time his country returned to its ‘comfortable niche’ with Australia.
He wanted greater freedom for Fijians working in Australia now by becoming close to Australia. But his intentions hurt the sentiments of China. Under Fiji’s previous leader Frank Bainimarama, the pacific island had come closer to China. He introduced the ‘look north’ policy which allowed greater Chinese involvement in the country.
In recent years, China had also committed more and more money in the region, particularly in the form of loans, giving a signal for the debt trap, reported The Singapore Post.
China’s 10 Pacific allies, including Fiji, had signed on to the One trillion US dollars belt and road initiative. According to news reports, there are around 10,000 Chinese living there, a Confucius Centre located at the regional University of the South Pacific, as well as the presence of Chinese state media in the capital city.
Fiji attempted to increase its presence in the Pacific island and so hosted US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last year in February. Blinken’s visit was aimed to curtail China’s influence in the Pacific region. Blinken’s visit 37 years to the tiny island, reflected how much also had changed geopolitically and the role of Fiji in this part of the world.
However, Blinken’s team used the visit to reassure Pacific Island leaders of the Biden administration’s commitment to regional concerns, chief of which is climate change, following America’s return to the Paris Agreement. Maritime security and illegal fishing.
Blinken had raised the spectre speaking about China’s ambitions to become the “leading military, economic, diplomatic and political power, not just in the region, but in the world” and the need for a united front against Chinese expansionism, as per the report in The Singapore Post.
SARO (Representative image of call centre employee: Source - CANVA)
The NSW Police Force has unveiled an enhanced online reporting option to allow victims of sexual assault to provide information without having to take part in a formal police interview.
While police always encourage victims of any crime to make a formal report, it is acknowledged that for a number of reasons, victims of sexual assault often do not wish to speak about their experiences nor speak with police and go through the legal process.
From 13 January 2023, the SARO is accessed through the online Community Portal and is available in 12 languages, making the reporting option more accessible to victims.
This replaces the old process of printing and completing a 14-page document and emailing the State Crime Command’s Sex Crimes Squad.
NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Paul Toole said the advancement in the online reporting system puts victims of sexual assault first when reporting and investigating these serious crimes.
“While we want to stop would-be perpetrators before it’s too late, it’s absolutely critical we take a victim-focussed approach to supporting those involved through the reporting option,” Mr Toole said.
“Through the hard work of those involved in the Sexual Violence Project, NSW Police have been able to identify ways to better support victims through their journey and to also ensure we take all opportunities to reduce offending.
“While the online portal does not commence a police investigation, it empowers victims of sexual assault to take the first step and record their sexual assault, whether or not they wish at a later date to have the matter investigated.
“The NSW Government is committed to providing the best services and support for victims of crime, and I am passionate about this project and what it can do to help those in vulnerable positions come forward on their own terms.”
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said this is an important step forward to help victim-survivors of sexual violence retain control over their level of contact with police and what happens next.
“For many victim-survivors, a police investigation and court process are the farthest thing from their mind and often they feel further traumatised through the process,” Commissioner Webb said.
“We understand and recognise that a successful prosecution is not always the desired outcome or the only measure of success
“Victims can report via SARO anonymously without further contact from police, or they can elect to be identified and request that police follow up in certain circumstances.
“We know that sexual violence continues to be under-reported, and we hope that by providing victims with alternative reporting options we will be better placed to understand sexual violence in the community, assist victims, and hold offenders accountable.”
State Crime Command’s Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Superintendent Jayne Doherty, said the NSW Police Force is continuing to review and improve its practices and procedures around sexual violence.
“Our ongoing focus is to create a trauma-informed, victim-centric response to sexual violence – the enhanced SARO is another important resource for both survivors and investigators,” Det Supt Doherty said.
“While trauma affects individuals in different ways, reporting can be therapeutic for those victims who wish to share their experience and do so online from their own home or a safe location. For some victims, this may be their first disclosure of the sexual assault.
“The number of SARO reports continues to steadily increase each year, with the monthly average increasing from 64 reports in 2021 to 70 in 2022.
“This allows us to continue to gather information which can be used to develop future strategies that target repeat offenders and can determine modus operandi or links between cases.”
Full Stop Australia’s Director of Clinical and Client Services Tara Hunter said this is a great step forward in addressing the barriers experienced by victim-survivors when engaging with the justice system.
“The enhanced SARO will provide choice and greater accessibility for victim-survivors of sexual violence.
“We know sexual violence in our community continues to be under-reported and we see the SARO as a tool for victim-survivors to make initial contact with police following an incident of sexual violence, where they are able record the details and return to making a more formal statement if and when they are ready.”
“Full Stop Australia supports these improvements to increase the reporting of sexual violence incidents in our community and look forward to continue working to better our justice and support systems for survivors of sexual, domestic and family violence.”
The Community Portal sexual assault page will include an online reporting form (SARO) that allows victims to:
• report their sexual assault in English or 11 other languages,
• report their sexual assault anonymously,
• upload images such as screen shots of social media or dating app profiles,
• respond to SARO questions that are tailored to their experience,
• request follow-up contact from a police officer,
• download their SARO report from the site and via email or text,
• receive a SARO reference number on the site and via email or text, and
• access the community portal via desktop and mobile devices.
Representative image: Bollywood dance (source: CANVA)
By Tamara Borovicaand Renata Kokanovic
If your new year’s resolutions include getting healthier, exercising more and lifting your mood, dance might be for you.
By dance, we don’t mean watching other people dance on TikTok, as much fun as this can be. We mean taking a dance class, or even better, a few.
A growing body of research shows the benefits of dance, regardless of the type (for example, classes or social dancing) or the style (hip hop, ballroom, ballet). Dance boosts our wellbeing as it improves our emotional and physical health, makes us feel less stressed and more socially connected.
Here’s what to consider if you think dance might be for you.
The benefits of dance
Dance is an engaging and fun way of exercising, learning and meeting people. A review of the evidence shows taking part in dance classes or dancing socially improves your health and wellbeing regardless of your age, gender or fitness.
Another review focuses more specifically on benefits of dance across the lifespan. It shows dance classes and dancing socially at any age improves participants’ sense of self, confidence and creativity.
Researchers have also looked at specific dance programs.
One UK-based dance program for young people aged 14 shows one class a week for three months increased students’ fitness level and self-esteem. This was due to a combination of factors including physical exercise, a stimulating learning environment, positive engagement with peers, and creativity.
Another community-based program for adults in hospital shows weekly dance sessions led to positive feelings, enriches social engagement and reduced stress related to being in hospital.
If you want to know how much dance is needed to develop some of these positive effects, we have good news for you.
A useful hint comes from a study that looked exactly at how much creative or arts engagement is needed for good mental health – 100 or more hours a year, or two or more hours a week, in most cases.
Dance is social
But dance is more than physical activity. It is also a community ritual. Humans have always danced. We still do so to mark and celebrate transitory periods in life. Think of how weddings prompt non-dancers to move rhythmically to music. Some cultures dance to celebrate childbirth. Many dance to celebrate religious and cultural holidays.
This is what inspired French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) to explore how dance affects societies and cultures.
Durkheim described how dancing with others cultivated ‘collective effervescence’ – dynamism, vitality and community. (Aeon Video)
Durkheim saw collective dance as a societal glue – a social practice that cultivates what he called “collective effervescence”, a feeling of dynamism, vitality and community.
He observed how dance held cultures together by creating communal feelings that were difficult to cultivate otherwise, for example a feeling of uplifting togetherness or powerful unity.
It’s that uplifting feeling you might experience when dancing at a concert and even for a brief moment forgetting yourself while moving in synchrony with the rest of the crowd.
Synchronous collective activities, such as dance, provide a pleasurable way to foster social bonding. This is due to feelings Durkheim noticed that we now know as transcendental emotions – such as joy, awe and temporary dissolution of a sense of self (“losing yourself”). These can lead to feeling a part of something bigger than ourselves and help us experience social connectedness.
For those of us still experiencing social anxiety or feelings of loneliness due to the COVID pandemic, dance can be a way of (re)building social connections and belonging.
