Universal access versus targeting of social services Key issues The Australian welfare state is facing significant demographic, economic and political challenges, which are likely to require a reconsideration of the structure and fun...

Oh look it’s a Parliamentary Library brief on universalism v means testing in social services www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia...

Breaking: Magnitude-7.4 earthquake hits northeast Japan Residents have been warned of a tsunami as high as 3 metres in the Iwate prefecture and parts of Hokkaido.

Residents have been warned of a tsunami as high as 3 metres in the Iwate prefecture and parts of Hokkaido.

Sometimes you see a photo of a couple and you wonder what became of them.

Can early public childcare reduce child penalties? Evidence from Germany This paper studies the effects of public childcare expansion for children under age three in Germany on mothers’ child penalties. Exploiting county-le…

I’m very happy to share that my first paper has been accepted for publication 🎉

Together with my great co-author Nayeon Lim we look at early public childcare in Germany.

More details and the paper link below 👇

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Photo of heart shape in the sky drawn by 2 Roulettes planes

Daughter was not impressed the Roulettes didn’t join up their heart

Former Labor senator and Arnhem Land teacher Trish Crossin dies aged 70 A former Arnhem Land schoolteacher who blazed a trail as the Northern Territory’s first female senator, Trish Crossin, has died at age 70.

A former Arnhem Land schoolteacher who blazed a trail as the Northern Territory’s first female senator, Trish Crossin, has died at age 70.

Gilead refuses to sell groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to MSF Blocking humanitarian organizations from accessing a medical breakthrough puts vulnerable people across the world in danger.

Today, MSF is going public with something we've been fighting behind closed doors for months: Gilead will not sell us their new HIV drug, lenacapavir.

The sticking point isn't even price, they just refuse to sell.

Open letter linked + explainer 🧵1/

www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gilea...

Sydney has a steam train running on the northern line - fuel crisis is hitting hard

Powerful magnitude-7.4 earthquake strikes Indonesia, tsunami warning issued The quake, which hit early Thursday local time, had a depth of 35 kilometres and its epicentre was 127km west-north-west of Ternate, Indonesia, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake, which hit early Thursday local time, had a depth of 35 kilometres and its epicentre was 127km west-north-west of Ternate, Indonesia, the US Geological Survey said.

Just waiting for a mate YouTube video by Ryzr

and 'just waitin for a mate' youtu.be/6wqzZOFOcYo?...

Did you know that, under standing order 257, an infant being cared for by a member is allowed on the Chamber floor? Yesterday, the Member for Canberra, Ms Alicia Payne MP, became the first member to ask a question during #QT while holding her infant son.

Former longtime Member for Wagga Wagga Daryl Maguire had been sentenced to 10 months in prison for giving false evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Senate Committee report on the Social Security Technical Changes No. 1 2026 Bill tabled yesterday: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...
Bill likely to be debated/passed in the Senate today

Some important context here that does not fit into the post itself - Thailand and Iran have been chatting a LOT, a Thai vessel was blasted in the Strait in the very early days, with a few crew missing. Thai authorities reached out to Iran for help in recovering remains

Marcos declares national energy emergency President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (Photo courtesy of PCO) President Marcos has declared a state of national energy emergency to address issues caused by the conflict in the Middle East. This

It's officially a state of emergency for the Philippines
newsinfo.inquirer.net/2200774/marc...

What happens when the antimatter truck meets that low bridge in Melbourne

Australian National Undercover Stadium

Line chart showing JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients from March 2019 to February 2026

JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients as at Feb 2026: 1,027,435 - up 6.2% since Feb 2025.
Biggest % increases over the last year amongst younger males: 25-34 years up 10.9% and <25 up 10.3%.
data.gov.au/data/dataset...

How would you measure those - questions about whether work is above/below skill level?

Underemployment and underutilisation: Introducing the 'u-series' Headcount and hours-based measures of labour underutilisation covering underemployment, unemployment and the potential labour force

ABS has developed a new series of measures of labour force underutilisation. Looks at: underemployment (people who want to work more), reduced employment (people working fewer hours than normal), unemployment, and underutilisation (an aggregation of these measures) www.abs.gov.au/articles/und...

Screenshot of Arrested Development scene with the caption ‘Take a look at banner, Michael!’ The banner reads: ‘Family love Michael’

At the blood bank today there were 3 Michaels queued up - truly living up to our next to godliness

Photo of Sam Kerr with caption reading ‘so suck on that one’

Screenshot of a journal article published at the Australian Journal of Political Science titled "Do women politicians face more interruptions? An analysis of interjections in the Australian parliamentary debates (1998- 2025)." Authored by Lindsay Katz, Inessa De Angelis, and Rohan Alexander.

New article w/ Lindsay Katz & @rohanalexander.bsky.social in @ausjpolsci.bsky.social!

Analyzing Australian House of Reps debates, we find that as women’s representation increases, interruptions of women MPs & interruptions overall decline Read more: doi.org/10.1080/1036...

#polsky #gendersky

Today is the 15th anniversary of the Great East Japan earthquake／tsunami／nuclear disaster.
15,901 are confirmed dead, 3,810 more have since died from related causes, 2,519 are still missing.
I took these photos 6 months after the quake, working as a translator for relief-aid orgs

[thread]
#震災から15年

Sitting on our Hobart harbour cruise with a 'so called Service Alpaca' apparently quite the trouble maker and everyone's afraid the owner will sue them if they don't let it in their business. Thus, it's on a dinner cruise with us. It's been an hour and now we can smell it from the other side of the boat.

Stinky "so-called service alpaca"

Just put my kid to bed and was worried it would wake her up

Skyfire fireworks show on the lake has a F35A jet flyover beforehand

Indonesian human rights campaigner attacked with acid A prominent human rights activist has been attacked with acid in Jakarta, leaving him with serious burns.

A prominent human rights activist has been attacked with acid in Jakarta, leaving him with serious burns.

72% accuracy!

At the risk of being exiled, Carpenter has a terrible passing game