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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Adelaide University

Hot flushes, night sweats or swinging mood changes are some of the most common symptoms of menopause – the stage of a woman’s life when menstrual periods stop permanently, and she is no longer fertile.

Some women choose to ride out the symptoms. Some choose hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or MHT. This contains oestrogen, progesterone or combined therapies. Others use complementary therapies.

But do complementary therapies such as acupuncture and herbal medicines actually help?

Remind me, what’s going on with menopause?

Menopause is a normal part of ageing, as is the menopausal transition (or perimenopause), which occurs for several years before it. Some women’s periods stop earlier than others. But most women become menopausal naturally between the ages of 45 and 55.

During menopause, women often have a range of symptoms. These can include hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings, joint discomfort, sleep disturbances, decreased libido, headache or migraine, cardiometabolic disturbances (such as high blood pressure), weight gain, and loss of bone mineral density.

These symptoms can be distressing and can affect women’s quality of life.

Why complementary therapies?

Some women prefer to use complementary therapies alongside conventional treatment, or instead of it, due to side effects of menopausal hormone therapy.

Other women cannot use MHT because of other medical conditions, such as breast cancer, or being at risk of venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the deep veins of the leg, which can be fatal if they travel to the lungs).

But what does the evidence say about complementary therapies used in menopause?

Earlier this year, we and our colleagues published a large review to draw together the evidence. We analysed 158 clinical trials and systematic reviews conducted in women over 40. These studies looked at 86 complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, vitamin and nutrient supplements, and mind-body approaches.

Most studies were of low or very low quality. This could be because they included a small number of participants, were not double-blinded (when neither the participants nor the researchers knew which people were given which therapy) and sometimes did not use placebos.

So clinicians don’t have sufficient evidence to recommend them.

Now, the detail

Most studies in the review asked women to report the frequency and severity of their symptoms. Some used questionnaires covering a range of symptoms to give an overall menopause score. Others just asked about hot flushes.

Here are some of the findings.

Black cohosh is a flowering plant that improves overall menopausal scores, and hot flushes. Studies found benefits when taken from four to 52 weeks. Women took different products containing black cohosh, on its own or with other herbs. None of these studies reported serious side effects.

Isoflavones also known as phytoestrogens are found in soy and other legumes, and mimic oestrogen in the body. Soy-derived isoflavones improve hot flushes as well as overall menopausal scores. However in the same study, red clover-derived isoflavones did not reduce hot flushes. Side effects to isoflavones are generally mild and improve quickly without needing medical intervention.

Our ability to make vitamin D from sunlight reduces as we get older. In women, this decline starts at about the same time as menopause. For reducing the risk of fracture, women who have diagnosed osteoporosis need to take 800 IU (international units) vitamin D and 1,200 milligram calcium daily under medical supervision. But vitamin D plus calcium are not recommended to women without osteoporosis and without low vitamin D levels. This is because long-term use (over seven years) may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (such as a heart attack).

Chinese herbal medicines can be combinations of multiple herbs (often between five and 20) in a formula. Seventy studies, using a variety of formulas, showed taking Chinese herbal medicines for seven days to three months improved menopausal scores and sleep quality. The most common formula was Suan Zao Ren Tang. Short-term use (up to a year) appears to be safe, but there are no studies looking at its longer-term use.

Another meta-analysis on Chinese herbal medicines using Rehmannia as the main herb found 17 studies. When taken for two weeks to three months there was an improvement in overall menopausal scores. No adverse events were reported.

Acupuncture comes in several forms and you can have it with and without other therapies. We found no evidence to recommend regular acupuncture for hot flushes. Acupuncture with Chinese herbal medicines improves sleep quality, but only in perimenopausal women with insomnia. Electro-acupunture is a form of acupuncture that passes a gentle current between two needles into your skin. It improves hot flushes.

In summary, most treatments included in our review did not show enough evidence to be able to recommend them clinically. Complementary therapies including soy-isoflavones, vitamin D, black cohosh and Chinese herbal medicine may help some menopausal symptoms, but more high-quality research is needed to understand how effective and safe these treatments truly are.

So what should I do?

The International Menopause Society recommends that if women in midlife choose complementary therapies, these should be alongside MHT.

So always talk to your GP about your plans, and only consider using the complementary therapies that have good evidence for the symptoms you currently have. Your GP can help you think about the risks and benefits for you, and help you make a decision based on the best available scientific evidence.

A healthy lifestyle – including eating well, staying active, looking after your mental wellbeing, getting restorative sleep, maintaining healthy relationships, and avoiding drugs and alcohol – are all important in menopause care.

