Category: Evening Report

Analysis by Keith Rankin – this analysis was first published on 24 March 2026.

A minute after my radio-alarm went off this morning, I was ‘privileged’ to hear this deeply scary interview with the Deputy Prime Minister: Deputy PM Seymour on NZ, Iran and fuel relief, RNZ 24 March 2026. For most of the interview David Seymour outlines why Ruthanasia politics is essential for New Zealand, even as a global existential crisis may be unfolding. While he didn’t use the word ‘Ruthanasia’, he may as well have.

(Ruthenasia was supposed to have been a policy to deliver relatively ‘more money’ to younger New Zealanders; that is, such policies of fiscal austerity are commonly conducted in the name of intergenerational equity, though that notion – as represented by the ‘financial literacy’ community – is a logical fallacy of the first order. Money, a set of claims on wealth, a social technology, is regarded by austerians such as Ruth Richardson and David Seymour as a form of intrinsic wealth. Seymour claimed that “the previous government maxed out the credit card”; New Zealand is about 105th out of 190 countries for government debt. Turkmenistan, Brunei and Kuwait are the top performers by Seymour’s criterion (with Afghanistan, Haiti and Russia also in the top 10); Sudan and Japan are the worst. According to Trading Economics, New Zealand now has a projected 47% government debt to GDP ratio, up from 39% in 2023. Truth is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity.)

NATO and the Greater Evil

The real problem though, contained in this interview, is in the presenter’s introduction, and also in the quasi-acceptance of the alarming content of that introduction.

In the recording, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte claims that New Zealand has signed up to a 22-country Nato-led initiative “to implement his vision [referring to the President of the United States] of making sure the Strait of Hormuz is free, is opening up as soon as possible”.

First, we should note that the Strait of Hormuz is presently open to all neutral countries; it is not open to those countries waging a war of aggression on Iran (a country along with Oman which has, by virtue of geography, sovereignty over that narrow Strait). (Much as Egypt has sovereignty over the Suez Canal.) Although there is some ambiguity regarding countries (such as New Zealand) which condemn Iran but choose to not-condemn Israel or the USA.

What New Zealand should do, if it really wants trade access to the Persian Gulf, is to condemn – equally – all the belligerents in this war. Beyond that, the paucity of ships passing through the Strait is an insurance matter; a matter that can be most easily resolved by the aggressors stopping the present war rather than (literally and figuratively) inflaming it. Does New Zealand want to be safe, and to have safe access to the Gulf States, or does it want to be egregiously stupid?

Regional Wars too easily become World Wars

At present there are two ‘regional’ wars of global significance in ‘play’. We note that in World War Two there was something similar. In November 1941 there was an all-out European war in which Germany was fighting the Soviet Union on one front and fighting the United Kingdom on the other. And there was a war in the western Pacific in which Japan was fighting China and Indo-China; kind of a world war in that most of Indo-China was ‘colonies’ of the European powers France, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Then, in December 1941, Japan attacked the United States’ fleet in Hawaii (noting that Hawaii was not a part of the United States then). Three days later, Japan sank two British battleships – Prince of Wales, and Repulse – in the South China Sea, effectively declaring war on the United Kingdom. And then, another day later, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler declared war on the United States – his biggest strategic mistake. Two regional geopolitical wars had become a world war.

Goliath 2.0; a modern-day unsophisticate and anti-intellectual, and his band of orcs

In 2026, the two wars are between Nato and Russia, with most of the action taking place in the territory of the Nato proxy-state, Ukraine. The second war is between Israel and Iran, with Israel being helped out by its much larger proxy with its Goliath president. Much of the violence is taking place in other countries; countries either sandwiched between Israel and Iran or coveted by Israel as part of its Greater Israel project.

What is now connecting these two wars – both being fought in parts of central Eurasia – the war in Europe and the war in the ‘Middle East’? First is that Ukraine became involved, earlier this year, as a military ally of Israel. Second is that Nato, one of the combatants in the Ukraine War, is now trying to join in the Middle East War as a formal ally of Israel and its subservient Goliath. And little New Zealand is showing all the signs that it is trying to become a formal ally of Nato, a willing participant of both regional wars; awestruck by Goliath and his band of merry orcs.

When two globally significant regional wars combine today to become a single war, we have World War Three. Why, on Earth, would New Zealand want to be a part of that? Why would we want to be a party to both ecocide and economic suicide? And why would we want to become a target in a nuclear war? Is that egregiously stupid?

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Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/keith-rankin-analysis-has-new-zealand-just-signed-up-for-world-war-three/

Analysis by Keith Rankin – This analysis was first published on 26 March 2026.

One of the United States’ navy ships heading towards the Persian Gulf is the USS Tripoli. (USS = United States Ship.) How the heck did it get that name? (Will the next two United States’ naval ships be called the USS Abbottabad and the USS Santo Domingo?)

The answer will be a surprise to many. The American Revolution which began in 1776 was completed in 1783, with the British capitulation to the American patriotic forces. So, the history of the United States as an independent sovereign state goes back to 1783. The British and Americans fought again from 1812 to 1815, during the Napoleonic Wars (what I suggest is better called either World War Zero or Great World War One, and my favoured dates are 1798 to 1815, with Waterloo being the final battle; Great World War One contextualises 1914 to 1945 as Great World War Two). Wikipedia describes the outcome of the War of 1812 as ‘inconclusive’.

We may note that Encounter Bay, in South Australia, is named after a World War Zero encounter between British and French naval ships – Investigator and Géographe. The encounter was in 1802. The name Tripoli dates from another encounter (a much more violent encounter) within World War Zero, in this case a war between Libya (then known as Ottoman Tripolitania) and the United States. That encounter, a war within a war, was the First Barbary War (1801-1805).

The genesis of the Barbary Wars (see this famous picture of the USS Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbour, depicting the saving-from-capture of that ship in February 1804) was an earlier war. The American-Algerian War of 1785 to 1795was the first foreign military adventure of the United States since its independence in 1783. Wikipedia lists the ‘result’ of this war as an ‘Algerian victory’. It will be a surprise to many people that America’s first foreign war was so soon after independence, and in the Mediterranean rather than somewhere close to home; independent America has a long history of violence in the ‘Middle East’. It will be no surprise that, in 1795, the United States lost that war.

The context of the 1785-1795 war was that Great Britain, piqued by the loss of its American colonies, refused the United States the ‘protection’ of the British Navy.

We note here that imperial nations traditionally extracted ‘tribute’ from both their subjugated territories, and other populated territories which might otherwise be candidates for subjugation. Further, smaller maritime states traditionally extracted rent from passing ships.

These ‘clipping-the-ticket’ relationships still exist, of course. Egypt, for example, extracts monopoly rents from its possession of the Suez Canal; as does Panama re the Panama Canal. As would New Zealand if South American merchant ships were to transit through Cook Strait on their way to Australia. Indeed, as international airports charge landing fees. Further, the extraction of imperial tribute has become apparent once again, as the American president tries to use import taxes – tariffs – and bilateral ‘deals’ as ways of ‘making lots of money’; as a way of leveraging imperial power. This is extortion through protection money, in the very worst sense of that concept of power.

In the 1780s, and before, Britain and Algeria ‘scratched each other’s backs’. Britain let Algeria – literally a ‘pirate state’ – do its thing, so long as it did not charge rents from ships under the protection of the British Empire. Thus, after 1783, American ships ceased to benefit from British protection. The conflict ended in 1795, with the United States agreeing to pay rents to Algeria, and – by implication – to other ‘pirate kingdoms’ on the North African Barbary Coast.

The Barbary Wars began when newly elected president – Thomas Jefferson – refused to pay rents to Tripolitania, aka Libya. As a result, Tripolitania declared war on the United States. The United States sent a number of frigates, including the USS Philadelphia.

To this day, the United States commemorates the 1804 burning of the USS Philadelphia by Stephen Decatur as a heroic rescue, an act of derring do which Lord Nelson reputedly claimed was “the most bold and daring act of the Age”. It was this action which led to the naming of three United States naval ships, including the current ship, as ‘Tripoli’. Decatur went on to become a hero, once again, in the 1812 to 1815 war with Britain. And many American towns came to be named after him. (We may note that, in another ‘heroic’ action in World War Zero, in 1812, the Russian military burned the city of Moscow in order to save it from Napoleon’s invading army. One significant aftermath was a literary novel: War and Peace.)

This war was not an American victory; importantly for the United States, it was not the ignominious defeat that it might otherwise have been. The United States – or at least mercenaries in the pay of the United States – did win the subsequent 1805 Battle of Derna, which the USS Tripoli officially commemorates.

The First Barbary War ended inconclusively in 1805, with a deal. Wikipedia says: “In agreeing to pay a ransom of $60,000 (equivalent to $1.3 million in 2025) for the American prisoners, the Jefferson administration drew a distinction between paying tribute and paying ransom.” Jefferson agreed to pay a ransom. We should note that the Second Barbary War of 1815, also involving Decatur, lasted just two days, and was an American victory (under President Madison).

Another reason for the naming of the USS Tripoli, which is essentially the same reason.

In 2011, the United States (as NATO), under President Obama, fought in another war against Libya. This was a successful war of ‘regime change’, this time through air power rather than sea power; though few would say that the replacement regimes have improved either the stability of Libya or of the Eastern Mediterranean. This war of ‘decapitation’ of Libya was Obama’s dress rehearsal for an even more ambitious attempt to do the same in Syria. The subsequent Syrian Civil War was another distressing failure of United States’ foreign bellicosity. At least Obama asked Congress, and as a result he was unable to escalate; Obama was thwarted in his further attempts to become a decapitating conqueror (noting Abbottabad as well as Tripoli). Much of Syria descended into anarchy, until Russia intervened.

The USS Tripoli was commissioned in 2012, as much in commemoration of recent American adventurism as it was in commemoration of that country’s earliest acts of violence in a land far far away.

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Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/keith-rankin-analysis-uss-tripoli-whats-in-a-name/

By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

A rift within French Polynesia’s ruling Tavini Huiraatira party has widened this week, pitting the leadership “old guard” against a younger generation embodied by the territory’s President, Moetai Brotherson.

The main reason for the rift is the outcome of the recent French municipal elections, especially in the capital city of Pape’ete.

Since the Tavini party came back to power after the 2023 territorial elections, Brotherson brought with him a new wave of young MPs, who sometimes were questioning the traditional political line.

This was often regarded as “radical” (in favour of a quick independence process), defended by the party’s iconic 81-year-old president Oscar Temaru and his close associates, including Territorial Assembly Speaker Antony Géros.

At the recent municipal elections, Géros was one of the most symbolic of Tavini casualties. He lost his stronghold city of Paea at the first round of votes to pro-autonomy Tapura Huiraatira leader Tepuaraurii Teriitahi, who secured more than 50 percent of the votes, making it unnecessary to hold a second round of polls.

Even though Temaru was re-elected Lord Mayor in his stronghold of Faa’a at the first round, other Tavini-held municipalities also suffered significant setbacks.

But it was in Pape’ete that the divisions between the two Tavini antagonistic trends materialised most visibly.

Two Tavini candidates
While no Tavini member was in a position to claim the lead (the new Lord Mayor remains an “autonomist”, in favour of continuing the current relationship with France under an “Autonomy” status), there were two Tavini candidates and lists — one officially endorsed by the party, under the name of Tauhiti Nena, who secured 11.03 percent of the votes.

The other was not officially endorsed but it fared much better. It was led by 25-year-old Tematai Le Gayic and received 23.3 percent of the vote.

Since the kick-start of the municipal elections campaign, Le Gayic’s list (Tutahi ia Pape’ete) was openly backed by Brotherson.

In his already long political career, despite his young age, Le Gayic’s was French Polynesia’s representative MP (2022-2024). He was once known for being the youngest French MP ever elected in the French National Assembly.

This week, the debate is now out in the open, sparking a controversy between the two antagonistic Tavini trends.

Adding fuel to fire, in an open letter to Temaru earlier this week, widely publicised through social networks, he announced his decision to leave Tavini and, as a member of the Territorial Assembly, will from now on sit as an independent member.

