tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/perth-3307/articlesPerth – The Conversation2024-02-14T23:50:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226102024-02-14T23:50:02Z2024-02-14T23:50:02ZAustralia’s shot-hole borer beetle invasion has begun, but we don’t need to chop down every tree under attack<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574604/original/file-20240209-18-7stpt1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C6183%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shotgunlike-lesions-on-tree-bark-trunk-1754480912">jgeyser, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">new pest attacking Perth’s trees</a> threatens to <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/polyphagous-shot-hole-borer">spread across Australia</a>, damaging crops and native forests as well as our urban forest. To control its spread, the Western Australian government is <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/absolutely-devastating-a-tiny-exotic-beetle-will-see-180-of-hyde-park-s-trees-cut-down-20240130-p5f16n.html">chopping down hundreds of established trees</a>. But these losses may be in vain. </p>
<p>Originally from southeast Asia, the polyphagous (meaning “many-eating”) shot-hole borer has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.18360453">invaded several countries</a>. It attacks <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-WA-Host-List.pdf">more than 400 tree species</a>, including <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-Global-Host-List.pdf">crops</a> such as apple, avocado, macadamia and mango. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.654702">Trees grown for timber</a>, such as ash, elms and oaks are not safe either. And with every new country it invades, it threatens an increasingly large number of native trees.</p>
<p>Australia plans to <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/absolutely-devastating-a-tiny-exotic-beetle-will-see-180-of-hyde-park-s-trees-cut-down-20240130-p5f16n.html">eradicate this pest using one method: felling established trees</a>. But the borer has been eradicated only once – in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02929-w">isolated tropical glasshouses in frosty Europe</a> – demonstrating the difficulty of eradication from larger agricultural and natural ecosystems.</p>
<p>To achieve this worthy but difficult goal, everyone will need to work together. We need a wide range of experts to fully evaluate all available control methods, and consider the most appropriate time frame for eradication. Understanding the impacts of both the pest and its management will ensure we get the best possible outcomes in both the short and long term.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-in-south-africa-are-under-attack-why-its-proving-hard-to-manage-130804">Trees in South Africa are under attack. Why it's proving hard to manage</a>
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<h2>The nature of the beast(s)</h2>
<p>The borer probably arrived in Australia as a stowaway with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/shot-hole-borer-attacks-hyde-park-trees/103406280">untreated wood</a> and remained undetected until August 2021, when a <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/fremantle-residents-asked-look-exotic-insect-borer">concerned resident of East Fremantle</a> noticed unusual holes in her backyard maple trees. Now <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/shot-hole-borer-attacks-hyde-park-trees/103406280">more than 80 suburbs</a> in 25 councils are affected. Fortunately, the pest has not yet been detected outside the Perth metropolitan area.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Perth and the Polyphagous shot-hole borer quarantine area" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The pest borer quarantine area covers 25 local government areas in Perth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The borer attacks so many tree species because it has an accomplice, in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fgb.2013.04.004">form of a fungus</a>. The two live in a mutually dependent “symbiotic” relationship. </p>
<p>The borer creates a Swiss cheese-like matrix of tunnels through the wood. The fungus feeds on the wood lining the tunnels as it grows, and the borer eats the fungus. </p>
<p>The tunnels weaken the structure of the wood, but tree death occurs when the fungus invades and blocks the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48809-8">flow of water and sap between roots and leaves</a>.</p>
<p>The borer’s small size likely limits its natural rate of spread, however we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12321">don’t know how far it can fly</a>. There is a risk of human-assisted spread over long distances as the borer can survive in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvaa103">small pieces of wood for weeks</a>. To make matters worse, a single female borer can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12155">produce offspring without a mate</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Six development stages of the shot hole borer, arranged in a circle to show the life cycle, on a white background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The life cycle of the polyphagous shot-hole borer, also known as the Asian ambrosia beetle (<em>Euwallacea fornicatus</em>)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/development-stages-asian-ambrosia-beetle-euwallacea-513402742">Protasov AN, Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Responding to the threat in Australia</h2>
<p>The threat to Australia can be estimated from the experience in other invaded locations. As in Perth, the invasion usually begins in cities, then spreads into the surrounding countryside, attacking horticulture and forests, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-012-0223-7">avocado production in Israel</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-12-0276-PDN">California</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13314-023-00524-z">stone fruit in South Africa</a>. This overseas experience has informed models of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12566">potential impacts for WA</a>.</p>
<p>But local effects are hard to predict. Figs and eucalypts not susceptible in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.654702">California and Israel</a>, yet <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-WA-Host-List.pdf">figs are preferred and some eucalypts are susceptible in WA</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/polyphagous-shot-hole-borer">national biosecurity response led by WA</a> has allocated A$41 million to eradicate the borer. This funding was based on an assessment of what it should cost. But there is only a short window of opportunity to effectively deploy these resources to achieve eradication.</p>
<p>The response includes trapping and surveillance to determine the spread of the pest. More than <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Vital-biosecurity-response-to-stop-invasive-beetle-pest-20240130">1.5 million trees on more than 50,000 properties</a> have been inspected and some 3,000 traps laid. </p>
<p>These traps catch flying beetles, which fly just once in their lives, so there’s a low catch probability. This makes it hard to detect false negatives, when no beetles are trapped but there are beetles in the area. This can be improved with alternative <a href="https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3656">trap designs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179416">chemical lures</a>.</p>
<p>When infested trees are found in WA, the response is “<a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">removing infested trees to save healthy trees</a>”. This could mean hundreds of trees at popular public locations such as <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Vital-biosecurity-response-to-stop-invasive-beetle-pest-20240130">Perth Zoo, Lake Claremont, Kings Park and Hyde Park</a> will be felled and chipped.</p>
<p>Continuing with the one control method, felling trees, will leave us with fewer trees, particularly if the eradication campaign runs for many years. Reduction of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-higher-density-city-development-leave-urban-forests-out-on-a-limb-57106">urban tree canopy</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-trees-leave-the-outer-suburbs-out-in-the-heat-33299">could be profound</a>, and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-18/perth-tree-canopy-conference/101980438">Perth already has the sparsest urban tree canopy in the nation</a>. </p>
<p>The flow-on consequences could mean even <a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-are-a-citys-air-conditioners-so-why-are-we-pulling-them-out-21890">higher urban temperatures</a> and poorer <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.603757">human</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.066">health</a>. </p>
<p>Urban trees are also valued for their beauty, shade and habitat for animals. All these benefits can be assigned a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.11.017">significant monetary value, which would be even higher</a> if intrinsic or cultural value could be included.</p>
<h2>Waging war on the shot-hole borer</h2>
<p>Although felling and chipping entire trees is necessary, there are <a href="https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74179.html">other effective control methods</a>. Alternatives may include removing and chipping <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-017-0598-6">infested branches only</a>, which may be more <a href="http://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2023.1279547">cost-effective than felling entire trees</a>, to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105136">injecting at-risk but uninfested trees</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-17-1569-RE">slowing</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy423">infestations in trees</a> or spraying <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13040656">repellents onto uninfested trees</a>. In California, traps were developed into an <a href="https://www.californiaavocadogrowers.com/sites/default/files/Trapping-Optimization-and-Development-of-attract-and-kill-strategy-for-the-Polyphagous-Shot-Hole-Borer-in-avocado.pdf">attract-and-kill strategy</a> to tackle the borer in avocado orchards.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Polyphagous shot-hole borer trap set by the OC Parks Department and the University of California, in Irvine Regional Park. The large, multi-tiered black trap with a white collection vessel at the bottom is hanging from a metal pole." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The best trap for the borer, developed in California, is not being used in Perth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/orange-california-24-feb-2017-polyphagous-1938882280">Steve Cukrov, Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>While a rapid response is crucial for eradication, we need to keep improving on this, using the most effective methods available. Relevant solutions from around the world suggest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-024-01744-7">broader community engagement</a>, beyond Perth, would be beneficial.</p>
<p>It is unclear what has been learned so far from efforts in WA. Is it still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0529-5">feasible to eradicate the pest completely</a>? We need more experts to evaluate and advise on the response as it continues.</p>
<p>Making the right response choices will be crucial. Just consider other threatening invaders such as the <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/red-imported-fire-ant">red imported</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-know-if-were-winning-the-war-on-australias-fire-ant-invasion-and-what-to-do-if-we-arent-121367">fire ant</a>, the honey bee <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/varroa-mite">varroa</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-officially-given-up-on-eradicating-the-varroa-mite-now-what-214002">mite</a>, and <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/diseases-fungi-and-parasites/myrtle-rust">myrtle</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/myrtle-rust-is-devastating-australian-forests-a-new-high-tech-spray-holds-out-hope-for-native-trees-219411">rust</a>.</p>
<p>As the borer has only been detected in Perth, the window of opportunity is open now. Let’s make sure we have the best plan of attack so we can achieve eradication. </p>
<p>Australians pride themselves on working together to get things done. If we can bring everyone together to rapidly tackle this insect invasion, the whole nation will benefit.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/citizen-scientists-collect-more-nature-data-than-ever-showing-us-where-common-and-threatened-species-live-212372">Citizen scientists collect more nature data than ever, showing us where common and threatened species live</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s a horror story unfolding in the west that could sweep across the country. Beware the shot-hole borer, an exotic pest that threatens our tree crops, plantations, urban forests and wild places.Theo Evans, Associate Professor, The University of Western AustraliaBruce Webber, Principal Research Scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2020292023-03-17T03:12:39Z2023-03-17T03:12:39ZBjörk was the big-ticket name – but Perth Festival’s heart was found in Bikutsi 3000’s afrofuturist musing on African resistance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515965/original/file-20230316-18-20pk39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C2038%2C1361&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jess Wyld/Perth Festival</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For the culturally curious, February and March in Perth can be a rich maelstrom, with Perth Fringe and Perth Festival. We have apparently the world’s “<a href="https://fringeworld.com.au/news/7-facts-about-fringe-world-that-ll-make-you-go-hmmmm/">third largest</a>” fringe festival (after Edinburgh and Adelaide), but I’m not sure why this is good. </p>
<p>Whatever the case, audiences must plan and be focused in navigating such a cornucopia of competing works in two simultaneous festivals. </p>
<p>My Perth Festival was complicated by a jaunt to Adelaide (in the middle of that city’s festival and fringe) but I was delighted to be able to follow links between works, including <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/afrofuturism">afrofuturism</a>, <a href="https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/what-post-classical-music/">post-classical music</a> and arts offering haunting examples of <a href="https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-post-humanism/">post-humanism</a>: that which exceeds, replaces or accompanies the human. </p>
<h2>Deep listening</h2>
<p>Artistic director Iain Grandage’s previous Perth Festivals tended towards light musical programming, both in quantity and emphasis on accessibility – consider the festival obtaining the world record for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-02/acdc-tribute-highway-to-hell-rocks-perth/12015120">biggest air guitar ensemble</a> in 2020.</p>
<p>This year, however, had many post-classical music highlights which demanded <a href="https://artreview.com/whats-the-point-of-deep-listening-pauline-oliveros/">deep listening</a>.</p>
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<span class="caption">A Dread Of Voids was an uncompromising night of rich sonic assaults.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cam Campbell/Perth Festival</span></span>
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<p>Anthony Pateras’ compositions piano, amplified vocals, clarinet, contrabass and flute with <a href="https://www.anthonypateras.com/bandsprojects/adreadofvoids-2021">A Dread of Voids</a> was an uncompromising night of rich sonic assaults and drone, often with cyclic developmental structures. </p>
<p>Pateras offered a masterful performance, framing the piano with electronics and off kilter pianistic effects such that, for me, it recalled to some degree his other works on prepared piano (where bolts, screws, paper and other materials render strings percussive). </p>
<p>This was followed by Cédric Tiberghien’s performance of <a href="https://matildamarseillaise.com/the-cage-project-en/">John Cage’s suite for prepared piano</a>. Matthias Schack-Arnott crafted a sounding mobile that rotated over Tiberghien. Spun by fans and motors, it gave the performance an air of the inhuman. Tambours and slates were struck above Tiberghien, adding density and counterpoint.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man at a piano." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515958/original/file-20230316-28-bwsw9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cédric Tiberghien’s performance had an air of the inhuman.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony McDonough/Perth Festival</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Schack-Arnott also performed in his <a href="http://matthiasschackarnott.com/everywhen/">Everywhen</a>, intimately offered in the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art. </p>
<p>Schack-Arnott circled within a lighter, jewel-like mobile, sometimes dragging along the ground ringing metal tubes, bells, seed-pods and more. </p>
<p>Schack-Arnott animated or removed items, before crouching ritualistically to play stones and other items, again accompanied by mechanically driven devices above.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515959/original/file-20230316-28-n6qzuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Everywhen was intimately offered in the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Perth Festival</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The music program closed with Gradient from composer/photographer Olivia Davies, performed by Callum G’Froerer on double-bell trumpet. They offered a sort of aggressive chillout room, where G’Froerer’s looped, breathy, clattery and sometimes rhythmic sounds were accompanied by abstract distortions of images taken at the dilapidated Liberty Theatre.</p>
<h2>Deconstructing cinema and theatre</h2>
<p>Grandage has put First Nations art at the heart of his festivals, together with dance and theatre. </p>
<p>Stephanie Lake’s dance and drumming <a href="https://theconversation.com/innovative-and-thrilling-stephanie-lakes-manifesto-is-a-joy-175332">Manifesto</a> toured from the east. Sadly, it was too wide for Heath Ledger Theatre, with some spectators unable to see the drummers in the wings. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/innovative-and-thrilling-stephanie-lakes-manifesto-is-a-joy-175332">'Innovative and thrilling': Stephanie Lake's Manifesto is a joy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>I missed Australian Dance Theatre’s <a href="https://limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/tracker-australian-dance-theatre-and-ilbijerri-theatre-company/">The Tracker</a> and Maatakitj (Clint Bracknell) performing with Kronos Quartet. </p>
<p>Local versions of what Bracknell calls “Noongar-futurism” – inspired by afrofuturism and drawing on electronic dance culture – featured in 2023, with the outdoor opening event of Djoondal offering a <a href="https://www.artshub.com.au/news/reviews/review-djoondal-and-perth-moves-perth-festival-2614249/">fleet of synchronised drones</a> evoking celestial Dreamings.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Drones light up the sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515960/original/file-20230316-28-trxhws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Djoondal evoked celestial Dreamings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jarrad Russell/Perth Festival</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Choreographer/director Laura Boynes’ <a href="https://limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/equations-of-a-falling-body-perth-festival/">Equations of a Falling Body</a> offered a beautiful disorder of objects, bodies and things piled and moved about stage in what has become something of a WA tradition, following Emma Fiswick’s 2021 Festival production of <a href="https://www.seesawmag.com.au/2021/03/dance-to-savour/">Slow Burn, Together</a>.</p>
<p>Aside from Equations of a Falling Body, this year’s theatre and dance highlights were tours of works from the eastern states. </p>
<p>Cyrano, from the Melbourne Theatre Company in association with Black Swan, was an enormously fun vehicle for writer/performer Virginia Gay. The other characters were thespians, so the performance was a cross between Pirandello’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Characters_in_Search_of_an_Author#">Six Characters in Search of an Author</a> and romantic melodrama, a celebratory post-COVID work, if perhaps ultimately forgettable.</p>
<p>The mobile screens above the stage for <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-production-to-satisfy-sydneys-darkest-imaginings-sydney-theatre-companys-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-185596">The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde</a>, from Sydney Theatre Company, produced not so much director Kip Williams’ professed “cine-theatre”, as a deconstructing of the inhuman cinematic machine itself. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515961/original/file-20230316-1658-i50sjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was a deconstructing the inhuman cinematic machine itself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Boud/Perth Festival</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This suited Williams’ exploration of distorting mirrors and mediated character doubles, which was so polished as to be all but seamless. In this production, however, Williams lacks any improvisatory fun and sense of exploration in his use of screens. I preferred the take on screen-enhanced theatre from local company The Last Great Hunt, whose exceptional <a href="https://www.outinperth.com/review-the-last-great-hunt-bottle-brilliance-with-le-nor-the-rain/">Lé Nør [the rain]</a> in the 2019 festival pointed to the inconsistency between screen image and ludicrous on-stage setups, celebrating cine-theatrical playfulness.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-production-to-satisfy-sydneys-darkest-imaginings-sydney-theatre-companys-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-185596">A production to satisfy Sydney's darkest imaginings: Sydney Theatre Company's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A transcultural museological performance</h2>
<p>Black Futurist music was another feature of the 2023 festival. </p>
<p>Franco-Cameroonian <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gncpiNV5sIQ">Bikutsi 3000</a> presented an afrofuturist musing on African resistance to Western culture through dance-as-peaceful-combat. </p>
<p>With an African-European cast led by Blick Bassy, Bikutsi 3000 featured selections from the <a href="https://www.quaibranly.fr/en/">musée du quai Branly</a>’s film archives, framed as a faux lecture combined with projected displays of fantastist African couture. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Women dancing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515962/original/file-20230316-2270-vqytnx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bikutsi 3000 presented an afrofuturist musing on African resistance to Western culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jess Wyld/Perth Festival</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Voiceover text was paired with monumental living portraits of fictional matriarchs representing Cameroon, Namibia, Togo, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. </p>
<p>Accompanied by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOKEwtggKvw">throbbing house and hip hop</a>, it was punctuated by forceful Afro-fusion dance, mostly performed singly or in pairs, which combined regional forms of voguing, shade, hip hop, krumping and dancehall, alongside <a href="http://www.chinafrica.cn/Homepage/202108/t20210830_800256928.html">Indigenous African dance</a>. </p>
<p>Forceful energies rolled across the dancers’ chests while their limbs dropped and weaved. Legs and arms pumped or flew and circled. Bodies close to the ground flowed like liquid or shook vigorously. </p>
<p>Choreographer/dancers Nadeeya Gabrieli Kalati, Audrey Carlita, Martine Mbock and Mwendwa Marchand were exceptional, while Bassy’s inventive combination of blaring digital tones and bullhorns with African drumming and vocals recalled the best of South Africa’s electronic dance music scene.</p>
<p>As a transcultural museological performance, Bikutsi 3000 was nearly unique. Presented at the Studio Underground in the State Theatre Centre, it is unfortunate it wasn’t hosted at a museum. Presenting Bikutsi 3000 in the quai Branly was an implicit rebuke to the Anglo-European institutions still in charge of colonial heritage.</p>
<h2>The Romantic sublime</h2>
<p>The festival showstopper was Björk’s Cornucopia. Björk’s recordings are complex, multi-tracked works, and, like Bikutsi 3000, her stadium performance supplemented prerecorded material.</p>
<p>This produced hiccups, as when the on-stage use of bailers in a water tank to make music was inaudible and out of synchronisation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Björk in a ring of flutes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515963/original/file-20230316-20-qp2b77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When Björk’s production gelled, it was magic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Santiago Felipe/Perth Festival</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the night I saw the performance, Björk was dressed in an unglamorous blue satin blob, which suited her <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/04/bjork-cornucopia-review-an-electrifying-pop-concert-art-installation-and-opening-ceremony-rolled-into-one">retiring performance persona</a>.</p>
<p>Without a charismatic megastar around which to anchor, Cornucopia became an agglutinated, operatic audiovisual spectacle. It was Björk’s flute septet Viibra who bopped away, not Björk. </p>
<p>But when it gelled, it was magic, as when Björk sat inside a giant “circle flute” played by four women, the singer’s angst-ridden vocals soaring.</p>
<p>Björk describes the show as representing a futuristic human/nature utopia, but it’s a utopia that has little space for humans. Projections for Body Memory <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaQfixl2Ss4">showed</a> twisting headless bodies with spines and ridges deforming them, while <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu">Cthulhu</a>-like figures ascended as flayed skins. </p>
<p>In Björk’s fantasy, something descended from us will survive, but it won’t be any more human than Schack-Arnott’s mobiles.</p>
<p>Unlike the Black Futurist music theatre of the festival which offers an exuberant critical socio-cultural alternative way of viewing the past and the present, Björk’s alt-classicism and Jekyll echo older European models of the <a href="https://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-bengal-annual/sublime">Romantic sublime</a>: something appealing or beautiful because it will soon destroy us.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sexual-exhibitionism-riot-grrrl-and-climate-change-activism-30-years-of-raging-by-peaches-bikini-kill-and-bjork-still-going-strong-201388">Sexual exhibitionism, Riot Grrrl and climate change activism: 30 years of raging by Peaches, Bikini Kill and Björk, still going strong</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: Anthony Pateras’ compositions were not for a prepared piano. This has been corrected.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan W. Marshall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Iain Grandage’s fourth Perth Festival continued his focus on First Nations performance, together with an exhilarating dose of Black Futurism as well as demanding post-classical music.Jonathan W. Marshall, Associate Professor & Postgraduate Research Coordinator, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1547202022-12-27T19:20:27Z2022-12-27T19:20:27ZHow to protect yourself against bushfire smoke this summer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498606/original/file-20221202-20-fswf2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C1911%2C1279&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Ihsi88KpQkE">Matt Palmer/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s bushfire season. So you might be wondering about the best way to protect yourself from the health impacts of smoke.</p>
<p>Guidelines suggest wearing <a href="https://files-em.em.vic.gov.au/public/Smoke/EMK-01.19-Community-SAQH-Protocol.pdf">respirators</a>, <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/air/Pages/bushfire-protection.aspx">avoiding</a> outdoor air and avoiding vigorous activity outdoors. Many people use the cheaper option of a surgical mask during bushfires. But there has never been a clinical trial to measure how well these interventions work. That’s why our group is <a href="https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/breathe">looking into it</a>.</p>
<p>In the meantime, here’s what you can do to reduce your exposure to bushfire smoke.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-summer-so-bushfires-and-covid-collide-3-ways-one-affects-the-other-169833">It's summer, so bushfires and COVID collide. 3 ways one affects the other</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Who’s at risk?</h2>
<p>Australia’s 2019/2020 summer bushfires resulted in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/26/australias-summer-bushfire-smoke-killed-445-and-put-thousands-in-hospital-inquiry-hears">more than 400 estimated deaths</a> and thousands of hospitalisations from smoke exposure.</p>
