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.
China has grand plans for its US$1 trillion Belt and Road initiative to remake the world order. Here’s what’s driving China’s ambitions – and why the west is nervous.
This former school site in Dallas, Melbourne, is one of many sites suitable for public housing that are being prepared for sale in areas with high housing need.
Roland Postma
Of 2,646 hectares of public land being prepared for sale in Victoria, 24 sites are suitable for building high-quality public housing in places of high need. Why isn’t the land being used for this?
A new report tells us in the first six months voluntary assisted dying was legal in Victoria, 52 people ended their lives. But the report doesn’t tell us everything we need to know.
Warnings about poor drinking water quality are in place in some areas affected by the bushfires.
From shutterstock.com
Damage to water supply infrastructure and catchments during and after bushfires inhibits the treatment processes that normally make our water safe to drink.
NSW is undergoing a review of its sexual consent laws.
From shutterstock.com
As NSW reviews its consent laws, it should look to lessons from other states. While affirmative consent is regarded as the best model, its wording in Victoria offers limited protection in court.
The Victorian government has pledged to adopt all recommendations made in the interim report of the state’s mental health royal commission.
From shutterstock.com
The interim report of Victoria’s mental health royal commission makes some worthwhile recommendations. But if we want to see broad-reaching system change, the state can’t do it alone.
Billions of bogong moths are setting out from Queensland, but not reaching Victoria. We need citizen scientists to help figure out where they’re ending up.
Victorian MP Fiona Patten has introduced a new anti-vilification bill to parliament that would extend protections to women, the disabled and the LGBT community.
James Ross/AAP
The proposed amendments would provide much-needed updates to Victoria’s vilification laws and bring the state in line with NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT.
Fires are burning across Queensland and New South Wales.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
‘Switchers’ who change their energy retailers often are following accepted wisdom, but research shows it saves them far less than expected.
Legislation in Victoria would allow people to change the sex on their birth certificates with just a declaration, not sex reassignment surgery.
Shutterstock
The Victorian parliament should delay its vote on the birth certificate reform bill to allow more consultation with women’s groups and to assess the potential impact on single-sex spaces.
A person wanting to access voluntary assisted dying must meet strict criteria, including having a medical condition that is considered to be advanced and progressive.
From shutterstock.com
Western Australia might soon become the second state in Australia to legalise voluntary assisted dying. Its proposed law draws on the Victorian model, but has some important differences, too.
Grata Flos Greig, First Female Law Graduate, c1904, University of Melbourne. Flos was the first woman admitted to the Australian legal profession.
University of Melbourne Archives, UMA/I/5131
When Flos Greig first entered law school, it was illegal for women to become lawyers. Undeterred, she lobbied for change and became the first woman admitted to the legal profession in Australia.
The Queensland treaty process is still in the early stages and negotiations will not begin for several years. But it’s still a historic step forward for Indigenous communities.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
Queensland has become the latest state or territory to embark on an Indigenous treaty process. But for lasting progress to be made, the federal government cannot shirk its responsibility.
Caring for a loved one with a mental illness can affect a person’s mental health.
This week, Victoria has joined several other states and committed to introducing a non-fatal strangulation offence. This move will change the way domestic abusers are prosecuted.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne