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Protecting and restoring peatlands and mangroves can strengthen Southeast Asian countries’ efforts to combat climate change, according to new findings from an international team of researchers.

Carbon-dense peatlands and mangroves comprise only 5% of Southeast Asia’s surface. Protecting and restoring them, however, can reduce approximately 770±97 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) annually. This is equal to more than half of the carbon emissions from land use in the region.

Conserving offers larger mitigation potential through reduced emissions from ecosystem loss in the region compared to gains from restoration. If optimally implemented, restoration can still play an important role in nature-based carbon sequestration.

Having peatlands and mangroves included in the new climate pledges (Nationally Determined Contributions 3.0) can help countries set higher emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2035.

A researcher walks through the brown-coloured water of swampy degraded peatlands during the wet season. Photo by Sigit Sasmito/CIFOR.
cifor-icraf/flickr

More benefits to offer

The study reports extensive climate benefits from conserving and restoring peatlands and mangroves. Therefore, they make effective natural climate solutions for Southeast Asian countries.

Both ecosystems protect organic matter from decay under natural conditions, acting as net carbon sinks. This means that carbon uptake exceeds carbon loss.

Net carbon gains are mainly accumulated in their soils instead of their vegetation. More than 90% of carbon stocks in peatlands and 78% in mangroves are in their soils.

At scale, protecting and restoring both types of wetlands also supports other valuable co-benefits. These include biodiversity preservation, water quality improvement, coastal protection, food security and rural development for millions of coastal people across Southeast Asian countries.

Challenges remain

Despite the benefits, many challenges and risks persist in conserving and restoring peatlands and mangroves.

When peatlands and mangroves are disturbed – commonly due to land use change – they release large quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. This release can later exacerbate climate change.

The new estimates suggest that changes in their land use for the past two decades (2001-2022) had caused the release of approximately 691±97 MtCO2e of excess emissions.

Indonesia accounts for the largest portion of the region’s emissions, accounting for 73%. Malaysia (14%), Myanmar (7%), and Vietnam (2%) follow. The other seven Southeast Asian countries generate the remaining 4% of emissions.

In Southeast Asia, mangroves and peatlands are often treated as unproductive land. Still, they have long been subject to agricultural land expansion planning.

Moreover, unclear or multi-land ownership and lack of long-term participatory monitoring programs are critical challenges for prioritising and implementing restoration on the ground.

Despite these challenges, government and corporate interest in developing conservation and restoration-based carbon projects for peatlands and mangroves is rapidly increasing.

That is why now is a good opportunity to recognise their vital roles — not only for climate change mitigation — but also for people and nature.

Researchers measure the biomass carbon stocks in a mangrove forest. Photo by Kate Evans/CIFOR.
cifor-icraf/flickr

Implications for national emissions reduction targets

The new study addresses a critical gap in climate policy for Southeast Asian by providing annual climate change mitigation potentials from peatlands and mangroves.

Climate mitigation potential for national land-use emissions varies widely between countries.

The findings suggest that it could reduce national land-use emissions by up to 88% in Malaysia, 64% in Indonesia, and 60% in Brunei. Other countries include Myanmar at 39%, the Philippines at 26%, Cambodia at 18%, Vietnam at 13%, Thailand at 10%, Laos at 9%, Singapore at 2%, and Timor-Leste at 0.04%.

Our study also shows that mitigation potential from peatlands and mangroves in Indonesia can fulfil country Forestry and Other Land-use (FOLU) Net Sink targets by 2030.

In its 2022 NDCs, Indonesia plans to reduce its annual emissions from FOLU by 2030 between 500-729 MtCO2e, depending on the level of external support. According to the study, this figure is within the same order of mitigation potential as peatlands and mangroves can collectively generate.

However, peatland and mangrove mitigation potentials are insufficient to avoid dangerous levels of climate change in the future.

Decarbonisation remains the most effective means of curbing climate change and its impacts, with peatland and mangrove protection enhancing these efforts. Läs mer…

Large social media companies should have to proactively remove harmful content from their platforms, undergo regular “risk assessments” and face hefty fines if they don’t comply, according to an independent review of online safety laws in Australia.

