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50 years on, Advance Australia Fair no longer reflects the values of many. What could replace it?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wendy-hargreaves-1373285">Wendy Hargreaves</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> On April 8 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam announced to parliament the nation’s new national anthem: <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/honours-and-symbols/australian-national-symbols/australian-national-anthem">Advance Australia Fair</a>. Australia was growing up. We could stop saving “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_King">our gracious Queen</a>” and rejoice in being “young” and “girt”. Finding a new anthem hadn’t been easy. There were unsuccessful <a href="https://www.naa.gov.au/help-your-research/fact-sheets/australias-national-anthem">songwriting competitions</a> and an unconvincing opinion poll. Finally, we landed on rebooting an Australian favourite from 1878. After Whitlam’s announcement, Australians argued, state officials declined the change and the next government reinstated the British anthem in part. It took another ten years, another poll and an official proclamation in 1984 to adopt the new anthem uniformly and get on with looking grown-up. Advance Australia Fair was never the ideal answer to “what shall we sing?”. The original lyrics ignored First Nations people and overlooked women. Like a grunting teenager, it both answered the question and left a lot out. On its 50th anniversary, it’s time to consider whether we got it right. Advance Australia Fair may have helped Australia transition through the 1970s, but in 2024, has it outstayed its welcome? <h2>How do you pick a national anthem?</h2> A national anthem is a government-authorised song performed at official occasions and celebrations. It unifies people and reinforces national identity. Often, governments nominate a tune by searching through historical patriotic songs to find a <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/golden-oldie">golden oldie</a> with known public appeal. For example, the lyrics of the Japanese anthem <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimigayo">Kimigayo</a> came from pre-10th-century poetry. Germany’s anthem <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Deutschlandlied">Deutschlandlied</a> adopted a 1797 melody from renowned composer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Haydn">Joseph Haydn</a>. An enduring song or text offers star quality, proven popularity and the prestige of age. In the 1970s, Australia’s attempt at finding a golden oldie was flawed. In that era, many believed Australia’s birth occurred at the arrival of explorer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Cook">James Cook</a> in 1770. Hence, we narrowed our search to hymns, marches and fanfares from our colonial history for possible anthems. With 2020s hindsight (pun intended), <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-national-anthem-is-non-inclusive-indigenous-australians-shouldnt-have-to-sing-it-118177">expecting First Nations</a> people to sing Advance Australia Fair was hypocritical. We wanted to raise Australia’s visibility internationally, yet the custodians of the lands and waterways were unseen by our country’s eyes. We championed “history’s page” with a 19th-century song that participated in racial discrimination. <h2>Changing anthems</h2> With a half-century on the scoreboard, are we locked in to singing Advance Australia Fair forever? No. Anthems can change. Just ask <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Morrison_(jazz_musician)">James Morrison</a>. In 2003, the Australian trumpeter played the Spanish national anthem beautifully at the <a href="https://www.daviscup.com/en/home.aspx">Davis Cup</a> tennis final. Unfortunately, he <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-11-28/spanish-angry-over-anthem-mix-up/1516684">played the old anthem</a> that heralded civil war. Morrison’s accidental performance incited a fist-shaking dignitary and an enraged Spanish team who temporarily refused to play. Morrison did, however, to his embarrassment, later receive some excited fan mail from Spanish revolutionists. If we want to change our anthem, where could we begin? We could start by revisiting the golden-oldie approach with a more inclusive ear. Perhaps there’s a song from contemporary First Nations musicians we could consider, or a song from their enduring oral tradition that they deem appropriate (and grant permission to use). If we have learnt anything from Australian history, it’s that we must include and ask – not exclude and take. We could also consider Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton’s 1987 song <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/101146-i-am-australian-various">I Am Australian</a>, which reached golden-oldie status last year when the <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/slip-slop-slap-i-am-australian-join-sounds-australia">National Film and Sound Archive</a> added it to their registry. The lyrics show the acknowledgement and respect of First Nations people that our current anthem lacks. The line “we are one, but we are many” captures the inclusivity with diversity we now value. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KrLTe1_9zso?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> I Am Australian wouldn’t be a problem-free choice. Musically, the style is a “light rock” song, not a grand “hymn”, which could be a plus or minus depending on your view. Lyrically, romanticising convicted killer <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kelly-edward-ned-3933">Ned Kelly</a> is controversial, and mispronouncing “Australians” could be considered inauthentic (fair dinkum Aussies say “Au-strail-yins”, not “Au-stray-lee-uhns”). That said, Australians are quite experienced at patching holes in our anthem. Advance Australia Fair required many adjustments. If the golden-oldie approach fails again, how about composing a new anthem? We could adopt <a href="https://nationalanthems.info/ke.htm">Kenya’s approach</a> of commissioning an anthem, or could revive the good ol’ songwriting competition. Our past competitions weren’t fruitful, but surely our many talented musicians and poets today can meet the challenge. <h2>It’s time to ask</h2> Fifty years on, we acknowledge Advance Australia Fair as the anthem that moved our nation forward. That was the first and hardest step. Today, if Australians choose, we can retire the song gracefully and try again with a clearer voice. Changing our anthem begins with asking whether the current song really declares who we are. Have our values, our perspectives and our identity changed in half a century? Australia, it’s your song. Are you happy to sing Advance Australia Fair for another 50 years? <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226737/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wendy-hargreaves-1373285">Wendy Hargreaves</a>, Senior Learning Advisor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/50-years-on-advance-australia-fair-no-longer-reflects-the-values-of-many-what-could-replace-it-226737">original article</a>. Images: Shutterstock | Wikimedia Commons

Music

How friendship changes as the years advance

"You know the sort of thing you fantasise about when you are standing having a . . .?" Thus began an opening sally in a recent conversation. Such a beginning reveals a thoroughly satisfying degree of intimacy, acceptance, self-disclosure and a very easy familiarity. We found it extremely heart-warming to be its recipients, as we both were recently from a (clearly) close friend. It set me wondering about friendship, closeness, nurturance, and, as usual, the meaning of life in general. Singer/humourist Greg Tamblyn put it nicely: "Friends are people who know you really well and like you anyway." A dictionary type of definition of friendship runs something like 'Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection' and liking between two (or more) people." And plenty of work has been done on the topic by researchers who might well have begun with puzzlement about their own friendship patterns. What is important, as was definitely demonstrated by our friend, is self-disclosure. But there has to be some reciprocity here. If I tell a potential friend about my unsightly and ill-positioned warts or my liking for kippers and jam I expect some similarly horrifying self-disclosure in return. Beyond self-disclosure and reciprocity, there comes a swag of characteristics that one would like to see in a written reference (preferably about oneself). Unconditional support, acceptance, loyalty and trust and all of this to be expressed openly. At this point, you might well be thinking that true friendship is a bit hard to come by. It gets worse. Researchers have shown that absolutely crucial in the development of friendship is that the potential friend supports what they call one's social identity. Roughly speaking this means that we like our friends to confirm how we see ourselves (tall, handsome, even-handed, mellow etc rather than the reality of a short somewhat indifferent appearance, biased and a touch grumpy). This support of what might well be our deluded view of self is thought to boost our self-esteem. It might also be leading us even further up the garden path, so the occasional cold shower of social reality could be useful. However, more research has demonstrated that there are four ways to maintain a bond of friendship once it has been made. More self-disclosure, more supportiveness, a fair amount of contact and a relatively unfailing positivity. All of which takes a bit of doing. Some interesting questions have not yet been answered by those who study friendship rather than courting it. To put the perennial late-night-after-a-few-drinks question - can there be cross-gender friendships without sex? The jury remains out on this, but it is perhaps something that becomes less problematic with age. This reminds me of what I intended to be the main point here and that is that we become better at the whole business of friendship in later years. We become more picky and tend to have fewer but deeper friendships that we can count on. Much of the mere acquaintanceship of earlier years disappear in favour of an increase in all of those sterling qualities already described. However, the clever Oliver Burkeman, in his Guardian column recently drew attention to a problem of friendship in the modern world; namely, the number of friends. It used to be that with developments in qualifications, jobs, marriage and so on people would change communities, leave old friends behind and make new ones, probably keeping the overall number reasonably constant. Modern communication means that we can easily keep all of our friends, new ones simply adding to the number. So, our friends might be less densely linked these days. And that is not so good, because friends that are physically close to us will probably talk about us more often, something which Burkeman believes strengthens the general social fabric. I can think of instances in which it might well weaken it. In spite of all this musing, it might be better not to think too much about how to make friends. The title of a popular book years ago was How to make friends and influence people. That's the problem; think about these things too much and it all seems to be a bit contrived and manipulative and that changes everything. George Carlin put it very well. "One good reason to only maintain a small circle of friends is that three out of every four murders are committed by people who know the victim." Thinking of this, Jim Hayes suggested that "A good friend will help you move. But a best friend will help you move a body." Garry Shandling should have the final word though, with "My friends tell me that I have an intimacy problem. But they don't really know me." Image credit: Shutterstock Written by Ken Strongman. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stuff.co.nz.</a>

