Category: Evening Report

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Professor of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island

Alarm over the war of words between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV has escalated with remarkable speed, from The New York Times to the Daily Beast and local television.

The pope has repeatedly called for peace in the Middle East since the start of the Iran war, insisting that “God does not bless any conflict” and warning against the “delusion of omnipotence.”

On April 12, in a lengthy social media post, Trump derided Leo as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” telling him to “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.” His Truth Social account posted, then deleted, a Christ-like image of Trump appearing to heal a man.

At stake in this public feud is an old question: Can a religious leader challenge political power, especially a ruler of one of the most powerful countries in the world?

As a medieval historian and lead editor of “The Cambridge History of the Papacy,” I cannot help but see a familiar pattern.

For many people, Trump’s rant against the pope was shocking. But conflicts between popes and rulers are not an aberration; they’re a durable feature of Western history. Whenever political leaders cloak power in sacred language, or religious leaders publicly denounce political violence, they reenact debates that stretch back more than a millennium. These struggles are not symbolic: They concern who holds ultimate authority over people, souls – and in the end, history itself.

Two powers, intertwined

From its earliest centuries, Christianity was bound up with politics. Roman Emperor Constantine legalized the religion in 313. He later presided over the Council of Nicaea, an important theological assembly, blurring the line between political rule and spiritual authority.

In the fifth century, Pope Gelasius I articulated a rival vision: that the world was governed by two powers, priestly and royal. Ultimately, he argued, spiritual authority outweighed political power, because it promised eternal salvation. Gelasius’ theory did not resolve the tension between the two, but it established a lasting framework for Christian political thought.

The relationship between these two powers shifted decisively in the year 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, a Frankish king, emperor on Christmas Day. This act was not merely ceremonial. It implied that imperial authority in the West came from the church and that political legitimacy required papal sanction.

The coronation followed years of political instability in Rome and the papacy’s increasing reliance on the Franks for military protection. After Leo was elected pope in 795, opponents attacked him, and he found shelter at the court of Charlemagne. The king returned to Rome with Leo and asserted his legitimacy. In turn, Leo crowned Charlemagne. Doing so asserted his own role as a maker of emperors, while Charlemagne gained a sacred aura.

This moment reshaped medieval political theology. It encouraged rulers to see themselves as guardians of both political order and religious orthodoxy, while popes moved from spiritual counselors to active participants in secular governance. The result was a paradox: Kings invoked God to sanctify conquest, as Charlemagne did in his brutal wars against the Saxons. Meanwhile, churchmen claimed the authority to restrain violence, encouraged just wars and threatened violent behaviors with spiritual sanctions.

Battle over bishops

By the 11th century, however, the papacy increasingly sought to free itself from secular dominance. In particular, popes wanted to select the church’s bishops rather than allowing nobility or a king to do so.

That struggle exploded into the Investiture Controversy, one of the most consequential conflicts of the Middle Ages, and lay crucial groundwork for the Magna Carta, the first document to hold royalty subject to the law. Both events addressed the same fundamental question: Who has the right to grant authority, and what limits exist on political power?

At stake was not merely church administration but sovereignty itself. Bishops were major landholders and political figures; controlling their selection meant controlling wealth, loyalty and governance.

In the push to appoint bishops, popes were insisting that spiritual authority came from the church alone, challenging the idea that kings ruled by unchecked power. It was a decisive attempt to separate spiritual legitimacy from royal control and to place moral constraints on rulers who claimed divine authority.

The Investiture Controversy dragged on for several decades. Finally, in 1122, Pope Calixtus II and Emperor Henry V signed the Concordat of Worms. The agreement granted the pope the right to name bishops and to install their spiritual authority. The emperor, meanwhile, would “invest” them with their “temporalities”: that is, the worldly powers attached to their office, such as land, revenue, jurisdiction and coercion.

Reining in the king

A century later, the Magna Carta pursued a parallel objective.

Its immediate background lay in the conflict over the new archbishop of Canterbury, whom Pope Innocent III had appointed in 1207. King John opposed his choice, prompting Innocent to excommunicate the king and place England under interdict, meaning the English could not participate in church sacraments.

To appease tensions, John surrendered England to the pope in 1213, turning the kingdom into a papal fief. In return, he received Innocent’s approval for a war against France.

But the arrangement deeply angered English barons, who now found themselves subject not only to their king but also to papal authority. After England’s decisive defeat, John was forced to confront rebellious barons at home.

The result was the Magna Carta, the “Great Charter.” Forced on the king by armed resistance, the document asserted that the king himself was subject to law. It limited royal authority over taxation, justice and punishment, and it famously declared that no free person could be imprisoned or deprived of rights without lawful judgment.

John appealed to the pope, however, who annulled the charter shortly after its issue. Despite this setback, the Magna Carta survived: John’s son Henry III reissued it several times, with its definitive version implemented in 1225.

Taking the long view

Seen in this long perspective, the Trump–Leo confrontation appears less surprising. When a president invokes sacred language or imagery to justify violence, and a pope replies by denying divine sanction, they are reenacting a struggle as old as medieval Christendom: who may speak in God’s name, and who may set limits on power.

The medieval world did not resolve this tension, but it learned to live with it by fracturing authority: first between church and crown, later between rulers and law. What is unsettling today is how easily modern leaders still reach for religious language to evade restraint, and how fragile the institutions meant to check them can appear.

– ref. Trump’s clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide? – https://theconversation.com/trumps-clash-with-the-pope-reenacts-a-1-000-year-old-question-what-happens-when-sacred-and-secular-power-collide-280548

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/17/trumps-clash-with-the-pope-reenacts-a-1-000-year-old-question-what-happens-when-sacred-and-secular-power-collide-280548/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Rutter, Senior Adjunct Lecturer, Waterways Centre, University of Canterbury

The latest official stocktake of the state of New Zealand’s freshwater carries many of the headline messages we have come to expect.

Pressures such as intensive land use and climate change are continuing to degrade our lakes, streams and rivers, with pathogen contamination making many monitored sites unsafe for swimming.

The country’s vulnerable freshwater habitats are struggling with stresses that range from nutrients and invasive species to warming water temperatures.

And once again, the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ’s new report, Our Freshwater 2026: Tō Tātou Wai Māori, underscores just how central freshwater systems are to our wellbeing. They support our health, help produce our food and energy, and sustain ecosystems.

What sets this latest report apart from others before it, however, is its focus on a part of the water cycle that is largely out of sight – but nonetheless crucial.

A hidden system with a long memory

Groundwater is what fills the pores and fractures of sediments and rocks beneath our feet, sometimes just a few metres down, and in other places hundreds of metres below ground.

It is core source of water for agriculture and provides drinking water to nearly half the population. During dry periods, it maintains the flow of rivers by slowly releasing water stored in aquifers.

Groundwater can also act as both a sink and a pathway for contamination. Once nutrients and other pollutants enter groundwater systems, they can linger within them for years, and often decades, before reemerging.

Today, groundwater sampling is showing the legacy of generations of human influence on New Zealand’s landscapes.

The report indicates that levels of nitrate – a form of nitrogen typically stemming from fertiliser use and livestock waste – have been increasing at 39% of monitored groundwater sites around the country, while declining at just 26% of sites.

Around 43% of monitored sites had nitrate levels above natural reference ranges – the levels expected without human influence – further pointing to the impact of activities such as farming.

Particularly where groundwater is shallow or poorly protected, contamination from land use has been affecting drinking water supplies.

Between 2019 and 2024, for instance, 45% of monitored groundwater sites recorded levels of the harmful bacteria E. coli above safe drinking water limits at least once – and 12% exceeded thresholds for nitrate.

Lag-times and blind spots

As the report acknowledges, groundwater doesn’t move in simple or predictable ways.

We often hear freshwater scientists speak about “lag-times”. This is effectively the time taken from a contaminant leaving a farmer’s paddock and later appearing in a drinking water supply.

In reality, groundwater transport processes remain poorly understood. These can vary across the country – and even within individual catchments – depending on factors such as soil, geology, depth and proximity to rivers.

In some cases – particularly where water is able to move quickly through soils during heavy rainfall – contamination linked to human activity can show up in groundwater within days to a few years.

In Canterbury, for instance, shifts in nitrate concentrations have emerged in spring-fed streams and shallow wells within five years of land use intensifying nearby.

But in other parts of the system, contaminants can take much longer to turn up and flush out. Understanding these differences is important, because we risk misreading long-term trends and missing where – and when – problems are actually occurring.

At the same time, much of what is happening below the surface remains difficult for scientists to track. Standard monitoring approaches used today can miss short-lived spikes after storms, which can obscure how much contamination is present, or whether it is driven by rainfall or ongoing land use.

New low-cost nitrate-tracking tools are helping to untangle this picture, revealing just how much contamination levels in New Zealand’s groundwater can fluctuate over time.

In some cases, during wetter periods when groundwater systems naturally recharge, nitrate concentrations in monitoring wells have been observed to surge from minimal levels to those well above safe drinking water limits.

By capturing this variability through more targeted, high-resolution monitoring, we can more clearly see how contaminants move through groundwater systems. These tools also make standard spot samples collected by regional councils far more useful, helping distinguish short-term surges from longer-term pressures.

More broadly, there are other challenges to confront. Freshwater data is often fragmented across different organisations and important knowledge – including mātauranga Māori – remains often underused in resource management.

Ultimately, all these gaps limit our ability to build a clear, complete picture of what is happening within our waterways, both below and above the surface.

From resource to risk?

Just as importantly, the report notes that pollution from land use isn’t the only pressure now facing groundwater. In some places, particularly low-lying coastal areas, groundwater itself is becoming a hazard.

As sea levels rise, groundwater levels are likely to be pushed higher, both near the coast and further inland. This raises the risk of flooding, liquefaction and damage to infrastructure.

Rising sea levels and other climate change impacts can also bring saltwater into coastal aquifers, making groundwater less suitable to use, while affecting underground assets such as pipes.

Such vulnerabilities underscore the report’s central theme: that water availability and water quality pressures are shifting, driven by climate change, land use and coastal processes.

Meeting that challenge will require a clearer understanding of the whole system – closing critical knowledge gaps and making better use of the tools and data already available.

– ref. Out of sight, but not out of trouble: groundwater contamination in NZ reveals a legacy of human pressure – https://theconversation.com/out-of-sight-but-not-out-of-trouble-groundwater-contamination-in-nz-reveals-a-legacy-of-human-pressure-280347

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/17/out-of-sight-but-not-out-of-trouble-groundwater-contamination-in-nz-reveals-a-legacy-of-human-pressure-280347/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allen Cheng, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Monash University

For many of us, flu can mean a nasty few weeks of illness. But for the very young and old, and those with health complications, it can be extremely serious, leading to around 3,500 deaths in Australia each year.

You likely know vaccination is the best protection against the flu (influenza), and may have even read our recent article about the best time to get vaccinated.

So, what are your options? And are you eligible for a free flu shot?

Here are the answers to some common questions I’ve been getting: about which strains this year’s vaccine protects against, whether the brand matters, if there are egg-free options, and what to do if you’re scared of needles.

Will the vaccine protect against the ‘super K’ strain?

Each year, influenza strains accumulate small mutations that are different enough from each other that the immune system doesn’t recognise them well. This is why vaccine components need to change each year, to anticipate what will circulate the following season.

One strain of influenza, called subclade K – also known as “Super K” – was responsible for many influenza infections in late 2025, both in the southern hemisphere, and during the usual northern hemisphere winter season.

In 2026, the southern hemisphere vaccine contains two new components, with one closely related to subclade K. This should lead to better protection against subclade K infections.

Does the brand make a difference? And will I have a choice?

Vaccines can vary in the way they are manufactured – either in eggs (Vaxigrip, Fluzone, Influvac) or cells (Flucelvax). Studies suggest cell-based vaccines provide at least as much protection, and possibly slightly more, than egg-based vaccines.

But the most important point is that any influenza vaccine provides protection, and the difference between vaccine types is relatively small.

Certain formulations are designed to elicit a stronger immune response. These are designed for older people, whose immune systems tend to produce a weaker response. These “enhanced” vaccines include those with an adjuvant, a substance that stimulates the immune system to respond (Fluad), and those with higher doses of influenza vaccine strains (Fluzone High-Dose).

There is also a new nasal vaccine for children (Flumist).

If you want a specific type of vaccine, call ahead to your vaccine provider to discuss the options available.

Where can I get the flu vaccine?

The easiest way to find a vaccine provider is by searching on the government’s HealthDirect website under “Influenza (flu) vaccine” and your location.

In general, influenza vaccines are available at GP clinics, pharmacies, community health services and Aboriginal Health Services. Your school, university or workplace may also have a program.

There are special arrangements for aged care facilities and other group accommodation settings. Immunisation services are also available for staff and patients in public hospitals.

Who is it free for? Does it depend where you live?

Unfortunately this is somewhat complicated, as there are both national and state/territory programs.

Under the National Immunisation Program, influenza vaccines are free for high risk groups:

• anyone over 65 years of age
• all children aged between six months and four years (inclusive)
• people with certain chronic illnesses
• those who are pregnant
• all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (over six months of age).

Free state and territory programs may cover additional groups or different vaccines:

• Queensland and Western Australia provide influenza vaccines for anyone over the age of six months who is not covered by the national program
• some states provide the nasal vaccine (FluMist) for children as an alternative to the injectable vaccine: 2–4 years in New South Wales and South Australia; 2–5 years in Queensland; and 2–11 years in WA
• SA has a program for people experiencing homelessness.

Most health-care services and aged care services also provide free influenza vaccines for their workers. Some other employers choose to arrange similar workplace programs.

For those not covered by free state or national government programs, influenza vaccines are widely available at clinics and pharmacies. Costs range from around A$20 (for standard egg-based vaccines) up to $50–70 (for nasal vaccines in children).

Some private health insurance policies also include free flu shots, so check with your provider.

Is there an egg-free option? And why are eggs involved?

Since the 1940s, influenza vaccines have been manufactured using chicken eggs. Flu strains grow efficiently in them, and are then inactivated, purified and processed.

The amount of residual egg protein in vaccines after processing is now very small (less than one microgram). Even people with an egg allergy can generally receive egg-based vaccines safely. But if you have an allergy, discuss this with your vaccine provider.

For people who want an egg-free option, a cell-based vaccine, Flucelvax, is manufactured in animal cells (MDCK cells, derived from canine kidneys), before purification and processing.

Other vaccines use insect cells but are not yet available in Australia. There aren’t any products that don’t involve eggs or animal cells, although mRNA vaccines (similar to COVID-19 vaccines) are being developed.

What if I’m scared of needles?

In Australia, the nasal vaccine FluMist is only registered for use in children. But this may eventually change, as in some other countries it’s also available for adults under 50.

If you’re extremely scared of needles, there are evidence-based options to help make immunisation less distressing. These include psychological techniques (such as breathing exercises), distraction devices (that cool and vibrate the skin), or local anaesthetic or sedation,

So if you’re concerned, speak to your GP or pharmacist to make sure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to protect yourself against influenza.

– ref. Can I get a free flu shot? And will it cover ‘super K’? Your influenza vaccine questions answered – https://theconversation.com/can-i-get-a-free-flu-shot-and-will-it-cover-super-k-your-influenza-vaccine-questions-answered-279222

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/17/can-i-get-a-free-flu-shot-and-will-it-cover-super-k-your-influenza-vaccine-questions-answered-279222/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ashlynne McGhee, Head of Editorial Innovation, The Conversation

We’d all like deeply considered policy and informed debate to be at the heart of politics, but unfortunately controversies and scandals tend to steal the show.

For most parties, scandals are disastrous: they lose seats, ministers and elections — but not One Nation.

It’s weathered defections and punch-ups (including a memorable smearing of blood on a Senate door), jail and chaos, and 30 years on it’s surging.

This is a party that doesn’t just survive the chaos, but cultivates it and capitalises on it.

Jordan McSwiney researches far-right parties and movements. In episode three of our new series The Making of One Nation, he says the more controversy, the better for One Nation.

Scandals tend to actually work in the party’s favour.

It’s incomparable. I can’t really think of another political party that has such a sort of history of dysfunction and such high profile blowups.

And he says cultivating scandal is a very intentional strategy.

These kinds of things are basically an attempt to capture media attention, stay in the headlines and shift the focus of the national conversation to One Nation’s preferred issues.

But he warns that the Senator who courts the chaos and controversy, could also be its downfall.

While Pauline Hanson is the selling point of One Nation, I think she also is its greatest risk and its Achilles heel in many ways.

Listen to the interview with Jordan McSwiney on The Making of One Nation podcast, available at Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was written by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem.

– ref. Inside One Nation’s strategy of scandal, chaos and controversy – https://theconversation.com/inside-one-nations-strategy-of-scandal-chaos-and-controversy-280274

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/17/inside-one-nations-strategy-of-scandal-chaos-and-controversy-280274/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Irene Nikoloudakis, PhD Candidate in Law, Adelaide University

Another day, another Senate inquiry – this time into Australia’s federal laws dealing with “wage theft”.

Wage theft became a federal crime on January 1 2025. Employers who deliberately “steal” from their workers’ pay can now be prosecuted and subject to hefty criminal fines, even jail time.

But in the 15 months since the law came into effect, the Fair Work Ombudsman has reported only two criminal investigations into wage theft and there have been zero prosecutions.

This has raised questions about whether the new criminal wage theft offence is really having an impact.

Senator Fatima Payman has secured a new Senate inquiry into the laws. But the Labor government has opposed this inquiry, pointing to another review that is already underway.

Wage theft remains a problem in Australia, and there are issues with enforcement the country must address. But there are also concerns about whether this Senate inquiry is actually needed and if it’s going to yield useful insights.

Missing wages

There have been several high-profile cases of underpayment in Australia. It’s hard to forget the 7-Eleven wage-theft scandal of 2015. That resulted in reported back-payments of more than A$170 million, but only around $1.8 million in penalties.

But this case and others played out before wage theft was made a crime. Estimates of the true scale of deliberate wage theft across Australia are unknown.

There have been other high-profile underpayment cases from recent years – such as at Coles and Woolworths – but they did not involve employers deliberately seeking to underpay their workers, which is part of the new criminal offence.

Difficult to police

There are a few reasons enforcement can be tricky. For one, it relies heavily on workers making complaints.

Workers reluctant to make a complaint are usually those who are most vulnerable, such as younger workers. A recent survey found a third of workers aged between 18–30 were paid well below the minimum wage.

Dodgy employers are also good at concealing their underpayments, such as by falsifying documents and making sure no paper trail is left behind.

Already under review

In December last year, Amanda Rishworth, the federal minister for employment and workplace relations, announced an independent review into various aspects of Australia’s workplace laws.

The government has appointed a former Fair Work Commissioner, Susan Booth, to conduct the review and report by mid-June this year.

The Booth review will consider how some of Australia’s “newer” workplace laws have been operating and whether they need to be changed – including the new criminal wage theft offence and some other laws dealing with worker underpayments.

This is the very reason Labor opposed the Senate inquiry – it’s unclear what additional value it can add.

An unclear scope

But the inquiry’s scope – the boundaries around what it is allowed to investigate – is also unclear.

The Senate inquiry has been explicitly asked to address how much the “wage theft framework”, and the operation of the wage theft offence, has actually reduced wage theft in Australia. It’s also been asked to consider “any other related matter”.

But it’s not clear what the “wage theft framework” and “any other related matter” mean in this context. The other review has clearer questions to consider.

The problem with revealing investigations

The inquiry appears to be part of a broader initiative for details of criminal wage theft investigations to be released.

In February this year, the Senate sought to obtain detailed information about criminal wage theft investigations underway.

But when dealing with criminal investigations, full transparency isn’t in the public interest, as disclosing details could negatively impact the investigations.

That’s the reason a representative from Australia’s workplace regulator – the Fair Work Ombudsman – previously dodged answering questions in Parliament about their criminal wage theft investigations.

