Richard Edwards

Australia in danger of becoming an ‘artless country’ as enrolments in creative courses collapse Research suggests surging costs under Morrison government’s job-ready graduate scheme and axing of dozens of subjects largely to blame * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia risks becoming an “artless country” if it does not address the long-term decline in enrolments in creative courses, with more than 40 courses and degrees axed in less than a decade. New research published in the Australian Journal of Education this week found fewer students in high school and university were choosing to study the creative arts. At the same time, it found, dozens of tertiary courses were being slashed. Continue reading...

Australia in danger of becoming an ‘artless country’ as enrolments in creative courses collapse

These US states want polluters to pay for the rising insurance costs of climate disasters These US states want polluters to pay for the rising insurance costs of climate disasters: Proposals by California, Hawaii and New York lawmakers aim to hold fossil fuel industry accountable for soaring rates As climate disasters drive up the price of home insurance, three US states are c...

These US states want polluters to pay for the rising insurance costs of climate disasters: Proposals by California, Hawaii and New York lawmakers aim to hold fossil fuel industry accountable for soaring rates As climate disasters drive up the price of home insurance, three US states are c...

ASH was in Parliament yesterday with the Smokefree Action Coalition, speaking to peers about why the smokefree generation is so important. It was fantastic to hear such strong cross-party support from our speakers for the Tobacco & Vapes Bill. Ending smoking is not a partisan issue!

More than 50 heat records were broken across Australia in the last week of January, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

This is climate change, and it can be lethal.

A Nation with no plan The bodies are being recovered. The memorial services are being held.

A Nation with No Plan. Bryce Edwards' incisive but bleak commentary on NZ's response to climate-crisis related disasters: "Reject the investment in resilience. Wait for the next catastrophe. Express concern. Repeat." www.linkedin.com/pulse/nation...

Cartoon. Big bold black type reads, “Weather! Floods! Disaster!” At the bottom a woman is saying “And climate change?” PM Luxon is saying “Shhh…” and Climate Minister Simon Watts is saying, “Now…” and our Foreign Minister is saying, “Pffft, you’ve been listening to that lunatic fringe group, the World Health Organisation”

Fact: Climate change is making the weather more extreme.
My #cartoon today #NZpol #ClimateChange #Floods #ClimateInaction

Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place. Philadelphia, September 17, 1787: "Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?" "A republic, if you can keep it." With a judicial finger in the constitutional dike, It is so ORDERED. SIGNED this 31st day of February, 2026. 7um Jing FRED BIERY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Credit: Bystander Matthew 19:14 John 11:35 There is also the photo of the boy from the viral stories included.

Federal judge has ordered the release of Liam Ramos (the bunny hat boy) and his father. A brief and rather remarkable order. Clearly written to be shared widely, so please do. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

👀We’ve seen these tactics before. For decades, the tobacco industry has lobbied to block evidence-based policy and protect profits, despite huge health harms.

A new report shows the alcohol industry is doing the same, to oppose restrictions on alcohol marketing.
👇

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

Take four minutes out of your day.

Ending duty-free tobacco sales would be good for health – and health budgets Taxes raise prices, and higher prices reduce smoking. But duty-free tobacco sales remain a policy anomaly and deny the government much-needed health revenue.

Excellent analysis by @janethoek.bsky.social on policy incoherence of allowing duty free tobacco sales in Aotearoa/NZ (or anywhere!). Why allow discounted sale of deadly tobacco which results in more preventable death & suffering & loss of goverment tax revenue?? theconversation.com/ending-duty-...

🧵1/2 If Winston Peters is worried about funding membership of the WHO, here's a simple solution: end sales of duty-free tobacco.

A picture of a flyer that says "Pray, March, Sing". The Voices in North Central Need to be Heard. DEMAND THE RETURN OF PARKING ON HUMBOLDT STREET

The world may be burning down around us, but thankfully San Mateo homeowners are laser focused on the real issue of our time: getting the city to rip out bike lanes in favor of more parking

Bryce Edwards dissects a deadly landslip in New Zealand. "... pretending that disasters like the Mount Maunganui landslide are apolitical is no longer credible. The politics is already there. ... The only question is whether we are prepared to name it, and to hold those responsible to account."

Minnesota is the best of us.

this guy just wanted to help defend his community and they murdered him for it and the highest officials in the nation are lying about what multiple camera angles are showing the nation

this cannot stand

‘Up there with Denmark’: Australian miracle leads the world in renewables Hard work and “really good wind” have helped South Australia become a world leader on renewables. But the state is determined to go further.

