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The increasing prominence of the private sector in health care provision has generated considerable interest in understanding its implications on quality and cost. This paper investigates the phenomenon of cream skimming in a mixed public-private hospital setting using the novel approach of analysing hospital transfers. We analyse hospital administrative data of patients with ischemic heart disease from the state of Victoria, Australia. The data set contains approximately 1.77 million admission episodes in 309 hospitals, of which 132 are public hospitals, and 177 private hospitals. We ask if patients transferred between public and private hospitals differ systematically in the severity and complexity of their medical conditions; and if so, whether utilisation also differs. We find that patients with higher disease severity are more likely to be transferred from private to public hospitals whereas the opposite is true for patients transferred to private hospitals. We also find that patients transferred from private to public hospitals stayed longer and cost more than private-to-private transfer patients, after controlling for patients' observed health conditions and personal characteristics. Overall, the evidence is suggestive of the presence of cream skimming in the Victorian hospital system, although we cannot conclusively rule out other mechanisms that might influence hospital transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The determinants of health and mortality inequalities in New Zealand and Australia have been subjected to research, with the influence of a range of socio-economic and demographic influences (deprivation, social class, ethnicity) receiving notable attention. Both countries are considered privileged, positioned amongst the world leaders in rankings of mortality and life expectancy. This paper reports on observed rates of mortality and views how the countries have fared over time with respect to one another. Study design, observational, methods: This study derives comparable rates of mortality for both New Zealand and Australia, disaggregated by age and sex for the time period 1948-2008. The age-standardised rates are visualised using the Lexis mapping software program, showing the relative differences between the countries over time whilst simultaneously highlighting age, period and cohort effects. Results: Relative to Australia, New Zealand had advantageous rates of mortality across almost all age groups between the years 1948 and 1980 (approximately). For both sexes, a dramatic reversal of fortunes in New Zealand has followed relative to Australia. For example, for younger males in New Zealand, the reversal is startling. Over the time period observed, males aged 10-20 years in New Zealand have moved from an advantageous position of having a mortality rate 20% lower than Australia to a relative position of 50% higher. Conclusions: The social and economic forces in both New Zealand and Australia which may have driven the divergence require further scrutiny. It is argued here, that the changing fortunes of the populations are linked to the process of selective migration and the largescale population movements between the countries facilitated by the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement. These findings have important implications for policy formation and service planning, if the inequality in mortality between the areas of study is to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the land deformation in the Gippsland Basin, Victoria, Australia has been mapped using the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time-series analysis with the ALOS L-band SAR data. Land subsidence in the basin resulting from mining activities has already been known over the past few decades. There has been ongoing concern that irrigation and off-shore oil and natural gas extraction has significantly lowered groundwater levels on-shore, and that this may lead to further subsidence. Therefore it is important to map the land surface change in the basin in order to understand the actual impact of these activities. The total area of Gippsland Basin is approximately 46,000 km 2 , where approximately one-third of the basin is located onshore. Because of the large area of the basin, ALOS PALSAR data from 4 different paths were used to map the land displacement over the basin. The InSAR result suggests that the land displacement at 98% of the measurement points in the basin was between − 10 mm/year and 10 mm/year. The InSAR result has been compared to the ground survey data in several areas, collected with GPS and total station surveys. The comparison of results suggested that the InSAR measurement and the ground survey measurement agree with each other in general. The standard deviation of difference between the InSAR results and the ground survey data is approximately 4 mm/year near the coastal area and 15 mm/year near the mining sites. Several rapidly deforming areas have been identified at the mining sites and the surrounding areas. Deformation rate at up to − 82.9 mm/year is observed in these areas. The deformation at the mining sites and the surrounding areas are expected to be resulted from mining activities and associated mine dewatering. Moreover, several minor displacement zones have been observed and investigated in the area between the Loy Yang Mines and the Gippsland coast as well as the area between Yanakie and Wilsons Promontory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the spatio-temporal disjuncture between ‘the future’ in public health obesity initiatives and the embodied reality of eating. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork in a disadvantaged community in South Australia (August 2012–July 2014), we argue that the future oriented discourses of managing risk employed in obesity prevention programs have limited relevance to the immediacy of poverty, contingencies and survival that mark people's day to day lives. Extending Bourdieu's position that temporality is a central feature of practice, we develop the concept of short horizons to offer a theoretical framework to articulate the tensions between public health imperatives of healthy eating, and local ‘tastes of necessity’. Research undertaken at the time of Australia's largest obesity prevention program (OPAL) demonstrates that pre-emptive and risk-based approaches to health can fail to resonate when the future is not within easy reach. Considering the lack of evidence for success of obesity prevention programs, over-reliance on appeals to ‘the future’ may be a major challenge to the design, operationalisation and success of interventions. Attention to local rather than future horizons reveals a range of innovative strategies around everyday food and eating practices, and these capabilities need to be understood and supported in the delivery of obesity interventions. We argue, therefore, that public health initiatives should be located in the dynamics of a living present, tailored to the particular, localised spatio-temporal perspectives and material circumstances in which people live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The links between social capital and mental wellbeing are established but the direction of the social capital-wellbeing relationship is rarely systematically examined. This omission undermines the validity of social capital as a basis for health interventions. The aim of this paper was to explore the short-term (one-year) reciprocal relationship between community participation – an important component of social capital – and mental wellbeing. We used nationally representative Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey data, 2005–11. The HILDA Survey is an annual cohort study from which was extracted a sub-sample of panel data (the same people participating across multiple waves) enabling us to use fixed effects regression methods to model the longitudinal association of mental health and participation controlling for individual heterogeneity. The results showed that better mental wellbeing in one year was generally related to more community participation the next year, while greater past community participation was linked to better mental wellbeing the next year independent of (i) initial mental wellbeing, (ii) multiple potentially confounding factors and (iii) unobserved and time-constant heterogeneity. Political participation was marginally related to worse mental health in both directions. The results also showed that the association between community participation and mental wellbeing the next year is weaker for those with poor initial wellbeing than for initially healthier respondents. Our findings may inform the trial and scientific evaluation of programs aimed at increasing informal social connectedness and civic engagement to promote mental wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been suggested that complementary medicines are currently ‘under-regulated’ in some countries due to their potential for harm as a direct result from side-effects or interactions; from delaying more effective care; or from the economic cost of purchasing an ineffective or inappropriate treatment. The requirement of additional labelling on complementary medicine products has been suggested in Australia and may provide additional information to consumers at the point of purchase. This paper details a unique way of testing the potential effects on consumer behaviour of including either a traffic light logo or regulatory statement on labels. Using a discrete choice experiment, data were collected in 2012 in a sample of 521 Australians with either type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. We find that additional labelling can affect consumer behaviour, but in unpredictable ways. The results of this experiment are informative to further the dialogue concerning possible regulatory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents empirical evidence regarding the relationship between enrolment in transnational higher education (TNE) and skilled migration into the country of the institution which provides educational services. Based on macro-level panel data, the analysis shows a link between skilled immigration and offshore enrolment in Australian higher education within the previous years, suggesting that the provision of higher education offshore can constitute a successful strategy to enlarge skilled migrants’ recruitment. The results also indicate that more caution should be devoted to this kind of issue by developing countries when opening their education market to foreign providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates economies of scale and scope for 55 major Australian urban utilities over the period 2005/06 to 2008/09. The models used specify operating and capital costs as a function of chemical and microbiological compliance, water losses, water quality and service, water main breaks, total connected properties, and urban water supplied. The input variables used to help determine water utility costs include the density of properties served and the sourcing of water from bulk suppliers, groundwater, recycling and surface water. In terms of economies of scale, the evidence suggests strong economies of scale at relatively low levels of output (50–75% of current mean output). In terms of product-specific economies of scale (increasing the scale of a specific output in isolation), there is substantially stronger evidence that the operating costs of urban water utilities would benefit from increasing scale with regard to chemical compliance, water quality and service complaints, and the number of connected properties. In contrast, capital costs would benefit from scale increases with regard to the management of water losses and water main breaks. For economies of scope, it is clear that there are substantial cost benefits from the joint production of treated quality water delivered across a network with minimal water losses and main breaks. The main cost advantage at all levels of output is decreasing water losses, and this would benefit both operating and capital costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the Public Relations Institute of Australia's introduction in 1991 of a national accreditation programme for university courses. Drawing on an analysis of previously unstudied industry archives, it identifies four themes significant for industry perspectives of education: public relations knowledge; industry expectations and experience; public relations curricula; and academic legitimacy. While university education was perceived by institute members to demonstrate the professional standing of public relations, the findings reveal divergent understandings of its role and content and identify considerable resistance to the institutionalisation of public relations knowledge. At the same time, the expansion and marketisation of higher education led to the introduction of new, vocational courses such as public relations. The significance of this study is it offers new insights into the development of Australian public relations education and the role of the professional association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future electric vehicle (EV) deployment raises the potential for opportunities and challenges for policy makers in both the electricity and transportation sectors. This paper describes the development of a simple, time based simulation tool for assessing plug-in hybrid EV charging load and gasoline consumption under a range of standard charging infrastructure and charge control scenarios. This tool is intended for use by power system planners and other policy makers in evaluating a range of possible load outcomes arising from EV integration. Australian vehicle trip data from the New South Wales Household Transport Survey is used with the introduced model to assess the impact of EV charging load on the 2011 Australian National Electricity Market load profile. Results are presented which address a gap in existing literature with respect to EV load profiles in the Australian context with findings which include (1) that the provision of non-residential (public) charging infrastructure is beneficial for both vehicle owners and power system load profiles, (2) that fast charging in the residential context represents a significant risk to the power system if not accompanied by charging control, (3) that inappropriate Time-of-Use electricity tariffs may lead to poor outcomes at high penetration levels, and (4) that there are trade-offs between benefits for the power system and the amount of gasoline consumed by the vehicle fleet when charging is restricted to occur overnight. Given the current focus on Time-of-Use electricity tariffs as the primary mechanism for influencing EVs recharging, the finding that inappropriate Time-of-Use electricity tariffs lead to poor outcomes at high penetration levels is significant for long term EV integration planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain is associated with significant costs to individuals directly affected by this condition, their families, the healthcare system, and the society as a whole. This paper investigates the relationship between chronic pain and life satisfaction using a sample of around 90,000 observations from the first ten waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey (HILDA), which is a representative survey of the Australian population that started in 2000. We estimate the negative impact on life satisfaction and examine the persistence of the effect over multiple years. Chronic pain is associated with poor health conditions, disability, decreased participation in the labour market and lower quality of life. We calculate the compensating income variation of chronic pain, based on the measurement of chronic pain, the life satisfaction of individuals and the income of households. Panel data models with random and fixed effects are used to control for characteristics of individuals that do not vary over time. Further, we investigate whether individuals who experience chronic pain exhibit adaptation and recovery in life satisfaction after 3 years. Overall, we find that chronic pain has a large negative association with life satisfaction, and that the compensating income variation is substantial (around 640 US$ per day). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of how policy processes happen in real-world, contemporary settings is important for generating new and timely learning which can inform other drug policy issues. This paper describes and analyses the process leading to the successful establishment of Australia's first peer-administered naloxone program. Within a case study design, qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with key individuals associated with the initiative ( n = 9), and a collaborative approach to data analysis was undertaken. Central to policy development in this case was the formation of a committee structure to provide expert guidance and support. The collective, collaborative and relational features of this group are consistent with governing by network. The analysis demonstrates that the Committee served more than a merely consultative role. We posit that the Committee constituted the policy process of stakeholder engagement, communication strategy, program development, and implementation planning, which led to the enactment of the naloxone program. We describe and analyse the roles of actors involved, the goodwill and volunteerism which characterised the group's processes, the way the Committee was used as a strategic legitimising mechanism, the strategic framings used to garner support, emergent tensions and the evolving nature of the Committee. This case demonstrates how policy change can occur in the absence of strong political imperatives or ideological contestation, and the ways in which a collective process was used to achieve successful outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical Weather Prediction models provide short and medium-range solar irradiance forecasts. This paper investigates the accuracy of The Air Pollution Model (TAPM) in estimating Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI). The model uses standard meteorological fields but with no real-time cloud/aerosol information. In order to assess the model, TAPM-estimated GHI is compared to satellite-derived GHI at selected sites in Eastern Australia. The satellite data used in this study was compared to ground-based observations at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology stations and adjusted accordingly. Also, the model-estimated GHI at horizontal spatial resolutions of 45, 15, 5, 1.5 and 0.5km were compared to adjusted-satellite data. The results revealed that the resolution of 45km had the lowest Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). This means that variations on scales less than 45km cannot be captured by the model properly. We also found that during cloudy conditions, the RMSE could increase by around 300% compared to clear-sky conditions for both lower and higher resolutions. Therefore, most of the large errors that occur during cloudy conditions are associated with the misrepresentation of clouds in the model, in particular during deep low-pressure systems, passage of cold fronts, Easterly troughs, cloud bands, and in some conditions even during high pressure systems. Furthermore, correcting the 45km modelled GHI for clear-sky errors improved the accuracy of the model and reduced the RMSE, Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Bias Error (MBE) on average by maximum 16%, 26% and 84% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a range of evidence, Cook (2019) concluded that increased erosion and sedimentation followed the movement of Europeans into new regions of Australia soon after A.D. 1788. Woodward (this issue) takes issue with this position, based largely on the interpretation of lake sediment records from a single study site on the New England Tablelands of eastern Australia. Many of Woodward's comments (and their singular focus) are beyond the aims and scope of Cook (2019), which examined the evidence for human impacts on soils and erosion in early colonial Australia. This paper addresses the following issues raised by Woodward: (1) that there is no evidence of environmental impacts from the first half century of 'illegal' settlers and land use in Australia, and (2)that other historical and scientific records of increased erosion and sedimentation before 1840 cannot be relied on. Further, this paper corrects other errors and inaccuracies found in Woodward's reply. This paper draws on many datasets to expand the argument that European land use, resource extraction, and agriculture resulted in landscape disturbance before 1840 in Australia. Finally, this reply demonstrates why Woodward's claim of no major impacts from illegal Europeans before 1840 in Australia is, for many locations, improbable based on the evidence available, and for large swathes of eastern Australia, difficult to support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the human rights of persons with mental and cognitive impairments subject to coercive powers in Australia. It sets out the relevant human rights in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which have been engaged by the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's response to it. It examines the effect of emergency legislation on the relaxation of human rights safeguards in mental health laws, with a focus on mental health tribunals (although it is limited by a lack of published decisions and gaps in publicly available information). However, some of the issues created for persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic are evident in some decisions published by the New South Wales Guardianship Tribunal. The paper critically analyses two guardianship decisions UZX [2020] NSWCATGD 3 (3 April, 2020) and GZK [2020] NSWCATGD 5 (23 April, 2020) and some emergency South Australian legislation COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, 2020 (SA) Schedule 1 to demonstrate the ways in which the human rights of persons with mental and cognitive impairments can be more at risk than those of the general population, even when the general population is itself in "lockdown." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German-Australian Hans Bettinger is regarded as one of the most important and influential pathologists of his time. Bettinger's research focused on gynecological pathology, with a particular interest in intersexuality, ovarian and cervical cancer. He received global recognition for his achievements: among others, he was a Honorary Fellow at the International Academy of Cytology, the Royal Australian College of Physicians, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, London. Far less well-known is German-born Bettinger's role as a victim of Nazism. This significant yet hitherto "blind spot" in Bettinger's life is the focus of this paper. Previously undiscovered archival material from the German Federal Archives in Koblenz, supplemented by documents from the Public Record Office Victoria, Australia, and the University of Melbourne Archives, served as the central sources for this study. This paper reveals that Bettinger, as the husband of a Jewish woman in Nazi Germany, was disenfranchised, and subsequently forced to emigrate. After considerable efforts, he succeeded in building a new life in Australia, where he became the "father of obstetrical and gynecological pathology". In the 1950s Bettinger submitted an application for "reparations" to the Federal Republic of Germany. The legal claim was successful: From April 1951 onwards, Bettinger received a substantial pension and was thus officially recognized as a victim of Nazism. He was, however, never able to bring himself to return to Germany, and spent the rest of his life in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many societies, perceptions regarding housing and ownership rights is that it is mostly consigned to males rather than females. Housing is gendered around physical aspects, as a financial asset, and even in housing data to be a male preserve – excluding females and their perceptions. This important paper addresses this limitation in the literature by examining the views and perceptions of female participants in the Australian Housing Conditions dataset. More specifically this paper examines the significance of household structure, housing quality and characteristics of Australian woman and how it affects their financial strain. As a further dimension this paper also examines differences in women's housing experience by age as older Australian women (above 65 years) have a higher likelihood to revert to substandard housing conditions and homelessness than younger Australian women (under 65 years). Logistic regression analysis shows a higher tendency towards financial strain in women under 65 years, those with either poor physical or mental health and those who were single or lone parents. These finding propose that women under 65 are at greater risk to experience household financial strain and poorer housing security. The paper argues that these results present challenges for Australian housing policy through increasing housing affordability. The analysis suggests that an increase in the availability of affordable housing will ease the financial strain and improve the mental health of Australian women. Moreover, an increase in the flexibility of housing arrangements may prove to be beneficial in providing additional housing solutions. • We examine housing perceptions through a female lens as housing in mainstream literature is gendered to be a male preserve. • The analysis uses the Australian Housing Conditions Dataset to determine the significance of housing to Australian women. • It also examines a further dimension by age. • The real issue is that women under the age of 65 are at greater risk to experience household financial strain. • Government should adapt housing policy by increasing housing affordability to accommodate the vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 40 years, telecommunications policy worldwide has been dominated by the privatisation of former government-owned firms, the pursuit of increasing competition as well as the delegation of day-to-day operations of industry decision-making and oversight from core governments to autonomous regulators sitting at arms-length from political decision-making. One of the most (apparently) dramatic reversals of this trend has occurred in Australia where the federal government has set up a state-owned company (NBN Co) to fully replace and upgrade the fixed-line infrastructure for voice and broadband communications for the entire country. Some argued that the NBN heralded a reversal of a "failed, neoliberal" deregulation and pro-competition policy agenda in Australia, and a return to "social democratic" values. The NBN has attracted interest as a possible model for other governments looking to fund broadband infrastructure. The NBN Co's network is nearing completion. It has proved disappointing in many ways, with costs escalations, missed deadlines and a downscaling of the original full-fibre footprint to a mixed technology model (MTM). It has also proved politically divisive, with some claiming the MTM changes represent the reassertion of a neoliberal political agenda. In this paper, we trace the evolution of the fixed-line telecommunications industry in Australia from the 1980s to the present along the dimensions of privatisation, deregulation and competition in voice, broadband and policy settings. We find that contrary to popular political rhetoric, the Australian industry reforms have been characterised by only a partial and inconsistent progression towards the international policy objectives. In particular, ongoing government ownership of the incumbent created perverse incentives for both regulatory and industry actors and ensured political involvement in import network investment and operations decisions which in other jurisdictions are delegated to private-sector owners and regulators at arms-length from political influence. We contend that the NBN was not a social democratic response to failed neoliberal policies, nor was the MTM a neoliberal reassertion. Rather, the politicisation of the NBN is a function of the inability to decentralise ownership and control of the industry away from the government. These issues will continue to dominate the Australian debate, as the statutory context requires the privatisation of the NBN within five years of its projected 2021 completion. Extreme caution is warranted for jurisdictions looking to the NBN model for guidance. • The trend of privatisation and deregulation in telecommunications was reversed by Australia's National Broadband Network. • The NBN was not a social democratic response to failed neoliberal policies, nor was the MTM a neoliberal reassertion. • Rather, the politicisation of the NBN is a function of the inability to decentralise ownership and control of the industry. • The paper plots the history of liberalisation and deregulation (and partial reversal) over the past 40 years. • The politicisation of Australian broadband investment cannot be described as a rejection of liberalisation policies. • Despite a promising start with institutions to govern a liberalising industry, the requisite privatisation did not occur. • The dilemma of competing interests of government ownership and oversight in the industry (Telstra) has returned with the NBN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the emissions implications of co-combusting imported ammonia in coal-fired power stations. The study adopts a supply chain approach, estimating the emissions reduction potential of 20% ammonia co-combustion in coal-fired power stations in the country of use, and the emissions associated with ammonia production in the country of origin. The paper considers the emissions implications of using different ammonia production technologies: Haber-Bosch (HB) ammonia production with hydrogen generated from steam methane reforming using natural gas (SMR), with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS); Haber-Bosch ammonia production with hydrogen generated from renewable sources; and fully renewable electricity generated ammonia. The empirical setting of the study is an ammonia supply chain encompassing Japan and Australia. The results show co-combustion of ammonia produced with SMR-HB provides no net benefit for the combined country emissions, as ammonia production related greenhouse emissions in Australia are equivalent to the emission reductions in Japan. In contrast, co-firing ammonia produced from fully renewable sources reduces emissions in the two countries in 2030 by 43 MT per annum. SMR-HB processes with varying levels of CCS reduce annual emissions by 16–34 MT. Based on the results, different policy options are suggested for managing the emissions associated with a Japan-Australia ammonia supply chain. • Japan actively pursuing ammonia/coal co-combustion to reduce power sector greenhouse gas emissions. • An Australia-Japan ammonia supply is examined at a country boundary emissions basis. • Choice of ammonia manufacturing approach has significant impact on emissions. • 40 MT pa saving in Japan offset by 39 ± 11 MT pa