<p>You don’t have to have a lung condition to suffer the <a href="https://theconversation.com/smoke-from-bushfires-poses-a-health-hazard-for-all-of-us-11493">ill-effects of bushfire smoke</a>. Breathing difficulties, eye irritation and heart attacks are among the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-bushfire-smoke-affect-our-health-6-things-you-need-to-know-130126">well-documented</a> short-term impacts.</p>
<p>But people with asthma, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-25539">emphysema</a>, chronic bronchitis and other lung conditions are particularly susceptible to smoke exposure, triggering asthma attacks and breathing difficulties.</p>
<p>This was the typical pattern we saw during our <a href="https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.202012-4471LE?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">own research</a>, conducted during the same bushfire season. We showed smoke exposure caused ill health in people with and without existing lung disease.</p>
<p>However, we found people under 65 had a higher risk of ill health after smoke exposure than older people. This may be because younger people tend to go outdoors more during bushfires.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-bushfire-smoke-affect-our-health-6-things-you-need-to-know-130126">How does bushfire smoke affect our health? 6 things you need to know</a>
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</p>
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<h2>1. Be prepared</h2>
<p>If you live in an area potentially affected by bushfire smoke, the first thing to do is to get an early alert about fires and smoke using one or more apps. Examples include, the <a href="https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/stay-up-to-date">Fires Near Me app</a> or the <a href="https://airrater.org">AirRater app</a> for air quality.</p>
<p>You can also use a <a href="https://iser.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/iser/files/_local_upload/Air%20quality%20self-assessment%20guide.pdf">visual method</a> to assess air quality. This involves identifying a landmark on the horizon about 5 kilometres away and noting if it becomes hazy. This would be the trigger for using a respirator or avoiding outdoor air.</p>
<h2>2. Stay inside if it’s safe</h2>
<p>Try to <a href="https://files-em.em.vic.gov.au/public/Smoke/EMK-01.19-Community-SAQH-Protocol.pdf">avoid exposure</a> to smoke, avoiding outside air and staying indoors if it is practical and safe to do so. Vigorous exercise outdoors can be dangerous as it results in greater smoke inhalation and risks to the heart and lungs.</p>
<p>Close all doors and windows, set air-conditioning to recirculate, and seal gaps under or around doors, windows and wall vents with towels, blankets or plastic. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, these instructions are the opposite of what to do if there is COVID at home, when you would want fresh air in the house. If that is the case, wear a mask indoors in common areas and social distance from the person with COVID.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-buildings-arent-made-to-keep-out-bushfire-smoke-heres-what-you-can-do-129367">Our buildings aren't made to keep out bushfire smoke. Here's what you can do</a>
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<h2>3. Wear a respirator (not just a surgical mask)</h2>
<p>Most people who need to go outside during a bushfire can use some type of disposable respirator to filter the smokey air.</p>
<p>You will have seen people wearing these P2, P3 or N95 <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-n95-mask-or-other-respirator-177229">respirators</a> to protect themselves and others from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1496730465981640708"}"></div></p>
<p>These and <a href="https://www.addler.com.au/differences-p1-p2-p3-n95-respirators/">other types of disposable respirators</a> filter very fine particles and fit closely around the face. Choose one with a full band around the back of the head (rather than ear loops) as these provide a better fit.</p>
<p>Some disposable respirators have valves, which means they filter inhaled air but allow you to exhale more comfortably. This option may help people with asthma or lung disease to breathe more comfortably. If you have COVID, though, wearing a respirator with a valve does not reduce the risk of you infecting others, because the air you breathe out through the valve is unfiltered and contaminated.</p>
<p>Respirators will filter particles <a href="https://www.aiha.org/news/201022-osha-addresses-claims-that-n95s-do-not-protect-against-sars-cov-2">larger than 0.3 microns</a> (micrometres). However, they may not filter smaller particles contained in smoke, which is why avoiding outside air is still important.</p>
<p>People who live in bushfire-prone areas may want to consider a type of respirator they can clean and re-use when needed, known as <a href="https://healthcareworkersaustralia.com/elastomeric-mask/">an elastomeric respirator</a>. Their filters need to be changed at specified intervals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Elastomeric face mask" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499478/original/file-20221207-24-nezay8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">An elastomeric mask, such as this one, can be re-used.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/reusable-halfface-elastomeric-respirator-air-purification-2196383995">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>If you have trouble getting one of the mentioned respirators, you can use a disposable <a href="https://breathesafeair.com/mask-ratings/">KN95 respirator</a>. However, these have ear loops and do not fit well around the face, so air can leak through. </p>
<p>Surgical masks are not likely to protect you because they are so loose. But medical-grade ones provide good filtering. For this to be effective, wear one with a <a href="https://www.insider.com/ways-to-make-your-face-mask-more-effective-2021-2">mask brace or clip</a> to provide a better fit and to help prevent air leaking in from the sides.</p>
<h2>In a nutshell</h2>
<p>Be prepared by downloading an app to monitor bushfires and air quality near you, and stocking up on good quality respirators ahead of time if you can. You can re-use these if they are not visibly soiled or damaged.</p>
<p>Staying out of the smoke is also important, particularly if you have asthma, emphysema and other lung disease. Young people may be less aware of the health effects of smoke exposure, and even people without lung disease can experience ill health due to smoke.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Do you have asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis or bronchiectasis? Do you live in an area in Australia affected by bushfires or bushfire smoke (including metropolitan areas)? You may be eligible to be part of <a href="https://kirby.unsw.edu.au/breathe">our study</a> into the best way to protect yourself from bushfire smoke.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>C Raina MacIntyre has consulted for mask companies including Detmold and Ascend. She receives funding from the NHMRC and the MRFF currently.</span></em></p>Be prepared. Download an air quality app, stock up on respirators and stay inside if you can.C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1877682022-08-10T20:12:05Z2022-08-10T20:12:05ZSending teens to maximum security prisons shows Australia needs to raise the age of criminal responsibility<p>The recent transfer of a “difficult cohort” of teenagers <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-20/seventeen-banksia-hill-inmates-moved-to-casuarina/101256138">to a maximum-security adult prison in Western Australia</a> raises familiar questions about Australia’s prison system.</p>
<p>The 17 young detainees have “significant offending histories” and had for months been destroying infrastructure, assaulting staff and harming themselves at Perth’s Banksia Hill juvenile centre, according to the head of the WA justice department, Adam Tomison. Tomison didn’t elaborate on what led to these incidents.</p>
<p>According to Gerry Georgatos, coordinator of the <a href="https://gerrygeorgatossocialjustice.com/nsptrp/">National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project</a>, the damaged cells were a sign of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-21/third-of-banksia-hill-detention-centre-cells-damaged-unusable/101167766">the strain detainees were under at Banksia Hill</a>.</p>
<p>Premier Mark McGowan and Corrective Services Commissioner Mike Reynolds said the government had been left with no choice. The transfer was a necessary circuit-breaker, they argued, to provide greater security and safety for the management of the detainees. </p>
<p>While no time frame has been specified, the WA government has described the move to <a href="https://www.mamamia.com.au/banksia-hill-juvenile-detention/">Casuarina Prison</a> as “<a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/disruptive-detainees-relocated-temporary-facility">temporary</a>”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-every-young-person-in-wa-detention-has-a-severe-brain-impairment-90695">Almost every young person in WA detention has a severe brain impairment</a>
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<p>Australia’s juvenile detention centres have been under the spotlight since 2016, when ABC Four Corners <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/26/abuse-of-teenage-prisoners-in-nt-detention-how-four-corners-got-the-story">revealed</a> the treatment of inmates at Darwin’s Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. The children were being stripped naked, tied to restraint chairs, manhandled and even teargassed. </p>
<p>Such was the shock when the episode aired that, within hours, then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called for a <a href="https://www.royalcommission.gov.au/child-detention">royal commission</a> into juvenile detention centres in the Northern Territory, though he later refused to extend the inquiry to other states and territories.</p>
<p>The release of the commission’s <a href="https://www.royalcommission.gov.au/child-detention/final-report">final report</a>, almost two years later, followed a familiar pattern. It found staff had in many cases not followed required procedures and the system had “failed to comply with the basic binding human rights standards in the treatment of children and young people”.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/24/don-dale-no-charges-to-be-laid-over-royal-commission-findings">none of the officers involved was charged</a> and the commission’s recommendations seem to have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nts-tough-on-crime-approach-wont-reduce-youth-offending-this-is-what-we-know-works-160361">ignored</a>.</p>
<p>Those incidents were not unique to Don Dale. While the government blames them on “difficult” juveniles, it ignores how young detainees are also among the most vulnerable members of society. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, as the Banksia Hill case shows, Australia pays scant attention to the difference between a child and an adult offender. The evidence suggests it’s <a href="https://action.amnesty.org.au/act-now/raise-the-age">time to rethink</a> this approach.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-still-a-long-way-to-go-for-the-don-dale-royal-commission-to-achieve-justice-92736">There's still a long way to go for the Don Dale royal commission to achieve justice</a>
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<h2>A national problem</h2>
<p>Problems concerning the treatment of inmates at Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centres <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-18/banksia-hill-report-leaves-wa-government-under-pressure/8720488">have been known</a> for years.</p>
<p>A 2017 <a href="https://www.oics.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Full-report.pdf">report</a> noted the increasing use of a special operations group to manage incidents at the facility. This group uses <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/banksia-hill-what-is-happening-to-kids-in-youth-jail/8717018">stun grenades, gun-laser sights and pepper spray</a>, which is unprecedented in either adult or youth facilities in the state. The report noted this was a “telling sign of a facility that is failing the basics”.</p>
<p>An unscheduled visit by WA’s custodial inspector last year raised “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-19/cruel-treatment-of-inmates-at-wa-banksia-hill-detention-centre/100998896">reasonable suspicion</a>” that young detainees were being subjected to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”, including been held in their own cells for 23 hours of the day. </p>
<p>While Don Dale and Banksia Hill represent the more egregious cases, other youth detention centres around the country have also faced significant scrutiny in recent years. These include <a href="https://www.youthjustice.dcj.nsw.gov.au/Documents/ministerial-review-into-frank-baxter.pdf">Frank Baxter</a> in New South Wales and the <a href="https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/justice-system/youth-justice/review-of-the-parkville-youth-justice-precinct-an-independent-review">Parkville</a> facility in Victoria.</p>
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<h2>Changing the age of criminal responsibility is key</h2>
<p>Article 37 (c) of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child states juvenile detainees “shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so”. </p>
<p>On ratifying the convention, Australia specified it was “<a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/seen-and-heard-priority-for-children-in-the-legal-process-alrc-report-84/20-detention/separation-of-adults-and-juveniles-in-detention/">unable to comply with</a>” this requirement. Children would be separated from adult prisoners only when “feasible”.</p>
<p>The federal government has so far <a href="https://www.amnesty.org.au/why-we-need-to-raise-the-minimum-age-of-criminal-responsibility/">rejected calls</a> by the UN to raise the age of criminal responsibility from ten to 14. In this regard, Australia’s stance is oblivious to what’s commonly known as “the labelling effect”. Young people who are labelled “criminal” are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5342201/">likely to live up to this label</a> rather than growing out of crime as would normally occur.</p>
<p>Youth justice detention, from this standpoint, is inherently <a href="https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/understanding-criminogenic-influences-on-youth-offending">criminogenic</a> – it encourages rather than reduces criminal behaviour.</p>
<p>The risk of labelling grows where young offenders are housed with adult offenders. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-26/families-fear-for-banksia-hill-detainees-moved-to-casuarina/101233756">News reports</a> are already suggesting some of the juveniles sent to Casuarina have been speaking to adult prisoners through the fence.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-year-olds-do-not-belong-in-detention-why-australia-must-raise-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility-142483">Ten-year-olds do not belong in detention. Why Australia must raise the age of criminal responsibility</a>
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<p>Last November, the Productivity Commission noted “<a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/prison-dilemma/prison-dilemma.pdf">Australia’s prison dilemma</a>”: our imprisoned population is at an historic high, yet crime rates are falling.</p>
<p>Governments spend <a href="https://www.ceda.com.au/NewsAndResources/Opinion/Economy/Australia-pays-the-price-for-increasing-rates-of-i">more than $4bn each year</a> keeping people behind bars, and taxpayers should ask what that money is achieving. Australia must also recognise <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/14/wa-study-finds-89-of-children-in-detention-have-severe-cognitive-impairment">the role mental health plays</a> in the behaviour of “difficult” children. We can’t continue to sweep that problem under the carpet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Piero Moraro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australian governments play down the difference between child and adult offenders, and the costs are highPiero Moraro, Lecturer in Criminology, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1870162022-07-15T04:56:23Z2022-07-15T04:56:23ZWas Tricia the elephant happy? Experts on the ethics of keeping such big, roaming creatures in captivity<p>The beloved Asian elephant Tricia died at Perth Zoo this month at the ripe old age of 65, making her one of the world’s oldest elephants. </p>
<p>Tricia was born in 1957 and arrived at Perth Zoo in 1963 from Vietnam. Her keeper <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/tricia">described</a> her as expressive, playful, and mischievous.</p>
<p>Tricia’s death has led to an outpouring of grief in Perth, especially among zookeepers and her <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/local-news/perthnow-central/perth-zoo-reassures-patrons-of-wellbeing-of-elephants-putra-mas-and-permai-after-tricias-death-c-7506249">fellow elephants</a>, Putra Mas and Permai. But it has also sparked <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/vegan-activist-tash-peterson-stages-protest-outside-perth-zoo-after-death-of-beloved-elephant-tricia/news-story/31a7d6c5f1cf06994b084f4cc19c9f13">renewed debate</a> about the ethics of keeping such long-lived, wandering animals in zoos for decades. </p>
<p>This is an important topic to debate as, historically, elephant welfare in captivity has been poor. So are elephants generally happy and safe in enclosures today? </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Vale Tricia | Perth Zoo.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The challenges of keeping elephants captive</h2>
<p>Animal welfare, as a concept, is complex and evolving. In broad strokes, <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.558.5161&rep=rep1&type=pdf">welfare is defined</a> as an animal’s ability to avoid suffering and sustain fitness. This requires human carers to not only provide for physical needs, but mental ones. </p>
<p>But animal welfare wasn’t always a priority for captive elephants. A notorious example is elephants being held <a href="https://www.elephantvoices.org/elephants-in-captivity-7/in-circuses.html">captive in circuses</a>. These elephants were separated from their mothers at an early age for training, confined for long periods and moved improperly in flatbeds and box cars from place to place. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-efforts-to-save-its-wandering-elephants-are-laudable-but-lets-not-forget-its-bloody-conflicts-with-the-giants-162767">China’s efforts to save its wandering elephants are laudable, but let's not forget its bloody conflicts with the giants</a>
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<p>Promoting good welfare for elephants in captivity is difficult due to their larger size, which requires greater resources such as water, space and <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/elephants">up to 150 kilograms of food daily</a>.</p>
<p>Satisfying their space and exercise needs in a captive environment is likely impossible. In the wild, elephants can roam great distances – <a href="https://www.elephantsforafrica.org/elephant-facts/">up to 195km in a day</a> - and are continually on the move. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An Asian elephant playing in a pool at Oregon Zoo.</span></figcaption>
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<p>These animals also have highly developed cognitive abilities, rivalling those of primates. For example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20257?casa_token=UDQJJf8UdicAAAAA:uyyYzdhLdlCBU-Oy7Fm6t4LGZWuO0fxljtMwGAQhowPplxP19MTWa19fU_scYXcfPIrRDmoG1nJOzQ">elephants can manufacture and use tools</a>, such as manipulating and stripping branches to swat insects. </p>
<p>Elephants have a playful side. They splash water and mud or, in dry periods, use their trunks to entangle the trunks of others under the shade of a tree.</p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20257?casa_token=UDQJJf8UdicAAAAA:uyyYzdhLdlCBU-Oy7Fm6t4LGZWuO0fxljtMwGAQhowPplxP19MTWa19fU_scYXcfPIrRDmoG1nJOzQ">Various accounts</a> suggest they can also show compassion, be cooperative, recognise themselves in a mirror, and demonstrate altruism.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rewilding-conservationists-want-to-let-elephants-loose-in-europe-heres-what-could-happen-168212">Rewilding: conservationists want to let elephants loose in Europe – here's what could happen</a>
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<p>They also demonstrate strong <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1050.2097&rep=rep1&type=pdf">social bonds</a> with other elephants. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211740">Emerging evidence suggests</a> grief and comfort are displayed upon the death of a bonded family member. Management practices that disrupt these bonds lead to suffering.</p>
<p>Tricia became the foster mother of three elephant calves who came to Perth Zoo. Tragically in 2007, one of the elephants was euthanised due to health complications. Tricia grieved this loss for a year. </p>
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<h2>Animal welfare in modern zoos</h2>
<p>Modern Australian zoos have made animal welfare a top priority. <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/PerthZooWebsite/media/PerthZoo/Resources/CORP_PerthZooAnimalCharter2015.pdf">Some key considerations</a> in assessing welfare are the complexity of the enclosure, a varied and species-appropriate diet, behavioural enrichment and regular heath care. </p>
<p>Carers also <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/article/elephants-in-our-care">keep an eye out for behaviours</a> suggestive of fear, stress, and anxiety, such as pacing, aggression, and self-harm. </p>
<p>Perhaps one of the best examples of the progress of zoological parks is Tricia herself. The <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/tricia">captivity conditions</a> in her early days were poor, by today’s standards. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/early-trauma-affects-an-elephants-ability-to-assess-threat-from-lions-new-research-177315">Early trauma affects an elephant's ability to assess threat from lions – new research</a>
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<p>She was originally housed in a concrete enclosure. Tricia was moved to a <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/article/jumbo-celebrations-as-tricia-turns-60!-">new enclosure in 1986</a> that included a new barn and pool. </p>
<p>The current elephant enclosure at Perth Zoo has <a href="https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/article/jumbo-celebrations-as-tricia-turns-60!-">tripled in size</a> and contains a swimming pool, mud wallow, trees, scratching posts, and a heated barn with sand floors and sleeping mounds. </p>
<p>Various activities aimed at improving her life quality were also available in the form of zoo walks and painting – an extension of drawing and scribbling elephants do in the wild. </p>
<p>As a reader you may be thinking that, sure, this sounds nice, but how could it really compare to the freedoms and space of the wild?</p>
<p>Unfortunately achieving good welfare in the wild is rarely a given either. Wild populations of Asian elephants are <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/7140/45818198">listed as endangered</a>, with a rapidly decreasing population and a long time between generations of 22-25 years. </p>
<p>They face <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/asian-elephant">many threats</a> such as urban encroachment, hunting and habitat decline. They’re also viewed as pests by farmers and timber loggers.</p>
<p>Today’s captive elephants are often part of breeding and conservation programs aimed at Asian elephants. While captive breeding programs are unlikely to make significant contributions to wild population numbers, highlighting their plight in the wild to visitors can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27291643/">promote the conservation message</a>. </p>
<p>Some zoos also use their experience to become involved in conservation efforts in the elephants’ home countries, where success is more likely. As an example, Australia Zoo has invested funds in an <a href="https://kingdomstv.com/steve-irwins-family-open-an-elephant-hospital-making-his-lifelong-dream-come-true/">Indonesian elephant hospital</a> to rehabilitate injured animals.</p>
<h2>The future of captive elephants</h2>
<p>Australian zoos are recognising the challenges of keeping certain species within their walls. We’re seeing a shift away from actively adding or replacing exotic species, in favour of redeveloping larger and more complex enclosures for remaining animals. Priority is given to species part of conservation and breeding programs. </p>
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<p>So can we re-introduce elephants who have spent most of their lives zoos, back into the wild? This would be unethical, due to their reliance on generational knowledge to find food, water and migration routes. </p>
<p>But there is increasing recognition of the need for stable social groups, and a resolve to house Asian elephants across fewer locations that can provide the best conditions for them. </p>
<p>For example, Perth Zoo is searching for <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/beloved-perth-zoo-elephant-tricia-nears-the-end-of-her-life-20220705-p5az4r.html">a new home</a> for their two remaining elephants where they can be integrated into a larger herd. And Melbourne zoo <a href="https://www.zoo.org.au/melbourne/habitats/trail-of-the-elephants/asian-elephant/">will house their herd</a> at Werribee Open Range Zoo, which will expand to 21 hectares available for roaming.</p>
<p>Only time will tell what the future holds for elephants in zoos. But we should take heart in the progress that has been made to elephant housing and care over the last 50 years, as well as a greater recognition of any emerging issues, ensuring robust debate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187016/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Turner has a PhD supervisor, affiliated with Zoos SA; however they were not involved with the creation of this article</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Whittaker has previously received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p>Vale Tricia: the beloved Asian elephant called Perth Zoo home since 1963. Her death has led to an outpouring of grief in Perth, especially among zookeepers and her fellow elephants.Jessica Turner, PhD Candidate, University of AdelaideAlexandra Whittaker, Senior Lecturer, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1755162022-01-25T02:45:41Z2022-01-25T02:45:41ZWhat drove Perth’s record-smashing heatwave – and why it’s a taste of things to come<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442416/original/file-20220125-13-1dx0p54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5536%2C3671&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Perth smashed its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jan/23/perth-swelters-through-record-five-consecutive-days-over-40c-temperatures">previous heatwave records</a> last week, after sweltering through six days in a row over 40°C – and 11 days over 40°C this summer so far. On top of that, Perth has suffered widespread power outages and <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/bushfires/bushfire-watch-and-act-in-place-for-hamersley-c-5417780">a bushfire</a> in the city’s north.</p>
<p>While the heatwave was unprecedented and extreme, for climate scientists like myself, it’s not surprising. Southwest Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/drying-land-and-heating-seas-why-nature-in-australias-southwest-is-on-the-climate-frontline-170377">is considered</a> a hotspot for climate change, as the long-term warming and drying trend is extremely pronounced. </p>
<p>Over the last century, the average global temperature has risen by more than 1°C. This has seen the number of days over 40°C more than <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.17348">double in Perth</a>. </p>
<p>To definitively state whether last week’s heatwave is a direct result of climate change, we’d need to carry out a <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.493.4343&rep=rep1&type=pdf">formal attribution study</a>. But we do know from climate models that these sorts of extreme events will only become <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-has-already-hit-australia-unless-we-act-now-a-hotter-drier-and-more-dangerous-future-awaits-ipcc-warns-165396">more frequent</a>.</p>
<h2>What’s driving this heatwave?</h2>
<p>Easterly winds travelling over the hot, dry desert bring very hot, dry weather conditions to Perth. </p>
<p>These winds are brought about by “anti-cyclones” (or high pressure systems), which are a prominent feature of Perth weather, and we see these almost every day in our weather charts. Their impact depends on where they’re located and how they move. </p>
<p>This heatwave was caused by a strong and stationary anti-cyclone sitting in the Great Australian Bight. But that’s not the whole story, as the so-called “west coast trough” – another key feature of Perth summers – also plays a key role in determining how hot it gets. </p>
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<p>Troughs are elongated regions of relatively low atmospheric pressure. When located offshore, the west coast trough will essentially block and weaken the afternoon sea breeze. </p>