The danger is that an employer could find out they’re being investigated, and change their behaviour to avoid being prosecuted.

A better way forward

It’s still important we assess the operation of the criminal wage theft offence. By June, the government will have the findings from both the Booth review and the Senate inquiry into how Australia’s criminal wage theft laws are working.

The Booth review is much better suited to make this assessment.

It’s independent, being conducted by an industrial relations expert, and its terms of reference make clear that it’s addressing three key issues when it comes to the criminal wage theft offence:

1. are these laws appropriate and effective?
2. have the laws produced any unintended consequences?
3. do the laws need further amendments?

At this stage, there have been far more submissions to the Booth review than the Senate inquiry.

For workers who are still being deliberately underpaid, ensuring these laws are working must not end with this review or the Senate inquiry. The laws are relatively new, so it will take more time to understand where they work well and where they fall short.

To make this assessment properly, further reviews must be independent, tailored and clear in scope.

– ref. No‑one has been prosecuted for wage theft since it became a crime. 2 inquiries want answers – https://theconversation.com/no-one-has-been-prosecuted-for-wage-theft-since-it-became-a-crime-2-inquiries-want-answers-280578

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/17/no-one-has-been-prosecuted-for-wage-theft-since-it-became-a-crime-2-inquiries-want-answers-280578/

COMMENTARY: By Prince Taofeek Ajibade

US President Donald Trump probably thinks he can starve a country that feeds itself.

Washington is selling the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a chokehold. However, it is worth asking whether the hand actually reaches the throat.

Iran shares land borders with seven countries — Türkiye, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Nearly 5900 kilometres of border, criss-crossed by road and rail.

No naval force on earth blockades a land route.

Petrochemicals, minerals, manufactured goods are moved overland. Machinery, spare parts, consumer goods, all come back the same way. The Strait of Hormuz does not sit across any of that.

Then there is the food issue, which is where blockades historically do their cruellest work.

It will not work here. Iran is approximately 96 percent self-sufficient in essential foodstuffs.

Iran doesn’t depend on imported food
Fertile western plains, mountain valleys, Caspian lowlands, including wheat, rice, fruit, livestock. The Gulf states that cheered this blockade loudest — the UAE and Qatar — depend almost entirely on food imports. Iran doesn’t.

You cannot starve a country that feeds itself.

What about the blockade?

Yes, that will hurt. Hard currency earnings from oil tanker traffic will fall. That is real and Washington knows it.

But “hurt” and “collapse” are different destinations, and the distance between them is precisely what the architects of this policy appear not to have calculated.

Central Asia and the Caucasus remain open. Regional markets will absorb what the sea lanes cannot carry.

The economic pressure is genuine. The total isolation that the blockade promises is not.

Iran has survived four decades of sanctions, assassinations, and sabotage. It did not survive them by accident. It survived them because its geography is not a weakness waiting to be exploited.

It is the strategy.

Prince Taofeek Ajibade is an educator and digital creator from Ibadan, Nigeria.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/17/iran-hasnt-survived-decades-of-hostile-sanctions-assassinations-and-sabotage-by-accident-its-by-strategy/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

The federal government has secured access to 250,000 tonnes of extra urea from Indonesia for Australian farmers.

The deal between Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and PT Pupuk Indonesia was facilitated by the governments of the two countries.

It will provide about 20% of the remaining fertiliser needed for the current season, which runs from November last year to October this year.

There has been considerable panic among many farmers about the disruption of urea supplies. Without adequate fertiliser crop yields would be down, with some farmers not planting crops at all because of the uncertainty.

Indonesia is Australia’s fourth largest export market for agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports, worth more than $4.7 billion in 2025.

Agriculture minister Julie Collins said: “While this is a commercial deal, the Australian and Indonesian governments have been working to support this positive outcome.

“This guarantees supply of fertiliser to Australian farmers at this critical time.”

Scott Bowman, President, Incitec Pivot Limited said:“This additional volume for the period May to December, at prevailing market prices, is another critical plank in servicing the needs of Australian farmers”.

Anthony Albanese has been in Brunei and Malaysia this week seeking agreements on fuel supplies and security.

The government on Thursday announced it had secured about 100 million litres of extra diesel, with two shipments coming from Brunei and South Korea.

This is the first of the expected shipments under the government’s new Strategic Reserve powers. Under these powers Export Finance Australia has partnered with Viva Energy to make this purchase possible.

Reserve Bank Deputy Governor warns of bad times ahead

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, Andrew Hauser, speaking during a panel discussion in New York, was blunt about the hard times to come, making it clear the bank would need the support of the government in the tough decisions ahead.

“Supply shocks are a hard sell to the public,” Hauser said.

“Inflation is going to be higher, activity is going to be lower, we’re going to be poorer.

“There’s not much upside news in that story.”

Selling to people the message inflation must be tackled was harder when there was already high inflation before the Iran war, he said.

“People are already a bit resentful about that, so you need to be clear and direct with people to restate the importance of stabilising inflation.”

The Reserve Bank’s next meets on May 4-5, ahead of the May 12 budget. It will facing conflicting pressures in considering interest rates, with rising inflation pushing towards another rate rise but the prospect of a slowing economy making that risky.

“You need to be very clear what we [the Reserve Bank] can’t do, because people are maybe thinking monetary policy can solve everything, and you need rock solid support from governments at a time when you’re going to be making hard decisions,” Hauser said.

Hauser’s deliberate signal to government is notable because he has previously been reluctant to make any comment at all on fiscal policy.

– ref. Albanese and Indonesian governments land fertiliser supply deal for farmers – https://theconversation.com/albanese-and-indonesian-governments-land-fertiliser-supply-deal-for-farmers-280585

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/17/albanese-and-indonesian-governments-land-fertiliser-supply-deal-for-farmers-280585/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Prabu, Adjunct Lecturer, School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Curtin University; University of Oxford

Black holes are among the most extreme objects in the universe. They can fling material outwards at speeds close to that of light, in powerful beams of plasma known as jets. These jets are thought to be among the most energetic phenomena in the cosmos.

Our new work, published today in Nature Astronomy, challenges this intuition. We find that something as seemingly ordinary as the “wind” from a star can rival – and even shape – the behaviour of these powerful jets.

A cosmic waltz

The Cygnus X-1 system is a cosmic waltz between a black hole and a massive star.

The black hole is the first ever discovered. It weighs about 21 times the mass of our Sun, compressed into a region roughly 100 kilometres across. It’s in what’s known as a binary system with a much larger companion star that’s almost 40 times as massive as the Sun. The black hole and the star whirl around each other in their orbit once every 5.6 days.

For about 20,000 years, the black hole has been feeding on material from this star. It does so by capturing the star’s powerful stellar wind, using its intense gravitational pull.

Some of this material disappears into the black hole, crossing the point of no return (known as the event horizon) in a one-way journey. The swirling magnetic fields dragged in with the gas lead to the launching of jets, moving at nearly the speed of light.

The jets carry energy away from close to the black hole out to a distance a trillion times greater, 16 light years away.

Their action over the past 20,000 years has inflated a giant bubble of hot gas in the surrounding interstellar space. But despite their importance, measuring the instantaneous power of these jets has remained a major challenge until now.

[embedded content]

The power couple

Stellar winds are streams of particles blown off the surface of a star by the outward pressure of the light. When the solar wind from our Sun is particularly intense, it causes auroras when the particles slam into Earth’s magnetic field.

The companion star in Cygnus X-1 is so massive and so bright that it loses 100 million times as much mass in its wind as the Sun does, and accelerates it to speeds three times as high.

In our study, we made very high resolution images of the jets by combining telescopes separated by thousands of kilometres. This is the same technique used by the Event Horizon Telescope to make the first image of a black hole.

We found that the wind from the companion star in Cygnus X-1 is strong enough to bend the jets launched by the black hole. This shows just how powerful the winds of massive stars can be.

As the black hole orbits the star, the stellar wind continuously pushes against the jets, blowing them away from the star. This causes them to change direction, just like wind on Earth can blow around the water in a fountain.

From our point of view, the jets appear to “dance” in step with the orbital motion of the system. By modelling this cosmic dance, we were able to measure the instantaneous power of the jets for the first time, and find it to be equivalent to 10,000 suns.

The calorie deficit of a black hole diet

Understanding how black holes use their energy tells us about how galaxies evolve.

When matter falls towards a black hole, part of it contributes to the growth of the black hole itself. But a significant fraction can be redirected into jets, which inject energy back into their surroundings. For the most massive black holes at the centres of galaxies, the jets can shape their host galaxies and influence even larger cosmic structures.

We can measure how fast a black hole is feeding from the X-rays produced by the material falling inwards. However, until now, we have not had a direct way to measure how much energy goes into these jets at any given moment.

Our measurement of the jet power in Cygnus X-1 provides a new way to “balance the energy budget” of black holes. By comparing how fast a black hole is feeding and how much energy is carried away by the jets, we can fine-tune computer simulations of the universe. This tells us about how black holes influence the universe on the largest scales.

This cosmic dance of a black hole and a massive star reveals more than just a bent jet. It shows how even the most energetic phenomena, such as jets, are shaped by their surroundings. By watching the dancing jets in Cygnus X-1, we have improved our understanding of how black holes influence the evolution of the cosmos itself.

– ref. Black hole jets ‘dance’ in the wind from a massive companion star – https://theconversation.com/black-hole-jets-dance-in-the-wind-from-a-massive-companion-star-280138

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/black-hole-jets-dance-in-the-wind-from-a-massive-companion-star-280138/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

An effective opposition is good at policy. Last term and so far this term, the Coalition has been very poor at policy formulation.

Remember Peter Dutton’s defence policy? If you don’t, it’s probably because it was just a commitment to spend a lot more. No flesh on that bone. On the controversial nuclear policy, Liberals will admit they erred in not having costings much earlier.

Now the opposition is at high risk of making a hash of producing an immigration policy, an issue it’s putting at the centre of its (still to come) suite of offerings to voters.

“We are a serious party that needs to provide serious policy alternatives,” home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam said on Wednesday when trying to defend Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s Tuesday announcement of a get-tough-on-values sliver of the policy.

