Etikett: Theconversation.com

Milo Hartill is “Black, fat and f**gy”, according to the title of her new cabaret work.

Actor, model, influencer and one helluva singer, 24-year-old Hartill shines. Black, Fat and F**gy is an autobiographical show, tracing defining moments of Hartill’s life as a Black, fat and queer person who grew up in Western Australia and now works in show biz.

Centred in its name, the performance wades through aspects of her intersectional identity. This itself serves as a loose structure for the production: Blackness to fatness to queerness, with clear overlaps.

The unapologetic self

Hartill leans into stereotypes and tropes so hard she ultimately upends them.

An early moment has her teasing an audience member – importantly, a white audience member – with an invitation to touch her hair. It’s a stunning moment within the work as it plays out, an image potentially loaded with racism interjected into performance with subversive, tongue-in-cheek humour and support for the chosen audience member.

It leads immediately into a rendition of Solange’s Don’t Touch My Hair. Other featured songs include Chaka Khan’s I’m Every Woman, Frank Sinatra’s Something Stupid (performed with puppetry) and Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing, with notable changes to the lyrics to fit the themes and tone of the show.

Hartill is supported onstage by Lucy O’Brien on piano, who regularly chimes in with commentary and humour. The duo share a strong bond, their rapport is apparent and endearing. Within the first minute of the show we are eating from the palm of their hands.

The duo read out examples of real, fat-phobic hate mail sent to Hartill’s social media inboxes.

As an artist and researcher in fat-centred performance, for me, this is one of the more interesting moments in the show. It unapologetically adopts a didactic mode of delivery, revealing to audiences the kinds of despicable, violent language directed at fat people.

Black, Fat and F**gy is an entirely unique, memorable and vital performance work.
Matto Lucas/UMAC/Midsumma

Theatre audiences (and makers, especially) tend to despise these kinds of didactic moments, especially pertaining to identity politics, as it marks a shift from “showing” (with metaphor) to “telling” in its messaging.

But how else can performance give contextual significance to something without this kind of direct telling, especially when most audiences will not have an embodied experience of fatness to draw on and make inferences?

Unless you have directly seen or heard the unrelenting, unmitigated hate speech directed at fat bodies, it is difficult to capture or convey. The “unique” aspect of this language, laid bare by Hartill in performance, is that it is delivered with a sense of righteousness: that this person is in a way helping the fat person by shaming them.

Moments like this serve a vital function in how performance can, broadly, capture both actual experiences and associated feelings related to a topic, while aiming to impart some new knowledge or finding for its audience to take away, to sit with, to talk about and maybe go on to learn more on.

A beautiful mixed bag

This didactic mode of delivery is only fleeting within the show. Adopting a cabaret-style delivery (but with standard theatre seated rows), Black, Fat and F**gy weaves together aspects of musical theatre (songs), stand-up (humour) and drag performance (aesthetic): it is a queerly hybrid form.

The show is rough around the edges. The performance allows for a high level of improvisation and audience engagement, which can lead to stalled moments and interruptions of laughter. Performance scholar T.L. Cowan writes the improvisatory nature of cabaret informs a “cabaret consciousness” that “allows an audience to enjoy a show not in spite of the mixed-bag-ness of cabaret, but because of it”.

The mixed-bag-ness of Black, Fat and F**gy is its charm, and Hartill complements this style with a mixed-bag delivery of tricks from her deep repertoire of skills.

The show weaves together songs, stand-up and drag: it is a queerly hybrid form.
Matto Lucas/UMAC/Midsumma

Black, Fat and F**gy is an entirely unique, memorable and vital performance work you should move to the top of your list of must-see Midsumma events. The production is a 70-minute-plus romp which will leave you crying, both from laughter and by acknowledging the current climate against Black, fat f*gs everywhere.

Black Fat and F**gy is at the Guild Theatre, University of Melbourne, for Midsumma Festival until February 6. Läs mer…

Melbourne’s status as the sporting capital of Australia is well-established: the Victorian city hosts annual events such as the Australian Open tennis tournament, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup horseracing carnival, Boxing Day cricket Test and more.

Now the United States’ National Football League (NFL) is set to join the party.

In May last year, the NFL earmarked Australia as a future host for an international game.

Now it has been reported the NFL is set to lock-in three regular season games in Melbourne at the MCG, starting in October 2026, just after the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final.

The teams set to feature in the first game are 2022 Super Bowl winners the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles will play in next week’s Super Bowl and feature an Australian, Jordan Mailata, on their team.

The Rams and the Eagles both have international marketing rights to Australia – giving the clubs an opportunity to build brand awareness and fandom beyond the US through fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities.

What’s in it for Victoria?

The NFL contests would pour millions of dollars into the Victorian economy; each team would travel with hundreds of staff, while thousands of fans would likely travel from interstate and overseas.

The Victorian government has not revealed any revenue estimates but last year’s Super Bowl week in Las Vegas generated more than $US1 billion ($A1.61 billion) in economic impact.

Given the NFL’s love of razzmatazz, it would likely host a week-long procession of activities and fan zones across the city before almost certainly filling the MCG with 100,000 spectators.

However, the choice of the MCG as a venue was not without controversy.

The MCG boasts the biggest capacity of any stadium in Australia, but it is an oval shape, not rectangular, which makes the viewing experience more difficult when it hosts sports such as soccer, rugby – or NFL.

Critics have suggested Accor Stadium in Sydney’s west or Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane (both rectangular venues) would be better for these games.

What’s in it for the NFL?

The NFL has broadened its international presence during the past decade or so, and now hosts eight games internationally each season.

But why did NFL decide on Australia to join the likes of England, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Mexico?