<p>When it’s stationary at the coast, it tends to bring warm north-easterly winds, which was the case during the heatwave. As the trough moves inland, we get cooler conditions, as we’ve been feeling this week. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-world-endured-2-extra-heatwave-days-per-decade-since-1950-but-the-worst-is-yet-to-come-141983">The world endured 2 extra heatwave days per decade since 1950 – but the worst is yet to come</a>
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<p>According to climate change models, these anti-cyclones are becoming more frequent and intense. Indeed, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-018-4451-5">a 2018 study</a> confirmed the frequency of anti-cyclones is increasing between 30-40⁰ south of the equator, which includes southern Australia. </p>
<p>The hot, dry winds from the east are also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-016-3169-5">projected to get more intense</a>, bringing still more heat to WA.</p>
<h2>The outlook from here</h2>
<p>Australia has already warmed by about 1.4°C since 1910. Under a high emissions scenario, where global emissions continue to rise unabated, the hottest day of the year will be as much as <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001469">4 to 6°C warmer by 2080–2099</a>, compared to 1995–2014. </p>
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<p>For WA, both <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-016-3169-5">regional</a> and <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001469">global</a> climate projections suggest it will not only become even warmer in summer, but also drier in winter. </p>
<p>While climate models typically have large uncertainties when it comes to predicting rainfall, southwest WA is one of few regions worldwide where the vast majority of climate models agree we’ll see a marked decline in winter and spring rainfall – by <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001469">up to 30% under a high emissions scenario</a>.</p>
<p>All this implies we’re further increasing the chances of more consecutive days above 40°C, as we in Perth have just experienced. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drying-land-and-heating-seas-why-nature-in-australias-southwest-is-on-the-climate-frontline-170377">Drying land and heating seas: why nature in Australia's southwest is on the climate frontline</a>
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<p>Extreme heatwaves and dry spells can take a heavy toll on wildlife. For example, the region endured an exceptionally dry winter in 2010, followed by a hot summer in 2011, and then a marine heatwave in March, 2011. </p>
<p>Their <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-31236-5">combined impact</a> led to mass tree deaths and coral bleaching occurring simultaneously. Plants on land, seagrass and kelp also died en masse, along with a population crash of an endangered terrestrial bird species, plummeting breeding success in marine penguins, and outbreaks of terrestrial wood-boring insects.</p>
<p>What does this drying, heating trend mean for bushfires? <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27225-4">Research</a> published late last year has shown, for the first time, that climate change has markedly increased the frequency of forest megafires in Australia since 2000. A forest megafire is a bushfire that burns over 1 million hectares (or 10,000 square kilometres). </p>
<p>The study found that over the past 90 years, Australia has experienced four megafire years. Three of these <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/news-releases/2021/new-research-links-australias-forest-fires-to-climate-change">occurred after 2000</a>. </p>
<p>Given most of WA is prone to bushfires, further warming and drying not only exacerbates bushfire risk, but will also bring longer fire seasons. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-has-already-hit-australia-unless-we-act-now-a-hotter-drier-and-more-dangerous-future-awaits-ipcc-warns-165396">Climate change has already hit Australia. Unless we act now, a hotter, drier and more dangerous future awaits, IPCC warns</a>
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<h2>What can we do about this?</h2>
<p>The science could not be any clearer. We need to reach net <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/#SPM">zero emissions as soon as possible</a> to avoid catastrophic climate change, otherwise extreme heat events, like we in Perth experienced, will simply become more normal. </p>
<p>But there is hope, as our models show we can avoid the worst of these impacts under a low emissions scenario, which could see global warming limited to 1.5°C this century. This requires bold and urgent action now.</p>
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<p>Under the inevitability of future heatwaves, Australia must urgently implement a <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-could-get-more-than-4-c-hotter-by-2100-to-keep-cool-in-australia-we-urgently-need-a-national-planning-policy-152680">national policy</a> on housing and urban greening that takes into consideration more frequent and intense extremes so we can better manage the heat.</p>
<p>And with a month of summer still left, finding ways to keep cool is crucial, such as improving home insulation and air conditioning, if affordable. Simple steps can go a long way, too, such as keeping blinds closed and shutting doors in rooms you’re not using. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-could-get-more-than-4-c-hotter-by-2100-to-keep-cool-in-australia-we-urgently-need-a-national-planning-policy-152680">Cities could get more than 4°C hotter by 2100. To keep cool in Australia, we urgently need a national planning policy</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jatin Kala receives funding from the Australian Research Council and State Government Departments</span></em></p>Climate models point to these extreme heatwaves becoming more frequent in southwest Australia – a region considered a climate change hotspot.Jatin Kala, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA felllow, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1750642022-01-24T02:52:46Z2022-01-24T02:52:46ZHow this little marsupial’s poo nurtures urban gardens and bushland (and how you can help protect them)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441665/original/file-20220120-16-dbkmh3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C23%2C5114%2C3422&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Narelle Dybing</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wildlife encounters can be few and far between in cities but, if you’re lucky, you might catch sight of a small Aussie marsupial in Perth that’s helping keep urban bushland healthy.</p>
<p>Quenda, a rabbit-sized digging mammal native to southwestern Australia, are found in patches of bushland, parkland and even backyard gardens. And our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10531-021-02287-4">latest research shows</a> just how important these unassuming marsupials are to Australian ecosystems. </p>
<p>We found quenda eat a huge variety of specialised fungi called mycorrhiza, which play a key role in helping native vegetation, including eucalyptus trees, absorb water and nutrients. The fungal spores survive in quenda droppings, which can then <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aec.12598">colonise eucalypt roots</a>. In fact, we found one little scat with over 100 types of fungi in it – that’s some very efficient fungal dispersal!</p>
<p>Quenda are considered rare or near threatened due to habitat clearing and predation by introduced predators – cats, dogs and foxes. It’s crucial we manage and maintain their population in and around cities to ensure they have a positive influence on urban ecosystems.</p>
<h2>Nature’s gardeners</h2>
<p>Many different Australian mammals dig in the soil for food or shelter, including bettongs, potoroos, bandicoots and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dig-this-a-tiny-echidna-moves-8-trailer-loads-of-soil-a-year-helping-tackle-climate-change-155947">echidnas</a>.</p>
<p>Sadly, most of <a href="https://theconversation.com/losing-australias-diggers-is-hurting-our-ecosystems-18590">Australia’s digging mammals are threatened</a> with extinction, and many now have very restricted distributions as their habitat is cleared for urban development and they are preyed on by cats and foxes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441919/original/file-20220121-25-10nd9x5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">One quenda can dig 45 pits each night, such as this one.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Natasha Tay</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Once thought to be a subspecies of the southern brown bandicoot, the quenda was recognised as its own distinct species (<a href="https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4378.2.3"><em>Isoodon fusciventer</em></a>) in 2018, and is found only in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO19052">the southwestern corner of Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Quenda are prolific diggers in their search for dinner – a single quenda can dig up to <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/zo/ZO13030">45 small pits per night</a>. Although each pit is small, one quenda can dig over four tonnes of soil each year in total, almost 30 wheelbarrow loads.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dig-this-a-tiny-echidna-moves-8-trailer-loads-of-soil-a-year-helping-tackle-climate-change-155947">Dig this: a tiny echidna moves 8 trailer-loads of soil a year, helping tackle climate change</a>
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<p>Quenda and other digging mammals are like nature’s gardeners. Their digging helps break the water repellent layer on the soil surface, allowing more water to infiltrate the soil, and decreases soil compaction and erosion. </p>
<p>Quenda digs also incorporate leaf litter and seeds into the soil, and this improves conditions for native plants to grow and thrive.</p>
<h2>45 species in each scat</h2>
<p>But perhaps the biggest way they help Australian ecosystems is by dispersing fungal spores in their droppings. </p>
<p>We examined quenda scats from urban bushland south of Perth, and found they contained a large variety of fungi. Quenda scats are only 3-5cm long, but had an average of 45 different fungi species in each that the quenda would have deliberately sought out and eaten.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441920/original/file-20220121-21-qaj9ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Quenda were recognised as their own distinct species in 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lilian Tay</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>These include fungi that produce underground truffle-like fruitbodies, much like the famous black truffles we eat. Because the truffle-like fruitbodies are found underground, they cannot easily disperse their spores. This means they rely almost entirely on quenda and other animals to dig them up and disperse the spores in their poo. </p>
<p>This is a wonderful example of a mutually beneficial – or “symbiotic” – relationship: the quenda gets a delicious meal and the fungus has their spores dispersed far and wide.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-fungis-knack-for-networking-boosts-ecological-recovery-after-bushfires-132587">How fungi's knack for networking boosts ecological recovery after bushfires</a>
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<p>We found more than half of the fungi species in quenda scats are “mycorrhizas”. These fungi form a mutually beneficial relationship with the roots of <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.14976">over 90% of the world’s plants</a> including most native Australian species. </p>
<p>In this mycorrhizal relationship, the plant gives the fungus carbohydrates – a product of photosynthesis. In return, the fungus takes nutrients and water from the soil and passes them to the plant. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441921/original/file-20220121-21-1w4zoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Mycorrhizas include <em>Cortinarius</em> species, which can come in bright purple, orange or green.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The mycorrhizal fungi are essential to healthy forests and bushland. When plants such as eucalypts team up with mycorrhizal fungi, the plants grow taller and faster and are better protected from stresses such as drought and pathogens. </p>
<p>Given very few other species of digging mammals survive in urban bushland, it’s clear quenda play a vital role to disperse mycorrhizal fungi.</p>
<h2>How you can keep quenda safe</h2>
<p>Quenda are extremely important ecosystem engineers in our urban bushland, so it’s crucial we help them thrive by making quenda friendly gardens. </p>
<p>Quenda feel safest in dense vegetation, so if you have a garden and want quenda to visit, plant a dense native understory. This provides both food and habitat for the quenda. </p>
<p>It’s also important to <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-let-them-out-15-ways-to-keep-your-indoor-cat-happy-138716">keep your cats indoors</a> (especially at night) and to teach your dogs not to attack quenda. Make sure any water sources – think ponds, fountains, swimming pools – have an escape route or ramp for quenda, in case they fall in. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-let-them-out-15-ways-to-keep-your-indoor-cat-happy-138716">Don't let them out: 15 ways to keep your indoor cat happy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Finally, at dawn and dusk, when quenda are most active, <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-million-animals-are-hit-on-our-roads-each-year-heres-how-you-can-help-them-and-steer-clear-of-them-these-holidays-149733">drive slowly and keep your eyes peeled</a> to avoid collisions.</p>
<p>They are one few remaining digging mammals in Australian urban bushlands, so the next time you spot a quenda, remember all the wonderful ways it’s making our corner of the world a better place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175064/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Quenda are one of few remaining digging mammals in Australian urban bushlands, and fungi is their favourite food.Anna Hopkins, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Ecology, Edith Cowan UniversityNatasha Tay, PhD Candidate, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1714402021-11-09T22:13:19Z2021-11-09T22:13:19ZWhite sharks can easily mistake swimmers or surfers for seals. Our research aims to reduce the risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430964/original/file-20211109-21-fpdq3d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C199%2C3010%2C2064&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_White_Shark_(14730796397).jpg">Elias Levy/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-07/search-continues-for-shark-bite-victim-port-beach/100601006">presumed death of 57-year-old Paul Millachip</a> in an apparently fatal shark bite incident near Perth on November 6 is a traumatising reminder that while shark bites are rare, they can have tragic consequences. </p>
<p>Despite the understandably huge media attention these incidents generate, there has been little scientific insight into how and why they happen.</p>
<p>Sharks in general, and white sharks in particular, have long been described as “<a href="https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2015/05/14/great-whites-mindless-killing-machines/27313547/">mindless killers</a>” and “<a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/new-discovery-makes-man-eating-21484244">man-eaters</a>”.</p>
<p>But our <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0533">recent research</a> confirms that some bites on humans may be the result of mistaken identity, whereby the sharks mistake humans for their natural prey based on visual similarities. </p>
<p>Sharks have an impressive array of senses, but vision is thought to be particularly important for prey detection in white sharks. For example, they can attack seal-shaped decoys at the surface of the water even though these decoys lack other sensory cues such as scent. </p>
<p>The visual world of a white shark varies substantially from that of our own. White sharks are likely colourblind and rely on brightness, essentially experiencing their world in shades of grey. Their eyesight is also much less acute than ours – in fact, it’s probably more akin to the blurry images a human would see underwater without a mask or goggles.</p>
<h2>The mistaken identity theory</h2>
<p>Bites on surfers have often been explained by the fact that, seen from underneath, a paddling surfer looks a lot like a seal. But this presumed similarity has only previously been assessed based on human vision, using underwater photographs to compare their silhouettes. </p>
<p>Recent developments in our understanding of sharks’ vision have now made it possible to examine the mistaken identity theory from the shark’s perspective, using a virtual system that generates “shark’s-eye” images.</p>
<p>In our study, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0533">published last month</a>, we and our colleagues in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom compared video footage of seals and of humans swimming and paddling surfboards, to predict what a young white shark sees when looking up from below. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Shark's-eye images of surfer and seal" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431041/original/file-20211109-15-746s0s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Shark’s-eye view’ of a paddling surfer and seal, suggesting white sharks may struggle to differentiate the two.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We specifically studied juvenile white sharks – between of 2m and 2.5m in length – because <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00268/full#B6">data</a> from New South Wales <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jmb/2016/9539010/">suggests</a> they are more common in the surf zone and are disproportionately involved in bites on humans. This might be because juvenile sharks are more likely to make mistakes as they switch to hunting larger prey such as seals.</p>
<p>Our results showed it was impossible for the virtual visual system to distinguish swimming or paddling humans from seals. This suggests both activities pose a risk, and that the <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF10181">greater occurrence of bites on surfers</a> might be linked to the times and locations of when and where people surf.</p>
<p>Our analysis suggests the “mistaken identity” theory is indeed plausible, from a visual perspective at least. But sharks can also detect prey using other sensory systems, such as smell, sound, touch and detection of electrical fields.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-shark-bites-seem-to-be-more-deadly-in-australia-than-elsewhere-85986">Why do shark bites seem to be more deadly in Australia than elsewhere?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While it seems unlikely every bite on a human by a white shark is a case of mistaken identity, it is certainly a possibility in cases where the human is on the surface and the shark approaches from below.</p>
<p>However, the mistaken identity theory cannot explain all shark bites and other factors, such as curiosity, hunger or aggression are likely to also explains some shark bites.</p>
<h2>Can this knowledge help protect us?</h2>
<p>As summer arrives and COVID restrictions lift, more Australians will head to the beach over the coming months, increasing the chances they might come into close proximity with a shark. Often, people may not even realise a shark is close by. But the past weekend gave us a reminder that shark encounters can also tragically result in serious injury or death. </p>
<p>Understanding why shark bites happen is a good first step towards helping reduce the risk. Our research has inspired the design of non-invasive, vision-based shark mitigation devices that are currently being tested, and which change the shape of the silhouette.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fatal-shark-attacks-are-at-a-record-high-deterrent-devices-can-help-but-some-may-be-nothing-but-snake-oil-150845">Fatal shark attacks are at a record high. 'Deterrent' devices can help, but some may be nothing but snake oil</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We still have a lot to learn about how sharks experience their world, and therefore what measures will most effectively reduce the risks of a shark bite. There is a plethora of devices being developed or commercially available, but only a few of them have been scientifically tested, and even fewer – such as the devices made by <a href="https://ocean-guardian.com.au/">Ocean Guardian</a> that create an electrical field to ward off sharks – have been <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/5554/">found</a> to genuinely reduce the risk of being bitten.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171440/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Ryan receives funding from State and Federal government agencies and non-governmental organisations. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlie Huveneers receives funding from State and Federal government agencies, private donors, and non-governmental organisations. </span></em></p>The death of 57-year-old Paul Millachip at Fremantle’s Port Beach is a reminder that shark bites, though rare, can be tragic. New research aims to reduce the risk by understanding sharks’ vision.Laura Ryan, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie UniversityCharlie Huveneers, Associate professor, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1658712021-09-13T20:04:45Z2021-09-13T20:04:45ZNew research shows WA’s first governor condoned killing of Noongar people despite proclaiming all equal under law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419029/original/file-20210902-15-ej8vo8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C38%2C556%2C732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Portrait of Sir James Stirling, ca. 1833. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales ML 15 Ref: 897230’</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In June, councillors in Perth’s City of Stirling decided <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-09/city-of-stirling-keeps-name-of-governor-involved-in-wa-massacre/100198450">not to change the name of their municipality</a>, despite former Western Australian governor James Stirling’s leading role in the 1834 Pinjarra massacre.</p>
<p>That massacre, in which troops and colonists killed between <a href="https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/detail.php?r=887">15 and 80 Noongar people</a>, is widely known. Less recognised is Stirling’s encouragement of soldiers and settlers to flout the law and employ violence, including murder, against Noongar communities resisting colonial dispossession elsewhere in WA.</p>
<p>Stirling was WA’s first governor from 1829-39. My new research on the early history of pastoralism highlights how this industry’s success was built on the violent conquest of the Avon valley in the 1830s, during which Stirling condoned the unlawful killing of Noongar people by soldiers and settlers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-first-governor-james-stirling-had-links-to-slavery-as-well-as-directing-a-massacre-should-he-be-honoured-162078">WA's first governor James Stirling had links to slavery, as well as directing a massacre. Should he be honoured?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In one case, for instance, he refused to prosecute a farm worker who killed an Indigenous man in cold blood.</p>
<p>This was despite his proclamation that all the settlement’s inhabitants, Indigenous and European, would be protected equally by British law.</p>
<p>He also argued authorities needed to deliver a decisive blow to “tranquilize” the district. Any balanced assessment of his career in WA should take these actions into account.</p>
<h2>‘Liable to be prosecuted’</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-93.html">proclamation</a> declaring the establishment of Swan River in June 1829 explicitly extended the British legal system to the new settlement. </p>
<p>Indeed Stirling gave notice that if any person was “convicted of behaving in a fraudilent [sic], cruel or felonious Manner towards the Aboriginees of the Country” they would be “liable to be prosecuted and tried for the Offence, as if the same had been committed against any other of His Majesty’s Subjects”.</p>
<p>Yet his commitment to abide by the laws he had proclaimed was frequently tested, especially when colonists began to explore and occupy the Avon valley, 60 miles east of Perth. This area became the centre of the colony’s nascent pastoral industry.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1264&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418408/original/file-20210830-20-todpuw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1264&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of WA from the 1830s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The conquest and settlement of the Avon district by pastoralists and farmers in the 1830s was especially bloody. The Noongar people of the Ballardong region, who owned this well-watered and fertile country, bravely resisted the settler incursion. </p>
<p>In 1836, Stirling dispatched ten soldiers to the town of York under the command of Lieutenant <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bunbury-henry-william-st-pierre-1846">Henry Bunbury</a>. This young officer (for whom the city of Bunbury south of Perth is named) was instructed by the governor “to take the most decisive measures”. Bunbury took this to mean he had been “ordered over here with a detachment to make war upon the Natives”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418409/original/file-20210830-21-1pq36k9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A portrait of Bunbury.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During 1836 and 1837, Bunbury committed several atrocities, freely admitted to in letters and <a href="https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/FullTextFiles/628354.pdf">journals</a>. People sleeping at night were killed without warning. A Noongar man running away from his mounted party was killed, also at night.</p>
<p>Bunbury knew his actions were illegal, but claimed in a <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2030447743/view">letter</a> to Stirling that “severe measures” were necessary. Stirling expressed his satisfaction with Bunbury’s “promptitude”.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/639903?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FP%2Ftitle%2F6%2F1837%2F07%2F22%2Fpage%2F1005%2Farticle%2F639903">public notice</a> he explained “a decisive blow” at York was necessary “to tranquilize that District”. </p>
<p>The “boldness” of the Ballardong Noongar resistance meant that nothing would suffice, wrote Stirling, except </p>
<blockquote>
<p>an early exhibition of force, or […] such acts of decisive severity, as will appal them as a people for a time, and reduce their tribe to weakness.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Settler killings</h2>
<p>Stirling actively condoned the killing of Noongar people by Avon settlers. One particularly egregious <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/640289/812">atrocity</a> occurred in September 1836 when the pioneering pastoralist Arthur Trimmer ordered a worker to murder a Noongar man “in cool blood”. </p>
<p>The employee, Edward Gallop, was instructed to hide in a barn loft with a gun. The doors of the barn, which contained flour, were intentionally left open and as soon as three men entered to take some, Gallop shot one of them in the head.</p>
<p>Stirling made no public statement condemning this premeditated murder. In a <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2031030456/view">letter</a> to his bosses at the Colonial Office in London, he openly defended settlers’ use of extrajudicial violence. </p>
<p>While expressing his “displeasure and regret at the loss of the Native’s life”, Stirling decided not to prosecute Gallop. He believed that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>in cases where the law is necessarily ineffectual for the protection of life and property the right of self protection cannot with justice be circumscribed within very narrow limits. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>On <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/23543299">several other occasions</a> colonists murdered Noongar people without cause, and in some cases mutilated their bodies. For example, another of Trimmer’s employees named Souper boasted of shooting a woman while hunting in the forest; soldiers under Bunbury’s command later mutilated her body.</p>
<p>When Stirling was asked to investigate and prosecute these crimes by the missionary Louis Giustiniani, he ignored them.</p>
<p>The perpetrators never faced justice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165871/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Martens receives funding from the Australian Research Council via the Legacies of British Slavery in Western Australia Discovery Project.</span></em></p>James Stirling was WA’s first governor from 1829-39. He condoned numerous acts of murder by white settlers.Jeremy Martens, Senior Lecturer, History, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1649572021-07-26T19:55:37Z2021-07-26T19:55:37ZA wet winter, a soggy spring: what is the negative Indian Ocean Dipole, and why is it so important?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413052/original/file-20210726-19-1l6zl9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C32%2C4290%2C1909&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This month we’ve seen some crazy, devastating weather. Perth recorded its <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/wettest-july-in-decades-for-parts-of-australia-likely-following-soaking-week/news-story/3506cbe78cb413d4b7f8f8b523a0c308">wettest July</a> in decades, with 18 straight days of relentless rain. Overseas, parts of Europe and China have endured <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/16/climate-scientists-shocked-by-scale-of-floods-in-germany">extensive flooding</a>, with hundreds of lives lost and hundreds of thousands of people evacuated.</p>