Mind

10 things we sort of miss because of technological advances

The world has certainly changed in the last few decades – great technological advancements has meant many things we did in the past are all but a memory (or they are on their way out.) Let’s look back on ten things we sort of miss even though they’ve been replaced by new technology. 1. Buying disposable cameras, only taking picture that were worth the cost of film and having to go all the way to the chemist to develop and print photographs. Then you had to decide how to arrange them in an album. 2. Recording your favourite television programs using a video tape. Nowadays people are downloading movies and TV shows straight to their computer. 3. Saving all your loose change just in case you needed to use the pay phone when you were out. And having to remember numbers. 4. Spending hours over a road map and writing down your own directions so you wouldn’t get lost before a holiday road trip or just going somewhere new. Nobody needs to remember how to get anywhere now because most have GPS. 5. Physically visiting institutions like banks, post office and the newsagents. We don’t miss the long lines but at least it was personal. 6. Hand-writing essays, letters and notes, which meant knowing how to hand-write. Now it’s about how fast you type not how legible your handwriting is! 7. Looking up information in big encyclopaedias and definitions in the dictionary. Not just consulting the internet. 8. Receiving mail in your letterbox not your inbox. Unluckily, there is more “junk mail” and spam now than ever. 9. Advertising or looking for finds in classified section of the newspaper. 10. Packing your friends in the backseats of the car to go to the drive-in movies because it was the only one around. While we do love the comfy seats in air-conditioned cinemas, you can’t beat the fun and romantic possibilities of drive-in cinemas. Images: Getty

Technology

There’s a growing gap between countries advancing LGBTQ+ rights, and those going backwards

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined 50,000 people to march in support of queer rights across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for World Pride in early March. A week earlier, Albanese became the first sitting prime minister to march in Sydney’s Mardi Gras, something he’s done over several decades. And yet at the same time, in another part of the world, Uganda’s parliament passed <a href="https://theconversation.com/ugandas-new-anti-lgbtq-law-could-lead-to-death-penalty-for-same-sex-offences-202376">a string of draconian measures</a> against homosexuality, including possible death sentences for “aggravated homosexuality”. Any “promotion” of homosexuality is also outlawed. Seven years ago, I co-wrote a book with Jonathan Symons called Queer Wars. Back then, we suggested there was <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/queer-wars-the-new-global-polarization-over-gay-rights">a growing gap </a>between countries in which sexual and gender diversity was becoming more acceptable, and those where repression was increasing. Sadly, that analysis seems even more relevant today. <h2>A growing gap</h2> Some countries have been unwinding criminal sanctions around homosexuality, which are often the legacy of colonialism. This includes, in recent years, former British colonies <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/22/singapore-decriminalize-gay-sex">Singapore</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/06/indian-supreme-court-decriminalises-homosexuality">India</a>. But others have been imposing new and more vicious penalties for any deviation from stereotypical assumptions of heterosexual masculine superiority (what Australian sociologist Raewyn Connell <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243205278639">terms</a> “hegemonic masculinity”). Anti-gay legislation is currently pending in Ghana, which led US Vice President Kamala Harris to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-43822234">express concerns</a> on a recent visit. These moves echo the deep homophobia of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has <a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/putins-anti-gay-war-on-ukraine/">bizarrely linked</a> intervention in Ukraine to protecting traditional values against LGBTQ+ infiltration. Meanwhile, reports from Afghanistan suggest that anyone identified as “LGBT” is <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/26/afghanistan-taliban-target-lgbt-afghans">in danger of being killed</a>. Indonesia recently passed legislation <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/indonesia-passes-legislation-banning-sex-outside-marriage">penalising all sex outside marriage</a>. This follows <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13639811.2022.2038871">years of anti-queer rhetoric</a> from Indonesian leaders and crackdowns in regional areas. And while the Biden administration is supportive of queer rights globally, the extraordinary hysteria <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/07/cpac-anti-trans-rhetoric">around trans issues in the Republican Party</a> reminds us the West has no inherent claim to moral superiority. <h2>Where to next?</h2> Speaking at the World Pride Human Rights Conference, both Wong and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus made it clear Australia would press for recognition of sexuality and gender identity as deserving protection, as part of <a href="https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/speech/sydney-worldpride-human-rights-conference-opening-statement">our commitment to human rights</a>. Wong also announced a <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/213443-wong-announces-international-fund-for-lgbt-rights/">new Inclusion and Equality Fund</a> to support queer community organisations within our region. Australian governments have usually been wary of loud assertions of support for queer rights. This is partly due to a reasonable fear this merely reinforces the perception that such language reflects <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/locating-neocolonialism-tradition-and-human-rights-in-ugandas-gay-death-penalty/33A06F4F33CF586E20E208BE790E71E0">a sense of Western superiority</a>, unwilling to acknowledge other societies may have very different attitudes towards gender and sexuality. Australia is part of the Equal Rights Coalition, an intergovernmental body of 42 countries dedicated to the protection of the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and has supported sexual and gender rights in the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/australias-second-universal-periodic-review-human-rights">country reviews</a> undertaken by the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Australia has a minimal presence in Uganda, and direct representations are unlikely to have much effect. Uganda is a member of the Commonwealth, as are Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, where official homophobia appears to be increasing. But there’s little evidence the Australian government sees this as a significant foreign policy forum, or is prepared to push for sexual rights through its institutions. As persecution on the basis of sexuality and gender identity increases, more people will seek to flee their countries. Queer refugees face double jeopardy: they’re not safe at home, but they’re often equally unsafe in their diasporic communities, which have inherited the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/lgbt-refugees-untold-story/">deep prejudices of their homelands</a>. The UN’s refugee agency <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/lgbtiq-persons.html">reports</a> that most people seeking asylum because of their sexuality are unwilling to disclose this, because of discrimination within their own ethnic communities. This makes it impossible to have accurate numbers. But a clear signal from Australia would be a powerful statement of support – that it understands the situation and welcomes people who need flee because of their sexuality or gender expression. An official Canadian government document <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/canada-role/2slgbtqi-plus.html">states</a>: "Canada has a proud history of providing protection to and helping to resettle the world’s most vulnerable groups. That includes those in the Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse community." Theirs is a model worth following. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-growing-gap-between-countries-advancing-lgbtq-rights-and-those-going-backwards-203329" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Caring

Be prepared: plan now for future health and care

There are two things certain in life - death and taxes. One of them only happens once. As much as people don’t want to talk about it, most of us have prepared our loved ones for some key aspects following our death by writing wills and arranging funeral plans. But have we prepared them for making some of the hardest decisions of their life - decisions that may literally determine how well we live and die? Over 50 per cent of people approach their end of life without the capacity to make their own decisions. So, decisions about whether to insert a feeding tube, move to an aged care facility or be resuscitated (and many more) are often left to family members who are making the decision ‘in the dark’ while upset about our declining health. But we can change that. Be Open, Be Ready, Be Heard The first step is to think about what our unique ‘quality of life’ looks like. Or if that is too hard, maybe what a poor ‘quality of life’ looks like. It will be different for each of us. Maybe I could accept being able to eat only pureed food, but would never want to have surgery that left me with ongoing pain. It might be that my neighbour wants to live ‘at all costs’ as long as they can still communicate meaningfully with loved ones. If my sister couldn’t move or talk, she might feel she would be happier looking out on a garden view and find it demeaning if she had people bathing her without introducing themselves. Thinking about all aspects of our lives and considering what matters most to us is the basis of advance care planning. <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au?utm_medium=paidprint&utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=acpw23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advance Care Planning Australia</a> has ‘Conversation Starters’ that provide focussed questions to help us get started. Once we have bravely thought about some of these things, the second step is to talk to our doctor and all those who may be asked to make decisions on our behalf. Family members may be shocked, cry, or even initially refuse to talk about it. Yet hopefully there can be an open and honest conversation about what really matters and how this influences our preferred health care outcomes and treatment decisions. The third step is to decide who will make decisions for us and fill in the form that legally appoints this person – the name of this form differs in every state/territory but all are available from Advance Care Planning Australia. We should also write down our preferences for health and personal care in either a legally binding advance care directive (which also has different names in each state) or a values-based advance care plan. These documents are used to inform care and help decision-makers know our preferences. We can discuss our preferences with doctors and ask them to sign our documents. Check if your doctor can upload advance care planning documents to My Health Record or upload them yourself. We should share copies with our chosen substitute decision-maker, family, local hospital and other health providers. This will enable documents to be accessed when they’re needed most so that everyone is aware of our choices. It is important to review these forms regularly, especially if our medical situation or care needs change. Xanthe Sansome, the National Program Director for Advance Care Planning Australia suggests, “We should talk regularly about our quality of life and health care preferences so everyone is on the same page if treatment decisions are needed. The last thing I would want in my final days is hearing two people I love disagree about what medical treatment decisions to make on my behalf. I would rather be calm, knowing I had made this very clear to them, lying comfortably on my favourite silk pillowcase with the scent of roses in the air and listening to them reflect together on my life and the person I had been to them. I would rather they feel at peace as they say, ‘Goodbye, we love you’.” Free starter pack and support are available For free, personalised advice or to request a printed starter pack, call the National Advance Care Planning Support Service on 1300 208 582 from 9am - 5pm (AEST/AEDT) Monday to Friday. Visit <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au?utm_medium=paidprint&utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=acpw23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advance Care Planning Australia’s website</a> to access a free email starter pack and other information. You can also find face to face awareness raising events and online webinars available Australia-wide during <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/nacpweek?utm_medium=paidprint&utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=acpw23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Advance Care Planning Week</a> from 20 – 26 March. Advance Care Planning Australia is funded by the Australian Government and administered by Austin Health. This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with Advance Care Planning Australia. Image: Shutterstock

Caring

We studied how the Antarctic ice sheet advanced and retreated over 10,000 years. It holds warnings for the future

Alarming stories from Antarctica are now more frequent than ever; the ice surface is <a href="https://theconversation.com/warmer-summers-threaten-antarcticas-giant-ice-shelves-because-of-the-lakes-they-create-180989" target="_blank" rel="noopener">melting</a>, floating ice shelves are <a href="https://theconversation.com/conger-ice-shelf-has-collapsed-what-you-need-to-know-according-to-experts-180077" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapsing</a> and glaciers are <a href="https://theconversation.com/ice-world-antarcticas-riskiest-glacier-is-under-assault-from-below-and-losing-its-grip-178828" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flowing faster</a> into the ocean. Antarctica will be the largest source of future sea-level rise. Yet scientists <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-still-dont-know-how-far-melting-in-antarctica-will-go-or-the-sea-level-rise-it-will-unleash-166677" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don’t know</a> exactly how this melting will unfold as the climate warms. Our <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00309-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest research</a> looks at how the Antarctic ice sheet advanced and retreated over the past 10,000 years. It holds stark warnings, and possibly some hope, for the future. <h2>The current imbalance</h2> Future sea-level rise presents one of the most significant challenges of climate change, with economic, environmental and societal impacts expected for coastal communities around the globe. While it seems like a distant issue, the changes in Antarctica may soon be felt on our doorsteps, in the form of rising sea levels. Antarctica is home to the world’s largest single mass of ice: the Antarctic ice sheet. This body of glacier ice is several kilometres thick, nestled on top of solid land. It covers entire mountain ranges beneath it. The ice sheet “<a href="https://vimeo.com/133626869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flows</a>” over the land from the Antarctic interior and towards the surrounding ocean. As a whole it remains a solid mass, but its shape slowly deforms as the ice crystals move around. While the ice sheet flows outward, snowfall from above replenishes it. This cycle is supposed to keep the system in balance, wherein balance is achieved when the ice sheet is gaining the same amount of ice as it’s losing to the ocean each year. However, <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ice-sheets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">satellites</a> keeping watch from above show the ice sheet is currently not in balance. Over the past 40 years, it has lost more ice than it has gained. The result has been global rising sea levels. But these historical observations span only four decades, limiting our understanding of how the ice sheet responds to climate change over much longer periods. We wanted to look further back in time – before satellites – and even before the first polar explorers. For this, we needed natural archives. <h2>Digging up Antarctica’s past</h2> We brought together various natural archives to unearth how the Antarctic ice sheet changed over the past 10,000 years or so. These included: <ul> <li>ice cores collected from Antarctica’s remote interior, which can show us how snow accumulated in the past</li> <li>rocks collected from exposed mountain peaks, which reveal how the ice sheet has thickened or thinned with time</li> <li>sediment cores collected from the seafloor, which reveal how the ice sheet margin – where the edge of the land ice meets the ocean – advanced or retreated</li> <li>lake mud and old beaches, which reveal how the coastline changed in response to the ice sheet growing or shrinking.</li> </ul> When we started our research, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After all, this period of time was long considered fairly dull, with only small changes to the ice margin. Nevertheless, we studied the many different natural archives one by one. The work felt like a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, full of irregular-shaped pieces and seemingly no straight edge. But once we put them together, the pieces lined up and the picture was clear. Most striking was a period of ice loss that took place in all regions of Antarctica about 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. It resulted in many metres of sea-level rise globally. In some regions of Antarctica, however, this ice loss was then followed by ice gain during the past 5,000 years – and a corresponding global sea-level fall – as the ice sheet margin advanced to where it is today. <h2>A warning</h2> Understanding how and why the Antarctic ice sheet changed in this fashion offers lessons for the future. The first lesson is more of a warning. The period of ice loss from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago was rapid, occurring at a similar rate to the most dramatically changing parts of the Antarctic ice sheet today. We think it was likely the result of warm ocean water melting the underside of floating ice shelves – something that has also happened in recent decades. These ice shelves hold back the ice on land, so once they’re removed the ice on the land flows faster into the ocean. In the future, it’s predicted ice loss will <a href="https://youtu.be/XRUxTFWWWdY?t=149" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accelerate</a> as the ice sheet retreats into basins below sea level. This may already be under way in some regions of Antarctica. And based on what happened in the past, the resulting ice loss could persist for centuries. <h2>Bouncing back</h2> The second lesson from our work may bring some hope. Some 5,000 years ago the ice sheet margin stopped retreating in most locations, and in some regions actually started to advance. One explanation for this relates to the previous period of ice loss. Before the ice began melting away, the Antarctic ice sheet was much heavier, and its weight pushed down into the Earth’s crust (which sits atop a molten interior). As the ice sheet melted and became lighter, the land beneath it would have lifted up – effectively hauling the ice out of the ocean. Another possible explanation is climate change. At Antarctica’s coastal fringe, the ocean may have temporarily switched from warmer to cooler waters around the time the ice sheet began advancing again. At the same time, more snowfall took place at the top of the ice sheet. Our research supports the idea that the Antarctic ice sheet is poised to lose more ice and raise sea levels – particularly if the ocean continues to warm. It also suggests uplift of the land and increased snowfall have the potential to slow or offset ice loss. However, this effect is not certain. The past can never be a perfect test for the future. And considering the planet is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warming faster</a> now than it was back then, we must err on the side of caution. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-how-the-antarctic-ice-sheet-advanced-and-retreated-over-10-000-years-it-holds-warnings-for-the-future-185505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Thinking ahead: Why you should make an advanced care plan