It chose places with strong sports consumer marketplaces, where streaming is popular and destinations where US fans are likely to travel to.

Australia, while not as popular as in the days of Paul Hogan, is still a popular destination for many Americans, especially those who like sports.

American football is far from a dominant sports code in Australia but is still a significant global market for the NFL, with an estimated fan base of more than six million supporters across the country.

But principally, it’s about the money.

The NFL’s media broadcast deal is one of, if not the, most lucrative in world sports: the TV and streaming media rights are said to be worth more than $US100 billion ($A161 billion).

Analysts estimate the NFL’s international games will collectively add $US1 billion ($A1.61 billion) to the league’s TV rights.

This has helped the NFL build a huge global audience, which Commissioner Roger Goodell has said is a key strategy:

The media platforms are essential – we want to reach the most people we can through our media partners, because that’s how most people experience football. But when we bring games (to international markets), it is […] the spark that lights the flame. Playing the games is a big part of making our game global.

The NFL is also looking to Australia for future athletic talent.

In recent years, NFL and college football teams have regularly recruited Australian athletes as punters (specialist kickers), who grew up kicking balls and can transfer their skills to the American game.

The NFL also recently set up a talent academy on the Gold Coast to encourage talented youngsters from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific to pursue their NFL dream.

What fans can expect

Melbourne is not Las Vegas, but even so, if confirmed, the games will deliver some old-fashioned American showbiz to the state.

The MCG will likely be packed with fans (both hardcore and casual) for the contest, and of course the sport’s famous half-time shows.

And then there’s the athletic brilliance of the players: the game is considered by some to be as intellectual as chess but with enormous physical prowess required. The chance to see these massive athletes up close will no doubt be a huge drawcard.

NFL fans in Australia – and very likely New Zealand, the Pacific and even further abroad – will no doubt be waiting with bated breath for the league to confirm the games, and then try to find a way to secure sought-after tickets. Läs mer…

Many people looking to improve their health try to boost fibre intake by eating more vegetables.

But while all veggies offer health benefits, not all are particularly high in fibre. You can eat loads of salads and vegetables and still fall short of your recommended daily fibre intake.

So, which vegetables pack the biggest fibre punch? Here’s what you need to know.

What is fibre and how much am I supposed to be getting?

Fibre, or dietary fibre, refers to the parts of plant foods that our bodies cannot digest or absorb.

It passes mostly unchanged through our stomach and intestines, then gets removed from the body through our stool.

There are two types of fibre which have different functions and health benefits: soluble and insoluble.

Soluble fibre dissolves in water and can help lower blood cholesterol levels. Food sources include fruit, vegetables and legumes.

Insoluble fibre adds bulk to the stool which helps move food through the bowels. Food sources include nuts, seeds and wholegrains.

Both types are beneficial.

Australia’s healthy eating guidelines recommend women consume 25 grams of fibre a day and men consume 30 grams a day.

However, research shows most people do not eat enough fibre. Most adults get about 21 grams a day.

4 big reasons to increase fibre

Boosting fibre intake is a manageable and effective way to improve your overall health.

Making small changes to eat more fibrous vegetables can lead to:

1. Better digestion

Fibre helps maintain regular bowel movements and can alleviate constipation.

2. Better heart health

Increasing soluble fibre (by eating foods such as fruit and vegetables) can help lower cholesterol levels, which can reduce your risk of heart disease.

3. Weight management

High-fibre foods are filling, which can help people feel fuller for longer and prevent overeating.

4. Reducing diabetes risk and boosting wellbeing

Fibre-rich diets are linked to a reduced risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.

Recent research published in prestigious medical journal The Lancet provided some eye-opening stats on why fibre matters.

The researchers, who combined evidence from clinical trials, found people who ate 25–29 grams of fibre per day had a 15–30% lower risk of life-threatening conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes compared to those who consumed fewer than 15 grams of fibre per day.

Getting plenty of fibre can help us as we age.
Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock

So which vegetables are highest in fibre?

Vegetables are excellent sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre, along with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

The following veggies are some of the highest in fibre:

green peas
avocado
artichokes
parsnips
brussels sprouts
kale
sweet potatoes
beetroot
carrots
broccoli
pumpkin

Which vegetables are low in fibre?

Comparatively lower fibre veggies include:

asparagus
spinach (raw)
cauliflower
mushrooms
capsicum
tomato
lettuce
cucumber

These vegetables have lots of health benefits. But if meeting a fibre goal is your aim then don’t forget to complement these veggies with other higher-fibre ones, too.

Vegetables are excellent sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre – but some have more fibre than others.
anna.q/Shutterstock

Does it matter how I prepare or cook the vegetables?

Yes.

The way we prepare vegetables can impact their fibre content, as cooking can cause structural changes in the dietary fibre components.

Some research has shown pressure cooking reduces fibre levels more greatly than roasting or microwave cooking.

For optimal health, it’s important to include a mix of both cooked and raw vegetables in your diet.

It’s worth noting that juicing removes most of the fibre from vegetables, leaving mostly sugars and water.

For improved fibre intake, it’s better to eat whole vegetables rather than relying on juices.

What about other, non-vegetable sources of fibre?

To meet your fibre recommendations each day, you can chose from a variety of fibre-rich foods (not only vegetables) including:

legumes and pulses (such as kidney beans and chickpeas)
wholegrain flour and bread
fruits
wholegrains (such oats, brown rice, quinoa, barley)
nuts and seeds (such as flaxseeds and chia seeds)

A fibre-rich day that meets a recommended 30 grams would include:

breakfast: 1⁄2 cup of rolled oats with milk and 1⁄2 cup of berries = about 6 grams of fibre
snack: one banana = about 2 grams
lunch: two cups of salad vegetables, 1⁄2 cup of four-bean mix, and canned tuna = about 9 grams
snack: 30 grams of almonds = about 3 grams
dinner: 1.5 cups of stir-fried vegetables with tofu or chicken, one cup of cooked brown rice = about 10 grams
supper: 1⁄2 a punnet of strawberries with some yoghurt = about 3 grams.