<p>And last week, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology officially <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/wrap-up/archive/20210720.archive.shtml">declared</a> there is a negative Indian Ocean Dipole — the first negative event in five years — known for bringing wet weather.</p>
<p>But what even is the Indian Ocean Dipole, and does it matter? Is it to blame for these events?</p>
<h2>What is the Indian Ocean Dipole?</h2>
<p>The Indian Ocean Dipole, or IOD, is a natural climate phenomenon that influences rainfall patterns around the Indian Ocean, including Australia. It’s brought about by the interactions between the currents along the sea surface and atmospheric circulation.</p>
<p>It can be thought of as the Indian Ocean’s cousin of the better known El Niño and La Niña in the Pacific. Essentially, for most of Australia, El Niño brings dry weather, while La Niña brings wet weather. The IOD has the same impact through its positive and negative phases, respectively. </p>
<p>Positive IODs are associated with an increased chance for dry weather in southern and southeast Australia. The devastating <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-11/indian-ocean-dipole-fuels-dry-australia-bushfires-africa-rain/11787874">Black Summer bushfires</a> in 2019–20 were linked to an extreme positive IOD, as well as human-caused climate change which <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-020-00065-8">exacerbated</a> these conditions.</p>
<p>Negative IODs tend to be less frequent and not as strong as positive IOD events, but can still bring severe climate conditions, such as heavy rainfall and flooding, to parts of Australia. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413000/original/file-20210725-13-iynu5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413000/original/file-20210725-13-iynu5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413000/original/file-20210725-13-iynu5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413000/original/file-20210725-13-iynu5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413000/original/file-20210725-13-iynu5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413000/original/file-20210725-13-iynu5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413000/original/file-20210725-13-iynu5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) index, used to track the variability of the Indian Ocean Dipole. An event occurs after the index crosses the threshold for 8 weeks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bureau of Meteorology</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The IOD is determined by the differences in sea surface temperature on either side of the Indian Ocean. </p>
<p>During a negative phase, waters in the eastern Indian Ocean (near Indonesia) are warmer than normal, and the western Indian Ocean (near Africa) are cooler than normal. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-el-nino-and-la-nina-27719">Explainer: El Niño and La Niña</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This causes more moisture-filled air to flow towards Australia, favouring wind pattern changes in a way that promotes more rainfall to southern parts of Australia. This includes parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, NSW and the ACT.</p>
<p>Generally, IOD events start in late autumn or winter, and can last until the end of spring — abruptly ending with the onset of the northern Australian monsoon. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413001/original/file-20210725-25-55tr2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/iod/">Bureau of Meteorology</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why should we care?</h2>
<p>We probably have a wet few months ahead of us. </p>
<p>The negative IOD means the southern regions of Australia are likely to have a wet winter and spring. Indeed, the seasonal outlook indicates above average rainfall for much of the country in the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks/#/rainfall/median/seasonal/0">next three months</a>. </p>
<p>In southern Australia, a negative IOD also means we’re more likely to get cooler daytime temperatures and warmer nights. But just because we’re more likely to have a wetter few months doesn’t mean we necessarily will — every negative IOD event is different.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412998/original/file-20210725-17-jmtvdl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rainfall outlooks for August–October suggest that large parts of Australia will likely experience above-median rainfall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bureau of Meteorology</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the prospect of even more rain might dampen some spirits, there are reasons to be happy about this. </p>
<p>First of all, winter rainfall is typically good for farmers growing crops such as grain, and previous negative IOD years have come with <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/news/media-releases/2017/top-crops-record-production-forecast">record-breaking crop production</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, negative IOD events are so important for Australia that their absence for prolonged periods has been <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2008GL036801">blamed for</a> historical <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-drought-busting-rain-depends-on-the-tropical-oceans-132188">multi-year droughts</a> in the past century over southeast Australia. </p>
<p>Negative IOD years can also <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-is-it-going-to-snow-getting-a-fix-on-what-can-make-a-good-season-58428">bring better snow seasons</a> for Australians. However, the warming trend from human-caused climate change means this signal isn’t as clear as it was in the past.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413050/original/file-20210726-25-k8h1bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A negative IOD may mean a better snow season in the High Country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It’s not all good news</h2>
<p>This is the first official negative IOD event since 2016, a year that saw one of the strongest negative IOD events on record. It resulted in Australia’s <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a021.shtml">second wettest winter</a> on record and flooding in parts of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-27/central-west-nsw-floods-a-year-on/8991972?nw=0">NSW</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-19/victorian-farmers-brace-for-wet-weather-putting-crops-at-risk/7856878?nw=0">Victoria</a>, and South Australia. </p>
<p>The 2016 event was also linked to devastating <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2017/02/22/indian-ocean-dipole-obscure-climate-phenomenon-driving-drought-east-africa">drought in East Africa</a> on the other side of the Indian Ocean, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-12674-z">heavy rainfall in Indonesia</a>.</p>
<p>Thankfully, current forecasts indicate the negative IOD will be a little milder this time, so we hopefully won’t see any devastating events.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413002/original/file-20210725-25-1pg5h1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413002/original/file-20210725-25-1pg5h1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413002/original/file-20210725-25-1pg5h1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413002/original/file-20210725-25-1pg5h1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413002/original/file-20210725-25-1pg5h1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413002/original/file-20210725-25-1pg5h1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413002/original/file-20210725-25-1pg5h1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The number of Indian Ocean Dipole events (per 30 years) based on climate models.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Modified from Abram et al. (2020)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is the negative IOD behind the recent wet weather?</h2>
<p>It’s too early to tell, but most likely not. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-20/perth-wettest-july-in-20-years-more-wet-weather-coming/100308740">Perth</a> is experiencing one of its wettest Julys on record, the southwest WA region has historically been <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/19/10/jcli3700.1.xml">weakly influenced</a> by negative IODs. </p>
<p>Negative IODs tend to be associated with moist air flow and lower atmospheric pressure further <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/24/5/2010jcli3475.1.xml">north and east</a> than Perth, such as Geraldton to Port Hedland. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1417366580237905953"}"></div></p>
<p>Outside of Australia, there has been extensive flooding in China and across Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands. </p>
<p>It’s still early days and more research is needed, but these events look like they might be linked to the Northern Hemisphere’s <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3142152/deadly-floods-germany-china-and-north-americas-sizzling-heatwaves">atmospheric jet stream</a>, rather than the negative IOD. </p>
<p>The jet stream is like a narrow river of strong winds high up in the atmosphere, formed when cool and hot air meet. Changes in this jet stream can lead to extreme weather. </p>
<h2>What about climate change?</h2>
<p>The IOD — as well as El Niño and La Niña — are natural climate phenomena, and have been occurring for thousands of years, before humans started burning fossil fuels. But that doesn’t mean climate change today isn’t having an effect on the IOD. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-drought-busting-rain-depends-on-the-tropical-oceans-132188">Why drought-busting rain depends on the tropical oceans</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Scientific research is showing positive IODs — linked to drier conditions in eastern Australia — have become <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2084-4">more common</a>. And this is linked to human-caused climate change influencing ocean temperatures.</p>
<p>Climate models also suggest we may experience <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027737912030264X">more positive IOD events</a> in future, including increased chances of bushfires and drought in Australia, and fewer negative IOD events. This may mean we experience more droughts and less “drought-breaking” rains, but the jury’s still out. </p>
<p>When it comes to the recent, devastating floods overseas, scientists are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/16/climate-scientists-shocked-by-scale-of-floods-in-germany">still assessing</a> how much of a role climate change played. </p>
<p>But in any case, we do know one thing for sure: rising global temperatures from climate change will cause more frequent and severe extreme events, including the short-duration heavy rainfalls associated with flooding, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16970-7">heatwaves</a>. </p>
<p>To avoid worse disasters in our future, we need to cut emissions drastically and urgently.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/you-may-have-heard-the-moon-wobble-will-intensify-coastal-floods-well-heres-what-that-means-for-australia-164632">You may have heard the 'moon wobble' will intensify coastal floods. Well, here's what that means for Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164957/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicky Wright receives funding from the Australian Research Council and industry sources.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andréa S. Taschetto receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew King receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Last week the Bureau of Meteorology declared a negative Indian Ocean Dipole — a natural climate phenomenon set to bring wet weather. Let’s look at what you can expect, and the role of climate change.Nicky Wright, Research Fellow, University of SydneyAndréa S. Taschetto, Associate Professor, UNSW SydneyAndrew King, ARC DECRA fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1620782021-06-07T20:06:51Z2021-06-07T20:06:51ZWA’s first governor James Stirling had links to slavery, as well as directing a massacre. Should he be honoured?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404754/original/file-20210607-23-gshi66.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=52%2C126%2C1404%2C1871&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A statue of James Stirling in Perth.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, councillors in Perth’s City of Stirling will <a href="https://www.stirling.wa.gov.au/your-city/news/2021/may/statement-in-relation-to-the-electors-general-meet">vote to decide</a> whether to change their city’s name. This follows a residents’ motion arguing a new name would better “reflect the long standing and relevant history of this land in such a way that is inclusive and in recognition of the Nyoongar community”. </p>
<p>This is not about erasing history, <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/community-news/stirling-times/historians-weigh-in-on-city-of-stirling-name-change-debate-c-2889547">said Whadjuk Noongar Elder Len Collard</a>. It is about extending history, “so that all experiences are reflected”.</p>
<p>Stirling is named after James Stirling, Western Australia’s first governor (1829–1839). City of Stirling resident Jeff Bullen, <a href="https://www.stirling.wa.gov.au/your-city/news/2021/may/statement-in-relation-to-the-electors-general-meet">who proposed the motion</a>, argues Stirling’s direction of an 1834 massacre in Pinjarra, south of Perth, means we cannot honour him. Doing so dishonours those killed in that massacre, and its survivors, as well as their descendants.</p>
<p>My research shows Stirling was also indirectly embroiled in the British slave trade via his family’s commerce in American and Caribbean slave-produced tobacco and sugar. Prior to arriving in WA, he personally profited from slavery by seizing ships laden with slave-produced goods, which were awarded to him as prizes.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404756/original/file-20210607-23-1rm75ep.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">James Stirling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Stirling’s central role in the Pinjarra massacre, which <a href="https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/detail.php?r=887">led to the death of between 15 and 80 Noongar</a>, is beyond doubt. </p>
<p>Stirling contended that Noongar attacks on settlers threatened to “tempt other tribes to pursue the same course, and eventually combine together for the extermination of the whites”. On the 28th of October 1834, when he led troops to the region, he sought to provide a “check” on that notion by inflicting, in his words, “such acts of decisive severity as will appall them as people”.</p>
<p>However, extending our frame of reference backwards, to take in Stirling’s life before 1829, is illuminating.</p>
<h2>Tobacco, sugar and coffee</h2>
<p>Although it hasn’t been acknowledged by past histories, Stirling’s family’s wealth was built on the back of slavery business. </p>
<p>More than a century before he was born, two ancestors pioneered the Glaswegian trade in slave-produced Virginian tobacco, becoming extraordinarily wealthy through it. Scottish trade in tobacco during this period grew enormously, linked to the tenfold growth in the purchase of African slave labour in British North America during its first 50 years</p>
<p>After the American Revolution, the Stirlings pivoted towards trade with Jamaica. In James’ generation, two brothers oversaw the family business, in which James appears to have invested his money. When slavery was abolished in 1833, his brother Walter was compensated by the British government for the loss of 230 enslaved people in Barbados and Guiana to the tune of more than $A1.7 million in today’s money. (The enslaved themselves received no compensation.)</p>
<p>Stirling was a Royal Navy captain for six years leading up to 1818 on the HMS Brazen, before being retired on half-pay like so many veterans of the Napoleonic Wars. The ambitious 27-year-old’s income was reduced to roughly that of an innkeeper.</p>
<p>His one salve was the fortune he had made during those six years, capturing enemy vessels. The Royal Navy awarded prize money from the sale of such vessels and their cargo. Stationed in Jamaica, Britain’s richest slave colony, Stirling’s first captured ship had been transporting slave-produced sugar and coffee from Havana to New Orleans, to be sold up the Mississippi River to southern planters.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-the-caribbean-to-queensland-re-examining-australias-blackbirding-past-and-its-roots-in-the-global-slave-trade-158530">From the Caribbean to Queensland: re-examining Australia's 'blackbirding' past and its roots in the global slave trade</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As captain, James received around $A22,000 in today’s money from the sale of the vessel and its cargo. Further captures followed and, though this is not yet clear, it is possible that some ships contained enslaved people, leading to higher prizes. While stationed in Jamaica, Stirling also provided defence for the slave colony and its exports.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=741&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=741&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=741&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=931&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=931&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404767/original/file-20210607-52826-1yunsxw.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=931&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">James’ wife Ellen Stirling (Mangles), 1828, by Thomas Phillips, National Portrait Gallery (Australia), Canberra.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The money that Stirling made from capturing vessels, and the ambition it suggested, was just enough to allow him to marry the daughter of wealthy ship owner, James Mangles. Mangles’ ships had transported enslaved Africans from the West Coast of Africa to Jamaica in the late 18th century, but in the 19th he turned to Indian Ocean trading and convict transportation.</p>
<p>In the years leading up to 1829, Stirling lobbied hard to convince a wary British Colonial Office to establish a penal-free colony on the west coast of Australia, which could support East India Company military and merchant activities. Cheap Indian labour, he proposed, on contracts of indenture, might be imported to cultivate crops in the harsh environs. Further schemes were proposed for non-white labour.</p>
<h2>Commercial logic</h2>
<p>Once in WA, Stirling’s principal concern was identifying and securing fertile pastoral land — for the colonists, the British investors supporting them, and for himself. The success of the colony hinged on pastoral expansion and profit.</p>
<p>The Pinjarra massacre was, in part, led by the commercial logic of this pastoral expansion. If settlers were too frightened of the “unsettled” regions, they would crowd those “settled” around Perth.</p>
<p>Rewinding back in time provides valuable context for the Pinjarra battle and our decisions around commemoration today.</p>
<p>James Stirling’s actions in WA were driven by the logic of imperial commerce. Can the City of Stirling acknowledge this history, and the violence that followed, at the same time as honouring him?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgina Arnott receives funding from the Australian Research Council via the Legacies of British Slavery in Western Australia Discovery Project. </span></em></p>Perth’s City of Stirling, which honours James Stirling, is considering a name change. New research shows how Stirling’s family’s wealth was built on the back of slavery business.Georgina Arnott, Postdoctoral Research Associate in History, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1537972021-02-16T02:38:22Z2021-02-16T02:38:22ZWe tested tiger snake scales to measure wetland pollution in Perth. The news is worse than expected<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382156/original/file-20210203-19-16ycbb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C18%2C4154%2C1809&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s wetlands are home to a huge range of stunning flora and fauna, with large snakes often at the top of the food chain. </p>
<p>Many wetlands are located near urban areas. This makes them particularly susceptible to contamination as stormwater, urban drainage and groundwater can wash metals — such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury — into the delicate ecosystem.</p>
<p>We know many metals can travel up the food chain when they’re present in the environment. So to assess contamination levels, we caught highly venomous tiger snakes across wetlands in Perth, and repurposed laser technology to measure the metals they accumulated. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749121001251">new paper</a>, we show metal contamination in wild wetland tiger snakes is chronic, and highest in human-disturbed wetlands. This suggests all other plants and animals in these wetlands are likely contaminated as well.</p>
<h2>34 times more arsenic in wild wetland snakes than captive snakes</h2>
<p>Urban growth and landscape modification often introduces metals into the surrounding environment, such as mining, landfill and waste dumps, vehicles and roadworks, and agriculture.</p>
<p>When they reach wetlands, sediments collect and store these metals for hundreds of years. And if a wetland’s natural water levels are lowered, from agricultural draining for example, sediments can become exposed and erode. This releases the metals they’ve been storing into the ecosystem. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A reflective lake, with green vegetation surrounding it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384344/original/file-20210215-13-ur2z58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The wetland in Yanchep National Park, Perth, was supposed to be our ‘clean’ comparison site. Its levels of metal contamination was unprecedented.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is what we suspect happened in Yanchep National Park’s wetland, which was supposed to be our “clean” comparison site to more urban wetlands. But in a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00244-020-00724-z">2020 study</a> looking at sediment contamination, we found this wetland had higher levels of selenium, mercury, chromium and cadmium compared to urban wetlands we tested. </p>
<p>And at Herdsman Lake, our most urban wetland five minutes from the Perth city centre, we found concentrations of arsenic, lead, copper and zinc in sediment up to four times higher than <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00244-020-00724-z">government guidelines</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-australia-really-have-the-deadliest-snakes-we-debunk-6-common-myths-145765">Does Australia really have the deadliest snakes? We debunk 6 common myths</a>
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<p>In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749121001251">our new study</a> on tiger snake scales, we compared the metal concentrations in wild wetland tiger snakes to the concentrations that naturally occurs in captive-bred tiger snakes, and to the sediment in the previous study. </p>
<p>We found arsenic was 20-34 times higher in wild snakes from Herdsman Lake and Yanchep National Park’s wetland. And snakes from Herdsman Lake had, on average, eight times the amount of uranium in their scales compared to their captive-bred counterparts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tiger snake on the ground, near rubbish." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384180/original/file-20210215-23-jk8pk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our research confirmed snake scales are a good indicator of environmental contamination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Lettoof</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tiger snakes usually prey on frogs, so our results suggest frogs at these lakes are equally as contaminated. </p>
<p>We know for many organisms, exposure to a high concentration of metals is fatally toxic. And when contamination is chronic, it can be “neurotoxic”. This can, for example, change an organism’s behaviour so they eat less, or don’t want to breed. It can also interfere with their normal cellular function, compromising immune systems, DNA repair or reproductive processes, to name a few. </p>
<p>Snakes in general appear relatively resistant to the toxic effects of metal contamination, but we’re currently investigating what these levels of contamination are doing to tiger snakes’ health and well-being. </p>
<h2>Our method keeps snakes alive</h2>
<p>Snakes can be a great indicator of environmental contamination because they generally live for a long time (over 10 years) and don’t travel too far from home. So by measuring metals in older snakes, we can assess the contamination history of the area they were collected from.</p>
<p>Typically, scientists use liver tissue to measure biological contamination since it acts like a filter and retains a substantial amount of the contaminants an animal is exposed to. </p>
<p>But a big problem with testing the liver is the animal usually has to be sacrificed. This is often not possible when studying threatened species, monitoring populations or working with top predators.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two black swans in a lake, near cut grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384349/original/file-20210215-18-1oe0y4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sediment in Herdsman Lake had four times higher heavy metal levels than what government guidelines allow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In more recent years, <a href="https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/etc.4622">studies</a> have taken to measuring metals in external “keratin” tissues instead, which include bird feathers, mammal hair and nails, and reptile scales. As it grows, keratin can accumulate metals from inside the body, and scientists can measure this without needing to kill the animal.</p>
<p>Our research used “laser ablation” analysis, which involves firing a focused laser beam at a solid sample to create a small crater or trench. Material is excavated from the crater and sent to a mass spectrometer (analytical machine) where all the elements are measured.</p>
<p>This technology was originally designed for geologists to analyse rocks, but we’re among the first researchers applying it to snake scales.</p>
<p>Laser ablation atomises the keratin of snake scales, and allowed us to accurately measure 19 contaminants from each tiger snake caught over three years around different wetlands. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Wild tiger snake" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382168/original/file-20210203-19-10dx5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Snakes generally appear resistant to the toxic effects of heavy metals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kristian Bell/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>We need to minimise pollution</h2>
<p>Our research has confirmed snake scales are a good indicator of environmental contamination, but this is only the first step. </p>
<p>Further research could allow us to better use laser ablation as a cost-effective technology to measure a larger suite of metals in different parts of the ecosystem, such as in different animals at varying levels in the food chain. </p>
<p>This could map how metals move throughout the ecosystem and help determine whether the health of snakes (and other top predators) is actually at risk by these metal levels, or if they just passively record the metal concentrations in their environment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-toxic-legacy-bushfires-release-decades-of-pollutants-absorbed-by-forests-145542">Our toxic legacy: bushfires release decades of pollutants absorbed by forests</a>
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<p>It’s difficult to prevent contaminants from washing into urban wetlands, but there are a number of things that can help minimise pollution. </p>
<p>This includes industries developing strict spill management requirements, and local and state governments deploying storm-water filters to catch urban waste. Likewise, thick vegetation buffer zones around the wetlands can filter incoming water.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153797/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Lettoof receives funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kai Rankenburg, Monique Gagnon, and Noreen Evans do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research fired laser beams on tiger snake scales, and found arsenic was 20-34 times higher in wild wetland snakes than in captive snakes.Damian Lettoof, PhD Candidate, Curtin UniversityKai Rankenburg, Researcher, Curtin UniversityMonique Gagnon, Researcher, Curtin UniversityNoreen Evans, Professor, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1545442021-02-04T19:10:21Z2021-02-04T19:10:21ZAs Perth’s suburbs burn, the rest of Australia watches and learns<p>February has already been a bad month for Perth. Bushfire has <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-perth-hills-bushfire-emergency-destroys-homes-and-threatens-lives/971746ba-d725-40d4-86c4-81bdfeb4efcd">destroyed 81 homes</a> and burned more than 10,000 hectares northeast of the city. Residents in the midst of a COVID-19 lockdown were told to abandon their homes and seek shelter as the bushfire raged.</p>
