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Clive Palmer, his money and his billboards are back. What does this mean for the 2022 federal election?

Susan Harris Rimmer, Griffith University

Clive Palmer is running candidates all around the country and spending big. But so far, the United Australia Party vote is only around 4%.

Artist’s impression of the PSR J0523-7125 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Carl Knox, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav)

We’ve used a new technique to discover the brightest radio pulsar outside our own galaxy

Yuanming Wang, University of Sydney; David Kaplan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Tara Murphy, University of Sydney

The pulsar PSR J0523-7125 is more than ten times brighter than any other radio pulsar outside the Milky Way.

What to do in a dog attack – and why they hate posties so much

Susan Hazel, University of Adelaide and Petra Edwards, University of Adelaide

More and more Australia Post workers are reporting dog bites in the course of their work. What should you do if you witness a dog attack? And what if you’re the victim?

Here comes the pandemic fiction: murder, disease and life after death in Steve Toltz’s Here Goes Nothing

Julian Novitz, Swinburne University of Technology

In his latest novel, Steve Toltz cements his reputation as an exceptional comic writer.

ACCC says consumers need more choices about what online marketplaces are doing with their data

Katharine Kemp, UNSW Sydney

Consumers should have more control over how online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon collect and use their data, according to a new ACCC report.

Polls show a jump in the Greens vote – but its real path to power lies in reconciling with Labor

Kate Crowley, University of Tasmania

The Greens and Labor have a mixed record of working together, but can learn from past experience.

People attending GPs aren’t getting all the preventive health care they need. Here’s what could help

Oliver Frank, University of Adelaide

Many eligible Australians are not partaking in care to protect their health. Why?

For first homebuyers, it’s Labor’s Help to Buy versus the Coalition’s New Home Guarantee. Which is better?

Rachel Ong ViforJ, Curtin University

Labor’s scheme will get people into homeownership who would have otherwise missed out. The Coalition’s will get people already likely to buy into houses sooner.

Australia should have a universal basic income for artists. Here’s what that could look like

Jo Caust, The University of Melbourne

A new scheme in the Republic of Ireland provides a compelling model for supporting Australian artists.

Labor’s lead steady in Newspoll and gains in Resolve; how the polls moved during past campaigns

Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne

The polls continue to show Labor in an election winning position - but the Coalition will take some heart from the rise in Scott Morrison’s approval rating.

The Nationals have good election prospects - but this does not guarantee Joyce’s leadership

Geoff Cockfield, University of Southern Queensland

While the Liberal and Labor parties each face several nail-biting contests, the Nationals have have fewer immediate concerns ahead of May 21.

‘High maintenance’ is a red flag on dating apps. Women are still expected to shrink themselves

Lisa Portolan, Western Sydney University

Women don’t want to ‘intimidate’ a man through their photos – but this is just one way they are hiding their true selves.

Using BMI to measure your health is nonsense. Here’s why

Nick Fuller, University of Sydney

BMI was created to describe the average man in the 1800s. It shouldn’t be used to predict health.

Are Australians socially inclusive? 5 things we learned after surveying 11,000 people for half a decade

Kun Zhao, Monash University and Liam Smith, Monash University

Our report provides a snapshot of a changing Australia and highlight areas that undermine our unity, well-being, and opportunity to have a ‘fair go’.

Flinders Beach has been growing since the 1950s. Kevin Welsh

Why some beaches, including in Queensland, are getting bigger despite rising sea levels

Daniel Harris, The University of Queensland; Dylan Cowley, The University of Queensland, and Yongjing Mao, The University of Queensland

This goes against the general understanding of how climate change impacts the coast. So what’s going on?

Central banks hunt in packs. Here’s why ours ought to be wary

Steven Hail, Torrens University Australia

The best way to manage the economy is though an array of tools. Interest rates are just one.

We’ve created a device that could allow instant disease diagnosis – while fitting inside your phone lens

Lukas Wesemann, The University of Melbourne

So far, similar medical diagnostics tech has either required time-consuming post processing, or has used parts that prevented it from being integrated into a flat design.

Wikimedia Commons/National Library of Australia

Judith Wright, an activist poet who was ahead of her time

Tony Hughes-d'Aeth, The University of Western Australia

A new collection of non-fiction by one of Australia’s greatest poets enriches our understanding of her legacy.

Community healthcare workers were left feeling isolated and under-appreciated during the pandemic

Eleanor Holroyd, Auckland University of Technology; Antje Deckert, Auckland University of Technology; Edmond Samuel Fehoko, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Laumua Tunufai, Auckland University of Technology; Megan Laws, London School of Economics and Political Science; Nayananta Appleton, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Nelly Martin-Anatias, Auckland University of Technology; Nicholas J. Long, London School of Economics and Political Science; Rogena Sterling, University of Waikato; Sharyn Graham Davies, Monash University, and Susanna Trnka, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Community healthcare workers say the price they paid to care for vulnerable patients during the pandemic has been largely ignored. It’s time to recognise their work at the front line.

View from The Hill: Labor strongly ahead in Newspoll and Resolve, as election race enters final half

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Labor’s confidence will be boosted by two polls showing it holding a strong lead, as Anthony Albanese carried off a well orchestrated party launch on Sunday.

Albanese pledges to make gender pay equity a Fair Work Act objective

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Anthony Albanese on Sunday formally launched Labor’s campaign, with promises for low paid women, and aspiring home buyers.

Allegra Spender/Facebook; Dave Sharma/Facebook

The Wentworth Project: Allegra Spender’s profile rises, but polarises

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

In the third report on The Wentworth Project, we find in focus group research that independent candidate Allegra Spender has shifted soft voters opinions about her

Below the Line: Will different cultural groups favour one side of politics this federal election? – podcast

Benjamin Clark, The Conversation

Below the Line Episode 7 The Conversation87.9 MB (download)

In this episode of our election podcast Below the Line, our expert panel speak to a Chinese media expert about how the Chinese-Australian community is being courted in the campaign.

Honeybees join humans as the only known animals that can tell the difference between odd and even numbers

Scarlett Howard, Monash University; Adrian Dyer, RMIT University; Andrew Greentree, RMIT University, and Jair Garcia, RMIT University

The miniature brains of honeybees were able to understand the concepts of odd and even, despite only having 960,000 neurons (compared to 86 billion in humans).

Here’s how disinformation could disrupt the Australian election

Michael Jensen, University of Canberra and Sascha-Dominik (Dov) Bachmann, University of Canberra

We’re already seeing signs of disinformation on social media ahead of the federal election.