Bringing it all together

Vegetables are a key part of a healthy, balanced diet, packed with fibre that supports digestion, blood glucose control, weight management, and reduces risk of chronic disease.

However, the nutritional value of them can vary depending on the type and the cooking method used.

By understanding the fibre content in different veggies and how preparation methods affect it, we can make informed dietary choices to improve our overall health. Läs mer…

The first weeks of 2025 have seen catastrophic wildfires locally and internationally, record global ocean temperatures, and unprecedented coral bleaching events.

Trump has signed executive orders to exit from the Paris Agreement, and locally, the Coalition continues its decades-long campaign of climate denial

Species fall swiftly and silently to extinction. The language of bird-song collapses. For many peoples, and for many species, apocalypse is past tense.

For climate risk researchers Laurie Laybourn and James Dyke, politics illustrates a doom loop, a political diving-towards apocalypse.

Artists in this year’s Sydney Festival imagine exit strategies from this doom loop – and dream of taking root in its post-apocalyptic rubble.

Anito

Phasmahammer is the alter-ego and ongoing creative project of artist Justin Talplacido Shoulder. Anito is the latest in a series of their theatre-scale works that blend live performance with mythology, story-telling, costume and ceremony.

We begin in the cavernous Carriageworks foyer with a living miniature fig tree.

Damun (as it is known in the Gadigal language), Ficus rubingosa (Latin), the Port Jackson fig, is known for establishing itself insurgently in the pavements and gutters of the city’s colonial (apocalyptic) architecture.

Here, the bonsai sits like a welcome party, stifled and vibrant in its little pot.

In an introductory speech, Shoulder’s collaborator Matthew Stegh acknowledges the city of Sydney as “a theatre and a prison” – tripling in reference to both the experience of producing theatre for institutions, and the stunted experience of our little fig.

Anito blends live performance with mythology, story-telling, costume and ceremony.
Sarah Walker/Sydney Festival

He pays homage to the ecological and cosmological traditions of Gadigal Country, and to the ancestral Philippines of Shoulder. In the next breath Stegh shifts his homage to Sydney’s histories of queer and counter-cultural performance, to sex workers, strippers, clowns, club kids and drag queens.

He offers reflections on apocalypse and ruin, referring to the “cultish suicide pact” of white supremacy, capitalism, imperialism and colonialism – to doom loops.

We are led into the auditorium, where Shoulder and fellow performer Eugene Choi animate a series of hallucinatory images.

Using their bodies, costume pieces, puppetry and inflatable set design, they work with immaculate sound (Corin Ileto) and lighting (Fausto Brusamolino).

A ghostly hologram of the buttress of a great tree fills the stage. Metallic roots writhe at its foundation. Shoulder and Choi emerge, and from there, eruptions: the first man and woman, a pair of thunder-lizards, bickering, a quadruped. A scale-bending colonial ghost smothered in lace searches tragically for something among planetary ruins. A stony reef of polyps and anemones blooms and dances. A single clap by three pairs of hands. The Big Bang.

It is often hard to discern exactly how the images are performed. They are both magic and bewildering.
Liz Ham/Sydney Festival

By design, it is often hard to discern exactly how these images are performed. They are both magic and bewildering.

For philosopher Ben Ware, thinking about the horizon of the extinction of all biological life on Earth poses a paradoxical opportunity. The only thing that can thwart the end of this world – “a world of converging and multiplying catastrophes” – is the recognition that the politics of this time have one outcome: “the slow unravelling of intimately entangled forms of life”.

The fantasy theatre of Anito makes those intimate entanglements visual. We must begin from understanding that the way the world is organised produces its own end.

Like Shoulder, artist communities of the Pacific know this intimately.

Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania

Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania is an exhibition led by artists of the South Pacific Ocean.

Originally conceived for the Venice Biennale, and curated by Taloi Havini, the exhibition comprises two commissions by Elisapeta Hinemoa Heta and Latai Taumoepeau.

This is a space for conversation, performance, song and activism.
Giacomo Cosua/Sydney Festival

The rooms of a freshly-renovated Artspace in Woolloomooloo are transformed by Heta’s architectural interventions. In one, a mass of bricks creates an altar-like structure, on which bowls of coconut milk sit in concentric circles. In another, pavers form a platform for a circle of seats. They function as stages or gathering places for conversation, performance, song and activism.

Within these happenings, Havini and her artists speak to the narrative and politics that have produced and compounded catastrophe in the South Pacific.

Taumoepeau’s interactive installation Deep Communion sung in minor (ArchipelaGO, THIS IS NOT A DRILL) requires visitors to row on standing-paddle-board-like treadmills, which activate immersive songs sung by Taumoepeau and her collaborators.

The physical exacerbation and the ecological trauma on the screens coalesce in our bodies.
Giacomo Cosua/Sydney Festival

In conversation with Heta’s installation, these songs rise and fall, the edges of the artworks and activations become blurry. Visitors paddle towards projections visualising the rubble of marine-ecological wastelands produced by regional deep-sea extraction.

The physical exacerbation and the ecological trauma on the screens coalesce in our bodies. To drop the oar enacts the fading of the song from the speakers. We are left with reflections of the connections between bodies and calamity, and the labour of working towards futures beyond ruin.