<p>The disaster calls to mind the unprecedented Black Summer fires that devastated eastern Australia last summer. But the tragedies are very different beasts. </p>
<p>Obviously, the Black Summer fires were much more widespread, prolonged and lethal than what Western Australia is experiencing. The east coast fires were largely triggered by lightning, while that’s not thought to be the case in the Perth fire. Wind and temperature also played different roles in the two disasters.</p>
<p>So let’s examine the drivers of the Perth fire, and consider what the rest of Australia can learn as we face a future of worsening bushfires.</p>
<h2>Anatomy of a fire</h2>
<p>The fire was first reported at noon on Monday near the town of Wooroloo, on Perth’s fringe. Authorities don’t yet know how it began, but say “no criminality” has <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-perth-hills-bushfire-emergency-destroys-homes-and-threatens-lives/971746ba-d725-40d4-86c4-81bdfeb4efcd">been identified</a>. </p>
<p>The absence of lightning at the time of ignition, and the proximity to residential areas, suggests the fire was accidentally caused by humans. The location of the fire near homes also meant it destroyed property far more quickly than if had begun in a remote area.</p>
<p>Fire science breaks fire behaviour into three main components: fuels, topography and weather. And of course, an ignition is needed to set it off.</p>
<p>The bushfire started in an area of large, privately owned blocks of land. This area mostly consists of scattered trees in grassy paddocks which, in summer, are dry and burn easily. Fences and trees then ignite and winds carry embers forward, starting spot fires.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/underinsurance-is-entrenching-poverty-as-the-vulnerable-are-hit-hardest-by-disasters-152083">Underinsurance is entrenching poverty as the vulnerable are hit hardest by disasters</a>
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<p>The land area now burning is one of the most hilly parts around Perth. Fire spreads faster uphill, and the slopes redirect winds, adding more complexity to fire suppression. The topography and location of the fire on private properties also made fire-fighting access difficult.</p>
<p>Weather played a major role. The fire started during one of Perth’s typical summer easterly wind events, involving strong gusts, high temperatures and low relative humidity. Most bushfires that burn out of control near Perth begin during these events. </p>
<p>To make matters worse, a tropical low tracking down Australia’s west coast means the windy conditions are expected to last up to six days – longer than the typical two to three days. This presents a major challenge for emergency response personnel.</p>
<p>The areas burning today are well known for their bushfire risk. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-12-31/power-lines-blamed-for-toodyay-bushfire/1194258">In 2009</a>, a fire outside the town of Toodyay destroyed 38 homes under similar weather conditions.</p>
<h2>How WA differs to the east coast</h2>
<p>Along Australia’s east coast, the bushfire season can start <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/weather-services/fire-weather-centre/bushfire-weather/index.shtml">as early spring</a> and in some parts, extend into autumn. Last summer’s horrific conditions were a combination of long-term drought and an intensely hot, dry spring. In contrast, almost all bushfires in southwestern Australia have historically occurred in the dry summer period.</p>
<p>Western Australia has more pronounced seasonal rainfall than the eastern states. In particular, the southwest corner of Australia has a Mediterranean-like climate. Every summer is dry, increasing the bushfire risk. In contrast, eastern Australia typically has a wet, humid summer with rain spread throughout the year. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-felt-immense-grief-one-year-on-from-the-bushfires-scientists-need-mental-health-support-148251">'I felt immense grief': one year on from the bushfires, scientists need mental health support</a>
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<p>La Niña conditions have brought much rain to Australia’s east in recent months. Western Australia had some La Niña moisture in November, but winter rain was below-average and the summer has so far been dry.</p>
<p>And as southwestern Australia continues to <a href="https://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/climate-projections/future-climate/regional-climate-change-explorer/super-clusters/?current=SSC&tooltip=true&popup=true">warm and dry</a> under a changing climate, the period of bushfire risk is now getting longer. That means bushfires in spring and autumn will become more common.</p>
<p>And the shifting climate will bring make bushfires worse both in the west and across Australia. Bushfires may escape more quickly, burn more intensely, resist control and occur over a greater part of the year. Plants will have drier foliage, further increasing bushfire intensity. </p>
<h2>Preparing for worse fires</h2>
<p>Bushfire is a part of life in Australia and these tragedies will happen again. Fortunately for Perth residents, there have been no fatalities and minimal injuries so far.</p>
<p>Looking ahead in WA, new bushfire <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/01/New-33-million-dollar-Bushfire-Centre-of-Excellence-facility-officially-opened.aspx">knowledge hubs</a> and <a href="https://www.murdoch.edu.au/news/articles/how-we-re-preparing-for-our-fiery-future">university-government collaborations</a> will open important new conversations about the future bushfire risk and its management.</p>
<p>But we must continue to improve land-use planning, building codes and mitigation strategies to ensure we’re prepared for worse bushfires under climate change.</p>
<p><hr>
<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/asking-people-to-prepare-for-fire-is-pointless-if-they-cant-afford-to-do-it-its-time-we-subsidised-fire-prevention-151913">Asking people to prepare for fire is pointless if they can't afford to do it. It's time we subsidised fire prevention</a>
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</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154544/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Fontaine receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Natural Hazards and Bushfire CRC</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lewis Walden does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Perth’s bushfires have destroyed 81 homes. It provides important lessons as we face a future of worsening climate.Joe Fontaine, Lecturer, Environmental and Conservation Science, Murdoch UniversityLewis Walden, Research associate, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1543482021-01-31T09:01:01Z2021-01-31T09:01:01ZPerth’s 5-day ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown isn’t an overreaction to a single case — it’s basic common sense<p>Perth and the Peel and South West regions of Western Australia will go into a five-day hard lockdown from 6pm local time on Sunday, after one <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/wa-regions-suburbs-inside-the-perth-metro-peel-and-south-west-affected-by-covid-lockdown-c-2065280">new local COVID-19 case</a> was detected in the state.</p>
<p>The new case is a male security guard who was working on the same floor as a person in quarantine with the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55659820">UK coronavirus variant</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-contact-tracing">Contact tracing</a> is underway, and residents have been asked to get a COVID test if they visited any of <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/several-perth-venues-on-alert-for-covid-19-after-positive-case-revealed-c-2065140">several venues</a> listed as potential exposure sites.</p>
<p>The lockdown is <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/perth-metro-peel-and-south-west-enter-hard-lockdown">currently scheduled</a> to last until 6pm on Friday February 5, although Premier Mark McGowan has not ruled out extending the restrictions if necessary.</p>
<h2>What do the restrictions mean?</h2>
<p>Residents will only be allowed to leave home for four essential reasons: work or study, exercise, to shop for essentials or to access healthcare.</p>
<p>Schools, many of which were scheduled to begin on February 1, will remain closed for the coming week.</p>
<p>Face masks will be mandatory in the state when leaving home for essential reasons.</p>
<p>The WA state election campaign has been suspended, and Big Bash cricket fixtures and Perth Fringe Festival events cancelled for the duration of the lockdown.</p>
<p>McGowan <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/wa-premier-mark-mcgowan-makes-covid-announcement-c-2064693">said</a> the lockdown is “a crucial reaction to keep the community safe”.</p>
<h2>Border restrictions likely</h2>
<p>McGowan has also recommended that other states suspend travel to WA — a blunt tool for dealing with outbreaks of this size.</p>
<p>Restricting travel from specific hotpots can be a successful circuit-breaker to disease transmission. </p>
<p>But hard border closures — particularly with no evidence of widespread community transmission — seem unnecessary and counterproductive at this stage, and are associated with a host of health and economic consequences.</p>
<p>Face masks, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent">can certainly help</a> reduce the risk of disease transmission, and thereby help keep borders open. </p>
<h2>Quashing a cluster before it happens</h2>
<p>Compared with <a href="https://theconversation.com/finally-at-zero-new-cases-victoria-is-on-top-of-the-world-after-unprecedented-lockdown-effort-148808">Victoria’s months-long COVID lockdown</a>, Perth’s latest lockdown — like <a href="https://theconversation.com/brisbanes-covid-lockdown-has-a-crucial-difference-it-aims-to-squash-an-outbreak-before-it-even-starts-152892">Brisbane’s earlier this year</a> — aims to stamp out a new COVID cluster before it gains a foothold.</p>
<hr>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/brisbanes-covid-lockdown-has-a-crucial-difference-it-aims-to-squash-an-outbreak-before-it-even-starts-152892">Brisbane's COVID lockdown has a crucial difference: it aims to squash an outbreak before it even starts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The lockdown will hopefully act as a circuit-breaker, minimising community transmission and allowing health authorities to trace and test anyone who might have been infected.</p>
<p>Disappointingly, meanwhile, Perth supermarkets were hit with a <a href="https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/perth-lockdown-2021-residents-rush-to-supermarkets-after-lockdown-announcement/news-story/3d6996acb25d26ef3fbc08371f176a9a">wave of panic-buying</a>, similar to the <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-victoria-supermarket-warning-stockpiling-woolworths-coles-daniel-andrews/9c5ec4d6-bd3e-4183-a196-9afb3371d0e3">scenes</a> during previous lockdowns elsewhere.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-people-stockpiling-toilet-paper-we-asked-four-experts-132975">Why are people stockpiling toilet paper? We asked four experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This behaviour is unnecessary and counterproductive. Shops will remain open, and people will still be able to buy what they need during the lockdown. Crowding into shops (especially without wearing masks) directly before the lockdown begins actually <a href="https://theconversation.com/brisbanes-covid-lockdown-has-a-crucial-difference-it-aims-to-squash-an-outbreak-before-it-even-starts-152892">increases the risk of infection</a>.</p>
<h2>Is the lockdown an overreaction?</h2>
<p>Back on January 13, WA’s chief health officer Andy Robertson <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/short-sharp-lockdown-likely-for-wa-if-coronavirus-cluster-emerges-cho-20210112-p56tj3.html">suggested</a> the state would likely enter a short, sharp lockdown if a coronavirus outbreak was detected within the community. </p>
<p>Going hard and fast was <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-australias-6-day-lockdown-shows-we-need-to-take-hotel-quarantine-more-seriously-150368">effective in South Australia</a>, and also seems to have been quite effective in Queensland. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-australias-6-day-lockdown-shows-we-need-to-take-hotel-quarantine-more-seriously-150368">South Australia's 6-day lockdown shows we need to take hotel quarantine more seriously</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said the January 2021 lockdown did indeed act as a circuit-breaker, similar to SA’s November 2020 response, to stop the virus spreading out of control. </p>
<p>“I think Adelaide managed their outbreak brilliantly … it was probably one of the best responses in the country,” <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/definitely-not-an-overreaction-palaszczuk-stands-by-threeday-lockdown/video/7d63bf19bfbe53e7d2cc41df37521e5a">she said</a>. </p>
<p>Last year, at the height of Melbourne’s second COVID wave, UNSW professor and epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-what-does-life-in-australia-look-like-will-vaccine-ever-be-found/462e0768-f2cf-450c-8f6a-114d2a92e0f0">suggested</a> public health officials were likely to be criticised regardless of their strategy. </p>
<p>“If we call it early, then the public thinks that we’re saying the sky is falling in. If we call it late, then you’re said to not be able to handle an outbreak. So you’re not going to win,” she said. </p>
<p>If health authorities are going to cop criticism either way, this suggests the best strategy is to err on the side of overreacting, rather than underreacting, and aim to be safe rather than sorry. </p>
<p>By this logic, Perth’s five-day circuit-breaker is simple common sense.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154348/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Perth and surrounds will spend the next five days in lockdown, as authorities scramble to prevent a single case – a quarantine hotel security worker – from escalating into a full-blown COVID cluster.Erin Smith, Associate Professor in Disaster and Emergency Response, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1442802020-09-01T20:00:55Z2020-09-01T20:00:55ZPerth already has a museum of Indigenous art and culture. With proper funding, it could be our national centre<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355661/original/file-20200831-20-1j3pxqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4724%2C2496&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Paintings from the artists of Balgo in the south-east Kimberley are among the expansive collection at the Berndt Museum.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Jens Meyer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the race to build an iconic national centre celebrating Australian Aboriginal art and culture there are now three contenders. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://creativeeconomy.nt.gov.au/about-arts-trail/national-aboriginal-art-gallery">Northern Territory</a> and <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2020/02/11/marshall-sets-2023-deadline-for-aboriginal-cultural-centre/">South Australian</a> governments have had plans in place for one for some time. And the Western Australian government recently <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2020/08/11/sa-faces-rival-bid-to-host-australia-first-cultural-centre/">announced $2 million</a> towards planning a new cultural centre. </p>
<p>The most suitable place for such a centre has been hotly debated <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2016/sep/27/kevin-rudds-indigenous-museum-was-a-good-idea-but-lets-not-leave-it-to-politicians">for well over a decade</a>. Yet it is still unresolved. While the debate has predominantly been about location, too often, institutions with existing collections are excluded from the dialogue. </p>
<p>Rather than an entirely new cultural centre, we argue that funding to the <a href="https://www.culturalprecinct.uwa.edu.au/venues/galleries-and-museums/berndt-museum/collections">Berndt Museum of Anthropology</a>, housed at the University of Western Australia, should be expanded.</p>
<p>The museum’s collection is of national and international significance. It holds cultural material from the South-West, Gascoyne, Pilbara, across the Kimberley and beyond state and territory borders nationally, as well as reaching out into Asia. </p>
<p>By fully supporting the Berndt Museum, Perth could become home to Australia’s leading Indigenous museum.</p>
<h2>A national race</h2>
<p>Three years ago, a Northern Territory Government report outlined plans for a <a href="https://creativeeconomy.nt.gov.au/about-arts-trail/national-aboriginal-art-gallery">National Aboriginal Art Gallery</a> to be located in Alice Springs. This facility is yet to be built. Debates within the territory’s Aboriginal community have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-25/senior-custodians-object-to-site-national-aboriginal-art-gallery/12282838">slowed progress</a> as the location has shifted from Alice Springs to Katherine, and back. </p>
<p>Important questions remain about the central emphasis of “art” or “culture”, and if the gallery’s focus should be national, regional or local. </p>
<p>In Adelaide, meanwhile, the Liberal Party promised a National Indigenous Art and Culture Gallery during the 2018 <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2020/02/11/marshall-sets-2023-deadline-for-aboriginal-cultural-centre/">election</a>. A$150 million in state and federal funding has been allocated towards the gallery, which would draw on the collections of the South Australian Museum.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People stand in a gallery among artworks. A sign reads 'Aboriginal Culture Art Gallery'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354019/original/file-20200821-18-t35om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354019/original/file-20200821-18-t35om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354019/original/file-20200821-18-t35om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354019/original/file-20200821-18-t35om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354019/original/file-20200821-18-t35om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354019/original/file-20200821-18-t35om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354019/original/file-20200821-18-t35om3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The proposed new building in Adelaide would draw on the collections of the South Australian Museum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, earlier this year, the SA government <a href="https://indaily.com.au/news/2020/02/11/marshall-sets-2023-deadline-for-aboriginal-cultural-centre/">dropped “National”</a> from the proposed museum’s title, acknowledging the desire for more than one such gallery in Australia.</p>
<p>In Perth, the <a href="https://www.culturalprecinct.uwa.edu.au/venues/galleries-and-museums/berndt-museum/collections">Berndt Museum of Anthropology</a> is one of the nation’s most significant collections of Aboriginal cultural heritage: home to over 12,000 artworks and 35,000 photographs, audio-visual recordings and other archival materials.</p>
<p>We have both worked with the collection, and believe this centre could be a national leader in sharing Indigenous art and culture. We believe discussions about a new centre in Perth must carefully consider how to support and utilise this existing museum and its research collections. </p>
<h2>Understanding colonisation</h2>
<p>The founders of the Berndt museum, anthropologists Ronald Berndt (1916-90) and Catherine Berndt (1918-94), were not simply interested in Australian Aboriginal people as objects of study. They conducted fieldwork across Australia, gathering information and objects from Aboriginal people in remote, regional and urban areas. </p>
<p>Attuned to the impacts of colonisation in general, they also extended research <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00664670701858984">into Asia</a> for comparison.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BoFzoXCBaz7","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Their frank <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=134271746901465;res=IELIND">observations</a> about the exploitation and mistreatment of people on cattle stations in the 1940s, their experience in reserves established to relocate Aboriginal people out of the reach of the Japanese in world war two, and their determination to ensure the government understood the <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/indigenous-rights/civil-rights/warburton-ranges">consequences</a> of nuclear testing on Aboriginal people reveal their empathy.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, accessing parts of the collection has not always been easy. While grieving her husband’s death, Catherine placed the Berndts’ fieldwork notebooks under <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-who-owns-a-familys-story-why-its-time-to-lift-the-berndt-field-notes-embargo-94652">embargo</a>, restricting access until 2024. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-who-owns-a-familys-story-why-its-time-to-lift-the-berndt-field-notes-embargo-94652">Friday essay: who owns a family's story? Why it's time to lift the Berndt field notes embargo</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>During their lifetime, the Berndts published extensively on these notebooks. Since their deaths, debate over which parts of their collections are accessible became muddied – an embargo exists on the fieldwork notebooks, but not on the objects, artworks or photographs. </p>
<p>Still, with low levels of resourcing at the museum, the ability of the overstretched staff to respond to access requests in relation to the notebooks will be a challenge even after 2024. </p>
<h2>Connecting knowledge</h2>
<p>Too often in conversations about cultural centres, the incredible resources already available are neglected. </p>
<p>The Berndt Museum contains masterpieces such as the <a href="https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/the-return-of-the-carrolup-drawings/">Carrolup drawings</a> produced in the 1940s by students at the Carrolup Native School and Settlement; the UNESCO listed <a href="https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/yirrkala-drawings/">Yirrkala drawings</a>, works on brown paper depicting the cultural legacy of that region; and some of the earliest examples of contemporary art from <a href="https://adi.deakin.edu.au/research/projects/returning-to-the-birrundudu-drawings">Birrundudu</a> in the Northern Territory, and <a href="https://www.balgoart.org.au">Balgo</a> on the edge of the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="alt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355669/original/file-20200831-24-105nf5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355669/original/file-20200831-24-105nf5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355669/original/file-20200831-24-105nf5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355669/original/file-20200831-24-105nf5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355669/original/file-20200831-24-105nf5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355669/original/file-20200831-24-105nf5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355669/original/file-20200831-24-105nf5i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Berdnt Museum includes work from Yirrkala, a small community in East Arnhem Land.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/AFP Pool, Saeed Khan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/review-yirrkala-drawings-bring-luminous-revelations-21498">Review: Yirrkala Drawings bring luminous revelations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The museum is funded by the University of Western Australia, and its staff of four maintain this collection with expertise in the handling of complex cultural archives. </p>
<p>However, the current museum site is simply a storage facility and a small 10 by 10 metre exhibition space in the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery. Such a small space, and small staff, is inadequate for such a large collection.</p>
<p>One of the benefits of an anthropological collection is the <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/friend-or-foe-anthropologys-encounter-with-aborigines/">in-depth</a> nature of the information gathered. If the Berndt Museum was adequately housed and funded, its collection could deliver an almost complete experience of Aboriginal living art, culture and history from the Berndts’ time up until today.</p>
<p>With more funding, the museum could truly develop a plan for community access to the field notebooks and research, and share its collection with the nation. </p>
<p>Existing museums and collections need to be at the centre of any conversation about a new arts centre. By drawing on our past, we can fully imagine our future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vanessa Russ is a former Associate Director of the Berndt Museum of Anthropology and is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow at UWA. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason M. Gibson has received research funding from the Australian Research Council and the Berndt Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Too often in conversations about cultural centres, the incredible resources already available are neglected.The Berndt Museum, in Perth, is a collection of national and international significance.Vanessa Russ, Adjunct Research Fellow , The University of Western AustraliaJason M. Gibson, Research Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1198842020-02-20T19:01:04Z2020-02-20T19:01:04ZAustralia, we need to talk about who governs our city-states<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316056/original/file-20200219-11023-dl0k2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=862%2C0%2C5128%2C3332&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-perth-skyline-australia-scenic-793488598">Benny Marty/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1971, a Time magazine <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905177,00.html">article</a>, titled “Should New York City Be the 51st State?”, observed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>States have not only short-changed and hamstrung their cities but are themselves the least creative and effective of the three levels of government.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Of course, the United States still doesn’t have a 51st state, but the issue of city governance remains alive and relevant to Australia. Our metropolitan cities have no metropolitan government. </p>
<p>There are state governments, which are meant to represent the whole of the state but of course are most concerned with the single biggest city (as that’s where most voters live), often neglecting the rest of the state. And there are local governments, none of which has responsibility for more than a small part of the capital city. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s time to consider statehood for our <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0">largest and fastest-growing cities</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/metropolitan-governance-is-the-missing-link-in-australias-reform-agenda-55872">Metropolitan governance is the missing link in Australia's reform agenda</a>
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<p>Statehood has long been granted to <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-a-global-city.html">global cities</a> such as <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2013/495864/IPOL-REGI_NT(2013)495864_EN.pdf">Berlin</a> and <a href="https://www.wien.gv.at/english/administration/organisation/authority/">Vienna</a> (in the German and Austrian federations, respectively).</p>
<p>What might not be so obvious in Australia is that all our capital cities are <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-actually-has-its-own-flag-and-it-features-a-dead-sheep/news-story/a90267b97e4c3d50ab6069aa8e922b7a">effectively on the way to being city-states</a>. This has had huge consequences for social well-being, economic development and global competitiveness.</p>
<h2>What’s the problem?</h2>
<p>Global cities – cities with a significant role in the global economy – like <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-growing-clout-of-australia-s-twin-urban-giants-20180728-p4zu4l.html">Sydney and Melbourne are gaining more power</a>. It’s in line with a global trend of <a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/10/the-seven-types-of-global-cities-brookings/502994/">social, economic, technological and political convergence</a> on cities. </p>
