SPS PhD student Erlo Matorres on the harmful effects vulnerable land tenure has on fishing people

Matorres, D.E., M. Fabinyi, N. McClean (2026). Land Tenure, Small-Scale Fisheries, and Vulnerability in Coastal Palawan, Philippines. Coastal Studies and Society doi.org/10.1177/2634...

CITES for marine species: Interpretation, capacity and social impacts in the Philippines - Maritime Studies In recent years the number of marine species listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) has markedly increased, with substantial implications for countries with significant fisheries and trade in such species. While literature has discussed the value of CITES in improving the environmental sustainability outcomes of international trade, fewer studies have examined the social and economic drivers and effects of listings. This paper draws on data over several years to assess these features of CITES listings in the Philippines. We examine how CITES is recognised in national legislation in the Philippines, how it has been interpreted and implemented at the national level by national government agencies, and present two cases of how the impacts of CITES listings have unfolded on the ground in two municipalities of Bohol Province for mobulid and sea cucumber fisheries. We find that the listing of fishery species in CITES is characterised by a lack of clarity in interpretation and implementation in the Philippines, that government agencies have limited capacity to undertake the assessments required to support CITES provisions for certifying trade as sustainable, thus resulting in cases of bans that have had direct and significant negative social-economic impacts on fishing communities. The study recommends legal clarity on legislation in the Philippines, and greater resources for fisheries monitoring and assessments for non-detrimental findings as an alternative to automatic bans prompted by CITES listings.

Michael Fabinyi on special protection and Philippines' fisheries

Acebes, J. M. V., Fabinyi, M., Tampoy, D., Arnold, S., & Verdote, D. M. M. (2026). CITES for marine species: Interpretation, capacity and social impacts in the Philippines. Maritime Studies, 25(1), 5. doi.org/10.1007/s401...

A Ukrainian scholar talks on war and economy adaptation this week on Wednesday at 11 am in the new pop-up reship space.

Beach swimming was once banned in Australia. How did it become a treasured pastime? Swimming at the beach was largely banned in Australia until the early 19th century – but now, it’s intrinsic to our national identity.

Anna Clark on beaches and social history

theconversation.com/beach-swimmi...

‘I didn’t come here to get rich’: new research on the lives of Ukrainian women in Georgia’s surrogacy boom Many Ukrainian women have become surrogates to support their families. But many in Georgia struggle with a loosely regulated industry.

Media piece

Dr Olga Oleinikova in The Conversation Australia + NZ on the surrogacy boom in Georgia and the growing demand from Australia.

theconversation.com/i-didnt-come...

A day for those working in, and with, Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums sector, is on 23 April 2026.

events.humanitix.com/glamslam-2026

Campus Chaos Four Corners is the home of Australian investigative journalism.

For those who missed it. Australia's premier TV Journalism on the State of the universities, the role of consultants, and lies about finance....

Neoliberalism destroys everything it touches

Video and transcript....

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

New publication from ‪@rosa-collective.bsky.social‬ and Mark Gawne

Two friends interview each other. They are from different generations and different national, cultural, and class scenes. But they share a vision of a world and they teach, and learn from, each other

rosapress.net/product/crim...

From Anna Clark....

Hey History Teacher! is for teachers, teacher-educators and pre-service teachers. Hear practical ideas, fresh inspiration and thoughtful conversations for teaching history in primary and secondary school classrooms.
.
www.heyhistory.net/episodes/int...

Burning issues in the use of hi-vis Hi-vis garments are increasingly being used as uniforms, often regardless of whether visibility is a safety issue. The irony is that the proliferation of poor-quality gear is itself posing a work heal...

@lizhumphrys.bsky.social
New news from Liz Humprhrys on Australia post workware

The Communication Workers Union claims new hi-vis shirts are so thin that users suffer sunburn, and so transparent that undergarments (like bras) are visible.

www.uts.edu.au/news/2026/03...

Opinion – How Japan's Prime Minister Hijacked A Deep-Sea Rare-Earth Exploration Despite the ‘success’ in the last deep-sea mining exploration it will be far too sanguine to conclude that exploitation with commercial viability can be undertaken in the near future.

Lai-Ha Chan on Japan’s deep-sea mining policy. To some extent it is a fantasy based on assumptions that it is easy, commercially viable, and that environmental damage will be minimal

www.e-ir.info/2026/02/27/o...

@jeremywalker.bsky.social

And finally the written submission....

"How fossil capital built the global disinformation machinery of the Atlas Network to defeat climate policy and disable democracy."

www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStor...

Senate Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy | 16/02/2026 YouTube video by Australian Parliament House Streaming Portal

this is the testimony Dr Walker gve to the Senate...

Start at 1: 37: 00

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwuq...

Climate disinformation, the Atlas Network and Dr Karl The scourge of AI-slopaganda, viral disinformation campaigns and online attacks against individuals and institutions is going to get far worse before it gets better, if the latest public hearings on t...

A senate inquiry.

SPS member Jeremy Walker ‬‪@jeremywalker.bsky.social‬ discusses the Atlas Network.

"For nearly four decades Australians have been daily exposed to professionally-produced disinformation campaigns secretly funded by fossil fuel interests,"

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Heatwave poses threat to workers - ABC listen Australians have been finding different ways to cope with the extreme heat this week.

