The federal government has landed a deal to pass new legislation to restrict gambling advertising. The new legislation contains several important measures, but falls far short of what is needed to prevent gambling harm.

The government’s gambling reform bill was a long overdue response to the 2023 Murphy inquiry, which unearthed shocking evidence of harm and predatory practice by the online gambling industry.

Australia has historically taken a lax approach to gambling, and it shows. Gambling is everywhere: on our screens, in our pubs and clubs, and available anytime at our fingertips. And it’s harmful: one million Australians either suffer from, or live with someone suffering from, severe gambling harm. Many more lose more than they can really afford.

Gambling normalisation starts young, and advertising is a major culprit. Gambling advertising exposes large numbers of Australians, including children, to dangerous products, and increases gambling losses, with little corresponding economic or social benefit.

So, what will the new legislation do and why is it not up to the job?

What the gambling reform bill does

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill introduces restrictions on gambling advertising on TV, radio, and online.

There will be a new daytime cap on gambling ads on TV – but the cap still allows three advertisements every hour from 5am to 8:30pm. The new ban on gambling ads on radio is also weak, applying only on school days and only for two hours on those days.

The restrictions on gambling ads during live coverage of sporting events across all platforms, including online, are a step forward. But the bill falls short of what is required to address the scale of gambling harm that the bill’s own explanatory memorandum recognises.

There are also new measures to prevent access to illegal gambling services, and to strengthen penalties and enforcement. While these are welcome, gambling harm is largely from legal gambling.

A Senate inquiry on the bill reported back this week. It recommended passing the bill but attracted 90 submissions that overwhelmingly called for it to be strengthened.

The government has since made amendments after criticism from the Coalition, the Greens, and the crossbench for not going far enough.

In a deal with the Coalition, restrictions on inducement-based marketing were added, as well as a “one-stop shop” for people to opt out of online wagering advertising.

Two Coalition MPs crossed the floor in protest, but the bill is now expected to pass the Senate this week, with the support of both major parties.

Where it falls short

The new legislation contains several important measures, but unfortunately falls well short of the Murphy inquiry’s recommendations. Remarkably, the Murphy inquiry into online gambling harm reached multi-partisan consensus on all 31 recommendations.

In particular, it called for a comprehensive ban on “all gambling advertising on all media” (broadcast and online), to be phased in over three years, and a full ban on inducements “without delay”.

The phased approach was designed to give sporting bodies and broadcasters time to find replacement revenue.

The government could have opted for a phased approach with its bill too. The new daytime cap on gambling ads on TV could be phased to zero over time, with similar restrictions extended to radio and online streaming, and eventually to a complete ban across all media. But unfortunately there is no phased plan.

Australia is left with a partial ban, and – as the Murphy inquiry argued – this is not enough. It still allows widespread exposure to gambling advertising and, despite amendments, still allows high-risk direct marketing and inducements to most customers.

The problem remains

Australia has the highest gambling losses per person in the world, and our losses per person have grown almost every year since reporting began in 1975.

Gambling products are not like other forms of entertainment. Pokies and online betting in particular can be harmfully addictive, and consumers are vulnerable to misunderstanding the product. It is all too easy to lose too much.

Stronger consumer protections are needed. The Gambling Reform Bill was a missed opportunity to go further.

But gambling regulation is not a federal responsibility alone. The states can and should step up too.

The most effective way to make gambling safer is to introduce mandatory pre-commitment with maximum loss limits for the most dangerous gambling products. No one should lose their house, or their life, on the pokies or a betting app.

The federal government should establish a national pre-commitment system for online gambling, and state governments should roll out state-wide pre-commitment schemes for pokies.

The new legislation doesn’t go far enough on advertising restrictions but was also a missed opportunity to lay the groundwork for national reform.

The major parties might be hoping that this political behemoth is now dealt with. But squibbing it just makes it more likely it rears its head again.

Kate Griffiths, Democracy Deputy Program Director, Grattan Institute

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Federal parliament is finally rushing through a package of gambling reforms, after a deal between the government and opposition that includes a review of the operation of the measures after three years.

The government agreed to somewhat toughen its original plan with changes that include banning inducements for 90 days after Bet-stop deregistration, an extension of the live sport blackout to 15 minutes before a game, and a ban on commissions for any staff or agent or affiliate of gambling companies.

Other changes agreed to include:

• moving the start time of broadcast restrictions from 6am to 5am

• maintaining current gambling advertising restrictions on live sport on online streamers, even with triple lock

• making the gambling industry pay for global opt-out register and inducement enforcement

• mandating compliance with the global opt-out register for online advertisers

• ensuring opt-out must be prominent and impose tougher penalties when it is not

• banning direct marketing to red-flagged customers

• legislating a ban on ads in programming targeted at children

• banning direct marketing 14 days after account sign up

• allowing broadcast rules for online simulcasts and provide targeted exceptions for racing events

• banning illegal ads on social media and provide ACMA with take-down notice powers.

The legislation starts from January 1.

The review after three years was pressed for by shadow assistant minister for finance Simon Kennedy, who has taken much of the public lead for the opposition in pushing for the legislation to be strengthened.

But the changes did not go far enough for some in the Coalition.

Six raised concerns in the Coalition joint parties meeting. Three – former frontbencher, senator Paul Scarr, former speaker Andrew Wallace and Pat Conaghan – reserving their right to cross the floor.

Later, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke on the revised legislation in the House of Representatives, Wallace and Conaghan initially crossed the floor on the Coalition’s amendments.

Conaghan, a Nationals backbencher and former deputy chair of the seminal parliamentary inquiry into gambling under the late Peta Murphy, attacked the measures as not going far enough.

