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Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Attorney-General Christian Porter announced that sabotaging food will now attract a penalty of up to 15 years’ imprisonment. AAP/Lukas Coch

Why the increased penalties for strawberry sabotage will do little to prevent the crime

After a spate of sewing needles being found in strawberries, the federal government has moved quickly to tighten penalties for those who sabotage fruit. But it is unlikely to be a strong deterrent.
CFMMEU workers protest on September 6, demanding the abolition of the federal government’s Australian Building and Construction Commission. AAP/Dan Himbrechts

What the stoush between the federal government and the CFMMEU is really about (spoiler: there’s an election coming)

The stand-off between the Morrison government and one of the country’s largest unions, the CFMMEU, should be seen as a contest of politics and ideology rather than simply one of industrial relations.
Whatever’s driving the popularity of SUVs like the Toyota Kluger, crash tests and accident data show people are mistaken if they think they increase safety on the road. Toyota/AAP

I’ve always wondered: are SUVs and 4WDs safer than other cars?

Perceptions about safety might be one of the reasons more and more people are buying SUVs. The evidence from crash data, though, is troubling – particularly for other road users.
Transparency isn’t a silver bullet, but increasing it would go some way to changing the secrecy around who has access – and how much – to the government of the day. AAP/Lukas Coch

Influence in Australian politics needs an urgent overhaul – here’s how to do it

A new report from Grattan Institute argues the secrecy and inequality surrounding who has “say” and “sway” in Canberra can be remedied – if politicians can just find the will to do it.
Everyone was up in arms about a lack of privacy with the My Health Record, but the privacy is the same for other types of patient data. from www.shutterstock.com

If privacy is increasing for My Health Record data, it should apply to all medical records

New laws mean My Health Record data is more protected than other patient data. Privacy policies should be the same across the board.
Prosecution rates of sexual assault cases remain low, with fewer than 50% of cases brought to court in NSW resulting in conviction. Shutterstock

New laws help juries understand why victims of sexual violence struggle to recall their assaults

The change in law is part of broader reforms that came out of the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in both NSW and Victoria.
It’s just a tiny part of the Y chromosome that kickstarts the development of testes. Kelly Searle/Unsplash

What makes you a man or a woman? Geneticist Jenny Graves explains

There are many cultural and social factors involved in making a baby into a man or a woman. But biologically speaking, sex starts when you’re just a tiny group of cells in your mother’s uterus.
Government MPs raise their hands in response to a question from Scott Morrison: our PM emulates a Pentecostal preacher, engaging in the call and response that features in that tradition. Mick Tsikas/AAP

Friday essay: what do we want to be when we grow up?

We need a new national narrative, for reasons of diplomacy, trade and social cohesion and to grapple with many global challenges. The humanities and social sciences will be vital in shaping it.