Liz Humphrys @lizhumphrys.bsky.social on ABC Listen, talking about what protections workers need during these unprecedented heatwaves and high temperatures.

She leads the Too Hot Too Work project in the UTS Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre (C-SERC).

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

A discreet intellectual network has been reshaping the world for 70 years. Here's how A constant battle of ideas reshapes the world we live in, and few groups have been more successful in winning the war than the little-known Atlas Network.

This story from the ABC should be read by everyone.

I'ss about the real politics of destruction

uses the work of SPS colleague Jeremy Walker

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

'A glaring case study of bad governance': UTS in crisis amid no-confidence vote The union-run vote comes as controversial, consultant-designed redundancies continue and politicians call for resignations.

Just a little bit more about the situation at UTS....

It did strike me that the VC's communication had improved somewhat just before the vote.... but the vote probably expresses UTS staff's frustration over the year.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

ADD YOUR NAME ✍️ We will not be divided after Bondi On Sunday at Bondi we witnessed the appalling consequences of hatred and how it breeds radicalisation and violence. But as the Jewish community and the whole country grieved, some politicians went on ...

nit division, but understanding and peace for everyone

petitions.getup.org.au/petitions/fr... @getup.org.au

These types of schools are becoming harder to find in the HSC rankings The same 19 selective schools have placed in Herald’s HSC top 100 for the past 20 years. Other public schools have become scarce.

from Chris Ho... The number of non-selective public schools in the top achievers list has halved in the last 20 years

“The students who get into selective schools have families who are resourced to prepare them for the test; spending thousands on tutoring,”

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Circle the Square Episode 2: The Devolution of Neoliberalism YouTube video by University of Technology Sydney

In this podcast, SPS's Elizabth Humphrys engages in a wide ranging conversation on politics, populism and neoliberalism with finance experts from the UTS Finance Department in the Business School

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-q_...

For those who prefer a written format, a full transcript is available.

UTS podcast:
Frank Bongiorno imagines a fantasy Labor leader

Analyses from economist Ben Spies-Butcher and political economist Dr Elizabeth Humphrys to help you understand the forces shaping current politics, and our current 'democratic' culture.

Hosted by Emily Foley.

pod.link/1760672339/e...

Japan's new PM joins leaders pushing for Trump to get peace prize US President Donald Trump visits Japan and signs a framework agreement for securing the supply of critical minerals and rare earths through mining and processing with Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaic...

SPS's Lai-Ha Chan, is quoted by an ABC article on Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi's charm offensive.

"If she can handle Trump and walk away with a win for Japan, it will be a big step toward showing she belongs in the role."

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

SPS's Tamson Pietsch has been awarded the NSW State Library Merewether Fellowship, for a project which revisits the history of the New South Wales Church and Schools Estate Corporation.

The Project focuses on the political, legal, and moral struggles, in pivotal moments of its transformation

SPS PhD student Joseph Alhassan is currently in Northern Ghana, researching the impact of increasing heat on smallholder farmers, focussing on conditions of work and adaptation.

Joseph is part of the Too Hot to Work project, in the Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre (C-SERC).

Archiie's achievements include co-authoring the influential book Does the media fail Aboriginal political aspirations? during his PhD and co-securing a 2025 ARC Discovery Grant to undertake the first major Australian study of lived experience of diverse workers in news media.

Outstanding early career scholars honoured in 2025 Paul Bourke Awards | Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has announced the winners of the 2025 Paul Bourke Awards.

More Great News!!

Archie Thomas has won the Paul Bourke Award from the Academy of the Social Sciences for exceptional early career research in the social sciences.

Archie is exploring how communities change schools and media institutions for social justice.

socialsciences.org.au/news/2026-wo...

Wow, they have good comedy writers...

"We contacted an external torture service, because our staff was unable to write because of the fingers we had broken for their own good...."

‘Children are up to two years ahead’: Calls to regulate billion-dollar private tutoring industry More than half of students attend private academic tutoring at some Sydney schools, while coaching centres are running at least 500 maths, English and HSC tutoring classes each week.

Pay wall, but references Chris Ho's research on private academic tutoring for school students.

Tutoring is now a massive industry, and students are not paying attention in class, helping to distract others.

23-59% of students at year 5 have out of school tutoring!

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

University of Technology Sydney plans to cut public health at the worst possible time - InSight+ Australia has just emerged from one of the worst global health crises in living memory. COVID-19 showed us how critical public health expertise is to protect lives, guide governments and support vulne...

What is UTS's response to Covid and future disease possibilities with no hope of isolating Australia etc?

To Cut Public Health...

Clearly unimportant.

insightplus.mja.com.au/2025/38/uts-...

UTS professors present financial plan, no crisis in sight | Amanda White OAM posted on the topic | LinkedIn Yesterday the professoriate of UTS met to hear analysis from a group of UTS Business professors - Distinguished Professor Stephen Taylor, Professors David Brown, Martin Bugeja, Sue Wright, Associate P...

Edited

Amanda White
Deputy Assoc Dean Education,

There is no financial crisis!
The team presented a balanced financial plan using a data-driven approach to preserve UTS' strengths and core capabilities.
They recommended inclusive evidence-based decision making
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...