Taylor’s speech has been widely seen as a bid to attract voters back from One Nation, especially with the Farrer byelection looming. Clearly, as a first instalment of the Coalition’s immigration blueprint, it has been driven primarily by politics.

So what should be the approach to crafting and presenting a sound policy on immigration which, despite Labor’s 2023 Review of the Migration System report, requires reform?

Such a policy should be multi-tiered, and all of it should be released together because in immigration, as the old saying goes, everything is connected to everything else.

The first tier is the desirable overall intake. The latest net overseas migration (NOM) number was 311,000 in the year to the end of September, which the government is committed to reducing. The opposition wants a lower, as yet unspecified, number.

What would be the best level is contested among experts and stakeholders, with debate about the implications for economic growth and pressures on infrastructure, housing and services.

In deciding the appropriate level of temporary migration, the importance of our education export industry and the implications of cuts for the higher education sector, as well as the needs of agriculture, must be considered.

Having decided on numbers, the next tier should look at how to get the best out of our skilled intake.

Former treasury secretary Martin Parkinson, who led the government’s review, recently highlighted the economic waste we are allowing by failing to properly use the skills of people coming at present. Parkinson said almost half of all permanent migrants were working below their skill level.

He argued for an independent skills and qualifications commissioner to oversee an end-to-end recognition system, from visas to occupational licences to employment.

Another issue that should be addressed is the composition of the skilled intake, to tilt further towards people qualified in occupations we require. There is also the question of shortages in unskilled and semiskilled labour for the care economy.

The third tier goes to Taylor’s concerns regarding “values”. At one level this is about specifics: making sure the security checks are rigorous enough, and dealing more toughly with lawbreakers who are on visas.

But at another level, coming to grips with the “values” debate is wrestling with a puff of smoke.

How does one judge whether someone really believes in democracy and free speech, let alone “a fair go for all” – some of the commitments set out in the Australian Values Statement that immigrants sign, which the opposition now wants to make legally binding. What would breaches look like? Anyway, what precisely are some of these values in practice? For instance, the political class is currently debating the concept of “free speech” in the context of anti-hate laws.

As for Taylor’s point that people from liberal democracies are more likely to share or accept our values than those from “places ruled by fundamentalists, extremists and dictators”: this is a sweeping generalisation. Exceptions spring readily to mind. One of the Bondi gunmen came from India, the world’s largest democracy. We have admirable migrants from Russia.

Taylor is preoccupied with the cohort who arrived from Palestine after the start of the Middle East conflict, and wants them all reassessed. But does ASIO have current concerns that these people pose a threat? If not, calling for comprehensive reassessment is just stirring.

The issue of values merges into the fourth tier of a comprehensive immigration policy: better tending our multicultural garden. This means improving migrants’ integration into the wider community, while recognising they will continue to value their heritages and maintain their links to their individual communities.

Assistant Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Julian Hill, in a February speech, highlighted the important balance that must be sought.

Hill said people’s right to express their cultural identities was not absolute. “Obligations for everyone include: one, a shared and unifying commitment to Australia first and foremost; two, acceptance of the basic structures and principles of Australian society including the constitution, tolerance, parliamentary democracy, equality and English as the national language; and three, accepting the right of others to express their views and values.”

Hill, from Labor left and with a message for the left generally, said, “One challenge for the progressive Left with our instinctive values-based focus on rights, is to remember that there are limits to cultural expression, and to champion the obligations that come with being Australian”.

“Successful multiculturalism means cherishing communal identities, building bridges between diverse groups and celebrating things we all have in common,” Hill said.

Labor has fallen down in reinforcing Australian multiculturalism, the Liberals are divided about multiculturalism itself, while One Nation rejects it.

As they finalise the rest of their immigration policy, the Liberals need to resolve the internal ambiguities they have on macro questions, including the value of migration in general and whether the opposition is committed to sticking by and improving multiculturalism, as well as myriad details such as how to make better use of the skills of migrants.

As things stand, the Liberals sound like they are primarily about exploiting the inflammatory politics of migration rather than doing the grunt work to produce a policy that attacks the obvious problems in the present system.

– ref. Grattan on Friday: Migration debate deserves better policy approach and less politicking from Liberals – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-migration-debate-deserves-better-policy-approach-and-less-politicking-from-liberals-280586

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/grattan-on-friday-migration-debate-deserves-better-policy-approach-and-less-politicking-from-liberals-280586/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

The war in Iran has become the third major economic crisis in the last 20 years, with fuel prices jumping and inflation once again starting to pick up. Australians are feeling worsening economic pain.

While the government has offered some relief on fuel prices, and ensured the immediate supply of Australia’s fuel shipments, there remains massive uncertainty about the future.

Amid the crisis the government is preparing for the May 12 budget, and is forecasting ambitious reform.

To discuss how the Australian economy is faring and its prospects, we’re joined by independent economist Chris Richardson.

On what the Reserve Bank might do, given rising inflation, at its May 4-5 meeting, Richardson says that will depend how bad it sees the crisis getting,

This refinery fire [at a Corio refinery] we’ve just had might actually be the thing that stops the Reserve Bank from raising rates.

If it’s really quite worried that it’s losing the trust of families and businesses, it will raise rates. If it started to be really quite worried that the pain in Australia’s economy could be notable, then – not immediately, but a little down the track – they could even be cutting rates.

While Richardson and other forecasters are predicting an economic slowdown and not a recession, he says risks are high.

It is a much bigger risk than it’s been for some time, and again we hit recession off the back of two potential things. One is actually running out of fuel and some industries are incredibly dependent on that. [Two] is through fear, if you like. The key measures of consumer confidence, how families are feeling, they are at truly terrible levels. Families are really, really worried about this and if they take those worries and decide to cut back on their spending, you could see that show up as a notable slowdown in the Australian economy.

Now, for what it’s worth, most forecasters, including myself, only have a fairly modest slowdown in the world [and] the Australian economies off the back of this so far.

On whether the government should be looking to tax gas exports more, given the increased price for Australia’s LNG, Richardson says reforms to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) are needed but he’s opposed to an export tax.

[The PRRT] is something we’ve needed to change for decades. […] We just don’t earn enough by way of tax and we won’t by way of tax on this key national resource. So it has to change. I would much, much prefer that they fix the tax that we have.

The more likely thing, if it happens, is some sort of an export tax. I’d prefer my solution because you don’t add to prices on world markets at a tricky time. You simply change which shares of the pie go to the big companies that get out our gas and sell it to the world and the share that goes to taxpayers. I really don’t love the idea of the export tax. Think of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

On what more the government could be doing, Richardson says it should be bringing more fuel into Australia and should be looking at rationing.

So the major thing that the government can do for Australia right now is to get fuel to Australia in the first place. It is the, if you think back to COVID, it’s the essential equivalent of getting us vaccinated. The more fuel we get into Australia, then the greater the chance that we get through this with pretty modest damage.

The other thing the government can do and may have to do is be a bit more active around rationing one way or another. And again, it’s been very wary of that. The politics of that are tricky.

– ref. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Chris Richardson on next steps in fuel crisis – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-economist-chris-richardson-on-next-steps-in-fuel-crisis-280706

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/politics-with-michelle-grattan-economist-chris-richardson-on-next-steps-in-fuel-crisis-280706/

COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone

I don’t mind admitting that I hope the US and Israel suffer a crushing, devastating defeat in Iran.

I hope this war collapses the entire US empire. My only loyalty is to humanity, and being on Team Human in today’s world means being against the US empire and against Israel.

I hope the empire falls. I hope the apartheid state of Israel is dismantled.

I hope humanity is able to pry the steering wheel from the fingers of the ghouls who currently rule our world, so that we can create a healthy planet and a harmonious future together.

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I hope the US loses and other notes              Video: Caitlin Johnstone

YouTube has banned the channel that’s been creating viral AI Lego music videos criticising the US war on Iran. The Google-owned platform claims the Lego videos somehow constituted “violent content”, but we all know it was to facilitate the US propaganda effort by shutting down effective propaganda for the other side.

Silicon Valley is a crucial arm of US imperial control.

It chooses to advance the interests of the empire at every significant juncture. It’s a branch of imperial soft power in the same way the military is a branch of imperial hard power.

🎶 Iran-linked accounts are circulating a new LEGO-style propaganda video portraying U.S. and Israeli leaders as corrupt elites tied to the “Epstein files,” part of a broader online campaign aimed at undermining support for the war.

The animation depicts President Donald Trump… pic.twitter.com/PdjcJGrjuy

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 9, 2026

❖

The US and Israel have so normalised the assassination of national leaders that the mainstream press now discuss it as a standard military tactic. The other day The Washington Post ran an article by Marc Thiessen arguing that the US should “carry out a final barrage of leadership strikes, eliminating the Iranian officials who had been spared for the purpose of negotiations”.

“Iran’s leaders must be made to understand that their lives literally depend on reaching a negotiated settlement to Trump’s liking. If they refuse to do so, they will be killed,” Thiessen writes.

At some point one of America’s enemies is going to assassinate a US official and my replies are going to be full of shrieking, outraged Americans acting like I’m the bad guy when I say Washington had it coming.

❖

Even if the US wasn’t directly responsible for the Strait of Hormuz situation, it would still be the last country on earth with any business whining about it. They’re openly imposing a fuel blockade on Cuba while complaining that nobody should be allowed to block shipping lanes, for Christ’s sake.

❖

The Democratic National Committee voted to reject a resolution denouncing the influence of AIPAC in US politics. Eighty percent of Democrats have a negative view of Israel today. The DNC’s main function is to keep the Democratic Party and its representation on the ballot from reflecting the will of the public.

❖

pic.twitter.com/K0kNiJYbKs

— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) April 14, 2026

Dear Trump supporters, send me all of your money. I have a plan to make America great again. I will end all the wars and drain the swamp. Don’t worry if it looks like I’m not doing any of those things, I’m playing 4d chess, trust the plan. Send me your life savings right now.