increase in Australia from Best Available Technology. • Only a fully renewable ammonia manufacturing process reduces emissions in both Australia and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce the idea of the bio-socio-material body to think through the body politics that emerge within the nexus of health, well-being and domestic energy consumption as people age. Our work draws upon an ethnographic study with older Australians in regional New South Wales, Australia. We enrich social practice theory conceptualisations by foregrounding the body as a dynamic bio-socio-material entity that shapes and is shaped by practices. In doing so, we draw attention to the body politics of managing health, well-being and energy consumption while trying to age successfully. We identify that the bio-socio-material dimensions of the body play an important role in how health, well-being and energy practices are performed. Energy practices are bound up in understandings of health and well-being as an ongoing and contingent process. Here, the use of energy and appliances becomes integral to how people negotiate and work towards successful ageing. We found that embodied practices of health, well-being and energy consumption are linked to biological, emotional, affective, social and material concerns that create body politics. These include tensions and challenges relating to health and vitality, caring for the sick and the dying, maintaining good mental health, the affordances of buildings and appliances, energy affordability and billing anxiety, social connectedness, and pleasures and pains. We raise questions emerging from our research on the implications for successful ageing. We call for attention to how health, well-being and energy are imbricated and for policy and programmes that better support older people to navigate the nexus of health, well-being and energy consumption as they age. • Energy consumption helps support health and well-being as people age. • Bodily capacities mediate older people's energy, health and well-being practices. • Participants navigate challenges managing health, well-being and energy consumption. • Biological, emotional, affective, social and material concerns create a body politics. • Policy should support health, well-being and energy practices for successful ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Australia's Renewable Energy Target (RET) mandates investment in renewable electricity generation through a renewable energy certificate market. A legislated national consultative review of the RET was carried out in 2012, resulting in 8660 submissions. Respondents were invited to comment on the value of the legislated target, including whether the legislated target should be a fixed GWh target or a fixed policy-based percentage-of-demand target, and the impact of review processes on the renewable energy industry. This paper presents the first analysis of submissions and evaluates their implications for the future of this policy. There was a consistent alignment of opinion amongst respondents, with industry and fossil-fuel generation/retailer groups opposing the RET objectives, whilst these were supported by NGOs and the renewable sector. However, most respondents favoured maintaining the overall goal of providing 20% renewable electricity generation by 2020. Concerns were raised by most groups of respondents regarding policy continuity and excessive reviewing procedures. In its response to the review, the Climate Change Authority made a total of 34 recommendations, 18 maintaining the status quo. Only six recommendations were endorsed by the Australian Government that would result in changes to the scheme. It is concluded that such review processes can be significantly harmful to maintaining stability and certainty in an industry requiring long-term commitment for investments, and that the Australian Government continues to favour the status quo in responding to consultative review processes relating to renewable energy policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cigarette smoking is a risk factor in a range of serious diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke and type II diabetes. Theory suggests that working long hours will increase smoking propensities among workers. Consequently there is a significant body of evidence on the relationship between working time and smoking. Results, however, are inconsistent and therefore inconclusive. This paper provides new evidence on how working time affects smoking behaviour using nationally representative panel data from Australia (from 2002 to 2011) and the United Kingdom (from 1992 to 2011). We exploit the panel design of the surveys to look at within-person changes in smoking behaviour over time as working time changes. In contrast to most previous studies, this means we control for time invariant aspects of personality and genetic inheritance that may affect both smoking propensities and choice of working hours. We find that working long hours tends to increase the chances that former smokers will relapse, reduce the chances that smokers will quit and increase cigarette consumption among regular smokers, and that these effects tend to become more pronounced for workers who usually work very long hours (50 or more hours a week) compared to those who work moderately long hours (40–49 h a week). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper details the anthropological and genetic analyses that contributed to the identification of the notorious Australian outlaw ('bushranger') Edward ('Ned') Kelly. In 1880 at the age of 25, Kelly was hanged and buried at the formerMelbourne Gaol in Victoria, Australia. In 1929, the remains of executed prisoners (including those of Kelly) were haphazardly disinterred following the demolition of parts of the Melbourne Gaol and haphazardly reinterred in three distinct "pits" at the Pentridge Prison. In 1999 the Pentridge Prison was sold for commercial development and subsequently in 2008 and 2009 the human remains of prisoners were recovered. A total of 41 cases of unidentified human skeletal remains from Pentridge were examined using traditional anthropological techniques. At least one representative sample from each of the remains (mostly clavicles) from all three pits was selected for DNA analysis. Comparative ante-mortem reference samples were also located. Given the antiquity and condition of remains recovered from Pentridge, and the 130 years that had passed since Kelly's execution, mitochondrial DNA analysis was chosen as a suitable DNA analysis tool to examine the Pentridge cases to assist in the inclusion or exclusion of remains as being those of Ned Kelly. Only one of the Pentridge cases (Pen14) matched the HV1/HV2 mitochondrial DNA haplotype of the reference sample. Additional anthropological analyses indicated a number of pathological features that provided support that the remains of Pen14 are those of Edward ("Ned") Kelly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is the largest public infrastructure project in the history of Australia. The goal of the NBN is to provide Australians with broadband internet access by using a mix of technologies, ranging from fibre and hybrid fibre-coaxial to fixed wireless and satellite platforms. Although the NBN is a public project, one of the more vexing aspects of its evolution is its lack of data transparency. There is virtually no information on platform use or footprint distribution throughout the country. Not only does this drastically limit evidence-based telecommunications policy analysis, it also limits the ability to evaluate equity in the spatial distribution of broadband connectivity and infrastructure quality. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the geographic presence of the various NBN technologies using data mining techniques and census-based socio-spatial data (SEIFA). The results portray the complexity of the NBN footprint across three metropolitan regions of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane – with a focus on how the mixed-technology platform adopted divides major Australian cities. • The National Broadband Network (NBN) is the largest public infrastructure project in the history of Australia. • There is limited information on the geographic distribution of the various NBN technologies throughout the country. • This paper aims to uncover the NBN footprint using data mining techniques and census-based socio-spatial data (SEIFA). • The results portray the complexity of the NBN footprint across three metropolitan regions of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Care' is a keyword for cities and citizens in the 21st century. This paper draws on Emma Power's (2019) notion of 'caring-with' as an ethical and analytical guide for caring action and relational community capacity-building around gambling at the local scale. The focus of analysis is the approval of electronic gaming machines or EGMs colloquially known as 'the Pokies', with particular reference to the Australian context and the experience of Castlemaine - a small town in the south-eastern state of Victoria whose citizens successfully appealed an application for further gambling development. The paper highlights how caring-with re-frames community responses to gambling as an assemblage of localized care practices and relations. This includes, but is not limited to, working to develop a culture of care, challenging systemic injustices, and proactive rather than reactive practices of collective care. • Increasing calls for a care praxis 'caring-with' emphasize the responsibility of a sharing democracy in an unequal world • Caring-with reframes community responses to gambling as social and political, rather than individual and private • This involves the formation of coalitions of strategy, resistance and advocacy for transformative change. • The case study highlights participation and inclusion; transparency and consistency and fairness as key care concepts. • The case also shines a light on gambling in cities and the relational role of communities that seek to resist new development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Various measures used to operationalise drink driving were examined. • Perceptions of both legal and non-legal sanctions for drink driving were high. • Non-legal sanctions were a larger deterrent for drink driving than legal sanctions. • Past drink-driving conviction was a predictor of re-offending. • Age, gender and risky