He told the media: “The best thing that Labor could do is implement the report in full”.

Wallace told News24 there was a need to break the nexus between the sports gambling companies and sport.

He said in a statement it was the first time he crossed the floor in his decade in parliament.

“I respect my Coalition colleagues and I respect the decision reached by the party room, but ultimately I have to be able to look the people I represent in the eye and explain the vote I cast. I also have to be able to look myself in the mirror.”

Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson said: “The Coalition has worked constructively to strengthen Labor’s bill. We have secured tougher protections where they are needed, while making sure these laws remain practical, proportionate and respect personal responsibility.”

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a long-time campaigner for strong controls on gambling, accused the government and opposition of teaming up “to protect the interests of the gambling lobby yet again.

"Minor tweaks and piecemeal amendments to this bad bill won’t address the wave of gambling harm washing over this country. It won’t protect children. It won’t break the nexus between gambling and sport. It won’t stop the suicides,” Wilkie said.

The agreement on gambling followed meetings last week between Albanese and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor.

Albanese told parliament: “This new legislation is the most significant gambling advertising reform by any Australian government ever.

"It increases protections for people most at risk of gambling harm, while continuing to allow those who enjoy a bet to do so. And Australians will be better protected from inducements and direct marketing.”

The gambling deal was part of a wider set of agreements to push through legislation this week on the NDIS and the media bargaining incentive.

The opposition insisted the government immediately pass its backtrack on the so-called “widow tax” as a trade off for facilitating the passage of the NDIS.

The “widow tax” refers to an oversight in the previous tax reform legislation which means that for properties that are jointly owned, for example by a husband and wife, if one dies or they get divorced the grandfathered negative gearing or CGT tax benefit disappears.

The new change will ensure that for properties jointly owned on or before budget night, people get to keep the generous negative gearing and CGT benefits in the case of death or divorce.

Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Some 4,200 years ago, people started to leave what is now Taiwan to migrate to the thousands of islands to the south, spanning as far west as Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean and as far east as Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

We can trace this migration through the way language spread, creating the largest-scale language dispersal in prehistory.

But what exactly drove these people to make these distant and dangerous voyages? Our discovery of a 4,000-year-old painting of a sunburst in southeastern Indonesia offers some clues.

A charismatic cultural identity

Austronesian is a close-knit language family spoken across much of Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Madagascar and the Pacific Islands. Some of the major languages in this family include Malay, Javanese, Sundanese, Tagalog, Cebuano and Malagasy.

We know the Austronesian migration began at least around 4,200 years ago, as this is when characteristic Austronesian red pottery and rectangular stone adzes (axe-like tools) appear on islands south of Taiwan.

The extraordinary seafaring abilities of Austronesians were underpinned by the outrigger canoe, but it is unclear which other factors propelled their expansion.

Previous models have suggested advancements in rice farming and storage (thanks to pottery) might have fuelled population growth, prompting the Austronesian people to migrate to neighbouring islands for new farmland. However, rice and pottery are not universal features of Austronesian societies.

An alternative theory is that there was a powerful and charismatic cultural identity shared by the Austronesian people – the kind that attracted outsiders and encouraged daring voyages to remote uninhabited islands.

Discoveries from Wetar

Finding archaeological evidence for the presence of a past cultural identity is difficult, but rock art does provide a way.

In the 1992 book State of the Art, Australian anthropologist Chris Ballard observed there was a style of red rock paintings found mainly in areas where Austronesian is spoken today – eastern Indonesia, Timor and coastal New Guinea – but not in neighbouring parts of these islands where Papuan languages are spoken.

Ballard named this style of painting the Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT). It was characterised by motifs of small human figures, often wielding weapons or on boats, as well as a geometric sun ray of concentric circles with radiating spokes.

The age of this painting tradition has long remained a mystery, however, because of how difficult it is to date art painted on walls.

In 2023, we carried out the first ever archaeological investigation on the island of Wetar in southeastern Indonesia, with colleagues from the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency. During this survey we identified a large rock overhang called Huknaur, with APT art on its walls.

We excavated the site in 2024 and were lucky enough to find a stone plaque painted with the characteristic APT sun ray motif, in a layer radiocarbon dated to 4,000 years ago.

This symbol matches designs documented on cliff walls across the APT region, such as in the Philippines, Timor-Leste and southeastern Indonesia.

Historical documents show these sun ray symbols were also applied to boat prows in the region, both to protect voyagers and as clan identity markers.

This iconography may have been part of a broader shared symbolic culture that helped maintain Austronesian identity and kept communities connected across thousands of kilometres of ocean.

Our excavation also found the earliest Austronesian pottery at Huknaur is dated to about 3,500 years ago – some 500 years after the sun ray plaque was painted. This suggests Austronesian pioneers may have arrived with their compelling cultural identity, represented by the paintings, before later Austronesian arrivals brought pottery.

Before the Austronesian arrival

The Huknaur site was not uninhabited prior to Austronesian contact. As far back as 9,500 years ago, this site had been the centre of a network moving obsidian (the sharpest material used to make stone tools) from Wetar to at least four other islands in the region.

Before the time of the sun ray plaque, people at the site adorned themselves with beads made of whole Oliva shells and small discs of shiny Nautilus shell. These were replaced with domes and discs of Conus shell around the time the plaque was painted.

Conus beads have also been found at other early Austronesian sites. So the examples from Huknaur provide independent evidence for the arrival of the Austronesian people, along with their belief system.

An ambitious seafaring peoples

If the Huknaur sun ray plaque represents the arrival of Austronesian pioneers, as we suspect it does, its 4,000-year age makes it one of the earliest places outside Taiwan to document the Austronesian migration.