The federal government will today release the final report of the review conducted by experienced public servant Delia Rickard, more than three months after receiving it.

The review comes a few months after Meta announced it will stop using independent fact checkers to moderate content on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

Rickard’s review contains 67 recommendations in total. If implemented, they would go a long way to making Australians safer from abusive content, cyberbullying and other potential harms encountered online. They would also align Australia to international jurisdictions and address many of the same problems targeted by the social media ban for young people.

However, the recommendations contain serious omissions. And with a federal election looming, the review is not likely to be acted upon until the next term of government.

Addressing online harms at the source

The review recommends imposing a “digital duty of care” on large social media companies.

The federal government has already committed to doing this. However, legislation to implement a digital duty of care has been on hold since November, with discussions overshadowed by the government’s social media ban for under 16s.

The digital duty of care would put the onus on tech companies to proactively address a range of specific harms on their platforms, such as child sexual exploitation and attacks based on gender, race or religion.

It would also provide several protections for Australians, including “easily accessible, simple and user-friendly” pathways to complain about harmful content. And it would position Australia alongside the United Kingdom and the European Union, which already have similar laws in place.

Online service providers would face civil penalties of 5% of global annual turnover or A$50 million (whichever is greater) for non-compliance with the duty of care.

Two new classes of harm – and expanded powers for the regulator

The recommendations also call for a decoupling of the Online Safety Act from the National Classification Scheme. That latter scheme legislates the classification of publications, films and computer games, providing ratings to guide consumers to make informed choices for selecting age-appropriate content.

This shift would create two new classes of harm: content that is “illegal and seriously harmful” and “legal but may be harmful”. This includes material dealing with “harmful practices” such as eating disorders and self-harm.

The review’s recommendations also include provisions for technology companies to undergo annual “risk assessments” and publish an annual “transparency report”.

The review also recommends adults experiencing cyber abuse, and children who are cyberbullied online, should wait only 24 hours following a complaint before the eSafety Commission orders a social media platform to remove the content in question. This is down from 48 hours.

It also recommends lowering the threshold for identifying “menacing, harassing, or seriously offensive” material to that which “an ordinary reasonable person” would conclude is likely to have an effect.

The review also calls for a new governance model for the eSafety Commission. This new model would empower the eSafety Commissioner to create and enforce “mandatory rules” (or codes) for duty of care compliance, including addressing online harms.

The recommendations would give more power to the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant.
Mick Tsikas/AAP

The need to tackle misinformation and disinformation

The recommendations are a step towards making the online world safer for everybody. Importantly, they would achieve this without the problems associated with the government’s social media ban for young people – including that it could violate children’s human rights.

Missing from the recommendations, however, is any mention of potential harms from online misinformation and disinformation.

Given the speed of online information sharing, and the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enable online harms, such as deepfake pornography, this is a crucial omission.

From vaccine safety to election campaigns, experts have raised ongoing concerns about the need to combat misinformation.

A 2024 report by the International Panel on the Information Environment found experts, globally, are most worried about “threats to the information environment posed by the owners of social media platforms”.

In January 2025, the Canadian Medical Association released a report showing people are increasingly seeking advice from “problematic sources”. At the same time technology companies are “blocking trusted news” and “profiting” from “pushing misinformation” on their platforms.

In Australia, the government’s proposed misinformation bill was scrapped in November last year due to concerns over potential censorship. But this has left people vulnerable to false information shared online in the lead-up to the federal election this year. As the Australian Institute of International Affairs said last month:

misinformation has increasingly permeated the public discourse and digital media in Australia.

Tech giant Meta recently announced it will stop using independent fact checkers to moderate content on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
Jeff Chiu/AP

An ongoing need for education and support

The recommendations also fail to provide guidance on further educational supports for navigating online spaces safely in the review.

The eSafety Commission currently provides many tools and resources for young people, parents, educators, and other Australians to support online safety. But it’s unclear if the change to a governance model for the commission to enact duty of care provisions would change this educational and support role.