These are linked with benefits including fewer hot flushes, a healthier weight, a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes, and a lower risk of falls and fractures.

Complementary therapies should not replace these fundamental lifestyle habits.

– ref. Thinking about acupuncture or herbs for menopause? Read this first – https://theconversation.com/thinking-about-acupuncture-or-herbs-for-menopause-read-this-first-277612

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/thinking-about-acupuncture-or-herbs-for-menopause-read-this-first-277612/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Lawson, Academic Registrar at St Barnabas College in the University of Divinity, PhD Candidate in Ancient Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Education, CSU, Charles Sturt University

Most of us are used to thinking of “religion” in terms of a belief in God or gods. Perhaps the big hitters of world belief systems come to mind – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism or, in Australia, the Dreamtime.

But philosophers of religion and human belief systems tend to make it a bit more complicated for us. They like to expand what we think of as religious belief.

One philosopher, William James, defined religion as “the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves [to it]”.

When we think of religion this way, we can conceive of a lot more “unseen orders” or religions in the world than just the big, organised religions and belief in supernatural phenomena.

For example, most of us believe in the unseen order of “queuing” and believe that our greater good comes from harmoniously adjusting ourselves to its rules. These might include “first come, first serve,” “no cuts,” “join at the end,” “leaving the queue forfeits your place” and more.

Other unseen orders we interact with daily might include “manners”, “tall-poppy-ism,” or even “civil law”. James helps us understand how these beliefs function cognitively and emotionally, and how they affect our behaviour just like a traditional religion.

In Bluey, one of the most interesting religions is “Play”.

Play, religion and Bluey

Play functions as a unifying unseen order all the characters align themselves to throughout the show.

The cast whole-heartedly believe in this unseen order of Play, with rules which ought to be harmoniously followed in order to reach the supreme good. This unifying belief centres the characters on the good of bonding, love and fun.

The pursuit of these ideals is rewarded both within the show by the characters and metatextually as the “gods” of the show (Joe Brumm and the other writers) bend the world towards them.

So, what are the central beliefs of the religion of Play in Bluey? My research found four key rules which the characters consistently adjust themselves to.

1. Don’t interrupt or stop. No one in the show ever willingly interrupts or stops mid-game, best illustrated by the episode Stumpfest.

2. Follow the agreed rules. Rules and “playing properly” are very important to the characters, most aptly illustrated by the episodes Shadowlands and Library.

3. Be enthusiastic. There are no half-measures or dissent allowed, illustrated by Octopus and Whale Watching.

4. Games should have happy endings, because the real world often doesn’t. This is the theme of the 2024 special The Sign.

‘Contextualising’ religions

The religion of Play is not without difficulties. The show spends a surprising amount of time questioning and exploring these rules, especially when they harm or hinder rather than help the characters seek good.

This is parallel to the process of “contextualising” real-life organised religions. Contextualising is when the practices or beliefs of religions are explored and changed over time to better suit the time and place the religion finds itself in and allow more people to comfortably and positively engage with the greater good of the religion.

For example, many houses of worship have adjusted standing and kneeling practices for prayer to accommodate folks with physical disabilities and an ageing population. Likewise, many religious services that were once performed in ceremonial languages (like Latin, Sanskrit or Classical Arabic) are now done in the contemporary language of the community.

Bluey can offer us some lessons in contextualising our own religions, beliefs or non-religion.

In the episode Shop we see worrying too much about how the unseen order works (the rules of a game) can stop you from engaging in the unseen order (having fun). Engaging is far more important than rules.

Episodes Charades and Helicopter teach inclusion and flexibility in play. Modifying the rules is acceptable so that more people can join in.

In Copycat we see the benefit of stories and playing out games with sad or unexpected endings. Different practices can illuminate more depth or diversity.

In Driving, Chilli interrupts to understand the game better, and can then better align her enthusiasm to the game. Some rules are less important than others – breaking a minor rule might be necessary to follow a more important rule.

And in Pass the Parcel, a parent changes the practice of the game, back to how he played as a child with only one prize rather than a prize in every layer. This change to the unseen order is at first taken with great difficulty by the children and parents alike, but in the end is appreciated: the reward is greater than the growing pains.

Adjustment and contextualisation can be hard, but also rewarding.

What we can learn about practicing religion

The rules of the belief system are only a means to an end. The rules are a way of aligning oneself with the unseen order for the greater good. The rules are not the greater good in and of themselves.

Bluey teaches us three important lessons about practicing religion through its depiction of the religion of play:

• participation in the unseen order is more important than the specific rules

• extreme and rigid adherence to the rules can be harmful to those around us and ourselves

• there is more than one way to practice an unseen order without giving up the supreme good that we all seek.