When it comes to preparing for unforeseeable events - whether it’s an accident, injury, or death - most of us know that preparing a Will or taking out life insurance can protect us and our families and ensure things happen the way we want them to.But what is less well-known is that preparing an Advance Care Plan can enable our loved ones and carers to look after us and respect our wishes, especially if we can no longer express them.Though the process can differ from state to state, advance care planning generally involves discussions and decisions about a person’s future healthcare and options for medical treatment. According to <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/understand-advance-care-planning/advance-care-planning-explained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Advance Care Planning Australia’s website</a>, this can include providing future consent, refusal, or withdrawing of treatments, as well as appointing someone to make decisions on your behalf.Maree, a NSW aged care worker, told OverSixty that having a plan in place can give people and their loved ones peace of mind as they get older, while ensuring carers can honour their wishes regarding resuscitation, transportation, and medical treatment. “A lot of old people get to that stage, they say, ‘Look I’m waiting to go. I’ve had enough of this life, this is what I’ve got left’... and basically, they’ve lived their life and they’re ready,” she says.“So to let other people know that that is what they desire, you know, I don’t want to be resuscitated, I’m not for transfer to hospital, I’d like to end my life quietly, calling this one person that I’ve nominated. If they can make it for my end, that’s lovely. And otherwise, quite often, it’s one of us in an aged care facility that will hold their hand, if we can and we know the time’s pretty close… we’ll see them through.”Though anyone can create an advance care plan, Professor Liz Reymond, Queensland’s Director of the Statewide Office of Advance Planning, says only a small percentage of people have one.“Currently, approximately 19 percent of Queenslanders have an Advance Care Plan,” Professor Reymond says. “It is vital that more people discuss and document their preferences.”Though thinking about death, illness, and potential medical issues can be difficult, Professor Reymond says it can help families navigate them more easily as they arise.“As hard as the conversation can be, it will save your loved ones from having to make difficult decisions on your behalf without knowing what you would have wanted,” she explains.“Having these conversations early on can make the unfortunate situation of your passing more straightforward and less stressful when it eventually occurs.”Maree agrees, adding that having a plan in place can make a person’s passing more peaceful - and can even include what a person wishes to wear after their death.“It’s just nice when you know that they’re prepared for it, I’m prepared for it, [and] quite often, they’ll actually have their outfit for death in their wardrobe,” Maree explains. “And that’s lovely, because you go, ‘Right, she’s gone, and let’s go prepare the body before the undertaker and the family come, and that’s her favourite outfit she had ready for it and… I think they die more peacefully, and I feel more at peace if they knew it was coming, they were prepared for it.“And you know, it’s a blessing, rather than, ‘Oh my God’, you know, everyone’s panicking and… it makes it a peaceful, lovely end, not a haphazard, stressful, unpleasant ending.”Aged care facilities - like the one Maree works for - also encourage incoming residents to prepare an advance care plan, as well as an end-of-life plan. But she says people should consider thinking about their plan earlier, especially if they have been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.“Depending on your health, I mean, if you’re up and running and still doing great at 60, make it at 70. But do it before you start losing your faculties,” she says.“If you’re diagnosed with dementia, or Alzheimer’s, or (a) life-threatening disease, do it then because you don’t know what course that disease will take. Sometimes it takes years for those diseases to kill, or sometimes it comes upon you so quickly that you’re really incapable of making those decisions.”“So get your facts together (of) where you think you are, and as soon as you get more information, go with it, make your plan, and then go out the way you want to go.”Maree hopes more awareness will be directed towards advance care planning, and argues that local GPs could have a huge effect on uptake, especially for those who may need to consider entering aged care.“I think it should be part of the doctor’s role, especially if they know - which they normally do - that this human being is no longer able to care for themselves,” she says. “Have some official document drawn up, where it’s handled by a doctor or somebody like a carer.“Even something like Centrelink should be making people knowledgeable, or just a GP… Probably the greatest effect would be for the GP to advise them on these things.”Professor Reymond also stressed that advance care planning isn’t just about what happens when we die and can be adjusted as our living situations change.“Your decisions are not set in stone and may need to be updated for any number of reasons, including a change in your medical circumstances, a change in your living arrangements, or simply a shift in your beliefs or values,” she explains.“One thing we’d like people to keep in mind is that advance care planning isn’t always about death - it’s also about your life and how you want to live it.”Image: Getty Images

Retirement Life

Flight attendant’s trick for avoiding unwanted advances on the job

A flight attendant has taken to TikTok to share her tips and tricks for avoiding unwanted advances while on the job. For her biggest and most lauded hack, Taylor, who shares videos under the username @flywithtay, admits she wears a fake engagement ring to prevent travellers from hitting on her. In a video she shared, she flaunts her ring on camera as she walks down the aisle of an aeroplane. She has captioned the post, "Flaunting my fake Amazon engagement ring at work to keep the creeps away." In the video description she adds, "Works like a charm." The video welcomed a flood of comments from women who feel forced to adopt similar tactics in their lines of work. "I'm in healthcare, I do the same thing lol," says one commenter. "Divorced and do this when I go to a work conference," another admits, while another says, "It's so sad we have to do this." One viewer asked if Taylor ever flirts with customers, to which she responded, "I don't flirt with passengers, but that's just me. I can't speak for everyone." During the back and forth in the comments of the video, Taylor said she is already dating her "perfect guy" so isn't worried she will miss the opportunity to meet someone on a flight. One person also commented, “Respectful men will notice. It’s the creeps who won’t care.” Image credit: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

National anthem Advance Australia Fair changed to reflect Indigenous history

Over 140 years after it was originally composed and performed, Advance Australia Fair is being updated once again in a move the Prime Minister says reflects a "spirit of unity". On January 1, the second line of the national anthem was changed to "For we are one and free" from "For we are young and free". governor-General David Hurley has agreed to the Commonwealth's recommendation to change the anthem for the first time since 1984. Scott Morrison made a statement, saying the change was made to represent all Australians. "During the past year we have showed once again the indomitable spirit of Australians and the united effort that has always enabled us to prevail as a nation," he said. "It is time to ensure this great unity is reflected more fully in our national anthem. "Also, while Australia as a modern nation may be relatively young, our country's story is ancient, as are the stories of the many First Nations peoples whose stewardship we rightly acknowledge and respect. "In the spirit of unity, it is only right that we ensure our national anthem reflects this truth and shared appreciation. "Changing 'young and free' to 'one and free' takes nothing away, but I believe it adds much." Composer Deborah Cheetham is a Yorta Yorta woman and says the change is long overdue. "It's an important acknowledgement. The word young has underestimated the lives that have lived on this continent for some millennia," the soprano and educator said. First Nations Foundation chairman and Yorta Yorta man Ian Hamm also welcomed the change, which was suggested last year by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. "In terms of culture, society, and population, we go back 60,000 years. We're very definitely not young," he said. "We should regard ourselves as a nation that's bonded, as opposed to being divided, and we should recognise our Indigenous history as part of our Australian history. "'One and free' looks for what brings us together. It's actually a focal point for that discussion about who we are as a country. "I think it's a really good change." But Labor Wiradjuri woman Linda Burney said more needed to be done. "It flies in the face, of course, of the Government saying that they want to work with Aboriginal people, but the real issue is a constitutionally enshrined voice," she said. Advance Australia Fair was composed by Peter Dodds McCormick and first performed in 1878.

Music

Peter Dutton weighs in on anthem word change

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has revealed he is not opposed to the idea of the national anthem being altered, however thinks Australians need to worried about more pressing, urgent matters. The minister has spoken out after news travelled that Australian sporting legend Cathy Freeman announced <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/olympian-cathy-freeman-calls-for-change-to-australian-national-anthem" target="_blank">she supported a lyric being changed in the Advance Australia Fair to pay respect to Indigenous Australians.</a> In the first verse, "we are young and free" would become "we are one and free". Minister Dutton told 2GB on Thursday that he was “not opposed” to the change “if that provides more comfort to people”. He went on to say Cathy Freeman has been one of the "greatest Australians" that has not received enough recognition for the work done helping indigenous kids in her post-sporting career. "I really think that should be recognised and I think her views should be respected," he said. Apart from the national anthem debate however, Dutton says he’d like to focus on improving the lives of indigenous children. "There are boys and girls who are being sexually assaulted in Aboriginal communities today," Mr Dutton said. He also took the opportunity on live radio to make a stab at the athletes and footy players who have refused to sing the national anthem. "It annoys me beyond description...I think it is an outrage," he said. "If you represent our country, you do so on the basis that you are proud and you sing the national anthem." Cathy Freeman first established a foundation in her name in 2007 to help indigenous children and their families.

News

Olympian Cathy Freeman calls for change to Australian national anthem

Olympic sportswoman Cathy Freeman has broken her long-held silence on the Australian national anthem debate by voicing her agreement with campaigners to change “disrespectful” lyrics. Freeman is part of a growing number of Australian sports stars who are rallying behind a movement to change a lyrics in Advance Australia Fair, out of respect to Indigenous people. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B82boPJg2Iv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B82boPJg2Iv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Australian Indigenous Clothing (@ngali_australia)</a> on Feb 21, 2020 at 5:20pm PST </div> </blockquote> The song contains the words “we are young and free”. Indigenous Australians are objecting to the word “young” because they have been on the land for thousands of years. Campaigners are calling for the words to be changed to “one and free”. Victorian Supreme Court judge Peter Vickery QC founded the Recognition in Anthem Project to change the words. And on Tuesday Freeman publicly announced her support behind the project, telling <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/cathy-freeman-backs-move-to-alter-national-anthems-lyrics/news-story/c08e8bae6a6f37c073470aabd243409a" target="_blank">The Australian:</a> “I agree with Peter Vickery that the national anthem doesn't acknowledge indigenous existence in Australia.” <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Neeisg_kN/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Neeisg_kN/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Trackwired (@trackwired)</a> on Feb 5, 2020 at 7:36pm PST </div> </blockquote> Several indigenous NRL players, including Cody Walker, Josh Addo-Carr and Will Chambers, refused to sing the anthem before State of Origin last year in an act of protest. Advance Australia Fair was chosen in a 1977 plebiscite by just over 8.4 million voters who chose the song over God Save the Queen, Waltzing Matilda and Song of Australia. The song was composed by Scottish-born Peter Dodds McCormick who first performed it in 1878 and was sung in Australia as a patriotic song. Later it was used at the start of official functions and the ABC used the melody to announce its news bulletins until 1952. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B20-xVggeb_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B20-xVggeb_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Jackets With A Voice (@ginnysgirlgang)</a> on Sep 25, 2019 at 1:40am PDT </div> </blockquote> Cathy Freeman first made her mark on a national scale when she became the first Indigenous Australian person to become a Commonwealth Games champion at just 16-years-old in 1990. Ten years later she won gold in the 400m at the Sydney Olympics.