Family business
Brotherson reacted to the decision, saying Le Gayic’s move was a “responsible” decision.

Brotherson also belongs to the Tavini Huiraatira, a party led by his father-in-law Temaru (Brotherson’s wife, Teura, is Temaru’s daughter).

Since 2023, other young, newly-elected Tavini MPs had already voiced their questions about the party political line.

This was the case of Hinamoeura Cross-Morgant, a young female MP who has tried to get a few bills tabled in the Assembly.

She was later subjected to sanctions from the party, ranging from suspension to outright eviction.

Since then, she has been sitting as an independent MP.

Reactions from the other side (pro-autonomy) of the political spectrum were also swift.

Nicole Sanquer, who heads “A Here Ia Porinetia” party (and leader of the opposition in the current Assembly), said there were many subjects of discord within the Tavini Huiraatira which were never addressed.

“What we’re expecting now is the creation of a new group within the Assembly. You ask me, I call this the beginning of a political crisis”, she told local media.

Brotherson ‘not surprised’
Brotherson, 56, regarded as a moderate, favours a non-confrontational approach to the independence subject, vis-à-vis France.

He said the recent municipal election results were “catastrophic” and that the Tavini party he belongs to was now disconnected from reality.

He said he was not surprised at Le Gayic’s resignation.

“It was predictable. Tematai Le Gayic has been asking for Tavini’s support for months in his bid to contest (the municipal elections) in Pape’ete.

“He’s not the first one and unfortunately I think he won’t be the last if the party doesn’t react.”

“You don’t win elections through posturing,” he added, stressing the need to stay in touch with bread-and-butter issues when it comes to elections, especially municipal ones.

“Because voters simply don’t feed on ideology.”

He warned that as new territorial polls will take place in 2028, if the Tavini does not address the issue, it would face more “explosive” results and setbacks.

Speaking to local media Tahiti Nui Television on the recent municipal election results, Temaru admitted a few “tactical and strategic mistakes”.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/rift-widens-within-french-polynesias-ruling-party-following-municipal-election-losses/

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 27, 2026.

Homebodies: bold TV about a trans man, his mother and the conversations they never had
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien O’Meara, Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University When Nora (Claudia Karvan) breaks her leg, her son Darcy (Luke Wiltshire) – a trans man – returns home to see her for the first time since he came out. It doesn’t take long before Darcy realises

‘Drive-off’ fuel thefts cost $80 million even before the war – and they’re heading up
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University With petrol and diesel prices soaring, we’re hearing more reports of alleged fuel thefts from petrol stations, farms, trucks and even parked cars. Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association’s chief executive officer Rowan Lee told AAP

Is dark chocolate healthier than milk chocolate? 2 dietitians explain
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Easter chocolate is all over supermarket shelves. Some people reach straight for milk chocolate eggs while others pause at the darker varieties, assuming they’re healthier. Dark chocolate has gained a reputation as the “better” choice

Cyclone Narelle is now larger and ‘more severe’ as it crosses the Western Australian coast
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle continues to amaze us with its long journey across northern Australia. This cyclone began life near the Solomon Islands on March 16, when moist air rose rapidly and created a low-pressure zone. Narelle crossed

Closing the Afghan embassy in Canberra would put many vulnerable Afghans at significant risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, International Relations, Australian National University Since the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Australia, Wahidullah Waissi, and his staff have continued to represent the people of Afghanistan under the most trying circumstances. They have continued to provide diplomatic

Will a new border deal with the US open a backdoor into Kiwis’ personal data?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gehan Gunasekara, Professor of Commercial Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Anyone who has recently travelled to the United States will be familiar with biometric checks – facial and fingerprint scans – used at the border. It is the same technology platform that is used in

Iran was always going to close the Strait of Hormuz
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor, The Conversation This is the text from The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email. Sign up here to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox. The five-day deadline to open the Strait

The Swedish concept of ‘döstädning’ or death cleaning is about more than just getting rid of things
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynn Akesson, Professor Emerita of Ethnology in the Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University The Swedish painter Margareta Magnusson died on March 12 aged 92. She became famous in 2017 for coining the smart and humorous concept of döstädning in a book known in English

Distant conflict, local crisis: is this oil shock the wake-up call NZ needed?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murat Ungor, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Otago In recent years, there has been no shortage of warnings about the fragility of New Zealand’s largely imported fuel supply. Now, motorists are seeing the cost of that vulnerability at the pump. Across the country, petrol has surpassed

Are you worried about your preschoolers’ anxiety? Here’s how to help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Fogarty, Psychologist and Research Fellow in the Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University New research on a group of Australian preschoolers suggests more than 40% are dealing with an anxiety disorder. The study, led by Monash University and published in the journal of

Compulsory super is higher than ever at 12%. But cutting it would hurt low-paid workers most
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Melatos, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Sydney A central element of Australia’s superannuation system is the superannuation guarantee (SG). This is the compulsory 12% of an employee’s earnings that an employer must pay into the employee’s nominated superannuation fund. The compulsory contribution rate has risen

Nvidia’s new AI tool is giving female game characters a makeover – and gamers are pushing back
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sian Tomkinson, Media and Communication Scholar, Edith Cowan University Last week leading chipmaker Nvidia announced DLSS-5 (Deep Learning Super Sampling), a new artificial intelligence (AI) rendering tool it describes as a “breakthrough in visual fidelity for games”. The software takes low-resolution images and uses AI to upscale

IBS diets don’t work for everyone. New research shows why – and it’s not just about the food
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Biesiekierski, Associate Professor of Human Nutrition, The University of Melbourne If you’ve ever tried a diet to fix gut symptoms, you’ll know it can be hit or miss. One person swears it changed their life. Another follows it carefully and feels no better. This is especially

What is consciousness? Michael Pollan spent 4 years looking for the answer
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, The University of Melbourne Psychology, it’s said, has a long past but a short history. A popular version lists three stages. First, around the turn of the 20th century, psychologists tried to capture the stream of conscious experience in the net of

Share prices, sports results … CO₂ levels? The case for reporting climate stats every day
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elspeth Tilley, Professor of Creative Communication, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University In today’s CO₂ news, global atmospheric carbon is at 429.46 parts per million. That’s one point lower than yesterday and 79 above the recommended planetary boundary. That’s not something we hear routinely in news

A Bible Belt track without a pulse – it’s no surprise fans hate the 2026 FIFA World Cup song Lighter
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brent Keogh, Lecturer in the School of Communications, University of Technology Sydney The release of the first FIFA World Cup 2026 song Lighter by American country artist Jelly Roll, Mexican singer Carín León and Canadian producer Cirkut, has left an odd taste in the mouth of fans,

Could this energy crisis be worse for the global economy than COVID?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adi Imsirovic, Lecturer in Energy Systems, University of Oxford Despite reports of negotiations between the US and the Iranian regime, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to most oil tankers, with only a small number of vessels being allowed to pass. The result is a loss

‘I didn’t come here to get rich’: new research on the lives of Ukrainian women in Georgia’s surrogacy boom
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Oleinikova, Associate Professor and Director of the SITADHub (Social Impact Technologies and Democracy Research Hub) in the School of Communication, University of Technology Sydney “I didn’t come here to get rich. I came because I had no other way to keep my son safe and care

Corruption reporting project mourns the loss of Dan McGarry, pioneering Pacific editor and investigative journalist
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – OBITUARY: By Aubrey Belford, Australia and South Pacific regional editor of OCCRP The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dan McGarry, the organisation’s Pacific editor, who died yesterday in Brisbane, Australia, at the age of 62. A

Grattan on Friday: Albanese government struggles under the ‘stress test’ posed by Middle East war
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Crises “stress test” governments and countries. Memories remain vivid of COVID, which put immense pressures on the Australian economy, the federation and Commonwealth and state budgets. The domestic crisis triggered by the Middle East war is well short of –

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/er-report-a-roundup-of-significant-articles-on-eveningreport-nz-for-march-27-2026/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien O’Meara, Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University

When Nora (Claudia Karvan) breaks her leg, her son Darcy (Luke Wiltshire) – a trans man – returns home to see her for the first time since he came out. It doesn’t take long before Darcy realises there’s another presence in his childhood home: a ghost of his younger pre-transition self, Dee (Jazi Hall).

Homebodies examines the rift between a trans man and his mother through a haunting that confronts them with the conversations they never had.

The series is created by AP Pobjoy, a transmasculine writer and director, as part of the SBS Digital Originals initiative, which seeks to support risk-taking, short-form projects and emerging talent both on- and off-screen.

Homebodies contributes a complex story rarely seen on our screens. It addresses one of the major gaps in LGBTQ+ stories in Australian television: representations of trans men. In a study I conducted with Whitney Monaghan, we identified just three representations of trans men in Australian television drama between 2000 and 2019.

[embedded content]

The trans homecoming narrative

Darcy’s return home drops audiences into a story in which many questions seek to be answered. The themes of “journey” and “homecoming” are major features of the transition narrative. They provide the arc through which trans characters affirm identity and their sense of belonging.

Such narratives are seen in films such as Close to You (2023), starring Elliot Page, in which he portrays a trans man returning home to a family gathering. Ultimately, in this film a homecoming is found in the life he has made for himself.

Narratives of self-acceptance can disrupt the traditional ideas of homecoming. Homebodies explores elements of the literal returning home. But Darcy’s acceptance of himself is settled.

The story gives space for an exploration of the challenging, interpersonal relationship between him and his mother through the haunting of an unresolved rift.

Refreshingly, this is done without Darcy ever doubting his understanding and acceptance of himself.

Hauntings as catharsis

Homebodies takes on aspects of a specific mode of Australian gothic cinema, and takes on the gothic genre’s engagement with hauntology – the ways the past can haunt the present – as pivotal for this trans homecoming narrative.

Dee is a haunting of something left behind. This includes some obvious aspects: she uses Darcy’s deadname and she/her pronouns. But also, Dee represents a version of Darcy in which his existence was not yet a consideration. In the moments when he clashes with Nora, it seems Dee is a manifestation of what his mother wants him to be.

In some ways that feels true, but Dee is also part of a past Darcy is not acknowledging.

Such a story could feel too literal: having a trans man confront his pre-transition self. But Dee is not just a dramatic foil to allow for the exposition of how he came to this place in his life. Rather, he is sharing that journey with who he was before it started.

The value of such conversations stems from the authenticity behind the story. Pobjoy creates a story that is specific. While gender and sexually diverse stories continuously run the gamut of having to be representative to those who are underrepresented and seeking to see themselves onscreen, they can also end up being didactic by the nature of reaching beyond that community.

The value is that such stories create understanding – the risk is they lose their specificity if they try to serve too many interests.

Homebodies strikes an effective balance in its specificity, while feeling like a story audiences will be able to connect with in big or small ways.

One factor that might contribute to this success is that this short series is a product of SBS’s Digital Originals initiative.

Digital first for new and emerging voices

Homebodies is the latest example of the impact of digital-first initiatives for Australian television, following shows such as Latecomers (2023), a rom-com featuring two disabled leads, and Iggy & Ace (2021), which explores drug and alcohol addiction and mental health in queer communities.

These emerging talent programs have become a key site for screen industry development in Australia, and often tell complex stories about underrepresented communities.

Short episodes and online distribution are lower-risk investments for traditional broadcasters, and here underrepresented voices are getting opportunities not previously seen on Australian television.

Through such short series, public-service broadcasters are foregrounding centrally queer stories, investing in local content during the ongoing disruption of streaming.

Homebodies is a prime example of the value of such initiatives. An emerging original voice – in Pobjoy as creator – given the space to dive into a narrative rarely seen on Australian television. And Homebodies won’t just be online: it is also screening on SBS television.

But there are questions about where investment might scale. With the recent loss of Matchbox Pictures and Tony Ayres Productions, there are concerns about the challenges faced by other production houses, and the future of specific local stories in Australian television drama.

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Read more: Why one of Australia’s most successful TV production companies is being shut down

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While streaming quotas seem to promise new opportunities in the future, the reality of their impact remains theoretical. The number of hours, the variety of genres, the prominence of our local stories all remain unknowns.