There is more than one way to play a game, just as there is more than one way to practice a religion.

– ref. Can we consider ‘play’ to be a religion? Bluey certainly thinks so – https://theconversation.com/can-we-consider-play-to-be-a-religion-bluey-certainly-thinks-so-274977

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/can-we-consider-play-to-be-a-religion-bluey-certainly-thinks-so-274977/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Fioritti, Lecturer in Politics, School of Social Sciences, Monash University

The appointment of former high profile Greens federal housing spokesperson and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s arch nemesis, Max Chandler-Mather, as executive director of the party’s think tank – the Green Institute – raises several important questions.

First, what are party think tanks and what purpose do they serve in Australia’s party system?

And second, what does the decision to appoint Chandler-Mather signal for the future strategic direction of the Greens?

What are party think tanks?

Despite party think tanks operating in Australia since the late 1990s, it’s likely most Australians are unaware of their existence and the role they play in our democracy.

Party think tanks are organisations that operate for the benefit of a particular political party. They perform a range of functions, including conducting research, undertaking policy development, member and public outreach and events, and training.

Read more: The rise of think tanks in Australian politics

Party think tanks are distinct from other think tanks, such as the right-leaning Institute of Public Affairs and left-leaning Australia Institute. While the former are official think tanks affiliated to a party, the latter are independent organisations, even if they may enjoy a close relationship with particular parties.

Australian party think tanks are also state-funded. Grants are awarded to the governing party and the major opposition party. Minor parties are eligible if they have at least five members of parliament.

For this reason, only Labor (Chifley Research Centre), the Liberals (Menzies Research Centre), Nationals (Page Research Centre) and Greens (Green Institute) have think tanks.

Value for money?

Despite being state-funded, Australian party think tanks are generally small-scale operations.

The amount of state funding think tanks receive depends on their affiliated party’s representation in parliament. As a result, the governing and opposition parties receive comparable, and higher, levels of financial support. Recognised minor parties receive significantly less.

Regardless, public funding makes up an important share of their respective income. Only the Liberals’ think tank, and to a lesser extent the Nationals’ Page Research Centre, seem capable of keeping their doors open without public funding.

While the $1 million party think tanks receive in state funding pales in comparison to the election funding some parties earn, one might ask what benefits party think tanks produce for taxpayers.

Public funding enables parties to offset the costs of research, policy development, outreach and training. But it’s more difficult to discern what larger democratic principle is served by funding these institutions.

‘Relaunching’ the Green Institute

Leaving aside the questions of the public value of state-funded party think tanks, the appointment of Max Chandler-Mather raises interesting questions about the future direction of the Greens.

In his leadership announcement, Chandler-Mather set out a bold plan not just for the Green Institute but for the party more broadly.

On one level, Chandler-Mather’s vision for the relaunched Green Institute is very much in keeping with his personal and party brand.

Chandler-Mather intends to use the institute to “reforge direct connection with ordinary people”.

The institute is being reimagined as a vehicle to train volunteers and undertake movement-building activities, chiefly by conducting what he claims will be “the largest face-to-face survey of Australians outside the Census”.

This, Chandler-Mather says, will enable the party to tap into the policy issues that matter most to voters. His reputation as an innovative grassroots campaigner makes what is otherwise an ambitious goal less lofty.

Similarly, Chandler-Mather’s description of the major parties as being disconnected because of their reliance on “corporate polling and focus groups” is a familiar reproach that offers a contrasting vision of the Greens as a grassroots social movement party.

But there are elements of Chandler-Mather’s vision for the Green Institute that may sit less comfortably with the party.

First, his pursuit of “progressive economic populism” and the commitment to “transforming our economic system in a way that ensures everyone has what they need to live a comfortable, meaningful life, free of financial and housing stress”, suggests a much stronger emphasis on bread and butter concerns.

While the Greens have never been a single issue party, Chandler-Mather’s priorities appear to be more focused on materialist issues. But what exactly this “progressive economic populism” looks like in practice is yet to be clarified.

Second, Chandler-Mather seems to concede the Greens are languishing, and only a return to the party’s original goal of replacing the establishment parties can overcome this.

This stance sits in contrast to the more constructive and cooperative approach signalled by the party following last year’s election.

There are also parallels with the approach the Green Party in the United Kingdom is taking under leader Zack Polanski. There, a pitch around the Greens being a genuine left-wing alternative to Labour has seen the party surge.

Of course, as executive director of a party think tank, Chandler-Mather cannot impose his vision over the party. But he can use the institute to amplify his message in ways that he could not do as a member of the Greens party room. He can also recruit others to help bring this vision to life.

