Ben Phillips

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is a national treasure. It gets the best price from US pharmaceutical corps, protecting us from exorbitant prices that US citizens pay.

Congrats to PM Albanese for consistently defending the PBS from Big Pharma.

Read: australiainstitute.org.au/post/our-pbs...

Post Doctoral Research Associate in statistical ecology Job in Bentley, Perth WA - SEEK The Population Biology and genomics Group is seeking to appoint a Post Doctoral Research Associate.

We're hiring. 2.5 year statistical ecology postdoc in Perth, Western Australia. Closing 6 July. 🌏 #bioinvasions #biosecurity Check it out: www.seek.com.au/job/85070198...

Watt waves through Woodside, and Labor’s light on the hill becomes a gas flare The newly minted environment minister faced a stark choice: protect the environment, or approve a massive fossil fuel development that will destroy the environment. He chose destruction.

"Watt’s decision to give the long-awaited environmental approval for the North West Shelf project to be extended to 2070 was a bad decision — a craven, cowardly capitulation to corporate power and political expediency" - @beneltham.bsky.social www.crikey.com.au/2025/05/29/m...

NSW flooding: PM delivers climate crisis warning as flood-hit region braces for strong winds and fifth body found Anthony Albanese acknowledges home insurance now a ‘real challenge’ as government announces disaster assistance for 19 local council areas in NSW

"NSW flooding: PM delivers climate crisis warning as flood-hit region braces for strong winds and fifth body found" as he approves a 50 yr extension to Woodside's gas operation in WA. Hypocrite. #voteGreen for real action on climate #auspol
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

NSW floods: one dead and ‘grave fears’ held for three missing people as crisis worsens With 48,000 already isolated, forecasters say ‘heavy, intense rainfall’ has spread north bringing life-threatening risk

Regional NSW is being smashed by a '1-in-500-year' flood, one person has died, three are missing and 50,000 people are isolated by floodwaters.

Meanwhile, Albanese is considering the country's biggest new fossil fuel project, the proposed NW Shelf extension... www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Thanks to everyone who attended our Curtin University workshop last week. It was a great success and we really enjoyed showing what Biosecurity Commons can do!
@benflips.bsky.social

Shots fired, Neil.

The big five banks in Australia failing their community, their environment, and their own long term interests by investing in fracking the Beetaloo basin.

www.marketforces.org.au/campaigns/pr...

The buffel kerfuffle: how one species quietly destroys native wildlife and cultural sites in arid Australia Buffel grass causes just as much damage to native wildlife as feral cats. But with the right control measures, biodiversity can bounce back.

@lisacox.bsky.social @theconversation.com
@biodivcouncil.bsky.social @theguardian.com

This true story
theconversation.com/the-buffel-k...

30% of the primary vote and falling; already doing preference deals to exclude independents: how long before we see a Labor-Liberal-National coalition in Australia? #auspol

I've made my submission to the review of the ARC grant system. Have you?

5 more days, people.

Wool Aliens of the British Empire

Historical invasion ecology #bioinvasions
www.historytoday.com/archive/hist...

Limited plasticity but increased variance in physiological rates across ectotherm populations under climate change Daniel W.A. Noble, Fonti Kar, Alex Bush, Frank Seebacher, & Shinichi Nakagawa. This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology article which can be found here. Climate change causes wa…

📰Published📰 Limited plasticity but increased variance in physiological rates across ectotherm populations under climate change🌡️

buff.ly/9jFq0Mu

🧪🌍

Why is sex so common if it's so costly?
Super excited to share our new preprint “Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation”, where we bring a new angle to this age-old evolutionary question. Co-led by Parris Humphrey, in Michael Desai's lab. Short thread here: (1/n)

Which Milk Leaves the Lightest Footprint? Key environmental and nutritional considerations per 1 cup milk (GHG emissions, water use, and protein content) Cow's milk has highest GHG emissions and water use but also highest protein content Soy milk and pea milk have high protein content and low GHG emissions and water use Oat milk and coconut milk have low GHG emissions and water use but low protein content Almond milk has low GHG emissions, high water use, and low protein content

Which milks have the lowest environmental impact? My colleague Raychel Santo provides an overview of her recent paper here: www.wri.org/insights/mil... 🧪

Climate determined the date of the election, yet remains utterly absent from it

Climate change discourse has gone backwards in Australia. We now have an opposition leader who wants to incentivise the burning of fossil fuels — and the incumbent government isn't much better.