drinking behaviours were drink driving predictors. The threat of application of legal sanctions remains the prominent approach to reduce the prevalence of drink driving in a vast array of motoring jurisdictions. However, ongoing questions remain regarding: (a) the extent that such mechanisms impact upon offending behaviours, (b) the deleterious effect alcohol consumption has on decisions to drink and drive and (c) how best to operationalise (and measure) the concept of drink driving to enhance the accurate measurement of the dependent variable. This paper reports on an examination of 773 Queensland motorists' (across nine local government areas) perceptions of both legal and non-legal drink driving sanctions (as well as alcohol consumption) in order to gauge the deterrent impact upon a range of measures of drink driving: the driver thinking they are over the limit, the driver knowing they are over the limit, attempts to evade random breath testing, and intentions to re-offend. The sample completed an online or paper version of the questionnaire. The majority of participants reported "never" engaging in "possible" (74.5 %) or "acknowledged" (83.4 %) drink driving events, although a considerable proportion of the sample reported engaging in "possible" (25.5 %) or "acknowledged" (16.6 %) drink driving and attempting to evade RBT (18 %) events, as well as possible intentions to drink and drive in the future (22 %). Males were more likely to report such events. Perceptions of both legal sanctions (certainty, severity and swiftness) as well as non-legal sanctions (fear of social, internal or physical harm) were relatively high and consistent with previous research. Interestingly, non-legal sanctions were reported as stronger deterrents than legal sanctions. However, multivariate analysis revealed that legal deterrents had limited utility predicting offending behaviours, but rather, demographic characteristics (e.g., younger motorists, males) as well as risky drinking behaviour were better predictors. In regards to intentions to offend, a past conviction for drink driving was also a predictor of re-offending. These results highlight the ongoing challenges of addressing the problem of drink driving and that some motorists: (a) have entrenched behaviour and/or (b) make the decision to drink and drive before they are under the influence of alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the globe, people are not equitably included or respected by health services. This results in some people being 'hardly reached' and having less access to safe and appropriate care. While some health services have adopted specific agendas to increase inclusion, these services can struggle to implement such strategies because the underlying reasons for exclusion have not been addressed. This calls for preparation prior to implementation of inclusion approaches that deconstructs discourses and practices of exclusion. This paper presents a pre-inclusion framework that seeks to deconstruct exclusion in health services. Authors developed this framework from action research in four 'mainstream' regional health services in southeast Australia over five years. Research identified dominant discourses of exclusion among staff in these services. The study also identified common experiences of residents hardly reached by these services. Following, a range of change activities were undertaken within these services to deconstruct exclusion. Researchers also kept journals, reflected on their impact, and identified lessons learned from trying to deconstruct exclusion. Triangulating these analyses, researchers developed an interdisciplinary framework that weaves together Foucauldian theory on power/discourse with continuous quality improvement processes to embed cultural humility and voices of the hardly reached in health care. The framework outlines five foundational concepts (power as productive, deconstruction, use of continuous quality improvement processes, cultural humility and voices of service users), followed by six principles (a journey, expect resistance, whole of service approach, make visible the reasons for change, we are all cultural beings and people centred care) and six actions undertaken within health services (commitment, assessment of exclusion, action plans, structural change, reflective discussions and engagement). Until such approaches to deconstruct exclusion are implemented, inclusive agendas are likely to be ineffective. • Before inclusion can be achieved, reasons for exclusion must be challenged. • Pre-inclusion readies a health service for engagement with those hardly reached. • This framework weaves Foucault, cultural humility, those hardly reached and CQI. • The framework aims to rupture power relations to privilege discourses of service users. • Health practitioners learn about their privilege and actions of exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we go about our daily lives in ways that are unlikely to return to the pre-COVID-19 levels. A key feature of the COVID-19 era is likely to be a rethink of the way we work and the implications on commuting activity. Working from home (WFH) has been the 'new normal' during the period of lockdown, except for essential services that require commuting. In recognition of the new normal as represented by an increasing amount of WFH, this paper develops a model to identify the incidence of WFH and what impact this could have on the number of weekly commuting trips. Using data collected in eight countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and South Africa), we developed a Poisson regression model for the number of days individuals worked from home during the pandemic. Simulated scenarios quantify the impact of the different variables on the probability of WFH by country. The findings provide a reference point as we continue to undertake similar analysis at different points through time during the pandemic and after when restrictions are effectively removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is acknowledged that teachers play an important role in negotiating education policy, there is limited research exploring how teacher candidates understand and engage in their roles as policy actors, particularly when they are the objects of these policies. With heightened emphasis on teacher quality and classroom readiness in policy initiatives globally, this paper interrogates how 135 final-year teacher candidates in an Australian university interpret recent teacher education policy reform measures that attempt to solve Australia's teacher quality problem. The findings suggest that these policy measures act as just another hurdle and reinforce deficit views about the profession. • Teacher candidates are positioned as receivers and objects of education policy. • Teacher candidates view policy initiatives as hurdles in the fight for legitimacy. • Teacher quality policies reinforce deficit views about teachers and the profession. • Teacher candidates acknowledge that they are framed as the problem with education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Decolonizing road safety is needed for transport justice for First Nations peoples. • Decolonized road safety acknowledges the trauma of colonialism. • Decolonized road safety adopts First Nations research methods. • First Nation research methods empowers and works with First Nations people. • Yarning is method particularly suited to decolonizing Australian road safety. Australia has a fundamental, deep, and enduring transport injustice. First Nations people endure road deaths and injury figures at vastly higher rates than the figure for non-First Nations people, suggesting that road safety research has not translated into successful policies and programs that sustainably reduce First Nations road trauma. In this paper, we argue that the decolonization of road safety research can only occur with First Nations people using culturally appropriate methodologies. We evaluate the scope and possibility of First Nations methodologies for decolonizing road safety, finding that yarning, or the ubiquitous use of conversation and storytelling to generate, pass on, and exchange knowledge, is a promising research methodology for decolonizing Australian road safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Australian governments have formally committed to creating water sensitive cities but have made only limited progress. • Through a process of research and engagement with industry and economic regulators we identify the key barriers to change. • Six reform strategies are identified that will facilitate the transformation of Australian cities to water sensitive cities. [Display omitted] Creating water sensitive cities is a stated goal of Australia's National Water Initiative; however, most Australian cities have made only limited progress toward this goal. This paper summarises an in-depth collaborative research project that sought to understand what is holding back investment in water sensitive cities and identify a road map to address the constraints. The project involved research academics, industry participants, and economic regulation agencies from all major Australian jurisdictions. The reforms identified that will move Australia towards a nation of water sensitive cities are: (i) strengthening government policy support for water sensitive urban design to ensure it has equal standing with other policy objectives; (ii) increased government investment for outcomes valued by the community (funded through general taxation or broad-based charges), accompanied by charges for those services used and valued by water utility customers; (iii) improvements to system-level accountability to ensure objectives are met; (iv) changes to the regulatory incentives faced by water utilities to ensure the services valued by customers and community are delivered; (v) removal of barriers to private sector participation in service delivery; and (vi) improved information systems and analytical capabilities to ensure appropriate water sensitive solutions are identified and delivered efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the interrelationship between suicide, health, socioeconomic, and psychosocial factors in contributing to suicide in older adults in rural Australia. Drawing on a coronial dataset of suicide cases and a mixed methods sociological autopsy approach, our study integrated a quantitative analysis of 792 suicide cases with a qualitative analysis of