<p>This trend is especially obvious in Australia – about <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Interesting+Facts+about+Australia%E2%80%99s+population">90% of us</a> live in urban areas. The capital cities alone account for <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Interesting+Facts+about+Australia%E2%80%99s+population">67% of the population</a> and roughly <a href="https://www.sgsep.com.au/publications/insights/gdp-report-economic-performance-of-australias-cities-and-regions">70% of GDP</a>. Each state and territory has a lonesome metropolitan centre, surrounded by much smaller “satellites”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316055/original/file-20200219-11023-1fzz8wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This NASA image of Australia at night shows the concentration of activity in the capital cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/NightLights/page3.php">NASA Earth Observatory</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sizeable political gaps have emerged between urban and rural areas. At last year’s federal election, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-capital-cities-that-ate-australia-20181226-p50o8k.html">60% of seats were in our capitals</a>. </p>
<p>The growth and changing role of metropolitan cities means we should rethink their governance structures to meet their need of a strategic vision built on <a href="https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/glossary/agglomeration-economies/">agglomeration</a>. It’s about maximising the benefits of having many producers and people located near one another.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-growing-skills-gap-between-jobs-in-australian-cities-and-the-regions-88477">The growing skills gap between jobs in Australian cities and the regions</a>
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</em>
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<p>Western Australia, for example, has one substantial city, Perth. Its other much smaller centres function mainly as satellites to the capital. </p>
<p>Perth has been ranked as one of the <a href="http://migrationcompanion.com/city-of-perth/perth-ranked-in-top-10-global-cities-of-the-future/">top ten global cities of the future</a>. Today, however, Perth is a “Beta +” city in the most recent Globalisation and Work Cities Research Network (GaWC) <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2018t.html">rankings</a>. This means it is a city that links only moderate economic regions to the world economy. </p>
<p>In comparison, California has Los Angeles (Alpha), San Diego (Gamma), San Jose (Gamma) and San Francisco (Alpha -). </p>
<p>Western Australia is therefore, relatively, a city-state. It has only one global city.</p>
<p>Of course, saying Western Australia is a city-state is rather absurd, right? By definition, a city-state is a political organisation at a microscale, like Singapore, Berlin and Vienna. <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/area-of-australia-states-and-territories">Western Australia</a> has a land area about 3,500 times that of <a href="https://data.gov.sg/dataset/total-land-area-of-singapore">Singapore</a> and roughly 2,800 times the area of <a href="https://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/business-location/berlin-at-a-glance/surface-area-of-berlin/">Berlin</a>.</p>
<p>But it’s equally absurd that vast expanses of the state have to be connected to the world economy through a lonesome Beta city. The absurdity is in the dilution of agglomeration effects, which come only from higher population density. Singapore has about <a href="http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/singapore-population/">8,000</a> people per square kilometre, Berlin almost <a href="http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/berlin-population/">4,000</a>. And Western Australia? <a href="http://worldpopulationreview.com/territories/western-australia-population/">One</a>. </p>
<h2>A natural evolution</h2>
<p>But hold on! Doesn’t Perth have its own government?</p>
<p>Well, no. Perth, like the other capitals, is made up of local government areas (LGAs) controlled directly by the state legislature. Perth has <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government_areas_of_Western_Australia#Metropolitan_LGAs">30 LGAs</a>. Sydney has <a href="https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/learn/research-and-statistics/the-city-at-a-glance/our-global-city">35</a>, Melbourne <a href="https://liveinmelbourne.vic.gov.au/discover/melbourne-victoria/metropolitan-melbourne">31</a> and Adelaide <a href="http://www.rdametroadelaide.com.au/node/25">17</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government_areas_of_Tasmania#Hobart_area_councils">Hobart</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane#Governance">Brisbane</a> have six LGAs each and even the smallest capital, Darwin, has <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin,_Northern_Territory">three</a>. The exception is Canberra, governed directly through the ACT Legislative Assembly.</p>
<p>We need to look at adding a fourth tier of government, metropolitan government, that can help harness the agglomeration effects in global cities. This <a href="https://www.foreground.com.au/politics/do-australian-cities-need-metropolitan-governments/">proposition was advanced</a> by a 2018 CSIRO book, <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7726/">Australian’s Metropolitan Imperative</a> </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-cities-need-city-scale-government-heres-what-it-should-look-like-55873">Our cities need city-scale government – here's what it should look like</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But what would it do for people outside the capitals? How would the rest of Western Australia benefit from metropolitan government?</p>
<p>Lest the reader thinks I am picking on WA, I’ll elaborate my reasoning using the state where I live: Victoria. It’s not efficient for a state bigger than England (as is the case for every state and territory, except Tasmania and the ACT) to be servicing one metropolitan city.</p>
<p>Regional centres in Victoria, like Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat, service Melbourne to their disadvantage. Why to their disadvantage? Because a global city like Melbourne absorbs capital – human, physical and financial capital – from these cities. These cities will remain satellites of the global city.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/regional-cities-beware-fast-rail-might-lead-to-disadvantaged-dormitories-not-booming-economies-119090">Regional cities beware – fast rail might lead to disadvantaged dormitories, not booming economies</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>Think of the territorial evolution of Australia. Had Victoria not split from New South Wales in 1851, how likely is it that Melbourne would be a global city today? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=671&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314342/original/file-20200209-27524-1iavqzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The evolution of the states in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sites.google.com/site/australiancolonisation241992/colonies-to-states">Australian Colonisation.1788</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To help the rest of Australia grow, the territorial evolution that started in the 19th century, and was interrupted in the 20th century, has to continue in the 21st century.</p>
<p>Note that this is an evolutionary argument. Over time, we expect more Australian cities to reach the level of population density and economic growth that would require statehood. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-patchwork-of-city-deals-or-a-national-settlement-strategy-whats-best-for-our-growing-cities-117839">A patchwork of City Deals or a national settlement strategy: what’s best for our growing cities?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>In 2013, demographer <a href="https://successnq.com.au/2018/07/31/worth-his-salt/">Bernard Salt</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130820130025/http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2013/07/11/385273_news.html">predicted</a> Townsville would become a metropolitan city by 2026, with more people living in north Queensland than in the state of Tasmania. North Queensland statehood would only help this evolution, just as it helped Brisbane in the 1800s.</p>
<p>In 1949, David Henry Drummond, who served in the House of Representatives and in the NSW Legislative Assembly, <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2358768">noted</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is significant that since the Imperial Parliament handed over the control of Australia to the Commonwealth, no new State has been created, notwithstanding that Sir Henry Parkes, the founder of the Federation, said – ‘that as a matter of reason and logical forecast, the division of the existing colonies into smaller areas to equalise the distribution of political power, will be the next great constitutional change’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The imperative for the Commonwealth is to pursue this “great constitutional change”. At the very least, it’s time to have a healthy national conversation about how we can boost our capital cities’ global status through a new drive for statehood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119884/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamen Franklen Gussen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The rise of global cities, metropolises that dominate their states, is exposing Australia’s lack of metropolitan governments. It’s time to restart the evolution of our states after a century on hold.Benjamen Franklen Gussen, Lecturer in Law, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1277222019-12-10T18:55:53Z2019-12-10T18:55:53ZWe’re still fighting city freeways after half a century<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305779/original/file-20191209-90574-1iu8a5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C140%2C2733%2C1629&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demonstrations against freeway construction in Melbourne included a street barricade erected in protest at the F19 extension of the Eastern Freeway. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9619159?q&versionId=11163258">Barricade! – the resident fight against the F19</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the third article in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/melbourne-transportation-plan-79828">series</a> to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark Melbourne Transportation Plan.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Like the modernist plans of its time, the 1969 Melbourne Metropolitan Transportation Plan was bold in ambition. Major motorways have been built across the city <a href="https://theconversation.com/50-years-on-from-the-melbourne-transportation-plan-what-can-we-learn-from-its-legacy-127721">as a result of the plan</a>. For Melbourne, the aspiration of the 1969 plan lives on in our relentless pursuit of new mega-road projects. </p>
<p>From the start, these projects <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08111148508522585">met with community resistance</a>. And, like the roads of the 1960s and ’70s, the roads proposed in recent times for <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-east-west-link-is-dead-a-victory-for-21st-century-thinking-34914">Melbourne</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/roe-8-fails-the-tests-of-responsible-21st-century-infrastructure-planning-71810">Perth</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-impacts-and-murky-decision-making-feed-public-distrust-of-projects-like-westconnex-106996">Sydney</a> can still mobilise communities. As Australian cities continue to build massive urban freeways and toll roads half a century after the heyday of modernist planning, it is time to pause and reflect. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/50-years-on-from-the-melbourne-transportation-plan-what-can-we-learn-from-its-legacy-127721">50 years on from the Melbourne Transportation Plan, what can we learn from its legacy?</a>
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<h2>Still building urban mega-roads</h2>
<p>The building of freeways in the 1960s and ’70s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08111148508522585">triggered major protests</a> by urban residents. These citizens were concerned about the loss of public land, established housing and the spatial divisions big roads create. </p>
<p>Today residents of our cities still have these concerns, to which we can add climate change. The transport sector is the <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/transport-climate-change/">fastest-growing source of emissions</a> that are driving climate change. </p>
<p>There is now substantial international <a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/09/citylab-university-induced-demand/569455/">evidence</a> building more freeways does not solve congestion, a principle <a href="https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=694596">evident since the 1960s</a>. Instead, it induces more traffic, entrenching reliance on cars.</p>
<p>Melbourne’s 1969 plan proposed over 1,000 kilometres of freeways and arterial roads in a grid-like network covering the entire metropolitan area. Despite many parts of this network having been completed, the controversies continue. Projects such as the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/east-west-link-battle-lines-still-drawn-over-massive-road-project-20190521-p51pkf.html">East West Link</a>, the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/our-ridiculous-frenzy-of-road-construction-will-swallow-up-resources-for-two-decades-20180105-h0dwd0.html">West Gate Tunnel</a>, the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/big-projects-bigger-bills-massive-construction-boom-comes-at-a-cost-20190610-p51w5d.html">North East Link</a> and the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/traffic-crisis-new-mordialloc-freeway-to-dump-thousands-of-cars-on-local-roads-20181108-p50eqh.html">Mordialloc Freeway</a> have all to varying degrees shown how these projects can mobilise significant community opposition. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KNSUsctg86g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Author Andrew Butt discusses the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan and its impacts.</span></figcaption>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sidelining-citizens-when-deciding-on-transport-projects-is-asking-for-trouble-92840">Sidelining citizens when deciding on transport projects is asking for trouble</a>
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<p>In Victoria, the state government has had a resurgence of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/our-ridiculous-frenzy-of-road-construction-will-swallow-up-resources-for-two-decades-20180105-h0dwd0.html">road-building frenzy</a>. Melbourne will see the construction of the West Gate Tunnel, North East Link and Mordialloc Freeway projects, despite <a href="https://theconversation.com/transurbans-west-gate-tollway-is-a-road-into-uncharted-territory-89164">significant reservations</a> expressed by transport academics. </p>
<h2>History repeats?</h2>
<p>In 1973, the Hamer government heard the community outcry and cancelled many of the inner-city freeways proposed for Melbourne. This was not so for the F19 extension of the Eastern Freeway. It became the site of sustained fierce protest by the community and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/old-time-protesters-return-to-fight-construction-of-east-west-link-20131219-2zo1g.html">local government representatives</a>.</p>
<p>Taking heart from successful environmental protests in the late 1960s, such as <a href="http://www.environmentandsociety.org/tools/keywords/protests-against-agricultural-use-little-desert">saving the Little Desert</a>, residents were not going to take the F19 freeway’s threat to their neighbourhood lying down. They went to the barricades (quite literally) to stop the bulldozers and the destruction of the Alexander Parade trees. </p>
<p>In 2013, Melbournians were ready again when this project controversially re-emerged (this time as the East West Link tunnel). Sustained community protest was supported by three local governments (Yarra, Moreland and latterly Moonee Valley) that <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/moonee-valley-third-council-to-launch-legal-action-against-east-west-link-20141015-116nqx.html">funded legal challenges to stop the project</a>. </p>
<p>With eventual support from the Labor Party, then vying for political office in the 2014 state election, the project was <a href="https://theconversation.com/sidelining-citizens-when-deciding-on-transport-projects-is-asking-for-trouble-92840">cancelled</a>. The ALP’s support for the citizen protest movement was arguably a significant factor in winning government. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-restore-the-publics-faith-in-transport-planning-73684">How do we restore the public's faith in transport planning?</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>Similarly, the proposed Perth Freight Route (<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-16/why-is-the-debate-over-roe-8-continuing/11310120">Roe 8</a>), <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-restore-the-publics-faith-in-transport-planning-73684">stopped in 2017</a>, provides an extraordinary example of what a community can achieve when united in a single purpose. Again, it took a change of government.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ingredients-for-running-a-successful-environmental-campaign-72371">Three ingredients for running a successful environmental campaign</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Are governments listening today?</h2>
<p>The link between public (and increasingly private) investment in mega-road projects and growing emissions appears to have escaped the attention of the processes that oversee public project decisions – panel hearings, ministerial processes and environmental impact assessments. The costs of these transport projects, driven by past decisions and plans, as well as the costs of not pursuing the alternatives, will affect budgets and our environment over decades. </p>
<p>Though the formal planning processes have largely avoided the connection of road projects to increased emissions, many concerned urban citizens recognise the link. </p>
<p>Groups and individuals are making these connections in their submissions to government planning panels, through social media and on the streets in traditional demonstrations. </p>
<p>We see a growing number of protest actions, including <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/little-los-angeles-sydney-s-inner-west-hits-back-at-road-tunnel-plan-20190927-p52vlx.html">WestConnex</a>, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/impending-traffic-chaos-beware-the-problematic-west-gate-tunnel-forecasts-79331">West Gate Tunnel Project</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-kind-of-state-values-a-freeways-heritage-above-the-heritage-of-our-oldest-living-culture-122195">Western Highway widening project</a>, the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/mordialloc-freeway-risks-polluting-water-feeding-to-un-protected-wetlands-documents-reveal-20190224-p50zvn.html">Mordialloc Freeway project</a> and the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-councils-join-forces-to-fight-north-east-link-20190615-p51y28.html">North East Link</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-kind-of-state-values-a-freeways-heritage-above-the-heritage-of-our-oldest-living-culture-122195">What kind of state values a freeway's heritage above the heritage of our oldest living culture?</a>
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<p>These citizens are alarmed by decisions being made in their name. It would appear citizen action has had success in the past. Electoral risk is a powerful motivator for governments.</p>
<h2>Emissions demand a change of direction</h2>
<p>Taking a leaf out of the backlash against the modernist project vision of the 1969 “free”-way plan for transport based on fossil fuel use, we need to shape a new vision of sustainable, healthy, fair forms of mobility. We can learn from the experience of the 1970s communities that exercised their rights as citizens to participate in civic discussions on a new shared future. </p>
<p>Unless we can stem escalating carbon emissions, catastrophic warming of the planet will be inevitable. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/11-000-scientists-warn-climate-change-isnt-just-about-temperature-126261">impacts are becoming ever clearer</a>, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-can-make-catastrophic-weather-systems-linger-for-longer-111832">extreme weather events already apparent</a>. We are warned.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-transport-models-is-political-abuse-not-their-use-in-planning-127720">The problem with transport models is political abuse, not their use in planning</a>
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</em>
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<p><em>A public event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Melbourne Transportation Plan will be held on December 12 2019, hosted by RMIT University and supported by Swinburne University, Monash University and the University of Melbourne – <a href="https://cur.org.au/events/looking-back-and-going-forward-the-melbourne-transport-plan-50-years-on/">details here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127722/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Butt is affiliated with Western Connection, a small community group which has been involved in local debates on transport projects affecting Melbourne's inner west, including through submissions and media regarding the West Gate Tunnel Project, which is under construction.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Crystal Legacy has received funding from the Australia Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gerry McLoughlin receives funding from CRC for a PhD candidacy.
Co Founder and Vice President of Inner Melbourne Planning Alliance Inc. established as a citizens' group for meaningful engagement in public processes. IMPA Inc. makes submissions to public processes including the West Gate Tunnel Project 2017 currently under construction, the East West Link (cancelled) 2014, the North East Link (under consideration) 2019, Federal Government Committee Hearing on Cities 2018.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Woodcock has received funding from federal, state and local governments, as well as the Australian Research Council, the design industry and community organisations, to support independent academic research. He is affiliated with various sustainable transport and planning advocacy groups, and is a member of the Public Transport Users Association.</span></em></p>Public protests eventually forced the scrapping of some proposed freeways in 1973. Today, we have another round of projects and people are protesting again, with good reason. Government should listen.Andrew Butt, Associate Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning, RMIT UniversityCrystal Legacy, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneGerardine (Gerry) McLoughlin, PhD Candidate, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyIan Woodcock, Senior Lecturer, Director of Urban Design, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1279092019-11-27T18:42:44Z2019-11-27T18:42:44ZHow drought is affecting water supply in Australia’s capital cities<p>The level of water stored by Australia’s capital cities has steadily fallen over the last six years. They are now collectively at 54.6% of capacity – a decline of 30% from 2013. </p>
<p>We’re going into a hot summer and Sydney has just announced <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/news-and-events/news/level-2-water-restrictions-to-start-across-sydney/">level 2 restrictions</a>, the toughest for any capital. Data from the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/dashboards/#/water-storages/summary/urban?location=Canberra">Bureau of Meteorology</a> shows other capital cities facing mixed results.</p>
<p>The results show that Darwin’s water supply has lost about 25% over the last year. On the plus side, Melbourne’s supply actually increased over 2019, having fallen below 50% earlier this year, and now sits on 63.9%.</p>
<iframe title="Total water storage of Australia's capital cities" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NjYpn/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>While the national average is trending downwards, the patterns for each city are very different. Sydney and Perth water supplies have had contrasting journeys over the last six years. In October 2013 Perth’s supply was a very low 33.8% and Sydney was a comfortable 91%.</p>
<iframe title="Perth and Sydney water storage, 2013-2019" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/jRo4d/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Now, for the first time in many years Perth does not have Australia’s lowest level of all capital city water storages. As of last week, Sydney has taken this unwanted distinction from Perth. </p>
<p>For Perth residents, the news is good as their surface water storages are at a six-year high of 46.4%. In Sydney they are worried, as they have a six-year low of 46.2%. </p>
<p>Sydney has experienced a steep decline over the last 30 months, from nearly full storages (96%) in April 2017. The speed and severity of the Sydney drought is starting to resemble previous dry spells. One was in the 1940s and the other was the Millennium drought. </p>
<p>Perth has lived with the most water stress of any capital city. They have had to contend with a steady 45-year decline in rain. The inflow of water into Perth’s dams has also <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/securing-perth-supply">fallen dramatically</a>.</p>
<p>Perth has adapted to its drying climate by sourcing water from <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-perth-really-running-out-of-water-well-yes-and-no-90857">many different supplies</a>. It now uses its surface water storages for about 10% of its water supply. Much larger proportions of Perth’s supply comes from its two desalination plants, which unlike the other capitals are constantly in operation. It makes greater use of groundwater and highly treated recycled water. Perth also has permanent water restrictions.</p>
<p>Sydney’s desalination plant, after hibernating for 7 years, is now supplying water. It was switched on in late January 2019 when Sydney supply hit 60%, and can supply 15% of water demand. Unusually perhaps, the desalinated water does not reach all parts of Sydney.</p>
<p>Sydney Water has announced plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/26/sydney-desalination-plant-to-double-in-size-as-dams-approach-critical-level">double the capacity</a> of the desalination plant. Construction is expected to <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/-/media/Files/DPE/Other/About-us/Metropolitan-Water/2017-Metropolitan-Water-Plan.pdf">begin soon</a>.</p>
<iframe title="Melbourne and Brisbane water storage, 2013-2019" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/glQxq/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Melbourne and Brisbane water supplies are currently at similar levels. However, since 2013 Melbourne’s storages have generally been lower than Brisbane’s. Melbourne’s supply has risen in 2019 after good winter rainfall in its catchments. The storages have increased from under 50% (49.6%) in late May 2019. Today, Brisbane storage levels are now at 59.2%.</p>
<p>Melbourne residents use <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-sydney-residents-use-30-more-water-per-day-than-melburnians-117656">less water</a> than the other capital cities. In 2018 the average Melbourne resident used 161 litres per day, approximately 30% less than Sydney residents. </p>
<p>Melbourne’s supplies have also been supplemented with the reactivation of its Wonthaggi desalination plant in 2019. It is Australia’s largest desalination plant, capable of producing <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/media-releases/2019/desalinated-water-begins-flowing-to-secure-supplies">410 million litres a day</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-sydney-residents-use-30-more-water-per-day-than-melburnians-117656">Why Sydney residents use 30% more water per day than Melburnians</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Brisbane also built a desalination plant after the Millennium Drought. In addition, they also made very large investments in Australia’s largest waste water recycling scheme. The <a href="https://www.seqwater.com.au/seq-water-grid">Western Corridor recycled water scheme</a> opened in 2008, cost $2.5 billion and features three advanced waste water treatment plants, with more than 200 km of pipelines and three advanced waste water treatment plants.</p>
<iframe title="Hobart, Darwin and Canberra water storage, 2013-2019" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/iI7HJ/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Hobart, Darwin and Canberra are the three Australian capital cities without desalination plants. Canberra has had a steady decline in its supply over three years. It was full in October 2016, gradually dropping to 51.6% in November 2019. Hobart’s storages were above 80% for most of the last six years. They were just above 90% 12 months ago and have since fallen to their current level of 72%.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fish-kills-and-undrinkable-water-heres-what-to-expect-for-the-murray-darling-this-summer-126940">Fish kills and undrinkable water: here's what to expect for the Murray Darling this summer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Darwin’s water supply was full as recently as April 2018. Now, 18 months later, it is just touching 54%. This is its lowest level in six years. Darwin, our tropical capital, has the most seasonal rainfall of Australia’s capitals. Typically, they have almost no rain June to September during their dry season, and a wet season of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-australian-monsoon-69411">heavy rains from October to April</a>.