Whether you join an online dance program and invite a few friends, go to an in-person dance class, or go to a concert or dance club, dance can give temporary respite from the everyday and help lift your mood.
Keen to try out dance?
Here’s what to consider:
if you have not exercised for a while, start with a program tailored to beginners or the specific fitness level that suits you
if you have physical injuries, check in with your GP first
if public dance classes are unappealing, consider joining an online dance program, or going to a dance-friendly venue or concert
to make the most of social aspect of dance, invite your friends and family to join you
social dance classes are a better choice for meeting new people
beginner performance dance classes will improve your physical health, dance skills and self-esteem
most importantly, remember, it is not so much about how good your dancing is, dance is more about joy, fun and social connectedness.
In the words of one participant in our (yet-to-be published) research on dance and wellbeing, dance for adults is a rare gateway into fun:
There’s so much joy, there’s so much play in dancing. And play isn’t always that easy to access as an adult; and yet, it’s just such a joyful experience. I feel so happy to be able to dance.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Indian High Commission have announced a new call for applications for the Lata Mangeshkar Dance & Music Scholarship Scheme (previously known as Scholarship scheme for Indian Culture), for the academic year 2023-24.
Interested international students can apply for these prestigious to apply through the ICCR A2A Portal.
The scholarship is named after India’s beloved singer Lata Mangeshkar, Affectionately known as “Didi” (sister), whose career spanned more than half a century. She recorded thousands of songs in 36 languages that are still popular.
She passed away last year at the age of 92 and was cremated in Mumbai with full state honours.
In his condolence message, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi tweeted: “The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people.”
I am anguished beyond words. The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people. pic.twitter.com/MTQ6TK1mSO
King Charles III won’t replace Queen Elizabeth II on Australia’s next $5 note, as per a statement by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Instead, the portrait of the Queen will make way for a “design that honours the culture and history of the First Australians”.
“The Reserve Bank has decided to update the $5 banknote to feature a new design that honours the culture and history of the First Australians. This new design will replace the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature the Australian Parliament.”
RBA further added that the new design was still some years away from coming into circulation.
“The bank will consult with First Australians in designing the $5 banknote. The new banknote will take a number of years to be designed and printed.”
Conférence des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques – COP21 (Paris, Le Bourget)
The first $1 banknote, issued in 1966, included imagery of Aboriginal rock paintings and carvings and designs based on a bark painting by David Malangi Daymirringu.
Australia’s first polymer banknote, a $10 issued as a one-off in 1988, included examples of ancient and contemporary Aboriginal art, echoing the appreciation of the art’s significance, both nationally and internationally.
The current $50 banknote features author, activist, inventor, musician and preacher, David Uniapon, a Ngarrindjeri man from South Australia.
The $5 banknote showcases the Forecourt Mosaic, which is based on a Central Desert dot-style painting by Michael Nelson Jagamara titled ‘Possum and Wallaby Dreaming’.
The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced on the night of January 27, the eve of the city’s anniversary weekend, was caused by rainfall that was literally off the chart.
Over 24 hours, 249mm of rain fell – well above the previous record of 161.8mm. A state of emergency was declared late in the evening.
Radar time lapse of the Auckland rain since yesterday morning
Look closely at the north-to-south line of torrential rain between 5-9pm directly over the city
Normally features like this move on relatively quickly, but not in this case, which was what made it so extreme pic.twitter.com/cv3jJaKr8R
It has taken a terrible toll on Aucklanders, with two people reported dead and two more missing. Damage to houses, cars, roads and infrastructure will run into many millions of dollars.
Watching the images roll into social media on Friday evening, I thought to myself that I’ve seen these kinds of pictures before. But usually they’re from North America or Asia, or maybe Europe. But this was New Zealand’s largest city. Nowhere is safe from extreme weather these days.
How it happened
The torrential rain came from a storm in the north Tasman Sea linked to a source of moisture from the tropics. This is what meteorologists call an “atmospheric river”.
The storm was quite slow-moving because it was cradled to the south by a huge anticyclone (a high) that stopped it moving quickly across the country.
Embedded in the main band of rain, severe thunderstorms developed in the unstable air over the Auckland region. These delivered the heaviest rain falls, with MetService figures showing Auckland Airport received its average monthly rain for January in less than hour.
Record breaking rain in Auckland. Although the heavy band of rain has moved off to the east there is still a change of showers so the total for rainfall could climb even higher. The impacts of the last 24 hours will be felt by many in Auckland for a long time. Take care out there pic.twitter.com/kiIm6Tsrro
The type of storm which brought the mayhem was not especially remarkable, however. Plenty of similar storms have passed through Auckland. But, as the climate continues to warm, the amount of water vapour in the air increases.
I am confident climate change contributed significantly to the incredible volume of rain that fell so quickly in Auckland this time.
Warmer air means more water
There will be careful analysis of historical records and many simulations with climate models to nail down the return period of this flood (surely in the hundreds of years at least, in terms of our past climate).
How much climate change contributed to the rainfall total will be part of those calculations. But it is obvious to me this event is exactly what we expect as a result of climate change.
One degree of warming in the air translates, on average, to about 7% more water vapour in that air. The globe and New Zealand have experienced a bit over a degree of warming in the past century, and we have measured the increasing water vapour content.
But when a storm comes along, it can translate to much more than a 7% increase in rainfall. Air “converges” (is drawn in) near the Earth’s surface into a storm system. So all that moister air is brought together, then “wrung out” to deliver the rain.
A severe thunderstorm is the same thing on a smaller scale. Air is sucked in at ground level, lofted up and cooled quickly, losing much of its moisture in the process.
While the atmosphere now holds 7% more water vapour, this convergence of air masses means the rain bursts can be 10% or even 20% heavier.
The National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) estimates that over Auckland, one degree of warming translates to abount a 20% increase in the one-hour rainfall, for a one-in-50-year event.
The longer we continue to warm the climate, the heavier the storm rainfalls will get.
Given what we have already seen, how do we adapt? Flooding happens when stormwater can’t drain away fast enough. So what we need are bigger drains, larger stormwater pipes and stormwater systems that can deal with such extremes.
The country’s stormwater drain system was designed for the climate we used to have – 50 or more years ago. What we need is a stormwater system designed for the climate we have now, and the one we’ll have in 50 years from now.
Another part of the response can be a “softening” of the urban environment. Tar-seal and concrete surfaces force water to stay at the surface, to pool and flow.
If we can re-expose some of the streams that have been diverted into culverts, re-establish a few wetlands among the built areas, we can create a more spongy surface environment more naturally able to cope with heavy rainfall. These are the responses we need to be thinking about and taking action on now.
We also need to stop burning fossil fuels and get global emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases down as fast as we can. New Zealand has an emissions reduction plan – we need to see it having an effect from this year. And every country must follow suit.
As I said at the start, no community is immune from these extremes and we must all work together.
Usman Khawaja Indian visa delay; Image Source: The Australia Today
Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja who claimed the inaugural Shane Warne Award as the men’s Test player of the year is still waiting for the Indian government to issue a visa for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar test series.
Pakistan-born Khawaja has taken it to social media to show his frustration with the process.
The rest of the Australian team had no issues regarding their visas and The Australia Today understands most have reached India.
Just two days back he was named Test player of the year in honour of the legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne, who passed away last March.
Khawaja polled 22 votes to win ahead of Marnus Labuschagne (20) and Steve Smith (16).
“Khawaja was a heavy favourite for the award after a prolific 12 months that saw him score 1,020 runs in the voting period, at an average of 78.46. The Allan Border Medal’s overall winner is decided primarily by test votes, however, Khawaja hasn’t represented Australia in either limited-overs format in the previous 12 months,” Australia Cricket said in an official statement.
Social media had multiple reactions to this news.
@Uz_Khawaja aapka bot bada fan hu,not only as a player but also as a human being. You’ve been a whistleblower and as you always said you are a people’s champ, you’re paving the way for all those migrants (Indian, Pakistanis, and all others) who wish 2 play for Australia 1 day!!
A new report by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) says that Australia’s workforce is still highly segregated by gender.
This means that the Australian workforce has an unequal distribution of male and female workers across and within various jobs.
CEDA says the skilled migration system is adding to the problem of growing gender segregation.