Our findings suggest Austronesia explorers may have leapfrogged to centres of influence, rather than simply advancing to the next nearest island.

We know Spanish conquistadors travelled about 3,500km from Hispaniola to the Inca capital of Cuzco in just 40 years, which is roughly the same distance as the voyage from Taiwan to Wetar. And they did so without occupying every region in between.

The APT painted plaque at Huknaur prompts us look beyond technology and economy as drivers of prehistoric human expansion. Ideology and ambition – as much as they are harder to find evidence for – were equally important drivers.

Ceri Shipton, Research Fellow, School of Culture, History & Language, Australian National University; UCL; Shimona Kealy, Postdoctoral Researcher, College of Asia & the Pacific, Australian National University, and Sue O'Connor, Distinguished Professor, School of Culture, History & Language, Australian National University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

From October 1, businesses will no longer be able to add surcharges to payments made on the EFTPOS, Visa or Mastercard networks, following reforms by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The idea is that the price consumers see should be the price they pay. If a cafe’s menu lists an oat latte for sale at A$6.50, it won’t be able to charge you, say, $6.57 for using a debit card or $6.63 for using a credit card.

However, banning a visible fee does not make card payments free. Rather than absorb the remaining cost, some organisations may increase prices, or remove certain payment options altogether.

Last month, Macquarie Bank announced it was removing the option to pay by credit or debit card directly on DEFT, which processes more than 1.2 million rent payments each month. According to the Australian Financial Review, Macquarie controls an estimated 40% of Australia’s rental payments market.

Using a credit card to pay rent might seem unusual. But for some people, despite the extra fees, credit offers a way to manage cash flow, using the interest-free period to bridge the days between rent day and payday.

Could a reform designed to save consumers money leave some with fewer ways to pay? The surcharge ban has been presented as a cost-of-living win, but its consequences will not be shared evenly.

Someone has to foot the bill

A surcharge is only the visible part of the costs that sit behind a card payment. Banks, card networks and payment providers still charge businesses to process and move the money.

The RBA has acknowledged that from October 1, these costs may instead come to be reflected in a business’s overall prices.

While this may make the final “sticker” price clearer, it can also mean customers using lower-cost payment methods help pay for the rewards enjoyed by users of premium rewards cards.

The RBA is also lowering caps on “interchange fees”, which are paid between the banks handling a card transaction.

This should reduce businesses’ cost of accepting cards, but card payments will not become free. Businesses can absorb the remaining cost, encourage another payment method or stop accepting cards.

What’s the big deal?

For its rental payments platform DEFT, Macquarie has chosen the third option. Macquarie is steering renters towards using fee-free PayID, part of a broader shift from card networks to payments made directly between bank accounts.

For renters with funds available, switching should be easy. But the consequences differ depending on why renters use cards.

For those managing cash flow with cards, that buffer will no longer be available through DEFT.

Macquarie acknowledges there is no like-for-like replacement for these tenants. A simpler payment process does not necessarily produce a fairer outcome.

Tax bills and more

If you use a debit card to make a payment to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or Services Australia, surcharging is already banned.

However, both of these agencies currently offer the option to pay by credit card. A small fee may apply, although this is charged by the card supplier rather than either agency.

According to a recent report by industry newsletter PayDay News, the ATO is currently reviewing its card payment options. No decision has been announced, but any move to restrict card payments could establish a public-sector precedent.

If the tax office limits its current card payment option, taxpayers who rely on cards to manage their cash flow may instead need a payment plan or other credit.

Playing ‘Whac-A-Mole’ with payments

When a payment option for a particular service is removed, some people may choose to use a third-party payment service which still offers it. These payment apps handle the transaction on a customer’s behalf, such as by charging a renter’s credit card and sending a bank transfer to the real estate agent.

For example, digital payments platform RentPay currently lists a 1.15% fee for card payments, while direct debit and PayID are free (that card-specific fee may need to change under the new rules from October 1).

However, the new rules do not cover booking or service fees. So depending on the app, customers may instead face platform, transfer or financing charges.

Using another platform may also require renters to open an account and share more personal and financial information, exposing them to additional data risks.

The surcharge ban may therefore work like a game of Whac-A-Mole. Remove a visible fee in one place, and the underlying cost may simply reappear in overall prices or alternative service fees, while payment choice narrows.

Could we lose flexibility?

Across both the public and private sectors, some organisations may decide that withdrawing the option to pay by card is easier than absorbing the cost. This could create a domino effect in which surcharges disappear, but card payment options become less widely available across the economy.

The changes we’ll see from October 1 should make advertised prices clearer and lower some card acceptance costs. But regulators should monitor who ultimately pays, whether card acceptance declines and whether new charges emerge.

For the reforms to deliver a genuine cost-of-living benefit, consumers must also retain affordable ways to pay.

Fengfei Li, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

How we think and feel about science develops from an early age – and we never know where that early interest might take us.

Take Hannah. As a young child, she was fascinated by the way a glass prism can split sunlight into different colours. At university she studied the way light can interact with liquids.

Now Hannah works in the food industry, using light to study how oat milk changes when mixed with hot coffee. The reason your barista can make a great plant-based flat white is thanks to knowledge developed by people like Hannah.

Her example shows how curiosity about the world can translate into an interest in science, a discipline that’s vital to understanding – and improving – our modern world.

However, in Australia not enough people are studying science. So we stand to lose a future where we can use the tools of science to understand why things happen.

Science is not just for scientists

Science literacy isn’t just about knowledge. It’s about the ability to reason, evaluate evidence, and make informed decisions in a complex, changing world.

Thinking like a scientist is a vital skill in a world of misinformation about climate change, renewable energy, generative artificial intelligence (AI), and more.