And it seems that taxpayers, whether they see the value of state-funded party think tanks or not, will be required to underwrite these efforts.

– ref. The Greens are relaunching their party think tank. What do these organisations do? – https://theconversation.com/the-greens-are-relaunching-their-party-think-tank-what-do-these-organisations-do-280265

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/the-greens-are-relaunching-their-party-think-tank-what-do-these-organisations-do-280265/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily Bryson, Lecturer in Science, CQUniversity Australia

Most of us want to recycle, but it can sometimes be hard to know exactly how.

Do jar lids and bottle caps go in the yellow bin? What kinds of plastic can be recycled?

And given that food residue can mess up the machines used to recycle waste, how clean do things need to be before they get recycled?

Much depends on where you live

The first thing to know is what’s accepted in your yellow-lidded kerbside bin depends on where you live and what your local material recovery facility can actually recycle.

Online search tools such as Recycling Near You and the Australasian Recycling Label’s “check locally” feature let you enter your postcode and look up how to dispose of specific items.

When in doubt, check for Australasian Recycling Labels on packaging before you bin it. A “chasing arrows” symbol indicates the item is accepted in more than 80% of kerbside recycling bins. However, not all packaging has these labels. Some carry multiple labels.

Aluminium

Aluminium is what soft drink cans are made from, and it’s a high value metal. It’s worth recycling, but size matters.

Aluminium doesn’t contain iron, so it’s not magnetic.

In other words, the magnets used in waste recycling facilities to separate metals from other recyclables won’t pick up aluminium cans or foil.

Instead, aluminium items are sorted using a process known as eddy current separation.

When items travel along a conveyor belt at a sorting facility, they move past a fast-spinning magnetic rotor at the end. This rotor creates a repelling force that flicks the aluminium items off the conveyor belt and into collection bins.

But this force isn’t strong enough to recover small items like jar lids and wine bottle caps.

When it comes to recycling metal jar lids and metal or plastic bottle caps, every recycling facility has different rules.

Some need the lids to be left on their containers. Others require lids larger than 5cm to be removed before placing them in your mixed recycling bin or dropped off at a collection site.

If you’re not sure, ask your local council or search Recycling Near You or the Australasian Recycling Label site.

Plastic

Recycling plastic is great, but only about 46% of collected plastic is processed domestically, with a lot sent overseas for processing.

Most plastic still ends up in landfill due to contamination and low recovery rates.

Packaging made from a single type of plastic, such as translucent high-density polyethylene (HDPE) milk bottles, are easiest to recycle into new products.

But only around 40% of these get collected for recycling through kerbside bins and dedicated drop-off locations; the rest don’t get collected at all.

Plastic caps and labels on HDPE bottles are often made from a different type of plastic (polypropylene), so they should be removed before recycling.

Rigid plastics, such as drink bottles, are easier to recycle than soft plastics, but their quality degrades with each recycling cycle.

Most single-use soft plastic packaging ends up in landfill.

Chemical recycling for soft plastics is a relatively new technology in Australia. However, it’s not widely available, is expensive and comes with environmental and health concerns.

Contamination

Recycling systems can only work effectively when packaging is clean and free from contaminants.

Food and liquid remnants, labels and small pieces of packaging can get tangled in machinery. Even small amounts of food residue can introduce germs and odours into recycling loads.

This is difficult and costly to remove, and ultimately reduces the quality of recycled materials, especially those intended for food packaging.

Packaging doesn’t need to be squeaky clean, but it should be rinsed and placed in the recycling bin dry.

Labels and seals on packaging are also an issue. Paper labels and water-soluble glues generally wash off during processing. However, tamper-proof seals – such as the ring around the base of a soft drink bottle lid – and plastic-coated labels don’t. These materials are hard to remove and can contaminate the recycling process.

Plastic-coated and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) labels – which you sometimes find on, for instance, a punnet of strawberries or milk bottle – are a challenge. They’re usually made from a different plastic than the container itself, which means they can’t be recycled together.

Removing them before disposal helps ensure a cleaner, more recyclable product.

Multi-layered packaging is another problem. Cardboard-like items such as long life milk cartons and potato chip tubes are made from layers of paper, plastic and sometimes metal foil – all laminated together.

Since these layers can’t be separated easily or efficiently, the packaging can’t be recycled through most kerbside bins. It usually ends up in landfill.

The bigger picture

Consumers still bear the burden of responsibility on knowing what can and can’t be recycled. At the end of the day, recycling infrastructure is still limited and too much is being landfilled.