It notes that female migrants are usually secondary applicants on their partner’s visa. These migrant women end up working in lower-paid occupations.
CEDA chief executive Melinda Cilento said in a statement:
“In the current tight labour market, gendered workforces contribute to labour shortages in critical occupations such as construction and aged and health care.”
Further, CEDA has highlighted the worsening gender segregation in critical industries such as construction, technology, health and education.
Ms Cilento adds:
“There is still a low proportion of women in traditionally male-dominated industries such as: construction; mining; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); and manufacturing.”
The report notes that since the 1960s, occupational segregation has declined gradually, although the differences remain large.
Source: CEDA.
In its submission to the Albanese Government’s employment white paper, CEDA has made several recommendations to address Australia’s high level of occupational gender segregation.
It has recommended that Australia’s Federal Government continue to enforce corporate disclosure on gender outcomes, strengthen family-friendly policies, and evaluate data for women-in-STEM programs.
CEDA particularly pointed to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources data in STEM jobs and mentoring. It notes that the proportion of women studying and working in STEM has barely changed since 2015.
Further, it showed Australian men were still 1.8 times more likely than women to be working in a STEM-qualified field five years after completing their qualification.
CEDA says that tackling this issue requires action at all levels of business and policy-making through a persistent tight labour market.
“High gender segregation limits job mobility, stifling labour-market flexibility and productivity. It is a complex issue, driven by many economic, social and historical factors.”
In 2018, Workplace Gender Equality Agency figures showed that ONLY 12 per cent of construction workers were women, which was a significant decrease from 14 per cent in 1998. Meanwhile, the proportion of female workers in healthcare and social assistance increased to 79 per cent in 2018, which was arise from 77 per cent in 1998.
To improve gender segregation, CEDA suggests:
“Employers have a major role to play, including through blind hiring and flexible-work practices.”
Greater Dandenong Crime Investigation Unit detectives are appealing for information after jewellery and cash valued at more than two million dollars was stolen during an armed robbery in Dandenong in late December.
Detectives have been told two men, dressed in what appeared to be tradie vests and clothes, entered a jewellery story in Dandenong’s CBD on Thursday 29 December about 6pm.
The pair assaulted and threatened the victim with a knife before he was forced at knifepoint to open the safe.
The victim was then tied up with his hands bound and his mouth gagged as the offenders set about robbing the store.
The offenders fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle before its believed they changed cars and were also seen driving a silver Toyota Camry.
It is believed the stolen jewellery, which can be described as 21 carat gold necklaces, bracelets, pendants and rings, and cash could be valued anywhere between $2-2.5M dollars
Investigators have released CCTV of the Toyota in the hope it will assist the investigation.
Image: Suspects (Source: Victoria police)
Detectives have also released computer generated images of two men believed to have been involved in the hope someone will come forward with information.
The first man is perceived to be Caucasian in appearance, about 165cm tall, with a skinny build. He was wearing gloves, a green fluoro top, brown work pants, sunglasses and a balaclava or similar.
The second man is described as about 175-180cm tall, with white and black hair, is believed aged in his late 50’s. He was wearing gloves, a dark coloured cap, black sunglasses, a blue face mask, orange top and pants.
Both men have been described as being very strong.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Representative image: Online dating (Source: CANVA)
By Kath Alburyand Daniel Reeders
A 2022 survey by the Australian Institute of Criminology found three in four app users surveyed had experienced online abuse or harassment when using dating apps. This included image-based abuse and abusive and threatening messages. A further third experienced in-person or off-app abuse from people they met on apps.
These figures set the scene for a national roundtable convened on Wednesday by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth.
Experiences of abuse on apps are strongly gendered and reflect preexisting patterns of marginalisation. Those targeted are typically women and members of LGBTIQA+ communities, while perpetrators are commonly men. People with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people from migrant backgrounds report being directly targeted based on their perceived differences.
What do these patterns tell us? That abuse on apps isn’t new or specific to digital technologies. It reflects longstanding trends in offline behaviour. Perpetrators simply exploit the possibilities dating apps offer. With this in mind, how might we begin to solve the problem of abuse on dating apps?
Trying to find solutions
Survivors of app-related abuse and violence say apps have been slow to respond, and have failed to offer meaningful responses. In the past, users have reported abusive behaviours, only to be met with a chatbot. Also, blocking or reporting an abusive user doesn’t automatically reduce in-app violence. It just leaves the abuser free to abuse another person.
Wednesday’s roundtable considered how app-makers can work better with law enforcement agencies to respond to serious and persistent offenders. Although no formal outcomes have been announced, it has been suggested that app users should provide 100 points of identification to verify their profiles.
But this proposal raises privacy concerns. It would create a database of the real-world identities of people in marginalised groups, including LGBTIQA+ communities. If these data were leaked, it could cause untold harm.
Prevention is key
Moreover, even if the profile verification process was bolstered, regulators could still only respond to the most serious cases of harm, and after abuse has already occurred. That’s why prevention is vital when it comes to abuse on dating apps. And this is where research into everyday patterns and understanding of app use adds value.
Often, abuse and harassment are fuelled by stereotypical beliefs about men having a “right” to sexual attention. They also play on widely held assumptions that women, queer people and other marginalised groups do not deserve equal levels of respect and care in all their sexual encounters and relationships – from lifelong partnerships to casual hookups.
In response, app-makers have engaged in PSA-style campaigns seeking to change the culture among their users. For example, Grindr has a long-running “Kindr” campaign that targets sexual racism and fatphobic abuse amongst the gay, bisexual and trans folk who use the platform.
Other apps have sought to build safety for women into the app itself. For instance, on Bumble only women are allowed to initiate a chat in a bid to prevent unwanted contact by men. Tinder also recently made its “Report” button more visible, and provided users safety advice in collaboration with WESNET.
Similarly, the Alannah & Madeline Foundation’s eSafety-funded “Crushed But Okay” intervention offers young men advice about responding to online rejection without becoming abusive. This content has been viewed and shared more than one million times on TikTok and Instagram.
In our research, app users told us they want education and guidance for antisocial users – not just policing. This could be achieved by apps collaborating with community support services and advocating for a culture that challenges prevailing gender stereotypes.
Policy levers for change
Apps are widely used because they promote opportunities for conversation, personal connection and intimacy. But they are a for-profit enterprise, produced by multinational corporations that generate income by serving the advertising and monetising users’ data.
Taking swift and effective action against app-based abuse is part of their social license to operate. We should consider stiff penalties for app-makers who violate that license.
The United Kingdom is just about to pass legislation that contemplates time in prison for social media executives who knowingly expose children to harmful content. Similar penalties that make a dent in app-makers’ bottom line may present more of an incentive to act.
In the age of widespread data breaches, app users already have good reason to mistrust demands to supply their personal identifying information. They will not necessarily feel safer if they are required to provide more data.
Our research indicates users want transparent, accountable and timely responses from app-makers when they report conduct that makes them feel unsafe or unwelcome. They want more than chatbot-style responses to reports of abusive conduct. At a platform policy level, this could be addressed by hiring more local staff who offer transparent, timely responses to complaints and concerns.
And while prevention is key, policing can still be an important part of the picture, particularly when abusive behaviour occurs after users have taken their conversation off the app itself. App-makers need to be responsive to police requests for access to data when this occurs. Many apps, including Tinder, already have clear policies regarding cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
Dr Shailja CHATURVEDI has been awarded OAM of the Order of Australia in the General Division for service to medicine, and to the community.
Dr Shailja Chaturvedi founded the first private psychiatric practice in Penrith in 1982 and at present is the Founder of ChildCan Cancer Foundation (India). She is a past President of the Australian Indian Medical Graduate Association (AIMGA) and has also served as a part-time member of the New South Wales (NSW) Mental Health Review Tribunal for well over 25 years, until 2016.
Dr Shailja CHATURVEDI (Source: Supplied)
As an Executive Committee Member of the Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), and through her involvement in the educational activities of undergraduates and local general practitioners, Dr Chaturvedi continues to contribute to her profession. She is also the author of Reflections of a Psychiatrist (2021) and Raising a Child (2019).
On 26 January, Governor-General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE, announced 2023 Australia Day Honours and Awards for 1047 Australians. This includes awards in the Order of Australia (General and Military Divisions), meritorious awards and recognition for distinguished and conspicuous service.
Governor-General David John Hurley (Source: Wikipedia)
On this occasion, Governor-General Hurley awarded 736 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (6 AC, 47 AO, 177 AM and 506 OAM). He said:
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s Honours List. The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring.”
There are 736 awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia, with 48 per cent for women and 45 per cent for service to local communities. With 354 awards, this is the highest percentage of female Order of Australia recipients in an honours list since the introduction of the Australian honours system in 1975.
Representative image: Social media user (Source: CANVA)
The AFP has released a new video to help parents and carers manage the type of information they might be sharing about their children online.
The video comes as school returns around the country, with many families celebrating the milestone by sharing images of their children’s first day of school on social media.
(Source: AFP)
Acting Assistant Commissioner Hilda Sirec says there are simple ways parents can better protect their children online.
“If you are sharing images of your children online, review your privacy settings on social media to limit the personal information being shared with others. Without strong privacy settings, images shared online of their child’s first day at school or other everyday images may end up being seen by unintended audiences.”
Acting Assistant Commissioner Sirec added:
“We also suggest setting accounts to ‘private’ or ‘friends only’, review your friends or followers and only share images of children with people you know and trust.”
Parents and carers should also consider using images that do not include anything that gives away identifying factors, such as their children’s names, locations or school logos.
“TO HELP MAKE THIS EASIER TO NAVIGATE, WE HAVE CREATED A SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO RESOURCE TO ASSIST PARENTS AND CARERS EDIT THOSE HAPPY SNAPS AND POST THEM SAFELY.”
The video shows how to use simple tools to blur out personal information from photos; like school logos, school names, name tags, street numbers and other identifying factors.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Sirec said:
“Any information, however seemingly innocent, can make it the easier for offenders to build a profile of a child with the intention of grooming them, or even to groom the parents or carers in a bid for access or leverage.”
Community or school social media pages featuring children are also being encouraged to consider how they manage their social media accounts, the types of images being shared on their accounts, and who can view them. Police are aware of instances of profiles with no known connection to a school or community group following the social media page.
Top tips for parents and carers
Choose strong privacy settings if you are posting photos or videos of your child that contain identifying factors, including school uniforms
Ensure the background of photos or videos doesn’t give away your address or location (avoid posting your location or ‘checking in’)
Only share images of your children with people you know in-person and trust
For community or school accounts, keep an eye out for suspicious accounts and consider and what permissions you have in place for other profiles to access your page.
How to report online child abuse
If you believe a child is in imminent danger, call police Triple Zero (000) or visit your local police station.
If your child is experiencing issues online, it is essential to collect evidence – taking screenshots or photos of the content. Once you have collected your evidence, block and report on the app, site or platform where the issue occurred.
Online child sexual exploitation can be reported to the ACCCE at https://www.accce.gov.au/report or to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.
If you or someone you know are impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation there are support services available, visit to learn more www.accce.gov.au/support
Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protection children online can be found at ThinkUKnow, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation: www.thinkuknow.org.au
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety.
Just over half of parents and carers don’t know what to do to keep their kids safe online. Just 3 per cent of parents are concerned about online grooming. And, almost a quarter believe online child sexual exploitation is too repulsive to even think about.
Around Australia, about 320,000 children are starting school for the first time. As an early childhood researcher, former kindergarten teacher, and parent of a child beginning school on Monday, this transition fascinates me.
Culturally we place so much importance on this time. Everyone from the lovely cashier at the supermarket, to family, friends and neighbours have been eagerly asking my child, “are you excited about starting school?”
While people have good intentions, the question comes with the clear expectation that “starting big school” is a really big deal. And this puts a lot of pressure on the transition.
For parents, it also raises the question of how best we can prepare our children (and ourselves) for this time. The following tips may help.
Parents (me included) need to recognise children’s learning as a lifelong trajectory. What happens in the first weeks of school will not determine your child’s success in life. Your. child will continue to build skills over the year and over their whole school experience.
It is easy to compare your child with others, but often this is unhelpful.
There will be some children starting school who can read, some who will know letters and sounds, and others who are just beginning in this area. Schools will be aware of this (and realistically, children do not need to be fluent readers at five or six).
Traditional thinking has been that all children should be able to do certain things before starting school, with a focus on “school readiness”. But this has been replaced with a new focus on schools being ready for all students, regardless of their diverse skills.
Communication matters
Ongoing, clear communication with our children about what to expect and how to manage is important.
This could include reminding our children of the pickup routine, or helping them talk about how (and who) to ask for help if they need it.
Communication also matters with teachers. As parents, this is one key way we can support our children. Research shows family engagement with teachers helps children learn and build confidence.
This means talking to the teacher about your child’s strengths and interests, but also outlining areas where they may need help. In suggesting this, launching into this discussion at drop-off on the first day might not be ideal. Instead, email the front office to set up a time or schedule an early parent-teacher meeting to talk.
Worry isn’t helpful, but instincts can be powerful
As parents, we have much we could worry about. Have we read enough books to our kids? Have they watched too much television? Does my child remember where the bathroom is at school? Will they behave? Should I have made them learn all the sounds of the alphabet? Will they drink enough water? The list is endless.
Sometimes our worries can be transmitted to our children. We need to take care to speak positively about school around our kids, to help to reduce anxiety in our children.
But while worry can be unhelpful, parental instincts are important. In my time as a teacher I learned to listen to parents’ concerns, particularly around eyesight and hearing.
For example, if you are concerned that your child might not be seeing things as you share a book, or they don’t hear you unless looking at you, talk to your teacher. Early support is important for all areas of children’s health and development.
Transitions take time
Finally, transitions (especially once-in-a-lifetime ones like this) take time, so give yourself and your child time to settle in.
Your child will have good days, bad days and OK days. So don’t worry if they don’t come home from school on the first day or week absolutely loving it, or having learned obvious new skills.
Helping our children acknowledge the challenge and seeing their growth is helpful (“wow, you’ve done a whole week at your new school!”).
This is not just about academic achievement. It can be about making friends, learning how to buy their lunch at the canteen or mastering the monkey bars.
Mrs Narmatha RAVICHANDHIRA has been awarded OAM of the Order of Australia in the General Divison for service to the arts in music and dance.
Guru Srimathi Narmatha Ravichandhira is the Founder and Artistic Director of Bharatha Choodamani Australia, School of Indian Classical Dance and Sruthi-Laya Kendra (Australia), School of Indian Classical Music; Co-Artistic Director, Academy of Indian Music and Cultural Studies Australia; and Victorian Co-Coordinator, Melbourne Chapter, Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (Spic Macay).
Mrs Narmatha RAVICHANDHIRA(Image: Supplied)
For Mrs Ravichandhira it is the achievements and success stories of cross-cultural communities and alumni who have benefited from her teaching and mentoring that motivate her. She says:
“It gives me immense pride and happiness to undertake more compositional and choreographic work. On each occasion, it is indeed a very proud and humbling experience not only for me but also to see audiences appreciate my work.”
Coming from a humble background in India to Australia in 1992, Narmatha Ravichandhira’s story is an inspiration to everyone across the country and globally. She has successfully reached beyond the Indian community to coach several students from their inception to presenting a full-length debut recital.
Mrs Narmatha RAVICHANDHIRA(Image: Supplied)
Mrs Ravichandhira says that she takes it as a challenge to coach, develop and raise the profiles globally of second and third-generation Australians who are predominantly new to music and dance.
She was the first to raise the profile of Indian classical dance (Bharatanatyam) at the Victorian State School Spectacular in 2013, where she provided training for her students. They were selected to perform at this highly competitive event held at the Hisense Arena for over 10,000 audiences.
Mrs Narmatha RAVICHANDHIRA(Image: Supplied)
She is excited and extremely delighted to be recognised by an Order of Australia honour.
“It is a great honour and privilege. I would especially like to thank my parents, my family members, my esteemed gurus (teachers) and associates who have helped and guided me. And to those who thought my contribution is worthy – thank you too!”