Homebodies is a promising example of what is possible, when given the chance.

Homebodies is on SBS and SBS On Demand from Saturday.

– ref. Homebodies: bold TV about a trans man, his mother and the conversations they never had – https://theconversation.com/homebodies-bold-tv-about-a-trans-man-his-mother-and-the-conversations-they-never-had-277500

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/homebodies-bold-tv-about-a-trans-man-his-mother-and-the-conversations-they-never-had-277500/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University

With petrol and diesel prices soaring, we’re hearing more reports of alleged fuel thefts from petrol stations, farms, trucks and even parked cars.

Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association’s chief executive officer Rowan Lee told AAP this week that fuel theft from service stations had increased by between 8–30% nationally since the start of the Middle East war. Even before the conflict began, fuel theft was costing retailers around A$80 million a year.

Police in several states have warned they expect more thefts to come.

Here’s how past surges in fuel prices have driven up “drive-off” thefts, how common such thefts are – and what to do if you see one happening.

Predicting fuel thefts from petrol prices

There is good evidence, both from Australia and overseas, that fuel price spikes do drive up fuel thefts.

A report by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research compared eight years of service station fraud – largely fuel theft – from 1998 to 2006 against the average monthly price of petrol in Sydney.

It found “a strong correlation” between higher petrol prices and the increase in petrol theft.

For every 10 cent increase in the price of a litre of petrol at the time, the report estimated:

we can expect up to 120 extra reported incidents of service station fraud for that month in NSW.

The researchers also found “service station fraud in any given month can be predicted from the average price of petrol one month earlier”.

‘Significant’ links between price spikes and theft

More recent studies have been done overseas. For instance, a 2023 study of English and Welsh fuel thefts found that when petrol prices were relatively stable, fuel cost changes had little impact on petrol thefts. But sudden surges in higher fuel prices – like the kind we’re seeing now in response to the Middle East war – were found to be “significantly associated” with higher levels of the crime.

Another UK study looked at the relationship between the price of commodity goods, like fuel, and levels of related crime. It found a “positive crime-price elasticity” for fuel – meaning if the price of fuel went up, so did the theft of fuel.

Similarly, a 2015 German study found that the fuel price had a statistically significant effect in increasing fuel theft.

How common in petrol theft?

The available data on fuel drive-offs across Australia is patchy, varying state by state.

Last week, South Australian police reported a 37% jump in fuel thefts: 221 fuel thefts in the week ending March 15, up from 162 the week before. As the state’s Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said:

A substantial number of people — 97 — have done it [for] what we would describe as the first time. That’s a significant increase in the rate of first offenders.

Stevens also warned his officers may have to stop investigating drive-off thefts at service stations, unless pre-paid pumps were urgently introduced to stop the “completely preventable” crime.

The rate of fuel theft varies over time, as well as by state.

In NSW, figures provided to The Conversation by the state’s Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show “fail-to-pay” drive-offs have risen over the past decade, up from 9,097 in 2016 to 13,423 to the end of 2025, after a peak of 15,326 in 2024.

In the 2018-19 financial year Queensland police data recorded around 27,800 fuel drive-off offences: about 76 per day.

In mid-2025, that was down to 61 thefts a day. That put the state on track to record roughly 22,300 fuel drive offs by the end of the year.

From texts to fines or even jail time

Facing tens of thousands of drive-offs, seven years ago Queensland Police came up with a novel response: texting or emailing drivers suspected of drive-off thefts. Those messages say to contact the service station and pay immediately, or face a fine and potential criminal prosecution.

When first trialled in 2019, initial reports showed that of the 4,723 messages Queensland Police sent, 2,190 drivers went back to the station to pay for their fuel.

In many states, the maximum penalty for fuel theft can be five to ten years in jail. However, someone engaging in a fuel drive-off for personal use is much more likely to be fined.

Factors such at the criminal history of the offender, how many offences were committed and the nature of the offending would also determine the outcome.

Different states prosecute the crime differently. For instance, in NSW a drive-off offence is typically prosecuted as “fraud”, not theft, because the fuel was voluntarily provided by the station – and the thief has then dishonestly taken it without paying.

How do you report petrol theft?

If you see a petrol theft happening and it could be dangerous, most police services across Australia recommend calling Triple Zero (000).

But when the offence has already happened and the thief has gone, retailers or others are encouraged to report the theft online. Police in some states, including NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, have dedicated websites on reporting fuel drive-offs.

Given the evidence about fuel price spikes leading to more fuel drive-offs, the longer this Middle East war drags on, the more we’re likely to hear from police about the need to do more about rising theft.

– ref. ‘Drive-off’ fuel thefts cost $80 million even before the war – and they’re heading up – https://theconversation.com/drive-off-fuel-thefts-cost-80million-even-before-the-war-and-theyre-heading-up-264365

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/drive-off-fuel-thefts-cost-80million-even-before-the-war-and-theyre-heading-up-264365/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland

Easter chocolate is all over supermarket shelves. Some people reach straight for milk chocolate eggs while others pause at the darker varieties, assuming they’re healthier.

Dark chocolate has gained a reputation as the “better” choice because it usually contains more cocoa and less sugar than milk chocolate.

But is dark chocolate actually healthier?

Let’s see how the evidence stacks up.

How do they compare?

All chocolate begins with the cocoa (or cacao) bean. Cocoa beans are the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, a tropical plant native to Central and South America.

Processing the bean gives you cocoa solids (the bitter part) and cocoa butter (the fat part that gives chocolate its smooth texture).

Chocolate is made from cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. Milk chocolate also contains milk powder or condensed milk.

Dark chocolate typically contains a much higher proportion of cocoa solids, usually 50–90%.

Milk chocolate generally contains 20–30% cocoa solids, with the remaining bulk made up of milk ingredients and sugar.

How about nutritional benefits?

Because dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids than milk chocolate, it naturally provides slightly higher amounts of certain minerals.

This table shows the differences between milk chocolate (30% cocoa) and dark chocolate (more than 60% cocoa) per 20-gram serve. That’s about one row of a Lindt chocolate block.

As you can see, dark chocolate provides more minerals such as magnesium, iron and zinc. It also contains noticeably more caffeine (but far less than in a typical cup of coffee, which would contain about 100mg).

Milk chocolate offers significantly more calcium due to its milk solids, but it generally contains more added sugar.

Cocoa is naturally rich in plant compounds called polyphenols. These act as antioxidants in the body, helping to protect the body’s cells from damage.

Because dark chocolate contains more cocoa, it naturally contains higher levels of these compounds. In fact, dark chocolate contains roughly five times more flavanols (a type of polyphenol) than milk chocolate.

Compared to other foods often praised for their antioxidant content, cocoa contains around 17 times more catechins (another type of polyphenol) per serving than black tea. It also contains around three times more than red wine.

Does dark chocolate improve your health?

Research into cocoa and dark chocolate has produced some interesting findings, particularly about heart health.

Cocoa flavanols appear to help blood vessels relax and support better blood flow. Some clinical trials have reported small reductions in blood pressure and improvements in measures of blood vessel function after consuming cocoa products.

There is also broader evidence suggesting diets rich in flavanols may be linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease overall.

However, these findings come with important caveats.

Many of these trials use cocoa extracts containing high levels of flavanols. Others contain specially formulated chocolate rather than the typical chocolate bars or Easter eggs you’d find in supermarkets. The doses tested are also often far larger and far more concentrated than what people normally consume.

A large umbrella review (a review of reviews) involving more than one million participants did find links between eating chocolate and lower risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.

But the overall quality of evidence was rated as weak or very low, largely because many of the studies were observational. Observational studies can identify patterns, but they cannot prove chocolate itself caused those benefits.

The bottom line is that cocoa does contain beneficial plant compounds but the chocolate most of us enjoy is not a health supplement.

But I thought dark chocolate has less sugar?

Choosing dark chocolate doesn’t automatically make it the healthier option, especially where sugar is concerned. Some dark chocolate contains surprisingly high amounts.

Depending on the cocoa percentage and recipe, some dark chocolate products contain 40–50% sugar.

So a 150g dark chocolate Easter bunny containing 50% sugar, for example, can contain about 19 teaspoons of added sugar.

This applies to Easter eggs too. Some dark chocolate Easter eggs sold in supermarkets still list sugar as one of their first and main ingredients, ahead of cocoa butter. This means sugar makes up a significant chunk of what you’re eating.

So it’s always worth flipping the packet over and checking the ingredients list and nutritional panel to be sure.

What to choose this Easter?

Dark chocolate has a nutritional advantage over milk chocolate. But how much depends on the cocoa percentage and how it’s been made.

As a general rule, aim for 70% cocoa or more, and flip the packet over before you buy. In a higher-quality dark chocolate, cocoa should appear first in the ingredients list – not sugar.

A higher-quality dark chocolate might have its ingredients listed in this order: cocoa mass, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla.

A lower-quality dark chocolate might look like this: sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifiers, flavour, milk solids.

If sugar is listed first, it’s the largest ingredient by weight.

Beyond that, choose chocolate you actually enjoy and watch your portion size. Remember that your overall diet matters far more than a few Easter eggs.

The real health benefit of Easter chocolate? The enjoyment of sharing it.

– ref. Is dark chocolate healthier than milk chocolate? 2 dietitians explain – https://theconversation.com/is-dark-chocolate-healthier-than-milk-chocolate-2-dietitians-explain-278062

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/is-dark-chocolate-healthier-than-milk-chocolate-2-dietitians-explain-278062/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia

Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle continues to amaze us with its long journey across northern Australia.

This cyclone began life near the Solomon Islands on March 16, when moist air rose rapidly and created a low-pressure zone. Narelle crossed the Cape York Peninsula last Friday as an intense but compact category 4 system, and continued a steady westerly track across the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Today the cyclone crossed as a dangerous category 4 cyclone near Exmouth, in the far northwest of WA. So far, Narelle has travelled more than 5,700 kilometres since it formed as a system near the Solomons, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

It is relatively rare for an individual tropical cyclone to affect Queensland, the NT and WA. The last time was Severe Cyclone Ingrid in 2005 and Cyclone Steve in 2000. The final path of Narelle is likely to be very similar to Steve, with its final dissipation in the Great Australian Bight.

A large and severe cyclone

Narelle is a much more severe cyclone than Steve, however. The system is now twice the size it was when it reached far north Queensland a week ago — as measured by the area of strong gales around its eye. These damaging winds now extend 200–260km from the centre, while destructive storm-force winds extend 110–210km, and the very destructive core of hurricane-force around the eye is 90–130km wide.

The cyclone’s larger core poses a significant threat to settlements in its path from both severe winds and intense rainfall. Dangerous storm surge and ocean inundation is also a high risk for exposed coastal locations along its path. There will be much greater impact if it passes by at or near high tide.

So far, wind and storm surge damage from the cyclone has been minimal, as it has tracked over more sparsely populated areas. Its worst impacts have been heavy rain and flooding across NT catchments, which were already saturated from weeks of monsoonal rain. The west of the continent is unlikely to be so lucky.

An unusually predictable path

Narelle’s track, forward speed and intensity have been remarkably predictable compared with many cyclones in the Australian region. Prevailing easterly winds under the cyclone, associated with a subtropical high pressure ridge over southern Australia, have propelled it along at 15–25km per hour over the past week.

Narelle is now being steered around the northwestern periphery of the same high-pressure system, and this is why its track is now more to the south southwest. It is expected to intensify over warm ocean waters. It will continue to move in a more southerly direction and maintain intensity as a dangerous category 4 cyclone until later today, before weakening to a still severe category 3 system near Shark Bay. The towns of Onslow and Exmouth are expecting severe impacts as the core winds pass over them, with wind gusts of up to 250km per hour. Further south, Carnarvon is expecting winds up to 200km per hour this afternoon.

Weakening over land

The world heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef is likely to be severely affected by the cyclone as its core winds pass along its entire length. This is a double whammy for the reef, after the severe 2025 marine heatwave caused catastrophic coral bleaching and high mortality. Some areas lost up to 60–80% of coral. Coral reefs that are already stressed by coral bleaching are likely to take longer to recover, if they are struck soon after by a powerful tropical cyclone.

Narelle will still be a severe category 3 system when it tracks through Shark Bay, probably on Friday, but will begin to weaken as it moves over land south of the tourist town of Denham. An approaching upper trough from the Southern Ocean will begin to interact with the cyclone and force it to track more quickly to the south-southeast. This will see it weaken to a category 2 as it passes just inland of the major town of Geraldton. Due to forecast changes in wind speed and direction near the cyclone from the west, the strongest winds will shift to its eastern flank and the system will begin to lose its tropical cyclone characteristics.

The people of Kalbarri and Northampton, small towns north of Geraldton, will be on edge as they remember April 2021, when the towns suffered serious damage from category 3 Tropical Cyclone Seroja.

The WA capital Perth is likely to avoid the core of the cyclone as it undergoes extra-tropical transition. This is when a cyclone loses its tropical warm core and becomes more extra-tropical in structure, meaning its strong winds and heavy rain can be expected to spread out from the centre over a wide area of the greater southwest during Saturday.

On the positive side, widespread rainfalls are forecast for most of the WA Wheatbelt. This will be welcomed by farmers as they typically sow their winter wheat crops between late April and June.

Tropical cyclones becoming more intense

It’s too early to draw a link between Cyclone Narelle and background global heating of the oceans and atmosphere, largely driven by rising greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels. This will require detailed attribution studies, which factor in natural variations in the climate system with those being driven by human-driven climate change.

Numerous studies now confirm globally tropical cyclones are becoming more intense and delivering higher short-term and daily rainfall than in the past. In the Australian region, there has been a decline in overall cyclone frequency in recent decades, but the ones we’re getting now are more intense and producing more rainfall. This trend is expected to continue under future global heating.

– ref. Cyclone Narelle is now larger and ‘more severe’ as it crosses the Western Australian coast – https://theconversation.com/cyclone-narelle-is-now-larger-and-more-severe-as-it-crosses-the-western-australian-coast-279322

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/cyclone-narelle-is-now-larger-and-more-severe-as-it-crosses-the-western-australian-coast-279322/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gehan Gunasekara, Professor of Commercial Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Anyone who has recently travelled to the United States will be familiar with biometric checks – facial and fingerprint scans – used at the border.

It is the same technology platform that is used in airports elsewhere in the world. New Zealand’s passports, for instance, are among those that now carry encrypted biometric information, matched to a traveller’s face as they pass through border smart gates.

Because the data is used for a specific purpose and remains tightly controlled by the countries that hold it, these advanced systems have been relatively uncontroversial.

But that could change. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now requiring countries including New Zealand to enter a new arrangement – known as an Enhanced Border Security Partnership – as a condition of keeping visa-free travel to America.

Countries that do not sign on risk losing that access, placing them under pressure to agree despite unresolved questions.

Documents released by the DHS suggest the arrangement could involve direct access to other countries’ government databases, including law enforcement and biometric data – raising serious privacy concerns.

Biometric data is especially sensitive: if compromised, it cannot be replaced like a credit card. Around the world, it is regulated through bespoke rules such as New Zealand’s recently adopted Biometric Processing Privacy Code.

However, the US proposal is largely shrouded in secrecy and may be exempt from privacy and freedom of information laws due to carve-outs in immigration legislation.

Given the stakes involved, it is clear the US proposal should be transparent, enabling countries such as New Zealand the opportunity for public debate and scrutiny before signing on.

Europe pushes back

The New Zealand government has confirmed it is in talks with the US, but has so far provided little detail on what information might be shared or what protections would be in place.

It is not alone in confronting this challenge. The European Union has been able to push back and is likely to negotiate compromises that preserve strong privacy protections aligned with European norms.

Its independent European Data Protection Supervisor recently issued an opinion statement outlining key concerns, as well as the minimum safeguards needed to protect privacy and human rights.

Earlier agreements between the two blocs show that such safeguards are possible.

One example is the Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement established after the September 11 attacks. This requires airlines to transfer certain data before a passenger boards a flight to the United States.

Its many provisions include limiting the use of data to combating terrorism or serious transnational crime, masking identifiable personal information after six months and placing data in a dormant database with restricted access.

What’s now on the table is a very different proposition. Unlike PNR – which involves sharing a single dataset for a specific purpose – DHS documents suggest large-scale transfers of biometric and other data to the US.

In response, the European Data Protection Supervisor has demanded explicit authorisation and access logging requirements, rather than granting automatic access. It has also stressed the need for strict necessity.

What cards can NZ play?

For New Zealand, the US proposal is troubling because it could potentially enable access to law enforcement data currently governed by the Privacy Act, with strict rules on transparency and who can access it.

There is a risk this could extend to police vetting data, which includes not only criminal convictions but also information on potential suspects, such as intelligence photos of individuals. If so, this could undermine the presumption of innocence where no charges have been laid.

What can New Zealand do? It might turn to protections that were set out in a Ministerial Policy Statement governing cooperation between domestic intelligence agencies and their overseas counterparts.

Following a critical 2019 report by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security – which highlighted risks of shared information being used in ways that could contribute to human rights abuses – this statement was strengthened with tighter safeguards.

But for now it is unclear what steps New Zealand will take – or how the US will respond to any issues it raises. It is also concerning that, compared with the much larger European Union, the country is in a weak position to negotiate how this new partnership is applied.

One can only hope it does not prove to be a Trojan horse for New Zealanders’ data privacy.

– ref. Will a new border deal with the US open a backdoor into Kiwis’ personal data? – https://theconversation.com/will-a-new-border-deal-with-the-us-open-a-backdoor-into-kiwis-personal-data-278416

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/will-a-new-border-deal-with-the-us-open-a-backdoor-into-kiwis-personal-data-278416/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, International Relations, Australian National University

Since the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Australia, Wahidullah Waissi, and his staff have continued to represent the people of Afghanistan under the most trying circumstances.

They have continued to provide diplomatic and consular services in Canberra. This includes issuing passports and verifying Afghan drivers’ licences for those who have fled the Taliban to live in Australia.

In 2024, however, the Taliban government in Kabul wrote to the Australian government to request the embassy be closed.

The embassy does not represent the Taliban; it has stood firmly against their authority to run the country. It continues to strongly defend the human rights of all Afghans, with a particular focus on women and girls.

Last September, the Australian government asked the Afghan embassy to stop offering consular services. Now, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has advised the Afghan embassy in Canberra to close completely in June.

Notably, the Australian government doesn’t recognise the Taliban and is unlikely to accept a Taliban ambassador. So it’s not as though the de facto Afghanistan government can just send a new ambassador to Canberra.

However, closing this embassy would put many vulnerable Afghans – including women and girls fleeing the Taliban – at significant risk.

The embassy represents the state, not the Taliban

If the embassy were controlled by the Taliban, we would not want them here. But there is no requirement under diplomatic law for an embassy to have a connection to a government.

As Afghanistan expert William Maley has argued, Australia has had a policy since 1988 of “recognising states, not governments in our diplomatic relations”.

Not only are the legal arguments provided for the closure spurious, he argues, but closing this embassy is an insult to Australian personnel who fought the Taliban for 20 years. It would be a gift to the Taliban.

Azadah Raz Mohammad, an Afghan lawyer at Melbourne University and legal advisor for the End Gender Apartheid campaign, told me the closure of the embassy is “deeply concerning”. She said:

The absence of formal diplomatic representation risks further isolating an already vulnerable diaspora community, undermining access to documentation, rights, and essential consular support.

For example, one Afghan woman who is an Australian permanent resident was recently threatened with deportation to Afghanistan when visiting her husband in China. Her supporters told me she had been a member of the Afghan National Police in the past, so would be at high risk of Taliban violence should she be returned. She had travelled to China on her Afghan passport.

But by the time she tried to return to Australia, she only had five months left on the passport, which is why Chinese customs threatened to deport her.

Without consular support in Australia, she had not been able to renew her passport, or receive consular assistance. More cases like this will arise when the embassy closes.

Issuing passports

For some time after the Taliban retook control of Kabul, the embassy was able to issue a small number of Afghan passports.

These were of great value to those who received them. In some cases, these passports saved lives, allowing people wanted by the Taliban for their work with the previous government to escape. This included policewomen or women’s rights supporters.

Recently, the Taliban ceased recognising such passports. But this only means they can’t be used by people needing to leave or enter Afghanistan, or other countries aligned with the Taliban. Afghans in Australia can still use them to visit family in other countries.

The Afghan embassy was, until recently, able to renew passports that were nearing expiry for people who weren’t eligible for Australian travel documents. Fees charged for this service were an especially important revenue stream for the embassy given it was without funding from Kabul.

The embassy also had to cease verifying other official Afghanistan documents, such as drivers’ licences. These are important for Afghans trying to rebuild their lives in exile; they can help with getting an Australian drivers’ licence.

Policy trend

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs recently changed the priority processing criteria for humanitarian visas for Afghans.

This meant removing any priority based on categories of specific vulnerability such as ethnicity, sex or LGBTQI status.

Instead, processing is now prioritised based on the relationship of the applicant with the proposer of the visa. For example, a mother sponsoring her son to come to Australia, or a husband sponsoring his wife to come here.

My forthcoming research for paper for the Australian Journal of International Affairs shows how problematic it is to ignore the most at-risk Afghans in visa applications.

Future diplomatic need

It’s possible great change is unfolding in the region. In Iran, on Afghanistan’s western border, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in recent US and Israeli airstrikes, along with other senior officials.

To Afghanistan’s south, Pakistan’s defence minister has declared his country is in open war with the Taliban. Experts fear an ongoing conflict, and many organisations have called for de-escalation.

If the Taliban are to ever be removed from power in Afghanistan, Australia needs an Afghan ambassador in Canberra to support communication and diplomacy during such a change.

– ref. Closing the Afghan embassy in Canberra would put many vulnerable Afghans at significant risk – https://theconversation.com/closing-the-afghan-embassy-in-canberra-would-put-many-vulnerable-afghans-at-significant-risk-276855

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/closing-the-afghan-embassy-in-canberra-would-put-many-vulnerable-afghans-at-significant-risk-276855/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lynn Akesson, Professor Emerita of Ethnology in the Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University

The Swedish painter Margareta Magnusson died on March 12 aged 92. She became famous in 2017 for coining the smart and humorous concept of döstädning in a book known in English as The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. The book was rapidly translated into an impressive number of languages, exporting the notion of death cleaning internationally.

Death cleaning is a decluttering practice where you go through what you own and get rid of things so that, when you die, the process of sorting your affairs is easier on your loved ones.

The year the book was published, the concept found its way into the Swedish Language Council’s annual list of new words. These annual lists feature new expressions that, the council hopes, say “something about today’s society and the year that has passed”. This undoubtedly holds true for death cleaning.

While döstädning quickly became part of everyday Swedish language, the habit of cleaning out belongings before dying was not entirely new. It is, however, no coincidence that the concept appeared when it did rather than, say, in the 1950s when ordinary homes were not yet so crowded with things. The increasing need for death cleaning has to do with living in a consumer society amid an accelerating overflow of possessions.

In earlier times, the importance of setting matters right before death was more concerned with relations: with God, relatives, friends, enemies, neighbours and so forth. In a Christian context, this last rite is known as Commendation of the Dying, known also as death bed rites.

In 1734, the establishment of an estate inventory, or bouppteckning, (a comprehensive list of a deceased person’s assets, property and debts at the time of death) became mandatory in Sweden by law. Although the law was not strictly enforced in its first decades, the inventories that do exist from this time are fascinating.

These early inventories belong to a range of people, from wealthy noblemen to widows of limited means with no more possessions than a set of clothing and few kitchen utensils. Many things listed were manufactured at home, and the few items that were purchased were highly valued. In a society like this, there was no need for death cleaning in the sense of clearing out. On the contrary, objects were passed on between generations or sold at well-attended local auctions.