News

Advance Australia Fair: Major changes to Australian anthem

It is over 140 years old, but for the first time, national anthem Advance Australia Fair has been rewritten to include the experiences of Indigenous Australians. The new lyrics were performed on the opening night of the annual Desert Song Festival in Alice Springs on Friday. The anthem has been tweaked by Recognition in Anthem, a group of Australians who hope the changes to the song will become official. Martin Haskett, who is a committee member told the ABC news the rewrite was made to “facilitate reconciliation”. "Our current anthem doesn't recognise Indigenous people of this country — the ambition was to create something that spoke to everyone in Australia," Mr Haskett said. The new version will celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginals who have existed and lived in Australia for 60,000 years. The line “for we are young and free,” has been tweaked to “for we are one and free”. Mr Haskett said he wanted the new lyrics to “resonate with people”. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.3953488372093px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7830545/australian-anthem-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f4958313a63b48ff823b8d0f13a58291" /> "That acceptance in the Aboriginal community shows that it has a future," he said.The performance comes after half of the Indigenous team refused to sing the national anthem before the start of their NRL game against the Indigenous All Stars and Maori All Stars. Blake Ferguson, Latrell Mitchell and skipper Cody Walker were the team members who chose to remain silent, while the song was being played. All six Indigenous footy players refused to sing the anthem during game two of the State of Origin this year. Maroon's fullback Kalyn Ponga, centre Dane Gagai, second-row Josh Papalii and centre Will Chambers didn’t sing the song in protest. Blues centre Blake Ferguson and wing Josh Addo-Carr also followed suit. The players’ protest comes amid claims Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker lost their spots in the NSW Blues for refusing to sing the anthem in the first game of the series. Aboriginal boxing champion Anthony Mundine has also chose not to stand and sing the national anthem, which he believes is for “white supremacists”.

Domestic Travel

“I’m living with it”: Olivia Newton-John not giving up despite advanced cancer diagnosis

Cancer is an illness that no one ever wants to face, but Olivia Newton-John is remaining optimistic as she battles stage four breast cancer. Appearing on 60 Minutes on Sunday night, the Grease star said her health issues are not “a battle or a war”, after being diagnosed for the third time in 2017. “I’m so lucky that I’ve been through this three times and I’m still here. I’m living with it,” she said. “Every day is a gift now, particularly now.” The 70-year-old first suffered from the condition in 1992, after doctors discovered a lump on her right breast. She underwent a partial mastectomy and six months of treatment, which included herbal formulas, meditation and a change in her diet and fitness routine before she was told that she was free from the disease. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en"> Olivia Newton John has always been one of us. Inspiring even as she fights the darkest of diseases: stage four cancer. <a href="https://twitter.com/olivianj?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OliviaNJ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/60Mins?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#60Mins</a> <a href="https://t.co/rbX7akEtnL">pic.twitter.com/rbX7akEtnL</a> — 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1157964633837207552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2019</a></blockquote> But that was just the beginning, as tragically, the star was told in 2013 that she had been diagnosed with cancer in her shoulder after being involved in a car accident. Newton-John is open about her health journey as back in September 2018, she revealed that instead of taking the traditional approach, she will be healing herself with “modern” medicines. She also mentioned that she cut out sugar completely and is taking cannabis oil as a pain killer. “I see it as something in my body that I’m getting rid of. I don’t talk about a battle or a war,” she said over the weekend. “I let it go and tell it to leave and talk to my body and tell it to heal itself.” The triple-threat, who the media reported last year was “clinging to life”, said doctors had not told her how long she has to live, and even if they did, it wouldn’t affect her. “I don’t read statistics. If you believe the statistics, you’re going to make them happen. If somebody tells you, ‘you have six months to live’, very possibly you will because you believe that.” Also appearing on the current affairs program was Newton-John’s only daughter Chloe Lattanzi who was trying to hold back her emotions as she spoke about her mother. “We don’t talk about it. No, we don’t talk about it,” she said. “If she’s having a day where she needs to talk about it, I’m there to listen. I’ll never bring it up unless she wants to.”

Caring

13 wild New Zealand walks from beginner to advanced

New Zealand has many spectacular walkways and tracks providing access to unique wilderness areas and virgin forests. Energetic hikers (or trampers) can discover glacier-carved valleys and traverse mountain passes, while more sedate day-walkers can explore golden beaches, bush walks and other sites of scenic, historic and cultural interest. National parks About one-third of New Zealand’s sparsely populated land has been set aside in national parks or reserves for the enjoyment of the public and increasing numbers of eco-tourists. While opportunities for exploration exist all over the country, nine destinations are recognised as significant and have been designated ‘Great Walks’ by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Apart from the coastal Abel Tasman track in the north of the South Island, the tracks are in high country or mountain areas. Ranging in duration from two to six days, the tracks cover a variety of landscapes on safe, well-maintained pathways. All tracks offer guided tours for which bookings are essential. Accommodation is generally in basic huts or lodges, but some guided talks offer luxury options. The high season starts in October (late-Spring) and lasts until April (early-Autumn). South Island Great Walks Five of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’ are in the South Island; a sixth is further south on Stewart Island. <ul> <li>Milford Track</li> </ul> The Milford Track in Fiordland – New Zealand’s largest national park – is the most famous. Visitors spend four days / three nights following historic Maori routes through a dramatic landscape of forest-covered valleys, mountains and steep fiords from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound. For this much-demanded route, bookings are necessary well in advance, for both independent and guided walks. <ul> <li>Routeburn Track</li> </ul> The Routeburn Track, another famous South Island track, has some of the most diverse scenery: forests, alpine flora, lakes, several waterfalls and panoramic views. The three-day trek covers 39km (24 miles). <ul> <li>Kepler Track</li> </ul> The Kepler Track follows a loop that begins and ends at the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre in Te Anau. It takes four days and traverses lakeside forest and open tussock grasslands, with one day spent walking along the mountain tops above the bush line. <ul> <li>Rakiura Track</li> </ul> Wilderness explorers wanting to experience the ‘end of the earth’ head for Stewart Island, New Zealand’s southernmost and least populated island. The Rakiura Track has the most birdlife, least predictable weather and conditions but planked walkways keep feet dry and ensure the three-day walk is possible year-round. It has gentle gradients – never more than 300m above sea level – and two huts provide accommodation. <ul> <li>Heaphy Track</li> </ul> The Heaphy Track, in the northwestern corner of the South Island, has undemanding gradients over 80km (around 50 miles). The walk takes about five days. The track is accessible year round, but winter snows can make the higher sections chilly. Attractions on the Heaphy Track include the nikau palm-lined beach at its western end, red tussock downs, lush beech forests and fields of alpine herbs. <ul> <li>Abel Tasman Coastal Track</li> </ul> The Abel Tasman Coastal Track, at the top of the South Island, only requires light walking shoes for the 50km (31 miles) route lined with miles of golden beaches. Along the way, five huts and 21 campsites offer accommodation, but transport has to be arranged from one end or the other. <ul> <li>Pike29 Memorial Walk</li> </ul> New Zealand’s nine great walks became 10 in 2018 with the announcement of the Pike29 Memorial Track. The 45-kilometre walk is to be constructed through the Paparoa National Park on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The national park will be extended by 3971 hectares to include the Pike River area as a memorial to the 29 men who perished in the 2010 mining disaster. The track will travel from Blackball to Punakaiki and include part of the existing Croesus and Pororai River tracks. North Island Great NZ Walks Three ‘Great Walks’ are in the North Island: Tongariro Northern Circuit, Lake Waikaremoana Track and Whanganui Journey. Each offers a distinctive landscape and challenges for energetic walkers. <ul> <li>Tongariro Northern Circuit</li> </ul> The Tongariro Northern Circuit is a loop track of three to four days, starting and finishing at the foot of Mount Ruapehu. Few places equal the drama of this active volcanic region with its lava formations, tussock grassland, fumaroles and geysers, and emerald green mineral lakes – the setting for the scenes in New Zealand director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Ringstrilogy. Altitude and climatic conditions mean the Tongariro circuit is best walked from late November to March. The Tongariro Crossing – one section of the circuit – is one of New Zealand’s most renowned day walks. <ul> <li>Lake Waikaremoana Track</li> </ul> Lake Waikaremoana is situated east of the central volcanic plateau, in one of the North Island’s most remote regions. The 46km (28 miles) track encircles the lake, providing a four to five-day walk. Apart from one day climbing a steep bluff, the track follows a leisurely path through rainforest. <ul> <li>Whanganui Journey </li> </ul> Included as one of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’, the Whanganui Journey is more correctly a 145km kayak or canoe journey down the Whanganui River. Beginning in Taumarunui, this journey takes about five days to complete and provides an early New Zealand history experience. For hundreds of years, the Whanganui River was an important Maori route; later, in early European settlement days, it became a steamboat highway. The winding river and surrounding lowland forest is now a national park. Day walks Not up for a long hike? New Zealand has plenty of day walks through areas of unique flora and fauna. The Coromandel Peninsula – located two hours’ drive south of Auckland – offers forest and coastal walks. The virgin rain forest that once covered much of the peninsula was heavily logged in the late 19th century, and visitors can see the remains of enormous dams and tramways used to transport logs of the giant and much-prized kauri trees. The regenerated forest is spectacular and the coast has isolated bays of exceptional beauty. Day-walkers not wanting to leave the city far behind can set out from Auckland with a map of the Waitakere Ranges which fringe the western city. These tracks skirt high cliffs and cross wild beaches of black sand. In Kahurangi National Park – in the northwestern corner of the South Island – the Oparara Track offers 31km of pathways through virgin rainforest and access to a series of spectacular limestone caves, home to some of New Zealand’s unique fauna and flora. Further south, Central Otago’s Rail Trail is a unique recreational facility preserving an important part of New Zealand history. The 150km section of old railway route has been redeveloped for walkers, cyclists and horse riders who can enjoy the unique Central Otago scenery and experience the South Island’s remoteness and history. Walker information New Zealand’s sparse population and huge wilderness areas mean that most walking tracks are remote from many of the comforts of civilisation. Facilities at the 900 huts maintained by DOC are basic, and walkers need to equip themselves with adequate food and clothing. Weather conditions can change rapidly, especially in the mountains, and it is essential, even in summer, to carry warm, waterproof clothing. No hike should be undertaken without consulting a detailed guide book and a map. For any of the ‘Great Walks’, bookings are required for accommodation in huts, but permits or admission fees are not required for day walking. Bookings are made through the Department of Conservation. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.mydiscoveries.com.au/stories/new-zealand-walks/" target="_blank">MyDiscoveries</a>.