Plant a Promise

Henrietta Baird’s Plant a Promise, like Anito and Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania, is a performance with blurry edges. Its roots spread out of Bangarra’s Studio Theatre to incorporate installation, in-situ yarns (storytelling and conversation) and tree-planting projects across the city.

Inside the theatre, three contemporary dancers animate recorded stories of Indigenous experiences of bushfires beside frustrations with the surrounding political footballing. The sentiment is clear: less talk, more action.

Plant a Promise beckons audiences into attentiveness to the lives of trees, fire and people.
Stephen Wilson Barker/Sydney Festival

At its finale, audience members are invited to the stage to collaborate in the transformation of the set. We are led to take handfuls of verdant eucalyptus and acacia leaves and implant them into large woven columns that have functioned theatrically as abstracted tree-forms. The stage is transformed into a forest of our making together.

Through its many stories, Plant a Promise beckons audiences into attentiveness to the lives of trees, fire and people.

In the shadows of catastrophe, the roots of Indigenous knowledge systems and environmental science cross-pollinate to share and enact care for Country.

The stage is transformed into a forest of our making together.
Stephen Wilson Barker/Sydney Festival

Generously, we receive a gift as we exit the theatre. The exchange of a native sapling invites us into casual conversation – into reflections on Country, and how we might, all of us, commit to it.

Again, we begin, from the recognition of an end. More rubble. More roots.

Putricia

At the time of writing, Sydneysiders are enamoured with the life of another plant, gathered around livestreams and making excited trips to the city’s Botanic Gardens.

Putricia, the resident titan arum, or corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanium), has thrown her immense flower spike into the air. She has commenced her slow strip-tease after a week of tantalising her admirers.

In a few weeks we have become attentive to her story of life and renewal. She will likely have bloomed, wilted and returned to the soil before this text goes live.

Putricia near the end of her 24 hour bloom at the Royal Botanic Gardens on January 24 2025.
AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

Performances like Putricia’s blooming, Anito, Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania and Plant a Promise offer new vantage points from which to understand ourselves in relation to the natural world, and to glimpse myriad alternatives to what feels like a diving towards our own demise.

Performances of aliveness beside and within the ecologies we inhabit move us beyond what Ben Ware sees as a naïve sense of “hope”. Instead, these stories make material, make cultural, make real, the impossible task of imagining what comes next.

Amid the smell of rotting corpses, the pillowy puppetry of a theatrical coral spawning event, the planting of a forest or the singing of invocations for the protection of the planet’s oceans, we might yet find ourselves. This is not a drill. Läs mer…

Bennett’s tree kangaroos, one of Australia’s most mysterious marsupials, have long eluded researchers. Our new study, published in Australian Mammalogy today, has achieved a breakthrough: using thermal drones to detect these rare animals with unprecedented efficiency.

Tree kangaroos are found only in the tropical rainforests of Australia and New Guinea. Unlike their ground-dwelling relatives, they spend their lives in treetops, feeding on leaves and vines. Their dependence on rainforest trees makes them vulnerable to deforestation and climate change.

Alarmingly, 12 of the 14 species of tree kangaroos are listed as threatened. Yet we know little about their numbers or habits due to difficulties studying them in dense rainforest.

Our new findings mark a significant step forward, offering hope for improved conservation of these elusive, near-mythical creatures. Thermal drones, which detect animals by their body heat, may help to unravel the mysteries of tree kangaroos and guide efforts to protect them.

Rugged, dense rainforests

Bennett’s tree kangaroos inhabit Australia’s most rugged and densely vegetated rainforests north of the Daintree River in Far North Queensland. They rarely descend from their vine-covered treetop roosts, which can be up to 40 metres high.

Traditional survey methods like spotlighting (that is, methodically using flashlights) or handheld thermal cameras (using infrared sensors to detect warm bodies) often fail to detect tree kangaroos, as these tools are limited to what can be seen from the ground.

As a result, there have been no systematic surveys of Bennett’s tree kangaroos. Population estimates rely on outdated observations and anecdotal evidence, leaving their conservation status unclear.

We need robust population estimates to detect shifting population trends and prevent population declines. This requires new monitoring methods to help us find these elusive animals.

Hotspots in the treetops

Thermal drones are just what they sound like – drones equipped with infrared cameras that detect heat signatures from the air.

Warm-blooded animals like tree kangaroos stand out against the cooler rainforest background, even when partially hidden by foliage. This technology offers a powerful advantage over traditional methods, allowing researchers to scan large areas from above and see past vegetation.

In our study, we conducted three drone flights at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Cape Tribulation, during the morning and evening.

To our surprise, we detected six Bennett’s tree kangaroos in under an hour of flight time – an unprecedented result. These included a solitary animal, a pair, and a group of three, all consistent with known home range sizes for the species.

By comparison, traditional ground surveys often require several nights of survey effort to spot a single animal. The drones not only made detection easier but also allowed us to closely observe the animals’ behaviour, such as feeding on specific plant species, without disturbing them.

Side-by-side comparison of the same image in colour and in thermal view, with three tree kangaroos clearly visible (circled in yellow) in the thermal image.
Emmeline Norris

Shedding light on a hidden species

Our findings suggest Bennett’s tree kangaroos are thriving in Cape Tribulation’s lowland rainforest.

While this is encouraging, further systematic surveys are needed to assess how population density varies with forest type, elevation and other factors.

Another intriguing discovery was the tree kangaroos’ diet. Using the drone’s colour zoom camera, we identified the vines and leaves they were eating. Mile-a-minute vine (Decalobanthus peltatus) and fire vine (Tetracera daemeliana) were popular choices on the menu.