❖

It’s important not to let them pin this all on Trump, in the same way it’s important not to let them pin Israel’s crimes on Netanyahu. Everything we are seeing with this disastrous Iran war is the product of the entire power structure which gave rise to it, not one guy’s dopey decisions.

The warmongers in the DC swamp have been pushing war with Iran for decades. Trump is just the guy who was chosen by Zionist oligarchs and bloodthirsty empire managers to carry out the deed. He happens to be the face on the operation, but if it wasn’t him it would have been someone else.

American warmongering insanity didn’t start with Trump, and it isn’t going to end with him either. Don’t direct your rage merely at the fleeting puppets who come and go from the imperial stage as the US murder machine trudges onward. Direct it at the empire itself.

Caitlin Johnstone is an Australian independent journalist and poet. Her articles include The UN Torture Report On Assange Is An Indictment Of Our Entire Society. She publishes a website and Caitlin’s Newsletter. This article is republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/caitlin-johnstone-i-hope-the-us-loses-and-the-empire-collapses/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University

Sometimes new government strategies really aren’t newsworthy. The 2026 National Defence Strategy (NDS) is like that.

The biggest headline from the document is the additional defence spending of $53 billion over the next decade, which the government claims (with some accounting sleights of hand) will reach 3% of GDP.

While this technically meets US President Donald Trump’s demands for America’s allies in NATO and elsewhere to spend more on their militaries, there’s more to it than that. In particular, NATO measures are based on how much cash is spent annually, rather than the future spending laid out in long-term plans.

In terms of actual strategy, though, the main takeaway appears rather muted: there’s been “significant progress in implementing the 2024 National Defence Strategy”. That’s reassuring but surely that was the intent of that earlier document – to be implemented.

In being a warmed-up version of the 2024 strategy, the 2026 document seems to ignore what’s happened since – and that’s been considerable.

Over the last two years, there’s been a worsening war in Ukraine, an expanded conflict in the Middle East that has encompassed the entire region and sent shockwaves through the global economy, and many unpredictable American military adventures.

At times, the strategy is backward-looking to a bygone era, lacking courage and confidence.

What does the strategy promise?

The 2026 NDS keeps in place Australia’s strategy of denial, that is, a defensive strategy that seeks to prevent an adversary from taking military action against Australia.

Even though the funding provided to Defence is somewhat increased, we will likely see higher inflation as a result of the US-Israel war against Iran. The planned allocations for operating and crewing the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) current ships, aircraft and vehicles is unlikely to be enough.

Money to make up this shortfall may mean less is spent than planned on buying new equipment. What matters is what you get for your money, not how much is spent.

However, there are two notable investments mentioned in the strategy, even if they are relatively small compared to many other Defence projects.

The ADF will finally be getting a medium-range surface-to-air missile system able to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles.

Such threats might once have seemed remote, but missile attacks have become routine. In the last year, ballistic missiles have been fired by Russia, Iran and the Houthis in Yemen.

However, the ADF’s defensive missiles probably won’t enter into service for several years, as other nations are already in the shopping queue ahead of Australia.

The ADF will also be getting a range of autonomous uncrewed systems (drones in the air and water), such as the Air Force’s Ghost Bat and the Navy’s Ghost Shark and Speartooth. And in a boost to our national resilience, these are manufactured in Australia even if some of the parts are imported.

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Read more: What Australia must learn from Ukraine about drone technology and the future of warfare

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The recent wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have highlighted the importance of these systems, the strategy notes. And it adds, the future of warfare will involve both autonomous uncrewed systems and artificial intelligence (AI).

Disappointingly, though, compared to the huge spends on traditional crewed warships, submarines and armoured vehicles, there hasn’t been much allocated to these systems or the AI wave of the future.

Where else is missed?

Because this is a steady-as-she-goes document, it misses an important opportunity to convince an increasingly doubtful public of the wisdom of the hugely expensive purchases of nuclear submarines under the AUKUS program.

Dennis Richardson, a former secretary of the Defence Department, recently argued these vessels “are only worth having if they’re a net addition to defence capability.” The implication is the submarines are nice to have, but not essential, unlike other equipment.

The 2026 NDS could have placed the submarines into a coherent strategic framework, alongside the rest of Defence, and provided a clear and compelling reason for acquiring them. Or, as they say in defence speak: a strategic narrative. It didn’t.

The absence of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is in Asia securing fuel shipments for Australia, from the strategy’s launch highlights another big miss.

The strategy’s title includes the word “national”, yet the nation is largely missing in it. This document, and the previous NDS, rightly declare that defending Australia involves a whole-of-nation approach that goes far beyond just the defence forces. But how this is approach is meant to work is only briefly noted.

The current fuel crisis suggests there is much to be done. Spending money on military hardware may be pointless if there is insufficient fuel to operate it. This was made clear in 2018 when a major air exercise in Darwin was apparently disrupted due to a tanker from Singapore being delayed.

The NDS does note the investments Defence has made in recent years to improve fuel security to remediate shortfalls. It has done trials on low-carbon, sustainable aviation fuels, but there are no plans yet to produce these on a large-scale for military use.

So far, it seems Defence is just nibbling at the edges of fuel security and resilience.

A changed America

Lastly, there is an elephant in the room: the Americans.

One can sympathise with the government wanting to keep a low profile when it comes to Australia’s major alliance partner. However, this alliance in an increasingly unstable world is arguably of overriding importance.

Earlier this year, the US released its own National Defence Strategy that called on regional allies to help defend the “first island chain”, running from the Philippines to Taiwan to the Japanese islands.

Through this America First, commonsense lens, America’s alliances and partners have an essential role to play – but not as the dependencies of the last generation. […] For too long, allies and partners have been content to let us subsidise their defence.

The Australian NDS discusses the alliance in the pre-Trump language of shared strategic interests, with just a nod to the importance of “upholding Australian sovereignty and increasing our self-reliance”.

The 2026 NDS needed to explain where an unreliable and unruly America now fits into Australian defence thinking, or does not.

– ref. The new National Defence Strategy feels written for a bygone era – and ignores the elephant in the room – https://theconversation.com/the-new-national-defence-strategy-feels-written-for-a-bygone-era-and-ignores-the-elephant-in-the-room-280727

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/the-new-national-defence-strategy-feels-written-for-a-bygone-era-and-ignores-the-elephant-in-the-room-280727/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Wescott, Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences, Monash University

Victoria has its first minister for men and boys. Part of a cabinet reshuffle, the role was given to Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke.

It comes with an explicit dual focus: on one hand, boys’ and men’s own wellbeing, and on the other, the harms boys and men perpetrate.

The role has also been signalled as being a response to the influence of online misogynistic cultures, including the manosphere.

The establishment of this cabinet position is politically significant and offers both substantial opportunities and potential risks. The key will be following the evidence, however uncomfortable.

A national first

Edbrooke’s new role represents the only formal cabinet-level “minister for men and boys” in Australia.

There have been calls from some men’s health advocates for such a role to be established federally. For example, Dan Repacholi was appointed by the federal government to be Australia’s first Special Envoy for Men’s Health in 2025.

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Victoria has previously included a Parliamentary Secretary for Men’s Behaviour Change. The Coalition in New South Wales also announced earlier this year the establishment of a new portfolio dedicated to men’s health ahead of the 2027 state election.

But Victoria is the first government to identify “men and boys” as a distinct policy category, signalling that the influences shaping misogynist attitudes requires focused attention.

Why now?

The timing of this new portfolio is not accidental. It reflects a growing recognition that something has shifted in how misogyny is circulating, particularly among Australian men and boys.

In recent years, research has documented the rapid uptake of manosphere content in Australian schools. Teachers are reporting a marked increase in misogynistic language, resistance to women’s authority, and the normalisation of sexist and violent attitudes among some boys.

Crucially, Edbrooke acknowledged that responding to the manosphere will be a key focus of his portfolio.

Public concern about men’s violence against women has also intensified, alongside renewed attention to the drivers that underpin it. The connection between misogyny and violent political extremism now better understood, reinforcing the need for a strong prevention response.

Taken together, these help to explain why the need for a portfolio focused on men and boys has emerged at this time. The question is whether this opportunity will be used to create meaningful change where it is needed.

Proceeding with care

There is a risk this new ministerial role could deepen existing tensions if it is not carefully designed.

For instance, there are calls to do more to address men’s mental health. This is important work and should be done.

But improving boys’ mental health should not be overstated as the solution to gendered violence.

Responses that treat boys’ and men’s mental health as the key factor in violence against women ignore the complexity of the evidence. Abuse of women and girls is present across all socioeconomic demographics and among those with or without mental ill-health.

To make real progress, responses must be grounded in evidence and firmly focused on achieving the principles of gender justice.

The policies to prioritise

So to make a meaningful difference, what should the minister do? Schools would be a great place to start.

Australian evidence is clear that schools are a key site for preventing gender-based violence. This work is most effective when it is whole-school, properly supported and built into systems and curricula.

This means proper funding and meaningful support for Respectful Relationships Education, stronger teacher training in violence prevention, and a curriculum that helps young people think critically about gender, power and online influence.

It’s also essential that beliefs in boys and men “falling behind” or being victims of feminism and gender equality are strongly refuted. These beliefs are promoted by manosphere myths that cause significant harm.

The new minister’s policy response must also explicitly name misogyny as an increasingly mainstreamed ideology. This means recognising that it’s a predictor of all forms of violence.

United Nations bodies have recently warned about the risks of rising misogyny and all forms of violence. These risks are very real in Victoria and across the country.

Now is the time for misogyny to be named plainly and clearly, and for us to emphasise that misogyny appeals to boys and men because of the power it offers them, not because it provides a solution to their suffering.

Overall, the creation of a minister for men and boys signals the Victorian government is willing to engage with complex and sensitive questions about gender, men’s violence and misogyny.

Now the challenge is for policymakers and the minister to engage meaningfully with the evidence and be courageous enough to highlight the dangers of rising misogyny.