Death cleaning is a form creating order and tidiness, which have often come with moral narratives closely tied with them. In this, the role of death cleaning now and in the past does have something in common.

In both cases, a person’s posthumous reputation is at stake, and leaving behind an untidy home or unsolved personal matter tells an unwanted story to the living of the person who has passed. Different stories can be crafted by getting rid of belongings or leaving them in good condition to pass on. What a person’s death cleaning looks like is a matter shaped by time and culture.

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In memories collected by The Folk Life Archives at Lund University of the decades around 1900, people stress the importance of well-filled cabinets and cupboards as part of an impressive estate inventory. Such bounty was also meant to elicit admiration among visitors at the local auction. At that time, it was important to demonstrate good housekeeping by displaying your possessions, the more the better. Reading The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, talking to people engaged in death cleaning and in my general work, I have seen how, nowadays, the same effect is achieved by leaving behind a minimum of things.

This change in cultural preferences naturally reflects changes in material conditions. In societies where goods are relatively easy to acquire – both in terms of cost and availability – we all have a lot more. As such, death cleaning has become a good deed. Not burdening surviving relatives with sorting through unwanted items has become an act of love and care. However, it is worth noting that the idea of death cleaning is an ideal not everybody can live up to. Many people still find it difficult to part with their belongings.

The international fascination with the Swedish art of death cleaning invites reflection on widespread fantasies of the Nordic region. Media representations of Scandinavia frequently emphasise tropes of minimalism and emotional restraint. Such framing may contribute to the global appeal of döstädning, yet risks obscuring the more complex and culturally grounded logic underpinning the practice.

Positioned within Swedish everyday life, death cleaning is less an exotic cultural curiosity and more a meaningful negotiation of material abundance, kinship responsibilities and existential reflection.

– ref. The Swedish concept of ‘döstädning’ or death cleaning is about more than just getting rid of things – https://theconversation.com/the-swedish-concept-of-dostadning-or-death-cleaning-is-about-more-than-just-getting-rid-of-things-279030

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/the-swedish-concept-of-dostadning-or-death-cleaning-is-about-more-than-just-getting-rid-of-things-279030/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor, The Conversation

This is the text from The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email. Sign up here to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox.

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The five-day deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz handed to Iran by Donald Trump on Monday expires some time tomorrow and the Islamic Republic needs to “get serious before it is too late” – or so the US president has announced on his TruthSocial platform.

You’ll recall that this deadline replaced another deadline which was due to expire on Monday night, after which the US and Israel would obliterate Iran’s power plants and plunge the country into darkness. Happily Trump pulled back from this plan, reporting that talks were progressing very well, so he would extend the deadline until March 27.

For their part, Iranian officials denied that negotiations were even underway, while US officials said contacts were at a very early stage. This has prompted speculation that the US president was seizing even the most informal of contacts as an “off ramp” to save face over not following through with his threat.

Certainly Trump’s oft-repeated assurance that the war in Iran has been won and that Iran’s senior officials (whoever remains after Israel’s highly successful campaign of assassinations) are “begging” the US to make a deal looks a rather optimistic assessment from the US president.

Far from collapsing in a heap after the death of the former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, the regime is showing its resilience. Its targeting of US installations in the region are hurting the Gulf states and there are signs that Israel’s Iron Dome is fracturing in parts under the volume of Iranian missile attacks (this reportedly also happened during the 12-day war last year). Conservative estimates are that the war is costing the US and Israel more than US$1 billion £740 million) a day.

But it has been Iran’s ability to shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz that has arguably turned this into a world war, despite the unwillingness of many of America’s allies, particularly in Europe, to get involved. An estimated 20% of the world’s gas and oil transit the strait each day along with other vital supplies. Or at least it did before the end of February. Now very little is getting through and the consequences are being felt globally.

It’s not as if the US and Israel couldn’t anticipate that Iran would react to their attacks by closing down the strait. Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, an expert in Iranian history at the SOAS, University of London, walks us through nearly five decades in which Iran responded to every crisis by threatening to close the strait. Is is, he argues, a key plan in Iran’s security policy.

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Read more: Iran has been threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz for years – it’s a key part of Tehran’s defence strategy

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Meanwhile, it appears that the US is dusting off a 15-point peace plan it developed in May last year and which has already been rejected by Iran.

Critics say the chances of Iran acquiescing to the plan were negligible then and remain so now. It calls for Iran to give up all its uranium and agree to hand control of its civil nuclear programme to an outside panel. And, controversially, it seeks to control what Iran spends the money it gains if sanctions are relaxed.

This has prompted analysts to ask whether this plan was simply produced to give the US an explanation as to why it changed its mind over hitting Iran’s power plants. Bamo Nouri and Inderjeet Parmar, experts in international politics at City St George’s, University of London, think it the resurfacing of this plan is the strongest indication yet that Washington is beginning to fear that it has become embroiled in an unwinnable war.

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Read more: ‘Girl math’ may not be smart financial advice, but it could help women feel more empowered with money

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Certainly this conflict has not gone the way Trump and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu might have wanted. But – as with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, this should have been predictable. Jason Reifler, a political scientist at the University of Southampton, asserts that the US in particular, has embarked on this conflict with no clear goals or thought-through strategy.

Failing to ask for authorisation via the United Nations (and for America, the the US congress) was a bad start, meaning the war had a legitimacy deficit from the word go. The reason for launching the conflict has veered from halting Iran’s nuclear programme to regime change and back again. And the strategy of assassinating Iran’s leadership has produced a rally-round-the-flag effect that few had anticipated.

Add to that the devastatingly effective use of drones by Iran (which the war planners in the US and Israel must surely have picked up on from the experience in Ukraine), means that the two countries are often forced to counter munitions worth US$20,000 with missiles worth millions of dollars. Meanwhile, the pain from Iran’s closure of the closing the strait will only get worse.

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Read more: Iran war lacks strategy, goals, legitimacy and support – in the US and around the world

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Holy war?

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, held a religious service at the Pentagon yesterday, at which he called on god to “grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence”. Hegseth appears to see this as a holy war in which he has clearly cast himself as a crusader, even sporting a tattoo reading, “Daus vult” (god wills it) – reportedly the rallying cry for the attempt to “liberate the Holy Land” in the 11th century.

Toby Matthiesen, senior lecturer in global religious studies at the University of Bristol observes here the way in which all parties to this conflict have used religion to garner support. Of course, claiming the approval of one’s chosen deity is a time-honoured tactic that even Nazi Germany tried. But it feels a little incongruous in the 21st century.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the sight of Donald Trump in the middle of a prayer huddle in the Oval Office was an amusing oddity. But Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to the Old Testament story of the Amalekites, whom god told the children of Israel to annihilate, “men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” is frankly chilling. Parts of the Islamic world has flocked to Iran’s defence (although not with particular enthusiasm in the Sunni countries of the Gulf, which Iran is bombarding with ballistic missiles).

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Read more: God on their side: how the US, Israel and Iran are all using religion to garner support

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Trang Chu and Tim Morris, meanwhile, believe that this conflict has been nearly five decades in the making. Just as Iran has always denied the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, many people in the US and Israel have long been committed to the destruction of Iran as a theocracy. Accordingly the way the two sides talk about each other has hardened over the years. Language on each side no longer reflects a criticism of their adversary’s behaviours, it has become a verdict on their moral character.

So to Iranians, the US is the “Great Satan”, while Iran is described in America as part of an “axis of evil”. Our experts believe that, this language “not only describes the enemy, but actively participates in creating it”. The observe that once you start to think these sorts of things about your adversaries, the idea of engaging in negotiation tends to become secondary to the desire to simply defeat or destroy them. Which is terribly dangerous, as we’re seeing.

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Read more: How the words that Iran and America use about each other paved the way for conflict

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– ref. Iran was always going to close the Strait of Hormuz – https://theconversation.com/iran-was-always-going-to-close-the-strait-of-hormuz-279371

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/iran-was-always-going-to-close-the-strait-of-hormuz-279371/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Murat Ungor, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Otago

In recent years, there has been no shortage of warnings about the fragility of New Zealand’s largely imported fuel supply.

Now, motorists are seeing the cost of that vulnerability at the pump. Across the country, petrol has surpassed $3.30 a litre on average. On Auckland’s Waiheke Island, locals protested after prices at a local station exceeded $4 a litre.

The catalyst, of course, is the US and Israel’s ongoing war on Iran. It has disrupted key supply chains and pushed Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, over $100 a barrel.

There is no sign yet of Iran ending its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly 20% of all the world’s oil shipments flow.

New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon has called the crisis “one of the most significant oil shocks we’ve had in history”.

For his government, this moment should surely have prompted a hard look at the country’s deep dependence on imported fuels – and what sustainable alternatives there are to reduce it.

A small country, far from fuel

New Zealand is an island economy heavily dependent on imported fuel, and any sustained disruption ripples quickly through everyday costs.

The reason lies in both geography and infrastructure. Until 2022, the Marsden Point refinery supplied around 70% of the country’s refined fuel. Its closure meant New Zealand now relies entirely on imported petrol, diesel and jet fuel, sourced mainly from refineries in Singapore, South Korea and China.

Those refineries, in turn, depend on crude oil that travels through the Strait of Hormuz. In effect, New Zealand faces a double exposure: higher global prices and the risk of delayed supply.

The government says New Zealand currently holds around seven weeks of supply, in storage and on ships already bound for our shores.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has acknowledged that buffer relies on “ships like this continuing to turn up.” It was designed to smooth over short disruptions, not absorb a sustained global crisis. Officials are already planning for scenarios lasting eight to twelve weeks.

Who gets hit first?

Diesel – the fuel that powers trucks, tractors, fishing boats and construction equipment – is the bigger economic problem. Its price has risen faster than petrol and its impact is wider.

As Luxon put it, diesel “powers up so much of our economy” and is “the key pacing item.” New Zealand’s economy moves on trucks. Almost everything its consumers buy at the supermarket, from the milk produced in the Waikato to the lettuce grown in Pukekohe, has been on the back of a diesel-guzzling truck.

In agriculture, the impact is a double blow: farmers need diesel to run tractors and milk tankers, and they depend heavily on fertilisers.

The Strait of Hormuz also carries significant volumes of liquefied natural gas and fertilisers. Higher fuel costs plus higher fertiliser costs squeeze farm margins from both sides.

Food prices follow. Fresh fruit and vegetables are particularly vulnerable: their short shelf life means there is no slack to absorb sudden freight cost increases. Treasury has modelled a scenario in which inflation hits 3.2% by June.

Aviation faces its own squeeze. Jet fuel is a specialised product with no domestic refining fallback. Air New Zealand has already suspended its earnings guidance and warned of fare hikes.

What can NZ actually do?

Price changes affect rich and poor differently. The government has targeted relief at those who need it most: around 143,000 working families with children will receive a $50-per-week boost through the in-work tax credit for as long as petrol stays above $3 a litre, at a total cost of up to $373 million.

Willis has explicitly ruled out broader handouts, warning of a vicious spiral of inflation. Luxon has drawn the same lesson from the pandemic, cautioning against too much spending. The government has also widened the pool of fuel suppliers by accepting imports meeting Australian specifications.

But this crisis also exposes a longer structural problem. New Zealand has one of the highest car ownership rates in the world – 815 light vehicles per 1,000 people in 2024.

Road transport consumes nearly 40% of all the energy used in the country, yet electricity accounts for less than 1% of transport energy use. That gap is the problem, but also the opportunity.

Electric vehicles, electric buses and electrified freight all reduce exposure to the next oil shock. As fuel prices rose, Auckland recorded 2.25 million public transport trips in a single week: a seven-year high. People make rational choices when price signals are strong enough.

But transition at scale takes time.

Electric vehicles make up roughly 3% of the light vehicle fleet, and electric heavy trucks remain a niche technology. Farming, fishing and air travel have no quick electric alternative. Even an accelerated shift would leave most of New Zealand dependent on petrol and diesel for many years.

Ultimately, New Zealand cannot control what happens in the Strait of Hormuz. But it can control how much we depend on it. The question is whether it starts now – or waits to find itself just as exposed when the next crisis hits.