These observations deepen our understanding of the species’ habitat needs and could inform future conservation efforts.

Conservation research methods must prioritise minimising stress on wildlife. The tree kangaroos showed no signs of disturbance, continuing to forage after briefly pausing to look at the drone.

This non-invasive approach is a promising alternative to traditional methods, like radio tracking (where a tag is attached to the animal), which can disrupt natural behaviours.

A Bennett’s tree kangaroo peeks at the thermal drone through the vines.
Emmeline Norris

Craning for a better view

Despite showing promise, drone-based wildlife monitoring has its challenges. Regulations require drone operators to maintain visual line of sight with their drone. This can be difficult in a rainforest due to the height and density of the canopy.

To overcome this, we remotely operated our drone from a 47-metre-high canopy crane designed for research. This extra height allowed us to maintain a clear view while surveying a larger area.

The 47-metre high canopy crane at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Cape Tribulation.
Emmeline Norris

However, canopy cranes are rare – there’s only one in tropical Australia. Expanding this approach will require alternative strategies, such as using mountaintops or canopy walkways as vantage points.

Our study is just the beginning. The next step is designing methods to estimate population densities more accurately – not only for Bennett’s tree kangaroos but also other tree kangaroo species in the remote mountains of New Guinea. By identifying individual tree kangaroos based on their unique fur markings, we aim to also study their social structure and sex ratios.

Thermal drones have the potential to revolutionise conservation efforts for hard-to-study wildlife. They offer a powerful tool to monitor populations and guide management decisions.

For the rare and remarkable Bennett’s tree kangaroo, this technology could make the difference between obscurity and security.

The study authors flying drones from the upper platform of the canopy crane.
Emmeline Norris Läs mer…

A new study using a large collection of demographic data has revealed the lasting and damaging consequences for children placed in state care between 1950 and 1999 – including huge disparities in life expectancy compared with the general population.

The study utilised the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure – a large collection of linked data sets about people and households from across many government agencies, Stats NZ surveys, and non-government organisations.

From a substantial sample of approximately 20,000 children placed in care between 1950–1999, the study also found about 11% of this group had subsequently died, on average much younger than the rest of the population.

The causes of death were also generally more violent, though self-harm, motor vehicle accidents and assaults, at rates greater than the general population.

These findings support the conclusions of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care, which exposed significant harms experienced by Māori tamariki (children) and whānau (families), revealing systemic failures and breaches of te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi.

Inside the demographic data

The Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) allows researchers to conduct cross-sector research, to track a broad range of outcomes, compare them with the general population, and potentially explore links across generations.

We examined a range of social and health outcomes for a group of children in state care between 1950–1999. Information about these children was collected from handwritten records of state care institutions.

These lists were matched by officials in the Ministry of Health and the Department of Corrections. All identifiable information (names, birth dates, addresses, etc.) were removed or encrypted and made available to our research team from Stats NZ.

We linked this initial group to the IDI and retrieved records of available socio-demographic, health and life-event data. We were left with a list of just over 20,000 children, a substantial sample of the many hundreds of thousands of children placed in care during this time.

Life expectancy and cause of death

Basic demographic information reflects what is already widely known about children placed in state care: they are overwhelmingly male and Māori.

The birth years of the children are also significant. We see an increase in placement into state care of children who were born between 1960 and 1989. The Royal Commission’s final report records that the disproportional representation of Māori children in state care begins at this point, as shown in the graph below.

The government approach of the times, as espoused in the 1961 Hunn report into the Department of Māori Affairs, was to assimilate Māori into the European way of life. The effects of state action to deal with Māori perceived to have fallen short of these expectations can clearly be seen in these data.

By 2018, the sample group of children in our study were in their late 40s. Using mortality data, we know that approximately 11% of this group have died. Astonishingly, they have an average age at death of 46 years, compared to an average age of 70 for people in the general population born at the same time.

This corresponds to an average 24 years of life lost for those in state care. We can extrapolate this further when we examine the primary causes of death in this group and compare them with the general population.

Cancer, heart disease and strokes are the primary causes in the general population. These causes tend to increase with age; you are more likely to be affected the longer you live. As those in state care are less likely to reach old age, they have lower rates of death from these conditions.

Rather, we see they are subject to much more violent deaths through self-harm, motor vehicle accidents and assaults, at rates many times greater than the population at large.

Historical context and modern policy

As the Royal Commission of Inquiry documented so thoroughly, tamariki Māori were placed in environments where tikanga Māori was disregarded, their whakapapa and whenua were disconnected, and their identity as Māori denied.

Many faced neglect, abuse, and the loss of connection to mātauranga and wairua, leaving trauma that continues to affect whānau today.

The royal commission’s report coincided with the National-led government’s reintroduction of military-style youth training academies for young offenders, colloquially known as “boot camps”.

In mid-2024, Prime Minister Christopher Luxton dismissed concerns from the chief commissioner for children about the policy:

I don’t care what you say about whether it does or doesn’t work. We can have that intellectual conversation all day long, but we are […] going to try something different because we cannot carry on getting the results that we’ve been getting.

Based on our research findings – together with the royal commission’s report and significant international and local evidence about the real risks of such policies – we would argue the current approach in New Zealand needs to be revisited.

More broadly, extensive international scholarship demonstrates Indigenous people are particularly and uniquely affected by longstanding trauma through colonisation. Specific acts of oppression that remain unaddressed often result in the inter-generational transfer of trauma and trauma responses.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, as with many other colonised Indigenous territories, the forced removal of Māori children from their families to be placed in a range of state and church institutions was a key plank of colonial policy and practice.