The recommendations do highlight the need for “simple messaging” for people experiencing harm online to make complaints. But there is an ongoing need for educational strategies for people of all ages to prevent harm from occurring.

The Albanese government says it will respond to the review in due course. With a federal election only months away, it seems unlikely the recommendations will be acted on this term.

Whichever government is elected, it should prioritise guidance on educational supports and misinformation, along with adopting the review’s recommendations. Together, this would go a long way to keeping everyone safe online. Läs mer…

One of the things children (and parents) may worry about at the start of the new school year is, will I have friends?

This could be true for children starting or changing schools or simply going back to a new year with different class arrangements.

How can parents talk to their kids about making friends?

Why is it important to have friends?

We research young people’s wellbeing and provide programs to schools on how to talk about mental health.

Having lasting, meaningful friendships is extremely important for children’s health, development and wellbeing.

They can validate young people’s aspirations and interests and help them feel like they belong. Friends can also help ease feelings of loneliness and anxiety, making it easier for children to engage in new activities and connect with others.

On top of this, friendships can act as a “buffer” against bullying by providing emotional support if it does happen. Research also suggests, if children don’t have a supportive friendship network, they are more prone to be bullied at school.

Having friends can help children feel like they belong.
Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock

Help your child build confidence

Some children find it harder to make friends than others. If your child is shy or introverted they may find it hard to meet new people.

Let them know it is OK to start small. You don’t have to make ten best friends all at once! Making friends takes time and even just one or two good friends can make a big difference.

To break the ice, encourage simple actions such as saying “hello” or offering a compliment: “That’s a cool handball” or “I love your Taylor Swift bracelet”.

Encourage your child to do activities with other kids they enjoy. They can play a particular game or sport or do craft, dancing or reading. Tell them how it’s possible to be friends with lots of different kinds of people.

Talk about the importance of friendship

Research shows it’s important for parents to offer encouragement and guidance about friendships. This can lead to better quality friendships (how well friends get along) as children grow up.

Parents can start to talk to their child about the importance of friendships from a young age. Some questions parents could ask include “Who did you play with today?”, “What did you like about playing with them?”, “What games did you play”.

Parents can also start conversations about the value of friends and friendship. For example, parents could ask their child about the importance of sharing with friends (“it actually feels great to share and make your friends happy”).

It’s important for parents to support their child’s friendships.
DGL Images/ Shutterstock

Encourage your child to talk

Over time, children’s concept of friendships changes. Younger children view friends as somebody you can play with, while older children see friends as people they can trust and can share emotions and thoughts with.

Research shows, parents can also help this transition with advice and encouragement. Encourage your child to express their feelings and talk about what happens at school, so you can work through any issues or tricky things together.

This does not have to be a formal talk. You could chat while you are doing something else – like drawing, playing chess or throwing a ball.

To create a safe space for your child to freely express their feelings and emotions, avoid being judgemental or critical. Instead, ask questions, like “if you do it again, will you do it differently?” or “was that a kind decision?”

Encourage active listening

You can also encourage your child to be a good and supportive friend.

One way to do this is by being an active listener. This is about understanding what someone is saying (and possibly taking action because of it), not simply “hearing” what is said.

You can suggest your child takes a deep breath and lets the other child finish what they are trying to say, instead of interrupting and talking over people.

Active listening is a skill parents can practise with their child. Make a game and have fun doing it. Try it in the car, over the dinner table or in another informal setting.

Deb Agnew and Shane Pill also developed versions of the Big Talks for Little People program on which this article is based. Läs mer…

In a hectic 24 hours of trade diplomacy, US President Donald Trump has paused his threatened 25% tariffs on US imports from Canada and Mexico, while keeping 10% tariffs on imports from China.

Australian companies with operations in Canada or Mexico such as Rio Tinto, whose Canadian operations export billions of dollars of aluminium to the US, have won a temporary reprieve. But the risk of weaker economic growth in China will weigh heavily on companies that export to our largest trading partner.