– ref. Distant conflict, local crisis: is this oil shock the wake-up call NZ needed? – https://theconversation.com/distant-conflict-local-crisis-is-this-oil-shock-the-wake-up-call-nz-needed-278983

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/distant-conflict-local-crisis-is-this-oil-shock-the-wake-up-call-nz-needed-278983/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Melatos, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Sydney

A central element of Australia’s superannuation system is the superannuation guarantee (SG). This is the compulsory 12% of an employee’s earnings that an employer must pay into the employee’s nominated superannuation fund.

The compulsory contribution rate has risen steadily from 3% when it was introduced in 1992 to 12% since July 1, 2025. Since July 2022, employers must pay the super guarantee to all employees, even the lowest-paid.

The expanded coverage of the superannuation guarantee, as well as the rise in the rate, has coincided with increased HECS/HELP debts for university graduates, reduced housing affordability and a post-pandemic cost-of-living crisis that has reduced real wages.

This has led to concerns that the current 12% rate might be too high, especially for the young and those on lower incomes.

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It’s easy to put off thinking about superannuation when retirement is years away. In this five-part series, we ask top experts to explain how to sort your super in a few simple steps, avoid greenwashing, and set goals for retirement.

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A reality check

Australia’s retirement savings system is based on three pillars:

• compulsory superannuation
• the age pension, and
• voluntary retirement savings, which includes, notably for many Australians, the family home and additional superannuation contributions above the mandated minimum.

Australia’s total superannuation assets – which include both compulsory and voluntary contributions – were worth A$4.5 trillion in December 2025, while housing assets have been valued at $11.9 trillion.

For comparison, government assistance for seniors, such as the age pension, totals about $100 billion every year.

Hence, contrary to the media attention it receives, superannuation plays an important – but not dominant – role in retirement savings.

More specifically, arguments that a lower compulsory super rate would help younger people save to buy a house are not realistic for two reasons.

First, even reducing the 12% rate by half – an extreme measure – would only add approximately $4,500 a year to take-home pay for someone on the average ordinary time annual income of $106,600.

While such a small amount is a drop in the housing affordability bucket, the power of compounding ensures that it adds significantly to one’s superannuation balance at retirement.

Moreover, just as with government support for first home-owners, any addition to take-home pay will likely simply inflate house prices for first-home buyers, while also leaving them with less superannuation than otherwise.

In short, reducing the superannuation guarantee rate will not improve housing affordability.

Trade offs to consider

Determining whether the 12% rate is too high or too low is a thankless task.

The most pertinent question is how individual workers wish to trade off their current spending against their desired living standard in retirement.

The answer varies hugely from person to person. It depends, among other things, on:

• their personal preferences
• the standard of living they experience during their working life
• their life expectancy
• how long they plan to work, and
• the long-term performance of financial markets and the global economy.

The superannuation system, let alone the compulsory contribution, is not designed to address this trade-off, certainly not on its own.

Many Australians save too much for retirement

According to the Productivity Commission, the original objectives of the super guarantee were to provide an adequate (not desired) level of retirement income, relieve pressure on the age pension, and increase national savings.

However, Treasury’s Retirement Income Review found that members of a large super fund who died “left 90% of the balance they had at retirement”. Another study found that “at death, age pensioners leave around 90% of the assessable assets they had at the point of retirement”.

The Grattan Institute argues such households:

will have a higher living standard in retirement than they enjoy in their working lives. That is, the rate of compulsory super contributions is higher than it should be, making Australians poorer during their working lives when they are typically under higher rates of financial stress.

To blame an excessive super rate for over-saving is curious.

Superannuation only accounts for 21% of Australia’s wealth, and much of this is voluntary contributions above the compulsory rate taking advantage of concessional taxation treatment. Property ownership accounts for 51% of wealth holdings, and business and financial assets a further 20%.

The super guarantee is little more than a bit player.

If one wishes to apportion blame for retirement over-saving, the favourable tax treatment of super, property and shares are more likely candidates. Moreover, the super guarantee does not seem to significantly crowd out household saving outside the super system.

Most low-income earners are likely to rely substantially on government support – mainly the age pension – to guarantee an adequate standard of living in retirement.

Moreover, such households are likely save little outside super; for example, they are unlikely to own property or shares. So while a 12% rate may not be individually optimal, even for less wealthy households, it potentially plays an important role in topping up their retirement savings.

The real issue is inequity

Perhaps the real concern about the 12% rate relates to its economic incidence – who, ultimately, bears the cost.

While mixed, there is evidence that employers pass on the costs of compulsory super by paying their workers lower wages, forcing them to trade off lower spending now for higher retirement savings. But it does not necessarily follow that employers would pay higher wages if the rate were reduced.

Lower-paid, lower-skilled workers are more likely to be affected this way, since they face stiffer competition for their jobs and have less bargaining power with their employers.

While the rate is almost certainly too high for some workers and too low for others, it is just one plank of a very complex savings system.

– ref. Compulsory super is higher than ever at 12%. But cutting it would hurt low-paid workers most – https://theconversation.com/compulsory-super-is-higher-than-ever-at-12-but-cutting-it-would-hurt-low-paid-workers-most-276378

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/compulsory-super-is-higher-than-ever-at-12-but-cutting-it-would-hurt-low-paid-workers-most-276378/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Fogarty, Psychologist and Research Fellow in the Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University

New research on a group of Australian preschoolers suggests more than 40% are dealing with an anxiety disorder.

The study, led by Monash University and published in the journal of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, was based on interviews with the mothers of 545 three- and four-year-olds.

It found 48% of the group met criteria for a mental health disorder, with 43% meeting the criteria for an anxiety disorder. This included separation anxiety, social phobia, specific phobias (for example, fear of the dark) and generalised anxiety disorder.

While these results seem shocking, the researchers note they should be “treated as preliminary and with caution”.

Other research tells us it’s quite normal for young children to experience some level of anxiety.

How can parents protect their children from anxiety? And how can you tell if they – and you – need more help to manage their mental health?

Some worries are normal

Anxiety is a natural response to a perceived threat, uncertainty or stress. It typically involves feelings of worry, nervousness or unease, along with body reactions such as increased heart rate, muscle tension and stomach issues.

Some degree of anxiety and worry is completely expected in preschool-aged children. Research tells us mild anxiety can even play a protective role — it helps us learn to identify and respond to potential threats.

Common worries and anxieties experienced at this developmental stage include fear of separation from caregivers, new people or situations, loud noises, the dark or nightmares and transitions (for example, going from home to daycare).

In the new Australian study, which we weren’t involved with, the most common form of anxiety for preschoolers was “specific phobias” – 31% of children met criteria for specific phobias. As the researchers note in their paper:

fear responses to scenarios such as the dark, storms, dentists and doctors may be considered normal in preschoolers at low frequencies […] these may be relatively transient compared to other disorders.

This suggests some preschoolers will grow out of some of their childhood worries with time.

What can parents do to help?

There are lots of things parents can do, both proactively and in the moment, when anxiety and worry show up for children.

Talk openly about emotions

Especially when things are calm. This might include reading books and chatting about what anxiety feels like in our body, when it might show up, and what can help. Doing this before your child is overwhelmed helps normalise these feelings, so when anxiety does arise, they have the language and context for it.

Great examples include the books The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside, Hey Warrior by Karen Young, and The Feelings Series by Tracey Moroney.

Validate concerns

When you notice your child is worried, gently name what might be going on for them.

Resist the urge to immediately reassure them (for example, saying “you’ll be fine”). Instead, acknowledge and validate the feeling. This helps your child feel understood and shows them their emotions are manageable with your support.

For example, you might say:

It sounds like you might be feeling nervous about going to swimming today. That makes sense, it’s OK to feel worried about new or tricky things.

Practise regulation strategies when times are calm

Strategies such as slowing down our breathing, spending time outdoors, or patting a pet can help manage anxiety.

Try and practise them before anxiety peaks. Make them part of your everyday routine and model them yourself. When children see adults using these tools, it reinforces that everyone has big feelings and there are positive ways to handle them.

Support brave behaviour

Anxiety commonly leads to avoidance. While avoidance can see anxiety symptoms reduce very quickly in the moment, it tends to make anxiety worse over time.

Try and gently encourage your child to engage in the things they feel anxious about. It is often beneficial to start with situations your child feels less anxious about to build their confidence.

For example, if they are anxious about swimming lessons, encourage them to sit by the edge of the pool to start. This doesn’t mean pushing your child. Instead, give your child time and space and stay alongside them as they take small steps. For example, you might say:

I can see this feels hard. How about we try joining in just for the first activity — I’ll stay right here with you.

Let your child know you are proud of them when they do things even when they are feeling anxious.

Signs you might need more help

While anxiety and worry are emotions that all children experience, some of the signs your child might benefit from some additional support include:

• anxiety is stopping your child from attending or enjoying kinder, preschool, daycare or other social situations

• anxiety is impacting every day life, including your child’s sleep or eating

• anxiety is causing significant and ongoing distress and emotional overwhelm for your child or the family more broadly

• anxiety is frequently showing up for your child and lasts for more than a few weeks.

Where can you get support?

Making an appointment with your child’s GP is a great first step. They can provide support and referrals to a paediatrician, psychologist or other type of therapist, such as a play therapist or occupational therapist.

You can also talk to your local maternal child health nurse. They can help you understand whether your child would benefit from additional support, and discuss referral options with you.

Free resources are also available for parents on the Raising Children Network (the federal government’s parenting website) and Emerging Minds, a site dedicated to children’s mental health.

– ref. Are you worried about your preschoolers’ anxiety? Here’s how to help – https://theconversation.com/are-you-worried-about-your-preschoolers-anxiety-heres-how-to-help-279320

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/are-you-worried-about-your-preschoolers-anxiety-heres-how-to-help-279320/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sian Tomkinson, Media and Communication Scholar, Edith Cowan University

Last week leading chipmaker Nvidia announced DLSS-5 (Deep Learning Super Sampling), a new artificial intelligence (AI) rendering tool it describes as a “breakthrough in visual fidelity for games”. The software takes low-resolution images and uses AI to upscale them, adding what Nvidia calls “photoreal lighting and materials”.

The tool is designed to make video games look more photorealistic, but the examples Nvidia chose to show off the technology revealed something unexpected: the AI doesn’t just makes images sharper and glossier, it also makes characters significantly more conventionally attractive.

The growing backlash is about more than makeup. It points to a broader anxiety about what happens when AI is given control over creative decisions – and whose idea of “better” gets encoded in the algorithms.

A ‘beauty filter’ for games?

Nvidia showcased the technology using Grace Ashcroft, the protagonist of the recently released Resident Evil Requiem.

Before-and-after comparisons showed the software changing her hair colour, adding defined eyebrows, lip tint, and facial contouring. Some gamers quickly labelled it a “beauty filter”, criticising the way it applies what looks like heavy makeup and reshapes her face to be more conventionally attractive.

The choice of Grace to showcase the technology is worth examining. Resident Evil Requiem features all kinds of monsters and gritty characters, and Nvidia could have used any of them.

The decision to highlight a young, conventionally attractive female character and then make her more glamorous feels pointed. Representation of women in games has been a flashpoint issue for years.

Female characters in games are poorly treated

Historically, female characters in games were depicted as either helpless and weak, or as sexualised objects secondary to a male lead.

The 2000s brought more varied female characters, but attempts at greater diversity triggered a fierce backlash in 2014 during the Gamergate harassment campaign. Women and minorities in and around gaming were targeted with abuse, doxxing, and threats of rape and death.

The debate has continued since. Some players were furious at the muscular depiction of Abby Anderson in The Last of Us: Part 2, claiming her physique was unrealistic and demanding she be made more conventionally attractive.

DLSS-5 adds a new dimension to this debate. Rather than designers making deliberate choices about how characters look, an algorithm can quietly override those choices in a particular direction.

Looksmaxxing game characters

The specific changes DLSS-5 made to Grace’s face also echo the manosphere’s looksmaxxing trend.