We must accept that poor outcomes across a range of areas in health, welfare, education and justice exist within a historical and contemporary context. Those impacts are linked across generations and affect whānau to this day.

A paper based on these findings will be submitted for publication shortly. Research is continuing to expand the analyses explored here and to link outcomes across affected generations.

We would like to acknowledge Tui Barrett, Professor Tim McCreanor and Professor Helen Moewaka Barnes for their input and guidance.

If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) Läs mer…

If U.S. voters reelected Donald Trump hoping for relief from higher prices, his recent threats to impose tariffs on America’s three largest trade partners might make them think again.

On Saturday, Feb. 1, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China, which he said would take effect on Tuesday, Feb. 4. While markets braced for the news to some degree, they still saw a steep premarket sell-off on Monday, Feb. 3, followed by morning volatility.

While Canada and Mexico negotiated monthlong reprieves on Monday, the new tariffs on China went into effect as expected Tuesday, Feb. 4. And while the ultimate shape of Trump’s tariff policy remains to be seen, the president warned that American consumers could feel “some pain” as a result.

Given my training as an economist and finance professor, I think Trump could be right on that score. In fact, if the tariffs go into effect, they could spell disaster for the Federal Reserve’s inflation reduction efforts.

From grocery stores to homes

U.S. consumers might be surprised to find out that almost every economic sector could be affected by this opening salvo of tariffs, should they go ahead in March. Imports from Mexico and Canada reached close to US$1 trillion in 2024, almost double the amount the U.S. imports from China.

The U.S. is particularly reliant on Mexico for fresh fruits and vegetables, and on Canada for lumber. So if the tariffs go into effect, Americans who have been waiting for home prices to ease may have to continue waiting, as tariffs on lumber and other building materials could worsen the affordable-housing crunch. And let’s not even talk about avocado prices.

Meanwhile, the 10% tariffs on Chinese goods will likely boost the price of electronics, and China has already imposed retaliatory measures. Trump has also proposed 25% tariffs on Taiwan and its semiconductor industry, in an attempt to push Taiwanese companies to invest more in U.S. manufacturing. If that tariff were to go into effect, prices for U.S. consumers would be even higher.

A tax by any other name …

Tariffs are an import tax. They’re passed through the supply chain in the form of higher prices and are eventually paid by consumers. Traditionally, governments have used tariffs as a fiscal tool to encourage businesses and consumers to move away from foreign-made products and support domestic businesses instead.

In theory, new tariffs could encourage foreign businesses to invest in the U.S. and make more stuff on American soil. Unfortunately, domestic manufacturing has seen a systemic decline since the 1980s, resulting in lower prices for consumers but severely limiting U.S.-produced products. In the short term, at least, import taxes on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese products would ultimately be paid by U.S. consumers.

Although this round of tariff threats may seem arbitrary to some, the Trump administration says it considers tariffs deeply intertwined with national security concerns. Stephen Miran, Trump’s pick to chair the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, has laid out a path for Trump’s tariff plan, which he says is aimed at putting American industry on fairer ground against the rest of the world.

In the long term, it’s unclear whether Trump’s threatened trade war will bring domestic manufacturing back to the U.S. and start a new industrial renaissance. In the meantime, American consumers will likely be stuck holding the bag. Läs mer…

On Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan to slap steep tariffs on imports from key American trading partners – 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China. His stated reason? To curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Both Mexico and Canada managed to buy some time. After urgent phone calls with Trump on Feb. 3, their leaders each secured a one-month reprieve. But Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Justin Trudeau also made it clear to their U.S. counterpart: If these tariffs go through, they’ll hit back with their own trade restrictions. The world is watching the opening moves of what could become another costly trade war.

As a professor of economics, I can explain why this poses significant risks to the U.S. economy and American consumers. Economic theory suggests that tariffs distort market efficiency, raising production costs while limiting consumer choice and increasing prices.

Who really pays for tariffs?

While politicians often frame tariffs as a way to punish other countries, they actually hit domestic consumers and businesses hardest. Whether they’re facing higher grocery bills or disruptions in manufacturing, Americans will feel the strain.

When tariffs are imposed, companies must either absorb the additional costs – cutting into profits and potentially threatening jobs – or pass these costs to consumers through higher prices. Small businesses operating on thin profit margins are particularly vulnerable, as many lack the resources to quickly switch suppliers.

Tariffs trigger costly retaliation

Worse yet, such measures commonly set off a cycle of retaliation. During past trade disputes involving the U.S., affected nations have responded with counter-tariffs on American products, including textiles, steel and agricultural goods. Such retaliatory efforts have led to sharp declines in U.S. exports.

During the first Trump administration, for example, China imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports. As a result, the U.S. farmers lost billions of dollars, and the U.S. spent billions in government aid to offset those losses. China has already issued new tariffs on imports of U.S. goods and export controls on some of its exports to the U.S. to retaliate for Trump’s current move.

A call to boycott American wine is seen at a store in Montreal, Canada, on Feb. 3, 2025.
Andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images

History also shows that trade wars are self-defeating. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which imposed tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods, prompted swift retaliation from trading partners and contributed to deepening the Great Depression.

Modern trade wars have other consequences

Modern trade wars hit closer to home than most Americans realize. The recent tariff threat against Colombia reveals why. In 2023, Colombian farmers supplied US$1.14 billion worth of fresh-cut flowers to U.S. florists. In a near-crisis that lasted a weekend, Trump threatened to slap steep tariffs on the South American nation, right when flower shops across America were stocking up for one of their busiest seasons: Valentine’s Day.

The same tariffs would have hit Colombian coffee too, affecting everything from neighborhood cafes to grocery store prices. This shows how modern trade disputes can instantly disrupt the everyday purchases Americans make.