South Australia, which lacks signficant geothermal and hydroelectric resources, has gone from virtually nil to 70% plus renewable energy supply (mostly wind and rooftop solar) in around two decades. Report here: www.theage.com.au/environment/...

UN warns Earth 'firmly on track toward an unlivable world' A new report from the UN’s top body of climate scientists is warning that temperatures will go beyond a key danger point unless countries worldwide cut greenhouse emissions faster than they are curren...

UN warns Earth ‘firmly on track toward an unlivable world’

apnews.com/article/clim...

ODT editorial after recent deluges hitting NZ. "It is finally, definitively, time for this government and its successors over the next handful of years to wake up and realise is climate change is the most important issue facing us all."

Flue-cured tobacco in Zimbabwe: a particularly harmful commodity requiring the attention of tobacco control Background Tobacco control is beginning to pay attention to additives and flavours in tobacco products but less so to the tobacco leaf itself. Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) leaf increases dependence on ni...

New research highlights deforestation and economic traps created by flue-cured tobacco in Zimbabwe.
tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/earl... @ash.org @ashorguk.bsky.social @whofctc.bsky.social @btsrespiratory.bsky.social #RespEd #LungSky

Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds: Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist says Get our breaking news email...

Australia’s worst heatwave since black summer made five times more likely by global heating, analysis finds: Extreme heat ‘is getting worse and whether we like it or not … there’s ultimately a limit to what we can actually physically cope with,’ scientist says Get our breaking news email...

The tragic loss of lives in NZ flooding events this week are climate change deaths. Media and govt are avoiding the topic.

Leaders and commentators must acknowledge the emerging reality of ordinary summer rainstorms carrying volumes of water akin to tropical cyclones of previous decades.

The hidden ethics crisis in Australian health research funding - InSight+ Australia’s health and medical research sector is a global leader in innovation and discovery. Yet, a hidden ethical problem in how research grants are funded threatens to undermine this reputation an...

Jane Speight et al highlight the systemic underfunding built in to Australian medical research funding from MRFF and NHMRC and the ethical and practical issues it causes researchers and universities.
insightplus.mja.com.au/2025/48/the-...

American Thoracic Society | Tear Gas and Pepper Spray Pose Serious… Even brief exposure can trigger lung injury, infections, and long-term breathing problems in the public.

#PedSky #MedSky #EpiSky #policysky #polisky #neuroskyence #neurosci #PainResearch🛟 🫁💊🧪

Kudos to the American Thoracic Society @atscommunity.bsky.social for speaking out !

Tear Gas and Pepper Spray Pose Serious Respiratory Risks, ATS Warns

Tylenol during pregnancy is safe without increased risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability of offspring
A new review of the evidence just out
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Climate whiplash: We can no longer pretend this isn’t a crisis Australia has been riven by fires and floods this summer. What will it take to make policymakers treat this as the crisis it is?

Destruction from bushfires, toxic smoke pollution, flash flooding this week in Australia. Talkshow caller asks; "What will it take for policymakers to take this more seriously?" Bianca Hall writing today in The Age. www.theage.com.au/environment/...

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) kidnapping and imprisoning Native Americans is a (yet another) seriously twisted development.

Experts issue warning after study's grim discovery on cigarette filters: 'In the interests of public health' Researchers argue that cigarette filters originated simply as a marketing ploy and may actually do more harm than good.

📊 ASH data shows that only 25% of adults know the truth about cigarette filters – that they provide no health benefit to people who smoke

As our CE @hazelcheeseman.bsky.social says, filters are a “marketing con to keep people smoking, protecting tobacco industry profits” 🚬

Anthony Albanese must fix our broken gun laws. Anything less will fail to honour the lives of those lost at Bondi | Charles Watson and Roland Browne The PM must show the same determination and commitment as John Howard following the Port Arthur massacre and abolish recreational hunting licences The Bondi shooting has guaranteed that formulation of new laws to control gun use will be urgently considered at state and federal levels. It is well overdue. New laws in Western Australia provide an excellent model for such laws, and it is time we had informed national oversight of gun ownership and use. Anthony Albanese must now show the same leadership, determination and commitment John Howard showed after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, including a commitment to abolish recreational hunting licences. Anything less will fail to honour the lives of those lost at Bondi. Charles Watson is a public health physician and a board member of Gun Control Australia. Roland Browne has been a gun control advocate since 1987 and is a lawyer and vice-chair of Gun Control Australia Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese must fix our broken gun laws. Anything less will fail to honour the lives of those lost at Bondi | Charles Watson and Roland Browne

I wish I lived in a country where human lives were valued more than "gun rights".