Employers value willingness to learn, problem-solving, communication and digital literacy.

But science has a marketing problem. The Australian government has shifted to focusing on vocations and “job ready” thinking.

Paired with parental attitudes towards occupational aspirations (“you should attend uni so you can get a good job”), it means students are increasingly attracted to degrees with clear career outcomes such as nursing, engineering or law.

Jobs for science graduates go beyond science

There’s a widening gap between training and employment, because students can’t see how areas of study connect with industry or improve their daily lives.

There are some areas of science where the employment path is clear, and those can be just as popular with students. A good example is agricultural science degrees, which have good industry engagement (including internships and placements) and good career prospects.

But many young people in Australia are not aware of the diverse career pathways that are possible with science degrees. Demand for material scientists is growing as new technologies develop in electronics, medicine, energy production and space science. But enrolments in the subjects that underpin materials science, such as chemistry and physics, are declining.

The number of science students at Australian universities has remained stable over recent years, but has fallen as a proportion of all university enrolments.

This highlights a problem. It takes a long time for students to respond to job market changes and to enter the science pipeline. There is a significant time lag to build the workforce in critical areas.

A recent government report shows that in the next five years, professional, scientific and technical services will grow faster than any other industry except healthcare. The time to bolster the science pipeline is now.

Not all scientists wear white coats

Unlike paths of study that are highly directed towards particular jobs – such as nursing – if you study science it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll end up working in a lab. The old adage “not all scientists wear white coats” is undeniably true. In fact, the vast majority of science graduates work in business, government, policy, education and technology.

A 2019 study revealed a surprisingly high number of Fortune 100 chief executives have Bachelor of Science degrees.

On the other hand, it’s not all that surprising. The key reason why science graduates show up in unexpected places is their skill set rather than just their knowledge.

Science graduates don’t follow a linear path. Instead, they evolve throughout their careers and learn new interdisciplinary skills to solve complex problems. That’s precisely the point of a science degree.

Science graduates wanted

Science has direct and measurable effects on Australia’s economy. Even areas of study considered highly theoretical can have a major impact. For example, advanced physical and mathematical sciences contribute directly around 11% of GDP to the Australian economy.

To turn the trajectory of science around we need to encourage students to engage with science early. That includes providing engaging and inspiring activities in primary school.

But we should also insist young people continue to study science in high school without consideration of gaming ATAR scores or university entrance.

Many universities are removing or lowering prerequisite subjects as entry requirements, which sends a signal that students don’t need to engage with “difficult” areas of study.

Universities need to do a better job of explaining the variety of job and career options available to science students. Students need to show employers how their science skills are valuable in different workplaces. Governments need to have policies that encourage industry to invest in research and development so careers using the tools of science become more common, and contribute to productivity.

All students need to be exposed to science. Talk to the kids in your life about science, take part in a National Science Week activity, visit a science centre, or encourage them to keep studying science. You’ll likely have a lot of fun and help to prepare them for an uncertain future.

Brian Yates, Emeritus Professor, University of Tasmania and Nathan Kilah, Associate Professor in Chemistry and Associate Head Learning and Teaching, University of Tasmania

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

From the first hint of cold winter mornings, supermarkets and pharmacies begin heavy marketing to coax us to stock up on vitamin C to get through the cold and flu season.

But where did that idea come from?

As we’ll see, it’s a story including a Nobel Prize winner, a book and some claims that don’t quite stack up.

Nobel Prize winner writes a book

Linus Pauling was a chemist from the United States who won two Nobel Prizes. One was in 1954 for chemistry, for his research into chemical bonds. The other was in 1962 for peace, for his activism against nuclear weapons testing.

He was not a dietitian or an infectious disease physician. But that didn’t stop him publishing a book on vitamin C and colds in 1970. This book is widely credited with the skyrocketing sales of vitamin C at the time, a trend that continues today.

In this book, Pauling said we should consume high doses of vitamin C, around 1,000–2,000 milligrams a day for good health, and even more to prevent a cold.

His recommendations were said to be initially from one placebo-controlled trial in children on a ski camp in the Swiss Alps. He then analysed a further four studies conducted after his claims.

But his interpretation of these studies has been widely criticised. There were incorrect mathematical analyses, reliance on four poor-quality trials and the overemphasis of the study in children.

So, do mega-doses of vitamin C work?

The short answer is not really. Multiple studies conducted since the ones Pauling analysed show that if there is an effect on vitamin C and colds, it’s minimal. Even then, any marginal benefits are only under certain circumstances, such as if you’re an athlete or in the army.

One study, published in 2023, was a meta-analysis that combined the results of ten placebo-controlled trials. These looked at the effect of vitamin C on the severity and duration of colds. In total, these trials involved 2,736 healthy people (adults, children and athletes) who regularly took at least 1,000mg of vitamin C a day, not just when they had a cold.

Overall, the researchers found people who took vitamin C had a 15% reduction in severe cold symptoms compared to those who didn’t take it. This was expressed as the number of days “confined indoors”, which the authors acknowledged as a limitation. Vitamin C did not affect how long mild symptoms lasted.

So many ideas about what makes us sick, or keeps us well, sound plausible. Early studies might sound promising. But then something gets twisted. In this series, we investigate how a grain of truth ends up as a common health myth. And we untangle what went wrong along the way.

A meta-analysis in 2013 found taking lower doses (at around 200mg a day) did not decrease the number of colds in the general population. However, there were fewer colds for athletes and army personnel.

Similar to the other study, regular vitamin C supplements showed a reduction in severity of symptoms in children and adults by 8–14%. However, taking vitamin C at the start of the cold had no benefit.