Other key trading partners, including the European Union, have also come into the crosshairs. On Jan. 30, 2025, the president issued a stark warning to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the so-called BRICS nations – threatening 100% tariffs if they continued efforts to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar as their reserve currency.

These threats can do more than alienate strategic partners; they risk accelerating dedollarization – pushing nations to develop alternative financial systems that weaken U.S. influence in global trade.

A more effective approach

Beyond causing immediate economic pain, constant tariff threats risk damaging America’s credibility as a reliable trading partner. The U.S. helped establish the rules-based international trading system, but regular tariff threats erode global trust and push trading partners to seek alternatives to the U.S. market.

The reality is clear: No country in the modern era has successfully used tariffs to grow its economy or improve the well-being of its people. The countries that are most dependent on tariff revenues for their national budgets are among the world’s poorest and least developed economies.

I believe the path to maintaining America’s economic leadership lies in embracing a smarter, more strategic trade policy – one that builds alliances instead of breaking them. A strategy that prioritizes negotiation, fosters innovation and enhances competitiveness – and that doesn’t rely on protectionist tactics more often used by developing nations – would strengthen cooperation and stability, ensuring long-term economic prosperity. Läs mer…

Undocumented immigration is a key issue in American politics, but it can be hard to nail down the basic facts about who these immigrants are, where they live and how their numbers have changed in the past few decades.

I study the demographics of the U.S. immigrant population and have seen how the data has changed over time. Here are some basics to set the stage as President Donald Trump begins his second term in office vowing to crack down hard on immigrants, including by conducting mass deportations.

Immigration status

My analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey data, in collaboration with the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit immigration research group, finds that as of the middle of 2023, approximately 51 million foreign-born people lived in the United States.

Most immigrants are in the U.S. legally. About 49% have become U.S. citizens by a process known as naturalization. Another 19% hold lawful permanent resident status and are eligible to become U.S. citizens through naturalization. Still another 5% are in the country on temporary visas, like those for international students, diplomats and their families, and seasonal or temporary workers.

The remaining 27% – around 13.7 million people – are outside those categories and therefore generally considered to be undocumented.

My analysis shows that the number of undocumented immigrants held steady at around 11 million between 2007 and 2019. In the next four years, the numbers increased by nearly 3 million. This recent growth is mostly attributable to large increases in border crossings by migrants from Central and South America who were seeking asylum or other forms of humanitarian relief. Starting in June 2024, however, the number of people entering across the U.S.-Mexico border fell back to normal levels when the Biden administration implemented the Secure the Border rule, which suspends asylum applications at the border when crossings reach a seven-day average of 2,500.

These changes were accompanied by changes in the undocumented migration process itself. In the past, undocumented immigrants often entered the country by slipping undetected across the U.S. border with Mexico. But increased border enforcement made the journey more dangerous and expensive.

Instead of paying smugglers or risking their lives in the desert, growing numbers of undocumented immigrants now either directly approach immigration officials at airports or land-border crossings and seek asylum in the U.S. Others are initially admitted to the country legally on a temporary tourist, student or work visa – but then overstay the time period for which they have permission.

Additionally, growing numbers of undocumented immigrants occupy what might be called a “liminal” or “in-between” status. The Migration Policy Institute analysis estimates this encompasses a range of groups as of the middle of 2023, including:

About 2.1 million people awaiting a decision on their asylum claims.
521,000 parolees, allowed into the U.S. for humanitarian or national security reasons, like those paroled recently from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
654,000 people who hold temporary protected status because it would be unsafe for them to return home due to armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies.
562,000 who are protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program because they were brought to the United States as children by their parents.

The report estimates that just over one-quarter of undocumented immigrants currently occupy this type of “in-between” status. These immigrants are protected from deportation. Some even have a legal right to work in the U.S. Yet they do not possess a durable legal immigration status, and their rights could be threatened by policy changes.

While Trump says he wants to deport as many as 11 million immigrants, analyses published by The New York Times and The Washington Post indicate that it may be difficult to remove many of them under existing U.S. law. The one group that is easy to remove – those with a criminal record – is relatively small, numbering about 650,000.

Shifting countries of origin

Since 1980, Mexicans have been the largest single national origin group in the United States. I found that 10.9 million Mexican-born individuals were living in the country in 2023, making up 23% of all immigrants. The second-largest group, immigrants from India, numbered just 2.9 million, or 6% of all immigrants living in the U.S.

However, immigrants’ origins have been shifting away from Mexico.

With the onset of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, work opportunities in U.S. construction and manufacturing evaporated. Many Mexican laborers had been working in construction at the time but went back to Mexico when the U.S. housing market collapsed.

At that same time, Mexico’s economic conditions improved, its population growth slowed, and many would-be migrants opted to stay home. For the first time in decades, from 2007 to 2022 the number of Mexicans who returned home exceeded the number coming to the United States.

This trend was especially pronounced among undocumented immigrants. I found that Mexicans made up about 51% of the undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country 10 or more years ago. Central Americans made up 20%, and the remaining originated from other regions.

However, undocumented migrants now come from across the globe. Among undocumented immigrants who arrived within the past 10 years, 19% came from Mexico. Larger shares came from Central America and South America. While some of these new migrants seek work, others flee crime, economic and ecological disasters, and political persecution in their home countries.

Duration of residence

Most immigrants, whether they are in the U.S. legally or illegally, have lived in the United States for many years. Just under half of foreign-born individuals have lived in the country for two decades or more, and more than two-thirds have lived in the country for at least 10 years. Only 20% arrived within the past five years.

