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What, exactly, Trump can do will depend on whether Republicans take control of both houses of Congress. A clean sweep would open up more lanes for targeting legislation passed under Biden. (As of sending this email, Republicans have secured enough seats to control the Senate, but the House is uncertain and could be for days […]
Data just released from the Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations shows a sharp decline in Pacific workers engaged in short-term (seasonal) agricultural work, with the total falling from 18,905 in July 2023 to 14,355 a year later in July 2024, a decline of 24% in a single year. Employers are now able to […]
The combination of artificial intelligence and policymaking can occasionally have unforeseen repercussions, as seen recently in Alaska. In an unusual turn of events, Alaska legislators reportedly used AI-generated citations that were inaccurate to justify a proposed policy banning cellphones in schools. As reported by /The Alaska Beacon/, Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) […]
This blog is an edited version of the author’s Talbot Oration, delivered at the Australian Museum on 5 June 2024. I’m honoured and grateful to be given this invitation to tell my story, our story and our journey towards achieving the future we want for ourselves and for our children. Before I start at the […]
Prelude: A shift in the political center of gravity of antivax and quackery It’s the day before the 2024 election, and, contemplating what to write today, I realized that there was really only one topic that I could address. I’ve said many times that this blog strives to be nonpartisan but not apolitical. After all, […]
The PNG Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) proposed an amendment to the Prices Regulation Act in August that would allow it to “ensure the application of unilateral price controls under special circumstances (based on grounds of social equity)”. While sounding relatively benign, this amendment would in fact allow the ICCC to implement price ceilings […]
Beijing hopes the US will maintain “consistency” in its climate policy and continue bilateral cooperation regardless of next week’s election result, a Chinese official said Friday. The two countries have expanded climate policy cooperation since Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met in San Francisco nearly a year ago. Workers instal photovoltaic […]
Anthropic has flagged the potential risks of AI systems and calls for well-structured regulation to avoid potential catastrophes. The organisation argues that targeted regulation is essential to harness AI’s benefits while mitigating its dangers. As AI systems evolve in capabilities such as mathematics, reasoning, and coding, their potential misuse in areas like cybersecurity or even […]
Kennedy’s past makes him an unlikely candidate for agriculture secretary, according to Daniel Glickman, who served in the role during Bill Clinton’s presidency. “It’s hard for me to imagine, given Trump’s traditional base in the heartlands, that he would pick somebody who was an advocate for breaking up large farms and breaking consolidated agriculture,” says […]
Kiribati faces one of the highest child mortality rates in the region, with under-5 mortality rates (U5MR) remaining stubbornly high for more than a decade. According to UNICEF’s 2016 State of the World’s Children report, Kiribati recorded 56 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015, a figure alarmingly higher than both regional and global averages. […]