So, from these two meta-analyses, Pauling’s original advice is over-stated. There is no evidence vitamin C will reduce your risk of catching a cold.

There is some evidence it will reduce how long severe symptoms last, but on average only by about 10%. So if severe symptoms from a cold last for five days, it will reduce severe symptoms by about 12 hours. If the severe symptoms last for 24 hours, they will reduce by about two-and-a-half hours.

Taking vitamin C when symptoms start will have no effect. You need to be taking it regularly, even before you get sick.

So how much vitamin C is too much?

Pauling’s recommendation for good health, at around 1,000–2,000mg a day, is around the upper limit of what’s now considered safe to consume.

Australia has not set an upper limit for vitamin C, due to inconclusive evidence. But guidelines refer to other expert recommendations for adults to not consume more than 1,000mg a day. In the United States, the upper limit for adults is 2,000mg a day.

Pauling’s recommendation is also much higher than the recommended daily intake in Australia and other countries. For adults over 19 in Australia, this is 45mg.

This is what you would find in half an orange, three to four florets of cooked broccoli or one-third of a glass of orange juice.

So what should I do?

Taking high doses of vitamin C (over 1,000mg a day) continually can increase your risk of adverse events such as:

• gastrointestinal effects, such as diarrhoea, nausea, stomach cramps and bloating

• more oxalate excretion, which may lead to kidney stones

• an increase in iron absorption, which may lead to tissue damage in people with undiagnosed haemochromatosis (an inherited disorder where you absorb too much iron from your food)

• interactions with radiation therapy, chemotherapy and the cholesterol-lowering drugs statins.

If you feel you would benefit from vitamin C supplements, discuss this with your GP. You should limit the dose to below 1,000mg a day and be mindful of the side effects.

Remember less than 4% of Australians are deficient in vitamin C.

Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Adelaide University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The devastating recent deaths of three toddlers in Queensland, linked to low iron levels, have understandably left many parents wondering whether their own child is getting enough iron.

The good news is that life-threatening iron deficiency is uncommon.

But being low in iron is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in young children. So it’s worth understanding why iron matters and how to tell if they’re getting enough. There are simple ways to help children meet their iron needs.

Why is iron important?

Iron helps carry oxygen around the body and plays an important role in brain development, growth, immune function and learning.

If a child doesn’t get enough iron, their iron stores gradually become depleted. Over time this can lead to iron deficiency anaemia, where their blood doesn’t have enough haemoglobin (an iron-rich protein) to carry oxygen efficiently.

Iron deficiency during infancy and early childhood has also been associated with poorer cognitive, behavioural and motor development. So prevention and early recognition are important.

What are the signs your child might have low iron?

The early signs of low iron can often be challenging to identify, as toddlers can have these symptoms for a range of reasons.

Children with low iron may seem:

• more tired than usual

• pale

• irritable

• less interested in eating

• slower to gain weight or grow

• less energetic when playing.

Some children also develop pica, where they crave or chew non-food items such as dirt or paper.

Having one or more of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean your child has low iron.

But if you’re concerned about their diet, growth, development or energy levels, it’s worth discussing this with your GP, child health nurse or accredited practising dietitian.

How do health professionals check iron levels?

Iron deficiency can’t be diagnosed based only on symptoms. If a health professional suspects low iron, they will likely recommend a blood test.

The blood test usually measures ferritin, which reflects the body’s iron stores, as well as haemoglobin, which helps identify whether iron deficiency has progressed to anaemia.

A child can have low iron stores long before they develop anaemia, so doctors often consider both the blood test results and the child’s overall health.

Does drinking too much milk cause iron deficiency?

Cow’s milk can be part of a healthy toddler diet, but drinking large amounts can increase the risk of iron deficiency.

There are a few reasons why. First, cow’s milk contains very little iron. Second, toddlers who drink a lot of milk may fill up before meals, leaving less appetite for iron-rich foods. Third, replacing a variety of foods with milk reduces opportunities to eat foods that naturally contain iron.

Australian guidelines recommend limiting cow’s milk to around 500 millilitres a day after 12 months of age, while continuing to offer a wide variety of foods.

What if my toddler is still breastfeeding?

Breastfeeding continues to provide many nutritional and developmental benefits throughout the second year of life and beyond.

Breast milk contains iron, and babies absorb its iron very well. However, from around six months of age, breast milk alone no longer provides enough iron to meet a growing baby’s needs.

For infants who are formula fed, standard infant formula sold in Australia contains iron in line with Australian food standards.

Whether a baby is breastfed or formula fed, Australian infant feeding guidelines recommend introducing iron-rich complementary foods such as lean beef, chicken, chickpeas and baked beans from around six months while continuing breastfeeding if desired.

Practical ways to increase iron

Fortunately, helping toddlers meet their iron needs does not need to be complicated.

Parents and carers can offer a variety of iron-rich foods across the week, including lean red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, legumes (such as baked beans or chickpeas in hummus), tofu and iron-fortified breakfast cereals.

If you’re choosing a breakfast cereal, turn the packet over and look at the nutrition information panel or ingredient list. If iron has been added, it will usually be listed among the vitamins and minerals. Examples include Weet-Bix and NutriGrain.

If your child enjoys plant-based iron sources such as baked beans, lentils or tofu, serving them alongside foods rich in vitamin C (such as orange segments, strawberries, kiwi fruit or capsicum) helps the body absorb more of the iron.

Don’t worry if your toddler refuses one particular food. Many children go through phases of eating only a handful of favourite foods. The goal is to continue offering a variety of nutritious options over time rather than expecting a perfectly balanced diet every day.

The bottom line

Iron is an essential nutrient during early childhood. Most toddlers who are offered a variety of nutritious foods, including iron-rich foods, will meet their iron needs.