We must redesign packaging for reuse and to work within the system we have.

– ref. What can you actually put in your yellow recycling bin? An environmental scientist explains – https://theconversation.com/what-can-you-actually-put-in-your-yellow-recycling-bin-an-environmental-scientist-explains-278077

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/what-can-you-actually-put-in-your-yellow-recycling-bin-an-environmental-scientist-explains-278077/

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clinton Free, Academic Director, Executive Education, Business School, University of Sydney

There has been no shortage of bold claims recently about artificial intelligence (AI) and jobs — from mass unemployment to over-hyped distraction. Much of this debate is speculative. Often, coming from the tech giants promoting their own products, it is self-serving.

But beyond the hype, my analysis of new labour market data from the United States shows how AI is already starting to reshape work — and what may soon follow in Australia.

What history tells us about technological change

Exposure to new technology does not necessarily mean jobs will be lost. Technology often reconfigures tasks or boosts productivity.

But when change happens quickly, it can still lead to disruption and widespread job cuts – as seen recently at tech firms Atlassian, Block, and WiseTech.

To make sense of this moment, it is helpful to look back. Researchers have long studied how major “general purpose technologies” reshape economies.

Although each wave of innovation – from steam power to electricity to computing – has its own features, a common pattern emerges. Technological change tends to follow a recognisable trajectory: the technology emerges, adoption spreads, some jobs are displaced, and work is reorganised before a new equilibrium is reached.

The key question is: what stage are we at now?

The emerging jobs data suggest we have already moved into the displacement phase — and are entering a broader reorganisation of work.

What Australia can learn from the US

For Australia, the United States offers a useful leading indicator, because it sits at the frontier of technology adoption. The pattern emerging in the US is not one of widespread collapse, but of uneven and targeted disruption.

Recent data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show the sharpest declines in routine, information-processing roles — especially customer support, administrative work, and software and IT services. There are more moderate declines across marketing, banking, travel and retail.

These are precisely the kinds of sectors that employ large numbers of people in the Australian economy, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data.

A second group of jobs tells a different story. These roles are not yet shrinking, but growth has stalled.

That slowdown may be the clearest signal of where AI is heading next.

Employment in finance, consulting, management and corporate support has largely stalled after decades of steady growth. These functions underpin modern organisations, suggesting the next phase of disruption may already be taking shape.

The hidden signal: entry-level jobs

Perhaps the clearest warning sign is not layoffs, but a decline in entry-level jobs.

In the United States, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates has risen to about 5.6% — above the economy-wide unemployment rate (about 4%) and experienced graduates (about 3%). For younger graduates, it is around 7%, with 42.5% underemployed, meaning they are working in jobs that do not require a degree.

These figures demonstrate AI may be taking the jobs of the youngest workers.

The resilience of blue-collar work

AI is also beginning to reshape the composition of the workforce.

For decades, US job growth was led by white-collar work. But over the past three years, that pattern has shifted: my analysis reveals that blue-collar employment has added roughly one million more jobs than white-collar roles, with manual work rising modestly as office-based employment edges down.

The gains are concentrated in sectors such as construction and maintenance — areas less exposed to current AI capabilities. If sustained, this would mark a significant shift in how work — and opportunity — is distributed across the economy.

Why this time might be different

There are strong reasons to think this transition may be more abrupt than previous eras of technological change.

First, the speed of development is unprecedented. OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached over 100 million users within two months — one of the fastest adoptions of new technology in history — and its capabilities are improving rapidly.

This compressed timeline leaves far less room for a gradual labour market adjustment.

Second, AI is no longer limited to routine tasks. It is increasingly performing cognitive work once done by professionals — drafting legal documents, writing code, analysing financial reports and generating marketing content. This marks a clear break from earlier technologies, which mainly displaced manual or repetitive work.

Third, AI’s reach is economy-wide. Unlike past technologies that reshaped specific sectors, AI cuts across many industries — from finance and law to logistics and customer service.

What comes next?

The key question is no longer whether AI will change jobs — it already is. The real question is how quickly, and who bears the cost.

As AI anxiety grows, there is an urgent need for a national conversation on policies to navigate the impact on jobs.

This includes the likely need for transitional income support, labour market reskilling at scale, and structural reform of secondary and tertiary education.

The AI job apocalypse may be overstated. But the early warning signs are already here — and they are increasingly difficult to ignore.

– ref. Employment data shows the early signs of AI job disruption are already here – https://theconversation.com/employment-data-shows-the-early-signs-of-ai-job-disruption-are-already-here-280273

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/04/16/employment-data-shows-the-early-signs-of-ai-job-disruption-are-already-here-280273/