medico-legal reports from 30 cases. The sociological autopsy provided novel insights into the entanglement of policy and service provision at the state-level with individual end-of-life decisions. Particular attention is drawn to age and gendered dimensions of suicide, especially in relation to health and social issues. The study showed a continuity between suicide and the patterning of an individual's life course, including experiences and consequences of inequality and marginality; a desire to meet culturally–normative ideals of autonomy; and a fragmented, under-funded, and intimidating social care system that offered limited options. • Sociological autopsy applied to unique coronial dataset of older adult suicide. • Combines quantitative and qualitative analyses of data from medico-legal reports. • Age and gendered differences in health and social issues related to suicide. • State-level policies and practices intersect with individual end-of-life decisions. • Imperative of prevention creates harmful environments and consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physician adoption of new technologies is a key issue for population health and the sustainability of the healthcare system. This paper explores gender differences in general practitioners' (GPs) adoption of new oral anticoagulants. We combine detailed individual data on physician and practice style characteristics from the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) panel survey of Australian physicians with administrative prescribing data from the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) for the period January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015. After adjusting for various factors proposed in the literature as drivers of this gender gap, in addition to risk preferences and personality traits, we find a large statistical gender difference in the speed of adoption with men being faster than women in uptake. However, conditional on having prescribed for the first time, female and male GPs differ only slightly in the intensity of use of these new drugs. We show that the gender gap depends on the measure of uptake and discuss possible channels that could be driving the relatively large gender difference that remains in the speed of adoption. • We explore gender differences in general practitioners' (GPs) adoption of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs). • We control for various factors suggested in the literature and in addition include risk preferences and personality traits. • We use doctors' survey data linked to administrative records from GPs in Australia. • We find a large gender difference in the speed of adoption with men being faster than women. • But we do not find a significant gender difference in the intensity of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to abortion in Australian has been the subject of significant legal reforms to the point that in some jurisdictions, most legal barriers to access have been dismantled. Nevertheless, research reveals that many Australian women will not be in a position to fully realise their reproductive rights until the non-legal barriers to access are adequately addressed. Between March 2017 and November 2020, the authors conducted qualitative research into the barriers faced by Australian women when accessing, or attempting to access, abortion services. Three of the primary non-legal barriers to access raised repeatedly in our research are financial barriers to access, geographic barriers to access; and deficiencies in practitioner attitudes, education and training. Part I of this article focuses on these barriers to abortion access while Part II considers the significant new challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic for women's access to reproductive health services. The paper concludes that the pandemic and the measures introduced in response have amplified pre-existing barriers and generated a disproportionate and intersectional impact on the most marginalised and disempowered women in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions have been left largely out of debate over the indicators that make up organization-public relationship (OPR) frameworks. This exploratory study analyses the importance of emotions in OPR. Results show that emotions are highly influential in this relationship. On these grounds, the paper suggests expanding existing conceptual analyses of OPR to include emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the effect of candidate sex on vote choice has tended to find that, even when voters state preferences for candidates of their own sex, party identification tends to win out on election day. However, not all elections present a clear partisan choice for voters: primary elections in the United States, intra-party candidate selection in Australia, and municipal elections in a range of jurisdictions either pit intra-party candidates against each other or provide only weak partisan cues. In this paper, we use a conjoint experiment to directly compare the effects of candidate sex and partisan affiliation on voters' preferences: in one context where partisan affiliation is constant (e.g. a primary contest) and a second where partisan affiliation varies (e.g. a general election). From a probability-based sample of Australian voters, we find left-identifying female respondents tend to prefer female candidates regardless of the candidate's partisan affiliation and electoral context. By contrast, right-identifying male voters prefer male over female candidates in intra-party contests between right-affiliated candidates, suggesting that conservative men are the least supportive of female candidates. As conservative men dominate Australia's current governing parties, we argue the preferences of this demographic inhibits the advancement of female politicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across much of the world, wind gust data are continuously measured by Automatic Weather Stations (AWS). However, the meteorological origin of individual extreme gust events within these datasets are seldom automatically assigned. To overcome this, Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) are proposed here as an automated tool to classify gust events within 1-min AWS data. In this paper, this method is specifically used to distinguish between wind gust events of convective (often broadly termed non-synoptic or thunderstorm) and non-convective origin, with the latter events further sub-classified as either, wind only, transition, or other. The efficacy of a range of different SOMs and input variables were assessed, and it was found that those that utilised gust wind speed, temperature, and pressure generally outperformed other models when classifying wind gusts. Applying this approach in the Australian context, all wind gusts of convective origin greater than 70 ​km ​h−1 (19.4 ​m ​s−1) and 90 ​km ​h−1 (25 ​m ​s−1) were identified at 306 AWS across Australia and a climatology of seasonal and annual convective wind gust occurrence developed and discussed. • Gusts from 1-min weather station data are categorised using machine-learning. • Self-Organizing Maps are shown to categorise storm modes accurately and efficiently. • Convective gusts are best classified using wind speed, pressure and temperature data. • Convective gust climatology developed for Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoscale eddies drive variability in phytoplankton functional trait composition and primary productivity (PP) relative to adjacent waters. Offshore waters in southeast Australia are subject to substantial mesoscale eddies that form when the East Australian Current (EAC) travels poleward along the coast, forming distinctive habitats in the upper ocean. Eddies provide an important enrichment mechanism in the nitrogen-limited waters of the Tasman Sea, yet there is limited knowledge of PP within cold- and warm-core eddies in the region and how physico-chemical and biological factors affect phytoplankton communities in this variable environment. We addressed the scarcity of observations by quantifying net PP using 13C isotopic enrichment incubations of surface waters over 10 degrees of latitude, comparing phytoplankton species composition in five different environments: a coastal shelf station, an oceanic cold and warm-core eddy, and a coastal dipole. Cold-core (cyclonic) eddies were significantly more productive than their warm-core (anticyclonic) counterparts (∼35 versus 0 mg C m−3 d−1), with centric diatoms the most prominent phytoplankton group, with a relatively high centric:pennate ratio. The diffuse attenuation coefficient, K d (PAR), and silicate were the best overall predictors of phytoplankton composition, explaining 88% of variation based on pigment analysis and size fractionation. Variance in net PP did not correlate significantly with physico-chemical parameters frequently used in PP models (temperature, K d [PAR], Chl a), yet inclusion of size-fractionated Chl a generated substantial improvement in our statistical model (from 36 to 77%). We show that cold-core eddies play a key role in regulating PP in eastern Australian waters and highlight a need for eddy-resolving models to incorporate descriptors of phytoplankton size structure to improve the accuracy of PP forecasts in eddy intensive regions. • Mesoscale eddies modulate primary productivity dynamics along the East Australian coast. • Knowledge of phytoplankton size structure improves prediction of primary productivity. • Phytoplankton community structure can be predicted from light and silicate levels. • Centric diatoms are the most prominent phytoplankton group in East Australian cyclonic eddies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the complexities around managing the end-of-life (EoL) residential solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) is a precursor to a better decision-making process that mitigates unintended product life-cycle impacts. In this paper, a participatory Systems Thinking approach was utilised to build a causal loop diagram (CLD) for this system based on the collective knowledge of stakeholders. The developed CLD was categorised into three sub-systems: (1) waste flows; (2) regulatory aspects; and (3) industry strategies and government incentives. Two main system archetypes were identified in a reflection to the CLD, namely fixes that fail and drifting goals. The identified feedback loops indicate the need to introduce a