Overall, Victoria’s roadmap is good. It identifies the right goal, provides explicit criteria for when restrictions might be lifted, and involves mostly appropriate restrictions.
My analysis suggests when COVID-19 cases reach 100 over 14 days, an outbreak gets very difficult to control — as we saw in Victoria. Over the last fortnight, NSW has recorded at least 154 new cases.
Too many people are going out with COVID-19 symptoms or while awaiting a test result, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said, after the state hit a bleak new record of 484 new cases.
We judge the competency of politicians by what they say and do. This creates perverse incentives for even competent politicians to refuse to admit mistakes.
If you’re lucky enough to be able to afford a ski trip, expect it to look different this year. Some extra planning, however, can lower the coronavirus risk to you, your loved ones and the community.
Red Cross nurses in San Francisco, 1918.
Wikimedia
There is a myth that dingoes are extinct and wild dogs are all that remain in Australia. Our results show dingoes in New South Wales persist despite some mixing with domestic dogs.
Fires are burning across Queensland and New South Wales.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
The blotched butterfly orchid (Sarcochilus weinthalii) looks fairly unremarkable when it’s not flowering, generally resembling the far more common orange blossom orchid. But when it flowers, it is exquisite…
The fate of deer carcasses is a crucial consideration in monitoring the success of future culling.
Emma Spencer
The NSW government has announced plans to remove feral deer from its list of official game animals. With careful monitoring, the resulting free-for-all could help curb their booming numbers.
The recall of several milk brands due to the possible presence of E. Coli is the second milk recall to affect Victoria and New South Wales this month.
From shutterstock.com
When several milk brands were recalled last week due to the presence of E. coli, people were concerned. But the recall is a sign that dairy surveillance systems are working as they should be.
VLocity trains run at speeds of up to 160km/h on four Victorian regional lines.
Scott Martin
More than half a century after the first high-speed trains began running overseas, Australia is still waiting for the long-promised service. Right now, faster rail is a better short-term prospect.
A favourite argument of coal proponents is the idea that if their mine is knocked back, someone else will simply dig up coal elsewhere.
Mister Mackenzie/Wikimedia Commons
A NSW court’s decision to rule out a coalmine on the basis of climate change could signal a turning of the tide in an arena where environmental litigants have previously struggled to gain traction.
Sydney’s iconic beaches are not yet part of a marine park.
John Turnbull
The New South Wales government has turned its back on plans to create sanctuary zones covering 2.4% of waters around Sydney, despite evidence that these ‘no-take’ areas are crucial for protecting fish.
We need female role models in the NSW physics syllabus to normalise women in physics and encourage their engagement and further study.
www.shutterstock.com
The government has offered emergency payments to drought-stricken farmers. But if we really care about them, we’ll also invest in long-term drought resilience measures to reduce impacts.
Victoria has led the way in upgrading intercity rail services with medium-speed VLocity trains that have a cruising speed of 160km/h.
Joe Castro/AAP
High-speed rail for Australia has been on the drawing boards since the mid-1980s but has come to nothing. Three states are developing medium-speed rail with federal funding, but NSW is missing out.