And Trump has hinted all US imports of aluminium and copper, including from Australia, may be his next target.

The Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Tuesday that although Australia is not immune when there are escalating trade tensions, “we are pretty well-placed to navigate them.”

However, even if Australia manages to stay out of Trump’s sights, Australians cannot expect to come out of a trade war unscathed. Due to the complexity of global supply chains, it is difficult to predict exactly how Australia would be affected, but here are a few key factors that would likely come into play.

Our largest trading partner

About 40% of Australia’s exports go to China, making it the biggest destination by far, according to data for 2023 from UN Comtrade. Most of this is Australian iron ore and other minerals that are used in China’s construction and manufacturing sectors.

If Trump’s tariffs further slow the
already sluggish Chinese economy, this will reduce demand for the goods it buys from Australia.

If China’s demand for iron ore falls significantly, this will not only hurt the Australian mining sector, but it could trigger a fall in the Australian dollar, making the things Australians buy from abroad more expensive.

But the size of the impact of the latest tariffs on China remains to be seen. China has already absorbed the tariffs from the first Trump administration, and the latest increase is much smaller than the 60% tariff he previously proposed.

Trade diversion

The one positive effect for Australia of US tariffs on other countries is that, because they raise the price of other countries’ exports to the US, they may make some Australian exports more competitive. This is something economists call trade diversion. For example, the tariffs on Canadian aluminium would have shifted US demand toward aluminium produced in Australia.

The tariffs on China will divert relatively little trade to Australia because there is not much overlap between the products China and Australia export to the US.

But China’s retaliatory tariffs could make a significant impact. China responded to the US tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term with tariffs on American wheat and other agricultural products. A similar move this time could create an opening for Australian farmers to fill the gap.

But it is not all good news. The US exports diverted away from the Chinese market will also compete with Australian products in other countries. So, while Australian wheat may become more competitive in China, US wheat may displace Australia’s in the Philippines.

A weaker Aussie dollar?

Tariffs also tend to cause the currency of the country imposing them to rise because they reduce demand for goods denominated in foreign currencies.

The flip side is a weaker Australian dollar, which dropped to a five-year low after the tariffs were flagged. The currency has now fallen nearly 10% since November.

Again, this raises the cost of imports to Australia, which could lift inflation.

Network disruption

If the tariffs on Canada and Mexico are confirmed in 30 days’ time, the greatest impact will be in the supply chain disruption they will cause.

Analyses of the tariffs Trump imposed on China in 2018 found most of the cost was borne by US businesses that use imported inputs. But because North American production networks are so highly integrated, and have been for decades, the effect of tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be much more disruptive to all North American producers.

As economic networks expert Ben Golub explains, the concern is not just that auto prices will rise, but that if key parts of the production network fail, such as if small but important intermediate suppliers go out of business, the effects of the tariffs could cascade into major disruptions.

Eventually, businesses will develop alternative supply chains, but the short-run pain could be considerable.

For Australians, this could mean higher prices and supply disruptions, not just for the products we buy from the US, but for anything that depends on a North American supplier at any stage in the production process.

We are still feeling the effects of the supply chain disruptions caused by COVID, including the jump in inflation in 2021 and 2022 and the subsequent high interest rates and global backlash against incumbent political parties. That includes Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

Similar disruptions may be in store if this skirmish becomes a major global trade war. Even if Trump’s promised tariffs never actually materialise, we may still see the same effects on a smaller scale because the trade policy uncertainty from just the threat of a trade war has similar effects on business activity as actual tariffs.

Whatever transpires, even if Australia can escape direct involvement in a trade war, it cannot escape the shockwaves that reverberate through the global economy. The question is whether it will be a ripple or a tsunami. Läs mer…

You wake up exhausted from yet another hot night of tossing and turning, with very little sleep.

So you might be tempted to buy a “cooling blanket” after reading rave reviews on social media. Or you might have read online articles with taglines such as:

Stop waking up in a puddle of sweat with our roundup of the best cooling blankets – including a top-rated option from Amazon that ‘actually works’.