If you’re worried your child may have low iron, talk with your GP, child health professional or accredited practising dietitian. They can assess your child’s diet, growth and development and decide whether blood tests are needed.

Early recognition and treatment of iron deficiency are important, but the focus for most families should remain on offering a varied, enjoyable diet that supports healthy growth over time.

Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Looksmaxxing, fibremaxxing, proteinmaxxing, T-maxxing. There are so many TikTok trends that promise to optimise our lives.

Just when you thought there was nothing left to #maxx, there’s another trend to add to the list – voicemaxxing.

Its proponents claim the deeper a man’s voice, the greater his success at attracting a woman. And they’re offering exercises and apps to help train young men to sound more “manly”, and so up their dating game.

But voicemaxxing might not give young men the results they intended.

Pitch perfect?

The larynx, or voice box, is a structure made of cartilage that sits at the top of the windpipe. The bump that sticks out is your Adam’s apple.

The vocal folds – two bands of muscle and connective tissue covered in a thin mucous membrane – stretch front to back inside the larynx. Their length, thickness and tension shape the pitch of your voice (how deep it is).

Testosterone thickens these folds in puberty and lengthens the vocal tract. This is why men’s voices are generally deeper than women’s and why they have a more prominent Adam’s apple.

It is also why the pitch of a man’s voice is largely set by the time he matures. Once anatomy sets the pitch, the sound then resonates through the throat, mouth and nasal cavities to adjust the tone. This is the quality of the sound, which can be adjusted somewhat.

For voicemaxxers, TikTok prescribes a vocal regimen that is a mix of legitimate voice training and sciencey-sounding bro folklore.

Singing teachers may recognise and approve of humming exercises, learning how to use your “head voice” and “chest voice”, diaphragmatic breathing techniques (where you push air out of your lungs from the diaphragm), and regularly drinking water.

From here things get more speculative.

Muscles, exercises, apps, AI

For a deeper voice, men are encouraged to perform exercises known as neck crunches to strengthen their sternocleidomastoids – the long neck muscles running from your ear to your collarbone.

But voice professionals say resonance (adding depth, volume and colour to your voice) comes from releasing tension from the jaw, not building muscle in your neck.

Mewing is a looksmaxxing staple. It’s where you place your tongue to the roof of the mouth to encourage nasal breathing, tape the mouth shut overnight, and adopt a flatter, more monotone delivery. There are even downloadable guides.

Voicemax – Talk like a Chad is an app that promises to “Unleash your Most Muscular, Attractive Voice!”. It rates your voice on masculinity, attractiveness, confidence and deepness.

Voicemaxx AI is a competitor product. It says it uses an artificial intelligence model trained on real women’s responses to see if your voice is “hot or not”. It says “80% of female attraction is determined by voice”.

But faking it doesn’t work

Male primates compete fiercely with one another for status and, ultimately, mating opportunities. And in species where males compete most intensely for dominance and territory, there’s a larger difference in vocal pitch between males and females.

In humans, too, voice pitch is associated with dominance. Other men often assess it long before a competition for dominance can escalate to physical fighting.

It pays men to attend to other men’s voices. Men with lower-pitched voices have higher testosterone and greater upper body strength. They are also perceived as more physically formidable. By paying attention to voice pitch, men can make pragmatic decisions, from a safe distance, about whether to challenge another man, or whether to join with him against other men.

Deeper voices affect women too. They consistently rate deeper men’s voices as more attractive, especially when they are most likely to conceive. This attractiveness, combined with men’s dominance over other men, mean deep-voiced, tall, strong men tend to be more sexually successful. A meta-analysis of 96 studies showed men’s voice pitch, height, testosterone and a measure of strength and muscularity all predict mating success.

But faking a deeper voice does not make a man sound more attractive to women, undermining the case for voicemaxxing.

Faking a deeper voice can, however, make a man sound more dominant to other men. This may partly explain voicemaxxing’s appeal in the manosphere.

There are real harms

Voicemaxxing is one expression of potentially harmful health messages for men popping up in self-optimisation content. These include pressure to look a certain way, a tolerance to taking risks with your health, and a normalisation of restrictive masculine ideals and misogyny.

Habitually speaking at an artificially low pitch contributes to muscle tension dysphonia. This is voice strain caused by squeezing the muscles around the voice box. It leaves your voice sounding rough, tight or breathy, and can cut out mid-sentence.

Taking testosterone to change your voice comes with even more wide-ranging dangers.

Others can detect a fake lowered pitch, it’s unsustainable, and probably won’t improve how women see you.

Samuel Cornell, Research Fellow in Public Health, The University of Queensland; Krista Fisher, Research Fellow, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, and Rob Brooks, Scientia Professor of Evolution, UNSW

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The inherent connectedness between people, land and spirituality runs deep in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It’s seen today through art, songs, stories, ceremonies, languages and cultures being revived and practised across the continent.

In Indigenous worldviews, there is little separation between these elements of life. Bodies are understood as part of the land itself – of Country – which constitutes the living lands, waters and skies that Indigenous people hold custodial responsibility for.

Dreaming stories across many communities describe how human bodies are fashioned from the clay of their Country. As Worimi Elder Steve Brereton explains, “we are Country, and Country is us”.

Studies show that when Indigenous people are displaced from or denied access to Country, measurable declines in mental health, physical health and social and emotional wellbeing follow.

And when Country is damaged, Indigenous people feel it.

It’s more than a connection to nature

Australians are increasingly seeking connection with nature. A nationally representative survey of more than 4,000 Australians found spending time in nature is strongly associated with higher wellbeing.

Among gen Z Australians, 76% report a close connection with nature, and 38% identify as spiritual.