Originating in incel communities, looksmaxxing is built on the idea that certain facial features are biologically more sexually desirable to women, prompting some men to pursue techniques that alter their own faces to increase their “sexual market value”. Seeing a piece of software automatically apply similar logic to a female game character raises uncomfortable questions.

Gamers have noticed, and many are responding with humour. The software has been mocked as “yassifying” characters, with one widely shared meme applying the same treatment to God of War’s hulking protagonist Kratos, complete with blue eyeshadow, pink blush, and plump lips. The joke lands because it makes the gendered absurdity obvious.

This reaction mirrors how some gamers once responded to criticism of Aloy, the protagonist of 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn. After complaints that Aloy was “woke” for not wearing heavy makeup or conforming to conventional beauty standards, some gamers sarcastically created “unwokified” versions of the character to make the same point in reverse.

Bad news for game designers, too

A second, distinct complaint about DLSS-5 is that it undermines the artistic choices of developers.

Rather than simply sharpening what is already there, the software uses algorithms to alter textures and lighting. The results can have that familiar AI aesthetic: glossy, smooth, bright and generic.

A dark, gritty game like Resident Evil Requiem can end up looking like a luxury skincare ad. In at least one case, in EA Sports FC, the filter changed a real-life player’s likeness so dramatically they became completely unrecognisable.

The future of game visuals – and who controls it

It is worth noting that DLSS-5 can genuinely improve visual quality in many games, enriching environments and bringing older character models to life.

Nvidia has also pushed back against critics, with chief executive Jensen Huang insisting DLSS-5 is not a filter and that developers retain control over how it is applied.

But the backlash reveals a real tension. Many players objected to Nvidia selecting a young female character and using AI to make her more conventionally attractive and sexualised. Many others objected to AI overriding the deliberate creative choices of game developers.

Both concerns push against the same force: tech companies’ drive to deploy AI as broadly as possible, and to define “better” visuals on their own terms.

– ref. Nvidia’s new AI tool is giving female game characters a makeover – and gamers are pushing back – https://theconversation.com/nvidias-new-ai-tool-is-giving-female-game-characters-a-makeover-and-gamers-are-pushing-back-279244

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/nvidias-new-ai-tool-is-giving-female-game-characters-a-makeover-and-gamers-are-pushing-back-279244/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Biesiekierski, Associate Professor of Human Nutrition, The University of Melbourne

If you’ve ever tried a diet to fix gut symptoms, you’ll know it can be hit or miss. One person swears it changed their life. Another follows it carefully and feels no better.

This is especially true for irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. It’s a common condition that causes stomach pain, bloating and changes in bowel habits.

Many people with IBS are told to try the low-FODMAP diet. This reduces certain carbohydrates (known as FODMAPs) that the gut absorbs poorly. These are fermented by gut bacteria, producing gas and drawing water into the bowel, which can trigger symptoms.

Reducing FODMAPs – found in foods such as onions, garlic, apples, wheat and some dairy products – can help ease symptoms. The diet usually involves restricting these foods for a short period, then slowly reintroducing them to identify which ones trigger symptoms in each person.

For many people, it works. But for many others, it doesn’t. Our new research helps explain why.

We found the effectiveness of a low-FODMAP diet for IBS doesn’t come down to food alone, but also how the gut and brain work together.

Different levels of gut sensitivity

IBS affects how the brain and gut communicate. Signals travel between them, shaping how sensitive the gut is and how strongly symptoms are felt.

A simple way to think about it is as a volume dial. For some people, the gut is turned up, so even normal digestion can feel uncomfortable or painful. For others, the dial is lower.

Food matters, but it is only part of the picture. The brain can also turn symptoms up or down, influenced by stress, anxiety about gut symptoms, and expectations about how the body will respond.

To understand this, we studied 112 adults with IBS over six months as they completed the three phases of the low-FODMAP diet. Participants worked with a dietitian through restriction, reintroduction and personalisation, allowing us to track how symptoms changed as foods were removed and then reintroduced.

We measured symptoms, quality of life and psychological factors such as anxiety and expectations. We used statistical modelling to identify response patterns and what predicted improvement.

What we found

Some people improved quickly and stayed better. Others improved only slightly, or not at all, even after completing all phases of the diet. We found psychological factors played a major role in whether the diet worked.

Importantly, the difference was not just what people ate, but how they thought and felt about their symptoms and treatment.

People who believed the diet would help were more likely to improve. This is called “treatment expectancy” and is seen across health care.

People with high gut-focused anxiety were less likely to improve. This means they were very worried about their gut and more sensitive to normal sensations, like gas or movement in the bowel.

People who felt more in control of their symptoms also tended to do better.

These factors often changed before symptoms improved. This suggests the brain may help drive changes in symptoms.

This doesn’t mean IBS is “all in your head”. The symptoms are real and can have a big impact on daily life.

The gut and brain are closely linked. Stress and anxiety can change how sensitive the gut feels and how strongly symptoms are experienced – for example, many people notice “butterflies” in their stomach during stress.

What does this mean?

Right now, IBS treatment is often trial and error, with diet changes commonly tried first, followed by psychological therapies if needed.

Our findings suggest we may need to rethink this approach.

Some people may benefit more from psychological approaches, such as stress-reduction or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). These can help people reframe unhelpful thoughts about their gut, reduce anxiety, and gradually face foods or situations they fear may trigger symptoms.

Others may respond well to diet alone. And many may need both.

If we can identify these differences earlier, for example by assessing anxiety or expectations, we could better match people to the right treatment.

This research marks a shift in how we understand IBS. It’s not just a food problem. It’s shaped by the interaction between diet, the gut and the brain.

For people living with IBS, this could mean fewer restrictive diets, less frustration and faster access to treatments that work.

For clinicians, it opens the door to more personalised care, where treatment is tailored to how a person’s gut-brain system is working.

In the end, improving IBS care may not be about finding the perfect diet. It may be more about understanding how the gut and brain work together, and using that to guide the right treatment.

– ref. IBS diets don’t work for everyone. New research shows why – and it’s not just about the food – https://theconversation.com/ibs-diets-dont-work-for-everyone-new-research-shows-why-and-its-not-just-about-the-food-278887

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/ibs-diets-dont-work-for-everyone-new-research-shows-why-and-its-not-just-about-the-food-278887/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, The University of Melbourne

Psychology, it’s said, has a long past but a short history. A popular version lists three stages.

First, around the turn of the 20th century, psychologists tried to capture the stream of conscious experience in the net of introspection. The behaviourists then declared the mind off limits, arguing that psychology should study observable behaviour rather than subjective experience. Finally, the emergence of computers spurred the cognitive revolution of the 1960s, which brought the mind back in from the cold, in a new science of information processing.

This narrative arc is appealing, but substantially wrong. Introspection was never a dominant method in psychology. Psychologists continued to study mental processes throughout the behaviourist dark age. And some argue the story leaves out a crucial fourth stage. Cognitive psychology may have made great strides in understanding the mind as computation – neuroscientists helping to figure out the brain’s hardware – but it failed to grasp something vital.

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Review: A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness – Michael Pollan (Allen Lane)

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Enter the study of consciousness – the subject of a new book by accomplished journalist and academic Michael Pollan. For the past few decades, philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists have tried to redeem this once-taboo concept and uncover its secrets. That effort has been driven by the belief that mainstream cognitive science cannot solve the so-called “hard problem” of how and why subjective experience arises.

The study of consciousness has been enormously successful in attracting intellectual talent and public attention. Many specialist academic journals have been founded and blockbusters written. Distinguished scientists from other fields – Nobel Prize-winning biologist Francis Crick and physicist Roger Penrose among them – have beaten a path to this new scholarly El Dorado.

All this cerebral effort has been less than enormously successful. No consensus view has formed on the nature or underpinnings of consciousness, on what kinds of entity possess it, or even on how the field’s key questions and concepts should be defined. New theories of consciousness sprout faster than they can be weeded out by evidence – and philosophers continue to hold radically different views on its metaphysics.

Pollan’s book, A World Appears, wades into this morass in search of clarity. He is the author of numerous books on the intersection of nature and culture, with special emphasis on food, plants and psychedelics. This book is the product of an extended quest to understand consciousness – he wonders if it might be “a socially (and scientifically) acceptable proxy for the search for the soul”.

It is a splendidly intelligent, humane and curious exploration of some truly confounding ideas.

The basement of consciousness

Pollan divides his book into chapters on sentience, feeling, thinking and the self. These labels struggle to contain the many overlaps and blurred boundaries between these concepts: consciousness studies is a minefield of contested definitions.

The “sentience” chapter begins by attempting to “furnish the basement of consciousness”. Here, Pollan presents some astonishing work by researchers who cheekily describe themselves as “plant neurobiologists”, knowing that plants lack nervous systems.

Some plants show evidence of goal-direction, recognition of genetic relatedness, and responses akin to pain, sleep and anaesthesia. When damaged or stressed, some produce ethylene, an anaesthetic that inhibits their movement in response to touch. Root-tips can navigate mazes in search of nutrients, like subterranean lab rats seeking cheese.

Greenery that first appears static and inert looks very different when we imagine a being with its head in the ground, operating on a different timescale, he writes. In slow motion, a vine’s growing tendril seems to manifest a sense of purpose.

What might the ethical implications of plant sentience be? Would we be obliged, as the botany professor in Samuel Butler’s 1872 satire Erewhon argues, only to eat plants that “had died a natural death, such as fruit that was lying on the ground and about to rot, or cabbage-leaves that had turned yellow in late autumn”. Must we “plant the pips of any apples or pears […] or […] come near to incurring the guilt of infanticide”?

Perhaps the implications are less extreme than Butler suggests, but the findings Pollan lays out might make us less anthropocentric – and zoocentric – in our moral concern.

Pollan’s discussion of “feeling” explores the ways consciousness is grounded in the body and tied to emotion. Challenging views that locate it in the brain’s more recently evolved cortical regions, Pollan speaks to researchers who ground it in the more “primitive” brain stem. Subjective feeling may be the body’s way of making the mind keep it alive, he writes, alerting us to departures from a desired internal state and enabling us to problem-solve our way forward.

If consciousness is embodied and affective, building a conscious machine might seem a fool’s errand. Pollan talks to scientists who aspire to do just that – and believe success is imminent. Pollan’s scepticism is undisguised. He questions the equation of consciousness with software and doubts that feeling, unlike thinking, can be simulated.

“The consciousness [AI enthusiasts] are hoping to install in computers depend on feelings that will be weightless absent the vulnerabilities of our mortal flesh.”

Mysteries of the mind

Pollan’s discussion of “thinking” explores the contents of consciousness. His doubts are again on display. Can we really “step outside the stream of consciousness in order to observe it from its banks”? And can the stream be separated into distinct elements and quantified?

Pollan compares the attempts of a psychologist to sample inner experience with those of phenomenologists – philosophers who hope to understand the structure of the subjectivity – and writers of modernist fiction. He concludes that this most basic of questions – what is on our minds? – remains a mystery.

In a final chapter, Pollan investigates our sense of self: “the crown of consciousness” to some and a seductive illusion to others, notably David Hume and the Buddha.

The self remains elusive: “to look for the subject is to treat it as an object, which is to negate it.” Pollan considers ways of escaping the self through psychedelics, hypnosis and meditation, before entertaining the possibility of pure awareness in the absence of an experiencing self.

Scientists or sages?

Pollan is an astute and amiable guide through this strange territory. He talks with many of the leading figures in the study of consciousness.

They include Australian philosopher David Chalmers, Portugese-American neuroscientist Antonio Damasio (who argues emotions are a crucial component of decision-making), and American developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik, as well as many lesser-known ones.

He engages deeply with their ideas and spares his interlocutors no hard questions. He makes it clear to them (and his reader) when he is unpersuaded, as when one psychologist informs him his inner life seems a little empty. He is knowledgeable about the science of consciousness, but also determined to give the humanities their due.

If anything, Pollan aligns himself more with the poets, Romantics and sages – and their psychedelic fellow travellers – than with the scientists and academic philosophers. One grasps the subtle truth of subjective experience, while the other is often reductive and obscure.