– ref. A new minister in Victoria will tackle the manosphere. Here’s what they should do – https://theconversation.com/a-new-minister-in-victoria-will-tackle-the-manosphere-heres-what-they-should-do-280733

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/a-new-minister-in-victoria-will-tackle-the-manosphere-heres-what-they-should-do-280733/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Senior Fellow in Energy and Climate Change, Grattan Institute

Late on Wednesday, Victorian firefighters were called to a large fire at Viva Energy Group’s oil refinery in Corio, a suburb of Geelong. The blaze is believed to have been an equipment failure. Thankfully, no-one was injured.

Viva is one of two refineries left in Australia, and supplies more than 50% of fuel in Victoria, and 10% of fuel in Australia. At the time of writing, the company was in a trading halt on the Australian sharemarket, pending an announcement regarding the impact of the fire.

In normal circumstances, Viva says the refinery can process up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day. The impact of the fire has been primarily to the production of petrol. The overall refinery will have to be assessed before it becomes clear whether diesel and aviation fuel production have been impacted.

In the immediate and short term, Viva’s supply of petrol will likely be met from storage, both on site and from other terminals. The fire will mean even greater pressure on securing supply from overseas. It is possible price changes may be no more than we have already seen, as they are currently being driven by the cost of imports.

So what does this mean for the supply and price of fuel in Victoria, and Australia?

Remind me, what do refineries do?

Using crude oil, refineries like Geelong produce liquid fuels for transport, including petrol for small cars, diesel for big cars and trucks, and aviation fuel for planes.

Crude oil is a hydrocarbon, created underground over millions of years from decaying organic matter. The chemical process of refining crude oil is highly sophisticated, and refineries are complex machines.

In Australia, almost 60 per cent of the fuel we consume is diesel. This is followed by petrol, and then aviation fuel. We consume more diesel per head of population than almost every other major economy, including the USA. This is because Australia has a large mining sector, and depends on long-distance road transport to move goods.

So what’s going to happen now?

Refinery fires are nasty because the fuels burn rapidly and the blaze can be difficult to extinguish.

This fire broke out in the plant’s primary petrol-production units, in an area of about 30 metres by 30 metres. The company has temporarily cut its output of petrol, diesel and jet fuel down to “minimum rates”, adding pressure on Australian fuel stocks. Although other parts of the refinery will still produce diesel and aviation fuel, and maybe some petrol, the overall volumes will be reduced.

In the short term, Viva will have a lot of product stored. But while it looks like diesel and aviation fuels might not heavily affected, the picture is less clear for petrol. They could still import petrol that has been refined elsewhere into Geelong to supply customers, which most refineries do. But this petrol is refined in countries like Singapore and Malaysia, which are already under since they source much or their crude oil from the Middle East and have their own domestic demand.

This is an undoubtedly frustrating turn of events in the current energy supply crunch. Optimistically, the damage will be repaired quickly and it won’t be too long until that part of the refinery is back on line. We must await a full assessment from Viva.

Even if the refinery is able to start production relatively quickly, this fire prompts us to consider the future role of liquid fuels in Australia.

Should we be building more refineries?

Firstly, to run a refinery you need crude oil. Where is that going to come from? At the moment, Australia sends most of the oil it extracts from the north-west shelf in Western Australia to nearby countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

In recent years, the Gippsland basin, offshore Victoria, has entered the depletion stage of its oil extraction after more than 50 years. While the north-west shelf remains a significant source of oil, very few other oil resources have been identified in Australia. Recently, there has been speculation about extracting it from the Taroom Trough, about 300 kilometres west of Brisbane. But that resource is speculative at present, being technologically challenging, and economically questionable.

Sometimes, bad things come in waves: the US-Iran war, Cyclone Narelle, and now the Geelong refinery fire. They underline the need to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels. And people are responding, which is good. For example we are seeing record numbers of people buying electric vehicles. In ten years from now, half of all car sales should be will be electric.

There’s other signs of rapid electrification. If you travel around Sydney or Melbourne you’ll notice electric buses and trucks have become more popular for short-haul trips. It was assumed it would take far longer for long-haul freight to electrify, but there’s now a company set up to run a fleet of 20 trucks between Sydney and Canberra.

The Geelong refinery fire adds another major challenge to Australia’s fuel crisis. It increases the urgency for a longer-term plan to rapidly electrify transport, more focus on biofuel production and, possibly, greater strategic onshore storage. This will be good for energy security and climate change.

– ref. What does the Geelong refinery fire reveal about Australia’s fuel supplies? – https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-geelong-refinery-fire-reveal-about-australias-fuel-supplies-280793

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/what-does-the-geelong-refinery-fire-reveal-about-australias-fuel-supplies-280793/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brian Oliver, Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney

The fire at a major oil refinery in the Victorian city of Geelong has now reportedly been extinguished. But with thick smoke from the blaze lingering in the air on Thursday, many residents in Geelong and surrounding areas will understandably be worried.

What is released into the air when a refinery burns? And is the smoke bad for your health?

For most people, serious long-term health effects are unlikely. However, there can be short-term risks, and some groups are more vulnerable than others. So here’s what to look out for and how to stay safe.

What is in the air when an oil refinery burns?

Smoke from an oil refinery fire is made up of many different pollutants. The exact mix depends on what material is burning, how hot the fire is, and how long it lasts.

Typically, these fires release fine particles, known as PM2.5 and PM10, which are small enough to travel deep into the lungs.

They can also release toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, along with volatile organic compounds including benzene.

For people living further from the fire, fine particles are typically the main concern because they can travel long distances and linger in the air.

What are the health risks?

For most healthy adults living in the area, short-term exposure to these pollutants will cause irritation rather than lasting harm.

You may notice sore or watery eyes, a scratchy throat, coughing, headaches or a feeling of chest tightness. These symptoms are unpleasant but usually settle once air quality improves and exposure is reduced.

This kind of exposure is very different from the long-term occupational exposure experienced by refinery workers or emergency responders, for whom risks of cancer and lung diseases are much higher and better studied.

Who is most at risk?

When air quality worsens, people with existing lung conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are more likely to experience symptom flare-ups.

Smoke particles can irritate already inflamed airways, leading to increased breathlessness and coughing. For those with existing respiratory conditions, this may mean needing to use reliever medications more frequently than normal.

Those with heart disease are also at greater risk as air pollution can place extra strain on the cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of chest pain, irregular heartbeat and heart failure.

Older people are also generally more sensitive to poor air quality because they are more likely to have chronic diseases and their heart and lungs might not work as well as they did when they were young.

Children have the greatest risk of developing health issues in the longer term, as their lungs are still developing. But the risks from an isolated exposure, such as the Geelong fire, are relatively low.

Some studies suggest repeated or prolonged exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may increase the likelihood of adverse outcomes for babies, such as low birth weight. But again, the risk for pregnant people from an isolated incident such as this is low.

These kind of events often make people worry about cancer risk. But based on what we know, being exposed in the short term, from a single fire, does not meaningfully increase your risk of developing cancer – though these kinds of events are difficult to study, so evidence remains limited.

Cancers associated with oil refinery emissions are linked to years or decades of exposure, usually among workers and those in heavily polluted environments.

So while monitoring the air pollution and for any health issues is still necessary, it’s important to keep the risk in perspective.

Continued follow-up of workers directly involved in firefighting or cleanup will be essential, as their exposure levels are likely to be much higher than those in the surrounding community.

How to protect yourself from smoke

There are practical steps people can take to reduce their exposure if smoke or poor air quality persists.

It sounds obvious, but the less time you spend outside in smoke, the lower your risk of health issues cause by smoke inhalation.

Staying indoors with windows and doors closed can significantly reduce your exposure to particles, especially if air conditioning is set to recirculate indoor air.

If you have asthma or other chronic lung diseases, it’s important to keep your reliever close at hand, follow your existing written action plan, and seek medical advice early if symptoms worsen. This can prevent more serious flare-ups.

Well-fitting P2 or N95 masks can reduce inhalation of fine particles when worn correctly. Loose-fitting surgical or cloth masks provide much less protection against smoke.

Residents in and around Geelong concerned about air quality can check real-time monitoring data for the area at the Victorian Environment Protection Authority website.

If your symptoms worsen or persist, you should speak to a health-care professional, and in emergency always call triple 0.

– ref. When oil refineries burn, here’s what happens to your lungs and heart – https://theconversation.com/when-oil-refineries-burn-heres-what-happens-to-your-lungs-and-heart-280796

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/when-oil-refineries-burn-heres-what-happens-to-your-lungs-and-heart-280796/

By Keiller MacDuff, RNZ News senior reporter

The managers of the New Zealand’s $86 billion Super Fund failed to properly address human rights issues when considering whether to exclude companies from its investments, the High Court has found

Justice Simon Mount granted an application by the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) for judicial review of Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation’s policies relating to ethical investment.

In a decision released today, Justice Mount declared parts of the fund’s policy documents, standards and procedures, and its sustainable investment framework were “unreasonable and unlawful”.

The court also ordered the crown entity to pay PSNA’s legal costs.

PSNA co-chair John Minto said the decision was a victory for Palestinian rights, while Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation said it was considering its next move.

The sovereign wealth fund was created in 2001 to help provide for New Zealander’s superannuation costs.

By law, Guardians are required to invest the funds on a prudent commercial basis, manage and administer the fund with best-practice portfolio management, and avoid prejudice to New Zealand’s reputation as “a responsible member of the world community”.

Backbone of case
That last duty formed the backbone of the case taken by PSNA, who have long lobbied the Guardians to divest from companies it claims to be complicit in human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Guardians excluded development, construction and technology companies involved in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2012.

In 2021, following years of lobbying by PSNA, the Guardians also excluded five Israeli banks from its portfolio on the grounds there was an unacceptable risk the banks were materially contributing to breaches of human rights standards and that engaging with the banks themselves was unlikely to be effective.

PSNA continued to request the exclusion of other investments due to alleged human rights breaches and focused on four companies that featured on a United Nations Human Rights Council database of companies trading with illegal Israeli settlements — Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and Motorola.

Justice Mount said the chief executive of the Guardians replied to the group in mid-2024 noting none of the companies “currently meets the exclusion threshold under our Sustainable Investment Framework”.