International Travel

These 3 medical advances could change your life

From bioprinting a heart valve to isolating new treatments for diabetes, some of the most amazing and revolutionary medical research is going on right here in our own backyard. Here we look at three of the most exciting projects and how they’re going to change our lives for the better. 1. The research: 3D bioprinting human organs Where: The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth, Western Australia Research team: <a rel="noopener" href="http://vasclab.mech.uwa.edu.au/barry" target="_blank">Dr Barry Doyle</a> (pictured above, left) and team Thanks to a revolutionary new bioengineering program, we may one day see human organs printed on demand and then transplanted into sick patients needing organ transplants. Dr Barry Doyle, head of the vascular engineering laboratory at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research says it’s still early days, yet he is hopeful that the new biomedical research facility that brings experts from many different disciplines together will help speed up the process to breakthroughs. “What’s possible at the moment around the world is that scientists can print crude structures with cells in them and keep that alive for a matter of weeks afterwards. To go from transplanting that into a human needs a lot more work, but one day hopefully we should be able to print all the major organs in the body such as the kidneys and liver,” he says. What’s involved? At the moment Doyle’s team is focused on bioprinting a heart valve and keeping it alive long enough to implant it into an animal. A heart valve has been successfully printed before in the US, but researchers weren’t able to keep it alive long enough to implant it into a live host to see if it works. Doyle plans to reach this stage in the next couple of years, a goal he says would be a huge step forward towards the ultimate goal of producing other organs. “The heart valve is quite a complicated geometry but if we can create one and implant it into an animal, we’ll have a good shot at being able to extend on sections of the aorta and build towards the heart,” he says. Bioprinting organs that have been specifically printed from a recipient’s own cells could potentially replace the need for donor organs, not to mention the lengthy waiting times for suitable donor organs to be found. Since bioprinting involves using a patient’s own cells, it becomes less likely that the organ will be rejected by the body as well. Donor organ rejection is currently a major problem in transplant recipients after surgery with recipients required to take anti-rejection medications on an ongoing basis. How do you bioprint an organ? The technology that will make all this possible is called a 3D bioprinter. A 3D bioprinter works by depositing layers of material on a flat surface. First, living cells are taken from a patient, cultured in the lab and mixed into a soft gel-like substance called a hydrogel, which is then put into a 3D bioprinter. Another stiffer material is added to the printer and two nozzles move back and forth depositing these substances to build up the structure of an organ, layer upon layer. “The printing process is quite easy to carry out, but it’s keeping the printed structures alive after printing that’s where the big challenge lies,” says Doyle. To overcome this hurdle, Doyle’s team needs to perform tests to better understand the mechanical properties of the substances they’re using. “You can make different blends of these materials and each blend changes the material properties slightly, so one of the challenges is really understanding the hydrogel that we’re working with,” he says. It’s a huge task but one that Doyle’s team is well qualified for. His team has already developed another promising technology called patient-specific modelling that will one day help cardiovascular specialists and surgeons better predict and personalise patient care. For example, by making 3D computer models of the heart or aorta from the images taken by heart surgeons, his team can simulate the way blood will flow out of a patient’s heart and down through the vessels using computers. With this information surgeons can better determine whether a patient will need an operation, what type of operation, and even where to operate. “Only one in ten aortic aneurysms rupture but a huge number of operations are performed each year that are probably unnecessary. But using these computer models we can very specifically predict if operations are even needed,” Doyle says. 2. The research: Fighting cancer with nanotechnology Where: University of Sydney Nanotechnology Hub, Sydney Research team: <a rel="noopener" href="http://sydney.edu.au/science/people/zdenka.kuncic.php" target="_blank">Professor Zdenka Kuncic</a> and team At the University of Sydney Professor Zdenka Kuncic, director of the Australian Institute of Nanoscience and Technology (AINST) and her team are working on ways to detect and destroy tumour cells from cancers spreading around the body, known as metastasised tumour cells. <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.wyza.com.au/media/2833592/heath-research-syd-wyza-com-au.jpg" alt="Heath -research -syd -wyza -com -au" width="500" height="300" /> Professor Zdenka Kuncic and her team's research hopes to find a cure for cancer (Image: University of Sydney) This is a real problem in medicine because there are currently no imaging techniques that can detect metastasised tumour cells and no techniques that can specifically target and kill them. But using nanotechnologies like the ones being developed by Kuncic and her team, we might one day be able to detect them and even deliver drugs and therapeutic agents to destroy them. But what is nanotechnology and how does it work? Nanotechnology is a branch of science that uses tiny particles called nanoparticles. These particles are no bigger than the size of a single molecule of glucose. In fact, you can only see them with an electron microscope. They can be made of different substances and can even be changed and ‘programmed’ to carry out specific tasks. One of the most exciting applications for nanotechnology is in medicine because nanoparticles have different physical properties than normal sized objects. All of the biochemical processes that happen in our bodies every day occur because of nanoscience and by understanding the properties of nanoparticles, researchers can develop nanotechnologies that work in a non-invasive way in the body. Nanoparticles can move around the body using the body’s own systems and can be made virtually invisible to the body’s immune system. Professor Kuncic and her team are already quite advanced in programming (functionalising) nanoparticles to perform certain tasks. That’s when a nanoparticle is coated in a certain type of chemical coating or when it has an antibody or other small molecule attached to it to carry out a certain job in the body. But now her biggest challenge is trying to figure out how to control those nanoparticles once they go into the body. “It’s one thing to see the nanoparticles work in a lab in a petri dish, it’s another thing to actually make them work in a living person,” she says. To unlock the secrets to controlling nanoparticles, Kuncic says there is an enormous amount of testing still to be done. However she is hopeful for future breakthroughs. “There are a number of nanotechnology strategies that have passed through clinical trials already and they’re being used right now,” she says. <img src="https://cdn.wyza.com.au/media/2833595/heath-research-suits-syd-wyza-com-au.jpg" alt="Heath -research -suits -syd --wyza -com -au" width="500" height="300" /> At the Sydney Nanoscience Hub researchers are trying to unlock the secrets to controlling nanoparticles (Image: University of Sydney) What will nanotechnology do for us? If Professor Kuncic and other researchers in this field succeed, treating cancer might one day be simply a matter of ingesting a pill or having an injection at the oncologists’ and letting the nanoparticles inside find and destroy the disease. But the potential benefit of this technology is not just in fighting cancer. Nanotechnology has far-reaching applications in medicine, according to Kuncic. It may one day also be used by GPs to detect if patients have taken their medicine, and even as a way to detect and treat diseases before they have surfaced. “The holy grail would be to detect the signs of disease in people and be able to nip it in the bud before it starts to become a problem and that’s more than a decade away,” says Kuncic. 3. The research: Finding out how exercise protects against diabetes and other diseases Where: The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney NSW Research team: <a rel="noopener" href="http://www.garvan.org.au/research/diabetes-metabolism/cellular-and-molecular-metabolism/marfeb" target="_blank">Professor Mark Febbraio</a> and team You’ve probably heard before that exercise can help protect you against a whole lot of diseases, but what you might not know is exactly how this happens. One way exercise helps protect you is that your muscles secrete protective substances while you’re exercising. These substances are called ‘myokines,’ and by identifying these molecular links, scientists can better develop ways to treat these diseases. This is the crux of Professor Mark Febbraio’s research as the division head of diabetes and metabolism and head of cellular and molecular metabolism at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.wyza.com.au/media/3342342/shutterstock_323905706.jpg" alt="Shutterstock _323905706" width="500" height="336" /> Febbraio says that lifestyle interventions like exercising and watching your diet are still the best way to prevent type 2 diabetes One area of his research is finding a molecular link for type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition, and although it can be initially managed through lifestyle changes, around one-in-two people will eventually need insulin. According to Febbraio, in healthy people, myokines can help protect you against diabetes by activating special kinds of fat cells in your body. Unlike white fat cells, brown fat cells chew up a lot of energy when they’re activated. Myokines turn white fat cells into brown fat cells – which may assist in counteracting the metabolic processes that leads to obesity and or diabetes. How far along is this research now? At the moment Febbraio and his team have evidence that myokines can help protect us from disease, but they’re not quite sure exactly which substances do what, and that’s what they’re trying to work out, but not just for diabetes. They’re also trying to identify the molecular links in a range of other diseases too, such as in obesity, Alzheimer’s disease and some types of cancers. “By identifying the substances that have the most protective effects (the molecular links between exercise and this protective effect) we can then use medicinal chemistry and the pharmaceutical industry to come up with drugs that doctors can use to provide more personalised treatment options for people with these diseases,” says Febbraio. How do we find myokines? Finding these substances is not easy. Febbraio and his team use what’s called proteomic and genomic techniques to screen for them. Once substances have been found, they then use bioinformatics – basically complex mathematics and statistics and mice models to help them determine which of the substances are the most important. One promising protective muscle substance recently discovered by his lab is a substance that helps protect women against breast cancer. If further trials in mice and humans prove successful, this could prove a huge step forward in breast cancer treatment. While finding the molecular links will almost certainly result in better pharmaceutical treatments, Febbraio recommends being physically active as a tried and true way to prevent disease. “In 80 per cent of [type 2] diabetes cases, if there was no obesity in those patients they would not have the disease. So lifestyle interventions like exercising and watching your diet is still the best way to prevent diabetes,” he says. What would you like medical researchers to investigate and why? Let us know in the comments section below. Written by Dominic Bayley. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/health/these-3-medical-advances-could-change-your-life.aspx">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Technology