comprehensive national product stewardship scheme, complimentary landfill restrictions, and provide sufficient incentives to industries for promoting recovery activities within residential PV panels and BESS sectors. An effective waste management system for these renewable energy technologies is most effective if industries are required to participate through regulation which also specifies certain targets, such as product and material recovery rates and establishes a sustainable funding model to meet operational requirements and future needs. The increasingly prohibitive overseas waste export market will require local industries and governments to collaboratively improve domestic recycling capability and capacity. In this light, the failure to build an effective EoL management system for residential PV and BESS will result in valuable and hazardous materials in both technologies to be disposed of in the landfill, stockpiled or illegally dumped; consequently, reinforcing unintended and adverse environmental impacts. • Causal loop diagram mapped the complexity of EoL management system of PV and BESS. • Stakeholders were consulted to develop and validate the conceptual model. • Conceptual model is governed by three subsystems and 13 feedback loops. • Two system archetypes were identified, namely fixes that fail and drifting goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Children in China and Australia learn English in distinct sociolinguistic contexts. • China forbids early childhood English education, despite great parental demand. • Australia has no curriculum framework for early childhood English education. • Both countries are similarly inactive in guiding early childhood English education. Although English is taught to students worldwide at different educational levels, the actual implementation of early childhood English language education (ECELE) may vary from country to country. This study aims to comprehensively compare how ECELE is being put into practice in China and Australia, where young children learn English as a foreign language and as an additional language or dialect, respectively. Based on a critical analysis of relevant policy documents and the empirical studies found in the literature, this paper provides a detailed account and comparison of how ECELE is delivered in China and Australia. It is found that despite their different sociolinguistic contexts, the educational authorities in both countries share the same ostrich policy and inactive involvement in overseeing and directing ECELE. The implications for policymaking are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Price-based policies are effective alcohol harm minimisation policy options. This paper examines public support for price-based policies based on patterns of consumption and expenditure, to determine if the extent to which an individual may be affected by a policy influences their support.Methods: The current study included 1,684 Australian residents (59.8% male, Mage 43.8 [SD=16.7]). Respondents who purchased and consumed alcohol in the past six months were asked about their support for potential changes in a series of price-based policies.Results: Increasing price was less likely to be supported than either implementing a minimum price or a tax-increase earmarked to pay for alcohol harms. Increasing price and taxing drinkers were more likely to be supported by older people and women. We found no relationship between income or perceived impact of price increases on purchasing and level of support.Conclusion: Contrary to the idea that public support might be partly influenced by ability to pay for alcohol, support for a minimum unit price was not related to price paid per drink or income, only amount consumed. Thus, heavier drinkers may be inherently unlikely to support price-based policies even when these policies would have little impact on their actual purchasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wine industry has been dedicating increasing efforts to considering the sustainability of the environment. Various approaches have been implemented to reduce the industry's carbon footprint. With over 40 million wine tourists globally, cellar door operations have become an important distribution channel, especially for the financial sustainability of small and medium-sized wineries, but this component has not been addressed in existing environmental life cycle assessments. This paper presents a methodology for measuring the carbon footprint of wine tourism and cellar door sales based on a combination of the bottom-up and the top-down approaches. In the case of Australia, we find both domestic and international wine tourism lead to substantially higher carbon emissions than the standard wine distribution channels. The difference can be more than 100 fold per bottle of wine. In addition, the benchmarking analysis indicates that cellar door sales may become the most carbon intensive component across all life cycle stages of wine. This information offers an opportunity to evaluate the environmental trade-offs that maybe involved in obtaining the numerous benefits of wine tourism, and to consider ways of minimizing wine tourism-related carbon emissions in the future. • A method for assessing the carbon emissions of direct-to-consumer "cellar door" sales to wine tourists is proposed. • The impacts of domestic and international wine tourism in Australia are evaluated and benchmarked. • Selling wine to tourists has a much larger carbon footprint than distributing through retailers. • Wine tourism and cellar door sales may be the most carbon intensive component across all wine production and consumption stages. • This methodology is a useful tool for predicting and monitoring the economic and environmental trade-offs of wine tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyse whether the Australian commitment to the Paris Agreement in 2016 and national energy policies will have a visible effect in decreasing the historical dependence of the NEM (National Electricity Market) on fossil fuels by 2030 and consequently decreasing the carbon emissions generated. In this paper, we model the 2030 electricity mix in the NEM in Australia. EnergyPlan , which is the modelling tool adopted for this study, is described and a reference model is conceived and calibrated based on the 2018 electricity situation on the NEM. The simulations are implemented considering three different supply scenarios and three potential electricity demands, to evaluate how different variables can influence the NEM electricity mix by 2030. This study concludes that by 2030 wind and solar power (including rooftop-PV systems) will be the major renewable energy contributors in the NEM, as opposed to 2018 where hydropower represented the main renewable energy source. Nonetheless, the electricity system in 2030 will continue to rely on fossil fuels, which will account for more than 50% of the final energy mix in every scenario, depicting that new efforts will still be needed beyond 2030. • We foresee the electricity mix in Australia by 2030. • We study three generation and three demand scenarios. • Fossil fuels will still account for more than 50% of the final electricity mix. • We expect a visible CO2 emissions reduction, due to the bet in RES in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Human-centric rules should be formulated for the Eastern Africa Market. • The Shared Activation of Ten-Minute Reserve should be utilized. • Real-Time Co-optimization is needed. Some of the Eastern Africa Power Pool countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda are heavily dependent on hydro resources. Further, the grid is becoming increasingly unstable because of the variability from renewable generation. If the baseload units such as hydro units (or geothermal units in case of Kenya) kept on standby to provide ancillary services like active/reactive reserves, the cost of energy would increase. To avoid this, grid engineers, operators, and regulators in Eastern Africa can implement the best practices from the rest of the world. This paper summarizes three critical lessons learned from North America and Australia that can be applied to the Eastern Africa grid. The list is not comprehensive. However, it is a starting point to spark the discussion and draw the attention of national/international funding organizations to explore this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is host to a diverse range of rare earth element (REE) ore deposits, and therefore is well placed to be a major supplier of REE into the future. This paper presents a review of the geology and tectonic setting of Australia's hard-rock REE resources. The deposits can be classified into four groups: 1. Carbonatite associated; 2. Peralkaline/alkaline volcanic associated; 3. Unconformity related, and; 4. Skarns and iron-oxide‑copper‑gold (IOCG) related. With the exception of the unconformity related deposits, all of these deposit groups are directly or indirectly related to continental alkaline magmatism. Extensive fractional crystallisation and/or igneous accumulation of REE minerals were essential ore-forming processes for carbonatite-associated and peralkaline/alkaline volcanic-associated deposits, while hydrothermal transport and concentration of REE sourced from basement rocks was responsible for producing ore in unconformity-related, skarns and, potentially, IOCG deposits. The economic potential of many deposits has also been enhanced by supergene alteration processes. All of Australia's REE deposits formed in an intracontinental setting in association with crustal-scale fault zones or structures that acted as transport conduits for ore-forming magmas or fluids. Most deposits formed in the Mesoproterozoic under conditions of relative tectonic quiescence. There is little evidence for the involvement of mantle plumes, with the exception of the Cenozoic peralkaline volcanic systems of eastern Australia, and possibly the IOCG deposits. Instead, ore productive magmas were generated by melting of previously-enriched mantle lithosphere in response to disruption of the lithosphere-asthenophere boundary due to fault activation. REE minerals in many deposits also record episodes of recrystallisation/resetting due to far-field effects of orogenic activity that may significantly postdate primary ore formation. Therefore, REE orebodies can be effective recorders of intracontinental deformation events. In general, Australia's inventory of REE deposits is similar to the global record. Globally, the Mesoproterozoic appears to be a particularly productive time period for forming REE orebodies due to favourable conditions for generating ore-fertile magmas and favourable preservation potential due to a general lack of aggressive continental recycling (i.e., active plate tectonics). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