However, the last wet season was one of the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-14/revisiting-the-1952-northern-territory-missing-wet-season/10883534">driest on record</a>.</p>
<iframe title="Adelaide water storage" aria-label="Interactive line chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0MdtJ/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Adelaide’s water storage has fluctuated over the last 6 years. Adelaide gets more rain in winter and has dry summers, an opposite pattern to that of Darwin. Over the last 3 years the level has dropped from over 97% in October 2017 to just below 58%. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/up-the-creek-the-85-million-plan-to-desalinate-water-for-drought-relief-126681">Up the creek: the $85 million plan to desalinate water for drought relief</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The desalination plant in Adelaide can supply up to 50% of its water supply. It has been operating in 2019, although not in the wetter months of July and August. The Murray also continues to supply a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-14/adelaide-desal-plant-revival-plan-to-ease-use-of-murray-water/10619960">large proportion</a> of Adelaide’s water supply. The Commonwealth has agreed to use drought funding for the Adelaide desalination plant, so more river water can be used by farmers upstream to <a href="https://watersource.awa.asn.au/business/assets-and-operations/sa-desal-plant-to-increase-production-as-part-of-drought-deal/">grow fodder for livestock</a>. </p>
<p>Australia is set for a <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks/#/overview/summary">dryer and hotter summer than average</a>, particularly in the east. Coupled with continued high levels of household demand, we can expect further declines in water storage levels through the first half of 2020.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s capital cities have collectively lost 30% of their stored water over the last six years. But this loss is not evenly distributed across the country.Ian A. Wright, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, Western Sydney UniversityJason Reynolds, Research Lecturer in Geochemistry, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1190792019-06-20T20:01:12Z2019-06-20T20:01:12ZHow a humble Perth boathouse became Australia’s most unlikely tourist attraction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280128/original/file-20190619-118497-fjr9nc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Perth it's called the Crawley Edge Boatshed, but this building is better known around the world as the #blueboathouse.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s a simple building. A shed, really. You can’t go inside, and even if you could, there’s nothing in there. For decades it was derelict, an eyesore to which locals paid little attention.</p>
<p>But this humble boat shed, on the shore of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia, has become a social media superstar. Known around the world simply as the #blueboathouse, since being restored in the early 2000s it has become Perth’s second-most popular spot for tourist selfies. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280382/original/file-20190620-149827-u74mkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BxQ54KQnlaF/">xiaomei80/Instragram.com</a></span>
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<p>On Instagram there are now more than 15,000 #blueboathouse-tagged posts. That’s still less than half the 81,000 posts for Elizabeth Quay, the city’s purpose-built entertainment and leisure precinct, but the quay did cost the state government A$440 million to build, compared with nothing for the privately owned boat shed. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280415/original/file-20190620-149835-15d50xa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=702&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span></span>
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<p>It will, though, now cost Perth’s city council <a href="https://thewest.com.au/news/perth/crawleys-famous-blue-boatshed-could-be-about-to-get-a-400000-solar-powered-toilet-to-cater-for-instagramming-tourists-ng-b881213185z">A$400,000 to build a public toilet</a> near the boat shed, due to the sheer volume of Insta-happy visitors. An Insta-toilet, if you will. </p>
<p>In terms of value for marketing dollars, it’s a bargain. </p>
<p>Between Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tripadvisor and other social media, the #blueboathouse has generated global awareness about Perth potentially worth millions of dollars. Tourism advertising gurus could brainstorm for months and not come up with something as cheap or effective.</p>
<p>It signifies the profound effect that social media is having on consumer markets, the rise of organic marketing and the phenomenon of “unpaid influencers”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280379/original/file-20190620-171208-snws5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx4hk7NDCY7/">romart_photography/Instagram.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>The rise of the unpaid influencer</h2>
<p>As a researcher, I am fascinated by this phenomenon, which sees everyday consumers (tourists, in this case) become advocates for the brands or destinations they have experienced. In marketing we call them “online brand advocates”. They are a brand’s most authentic marketing investment. </p>
<p>Tourism provides a textbook example of the way social media is blurring the boundary between media use and marketing. With the selfie now the virtual vehicle for instantly sharing holiday happy snaps and proving “I was there”, platforms such as Instagram have become powerful dictators of what’s hot. Each day Instagram users post 95 million photos and videos. Some of these posts, bound by a hashtag, inspire emulation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280418/original/file-20190620-149806-18do996.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx4tqyWl5f2/">davechuacs/Instagram.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Selfie-taking has been embraced by Asian cultures. Chinese and Japanese social media users refer to “ASS” – Asian Selfie Spots. Becoming recognised as such a spot can be a transformative experience for a local economy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/metourism-the-hidden-costs-of-selfie-tourism-87865">#MeTourism: the hidden costs of selfie tourism</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But wait, you ask, has the chance to visit a boat shed really led someone in, say, Beijing, to book a ticket to Perth rather than Las Vegas? </p>
<p>Another unlikely Asian Selfie Spot in Australia suggests it might have. </p>
<p>This is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-03-24/sea-lake-chinese-tourism-drought-grain-rural-environment-water/7272248">Sea Lake</a>, in northwest Victoria.</p>
<p>It is one of the state’s most isolated towns, and also one of its smallest, with a population of about 600. Its name comes from the nearby Lake Tyrrell, which most of the year is effectively a salt lake.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280391/original/file-20190620-149810-5gxzgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280391/original/file-20190620-149810-5gxzgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280391/original/file-20190620-149810-5gxzgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280391/original/file-20190620-149810-5gxzgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280391/original/file-20190620-149810-5gxzgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280391/original/file-20190620-149810-5gxzgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280391/original/file-20190620-149810-5gxzgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For most the year Lake Tyrrell is dry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Until a couple of years ago, Sea Lake was not on anyone’s list of must-visit locations. </p>
<p>But then some photos of what happens in winter, when the shallow, salty depression of Lake Tyrrell is covered in a few centimetres of water, changed all that. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280393/original/file-20190620-149843-16o6lj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280393/original/file-20190620-149843-16o6lj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280393/original/file-20190620-149843-16o6lj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280393/original/file-20190620-149843-16o6lj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280393/original/file-20190620-149843-16o6lj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280393/original/file-20190620-149843-16o6lj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280393/original/file-20190620-149843-16o6lj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lake Tyrrell when covered in water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A trickle of Chinese tourists turned into a relative flood, inspiring new investment and an <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/country-living/new-infrastructure-to-bring-in-tourists-at-lake-tyrell/news-story/c8a5456d1c64bb05c04f0d99b82ec175">economic boost</a> for a drought-stricken community in decline.</p>
<h2>Seeking authenticity</h2>
<p>The influence of platforms like Instagram was recognised reasonably quickly by commercial interests. It led to a whole new industry of “influencers” – social media personalities with large followings who take cash or gifts to promote brands. Sometimes they are upfront about the fact they are being paid to spruik products; sometimes they are not.</p>
<p>The influencer market worth is difficult to calculate, and 2020 predictions range anywhere from US$2.3 billion to US$16.6 billion. </p>
<p>But even as it is reportedly growing exponentially, there’s also a growing feeling that the paid-influencer market is perverting what social media is meant to be about – engagement with authentic storytelling. Instagram has recognised this shift and earlier this year trialled <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolemartin1/2019/04/30/instagram-may-be-getting-rid-of-likes-on-platform/#5875c2ee31d1">removing “likes”</a> and follower numbers as a means to limit people cashing in on their popularity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-people-risk-their-lives-for-the-perfect-selfie-55937">Why do people risk their lives for the perfect selfie?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Against the paid influencers, we see the rise of the unpaid influencers. They generate organic, authentic social media exposure; and because they’re just like you or me (they might even be you or me) they’re highly relatable and trustworthy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280380/original/file-20190620-171183-b9vk1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BxbdSCFHP2k/">junita_kirana/Instagram.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>More and more they inform the decisions we make, from choosing a restaurant to booking a holiday. </p>
<p>So perhaps take another look at that local derelict building or dried-up lake. You never know, it might just be a future tourist hotspot waiting to happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Violetta Wilk does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A blue boat shed in Perth, Western Australia, shows the power of social media and the rise of unpaid influencers in marketing.Violetta Wilk, Lecturer & Researcher in Digital Marketing, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1168322019-06-03T20:07:35Z2019-06-03T20:07:35ZHow big data can help residents find transport, jobs and homes that work for them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276653/original/file-20190527-193549-1aaaaov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Analysing big data can tell us how a big city ticks, including where suitable housing and jobs are, and how best to get to them.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shanghai-city-scenery-big-data-521213980?src=bHzLNM2IJA15qy75yfgghw-1-7&studio=1">LIPING/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Thanks to the media, more people now know that you have to protect your personal data from being misused for commercial gains. Many of you are probably more conscious of what to share on Facebook or Instagram than you were two to three years ago. But, when used appropriately, data can be a great resource that informs urban management and planning. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://railsmart.patrec.org/">RailSmart Platform</a>, a <a href="https://smart-cities.com.au/awards/2019-winners/best-integration-of-an-individual-technology/">Smart Cities 2019 award winner</a> last Thursday, integrates numerous sets of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other data sets such as the public transport ticketing system to work out how the city of Perth functions and how people move around. </p>
<p>Typically, people want to know what areas they can afford that best suit their work and travel requirements. You can use this platform to find out about house prices by location, travel times, locations of strategic jobs and how to get to them.</p>
<p>When you look up the locations of businesses you can see which train stations or major bus stops provide easy access to jobs. If you know the types of jobs, then you will also know whether those jobs are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2017.1294539">strategic jobs</a> – jobs that create and attract other jobs. If you also look at real estate data, you can then find out the property values and rental prices of nearby properties.</p>
<p>To create this platform, we analysed the big data for Perth and visually represented what we found. To make this information accessible, we created a user-friendly digital mapping interface to display the modelled data. </p>
<p>So what sort of data are we talking about?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-big-data-13780">Explainer: what is big data?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Property values</h2>
<p>House prices are one of the key economic indicators that people often pay attention to. Average house prices in Australian capital cities are easy to find, but what about more location-specific prices? You may be renting at the moment and thinking of moving elsewhere, or you may be a prospective property buyer. </p>
<p>Using real estate data, we have mapped the values of properties in different locations. For example, we can show you the number of different types of properties sold (e.g. house, unit, land and other types) and the average sale price of those properties. We can also show the rental values of different locations. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-talk-about-the-data-we-give-freely-of-ourselves-online-and-why-its-useful-93734">We need to talk about the data we give freely of ourselves online and why it's useful</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Access to where people live</h2>
<p>Ever wondered how good (or bad) your local road network is? How about your local public transport? The app can help you with this too.</p>
<p>Using the road network, the public transport network and the timetable data, we have mapped how accessible train stations and major bus stops are to houses, units and apartments. Based on prior <a href="https://www.atrf.info/papers/2017/files/ATRF2017_Abridged_Paper_91.pdf">research</a>, the tool maps and models real-time analysis of accessibility to people, houses or jobs.</p>
<p>For example, we can show the locations you can get to from a specific train station using your own car or public transport on a map. Our data show that 66% of all dwellings in Perth can be accessed within 60 minutes using a private vehicle from Perth station. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274044/original/file-20190513-183083-pgw7ur.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Accessibility of Perth station to dwellings – dark red areas show dwellings that can be reached within 30 minutes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">RailSmart</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-smart-cities-do-to-stay-ahead-72193">Here's what smart cities do to stay ahead</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Locations of ‘strategic’ jobs</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2017.1294539">Strategic jobs</a> include jobs in IT and in academia. For planning purposes, you want to have more strategic jobs that will attract and create more employment.</p>
<p>We can show where strategic jobs are located on a map. In other words, we can show you the locations where you can expect to see more jobs concentrated and created. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274046/original/file-20190513-183103-1raeobd.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Strategic job locations – dark green areas show where more strategic jobs are located.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">RailSmart</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Looking at two maps, the access to jobs and the strategic job locations, we can see that only limited strategic jobs can be accessed from Joondalup station. </p>
<h2>The power of data</h2>
<p>Some of you may be wondering how and where we got all these data. Is the dystopian world created by George Orwell in his fictional work Nineteen Eighty-Four coming true, with “Big Brother” watching your every move? </p>
<p>Fear not. The RailSmart analysis does not use any personalised data and all the data sets we used can be freely accessed by anyone. </p>
<p>The platform relies on aggregated data. This means it uses groupings of data or user types – for example, students, or geographic areas such as suburbs. It is impossible to tell what an individual is doing or even the sale price of individual properties; the platform represents trends as patterns of users and areas.</p>
<p>What makes the platform so powerful is when a set of data that seems unimportant is analysed along with another set of data and all of a sudden the two sets of data actually indicate something of significance.</p>
<p>Vist <a href="https://railsmart.patrec.org/login">RailSmart</a> and see the power of big data (login required, free to sign up).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Sae Chi works for Planning and Transport Research Centre (PATREC) at the University of Western Australia. This work was undertaken as part of the RailSmart Wanneroo Project, which has received grant funding from the Australian government under the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Linda Robson works for Planning and Transport Research Centre (PATREC) at the University of Western Australia. This work was undertaken as part of the RailSmart Wanneroo Project, which has received grant funding from the Australian government under the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.</span></em></p>We have learnt to be wary of big data, but it can also be your friend: one platform combines and analyses data about housing, jobs and transport to reveal very useful information about living in Perth.Sae Chi, Research Associate at Planning and Transport Research Centre (PATREC), The University of Western AustraliaLinda Robson, Research Fellow at Planning and Transport Research Centre, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1065352018-11-18T19:00:41Z2018-11-18T19:00:41ZRethinking what it means to be Australian through art<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245219/original/file-20181113-194497-112db5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kamsani Bin Salleh and Matthew McVeigh, Foodland, 2018, found metal sign and acrylic, 125 x 400 cm.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Janet Holmes à Court Collection </span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Review: Australiyaniality Holmes à Court Gallery, Perth.</em></p>
<p>Australiyaniality is an awkward name for an exhibition that has embedded within it a call to action. </p>
<p>An amalgam of ideas exploring Australia, identity, place and “Liyan” - a word borrowed from the Yawuru people of Broome that describes the “internal spiritual core of strength that keeps you strong personally and culturally” - the exhibition attempts to reframe our attitudes to this continent and the life we have built here. </p>
<p>The very awkwardness, almost un-pronounceability of the title, evokes the scale of the challenge curator Matthew McVeigh has posed. His aim is to galvanise the community to rethink what it means to be Australian. And this exhibition - featuring 27 artists - is a raucous, overwhelming, exciting and at times confusing immersion into ideas about national identity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245222/original/file-20181113-194516-6wu4ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Matthew McVeigh, ABOriginal, 2018, neon, blood group information and Aboriginal Etymology text.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janet Holmes à Court Collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One’s first reaction is awe at the sheer audacity of the visually dislocating hang. It occupies an old warehouse in North Perth, one half of which has been renovated to house the Janet Holmes à Court art collection.</p>
<p>McVeigh and ten other artists have transformed the massive northern wall of the complex into a giant pin-up board of artworks and ideas documenting the racist underbelly of our national narratives. Titled The Relativity of Historia Nullius, it includes images of dispossession, colonialization, enslavement, and neglect. </p>
<p>Some are witty, like the appropriated FOODLAND grocery chain sign. In the shape of a boomerang, overpainted with images of bush tucker, it playfully rebukes our consumerist culture. </p>
<p>Equally playful is McVeigh’s ABO, a neon work that flicks from one letter to the other. At first it seems like an ugly, racist jibe. On closer inspection we see it documents the classification of human blood types based on the inherited properties of red blood cells, to reinforce our shared humanity. </p>
<p>Other works, like Harold Thomas’ large Aboriginal flag with a clock at its centre - going in reverse - suggest the possibility of a new beginning.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245220/original/file-20181113-194485-parqet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sharyn Egan Our Babies, 2018 (detail), sardine tins, rags, pebble gravel, card table.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janet Holmes à Court Collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sharyn Egan’s poignant Our Babies recreates the toys she made as a child out of found materials like sardine cans, rags, and pieces of gravel. These treasured objects acted as comforters when she and her friends cried themselves to sleep in a dormitory, separated from their families. </p>
<p>Most of the artworks document the disgraceful treatment of Aboriginal Australians and highlight historian Lorenzo Veracini’s notion of Historia Nullius. McVeigh describes this as the “distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based history of Australia based on race, colour descent, national or ethnic origin.”</p>
<p>This view of history undermines the human rights of all but the colonisers. As McVeigh and his collaborators suggest, it must be overthrown if we are to achieve a collective “Liyan”.</p>
<p>Throughout this large space, additional artworks by Brook Andrew, Gordon Bennett, Ann Zahalka and others explore similar issues. One of the most engaging works is Paul Caporn’s The Australian Anecdotal History Museum, a Combi Van parked in the warehouse gallery surrounded by the accoutrements of a well-established campsite. </p>
<p>In the van, a selection of objects donated by fellow artists and friends is displayed, each with an anecdote detailing its personal significance to the donor. Some wax lyrical, others are bluntly descriptive. Together, they reinforce the idea of the personalisation of history and the human proclivity to assign objects with a special power or meaning.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245221/original/file-20181113-194491-1f5c9n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paul Caporn The Australian Anecdotal History Museum 2018 (from a distance).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janet Holmes à Court Collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This project is an attempt to open up a dialogue and to move the debate outside the confines of a gallery and into the mainstream.</p>
<p>For this reason, some of the bold graphic works like FOODLAND and ABO could perhaps be released from the gallery and harnessed for use on billboards, in social media, and through established media channels. The Australian Anecdotal History Museum could, for instance, take to the roads and tour through shopping centres.</p>
<p>As a contributing curator, McVeigh has pulled together a group of works that develop his thesis and expand on his own artistic practice. Not surprisingly, it is a partisan view with a heavy emphasis on the ongoing mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians and a nod toward the problems of integration faced by other groups, such as the Indian community. </p>
<p>By tackling such a vast subject with a limited lens and an emphasis on the problems we face rather than sign posts toward a more positive future, it’s possible viewers will leave the gallery with a sense of despondency at the overwhelming task ahead. </p>
<p>Still, as McVeigh announces in his manifesto pasted up on the entry wall: “The works are not a means to an end, a solution to instantaneously fix injustices and imbalances. They will be, however, about working towards providing a way forward to reach a new collective consciousness.” </p>
<p>In the wake of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, this exhibition reminds us that the responsibility lies with every Australian to nurture their “Liyan” and create a just and equitable country we can all call home.</p>
<p><em>Australiyaniality is at the Holmes à Court Gallery, 10 Douglas Street, Perth, until November 25.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106535/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Snell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This Perth exhibition is a raucous, overwhelming, exciting and at times confusing immersion into ideas about national identity.Ted Snell, Professor, Chief Cultural Officer, Cultural Precinct, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/958702018-05-09T20:18:10Z2018-05-09T20:18:10Z‘Sanitised’ nightlife precincts become places where some are not welcome<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217386/original/file-20180503-83693-1exiqj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Keeping up appearances at the Gold Bar in Subiaco, Perth. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul j. Maginn</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the seventh article in our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cities-for-everyone-53005">Cities for Everyone</a>, which explores how members of different communities experience and shape our cities, and how we can create better public spaces for everyone.</em></p>
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<p>Nightlife precincts in Australian cities have come under intense scrutiny in recent years following a spate of “one punch” assaults and other incidents. Places like Sydney’s Kings Cross, Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and Perth’s Northbridge have been framed as unsafe and unruly “problem spaces” – the kind of places that parents warn their teenage children to avoid.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lockout-laws-repeat-centuries-old-mistake-of-denying-value-of-cities-as-messy-places-58281">Lockout laws repeat centuries-old mistake of denying value of cities as messy places</a>
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<p>Simultaneously, local politicians, urban planners and other policymakers have been <a href="http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/vision/towards-2030/business-and-economy/sydney-at-night/night-time-economy">spruiking</a> the importance of the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-27/24-hour-cities-why-planners-taking-night-time-economy-seriously/8472062">night-time economy</a> to a city’s image and growth. A “vibrant” nightlife is seen as essential for attracting tourism and investment and creating jobs. If a city can get itself on some kind of “<a href="https://www.timeout.com/london/citylifeindex/best-most-exciting-cities-in-the-world-2018">Most Exciting Cities in the World</a>” list, this becomes a crucial part of its city boosterism strategy.</p>
<p>The championing and criticism of nightlife spaces create something of a paradox. On the one hand, the promotion of vibrant nightlife spaces may be seen as an invitation to people to revel and consume. It’s thought that failing to attract enough people to these spaces spells economic disaster for venue operators and for the city itself. </p>
<p>On the other hand, violence and fear discourage or exclude people from participating in nightlife. And labelling nightlife precincts as disorderly or “out of control” stigmatises these spaces and revellers, leading to more exclusion.</p>
<p>The policy challenge is to establish the right amount and types of regulation so that nightlife spaces allow for mild transgression in a safe environment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-lockouts-sydney-needs-to-become-a-more-inclusive-city-55821">Beyond lockouts: Sydney needs to become a more inclusive city</a>
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<h2>When security excludes</h2>
<p>Part of the response to these issues has been tighter regulation and security in nightlife spaces. “Lockout laws” were <a href="https://www.keepsydneyopen.com/#about">controversially</a> introduced in parts of Sydney, following the example set in <a href="https://www.theherald.com.au/story/5070979/newcastles-lockout-laws-to-be-reviewed-nearly-a-decade-after-the-newcastle-solution/">Newcastle</a> and in trials in Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane. These laws wound back the operating hours of licensed venues in popular night-time precincts. </p>
<p>Other responses from governments and private operators have included expanding CCTV surveillance, introducing ID scanners at venue entrances, increasing police and private security presence, and slowing or suspending the issuing of new liquor licenses.</p>
<p>These measures are intended to make people safer and to make them <em>feel</em> safer, to reduce the exclusionary effect of fear. Ironically, these hyper-visible forms of security can in fact make people <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-create-safer-cities-for-everyone-we-need-to-avoid-security-that-threatens-93421">feel more unsafe</a>. </p>
<p>These regulatory interventions are more than just about tackling violence and threatening behaviour. Ultimately, they are about imposing particular ideas of social and moral order not only within nightlife spaces but the city more broadly.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/suburbanising-the-centre-the-baird-governments-anti-urban-agenda-for-sydney-55754">Suburbanising the centre: the Baird government's anti-urban agenda for Sydney</a>
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<h2>Gentrifying the night</h2>
<p>Alongside the expansion of hyper-visible security, major public and private investment has flowed into nightlife precincts and surrounding areas over the last decade or so. </p>
<p>In Perth, as we have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08111146.2018.1460266">recently outlined</a>, the impacts couldn’t be clearer. Four major redevelopment projects – <a href="https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/projects-and-places/new-northbridge">New Northbridge</a>, <a href="https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/projects-and-places/perth-cultural-centre">Perth Cultural Centre</a>, <a href="https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/projects-and-places/perth-city-link">Perth City Link</a> and <a href="https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/projects-and-places/yagan-square">Yagan Square</a> – have drastically reshaped the built form and sense of place within the inner city. </p>
<p>These developments have “<a href="https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-west-australian/20170204/281706909414863">changed the face</a>” of Northbridge, which has been gradually gentrifying. The rapid rise in the number of small boutique bars, high-end restaurants and apartments is evidence of this.</p>
<p>The gentrification of Northbridge and other nightlife precincts across metropolitan Australia – whether through new “sophisticated” venues replacing older downmarket ones, or through <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-31/sydney-kings-cross-changing-amid-gentification-and-lockout-laws/7801502">residential development</a> displacing nightlife altogether – is not a recipe for less exclusionary spaces. Rather, these developments produce a different kind of exclusion due to two factors. </p>
<p>First, certain groups may be priced out of more upmarket venues offering an “exclusive” or “sophisticated” experience. Second, these venues and the types of customers they attract can make other individuals and groups feel out of place. If they don’t fit the written and unwritten admission criteria they may be denied entry altogether.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-did-the-northbridge-wa-curfew-see-a-dramatic-drop-in-crime-87016">FactCheck: did the Northbridge WA curfew see a 'dramatic drop' in crime?</a>
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<h2>Making space for transgression</h2>
<p>In reshaping the moral geography of nightlife precincts, securitisation and gentrification are suppressing one of the fundamental appeals of nightlife – the opportunity for behaviour that transgresses social, cultural and even legal codes. </p>
<p>Participating in nightlife spaces in cities has been a way to briefly escape the often mundane orderliness of everyday home and work life. Nightlife spaces have historically been important for minority, subcultural and countercultural groups – <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-city-gaybourhoods-where-they-come-from-and-why-they-still-matter-93956">LGBTGI communities</a>, minority ethnic groups, punks, goths, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/SubUrban-Sexscapes-Geographies-and-Regulation-of-the-Sex-Industry/Maginn-Steinmetz/p/book/9780415855280">fetishists</a> and so on – to socialise and to express their individual and collective identities.</p>
<p>The increasingly expensive cost and overbearing regulatory regimes governing nightlife seem designed to attract the “right type” of people and to make them feel safer. </p>
<p>The risk of all this is that we might be sleepwalking into the creation of sanitised and yet more homogenous and exclusionary nightlife spaces.</p>
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<p><em>You can find the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cities-for-everyone-53005">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair Sisson receives funding from an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul J. Maginn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ultimately, most regulatory interventions in nightlife precincts are about imposing particular ideas of social and moral order not only within these spaces but also in the city more broadly.Alistair Sisson, PhD Candidate, Urban Geography, University of SydneyPaul J. Maginn, Associate Professor of Urban/Regional Planning, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/938412018-03-27T01:25:12Z2018-03-27T01:25:12ZWhat governments can learn from Perth’s property market<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211918/original/file-20180326-148707-14qmo5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The report examined housing affordability in Perth through individual transaction records over a six year sample period.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Governments can encourage more affordable housing by targeting first home buyer subsidies to specific locations and housing types, <a href="http://bcec.edu.au/publications/housing-affordability-land-supply-new-housing-wa">a new report finds</a>.