Mrs Ravichandhira is particularly proud of developing and promoting new music and dance repertoire in Australia and NZ─both in performing arts and in research, through her expertise in carnatic vocal, carnatic violin and bharatanatyam (South Indian classical dance).
Mrs Narmatha RAVICHANDHIRA(Image: Supplied)
She has performed at prominent venues in Srilanka, India, UK, France, NZ and Australia, including the Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne Concert Hall and music departments of Monash University and the University of Tasmania.
Mrs Narmatha RAVICHANDHIRA(Image: Supplied)
Mrs Ravichandhira’s contributions include performances at major fundraisers for World Vision, Oxfam Australia, the Lions Club and the JET Australia Foundation (2009), Mental Health Foundation Victoria (2018), PNSS Charitable Trust projects for social causes during pandemic times (2021) and a new Dance Musical work for Vakrathunda Vinayagar Temple Fundraiser (2022).
Mrs Narmatha RAVICHANDHIRA(Image: Supplied)
More than 500 of her students have benefited directly from Mrs Ravichandhira’s leadership, coaching and mentoring over the past 30 years. Since graduating from her institutions, many Australians have continued on to teach their own students.
On 26 January, Governor-General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE, announced 2023 Australia Day Honours and Awards for 1047 Australians. This includes awards in the Order of Australia (General and Military Divisions), meritorious awards and recognition for distinguished and conspicuous service.
Image: Governor-General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE (Source: Wikipedia)
On this occasion, Governor-General Hurley awarded 736 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (6 AC, 47 AO, 177 AM and 506 OAM). He said:
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s Honours List. The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring.”
The Governor-General has prioritised ensuring the Order reflects the diversity of our community. There are 736 awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia, with 48 per cent for women and 45 per cent for service to local communities. With 354 awards, this is the highest percentage of female Order of Australia recipients in an honours list since the introduction of the Australian honours system in 1975.
Facing court are Vertebral Pty Ltd and company director Yasien Adams.
The regulator investigated after receiving a request for assistance from a worker the company employed as a network engineer between January and August 2020.
The worker, from the United Arab Emirates, was a visa holder at the time.
A Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice to Vertebral Pty Ltd in December 2021 after forming a belief the company had underpaid the worker’s minimum wages, payment-in-lieu-of-notice-of-termination entitlements and annual leave entitlements under the Professional Employees Award 2010, the Professional Employees Award 2020 and the Fair Work Act’s National Employment Standards.
The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges Vertebral Pty Ltd, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with the Compliance Notice, which required it to calculate and back-pay the worker’s entitlements. It is alleged Mr Adams was involved in the contravention.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the regulator would continue to enforce workplace laws and take businesses to court where lawful requests are not complied with.
“Where employers do not comply, we will take appropriate action to protect employees. A court can order a business to pay penalties in addition to back-paying workers.”
“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance,” Ms Parker said.
The FWO is seeking penalties in court for the alleged failure to comply with the Compliance Notice. Vertebral Pty Ltd faces a penalty of up to $33,300 and Mr Adams faces a penalty of up to $6,660.
The regulator is also seeking an order for Vertebral Pty Ltd to rectify the alleged underpayment amount in full, plus interest and superannuation. A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Brisbane on 13 February 2023.
Interest rates are almost certain to rise again in February, after the latest Consumer Price Index figures showing inflation hit 7.8% in 2022 – its highest rate in 33 years.
The data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a 1.9% increase in the CPI in the December quarter. Combined with the strong increases in the first nine months of the year, inflation in 2022 was at the highest rate since March 1990.
This reflects a post-pandemic spend-a-thon. Domestic holiday travel and accommodation rose 13.3% over 2022, while international holiday travel and accommodation rose 7.6%. Rents increased by 4%. Power bills increased by 8.6%.
While these price rises were particularly large, the rise in inflation has been quite broadly based. The ABS survey shows the price of 87% of all goods and services increased by more than 2.5% – which is where the central bank generally likes to keep price increases.
The annual change is a touch lower than the Reserve Bank of Australia’s upper forecast of 8% issued in November last year. But it still remains well above the central bank’s target band of 2-3%.
Measures of underlying inflation, which strip out the impact of unusually volatile sectors, also came in at record highs. The trimmed-mean inflation rate (which excludes the 15% of fastest growing and the 15% growing slowest growing prices) was 6.9%, higher than forecast in November. The weighted median price, another measure of underlying inflation, rose by 5.8%.
All of these statistics paint a clear picture: prices are increasing apace in every part of the Australian economy.
What this means for the RBA
This all but guarantees the RBA board will increase interest rates by 0.25 percentage points at its next meeting, on February 7, and likely several more times in 2023.
To fulfil its mandate to keep inflation between 2% and 3%, the bank must further reduce aggregate spending in the economy – principally through lifting the interest rates.
The rationale is that higher rates will encourage households to spend less and save more. A higher cash rate will also make the dollar more valuable as it encourages people to hold Australian dollars. This will help make imports cheaper than they otherwise would be.
It will also, of course, feed into higher loan repayments for households with a mortgage. This will take more spending power out of economy and suppress house prices as the amount of money borrowers can afford falls. Higher mortgage repayments will also cut into household spending, which should help to bring down inflation over 2023.
More than 25 basis points?
There remains an outside chance the RBA will go harder than a 25-basis-point increase and return to the 50-basis-point increases delivered in June, July, August and September of 2022.
This is unlikely but cannot be ruled out, given the rate of inflation and the current strong state of the labour market. The official unemployment rate of 3.5% is a record low and a sign of the economy’s strength – one able to handle higher interest rates without plunging into recession.
While economists still expect inflation to have peaked, the pace at which it will then fall is still an open question.
If rents continue to rise or wage growth picks up, it’s possible CPI will continue to rise. This would almost certainly result in the RBA lifting rates.
The more optimistic scenario involves inflation falling more quickly, as is already happening in the US.
If the rate of inflation starts to fall more quickly towards the 2-3% target band then the RBA will not need to increase interest rates by quite as much.
Fortunately inflation expectations remain largely in check. This means Australia should avoid a costly recession as the RBA lowers the inflation rate back towards the target band.
One clear takeaway from 2022 is that there remains a large degree of uncertainty in the outlook of the economy. That means policy makers will have to remain flexible when setting macroeconomic policy, ready to hike or cut interest rates as Australia’s economy changes.
People describe the sound of a dripping tap in the middle of the night as anything from annoying to torture. Others sleep through, seemingly oblivious.
Zeus Angered the gods to their storm The earth to her fire roar And the quake between our feet From the tunnels we bore Ears fail to let us dream, sleep Like a tap's leaking torture. https://t.co/Uzovj7o6IKpic.twitter.com/oGA74LSXmN
But if this common sound is keeping you awake, you can do something about it.
Here are some tips of how to rethink the sound of your leaking tap, which should help bring you a decent night’s sleep.
Taps, snoring, roosters, traffic
Dripping taps, a partner snoring, the neighbour’s roosters, traffic noise. All can be the nemeses of the land of nod.
Unwanted light can also interrupt our sleep but we can close our eyes to block it out. We cannot close our ears to silence these disruptive noises.
So unless we wear ear plugs or very expensive noise-cancelling headphones, sounds at night will vibrate our ear drums, be converted to nerve impulses and wend their way up to the brain.
So we can hear these sounds if we are awake. If we’re asleep already, they may wake us.
Why are some sounds more likely to wake us?
Sounds that are loud, variable, unpredictable and meaningful are most likely to wake us.
A tap dripping while trying to sleep: the most annoying sound in the world. Rain on the roof (1000 taps dripping at once): the most gorgeous soothing sound. ?????????????
We analyse meaning in the top or “smart” part of the brain, the cerebral cortex. This receives the information from the ears, even when we are asleep, and assesses the importance of the sound.
We are much more likely to awaken to the sound of our own name than another name. A baby’s cry at night can wake us to feed it. Unusual sounds, possibly indicating danger, are more likely to wake us. Loud sounds, usually indicating something is getting very close, will wake us.
It is perhaps a good thing we cannot close our ears when we fall asleep. Having our ears “open” to potential danger while asleep may have been helpful for our ancestors, improving their chances of survival and our own subsequent existence.