But what are cooling blankets? And can they help you get a restful night?

We know a cooler bedroom is best

First, let’s look at why a cooler environment helps us sleep better at night.

Our body’s internal temperature has a circadian rhythm, meaning it fluctuates throughout the day. A couple of hours before bed, it drops about 0.31°C to help you fall asleep. It will drop about another 2°C across the night to help you stay asleep.

During sleep, your internal temperature and skin work together to achieve a balance between losing and producing heat. Your skin has sensors that pick-up changes in the environment around you. If it gets too warm, these sensors let your body know, which may cause you to kick-off blankets or bed clothes and wake more often leading to poorer sleep quality.

Sleep quality is an important component of sleep health ensuring you get the physical, mental and emotional benefits that come from a good night’s sleep.

The ideal temperature for sleep varies depending on the season and type of bedding you have but falls between 17°C and 28°C. Keeping your sleeping environment within this range will help you to get the best night’s rest.

So what are cooling blankets?

Cooling blankets are designed to help regulate your body temperature while you sleep.

Different technologies and materials are used in their design and construction.

We’re not talking about hospital-grade cooling blankets that are used to reduce fever and prevent injury to the nervous system. These use gel pads with circulating water, or air-cooling systems, connected to automatic thermostats to monitor someone’s temperature.

Instead, the type of consumer-grade cooling blankets you might see advertised use a blend of lightweight, breathable materials that draw moisture away from the skin to help you stay cool and dry through the night. They look like regular blankets.

Common materials include cotton, bamboo, silk or the fibre Lyocell, all of which absorb moisture.

Manufacturers typically use a thread count of 300-500, creating air pockets that enhance airflow and moisture evaporation.

Some blankets feature a Q-Max rating, which indicates how cool the fabric feels against your skin. The higher the value, the cooler the fabric feels.

Others feature phase change materials. These materials were developed by NASA for space suits to keep astronauts comfortable during a spacewalk where temperatures are from roughly -157°C to 121°C. Phase change materials in cooling blankets absorb and hold heat producing a cooling effect.

Some cooling blankets use NASA technology developed for space suits.
Summit Art Creations/NASA/Shutterstock

Do they work?

If you believe online reviews, yes, cooling blankets can cool you down and help you sleep better in warmer weather or if you get too hot using normal sheets and blankets.

However, there is little scientific research to see if these consumer-grade products work.

In a 2021 study exploring sleep quality, 20 participants slept for three nights under two different conditions.

First, they slept with regular bed sheets in an air-conditioned room with the temperature set to their preference. Then, they used cooling bed sheets in an air-conditioned room where the temperature was set 3°C higher than their preference.

Participants reported good sleep quality in both conditions but preferred the warmer room with its cooling sheets.

This may suggest the use of cooling bedding may help provide a more comfortable night’s sleep.

But everyone’s cooling needs varies depending on things like age, health, body temperature, the space you sleep in, and personal preferences.

So while these products may work for some people who may be motivated to leave a good review, they may not necessarily work for you.

Are they worth it?

There’s a wide variety of cooling blankets available at different prices to suit various budgets. Positive customer reviews might encourage a purchase, especially for individuals experiencing disrupted sleep at night due to heat.

Yet, these cooling blankets have limited scientific research to show they work and to say if they’re worth it. So it’s up to you.

Lots of choice, but little scientific evidence to back them.
Screenshot Google Shopping

What else can I do if I’m a hot sleeper?

If a cooling blanket isn’t for you, there are other things you can do to stay cool at night, such as:

using air conditioning or a fan
placing a damp towel under or over you
wearing lightweight or minimal sleepwear and avoiding thick or synthetic fabrics, such as nylon, that can trap heat
if you usually share a bed, on hot nights, consider sleeping by yourself to avoid excess body heat from your partner.

On a final note, if you often struggle with hot, disturbed sleep, you can check in with your health-care provider. They can see if there is a medical explanation for your disturbed sleep and advise what to try next. Läs mer…

Picture writing the numbers 1 to 5 in a horizontal line, from smallest to largest. Where did you put 1? If you placed 1 on the left and 5 on the right, you share this preference with most humans.