Our research team examines how spirituality, Country and wellbeing intersect across Australian communities. Our findings confirm what Indigenous communities have known for tens of thousands of years: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s connection to Country is more than connection to nature. It’s both physical and spiritual. And its disruption has measurable consequences.

When the land is damaged, the body is too

As Trawloolway theologian Garry Deverell explains, First Nations spirituality “begins with the Earth”.

When that Earth is damaged, the spiritual, psychological and physical consequences are inseparable.

Across Australia, decisions that alter, extract from, or destroy Country are made every day, often despite the objections of affected communities. This most commonly occurs through native title negotiations and Indigenous land use agreements, where communities face pressure to approve mining or infrastructure projects.

The 2020 destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters by Rio Tinto, made legally despite the Traditional Owners’ explicit objections, remains the starkest recent example.

Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Traditional Owner Burchell Hayes described the aftermath:

Myself, my family, our elders and our ancestors are in mourning at the desecration of our sacred site […] Healing is slow and painful and will not come easily.

Studies have linked reduced access to and sovereignty over Country to poorer mental and physical health outcomes.

When that harm is ongoing and unresolved, the body cannot recover. Researchers call this accumulated burden “allostatic load” – the physiological wear and tear of chronic, unresolved stress. The consequences include a greater risk of depression, cardiovascular disease and impaired immune function.

The body knows and, over time, it shows.

Connection as preventative health

The spiritual and cultural practices Indigenous Australians have maintained for more than 65,000 years help regulate the nervous system. This refers to the body’s capacity to move out of states of stress and threat and return to a baseline of calm, safety and connection.

Welcome to Country, smoking ceremonies and the act of returning to and caring for places of significance orientate the body within its environment.

Research confirms on-Country activities are associated with lower levels of psychological distress and better health outcomes through an increased sense of self, connection, belonging and calmness.

The limits of modern institutions

Connection to Country, through the active protection, maintenance and custodianship of Australia’s lands and waters is a foundational determinant of health: the basis on which wellbeing is built.

Institutions have made genuine progress toward improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing through better recognition of discrimination, culturally safe workplaces and improved engagement.

Yet structural limitations persist. Institutions tend to address wellbeing through policies and compliance processes rather than addressing some of the actual sources of harm.

The most promising examples of addressing the sources of harm come from communities exercising genuine custodial agency. This includes:

• cultural camps that restore ecological and spiritual health

• Aboriginal cultural burning programs that restore ecological health

• ranger programs that place Aboriginal land managers in direct governance roles over Country.

When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are supported to practise culture on Country, the health benefits are significant and measurable.

The systems of care that kept this continent and its people healthy for tens of thousands of years are still here. We need to build our institutions around these systems, rather than continuing to decorate the margins with them.

Joshua Waters, Senior Research Fellow, Indigenous Knowledges, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Bird flu is circulating among birds on the Australian mainland. So with the confirmed number of detections growing, you may be wondering about the risk of birds infecting humans.

So far in 2026, no humans in Australia have been diagnosed with the currently circulating strain. And evidence from overseas indicates that in the rare situation this would occur, illness would generally be mild.

But not everyone with flu-like symptoms gets tested. And even if they did, a general flu test cannot distinguish between bird flu and seasonal flu.

So how would we know if a human caught bird flu from an infected bird?

What is bird flu? What’s changed?

Bird flu (or avian influenza) refers to strains of flu viruses that mainly affect birds. The current strain of concern is known as H5N1.

Since 2020, a sub-strain of H5N1, known as 2.3.4.4b, has been circulating around the world. This has resulted in the deaths of millions of birds (including poultry). It has also crossed into other species, including dairy cows in the United States, and marine mammals. Distressingly, mass mortality events – where many animals die suddenly – have been reported.

In June, the first cases of H5N1 influenza were reported in Australia, first in migratory birds, then in local wild birds. Now, the government does not report case numbers, just events, where one or more birds may be involved.

There has been at least one mass mortality event reported in Australia.

So with more bird flu now circulating in Australia, can we expect more humans to be infected?

Yes, humans can catch bird flu

Since 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 1,000 cases of H5N1 bird flu in humans globally, with 479 deaths. This year, it has reported seven cases of H5N1 bird flu in humans (in Cambodia, Bangladesh and India) with two deaths.

However, 2.3.4.4b – the sub-strain currently circulating globally, including Australia – seems to generally cause mild disease in humans. However, there have been a few cases of more severe 2.3.4.4b disease (including two deaths in the US).

To date, there have been no human cases of 2.3.4.4b in Australia. But there was one case of a related H5N1 strain, 2.3.2.1a, in a child who returned from overseas travel.

Even with more 2.3.4.4b circulating in recent weeks, the Australian Centre for Disease Control still assesses the risk to humans as low.

While humans can catch the virus from close contact with infected birds, the virus does not currently spread between humans. This means the risk of a significant human pandemic – which would need widespread transmission between humans – is currently low.

Who’s at risk? What are the symptoms?

Experience in other countries suggests most human infection results from close contact with infected animals.

In Australia, the highest risk groups currently are wildlife carers, including veterinary staff and those managing sick or dead birds. But public health authorities are watching for other groups who may become at risk should the outbreak spread, such as poultry workers.

Symptoms are typically mild, with a runny dose, cough and fever, and sometimes nausea and diarrhoea. Conjunctivitis (“pink eye”) is one symptom associated with bird flu that we don’t often see in seasonal flu.

However, more serious disease can develop. In other countries, this has generally been associated with infections due to H5N1 strains other than 2.3.4.4b.

Is there a bird flu test? What happens next?

