Category: The Conversation

At least 250 threatened species have had their habitat hit by fires. Gena DrayMore than one billion mammals, birds, and reptiles across eastern Australia are estimated to have been affected by the current fire catastrophe. Many animals and plants have been incinerated or suffocated by smoke and ash. Others

A primary school in East Gippsland was burnt down in the current bushfire crisis. While Premier Daniel Andrews immediately committed to rebuilding the school as it was, media reported the local CFA captain didn’t want it rebuilt. Screen Shot from abc.net.au. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-15/bushfire-destroys-clifton-creek-primary-school-gippsland/11860490 Public support for rebuilding in the

Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) are one of the rarest pinnipeds in the world and they are declining. Jarrod Hodgson, CC BY-NDAustralian sea lions are in trouble. Their population has never recovered from the impact of the commercial sealing that occurred mainly in the 19th century. Low-lying rock islands

It’s hard to estimate the eventual economic cost of Australia’s 2019-20 megafires, partly because they are still underway, and partly because it is hard to know the cost to attribute to deaths and the decimation of species and habitats, but it is easy to get an idea of its significance

Cardiac arrest can occur with little or no warning in people who were previously healthy, including young people. From shutterstock.comEach year more than 24,000 Australians experience a sudden cardiac arrest. This means their heart unexpectedly stops beating. A cardiac arrest leads to loss of consciousness and will result in death

When Australians pay their income tax, they assume the money is going to areas of the community that need it, rather than being used by the government to shore up votes for the next election. This is why the findings of the Australian National Audit Office into the awarding of

It is the year of the Tokyo Olympics, and the International Olympic Committee was quickly out of the blocks with new guidelines regarding athlete protests. The IOC is worried the biggest stories of the Games will be political gestures rather than sport performances, and so have introduced specific guidelines

Catherine Hay Thomson went undercover as an assistant nurse for her series on conditions at Melbourne Hospital. A. J. Campbell Collection/National Library of AustraliaIn this series, we look at under-acknowledged women through the ages. In 1886, a year before American journalist Nellie Bly feigned insanity to enter an asylum

Australians were also cheated out of A$400,000 last year in charity scams. Dean Lewins/AAPThere’s been an overwhelming outpouring of love and support around the world for those impacted by the bushfires, from social-media donation drives to music concerts to authors auctioning off their books. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, we’ve also

Shops checkouts are predicted to disappear this decade. Customers will be able to take what they want and walk out, with payment done automatically. www.shutterstock.comThere has already been a fair number of jobs lost to automation over recent decades – from factory workers to bank tellers. In the coming

Many firefighters will by now be exhausted, having been on the front line of Australia’s bushfire crisis for weeks or months. This bushfire season has been unrelenting, and the hottest months of summer may still lie ahead. In part, the toll is physical. The flames are high, they are

Locking yourself into one career path too early may be risky. from shutterstock.com We are being asked to do work experience this year, in a field we might like to work in. We are being asked to think about choosing electives that are directing us towards our career choices. I