Humans are not alone in this preference. Some other primates, and even some birds, also order small-to-large quantities from left to right. Although, some animals do prefer to order quantities from right to left.

This is known as the mental number line, and it shows how brains typically organise information. But why do our brains do this?

To investigate how and why brains order numbers, it’s sometimes useful to step back in time. How did a common ancestor of humans and insects order information? To find out, we can compare the results of humans and bees: we last shared a common ancestor more than 600 million years ago.

Two recent studies on bees have revealed a lot about how tiny brains order numbers.

One study, conducted by a team in Europe, showed that bees prefer to order lower numbers on the left and higher numbers on the right, just like many humans. Our new study, led by Jung-Chun (Zaza) Kuo and her supervisory team, has explored how numbers and space interact in the bee brain.

‘Number’ and ‘space’

As humans, we link the concepts of “space” and “number”. This means there is a logic to how we order numbers (typically from left to right in ascending order: 1, 2, 3, 4 … and so on).

Studies have shown humans may also have a vertical – bottom to top – preference when processing numerical information efficiently.

There may also be educational influences, especially due to language and writing direction. Some languages, like English, write from left to right. Others, such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hebrew or Arabic, can be written in other directions. Writing direction can influence how we prefer to order numbers.

Meanwhile, honeybees are efficient learners and show evidence of being tiny mathematicians. In past research, they have been shown to add and subtract, understand the concept of zero, use symbols to represent numbers, order quantities, categorise numbers by odd or even, and show evidence of linking numbers to spatial information like size.

The competency bees show around numbers makes them an ideal animal to look at how number and space interact in a miniature brain.

Do bees have a mental number line?
Scarlett Howard

How did we test bees in our study?

We gave freely flying bees sugar water for visiting an image of three circles printed on a card: this was our “reference number”. The card was hung in the centre of a large circular screen, with a drop of sugar water on a platform underneath it.

As the bees repeatedly visited the reference number, they learned an association between the number three, the centre of the circular screen, and a reward. In between visits, bees took the sugar water back to their hive to be made into honey.

After bees had learned to associate number (three) and space (middle) with a reward, we tested them on numbers higher and lower than three, to see if they had linked space and number.

We showed bees images of a higher number (four circles) and a lower number (two circles). Two identical images of four shapes were shown simultaneously on the left and right sides of the screen. If bees preferred the larger number on the right, they would fly to the quantity of four presented on the right more than when four was presented on the left.

We did the same for the smaller number of two shapes. If bees preferred four circles on the right and two circles on the left, that would reveal they have a left-to-right mental number line, like humans.

We also tested if bees had a preference to order numbers upwards or downwards, and found no preference for linking space and number vertically. However, bees did prefer options that were towards the bottom of the circular screen.

The image on the left (a) shows a diagram of the screen apparatus. In the right panel (b) we see a bee flying towards an image of three yellow dots on a grey background.
Jung-Chun (Zaza) Kuo

So, how does the bee mental number line work?

The study by the European team found bees have a consistent left-to-right mental number line. This means they prefer to order lower numbers on the left and higher numbers on the right.

Our study has confirmed bees prefer to order higher numbers on the right. But we also found bees preferred to visit the right side of the screen. The preference of bees to order numbers from left-to-right and to visit the right side of the circular screen interacted in an intriguing way.

The bees in our study showed a preference for higher numbers on the right, but not for lower numbers on the left. This could be because the right-side bias we observed cancelled out the preference for smaller numbers on the left.

Taken together, the findings of both studies confirm that bees do possess a left-to-right mental number line and also that they have a bias towards the right side of their visual space.

Our team suggests such biases – for example, how most humans are right-handed – may be an important part of how brains make sense of ordering information in the world.

The birds and the bees (and the apes)

By looking at the behaviours of animals, we can sometimes learn more about ourselves.

These two recent studies on bees show there is a complex interaction between ordering numbers and how spatial relationships are processed by an insect brain.