In later correspondence, the Guardians’ head of sustainable investment reiterated that stance, which led PSNA to indicate it would seek the judicial review.

In his findings, Justice Mount noted the Guardian’s 2020 policy documents identified several standards and benchmarks that were later removed — including the Principles for Responsible Investment, principles of the UN Global Compact, and a broad reference to “other good practice standards”.

Earlier policy removed
The earlier policy referred to several sets of standards described as “universally recognised by the world community — with signatories including investment managers, investee companies and the peers of Guardians — and unlikely to be superseded”.

The 2020 policy stated its applicable principles were based on the UN Global Compact, in particular the requirements to support and respect human rights and “no complicity in abuses”.

It also set a threshold for excluding government bonds where there was “widespread condemnation or sanctions by the international community and New Zealand has imposed meaningful diplomatic, economic or military sanctions”.

Justice Mount noted the almost 3000 pages of evidence filed for the judicial review allowed him to gain a picture of how the Guardians had used their policy documents in practice.

The judge noted the Guardians’ approach to excluding investments was not entirely coherent and the policies failed to meet the basic requirements of the law when alleged breaches of human rights standards were concerned.

The Guardians had a duty to reformulate its policy documents to be consistent with the Act, he said.

Minto celebrated the court’s ruling.

Fund raking in money
The group was confident the Super Fund would divest from Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Motorola once it had rewritten its policies to comply with the law, he said.

The High Court judgment showed the Super Fund had invested $67 million in the four companies.

Minto said the fund was raking in money from appalling breaches of international law by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The country’s leading sovereign wealth fund should be setting the benchmark for all New Zealand investment funds, not deriving money from war crimes and massive human rights abuses, he said.

The lack of a clear grounds to exclude companies from investment because of human rights abuses were particularly problematic, Minto said.

“This is beyond outrageous. Our largest sovereign wealth fund, owned by the government on behalf of the people of New Zealand, has no specific references to human rights standards in its investment exclusions policy.”

The case had revealed the exclusions policy was weakened and direct references to human rights standards were removed the year after the fund divested from five Israeli banks, Minto said.

Replaced with vague policy
“The Super Fund replaced a principled policy with an entirely vague and subjective assessment of companies which meant they could resist pressure from human rights groups such as PSNA.

“The fund was entirely making up legal sounding excuses as it went. It meant they could now keep on their books other companies which abuse the human rights of Palestinians,” he said.

“The Super Fund owes us all an apology and in particular an apology to Palestinians here and in Palestine, whose suffering is helping pay the price of the fund’s increasing wealth.”

Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation chief executive Jo Townsend said the crown entity was still considering its response to the decision.

“We recognise that we are investing on behalf of all New Zealanders, and that gives people a legitimate interest in how we manage the fund,” she said.

“We will thoroughly evaluate today’s decision and determine how best to respond to it,” she said.

The UN Human Rights Council database featuring the four companies is from a list of 97 companies involved with illegal Israeli settlements.

The database came about following a 2016 UN Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by New Zealand, that led to diplomatic rupture between the two countries and Israel recalling its ambassador.

Israeli media reported at the time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully proceeding with the resolution wold be considered a “declaration of war”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/nzs-86-billion-super-fund-failed-to-properly-address-human-rights-court-rules-in-palestine-case/

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 16, 2026.

Nicole Kidman is training to be a ‘death doula’. What is a death doula?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Symon Braun Freck, PhD Candidate, School of Engineering, DeathTech Research Team, The University of Melbourne This week, Nicole Kidman revealed she is training to become a death doula. She told an audience at the University of San Francisco it “may sound a little weird”, but she was

Cyclone Vaianu: First impacts could be felt Saturday amid severe NZ warnings
MetService meteorologist John Law told RNZ Checkpoint the first impacts of the system could be felt on Saturday morning with large swells for north-eastern areas. “This is a multi-hazard area of low pressure that runs down. You can imagine that these strong winds rushing over the seas help to drive large swells across the open

Iran has a powerful new tool in the Strait of Hormuz that it can leverage long after the war
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University The Trump administration claims its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is working, with nine ships complying with orders to turn around. One of those was a Chinese-owned tanker called the Rich Starry that turned around in the

The court ruling in Gina Rinehart’s mining dispute reveals a lot about the nation’s inherited wealth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland In a decision described by the judge as “a half-win” for each side, mining magnate Gina Rinehart has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties to the heirs of Peter Wright, the business

Australia’s aged care algorithm is under fire. At last, someone’s listening
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hal Swerissen, Emeritus Professor of Public Health, La Trobe University The way Australians are assessed for home-based aged-care funding is being investigated by the Commonwealth ombudsman. Critics say assessment for funding under the Support at Home program is flawed, leaving some older people unable to access the

Deadly landslide claims 10 lives in PNG’s East New Britain, reports local media
RNZ Pacific Ten people have died in a landslide in Gazelle district in Papua New Guinea’s East New Britain Province following continuous heavy rain, according to local news media reports. The disaster occurred after the Toriu River burst its banks after intense rainfall and severe weather conditions experienced across the region over the past few

The Middle East crisis has exposed NZ to a global fertiliser shock. Where is its plan?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murat Ungor, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Otago New Zealand and Australia like to think of themselves as food powerhouses. But right now, a war in the Middle East and China’s fertiliser export restrictions are exposing a dangerous blind spot: their farms depend on imported fertiliser,

How do teens really use AI companions? With more creativity than you might think
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annabel Blake, PhD Candidate, Human-Computer Interaction, University of Sydney In 2022, the founders of chatbot startup Character.AI launched a platform where anyone could create interactive characters powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The app exploded, quickly growing to more than 20 million users who created more than 10

Trump’s naval blockade of Strait of Hormuz actually targets China
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean Most of Iranian oil — 96.7 percent — is destined for China. If you note this figure, you will realise that the Americans are really trying to choke off the supply of Iranian oil to China by blockading the Strait of Hormuz. This is a major part of the American containment

Waking at 3am every night? Here’s what may be going on
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talar Moukhtarian, Assistant Professor in Mental Health, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick It’s 3am. The room is dark, the house is silent, but your brain is suddenly wide awake. Many people find themselves waking at roughly the same time each night and start to wonder whether

Thousands of AI-written, edited or ‘polished’ books are being sold – an eerie echo of Orwell’s ‘novel-writing machines’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Beers, Professor of History, American University At some point in the next several months, I am hoping to receive a modest check as a member of the class covered in the class-action settlement Bartz v. Anthropic. In 2025, the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, best known for

The secret sensory life of plants: researchers are discovering how they see, hear, feel – and even remember
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samarth Kulshrestha, Research Fellow in Molecular Biology, University of Canterbury Plants are often seen as passive organisms, rooted in one place and largely unable to react to the world around them. But a new field of research is challenging these assumptions and showing that plants are as

Thinking about acupuncture or herbs for menopause? Read this first
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Adelaide University Hot flushes, night sweats or swinging mood changes are some of the most common symptoms of menopause – the stage of a woman’s life when menstrual periods stop permanently, and she is no

Can we consider ‘play’ to be a religion? Bluey certainly thinks so
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Lawson, Academic Registrar at St Barnabas College in the University of Divinity, PhD Candidate in Ancient Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Education, CSU, Charles Sturt University Most of us are used to thinking of “religion” in terms of a belief in God or gods. Perhaps the

The Greens are relaunching their party think tank. What do these organisations do?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Fioritti, Lecturer in Politics, School of Social Sciences, Monash University The appointment of former high profile Greens federal housing spokesperson and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s arch nemesis, Max Chandler-Mather, as executive director of the party’s think tank – the Green Institute – raises several important questions.

What can you actually put in your yellow recycling bin? An environmental scientist explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily Bryson, Lecturer in Science, CQUniversity Australia Most of us want to recycle, but it can sometimes be hard to know exactly how. Do jar lids and bottle caps go in the yellow bin? What kinds of plastic can be recycled? And given that food residue can

Employment data shows the early signs of AI job disruption are already here
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clinton Free, Academic Director, Executive Education, Business School, University of Sydney There has been no shortage of bold claims recently about artificial intelligence (AI) and jobs — from mass unemployment to over-hyped distraction. Much of this debate is speculative. Often, coming from the tech giants promoting their

Albanese government will commit to boosting defence spending to 3% of GDP, but under a revised definition
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will increase defence spending to about 3% of GDP by 2033 in its 2026 National Defence Strategy to be unveiled on Thursday. But it is using a revised definition that, in effect, makes the defence spend appear

Gallery: Standing up for the people of Iran . . . and Palestine, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba . . .
Asia Pacific Report A massive Stop Wars Aotearoa coalition rally and march on the US Consulate took place in Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau last Saturday, 11 April 2026. “We’re going to stand up for the people of Iran, stand up for the people of Palestine, stand up for the people of Lebanon, stand up for the

High Court takes an axe to Victoria’s political donations laws – and it will make federal MPs nervous
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor Emerita in Constitutional Law, University of Sydney The High Court has taken an axe to the Victorian Electoral Act, chopping out the entirety of Part 12. It deals with election spending, caps on political donations, three different types of public funding (for election campaigns,

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/er-report-a-roundup-of-significant-articles-on-eveningreport-nz-for-april-16-2026/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Symon Braun Freck, PhD Candidate, School of Engineering, DeathTech Research Team, The University of Melbourne

This week, Nicole Kidman revealed she is training to become a death doula. She told an audience at the University of San Francisco it “may sound a little weird”, but she was inspired after her mother died in 2024.

Observing how her family wasn’t able to provide the support they hoped they could, Kidman wished there were “people in the world that were there to sit impartially and just provide solace and care”. This is how she came to explore the field of death doulaship.

The concept of a doula is often familiar: you might have heard of a birth doula, who supports a family through pregnancy. A death doula works in a similar capacity, as a community partner offering support to the dying.

There is no singular definition for doulas, but those within the field often describe their work as “holding space” for their client. They act as a neutral third-party, working between the family, end-of-life care professionals and funeral professionals.

Though there are training programs that offer certifications for death doulas, their work varies widely depending on the preferences of the doula and the type of assistance sought by the client.