This is a dramatic change from the early 2000s, when less than 10% of immigrants had been in the U.S. for more than two decades, and more than one-third had arrived within the previous five years.

That means many of the people who are likely to be targeted for deportation in the coming months are settled, long-term members of American society.

Place of residence

As of 2023, 6.6 million immigrants reported on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey that they moved to the United States in the past five years.

However, the effects of these new immigrants on American communities has been uneven. Although most communities are more racially and ethnically diverse now than in the past, the numbers of newly arrived immigrants are relatively low in most places.

Fifteen states host fewer than 20,000 immigrants, and 33 states are home to fewer than 100,000. In contrast, over half of new arrivals live in just five states: California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas are the home of over half of new arrivals yet have only 37% of the U.S. population. Other states such as Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington also are home to large and growing immigrant populations.

The U.S. immigrant population is changing rapidly. In the early years of the 21st century, Mexican immigrants dominated undocumented immigration flows to the United States. Decades later, many of these people continue to live in the country.

In the past four years, however, the flow of undocumented people increased dramatically. These new arrivals tend to come from troubled nations in Central and South America, many of whom are protected from deportation and have a legal right to work in the U.S. Altogether, most undocumented immigrants either have lived in the country for decades or have legal protections.

Neither of these groups fit the profile of undocumented immigrants who are typically targeted for deportation. Läs mer…

Do you know what an emergency response beacon or “ERB” is? Do you know what it does? Do you know which beaches have one? If you answered “nope!” to any of those questions, you’re not alone – and that’s a problem.

In short, an emergency response beacon basically consists of a telephone and camera that sits on a pole on a beach. These can be triggered with a button press by anybody who sees someone in trouble in the water or on the sand.

In New South Wales, where emergency response beacons are located on some beaches, pressing the button puts you in immediate contact with a 24/7 duty officer at the Surf Life Saving New South Wales state operations centre.

This duty officer can then talk with the person, give instructions and dispatch the nearest suitable emergency resources to that location. The beacons are solar powered and 4G/5G enabled.

But our new research, recently published in the journal Ocean & Coastal Management, found only 28% of surveyed beachgoers have heard of emergency response beacons – and only half of those actually knew what they were for.

Our findings show a clear need to better communicate with and educate the public about the purpose and location of emergency response beacons. Otherwise, these potential lifesaving devices might not be as effective as authorities assume.

Why NSW installed ERBs

In 2023-24 there were 61 coastal drowning deaths in NSW, representing a 27% increase from the previous year and a 33% increase above the ten-year average.

Most of these coastal drowning deaths occurred at beaches (56%) and along rocky coastal locations (25%).

All of them occurred away from patrolled areas or outside of patrol hours.

The traditional response to keeping people safe in unpatrolled coastal locations has been to install various signs warning visitors about potential hazards such as rip currents.

However, previous studies have highlighted these signs don’t always work – many people look past them or don’t understand them.

In 2018, the NSW state government committed A$16 million over four years to install emergency response beacons at identified drowning hotspots.

At least 53 have now been installed along the NSW coast, including at both unpatrolled and patrolled beaches, with additional funding available to install more units from 2024 to 2028.

All will eventually have rescue tubes attached (a rescue tube is a flotation device often used in lifesaving efforts).

This all sounds great, but how effective have emergency response beacons actually been in reducing drowning?

Our new research, conducted by the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group on public awareness and understanding of emergency response beacons, has shown there is significant work to do.

What we did and what we found

Our study involved surveying 301 people at beaches along the NSW coast, both beaches with and without emergency response beacons, and both unpatrolled and patrolled.

Only 28% of the surveyed beachgoers had actually heard of emergency response beacons.

Of those, only half (54%) actually knew what they were for and 50% were not aware if the beach they were visiting had one installed.

Most people who were aware of the beacons (82%) lived within ten kilometres from the coast and had learned about them from direct experience visiting a beach with a beacon. In other words, they were locals.

Given that between 2014 and 2024, 73% of coastal drowning deaths were associated with visitors who lived more than ten kilometres from the location where they drowned, this finding suggests that knowledge of emergency response beacons may not be getting through to the people who need it most.

Our results also showed that, after being briefed about their purpose, most people (72%) surveyed thought that emergency response beacons were a great idea.

At least 53 ERBs have now been installed along the NSW coast.
Rob Brander

Concerningly, though, people with lower swimming abilities said they’d feel safer and more likely to go in the water if they knew an emergency response beacon was there. This is definitely not the intended outcome at an unpatrolled beach, and suggests the presence of beacons may give some people an unjustified sense of safety and confidence.

Collectively, our results suggest there is an urgent need for vastly improved communication to enhance public awareness and understanding of emergency response beacons to all types of visitors to beaches in NSW.

People are using ERBs but more detail required

Nevertheless, emergency response beacons are clearly being used. Earlier this summer, Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steven Pearce said there had been more than “100 documented rescues and activations as a direct result of the ERBs being installed”. You can also find examples on social media of people using the beacons.

Much like beach safety messaging in general, we need more evidence-based research to assist in the strategic placement of future emergency response beacons, including in other Australian states apart from NSW.

The response times to emergency response beacon activations should also be examined in further detail; in areas with full mobile phone reception, it might be faster, easier and cheaper to alert emergency services by phoning 000.

Ultimately, the best way to stay safe at a beach is to swim between the red and yellow flags on patrolled beaches.

On unpatrolled beaches it really comes down to always thinking about beach safety, understanding and being aware of hazards like rip currents, knowing your own abilities and sticking to the mantra: “if in doubt, don’t go out”.

If you want to learn more about emergency response beacons and their locations before venturing out to a beach in New South Wales, please visit the Surf Life Saving NSW website. Läs mer…