We now know that the preference to order numbers from left to right exists in several very different animal groups: insects, birds and apes. Perhaps evolution has landed on this preference as an advantageous way to process complex information. Läs mer…

I sign this Treaty with my hand, but with the mana of my ancestors.

So said Hōne Heke, the first rangatira (chief) to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. To emphasise the gravity of this sentiment, he then mentioned two of his predecessors by name: Kaharau and Kauteawha.

It would be difficult to imagine a statement that could invest more mana in the Treaty than this. And Heke was not alone in his view of the agreement.

Many other rangatira similarly regarded the Treaty as a kawenata (covenant) of utmost importance, including some going as far as putting a representation of their tā moko (facial tattoo) on the document.

How each rangatira interpreted the Treaty’s provisions remains open to speculation. But what they committed themselves to abiding by was the text of the agreement (either the English version, or in the case of most signatories, the translation in te reo Māori).

That text was comprised of a preamble, followed by three operative articles. Some rangatira read it, some had it read to them. But as far as all the parties were concerned, that was the entirety of the Treaty.

In the 1990s, however, suggestions began to surface about a mysterious “fourth article” guaranteeing religious protections. It was not part of the text, but supposedly a verbal promise that amounted to a provision of the agreement.

The idea has gained sufficient traction for supporters to petition parliament late last year to recognise the fourth article, just as debate about the Treaty Principles Bill was heating up. But it is a claim that needs to be treated with caution and scrutiny.

Religious protections

Prior to the first signing of the Treaty – at Waitangi – the Anglican missionary Henry Williams had observed that some Catholic rangatira were reluctant to commit to the agreement.

The Catholic Bishop, Jean-Baptiste Pompallier, had queried British motives and insisted Catholic rangatira should receive specific protection from the Crown. Williams then read out a hastily-prepared statement to clarify the issue:

The Governor wishes you to understand that all the Maories (sic) who shall join the Church of England, who shall join the Wesleyans, who shall join the Pikopo or Church of Rome, and those who retain their Maori practices, shall have the protection of the British Government.

Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pompallier.
Wikimedia Commons

Williams noted that this statement “was received in silence. No observation was made upon it; the Maories, and others, being at perfect loss to understand what it could mean.”

And there the matter ought to have ended: a peripheral detail in a momentous day. But this minor episode was disinterred from its historical obscurity in 1995 at a meeting of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

The clerics announced that a “fourth article was added to the Maori text of the Treaty signed at Waitangi, at the request of Bishop Jean Baptiste […] This article guaranteed religious freedom for all in the new nation, including Maori.”

Some Anglicans soon endorsed this position. The “fourth article” thus entered the bloodstream of Treaty discourse and began to circulate freely.

Missing evidence

There are several objections to the claim of a fourth article of the Treaty.

Firstly, if it was regarded as a part of the Treaty at the signing on February 6 1840, then we would expect to see both contemporaneous confirmation of this, and subsequent evidence that is consistent with it.

Yet, these categories of evidence are largely absent. Indeed, mention of a “fourth article” before the 1990s does not exist.

The sentiment of the fourth article is also absent from the instructions for the Treaty issued by Lord Normanby, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, in 1839.

Indeed, far from the Crown wishing to guarantee freedom of cultural or religious beliefs, Normanby made it explicit that only those Māori customs the British regarded as acceptable would be protected:

[The] savage practices of human sacrifice and cannibalism must be promptly and decisively interdicted; such atrocities, under whatever plea of religion they may take place, are not to be tolerated in any part of the dominions of the British Crown.

Therefore, as far as one party to the Treaty was concerned, the idea of the fourth article was never in contention. What was explicitly promised to all people was the protection of the British government, and not the protection of all customs held by Māori.

Treaties are written

As every other contemporaneous source confirms, no rangatira sought this fourth article, and around 90% of rangatira who signed the Treaty (in places other than Waitangi) did not have this so-called fourth article read to them (and so could not have consented to it).

William Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand.
Wikimedia Commons

Nor was it included in the text of copies of the agreement that were subsequently circulated around the country, and neither Hobson nor Pompallier suggested it was an “article” as such.

International law requires that treaties be in a written form. This certainly has been the convention as far as European treaties are concerned, extending back several centuries.

It makes any suggestion Hobson admitted an oral article extremely problematic. Likewise, New Zealand’s domestic law also specifies the Treaty contains only three articles.

Furthermore, if spoken commitments have the status of an article, then what about other verbal commitments made at some of the Treaty signings? Singling out one statement as a presumed article is inconsistent. Either the principle of all verbal commitments in such a setting constitute articles of the Treaty, or none does.

Previous attempts to insert the fourth article into the country’s constitutional framework have gone nowhere. And in the absence of more persuasive historical evidence, it’s likely to stay that way.

As the late Kingi Tūheitia succinctly put it: “The Treaty is written. That’s it.” Läs mer…

As the political debate turns to government spending, the questions loom: is it too high, and will Peter Dutton be able to get away with keeping his proposed cuts mostly under wraps?

On Tuesday the Business Council of Australia will launch its election ambit claims. In the following two days, about 30 CEOs from big companies will descend on Parliament house to argue their case to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, his opposition counterpart Angus Taylor, and some crossbenchers.

The BCA’s “election blueprint” calls for real expenditure growth to be capped at 2% a year, and the tax-to-GDP ratio to be capped at 23.9%.

The December mid-year budget update forecasts expenditure growth of 5.7% in 2024-25, more than 2 percentage points above the rate of inflation, forecast to be 2.75%. For later years it forecasts real expenditure growth in line with or below inflation.

The budget update projected a tax-to-GDP ratio of 23.4% in 2024-25, rising to 23.5 in 2025-26 and staying there for the rest of the forward estimates. The Coalition had a 23.9% cap which was abolished by Chalmers.

On spending the BCA says: “One way to fight inflation is to limit money pushed into our economy. Commonwealth Government spending is expected to increase to 26.5 per cent of GDP in 2024-25 and 27.2 per cent of GDP in 2025-26.

”Outside the pandemic period, this is the highest level of spending as a share of GDP since 1986-87. Having even more dollars chasing a limited supply of goods and services risks prolonging inflation and interest rates staying higher for longer.

”While this is not to suggest that we should not be taking government action to support our most vulnerable, we must have an overall whole-of-government aim to get spending under control.”

Among other “asks” on the BCA wish list are an investment allowance to encourage innovation, various measures to promote deregulation, action to remove bottlenecks for approval processes, and abolition of (or increase in) the R&D expenditure threshold.

Meanwhile Labor is seizing on Peter Dutton’s plans for major cuts to the public service, a familiar target for Coalition oppositions, and other cuts in government “waste”..

Dutton said on Sunday Labor had put 36,000 additional places into the public service. A Coalition government would not allow the public service “to balloon,” although it would protect “frontline” positions, he told the ABC.

Most of the Coalition’s spending cuts, however, would not be announced until after it was in government.

Dutton said he would not have a commission of audit, as the Abbott government did.

“Many of us have sat around the expenditure review committee. We know what we’re doing,” he said. “We’ve worked […] with many of the departmental heads that are there now, and I have no doubt that we’ll be able to find where Labor has put fat into the system that is not helping do anything but drive inflation.”

The Minister for the Public Service, Katy Gallagher, said Dutton was “so arrogant […] that he’s decided he doesn’t have to tell anyone about where [his cuts are] coming from until after the election.

”He has said he will cut 36,000 Canberra-based public servants.[…] We know that will have impacts right around the country,” she said on Monday.

“It will have impacts on anyone who wants to use Centrelink, anyone who wants to get their payments sorted, anyone who’s after compensation – for example, veterans. All of that is at risk under Peter Dutton’s plan. And he’s so arrogant and reckless that he’s openly saying he will do this, but he’s not actually going to tell you how he does it until he’s in government.

”He needs to come clean on that today. He needs to come clean on where these cuts are coming from and how he’s going to do them.” Läs mer…