How deeply we’re sleeping also affects if sounds wake us. Our sleep pattern is like a roller coaster. We first descend into deep sleep then ascend into light sleep about every 90 minutes. During phases of light sleep, we are much more likely to be awoken by noises, even if they are soft and regular.
These light phases of sleep have probably served as brief “sentry” points across the sleep period. They may have helped our ancestors survive any night-time threats.
Sounds that are soft, regular, familiar, predictable and unimportant are not likely to awaken us.
We can also become used to regular or predictable sounds, such as a dripping tap, refrigerator or fan. That’s because over time our brain predicts the regular pattern, gets used to it, and doesn’t perceive it as a threat.
But a change in the pattern of the sound, such as when it suddenly stops, can wake us.
We have completed a large sleep study of the effects of wind farm noise. We found no objective disturbance to sleep of typical intensity wind farm noise, which is a soft noise and regular.
To our surprise, even people who reported they found the wind farm noise annoying at home and felt it disturbed their sleep were not, in fact, woken by it. Nor was there any disruption of the objectively measured quality of their sleep.
OK, so how about taps?
Sounds that represent a possible threat or challenge are much more likely to wake us. They are also more likely to stop us from falling asleep even when they are at low intensity and regular, such as a dripping tap.
The tap might be a challenge because it represents a job needing to be done, or a waste of water. But the strongest threat of the dripping tap on our sleep may be the belief that it will keep us awake and therefore affect how we function the next day.
The nightly association of the sound of the dripping tap with worry about our sleep and its “downstream” effects can trigger an anxious “fight or flight” response. This further delays us falling asleep. It can also develop into an “alert” habit, contributing to developing insomnia.
This cognitive approach may involve re-interpreting the meaning or threat the dripping tap poses.
Depending on its rate, you could interpret the dripping noises positively as someone’s heart beating regularly. If it drips at a slower rate, you could synchronise your breathing in a meditative-type practice to relax.
Alternatively, it may be quicker to wear earplugs, or fix the tap.
If you have insomnia, the dripping tap is unlikely to be the only trigger. So behavioural therapies can be used to increase your drive for sleep and ensure sleep, regardless of annoying noises.
A GP is a good place to start discussions about the option of referring you to a sleep psychologist to treat severe, chronic insomnia.
Khalistan Propoganda; Image Source: The Australia Today
29 January 2023 is going to be a very tense day for Indian Australians in Melbourne.
Lovepreet Kaur* (name changed on request) works at one of the shops around Federation Square in Melbourne’s heart.
Ms Kaur told The Australia Today, “I work on weekends just to earn extra money but this weekend I am not working because I am concerned about my safety.”
“Khalistan supporters came to my shop to put their Khalistan poster and flag when I refused they got angry.”
“I am going to Geelong at my cousin’s place to keep away from whatever menace will happen on Sunday.”
“One of the elderly men amongst them pointed at my co-worker and said I should be ashamed of being a stooge of Hindus,”
said Ms Kaur.
“My parents who live in Jalandhar city of Indian state Punjab have told me these Khalistanis are very dangerous and will not hesitate from attacking,” added a terrified Lovepreet Kaur.
She is not alone to be opting not working this weekend at Federation square.
Ravi Prakash* an international student who works with a cleaning contractor has also notified his supervisor that he will not be able to do his shift.
Mr Prakash told The Australia Today,
“This money is very important for me as university starts next month and it will not be possible to work full-time, but you know safety is most important.”
The question really is, why are these young Indian Australians so scared of Khalistani supporters?
Sikhs for Justice which has been declared a terrorist organisation by the Indian government is trying to lure the Australian Sikh community to support its Khalistan propaganda. In the last 20 days, Khalistan supporters have attacked three important Hindu Temples in Melbourne with Hindu hate graffiti.
A section of Hindu Victorians feels that Victoria Police and the Victorian government are soft-peddling these Khalistan supporters.
Mr Prakash says, “These Khalsitanis were playing open swords in front of the Indian Consulate on 26th January Indian Republic day, amusingly Victoria Police didn’t take any action against them.”
Khalistan supporters are now so emboldened because of no action against them that they have posted a video on social media of their vandalism of the ISKCON Temple.
Sarah L Gates, Director of Hindu Human Rights Australasia told The Australia Today, “Victoria Police require a broad-spectrum understanding of south Asian extremist actors.”
“This is increasingly important as south Asian migration flows increase due to indo-pacific partnership. A good starting point can be global terror data base for Victorian authorities,”
said Ms Gates.
“South Asian Diaspora communities must come forward and forge a relationship with Australian Authorities to better inform them of risk to social cohesion,” She added.
The Australia Today is given to understand that Sikh for Justice (SFJ) operators who have come from the USA, Canada and the UK have failed to draw wider support from the Victorian Sikh community despite running their propaganda via some charity organisations.
“SFJ operators have now sought support from regional NSW, Queensland and South Australian towns.”
A source very close to Khalistan propaganda organisers Mr Mann*(Name changed), told The Australia Today, “At least twenty buses are hired to ferry people from regional interstate towns to Federation Square Melbourne.”
“A number of illegal migrants whose visas have expired are coming to support Khalistan propaganda from regional Australian towns.”
These illegal paperless migrants work on farms and other regional businesses on cash-in-hand arrangements.
Mr Mann says, “SFJ organisers are promising them that they will be supported to get their legal resident status in Australia or Canada.”
The Australia Today can reveal that a ‘zoom session’ was organised at the request of SFJ organisers by two Australia-based migration agents, where promises of support towards residency were made if they agree to work for Khalistan propaganda.
“Imagine what happens when a $60,000 four-wheel drive is handed over to a man for free just to drive around with Khalistan flags and propaganda material.”
Mr Mann claims more than three dozen such vehicles have been purchased in the last 6 months to give away to the Khalistan workforce.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told The Australia Today, “
“Australia respects the right of individuals to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, including engaging in peaceful protest. However, these rights do not extend to hate speech or incitement of violence. “
The Australia Today understands that after a strong statement by the Indian government about the secessionist activities of Khalistan supporters which led to attacks on Hindu Temples, Australian security authorities have had a detailed meeting where Home Affairs, AFP, DFAT, and Border force representatives were present.
A highly placed source who does not want to be named told The Australia Today, “We will crack down on anyone who tries to show disregard Australian laws.”
“Yes, any illegal/undocumented person will be dealt with by our standard protocol and will be subject to legal scrutiny whether they should be allowed to stay in the country or not.”
The Australia Today understand a group of Indian Australians have also notified the Victoria police that they will do a protest against ongoing Khalistan propaganda at Federation Square on Sunday 29 January.
Ms Mitu BHOWMICK LANGE has been awarded AM in General Divison of the Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts through film.
Ms Mitu Bhowmick Lange is the Founder and Director of Mind Blowing Films and Director of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Since 2018, she is also a board member of Film Victoria.
Mitu BHOWMICK LANGE (Image: Supplied)
Ms Bhowmick Lange has produced and introduced several Indian film productions to Australia such as Salaam Namaste, Chak De India, Bachna Aye Haseeno, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, and Love Aaj kal to name just a few. She is the only film distributor in Australia to have won the “Highest Grossing Foreign Film Award” four times in the last 13 years at the Australian International Movie Convention.
The panelists included women entrepreneurs Ms Mitu Bhowmick Lange, Ms Sajani Anaka Reddy, Ms Kavita Parmar, Ms Poonam Gupta, Ms Devaki Khimji and Ms Maria Siddiqua Ashraf. pic.twitter.com/zxNRQRCd1b
In 2023, Ms Bhowmick Lange was among the three speakers in Australia invited to speak at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas which is the flagship event by the Government of India celebrating the contribution of the overseas Indian community. She was invited to speak on: Harnessing the potential of diaspora entrepreneurs particularly women towards an inclusive approach to nation building, chaired by the Indian Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman.
Listen to Jitarth Jai Bharadwaj’s exclusive conversation with Ms Mitu Bhowmick Lange:
On 26 January, Governor-General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE, announced the 2023 Australia Day Honours and Awards for 1047 Australians. This includes awards in the Order of Australia (General and Military Divisions), meritorious awards and recognition for distinguished and conspicuous service.