The most important conversation you’ll ever have

In 1984, British writer, actor and self-confessed wordsmith, Gyles Brandreth, famously estimated that each person will say 860,341,500 words in a lifetime. And despite the average person speaking the equivalent of the entire text of the complete 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary more than 14.5 times, there is one key conversation that is escaping Aussie senior’s lips. If you were unable to speak for yourself, who would you want to speak for you? And more importantly, what health care decisions would you want them to make? Advance care planning is about communicating your values and preferences related to health and personal care, as well as appointing a substitute decision-maker and/or completing an Advance Care Directive. An Advance Care Directive is only used if a person loses the ability, or capacity, to make their own medical treatment decisions. This loss of capacity might be temporary such as during illness, or permanent, and may be towards the end of a person’s life. Directives may record personal values and life goals, describe circumstances the person would find unacceptable such as requiring a breathing or kidney machine for the rest of your life, or identify other specific medical interventions you do or don’t want. Having this conversation with family and loved ones is more important than most people realise because around half of Australians will not be able to make their own end-of-life medical decisions. Medical Director of <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/?utm_source=Over60website&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=acpweek2018&utm_content=NativeContent" target="_blank">Advance Care Planning Australia</a> Dr Karen Detering explained that advance care planning not only benefits the individual who has communicated their preferences, but it also reduces the burden of decision-making for loved ones. “Research shows that having an advance care plan in place can help alleviate stress and anxiety for those decision-makers. Yet in Australia advance care planning is not common or widely understood,” Dr Detering said. “Typically, Australians think about life and death as black and white, yet in reality there’s an extended ‘grey’ period, with more of us living with ongoing health issues. “In fact, 85 per cent of people die after a chronic illness, not a sudden event, and most of us will live with increasing disability and illness (often for many years) before we actually die.” Advance care planning empowers individuals to have their say on some of the most important medical decisions, during a time when they are physically unable to speak up for themselves. If you haven’t yet started advance care planning, you don’t need to worry because you can start taking steps to begin your journey today. The first step you can take towards ownership of your health care future is to consider your own values, preferences and past and current health. You can also take the time to decide who you would like to be your substitute decision-maker. Once you have done this, you need to communicate your preferences with your substitute decision-maker to ensure that they are aware of the things that you do and don’t want regarding your future health care. How can you start the conversation? Just because you have a close relationship with someone does not mean they can assume or understand your health care preferences and values. It is important to be brave and initiate a deep conversation with your substitute decision-maker about your views, even if you haven’t voiced your feelings in the past. “Starting a conversation may be difficult but in the long run it will make things easier for your loved ones if health care decisions need to be made for you,” said Dr Detering. “We really encourage you to do it now while you can, away from any crisis so you have plenty of time to work through it over a period of time.” 3 steps you can take to start the conversation 1. Choose a quiet location and make sure everyone has plenty of time to talk so you won’t be rushed or interrupted. 2. Let the conversation happen organically – you don’t need to spill everything out at once. 3. Understand that advance care planning is an ongoing conversation. <iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0AcjGLn9BZ8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> If you feel unsure of how to initiate the conversation, one upcoming event that Aussies can take advantage of is <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/acpweek?utm_source=Over60website&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=acpweek2018&utm_content=NativeContent" target="_blank">National Advance Care Planning Week</a>, running from 16-22 April. This week is focused on raising awareness about advance care planning with many great events, such as morning teas to information sessions, taking place to empower Aussies to get involved and raise awareness about advance care planning. You can get involved in this week by <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/acpweek/host-an-event?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=acpweek2018&utm_content=native_content" target="_blank">hosting</a> or <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/acpweek/whats-on?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=acpweek2018&utm_content=native_content" target="_blank">attending</a> an event in your community, or even taking the brave step to schedule in a <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/acpweek/how-to-get-involved/start-the-conversation?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=acpweek2018&utm_content=native_content" target="_blank">conversation</a> with your loved ones. Dr Detering highlighted the importance of Australians remembering that advance care planning is not a one-off conversation. “It doesn’t have to happen all at once, it’s a process that may develop over time. More importantly, there are no right or wrong answers. So, don’t put it off – plan for tomorrow so you can live for today!” THIS IS SPONSORED CONTENT BROUGHT TO YOU IN CONJUNCTION WITH ADVANCE CARE PLANNING AUSTRALIA.