A book, "the ecology and evolution of invasive populations", atop another identical book.

It actually exists! A few copies of my new book just arrived. Nice to see it in person, finally.

If you've ever wondered about the ecology or evolution of an invasive population, this one's for you. #evobio 🌏 #bioinvasions #ecoevo

Oh, how the tables have turned

AI tools are spotting errors in research papers: inside a growing movement Study that hyped the toxicity of black plastic utensils inspires projects that use large language models to check papers.

Is everyone huffing paint?

Crypto guy claims to have built an LLM-based tool to detect errors in research papers; funded using its own cryptocurrency; will let coin holders choose what papers to go after; it's unvetted and a total black box—and Nature reports it as if it's a new protein structure.

Labor hasn’t delivered on more effective nature laws. It’s not just embarrassing, it’s calamitous | Tim Winton As Ningaloo reef bleaches and an election looms, we must look to those who stand in the way of our safety – the small cohort of people profiting from fossil fuels, and the politicians who protect them

Tim Winton makes visceral the reality of inaction on climate. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

…and ask your independent about this ^ while you’re at it.

There has never been a better time to support an independent focussed on integrity and climate. If you agree, consider volunteering for them. #auspol

"Stitch up" Labor and Coalition Deal on Electoral Reform Last night, Liberal Senator Jane Hume announced they’d done a deal with the Albanese Labor Government on electoral laws – and some twelve hours later, it

"The biggest changes to election laws in 40 years should have faced proper scrutiny by a multi-party parliamentary inquiry" @browne90.bsky.social.

This Labor/LNP stitch-up is another reason why a progressive cross-bench must hold balance of power. #auspol
australiainstitute.org.au/post/stich-u...

I endorse Mr Denmore's advice. Vote wisely and #FuckMurdoch. #auspol

YouTube video by thejuicemedia Honest Government Ad | How to rig elections

BREAKING: Labor and Liberal may not agree on much but when it comes to introducing a new law to stop Clive Palmer, but which actually stops newcomers from competing with them in our elections, you can be sure they'll pass it and lock in the two-party system by Xmas www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3WT...

Delusions of Adequacy I’m a bit over this new masculinity.

Fuck, this is good from @birmo.bsky.social . Gets its teeth down on the surprisingly brittle bones of the Most Alpha Males Ever.

aliensideboob.substack.com/p/delusions-...

A Continuum From Positive to Negative Interactions Drives Plant Species' Performance in a Diverse Community We explored the patterns of species performance in a real-world community, dependent on pairwise and higher-order interactions with species belonging to the same and other trophic levels (plant, herb...

doi.org/10.1111/ele.... a great new study about importance of within and between trophic level interactions by my PhD student Lisa Buche!

Lies, damned lies and Coalition energy economics: Dutton’s latest nuclear claim slammed Dutton’s latest claim that the Coalition’s nuclear policy will cut electricity bills by 44% has been slammed as “either dangerously ill-informed” or a lie – and new modellin…

“Peter Dutton, he has a plan that will double power bills for ordinary Australians. We think that that is outrageous. We’re here today to call it out,” said John Grimes CEO @SmartEnergyCouncil @reneweconomy.com.au

#nuclear v #solar #auspol #AusVotes25
reneweconomy.com.au/lies-damned-...

A book cover for "The ecology and evolution of invasive populations" featuring a gecko and an agar plate with various bacteria and fungi colonies growing on it.

Excited to see the cover art for my new book, which is due out in February. One for the invasion nerds!

This book project is hard evidence that I am a time optimist: I thought it would take me a year; it took five. 🌏 #bioinvasions