Image: Governor-General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE (Source: Wikipedia)
On this occasion, Governor-General Hurley awarded 736 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (6 AC, 47 AO, 177 AM and 506 OAM). He said:
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s Honours List. The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring.”
The Governor-General has prioritised ensuring the Order reflects the diversity of our community. There are 736 awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia, with 48 per cent for women and 45 per cent for service to local communities. With 354 awards, this is the highest percentage of female Order of Australia recipients in an honours list since the introduction of the Australian honours system in 1975.
You may have seen the news Qantas flight 144 from Auckland landed safely in Sydney yesterday after the pilot was forced to shut down an engine and issue a mayday call while flying over the Pacific Ocean.
The plane was reportedly a ten-year-old, twin-jet Boeing 737 and was carrying 145 passengers, all of whom disembarked normally after landing yesterday afternoon.
These events do, unfortunately, happen occasionally in aviation – I myself have lost an engine while flying – but the good news is it’s extremely rare. That makes aviation the safest form of transport in the world.
These are highly trained pilots who spend a lot of time in full-motion simulators going over events exactly like this.
When you’re down an engine and you have lot of water under you, you have a process to follow.
It becomes rote; you don’t panic, you don’t go off the rails, you remember your training, and that’s what happened here.
Can planes fly on just one engine?
Absolutely. That is what they are designed to do.
By law, planes have to be able to fly from point A to point B, over water, on just one engine. The guidance set by safety regulators in Australia mandates that any plane that takes off with the intention of getting to a certain destination has to be able to get there on one engine – based on the departure loads determined before takeoff.
That rule ensures that even if one engine goes down – as appears to have happened here – the plane can still arrive safely. It can fly until it runs out of fuel. Basically, these planes are built to fly as well on one engine as they can on two.
Having just one engine operating means you won’t have the maximum thrust power for take off, but you’d be able to fly and land just fine.
But while a plane can fly on one engine, it is very rare for an engine to go down in the middle of a flight.
Airline maintenance procedures are meticulous and technicians are licensed at the same level and quality as pilots. Typically you have someone do the maintenance on a plane on the ground, but they have someone come after them and inspect it and test it to make sure it is operating at 100% performance.
There are ground tests and flight tests and certification processes that need to be followed before a plane can take passengers. That’s why these events are so unusual.
A bang and air-con shutdown
Passengers said they heard a bang during the Qantas flight yesterday.
Details on what exactly happened are yet to emerge, but it’s certainly possible for engine failure to make a sound. It depends on the type of failure. If it was a section within the engine breaking, that could make a noise loud enough for passengers to hear it.
But normally if the pilot needed to isolate the engine and could see pressure fluctuation or engine temperature exceeding normal levels, then the pilot could choose to shut it down even before they heard a bang.
Reports the plane’s air conditioning subsequently stopped working suggests to me the crew probably had to turn off some systems to achieve their goal of landing successfully back in Sydney.
Anatomy of a crisis
When an event like this happens, pilots have a process for scanning their instrumentation to isolate and figure out what’s happening.
Once they do, we have what’s known as a Quick Reference Handbook to consult. It lists all the potential emergency situations that might happen on a plane. The pilots then follow that handbook to analyse each step and each possibility, which helps isolate and solve the problem.
In this case, it appears the solution was to shut that engine down.
For the sake of precaution, aviators announce a mayday call when we have a situation we think means we need priority help. The mayday call clears out the airspace to permit this plane to be number one in the queue for priority; all other aircraft have to get out of the way.
The air traffic controllers put everyone else in the air in a holding pattern or give them a big turn to keep them out of the area.
However, sometime after the pilot on QF144 issued a mayday call, it was downgraded to what’s known as a PAN – that stands for Possible Assistance Needed.
A PAN is a less extreme event; it still signals it is an emergency, and meant yesterday there were emergency vehicles on the runway and the plane retained its priority status in the queue. But it is not quite as serious as a mayday.
From here, a very thorough review will help shed light on what happened. The pilots typically go through drug and alcohol testing and there will be a full investigation to ensure nothing was missed and help Qantas return to normal operations.
Remembering your training
I wasn’t there on the flight deck yesterday and can only infer from what I have heard and read that the pilots on this plane did exactly what they are trained to do.
Airlines spend a lot of money on training so pilots and crew can handle events like this.
As we begin the conversation toward single pilot planes and autonomous aircraft, it’s worth asking how AI and autonomous systems might respond to circumstances that are not normal events.
Australia's Prime Minsiter Anthony Albanese with his indian counterpart Narendra Modi (Image source: Twitter)
By Om Prakash Dwivedi
Can the notion of ‘One Earth’ and ‘One Family’ be incorporated into practice by the G20 members while thinking about the future of the planet in times of environmental crisis? Can the G20 as a family work toward the utopian vision of the preservation and promotion of life on this planet? And still, when the world leaders meet at the upcoming summit in Delhi in September 2023, will they be able to recognize and historicize the problems that have enveloped the developing economies for a long time?
The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. Established in the year, 1999, the G20 is essentially vital for the global economy. As mentioned by the Australian government’s department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, “it brings together the world’s major and systemically important economies. Its members account for around 85 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of global trade and 65 percent of the world’s population.”
Last month India assumed the #G20 Presidency. December witnessed 5 official meetings. With more than 200 to go, here is India’s G20 Chief Coordinator @harshvshringla giving us a glimpse of what to expect this month.#G20Indiapic.twitter.com/wYbs34K8lX
This year, the G20 Leaders’ summit will be organized in India, energized by the theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, which means “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” Drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text, the Maha Upanishad, the Indian government theme for G20 advances and celebrates “the value of all life – human, animal, plant, and microorganisms – and their interconnectedness on the planet Earth and in the wider universe.
#G20DWG of #G20India will work to create an enabling environment for LiFE by bringing together all stakeholders & focussing on 3 core shifts for a global collective approach Reshaping demand Rethinking supply Responsive ecosystem@PMOIndia@MEAIndia@moefccpic.twitter.com/n08Yhd5dFN
It would be of acute interest to see how the G20’s theme is translated into action in Delhi, even to elicit firm calls on the much-pressing concern of environmental justice. Will the powerful economies be willing to discuss this challenge during the summit? Will they accept their responsibility of recognizing the increased vulnerability of many developing nations? And yet still, will they contribute to reviving and strengthening the severely damaged and compromised social infrastructures in these countries?
Apparently, the extraction of all forms of natural resources in developing nations has been aserious challenge within the global environmental discourse. Despite this alarming scenario, powerful economies continue to flex their muscles to curb and silence the environmental discourse as far as the rights, life, and sustainability of the Global South countries are concerned. By evading, even blurring the fundamental questions on climate injustice, the major economies carry on building their empire and health while sacrificing and pushing other regions into everyday existential crises, gasping for breath.
Seen from the context of planetary crisis, the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ laid down by the G20 2023 Presidency gains more pertinence. The planet’s health ostensibly depends on our ability to visualize, recognize and accept our collective role in healing its already compromised base, which happen to be natural resources.
Had the pleasure of bilateral Interaction with @G20Australia Sherpa Katrina Cooper today. Discussed India’s key priorities. Look forward to working closely with Australia during our Presidency. pic.twitter.com/267G7LSqR0
The heightened excitement, of course, hinges on the theme of the G20 2023, and it would only render the ailing planet some ray of hope to see some decisive policies emanating from this summit. No wonder then, that the G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant maintains that:
“The challenges that we face today can be solved only by working together through hope, harmony and healing and our first concern should be towards those whose need is greatest. Therefore, we need to focus on the Global South as well.”
The world looks up to this summit and the commitments of world leaders with a hope that they would exercise their imagination and collective thinking to perpetuate and legitimize the practice of the planet as a family. It is here that the role of Australia becomes very crucial.