News media can be an important source of information about emerging health threats. They are also significant sites for the production of narrative on threats to life that help to condition and reflect the responses of governments and publics. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one such health threat with particular significance because it represents the failure to manage the risks to antibiotics and other antimicrobials, health technologies that have provided the basis for modern medicine. Knowledge of how news media address this situation is an important element for an effective public health response to AMR and helps to extend the social analysis of health and media. Based on an analysis of television, printed and digital news for 2017 in Australia, this paper examines the patterns and meanings of AMR news. It shows that AMR is a fragmented story mainly framed by scientific discovery. These stories reassure audiences that science is seeking out the means of arresting AMR and, therefore, also constructs lay publics as passive witnesses to the AMR story. This pattern of AMR story-telling furthers the social standing of science and scientists, but it also neglects deliberation on collective action, important lacunae in the social response to AMR. • Digital news sources fragment narratives on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). • TV, printed and digital news mainly draw on discovery narratives to explain AMR. • Discovery narratives further scientific authority but foreclose audience agency. • Alternative narratives are needed to promote public engagement with AMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Mungo is a currently dry lake basin in the semi-arid zone of southeastern Australia. The transverse dune system on the downwind side contains a record of human occupation of international importance. It also contains one of the most continuous records of climate change over the last glacial cycle in the Australia desert. In this paper we provide a framework for the interpretation of lake level history from before the arrival of people (>41 ka) until after the establishment of the pastoral industry in the area. We present 83 optically stimulated luminescence ages from the Lake Mungo lunette. The lake level history is reconstructed from 34 stratigraphic sections along three transects through the lunette. The dating reveals considerable lake level fluctuations through time which occur over a depth range of ∼10 m in the basin. At its height, probably at multiple times before 20 ka, the lake held more than 1 km3 of water and at its final level at ∼19 ka, contained only 0.03 km3. The inception of Lake Mungo appears to have taken place during the mid-Pleistocene between ∼256 and 369 ka. During the last glacial cycle, Lake Mungo was almost continuously wetter than present from shortly after 60 ka until ∼19 ka. The Upper Mungo, Arumpo and Zanci units represent a succession of lake filling and drying events, briefly interspersed by soils. The final Zanci unit does not represent a single high lake phase, but an initial lake filling followed by a series of short-lived lake level events within a brief period of a few thousand years. At the conclusion of this event, the lake remained dry until the present day. Four OSL ages from a linear dune upwind of Lake Mungo indicates regional aeolian activity from ∼30 ka until present. Widespread erosion that produces the characteristic topography of the lunette began after the arrival of British pastoralists and traditional aboriginal ways of life overlapped briefly with this erosion. The presence of water in Lake Mungo closely corresponds to periods when regional surface temperature was colder than present during the late Pleistocene. Our new data supports a model that decreased evaporation and increased runoff were primarily responsible for increased availability of surface water in the hydrological cycle. • The lake level history of Lake Mungo is reconstructed from 34 stratigraphic sections and 83 luminescence ages. • The lake level fluctuated over a depth range of ∼10 m in the basin, from more than 1 km3 of water to only 0.03 km3. • The inception of the lake appears to have taken place during the mid-Pleistocene at ∼256–369 ka. • The lake filled during the last glacial maximum. • The presence of water in Lake Mungo corresponds to when regional surface temperature was significantly colder than present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the construction of drug use as a 'social problem' (Bacchi, 2015), ease of access to drug treatment aims to enable an immediate response when people seek help. However, as treatment demand exceeds supply, establishing qualifications with regards to efficiency and effectiveness of access, it has been argued, will improve treatment pathways for those most in need. In 2014, drug sector reform in Victoria, Australia introduced policies that supported centralised intake and assessment (CI&A). In 2016, a significant change of policy saw assessment being disaggregated to treatment services. This paper explores the problematisations at these two points to clarify the processes impacting drug treatment governance. Policies, reviews, and allied documents have been explored using an application of Bacchi's (2009) 'what's the problem represented to be' analytical approach. This application aims to stage an encounter between day-to-day policy as a socio-material practice (Bacchi, 2012) and problematisation in the development of contrasting 'realities' at each point. At Time 1, problematisation was about access and navigating treatment. CI&A were introduced as part of sector reform, however an independent review documented disruption to client flow and stakeholder concerns. At Time 2, the policy focus was on quickly establishing a therapeutic relationship with clients. Across these two policy events, the problem representation of uncertainty regarding service effectiveness and efficiency was maintained. This may reflect a deeper characterisation whereby 'drug problems' are accepted and understood as value neutral, and government and services are obliged to take responsibility for their amelioration. The power differential in so called 'collaborative' approaches to policy development may have contributed to silences regarding the salience of organisational factors, such as funds redistribution and recommissioning, and the limited involvement of clients in policy making processes. The shift in emphasis from system design to clinical practice across the two policy events appeared to elevate the status of treatment providers and affirm government's legitimacy in governing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Australia is a substantial way from implementing a sugar-sweetened beverages tax. • Industry interference, fragmented advocacy and conflicting political agendas have undermined tax acceptance. • Advocates should re-frame the problem to which the tax has been coupled. • A broader advocacy base is needed to counter industry power. Globally, 43 jurisdictions have implemented a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) for obesity prevention; however, there is significant political resistance to adopting such a policy in Australia. This paper applies Kingdon's Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to the case study of an SSB tax in Australia to identify barriers and enablers to policy adoption, and to inform future advocacy strategies in local and international contexts. A systematic search was conducted of scholarly literature, parliamentary documents and media articles relating to an SSB tax. Information retrieved was analysed and integrated under the 'problem', 'policy' or 'political' streams of the MSF. The findings reveal that Australia is a substantial way from having the conditions in place where a tax might be successfully implemented due to industry influence, fragmented advocacy efforts, political opposition to paternalistic policies, conflicting political agendas, and inadequate pressure for change from civil society. Opening a policy window will require a shift in political ownership of the obesity problem, or the coupling of an SSB tax to an alternative problem. The public health community also needs to agree that an SSB tax deserves greater priority, relative to alternative policies for addressing obesity, and to agree on the most effective tax design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State sovereignty, in terms of the organisation and expression of political authority by nation states, is traditionally interpreted as a political container that is being weakened by increasing human and non-human mobilities. However recent research indicates that states are themselves becoming more mobile as executive bodies move and sovereign spaces are tactically reduced and expanded to intercept and control global mobilities. While challenging dichotomous notions of mobility and sovereignty, such research frames the movements of governments, territory and sovereign agents as the tactics of already established states. This paper builds on extant research by drawing on both a mobile ontology and Giorgio Agamben's theory of sovereignty to examine how mobilities constitute modern state sovereignty. To do so I examine Australian sovereignty and the related material and symbolic exclusion of asylum seekers arriving by boat. My analysis finds that mobilities, in terms of material movements and their representation, are essential to the construction of Australian sovereignty and the position of maritime asylum seekers as its outsider and limit identity. Through their mobile interception and management, and their representation as mobile 'others', maritime asylum seekers are used to create sovereign borders between specific types of movement; between 'correct' and 'incorrect' (im)mobilities. I argue that this form of state sovereignty is disarticulated from space and follows populations who construct territories as being 'inside' or 'outside' of the Australian state as they move. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]