The book closes with a stay in a Zen retreat in search of “unthinking presence”, which reinforces the message that seeking first-person encounters with experience is more illuminating than engaging in third-person academic studies of it.

Pollan’s reservations about the academic study of consciousness are perhaps a little unfair. Is the fact that neuroscientists have proposed 22 accounts of consciousness really “a pretty good indication that the field is flailing”? Should we wring our hands and rend our garments because philosophers hold radically incompatible accounts of consciousness: an emergent property of brains, an illusion, or a fundamental attribute of the universe, like gravity?

Perhaps the question of consciousness doesn’t have a single answer. As Francis Crick found when he leapt confidently into the field of consciousness studies after co-discovering the genetic basis of life, some big, juicy questions are less scientifically tractable than others.

Consciousness studies may be expanding in a hundred directions rather than converging on a singular truth – and that may be a good thing.

The dream of a final theory

The fruitfulness of consciousness studies could be a valuable preparation for a later process of Darwinian selection. Just as neural connections proliferate in the developing brain and are then pruned back to enhance cognitive efficiency, exploring the broad field of conceptual possibilities before homing in on an integrating theory may optimise the pursuit of knowledge.

Consciousness may be like the proverbial elephant with the blind men. Alternative theories palpate different parts of the beast, perhaps enabling a better understanding of the whole to emerge.

Alternatively, there may be no elephant. Like morality or mental illness, consciousness may be an umbrella concept that refers to a multitude of different phenomena. If this is the case, we should be thankful for the findings of consciousness researchers.

These may never cohere into a unifying account of their target, but they shed new light on many other things along the way – from plant sentience to human perception, and from inner speech to artificial intelligence.

Pollan warns his readers that his book is likely to make them more confused and less sure of what they know. That’s how he felt when he finished writing it. A World Appears is a delightful read for anyone who enjoys being intelligently befuddled by a master of the craft.

– ref. What is consciousness? Michael Pollan spent 4 years looking for the answer – https://theconversation.com/what-is-consciousness-michael-pollan-spent-4-years-looking-for-the-answer-278888

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/what-is-consciousness-michael-pollan-spent-4-years-looking-for-the-answer-278888/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elspeth Tilley, Professor of Creative Communication, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

In today’s CO₂ news, global atmospheric carbon is at 429.46 parts per million. That’s one point lower than yesterday and 79 above the recommended planetary boundary.

That’s not something we hear routinely in news bulletins, of course. But such numeric snapshots – what’s up, what’s down and overall trends – are very familiar from daily reports of everything from stock markets to sports.

Might there be an argument for applying the same format to planetary health? Some media organisations already think so, including updates on atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in their regular coverage. But the practice remains far from mainstream.

It makes sense for news outlets to report this way, however, because humans understand trends better than abstractions or hard-to-visualise phenomena.

A brief summary of share price movements, for example, may not be the full financial story. But it does provide a regular barometer of likely changes to things that affect us – like fuel prices, mortgage payments or retirement savings.

The data is often easily available to news outlets, easy to visualise graphically, simple to slot in alongside weather and sport, and audiences are used to it.

Familiarity is the key. Stocks, weather and sports scores are “ritualised media information” – habits that shape our collective awareness. They help our brains judge an issue’s importance by how often it appears in our information environment.

Media scholars have shown how an issue’s visibility influences public opinion and government attention. Numbers crystallise this “agenda-setting” process, prompting questions about why those numbers are rising or falling, which policies influence them, and who is responsible.

In other words, what gets reported and how it’s reported matter. Societies prioritise what they notice most, and they can manage what they measure.

Connecting climate to everyday life

The fact we haven’t ritualised the reporting of atmospheric carbon readings – a key measure of global warming – isn’t because we lack data.

The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii has tracked atmospheric CO₂ since 1958. The Stockholm Resilience Centre provides measures of CO₂ as well as forest cover, ocean acidification and Arctic ice.

It might be argued such numbers aren’t as relevant to people’s everyday lives as interest rates and stock markets. But that’s increasingly not the case. Environmental statistics help track changes that do and will affect us.

Links between climate change and extreme weather, rising insurance costs, transport disruptions and food prices are intricate and changeable. Daily atmospheric CO₂ reports compress the complexity of a multifaceted problem into something we can grasp more readily.

Of course, there’s a risk the very numbers that focus our minds could narrow them. Climate communication research shows repeated negative news can cause “climate fatigue”.

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Read more: Climate doomism is bad storytelling – hope is much more effective at triggering action

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But it doesn’t all have to be bad news. While atmospheric carbon levels are 150 parts per million above the preindustrial average, there are also good numbers to report, such as the drop in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) since the Montreal Protocol in 1987.

Climate fatigue is caused less by too much climate news, and more by reporting that frames climate change as an irreversible catastrophe, leaving people feeling overwhelmed and powerless.

Climate communication experts recommend pairing realistic updates with news of visible action such as policy shifts, community adaptation, technological change or Indigenous stewardship.

There is now a small but growing group of “good news” outlets doing just this: Reasons to be Cheerful (founded by artist and musician David Byrne), Positive News and Fix the News report numbers related to tangible initiatives such as new hectares of forest reserve or revived populations of threatened species.

Normalising environmental awareness

To help prevent people tuning out repetitive data that changes slowly, reporting can frame the numbers in different ways – how fast they’re moving compared with past decades, the distance from specific carbon budget goals, and whether they’re moving faster or slower than predicted.

Contextual stories can connect the data to regional consequences and human stories of local climate action success. That casts the CO₂ updates as indexes of active response rather than passive observation.

For public broadcasters with mandates or charters to provide public interest journalism, the fit is obvious.

Regular CO₂ news would also balance the default reporting of economic indicators that can be perceived as prioritising markets over ecosystems. Presenting environmental numbers in the same way helps normalise attention to ecological stability.

And by realistically connecting those numbers to hot-button issues like the cost of living and healthcare, climate awareness becomes less about ideology or “climate wars” and more about the practical challenges of maintaining a habitable planet.

– ref. Share prices, sports results … CO₂ levels? The case for reporting climate stats every day – https://theconversation.com/share-prices-sports-results-co-levels-the-case-for-reporting-climate-stats-every-day-278202

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/share-prices-sports-results-co-levels-the-case-for-reporting-climate-stats-every-day-278202/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Oleinikova, Associate Professor and Director of the SITADHub (Social Impact Technologies and Democracy Research Hub) in the School of Communication, University of Technology Sydney

“I didn’t come here to get rich. I came because I had no other way to keep my son safe and care for my displaced family”.

Anna is a 28-year-old woman from eastern Ukraine. She fled the country in 2023 after Russian troops invaded. Two years later, she agreed to become a surrogate in Georgia for wealthy foreign couples.

We met Anna, who was already pregnant, in a quiet apartment that had been rented for her by a surrogacy agency on the outskirts of the capital, Tbilisi.

Our multidisciplinary team was in Georgia to conduct a pilot research project examining the small country’s rapidly expanding surrogacy industry.

We conducted in-depth interviews with Ukrainian women to better understand their motivations for entering surrogacy arrangements, their experiences within the system, and the social, economic, and legal factors shaping their decision-making and wellbeing.

We also analysed publicly available policy and regulatory documents from the government to examine how the sector operates. We paid particular attention to emerging regulatory challenges, gaps in oversight and the state’s efforts to balance economic opportunity with ethical and human rights considerations.

The shifting geography of surrogacy

Surrogacy laws vary widely around the world. Some countries, including Australia, prohibit commercial surrogacy. Others allow it under specific conditions. These differences create cross-border markets, where intended parents travel abroad to access services that are restricted, expensive or unavailable at home.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine was one of the world’s largest commercial surrogacy hubs. Estimates suggest between 2,000 and 2,500 babies were born each year through surrogacy arrangements.

War disrupted the industry. Clinics closed or relocated. Travel became dangerous. Media outlets reported on intended parents struggling to reach newborns and surrogates displaced by fighting. Georgia became a safe alternative.

International surrogacy has been legal in Georgia since 1997. That’s when the country adopted legislation allowing both gestational (a woman carrying an embryo not genetically related to her) and traditional surrogacy (a woman carrying an embryo for another couple using her own egg). The first children were born through gestational surrogacy around 2007.

The country’s clear legal framework – recognising intended parents as the child’s legal guardians from birth and granting no parental rights to the surrogate – has been a key factor in its appeal.

Costs are also significantly lower than in the United States. As independent international surrogacy consultant Olga Pysana told us:

In the last year, surrogacy in Georgia cost approximately US$55,000 to $85,000 (A$78,000 to A$120,000), whereas surrogacy in the United States can cost as much as US$250,000 (A$350,000).

With international demand surging in the 2010s, Georgia (a small country of 3.7 million people) quickly became unable to meet the needs of so many parents with local women alone. So clinics began recruiting potential surrogates from abroad, including from Ukraine, Central Asian countries, Russia, Belarus, Thailand and the Philippines.

Mobile surrogates

Several of the women we interviewed had previously worked with Ukrainian agencies. After the invasion, recruiters contacted them again – this time offering placements in Georgia.

Displacement has produced a new and economically vulnerable workforce. We describe these women as “mobile surrogates”: women who move across borders to provide reproductive labour in response to war, economic crises or changing surrogacy laws. “If there was no war, I would never have left,” Anna told us.

Most of the women we interviewed had lost homes, jobs or partners. Many were supporting children and extended family members across borders. Anna had worked in a shop before the war, then cleaned houses in Poland. “Surrogacy in Georgia pays in nine months what I would earn in years,” she said.

Our research found that surrogates are typically paid around US$20,000 (A$35,500) in instalments. For families displaced by war, this amount of money can cover rent, relocation costs and schooling.

But the arrangements come with strict contractual conditions. Women may face limits on travel, their diets and daily routines. Some live in shared apartments organised by agencies.

Independent legal advice is rare. Anna signed a contract in a language she did not fully understand, but felt she had little alternative: “I just needed something stable. I couldn’t keep moving from place to place”.

Georgia’s legal framework says little about labour standards, housing conditions or long-term health support for surrogates after birth. The result is an imbalance: strong protections for intended parents, and weaker safeguards for the women carrying babies.

A draft bill was introduced in 2023 aimed at curbing paid surrogacy for foreigners, due to growing concerns about the commercialisation of the industry and potential exploitation of surrogate mothers. However, it is still pending. As of early 2026, surrogacy remains legal in Georgia for foreign heterosexual couples.

Three trends we are seeing

First, reproductive markets are highly responsive to crises. When Ukraine’s industry became unstable, demand shifted rapidly to Georgia. Global fertility markets operate like other transnational industries: when one site contracts, another expands.

Second, economic inequality shapes who participates. Displacement and financial insecurity increase women’s willingness to enter demanding reproductive arrangements.

Third, the surrogates bear the brunt of regulatory ambiguities and associated risks and challenges. This includes dealing with contracts and medical procedures in languages they don’t understand.

Reform is needed

In Georgia, clearer labour protections are essential: minimum housing standards, transparent payment schedules, and mandatory, independent legal advice in a language surrogates understand. Health coverage for the women should also extend beyond birth.

The major markets for surrogacy services, including China, the US, Australia, Israel, Germany and others, should also review how their citizens engage in overseas surrogacy. This includes stronger regulation of agencies marketing abroad and clearer ethical guidance for intended parents.

Finally, greater international coordination is needed. Shared standards for cross-border surrogacy would improve transparency and accountability in a rapidly expanding and loosely regulated global market.

As demand grows, the central question is not whether cross-border surrogacy will continue, but whether it can be governed in ways that safeguard fairness, transparency and the rights of the women whose bodies sustain it.

– ref. ‘I didn’t come here to get rich’: new research on the lives of Ukrainian women in Georgia’s surrogacy boom – https://theconversation.com/i-didnt-come-here-to-get-rich-new-research-on-the-lives-of-ukrainian-women-in-georgias-surrogacy-boom-276173

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/03/27/i-didnt-come-here-to-get-rich-new-research-on-the-lives-of-ukrainian-women-in-georgias-surrogacy-boom-276173/