You may have even acted as a death doula within your own community, aiding the dying or their loved ones without the official title.

A new model for dying

Dying, death and funerals were once a sacred communal process taken care of by family in the comfort of their home. As death became institutionalised, medicalised and professionalised over the late 19th and early 20th centuries, loved ones were pushed to the wayside as they did not have the proper training to care for the dead in the eyes of the industry.

By the mid 1900s, the family parlor was no longer the central meeting spot to lament over mortality, and the funeral industry as we understand it today was in full swing.

This shift slowly gave way to a host of paraprofessionals. Death doulas and death midwives, an ancient practice, reemerged in the early 2000s.

Stemming from the Greek term δούλα, meaning female servant, doulas serve as community helpers in liminal periods, most commonly birth and death. They seek to fill the gaps medical and funeral personnel are unable to attend.

Not everyone who acts in this role calls themselves a “death doula”. They are also known as soul guides, compassionate companions and vigilers, among other titles.

I volunteered, researched and worked in thanatology – the study of death and dying – for over a decade before completing my death doula training. The hands-on experience I gained working with death before my training program was crucial in shaping my ability to communicate about mortality.

Most people want to talk about death, but they’re faced with the conversation too late. In their most vulnerable hour, the dying and their loved ones are expected to make impossible decisions with little guidance. That’s where death doulas come in.

Easing the burden

Kidman said “as my mother was passing, she was lonely, and there was only so much the family could provide”.

While many family members are elected as surrogate decision-makers throughout the end-of-life process, it is common they feel highly uncertain about the choices they’re making.

The assistance and support of third-party advocates, like death doulas, helps ease the burden on family members and offers a neutral perspective during a vulnerable period.

I came into this work because I experienced deaths at a young age, and I understood my capacity to deal with death. Similarly to Kidman, many doulas I have interviewed came to the work after a loss of their own, with a newfound desire to share what they learned through their experience to help others in an inevitable time of need.

Death doulas can specialise their work, electing to work with pets, stillbirths, children, cognitive decline and many other types of loss.

Some doulas may enter work with a client years before a death, working on more administrative tasks like advanced care planning. Others may join right before a death occurs, focusing on sitting bedside. A third doula may specialise their work around funeral planning, coming in to help facilitate an at-home funeral.

No two doula practices are identical, just like no two deaths are identical.

If you are wondering if you should join a death doula training program, my response would be that increasing your death literacy is always beneficial, but there are many ways to get a death education.

Before diving in, explore what is drawing you to the profession and if you want to do this work for others or if you are seeking the knowledge for yourself. Both are wonderful motivations, but they could lead to different outcomes in the type of program you choose to attend or the kind of death education you seek.

We’re all going to die, and it’s never too soon to start talking about it.

– ref. Nicole Kidman is training to be a ‘death doula’. What is a death doula? – https://theconversation.com/nicole-kidman-is-training-to-be-a-death-doula-what-is-a-death-doula-280725

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/nicole-kidman-is-training-to-be-a-death-doula-what-is-a-death-doula-280725/

MetService meteorologist John Law told RNZ Checkpoint the first impacts of the system could be felt on Saturday morning with large swells for north-eastern areas.

“This is a multi-hazard area of low pressure that runs down. You can imagine that these strong winds rushing over the seas help to drive large swells across the open waters, and they run in from the northwest.

Swells up to 6, 8 metres
“And I think around those northern coasts, places like Northland and the Bay of Plenty, swell heights could be as much as six to eight metres.

“Now, adding to that, the wet weather coming down the rivers, the strong winds, the extra boost of that sea by the extra low pressure, those coastal eliminations, that risk does increase.”

Law also said it was “very unusual” to see the entire North Island under weather watches and warnings.

“Normally our watches and warnings, we try and keep them to as small an area as possible to kind of really focus in on those areas impacting.

“So the fact that the whole island has got these severe weather watches and warnings … it is an indication of the severity of the system coming through, not just in terms of the wet weather, but that wind, I think, is going to be one of the key features as we head through the weekend.

“As this system runs across us, we’ll find our winds changing direction… as they come in to start with we’re looking at northerly winds, but as the system sweeps down to the south, strong south or westerly winds behind it will also be another issue.

“So that change in direction, something else to keep in mind.”

Orange heavy rain warnings
Meanwhile, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty west of Whakatane including Rotorua, and Gisborne/Tairawhiti north of Tolaga Bay are all under an orange heavy rain warning from the early hours of Sunday morning.

Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell says it will be a potentially significant and damaging storm, and Earth Sciences NZ predicted more than 200mm of rain could fall in some places across the upper North Island.

An orange strong wind warning is in place for Northland from 11pm Saturday until Sunday afternoon. Auckland, Waikato, Waitomo, Taupo, Taumarunui, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua, Gisborne/Tairawhiti, Hawke’s Bay, Taihape, Taranaki and Wanganui are all also under orange warnings which come into place overnight Saturday.

Aucklanders have been warned the Harbour Bridge might close due to strong winds.

FIFA matches advanced
FIFA World Cup qualifying matches due to be played in Hamilton on Sunday have been brought forward to Saturday to avoid the worst of it.

Officials said the decision was made to ensure the safety of participants and fans attending the games.

The Oceania semi-finals between the Football Ferns and Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) and American Samoa were originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Hamilton.

They will now be played Saturday, with PNG playing American Samoa at midday and New Zealand playing Fiji at 4pm.

• RNZ is New Zealand’s statutory civil defence lifeline radio broadcaster. That means RNZ will provide vital information and updates as they come to hand on air and online during an emergency.
• Find the radio frequency for your area here and get prepared here.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/cyclone-vaianu-first-impacts-could-be-felt-saturday-amid-severe-nz-warnings/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland

In a decision described by the judge as “a half-win” for each side, mining magnate Gina Rinehart has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties to the heirs of Peter Wright, the business partner of her father, Lang Hancock.

However, under the ruling, Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, will retain ownership of the iron ore mining tenements in question, Hope Downs and East Angelas.

The Western Australia Supreme Court case hinged on agreements made in the 1980s to divide the assets, and was one of the longest-running cases in Australian history.

Rinehart has topped the Australian Financial Review’s Rich List for six years in a row with total wealth of A$38.1 billion in 2025. So the payout of royalties in the “hundreds of millions” will only make a small dent in that wealth.

Litigation lasting for years

This is neither the first nor the last piece of litigation involving Rinehart and various claimants to the wealth she inherited from her father and developed further to become the richest person in Australia, and one of the richest women in the world.

In the 1990s, Rinehart engaged in protracted litigation with her father’s third wife, Rose Porteous. The case ended in a settlement, which left Rinehart in control of most of Hancock’s assets.

And for the past 20 years or more, she has been fighting her own children in a series of court cases that are still continuing.

None of these cases are likely to dent Rinehart’s position at the top of the AFR Rich list. And nearly all the parties involved (except Porteous) are already billionaires.

Wealth at the top is growing fast

Such disputes over massive inheritances are exactly what would be expected in the “patrimonial” society described by economist Thomas Piketty in his book Capital, a big hit a decade ago. This refers to a society where wealth and social position are dominated by inherited capital, not earned income.

And at less stratospheric levels of wealth, the disputes will resonate with young people whose only hope of home ownership seems to rest on assistance from the “Bank of Mum and Dad”.

There is little doubt that the concentration of wealth at the top end of the wealth distribution in Australia has increased massively over the past 20 years.

The combined wealth of the 200 individuals on the 2025 AFR Rich List was calculated as $667 billion. That’s 100 times more than the total of $6.4 billion from the first BRW Rich list in 1984.

By contrast, Australia’s economy (gross domestic product, not adjusted for inflation) has grown only 15 times. Even allowing for some possible understatement in the 1984 data, it’s clear the wealth of the top 200 has grown much faster than than national income.

But how much of this is due to inheritance?

Examination of the AFR Rich List reveals a mixed picture. The two spots after Rinehart are occupied by real estate developer Harry Triguboff and Anthony Pratt, chairman of the packaging empire Visy Corporation.

Triguboff, now aged 93, will be succeeded by his children and grandchildren when he passes away. Anthony Pratt is the grandson of Leon Pratt, who established the business in the 1940s.

So far, this looks like a list dominated by inherited (or about to be bequeathed) wealth. But those in the rest of the top 10 list, most notably the founders of technology companies Atlassian and Canva, made their own money.

Beyond the top 10 richest, the rest of the list is similarly mixed. Around half of the top 200 made their own money. But second, third, fourth and even fifth-generation wealth is well represented.

Some other famous family names such as Myer and Baillieu no longer even make this top 200 list. Yet the collective wealth of these long-established families remains immense.

There is little evidence to support the proverb “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”, meaning that one generation makes money from humble beginnings, the next lives in comfort of the accumulated fortune and the third dissipates it, returning to poverty.

In short, you don’t have to be born rich to make big money in Australia, but it certainly helps.

Is it time for a wealth tax?

Since the share of wealth held by the richest Australians has grown so much in recent decades, the fact that as much as half of this wealth is inherited should be a matter of concern to all of us.

The question of whether and how to tax wealth cannot be avoided forever.

One option is a return to inheritance taxes. The abolition of these taxes in the 1970s contributed substantially to the growth of wealth inequality. Literature seems to take this point as self-evident.

Another option would be an annual tax on wealth, reflecting the fact that returns to large concentrations of wealth have greatly exceeded growth in income and wages. This idea has been pushed by the Greens in a plan to tax the richest 1%, but seems unlikely to be taken up by the Albanese government or the Coalition any time soon.

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Read more: Some economists have called for a radical ‘global wealth tax’ on billionaires. How would that work?

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– ref. The court ruling in Gina Rinehart’s mining dispute reveals a lot about the nation’s inherited wealth – https://theconversation.com/the-court-ruling-in-gina-rineharts-mining-dispute-reveals-a-lot-about-the-nations-inherited-wealth-280721

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/the-court-ruling-in-gina-rineharts-mining-dispute-reveals-a-lot-about-the-nations-inherited-wealth-280721/