Libby Robin

#Breaking | ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences will not face structural changes at this time. No renaming, merging, or disestablishment of areas. Change management appears to have been halted, even walked back completely. It’s unclear the impacts of this announcement on the school of music.

University of Melbourne rated best in Australia in global rankings report Goodo. But are we really considering the cost of "rankings"? What about collaborative collegialism? Too much focus on scores & pubs in the "right" journals is bad for the public interest which 🇦🇺universities also serve

Fiery Senate exchange reveals investigation into coal firm allegedly clearing endangered greater glider habitat Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called environment department bureaucrats ‘weak’ - though later withdrew the remark

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... #MagneticSouth needs to focus more on the greater glider, less on "what is within the law" ... the law is a last resort. Is Magnetic South an environmental thug or not? More trees is good for gliders, good for emissions. Why not spare this special area?

More a naughty toddler than a parent...

Sad that we've lost the various arts of letter-writing. Cheap and cheerful stamp collecting taught me a lot of geography. Tanzania had great stamps too. US and Britain (anonymous stamps!) weren't very interesting. Now almost all our news fed from US... instantly with no stamp art.

Love resisting "the pull of known outcomes" ... 20/20 hindsight can definitely skew the unfolding ...

If you prefer to read the text, it’s now available too - research.vu.nl/ws/portalfil...

Never been to Luxembourg but their stamps were always great!

Scientists win Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work in 'metal-organic frameworks' Scientists Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi win the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the development of metal-organic frameworks", the award-giving body announces.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... Congratulations all - esp Richard Robson from Australia.

News Corp executive warns AI firms attempting 'Grand Theft Australia' News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller issued a call to arms for all media companies to stand together and demand the government rule out any changes to copyright laws.

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

Open PhD position at KTH: "AI Planetary Futures: Climate and environment in Silicon Valley's AI paradigm". Apply by Oct 23! lnkd.in/dCs8eZjb

The project analyzes the climate and environmental aspects of Silicon Valley-based general-purpose AI systems developed by Big Tech companies.

As if to prove a point, leaked Qantas group chats reveal a gross problem The embattled airline is already facing turmoil over its union bargaining with staff and pilots, as well as backlash over a decision to close regional crew bases.

www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/08/q... Getting second hand old planes from USA... what could possibly go wrong?🤔

Can wise heads fix the hard problem of AI policy? The problem with AI is no-one is quite sure what its impacts will be. They could be positive or negative, significant or colossal. So how do governments prepare?

www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/08/a... We should not discount the emissions budget caused by AI data centres. This is not just "productivity". Keeping a lid on emissions might force more transparency in the sector too. We have a "known issue" here already.

OpenAI signs first ever Australian government contract The ChatGPT-maker's first contract with Treasury might be small, but as one firm's analysis of procurement argues, it could be the first step towards a lucrative whole-of-government deal.

www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/08/o... There is just one new idea coming at us from all angles. Every second headline is "AI" ... So venture capitalists have invested heavily in AI futures, but those of us waiting in queues serviced by chatbots & despairing of getting human care are *already fed up*.

Australian politics live: Tony Abbott suggests UK put migrants in English channel ‘mothership’ . Not a new idea Tony. This harks back to the Hulks of Dickens' era. Except these people haven't even stolen a loaf of bread...

Students' lives shattered as top universities sued over unaccredited courses Students have been left with HECS debts and careers that are "non-existent" after completing degrees that were not accredited. Class actions have been launched against two Australian universities.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... Maybe "job ready" isn't an international qualification? I hope students are not further punished for accreditation of degrees invented by unqualified execs. While 🇦🇺 teachers & students work in good faith, US is suspicious of all foreign quals. A perfect storm.

Still can't quite believe it, but Vanity Fair Italy interviewed me about Nature's Genius
www.vanityfair.it/article/davi...

Cars left with bullet holes, windows smashed after dramatic arrest in Sydney A major police operation has taken place in Sydney's south-west after tactical operations officers conducted a "high risk" arrest on a suburban street.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... Windscreen correct in the story. But image caption has US English windshield
... "One SUV had bullet holes in the front and rear windshield."@abcnewsbot.bsky.social
This is *news* not LAPD ... and it's in 🇦🇺

The TAS govt has just put fmr minister Roger Jaensch on the committee which is supposed to scrutinise the implementation of the many Commission of Inquiry recommendations … which was Roger Jaensch’s responsibility. #politas
Never change, TAS. This is sure to get to the bottom of whose fault it is.

Telling a Different Story - Religion, Extractivism and (Green) Colonialism in Europe - Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm Welcome to a conference that explores the intersections of religion, spirituality, colonial legacies, and ecological sustainability in European contexts. It encourages a conversation across discipline...

ehs.se/kalender/tel... @carsoncenter.bsky.social @mesh-research-hub.bsky.social @aehhub.bsky.social

Deloitte to pay money back to Albanese government after using AI in $440,000 report Partial refund to be issued after several errors were found in a report into a department’s compliance framework

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Let's hope the researchers at Melb Uni tried out the tool from the receiving end... if not they will have to pay back their contractual earnings like Deloitte did...

Deloitte to pay money back to Albanese government after using AI in $440,000 report Partial refund to be issued after several errors were found in a report into a department’s compliance framework

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... AI doesn't save human scrutiny. It can obstruct "productivity". Don't fail to employ responsible humans to test drive your so-called "solutions". Or you have to pay back your earnings...

And Australia's worst company is... The inaugural winner of the Alan Bond Award for Corporate Misconduct goes to an Australian icon that has truly demonstrated awfulness across a wide range of criteria.

www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/07/a...

The robot didn't like a Norwegian o? Not a lot of diversity in IT management. Also a lot of annoying "cyber-security" updates happening right now - across many diff systems.

Love the idea of a Re-Con-Suction Authority! Well done @abcnewsbot.bsky.social Not checking the standfirsts again...🤣

‘Baudin’s or bauxite?’ Stark warning black cockatoo won’t survive mining expansion Aluminium manufacture is #energy hungry too... maybe we need to minimise its use, and reuse what we have? Leaving bauxite in the ground is the option never canvassed. 🤔

Financial analysts cast doubt on mega Woodside gas project The Browse gas project is staring down the full weight of Australia's climate movement. Analysts say that is the least of its worries.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... So why approve it? Sends bad messages to international friends in the Pacific and helps no one ... not even Sir Bottom Line. Trying to avoid trouble isn't leadership.

Bob Brown’s pulmonary embolism A pulmonary embolism has Bob Brown reflecting on mortality and whether it is right to push too hard against death.

“On Wednesday morning I was surprised to find myself puffing a little from the one-block walk up Murray Street to the office of our environmental foundation. Next morning, I knew my turn had come.”

Bob Brown on living a full life and being ready to leave it: satpa.pe/uuzmVDl

Read the full comment by Marcia Langton: satpa.pe/1seoL9e