Retirement Life

10 attractions where it's worth buying tickets in advance

Because no one likes waiting in line. 1. Empire State Building, New York City Even on a slow day, you’re going to wait at least 20 minutes in line for the Empire State Building, reaching up to two hours during peak times. The best option is to buy a ticket to the main observation deck on the 86th floor and then you can decide if you want to buy an extra ticket and go all the way up to 102. 2. Anne Frank House, Amsterdam From 9am to 3.30pm each day, the excellent Anne Frank House is only open to people who have pre-purchased tickets online. No tickets are sold at the entrance, so make sure you plan ahead and book through the official website. 3. Burj Khalifa, Dubai The world’s tallest building is one of Dubai’s most popular attractions. If you buy tickets in advance you can choose a date and time that suits you, then walk straight through. If you turn up on the day, you could be in for a long wait or even be turned away as all the tickets are sold out. 4. Eiffel Tower, Paris More than seven million people visit the Eiffel Tower each year and in busy periods you can be waiting in line for several hours. Book tickets online up to two months in advance, pick your time slot and then go straight to the front of the queue. Parfait. 5. The Shard, London Entry to the tallest building in the UK (and in all of western Europe) is frequently sold out, especially on weekends or public holidays and during school holidays. Buy from the official site and you can also take advantage of a 15% discount. 6. Sistine Chapel, Rome You can’t actually purchase a ticket for the Sistine Chapel, but instead buy a pass to the adjoining Vatican Museum and walk through. Book online, pay the extra €4 for ‘skip the line’ access and walk straight to the front of the line. But even with these tickets, you’re still likely to face a bit of a wait as security is very tight. 7. The Louvre, Paris The most-visited museum in the world is famous for the Mona Lisa and for big lines. Buy your tickets online, choose a timeslot and then head for the entrances at Porte des Lions or the Richelieu Wing to save even more time. 8. The London Eye, London TripAdvisor recently found The London Eye has the longest line of any tourist attraction in the world – and average of 2.5 hours. If you’ve got the cash, pay an extra £12 (on top of the standard £20 ticket) and skip the queue. Or for £36 you can get a glass of chilled bubbles to go with the experience. 9. Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Gaudi’s great unfinished work is Barcelona’s most popular attraction and lines can stretch for at least two hours. Buy tickets online and get a set time to visit or book a guided tour, which comes with fast track entry and a knowledgeable tour guide to explain this fascinating cathedral. 10. Statue of Liberty, New York If you want to get right up inside Lady Liberty’s crown, you’ll need to book well in advance – just 10 people are allowed in at a time. They can often be sold out for months ahead, so make your booking as soon as you know your dates for NYC. And be aware that you’ll need to climb up around 27 storeys worth of stairs to get there. Have you been to these attractions?

International Travel

Why you should always book tickets in advance

There are lots of benefits to planning ahead. 1. You can save money Everyone likes to save money on holiday. Most attractions around the world will offer a discount for people who book online. This could be through their official site or a third party operator offering a great deal. This becomes even more important if you are travelling with a group or plan on attending a lot of different attractions, which can quickly add up. 2. You don’t have to line up How much of your life do you think you have spent waiting in queues? Next time, book ahead and go straight to the front. The bonus here is often twofold – you won’t have to line up at the ticket booth and then again at the front gate. Most pre-paid tickets will have a special line of their own where you can walk straight inside. 3. You can get it on your mobile Gone are the days of having to print out a physical ticket to take with you, which could make it hard to book ahead. Now, you’ll book online and receive an email or direct link to your tickets. Take your phone with you, scan it at the gate and you're in. You are also helping the environment by saving paper. 4. You won’t miss out Some really popular attractions can be booked out days or even weeks in advance. It would be very disappointing to arrive and find that there’s no chance of getting in. Booking in advance ensures you secure a ticket and also lets you schedule the rest of your days around availability. 5. You can take advantage of combo deals When you’re in a new destination, there are usually a few different attractions you want to see. If you buy tickets in advance, you can look for combo deals that will bring together everything you want to see. You will save money and may even get a few bonus extras that weren’t on your list. Do you agree with these tips?

Travel Tips

This age pension trick will save you if you need money fast

Unexpected bills can really throw a spanner in the works, especially if you’re on a fixed budget. And throwing these expenses on your credit card can be risky. So, what is someone on the age pension supposed to do? Well, one option could be requesting an advance payment on your pension. There are some qualifications however. The Department of Human Services states that in any period of six months (or 14 fortnights) you can only receive one advance at the highest amount, one or two advances at the smaller amounts, or three advances at the lower amounts. These numbers change each March and September. Here are the current figures as of October 4, 2017: <img width="420" height="155" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/44410/numbers-in-text.jpg" alt="Numbers In Text"/> Image credit: Department of Human Services One important thing to be aware of however, is that this is not an extra pension payment, and the amount will be taken out of future pension payments. To request an advance payment, head to Centrelink’s Online Service or get in touch directly by calling 13 2300. And for more information <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/enablers/advance-payment" target="_blank">click here</a>. What you ever requested an advance payment of your pension? Any advice contained in this communication is general advice only. None of the information provided is, or should be considered to be, personal financial advice.

Money & Banking

MP calls for new national anthem verse

Advance Australia Fair could be set to undergo an overhaul as Coalition MP Andrew Laming has suggested a new verse to better reflect ‘Australian’ values. Mr Laming, Liberal member for the Brisbane seat of Bowman, told <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/" target="_blank">Fairfax Media</a> the new verse should reflect larrikinism, resilience and sense of reward for effort. Mr Laming said, “I think that the only way national anthems can distinguish themselves is through their values, and I do feel our current second verse has pretty much the same message as the first verse.” Instead, Mr Laming suggests a “a first verse that focuses on our natural attributes and a second one that focuses on values”, while touching on our “jocular sense of humour”, how we “come from blends of many backgrounds”, and how Australia is “a young nation”. But not everyone is convinced. Queensland LNP colleague George Christensen told <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/" target="_blank">Fairfax Media</a>, "I think the national anthem is just fine as it is, along with the flag." But Mr Laming, who courted controversy earlier in the year with the suggestion that teachers were lazy, didn’t back down and said he would support a complete overhaul. "I'm no great fan of our current national anthem, to be honest," Mr Laming said. "If you're going to contemplate a new verse you should contemplate a new national anthem." Written by Peter Dodds McCormick, Advance Australia Fair became the national anthem after beating Waltzing Matilda, Song of Australia and the incumbent God Save the Queen in a national vote in 1984. What’s your take? Do you think Advance Australia Fair could benefit from a new verse? Or is it time for a complete overhaul? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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50 years on, Advance Australia Fair no longer reflects the values of many. What could replace it?

How friendship changes as the years advance

10 things we sort of miss because of technological advances

There’s a growing gap between countries advancing LGBTQ+ rights, and those going backwards

Be prepared: plan now for future health and care

We studied how the Antarctic ice sheet advanced and retreated over 10,000 years. It holds warnings for the future

Thinking ahead: Why you should make an advanced care plan

Flight attendant’s trick for avoiding unwanted advances on the job

National anthem Advance Australia Fair changed to reflect Indigenous history

Peter Dutton weighs in on anthem word change

Olympian Cathy Freeman calls for change to Australian national anthem

Advance Australia Fair: Major changes to Australian anthem

“I’m living with it”: Olivia Newton-John not giving up despite advanced cancer diagnosis

13 wild New Zealand walks from beginner to advanced

These 3 medical advances could change your life

The most important conversation you’ll ever have

10 attractions where it's worth buying tickets in advance

Why you should always book tickets in advance

This age pension trick will save you if you need money fast

MP calls for new national anthem verse

Our Partners

News

Shop

Catalogues

Newspaper

Contests

Entertainment

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Property

Compare

Games

Information

Keep up to date

Search

50 years on, Advance Australia Fair no longer reflects the values of many. What could replace it?

How friendship changes as the years advance

10 things we sort of miss because of technological advances

There’s a growing gap between countries advancing LGBTQ+ rights, and those going backwards

Be prepared: plan now for future health and care

We studied how the Antarctic ice sheet advanced and retreated over 10,000 years. It holds warnings for the future

Thinking ahead: Why you should make an advanced care plan

Flight attendant’s trick for avoiding unwanted advances on the job

National anthem Advance Australia Fair changed to reflect Indigenous history

Peter Dutton weighs in on anthem word change

Olympian Cathy Freeman calls for change to Australian national anthem

Advance Australia Fair: Major changes to Australian anthem

“I’m living with it”: Olivia Newton-John not giving up despite advanced cancer diagnosis

13 wild New Zealand walks from beginner to advanced

These 3 medical advances could change your life

The most important conversation you’ll ever have

10 attractions where it's worth buying tickets in advance

Why you should always book tickets in advance

This age pension trick will save you if you need money fast

MP calls for new national anthem verse

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