Warmly welcomed my meeting with @narendramodi for an engaging discussion on Australia and India’s full strategic and economic agenda, including on clean energy technology. Australia-India ties have never been closer. pic.twitter.com/XF6g2mu3xH
Recently, we have seen several rounds of discussions between the two countries, including the India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission meet in 2021 that relaunched the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and ‘Virtual Leader’s summit’ in June 2020, culminating in the formulation of a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” The challenges that pervade both countries include climate change, energy security, disaster management, and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
Had productive talks with PM Anthony Albanese in Tokyo. We will keep working closely to boost the India-Australia friendship in diverse sectors. @AlboMPhttps://t.co/lcLAus6Hyp
In the last few years, both India and Australia have shown an intensified degree of warmth, and the Australian PM’s tweet on the occasion of India’s Republic Day (2023) only demonstrates that PM Modi enjoys a great rapport with the Australian leaders: “As we share national days, we celebrate the warm spirit of affection our people have long held for each other and the depth of our friendship.”
Sending best wishes to @narendramodi and the people of India on Indian Republic Day. As we share national days, we celebrate the warm spirit of affection our people have long held for each other and the depth of our friendship. Australia and India have never been closer. pic.twitter.com/up1YoKYjUy
The Australian PM’s visit to India in March 2023 is also anticipated to channelize concrete plans for cementing the bilateral relationship. Likewise, Australian High Commissioner to India, Barry O’ Farrell avers:
“From a country that has one world, one family initiative, a country that’s determined to address sustainability, and a country that understands as I said, the importance of economic growth to the future of every citizen, not just within India, but across the world, we are happy with that.”
Let’s hope that the two countries can push for a necessity of a strong intervention in the policymaking on environmental issues and existential challenges that face humanity at large, while also restructuring the world as kutumbakam, for when we talk of the future of the earth, we need to hear to the unheard stories of developing nations, or as Amitabh Kant underlines the urgent need to listen to the “Global South.”
Contributing Author: Dr Om Prakash Dwivedi is Head, School of Liberal Arts, Bennett University, Greater Noida, India. He tweets @opdwivedi82
Disclaimer: The author is solely responsible for the views expressed in this article. The opinions and facts are presented solely by him, and neither The Australia Today Newsnor its partners assume any responsibility for them.
Alice and Scott* have been running their two-storey pub-turned-backpacker hostel in Queensland’s Wide Bay region, north of Brisbane, for more a decade. Over the years they’ve provided accommodation for thousands of backpackers and itinerant workers who come to the region for fruit-picking jobs.
Before the pandemic, the hostel bustled with backpackers – “mostly from Europe, some Asian backpackers” too, Alice explains. Now they cater exclusively for Pacific Islanders on temporary visas.
We’re sitting in the hostel’s backyard watching a group of men still in their high-vis work gear, barbecuing their dinner. They’re from Vanuatu, Scott says. They’ve been at the hostel for many months. The yard is enclosed by a high wooden fence now. “We had to put that up to stop people looking in, abusing our workers,” Alice says. “People still think these foreigners are taking Aussie jobs.”
They’re not. Australia has had a huge shortage of farm workers since borders were closed in March 2020 and backpacker numbers dried up. Backpacker numbers have not rebounded since the border reopened. In 2019, more than 140,000 young people on the Working Holiday Maker visa flocked to Australia. In 2022, less than half that number had arrived.
In response, the federal government has been offering more and more work visas under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM), a federal government program that allows farmers (and other eligible employers – in July 2022 the federal government expanded the scheme to the services sector) to recruit workers from nine Pacific Island nations as well as Timor Leste.
In 2019, under the PALM scheme’s predecessor policies, there were 6,753 temporary migrants from Pacific Island nations in Australia. By the end of 2022 it was almost 24,000. By the end of this is year it is expected to be 40,000.
But the switch from dependence on backpackers to Pacific Islanders has been bumpy.
Cultural differences fuel misunderstandings
For a new report published by Griffith University on the state of seasonal farm work in Australia, I interviewed more than 40 stakeholders in business, government and the community sectors about the challenges of farms shifting from backpackers to Pacific Island workers.
It’s a familiar story of the problems that arise with the arrival of a new group of migrants into a community.
Assumptions about “cultural differences” fuel misunderstandings in regional communities. Several pubs in farming towns have imposed blanket bans on Pacific Islanders (on the grounds of excessive drinking and unruly behaviour), whereas backpackers and other workers are still allowed.
Shifting cohorts of migrant workers also change the role of accommodation providers like Alice and Scott. Backpackers would stay for no more than a few months, and could move on when they liked, being free to chose who they worked for. PALM workers can stay for up to nine months on “seasonal” visas and up to four years on long-term visas, and they are bound to their sponsoring employer. This means they need long-term accommodation.
With this change, hostels like Alice and Scott’s are also providing more than just housing. They often facilitate the daily transport, supermarket runs, airport pick-ups, as well as providing social activities, general care, and what Alice called “lending an ear”.
“When they first arrive we have to show them everything,” Alice said. “Settle them in, show them how things are done here in Australia. It’s totally different to where they’re from.”
Another hostel manager told me: “We take them to church – there’s three different churches we drop them to at the weekend. Then they go to the local rugby team.”
Informal responses
These informal support services filling a void in formal services.
The PALM scheme does require sponsoring employers to provide “cultural support” – vaguely defined as cultural, social and religious activities – but there are no formal provisions to ensure those employing Pacific Islanders understand the type of cultural support their workers need.
My research indicates those signing up to the scheme are unsure about their obligations and are fumbling through the process.
“There’s no induction, you just get a bunch of Islanders arrive at your doorstep, fresh off the plane,” one hostel operator said. “I had no idea what church they go to, or even how I should refer to them. Can I say ‘Islander’? Is that appropriate?”
With Pacific Islanders becoming an increasingly crucial component of Australia’s rural workforce, building cultural awareness shouldn’t be an afterthought. My report argues that making cultural education part of the PALM scheme can help mitigate tensions and misunderstandings.
Training, awareness and information should be implemented by Pacific people here in regional communities. They know their cultural and social responsibilities, and can ease local Australian businesses and newly arrived Pacific Island workers into meaningful, long-term relationships. As one support service representative said:
Leadership must come from Pacific people themselves, not Australians.
If we are serious about nurturing our “Pacific Family” we can’t expect local businesses to erect high walls around their backyards, sealing off these workers from divided communities.
Indian Republic day celebrate in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Canberra; Image Source: Supplied
Indian Australian community participated in the 74th Republic Day celebrations at the High Commission of India, Canberra, and Indian Consulates in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
Republic Day Celebrations in Melbourne were very special as Melbournians were the first to see the Indian Consul General Dr Sushil Kumar unfurl the Indian National Flag.
The enthusiastic participants of the diaspora and friends representing India’s sociocultural diversity and multiculturalism in Victoria were mesmerised by Consul General Dr Kumar’s traditional ‘pagdi’ (Headgear) representing the cultural significance.
Indian High Commissioner to Australia Manpreet Vohra unfurled Indian National Tricolour and read Indian President’s message in Canberra.
High Commissioner Vohra thanked the esteemed Indian diaspora members, Friends of India and other community members for joining them on the auspicious occasion. Celebrating #IYoM2023 and promoting awareness, millet-based refreshments were served.
In Sydney, Consul General Manish Gupta unfurled the Indian national flag. Here too the Indian-Australian community and friends of India joined #RepublicDay2023 celebrations.
Traditional cultural programs were performed by enthusiastic diaspora members to mark a special day in the democratic journey of India.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also sent his best wishes to the Indian Australian community on the occasion of the 74th Republic day of India.
PM Albanese wrote on Twitter,
“Sending best wishes to @narendramodi and the people of India on Indian Republic Day. As we share national days, we celebrate the warm spirit of affection our people have long held for each other and the depth of our friendship. Australia and India have never been closer.”
Indian Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar returned the favours with warmest greetings to Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the Government and people of Australia on #AustraliaDay.
“Our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership deepens to the benefit of our peoples and for the Indo-Pacific,”
Buys of the inaugural 
(@amenners) 
(@shauntaitaussie) 
Radar time lapse of the Auckland rain since yesterday morning
Look closely at the north-to-south line of torrential rain between 5-9pm directly over the city
Normally features like this move on relatively quickly, but not in this case, which was what made it so extreme 
Reshaping demand