It also suggests incentivising developers and builders to create smaller houses with more cost-efficient designs.</p>
<p>The report is based on the housing market in Perth, Western Australia, and shows that historically building single houses as opposed to units or town houses is a more effective way of delivering affordable housing on the city fringes. </p>
<p>The report examined housing affordability through individual transaction records over a six year sample period. It compared prices between established and new housing, showing that new land and building developments play important roles in supplying affordable housing options.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/six-lessons-on-how-to-make-affordable-housing-funding-work-across-australia-91072">Six lessons on how to make affordable housing funding work across Australia</a>
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<p>New dwellings comprise 13% of single house transactions and 33% for dwellings such as apartment or townhouses. Although new dwellings like apartments provided some affordable housing options, in general they are selling at a premium over existing houses. </p>
<p>Australia’s largest cities, like Perth, are stretched to the limit of land supply and infrastructure for affordable housing. The most infrastructure exists in city centres <a href="https://theconversation.com/get-used-to-your-commute-data-confirms-houses-near-jobs-are-too-expensive-77867">where houses are expensive.</a> </p>
<p>Over the past two decades Perth has grown rapidly. <a href="http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/036?opendocument">Between 2001 and 2016</a> the population increased by 46.7%, the largest proportional increase of any Australian capital city. The make-up of the housing market is similar to other capitals: 68% of the housing stock is single houses, 20% other dwellings and 11% vacant. </p>
<p>Levels of home ownership are generally consistent with the national pattern: 62% of housing is owned outright or mortgaged, and 24% rented. </p>
<p><a href="https://reia.asn.au/product/remf-data-spreadsheets-purchase/">House prices have grown</a> rapidly. From 1999 to 2016 house prices grew at an average annual rate of 8.4%; other dwellings grew 9%. Both sectors report the highest annual increases for all Australian capital cities over this period.</p>
<h2>How can governments help?</h2>
<p>The challenge in Australia’s housing market is supplying an adequate range of affordable new dwelling types within a range of suitable locations – both inner city and outer suburban choices.</p>
<p>Clusters of cheaper housing on the urban fringe and more expensive inner-city development suggest new building activity is confined to specific locations. These are defined by the price the constructor or buyer is willing to pay. </p>
<p>Housing policy in Australia has relied on market outcomes to determine aesthetic and economic characteristics of housing in our cities. Government intervention has mainly been through zoning, predominantly at local levels. More recently there’s also been stimulus at state and federal levels for first home buyers through various deposit subsidy schemes.</p>
<p>Subsidy schemes have been important in helping first home buyers bridge the deposit gap. Incentives have included cash payments and stamp duty relief. </p>
<p>In some states additional payments have been made for new building and for purchases in specific locations. But the Perth study indicates that some of these subsidies are becoming ineffective.</p>
<p>Standard “one type fits all” subsidies are limiting first home buyers’ choices of location and housing type. </p>
<p>The solution to this problem is to make subsidy schemes more flexible to nudge first home buyers towards affordable locations. This would even out the supply of affordable houses from areas where housing is densely clustered in certain locations.</p>
<p>Policy would also need to take into account the needs of different demographics in certain locations. Housing requirements of young singles are obviously different than for young families.</p>
<p>Effective policy would also need to take into account the types of housing finance available for first home buyers. One example is the <a href="http://www.housing.wa.gov.au/housingoptions/homeownershipoptions/KeyStart/Pages/default.aspx">WA government’s Keystart loans</a> which help eligible people to buy their own homes through low deposit loans and shared equity schemes. </p>
<p>These types of schemes include shared ownership with the government owned housing authorities and include existing and newly built homes in a variety of locations.</p>
<p>But it’s not all up to state governments. The problems of lack of land supply and infrastructure are the same in all Australian capital cities. The federal government could play a more prominent role through infrastructure grant funding in changing the location choice of buyers and variation of affordable housing types at a national level.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93841/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Costello receives funding from the BankWest Curtin Economics Centre.
</span></em></p>A new report shows building smaller houses as opposed to apartments in city fringes could provide more affordable housing.Greg Costello, Associate Professor, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/924202018-03-12T19:03:38Z2018-03-12T19:03:38ZMore of us are drinking recycled sewage water than most people realise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209417/original/file-20180307-146650-1v2p3a9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Hawkesbury's waters look beautifully natural but treated sewage makes up to 20% of the river flow where the North Richmond Filtration Plant draws its water.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalleboo/5890584178/in/photolist-cTQEsQ-6NNex1-e9yd4F-e9DTf3-e9ygpp-e9yhYt-e9DZSS-e9yjFa-e9DVL1-ivvLjg-9YwMsb-e9yeei-e9yh7g-e9DVBN-e9yf2i-e9ykse-e9DWCq-e9DUU3-e9DXJG-e9yfbc-e9DULh-e9DWcw-e9DYy5-e9E1cf-e9E1Sw-e9yhDn-e9ydW6-e9yiu8-e9yhqa-e9yezg-e9DTw5-e9yjPv-e9yg82-e9yii2-e9DTNj-e9DYM1-e9E13U-e9yi8Z-e9E24b-e9yjbp-e9DUr3-e9yj1r-e9ydkg-e9DTE9-e9yhgB-e9DWVs-e9DWMf-7pyNak-e9DZpY-e9yfuD">Karl Baron/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world is watching as Cape Town’s water crisis approaches “<a href="https://theconversation.com/day-zero-is-meant-to-cut-cape-towns-water-use-what-is-it-and-is-it-working-92055">Day Zero</a>”. Questions are being asked about <a href="https://theconversation.com/cape-town-is-almost-out-of-water-could-australian-cities-suffer-the-same-fate-90933">which other cities could be at risk</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-what-australias-growing-cities-need-to-do-to-avoid-running-dry-86301">what can they do to avoid running dry</a>. In Perth, Australia’s most water-stressed capital, it has been <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-25/how-alll-perth-sewage-could-be-turned-into-drinking-water/9472046">announced</a> that the city is considering reusing all of its sewage as part of its future water supply. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cape-town-is-almost-out-of-water-could-australian-cities-suffer-the-same-fate-90933">Cape Town is almost out of water. Could Australian cities suffer the same fate?</a>
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<p>Drinking recycled sewage is a very confronting topic. But what many people don’t realise is that we already rely on recycled sewage in many Australian water supplies. Even in Australia’s biggest city, Sydney, it is an important part of the water supply. This is because many large towns discharge their treated sewage into the catchment rivers that supply the city.</p>
<p>But Perth is now looking to recycle all of its treated sewage. At the time of writing, the city’s water storages were at a low <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/dashboards/#/water-storages/summary/state">35.3%</a>. Cape Town’s reserves, by comparison, are at a <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/damlevels.pdf">critical low of 23.5%</a> – but Perth was close to that point just a year ago when it was down to <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/dashboards/#/water-storages/summary/state">24.8%</a>. </p>
<p>Perth has been progressively “drought-proofing” itself by diversifying the city water supply. River flow and storage in dams accounts for only 10% of this supply. Desalination and groundwater extraction provide about 90% of the city’s supply. Only about 10% of Perth’s sewage is recycled, through advanced treatment and <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/groundwater-replenishment">replenishment into its groundwater supplies</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-perth-really-running-out-of-water-well-yes-and-no-90857">Is Perth really running out of water? Well, yes and no</a>
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<p>Justifiably, many people have <a href="https://theconversation.com/recycled-drinking-water-what-australians-need-to-know-7216">concerns about drinking recycled sewage</a>. This reflects long-standing concern about hazards of contaminated water. An example is the devastating waterborne disease of cholera, which claims the lives of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-cholera-remains-a-public-health-threat-74444">more than 100,000 people a year</a>. Cholera is rare in many countries, but is endemic in waters <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cholera/index.html">across Africa and much of Southeast Asia</a>. </p>
<p>As wastewater treatment technologies improve and urban populations grow, however, <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-drought-looms-again-australians-are-ready-to-embrace-recycled-water-48805">interest in using treated sewage in drinking water supplies has been increasing</a>. No Australian urban water supply currently uses “direct potable reuse” of treated sewage, but the concept is being <a href="https://www.atse.org.au/Documents/reports/drinking-water-through-recycling-full-report.pdf">seriously considered</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-what-australias-growing-cities-need-to-do-to-avoid-running-dry-86301">This is what Australia's growing cities need to do to avoid running dry</a>
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<h2>So how is treated sewage being indirectly reused?</h2>
<p>There is, however, indirect reuse when water is drawn from rivers into which recycled sewage is discharged upstream. For instance, the catchment of Sydney’s giant Warragamba Dam has a population of about 116,000 people. This includes the large settlements of Goulburn, Lithgow, Moss Vale, Mittagong and Bowral. These communities <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lc/papers/DBAssets/tabledpaper/WebAttachments/71475/Sydney%20Catchment%20Audit%20Vol%201.pdf">discharge their treated sewage into the catchment rivers</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209419/original/file-20180307-146700-1g3nvre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Several large towns discharge treated sewage into rivers supplying Warragamba Dam, which holds 80% of Sydney’s water reserves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/popejon2/5473658486/in/photolist-9kFVYb-btVv92-9deje1-bocaJC-boc8m1-btVDUK-bocarN-9EKPDV-bB71Ri-9EKPxk-bB71sn-bB6ZDR-dqQuF9-boc7DL-bnojhN-btVrbV-bB6YXK-boca4h-boc8Aj-btVsXH-dqQh6F-dqQiQP-bocafu-dqQkXp-btVgri-btWd1Z-dqQkfZ-btWr9K-btVaoT-dqQqtj-btVcvM-btVSBP-btVeLT-btVXGF-btWGgD-btWCmv-btVLrR-btVQxp-bex6Xi-dqQnMv-btVm8p-bn4A8U-9EKPVc-btViBr-9V96rc-btWJuM-btVVbg-btVoRH-btWfTn-dqQwKb">popejon2/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority regulates these discharges, which form a small part of the total annual catchment inflow to the dam. Such recycling of sewage is termed “indirect potable reuse”.</p>
<p>Residents in some parts of northwestern Sydney also drink water that is partly supplied by another form of indirect reuse of treated sewage. The <a href="http://www.sydneywaternews.com.au/media/1193/north-richmond-water-filtrPtion-plant.pdf">North Richmond Water Filtration Plant</a> extracts and treats water drawn directly from the Hawkesbury-Nepean River. A major contributor to the river flow is treated sewage discharged from upstream treatment plants. </p>
<p>These include plants in the Blue Mountains (Winmalee), St Marys, Penrith, Wallacia, and West Camden. The largest individual discharge of treated sewage to the river in recent weeks is from <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/education/Wastewater-recycling/Water-recycling/st-marys-advanced-plant/index.htm">St Marys Advanced Water Recycling Plant</a>, one of the biggest in Australia. This plant uses advanced membrane technology to produce highly treated effluent before it is discharged into the river. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209888/original/file-20180312-30954-1cf47nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">St
Marys Advanced Water Recycling Plant, one of the biggest in Australia, treats sewage and discharges the water into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Wright</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Available data are limited, but in the very low river flows in the recent dry summer I estimate that treated sewage comprised almost 32% of the Hawkesbury-Nepean flow in the North Richmond area for the first week of January. The water is highly treated at the Sydney Water-owned North Richmond plant to ensure it meets <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/eh52">Australian drinking water guidelines</a>. </p>
<p>Every year the river receives more and more treated sewage as a result of population growth. This is certain to continue, as Greater Sydney is forecast to gain <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Research-and-Demography/Sydney-housing-supply-forecast">another 1.74 million residents in the next 18 years</a>. Much of this growth will be in Western Sydney, one of the most <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-your-area/Sydney/A-Plan-for-Growing-Sydney">rapidly growing urban centres in Australia</a>. This will result in more treated sewage, and urban runoff, contributing to the Hawkesbury-Nepean River flow. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-drought-looms-again-australians-are-ready-to-embrace-recycled-water-48805">As drought looms again, Australians are ready to embrace recycled water</a>
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<h2>Paying for desalination while water goes to waste</h2>
<p>However, most of Sydney’s sewage is not recycled at all. Three massive coastal treatment plants (at <a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/water-the-environment/how-we-manage-sydney-s-water/wastewater-network/wastewater-treatment-plants/index.htm">North Head, Bondi and Malabar</a>) serve the majority of Sydney’s population. These three plants discharge <a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/water-the-environment/how-we-manage-sydney-s-water/wastewater-network/wastewater-treatment-plants/index.htm">nearly 1,000 million litres</a> (1,000ML) of primary treated sewage into the ocean every day. That is roughly an Olympic pool of sewage dumped in the ocean every four minutes! </p>
<p>Perhaps if Sydney was as chronically short of water as Perth there would be plans to recycle more of its sewage. Instead, Sydney has adopted desalination as a “new” source of drinking water, rather than treating larger volumes of sewage for any form of potable reuse.</p>
<p>Sydney’s desalination plant sits idle about 10 kilometres south of the Malabar treatment plant. It has a capacity for supplying 250ML a day. Even though it isn’t supplying water now, it is very expensive. In 2017, the privately owned plant, sitting on standby, charged Sydney Water <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mty4/%7Eedisp/dd_168714.pdf">A$194 million</a>. </p>
<p>Only when Sydney’s storages fall below the trigger of 60% will the plant supply drinking water. With <a href="https://www.waternsw.com.au/supply/dam-levels/greater-sydneys-dam-levels">storages at 76.5%</a>, the plant will not operate for a while. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-role-of-water-in-australias-uncertain-future-45366">The role of water in Australia's uncertain future</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92420/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian A. Wright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Perth is looking at recycling all its sewage in the city’s future water supply. But many Australians’ drinking water already contains indirectly recycled treated sewage.Ian A. Wright, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/908572018-02-14T02:45:29Z2018-02-14T02:45:29ZIs Perth really running out of water? Well, yes and no<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206122/original/file-20180213-44642-1985p1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The future of Perth's urban wetlands is in doubt.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Orderinchaos/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Cape Town counts down to “day zero” and the prospect of its taps being turned off, there have inevitably been questions about whether the same fate might befall a major Australian city. The most <a href="https://theconversation.com/cape-town-is-almost-out-of-water-could-australian-cities-suffer-the-same-fate-90933">striking parallels have been drawn with Perth</a> – unsurprisingly, given its drying climate, rising evaporation rates (which increase consumption and reduce water yields) and growing population.</p>
<p>So is Perth really running out of water? The answer depends on what type of water is being considered, and what constitutes “running out”.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cape-town-is-almost-out-of-water-could-australian-cities-suffer-the-same-fate-90933">Cape Town is almost out of water. Could Australian cities suffer the same fate?</a>
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<p>When faced with this question most people think of drinking water, which is of course essential for household use.</p>
<p>It often ignores non-potable groundwater that is heavily relied upon in Perth to irrigate gardens, lawns, ovals, golf courses and market gardens. This water is also used by light and heavy industry, as well as being crucial to the health of wetlands and vegetation across the coastal plain.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206115/original/file-20180213-44654-66n9ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lake Jualbup in Perth’s western suburbs showing periods of low and high water level. Photos by Geoffrey Dean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">saveourjewel.org</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perth’s drinking water supplies are largely safe, thanks to early investment in the use of groundwater and in technologies such as desalination. But somewhat ironically, as this <a href="http://www.patrec.uwa.edu.au/publications">recent book chapter explains</a>, the future supply of lower-quality water for irrigation and to support ecosystems looks far less assured. </p>
<h2>A drying climate</h2>
<p>Perth’s annual rainfall has been declining by about 3mm per year on average, while the number of months receiving at least 200mm of rain has <a href="https://www.water.wa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/4752/81291.pdf">halved</a>. Meanwhile, the annual mean temperature anomaly <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/#tabs=Tracker&tracker=timeseries&tQ=graph%3Dtmean%26area%3Dswaus%26season%3D0112%26ave_yr%3D0">has increased by 1°C in southwest Western Australia in the past 40 years</a> and possibly by more in Perth, given the urban heat island effect. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206135/original/file-20180213-44654-q46rcz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perth’s rainfall trend, as measured at Perth Airport’s rain gauge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bureau of Meteorology</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The overall effect is that soils and vegetation are often dry, meaning that rainfall will be lost to evapotranspiration rather than running off into rivers and dams, or recharging underground aquifers.</p>
<p>At the same time, Perth has made major changes to its drinking water supply. The city now relies chiefly on groundwater and desalination rather than dams. For a variety of reasons, drinking water use per person has declined, most notably since the early 2000s when sprinkler restrictions were introduced. Some have switched to self-supply sources such as backyard bores, so for them total water use may even have increased.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206138/original/file-20180213-44633-7ug4r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perth’s trends in runoff, population, and water supply.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Water Corporation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The reduction in per capita use of drinking water is just as well, because inflows into Perth dams have <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/rainfall-and-dams/streamflow/streamflowhistorical">fallen from 300 billion litres a year to less than 50 billion</a>. This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581814000251#!">disproportionate drop in stream flows</a>, even against the backdrop of declining rainfall, means that evaporation from reservoirs can exceed inflows in very dry years. </p>
<p>Since the late 1970s, Perth has increasingly used groundwater rather than dam water. Seawater desalination has also grown to almost half of total supply. Even more recently Perth began trialling a groundwater replenishment scheme to <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/groundwater-replenishment">recharge aquifers with treated wastewater</a>. </p>
<p>With the declines in rainfall and streamflow <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169412001072">predicted to continue</a>, water security will continue to be an important policy issue over the next few decades. Although both are much more expensive than dam water, desalination and groundwater replenishment look set to secure Perth’s drinking supply, because seawater is virtually unlimited, and wastewater availability increases in line with the city’s growth.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-what-australias-growing-cities-need-to-do-to-avoid-running-dry-86301">This is what Australia's growing cities need to do to avoid running dry</a>
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<h2>Why are non-drinking water supplies less secure?</h2>
<p>Boosting drinking water supplies with desalination or groundwater replenishment is unlikely to resolve the pressures on non-potable supplies. To understand why, it is necessary to understand Perth’s unusual hydrology.</p>
<p>Most of Perth is built on permeable sand dunes, which can soak up even the heaviest rainfall. This allows runoff from roofs and roads to be directed into nearby soak wells and absorption basins. </p>
<p>As well as cheap disposal of stormwater, the sands provide Perth with a place to store excess water from winter rains, which is then relied upon for summer irrigation. As a result, local governments have been able to provide many irrigated parks and sports ovals, and <a href="http://www.water.wa.gov.au/urban-water/bores">more than a quarter of Perth households use a private bore to water their gardens</a>.</p>
<p>This arrangement isn’t as sustainable as it once was. Groundwater levels are <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=csiro:EP125485&dsid=DS11">falling under many parts of Perth</a>, forcing the state government to reduce allocations and to introduce a range of water-saving measures such as <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/save-water/watering-days/winter-sprinkler-ban">winter sprinkler bans</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike dam inflows, we don’t yet know the full scale of the reduction in natural groundwater recharge rates. But the question still remains: what can we do to halt the decline of this important water store, particularly as <a href="https://www.planning.wa.gov.au/publications/3.5million.aspx">Perth’s population is expected to grow to 3.5 million by 2050</a>? </p>
<p>About 70% of local road runoff and half of roof runoff already recharges the shallow unconfined aquifer, because it is the cheapest way to dispose of excess water in areas with sandy soils. As well as reducing discharge costs, this practice helps to ensure that bores do not run dry in summer.</p>
<p>Perth also has large main drains that are designed to lower groundwater levels in swampy areas and prevent inundation. Some of these waters could be redirected into the aquifer where there is a suitable site.</p>
<h2>Don’t waste wastewater</h2>
<p>About 140 billion litres of treated wastewater are discharged into the ocean every year in the Perth-Peel region. A further 7 billion litres are infiltrated into the sands as a means of disposal where there isn’t an option for ocean outfall. Recent investigations of these land disposal sites have shown them to be effective in <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=csiro:EP155284&dsid=DS2">protecting wetlands from drying and providing water for public and private irrigation</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=changeme:422&dsid=DS1">Investigations</a> have also shown that the quality of treated wastewater can be greatly improved when infiltrated through the yellow sands into the limestone aquifer in the western part of Perth. It is suitable for irrigation after a few weeks’ residence within the aquifer.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drought-proofing-perth-the-long-view-of-western-australian-water-36349">'Drought-proofing' Perth: the long view of Western Australian water</a>
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<p>Without these kinds of measures, local governments will struggle to water parks and sports ovals, to protect Perth’s <a href="http://saveourjewel.org/">remaining wetlands</a>, and to safeguard the trees that help keep us cool.</p>
<p>So while drinking water supplies for an affluent city like Perth are reasonably secure, our vital non-drinking water supplies need to be augmented using some of the water we currently discharge into the ocean. As Perth gets even hotter and drier, and green spaces and wetlands are needed to provide much-needed cooling, we can no longer afford to let any water go to waste.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Don McFarlane is an Adjunct Professor within the School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia. He also consults part time on water resource issues. Most of the research referred to in this article was funded by the Australian government (when he worked at CSIRO) and carried out in collaboration with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, and the Water Corporation. </span></em></p>Perth, unlike Cape Town, faces no prospect of its tapwater running out. But other problems lurk beneath the surface, as the city’s drying climate puts increasing pressure on irrigation and wetlands.Don McFarlane, Adjunct professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.