Standard flu tests should detect bird flu too. But they don’t distinguish between seasonal flu and bird flu.

Detecting bird flu relies on doctors letting the lab know they suspect bird flu (for example, if a patient has had contact with birds that may be infected).

So if you have flu-like symptoms and are in one of the groups more likely to be exposed to bird flu, tell your doctor so they can order the specific test for bird flu. It’s best to phone ahead, and present for testing wearing a mask.

People with confirmed bird flu should be monitored and follow the directions of their local public health unit. Authorities will also assess whether others may have been exposed and infected.

Some people may be offered the preventive antiviral medicine oseltamivir to reduce their risk of becoming infected or to treat an infection.

How else would we know?

There is also surveillance for bird flu in humans. This means actively looking out for signals without relying on individuals coming forward for testing.

For instance, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in Melbourne tests a selection of isolates (samples) routinely sent from other laboratories.

Other ways to look out for humans infected with bird flu include surveillance systems based in selected hospitals and general practices.

What precautions can I take?

If you work with birds, advice is available about the right type of personal protective equipment to use to minimise your risk of infection. Washing your hands is also important.

A regular seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for people at risk. This is not to protect against bird flu but to prevent people becoming sick with both seasonal and bird flu viruses at the same time.

If you notice sick or dead birds, or other animals, you should: avoid touching them; record your location and what you see (take photos or video, if possible); report this to the 24-hour Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

Allen Cheng, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Monash University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Legislation to tighten eligibility for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) could be be passed as early as next week, after a Labor-led Senate committee today recommended the bill be passed.

The bill, introduced in May and amended in July, aims to slow NDIS spending growth by A$37.8 billion over four years. Much of this would come from tightening access to the scheme and reducing some forms of participant funding.

Government modelling suggests around 240,000 existing participants could leave the NDIS by 2031. Another 110,000 people who might otherwise have entered would be diverted to other programs.

Throughout the Senate committee inquiry’s public hearings, there was broad agreement that the NDIS needs reform, particularly to address fraud and exploitation.

But there was intense disagreement – from participants and their families, advocates, health professionals, the Greens and independent Senator David Pocock – over who should bear the cost of making it sustainable.

So what what’s set to change? And who will be most affected?

What the changes mean for people with disability

1. To join the NDIS, you’ll need to show you’ve tried all publicly available treatments

Under the proposed rules, applicants will need to show they have undertaken all “appropriate treatment” before their impairment is accepted as permanent and they’re eligible to join the NDIS.

The Greens negotiated amendments to the bill that have narrowed this requirement.

The original bill said a person would need to show they had exhausted all other treatment options. Under the amended bill, treatments that are regularly used in Australia and publicly funded can be considered. Restrictive practices cannot count as appropriate treatment.

This addresses some of the concerns raised during the inquiry.

But a treatment can still be publicly funded and difficult to access because of long waiting lists, a lack of specialists or where someone lives.

2. Funding for social participation will be reduced

Some participants could lose a substantial share of the funding they rely on to take part in social and community life. This funding can pay for the support people need to leave home, travel safely, attend appointments, work, study, volunteer or spend time with family and friends.

The government plans to reduce budget allocations for social, civic and community participation by 50%, and capacity-building daily activities by 10%, as plans are renewed or reassessed.

With less support, some people may become more isolated or have to give up activities that help them remain independent and connected to their community. Families may also be left to provide more unpaid care.

3. Ineligible people may have no alternatives

People who are found no longer eligible for the NDIS face another problem: what will replace it?

The government says people can increasingly rely on mainstream services, foundational supports or programs such as Thriving Kids.

But many of these alternatives are still being developed and may not provide the same level of individual support.

This means some people could lose access to the NDIS before another service is ready to help them. Their support needs would remain, with families and already stretched health, education and community services left to fill the gap.

Who could be hit hardest?

People with psychosocial disability from mental illness may be especially vulnerable. Their conditions can fluctuate and may be difficult to capture through a standardised assessment.

They also rely heavily on social and community participation funding, one of the areas targeted for reductions.

People with intellectual disability, Down syndrome and vision impairment may also be heavily affected because social and community participation supports often make up a larger share of their plans. These supports help people leave home, maintain relationships and participate in everyday community life.

Children and young people are likely to be particularly affected by the tighter eligibility rules. Government modelling suggests around 154,000 of the 241,000 existing participants expected to leave the NDIS by 2031 will be aged 18 or under.

About 145,000 people expected to leave have autism or developmental delay as their primary disability.

People in regional and remote communities could also have fewer alternative services available if NDIS support is reduced.

First Nations people would face additional barriers where services are not locally available or culturally appropriate.

Families and unpaid carers may ultimately be left to fill some of these gaps where replacement services are not yet in place.

What happens next?

The bill must first pass parliament and this could happen as early as next week. The changes will then be introduced in stages.

From October 2026, some participants will begin seeing reductions to social and community participation and related capacity-building funding when their plans are renewed or reassessed.

Thriving Kids would also begin its staged roll-out from this date.

From February 2027, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will begin applying tighter rules when deciding which supports it will fund. These rules would first apply to new participants and then gradually to people already in the scheme as their plans are reviewed.

From April 2027, participants will begin moving to new framework planning, where a new support-needs assessment would be used to determine plan budgets.

From January 2028, when the biggest changes come into effect, applicants will face a stricter test of whether their disability is permanent and would be assessed using a standard measure of how their disability affects everyday life.

New applicants aged eight and under with developmental delay or autism and low-to-moderate support needs will generally be directed to Thriving Kids rather than the NDIS.

Existing participants will then be progressively reassessed under the new eligibility rules over three years.

Mona Nikidehaghani, Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University of Wollongong

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.