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Why millions of Aussies are delaying, modifying or scrapping their travel plans

While it might seem like everyone around you is enjoying a luxurious European summer vacation, recent data reveals that the majority of Australians are facing obstacles in pursuing their travel dreams. The rising cost of living and inflated travel prices are compelling millions of Australians to reconsider and adjust their holiday plans, according to the latest consumer sentiment survey conducted by NAB, which involved approximately 2,000 local respondents. According to an alarming <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-millions-of-australians-are-cancelling-or-postponing-their-holidays/gbyz8v0yt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">piece by SBS</a>, the survey found that nearly two-thirds of Australians (65 per cent) who had intentions of traveling in the next 12 months have been forced to either cancel or postpone their trips. Among them, 24 per cent decided to scrap their plans entirely, while 42 per cent opted to delay their vacations. The data shows that an overwhelming number of individuals believe that travel and holidays have become considerably more expensive. According to the SBS piece, Tara Hartley, NAB's retail customer executive, offered some reassurance to those experiencing FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) on extravagant European holidays. She stated that many Australians are making prudent spending decisions, prioritising their expenses based on what they value most. With the cost of living rising, including grocery bills and fuel prices, Australians are finding it increasingly challenging to budget for their holiday plans. As a result, they are making thoughtful adjustments to their spending habits. Approximately 40 per cent of respondents have scaled back their travel plans, opting to explore domestic destinations instead of traveling abroad to save money. Hartley mentioned examples like people swapping trips to the Mediterranean for Maroochydore or Bali for Burnie, indicating that Australians are finding joy and relaxation within their own country. One significant factor contributing to the hesitance in making travel arrangements is the soaring cost of airfares. Airlines have been slow to resume normal operations after the COVID-19 pandemic caused international flights to come to a halt. The combination of increased demand for flights, inflation, rising fuel prices, and a shortage of staff has led to a surge in airfare costs. Data released by online travel company Kayak in May indicated that return flights from Australia to overseas destinations are now over 50 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels. For instance, the average return economy international flight between July and December currently costs $1,827, compared to $1,213 in 2019. Domestic flights have also experienced a notable increase, with costs up by 10 per cent compared to 2019 figures and 15 per cent higher than last year. Even though capacity is expected to return to the airline industry, outgoing Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce cautioned that airfares might not return to their pre-pandemic affordability. Nevertheless, the adjustments in travel plans have had some positive financial impacts. On average, Australians have saved around $392 each month by changing their travel plans. Over the course of a year, these adjustments have translated to approximately $4,704 in savings. The rising cost of living and inflated travel prices are causing millions of Australians to reconsider their holiday plans. With airfares surging and travel becoming more expensive, many are opting to modify their trips or explore domestic destinations instead. While these changes may bring financial benefits, it remains uncertain when airfares will return to their pre-pandemic levels. Image: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Turtles on the tarmac could delay flights at Western Sydney airport

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ricky-spencer-158597">Ricky Spencer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/deborah-bower-283709">Deborah Bower</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-van-dyke-351841">James Van Dyke</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-b-thompson-351796">Michael B. Thompson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-thomas-1451841">Richard Thomas</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> Amid the controversy surrounding <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-27/western-sydney-airport-flight-paths-made-public/102524808">preliminary flight paths</a> for <a href="https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/">Western Sydney’s new airport</a>, another potential challenge is looming: turtles on the tarmac. The land surrounding Sydney’s newest airport is prime nesting area for native turtles. This may create problems for the airport’s operations. Turtle invasions at airports are not unprecedented. In recent years, a freshwater turtle was found wandering around <a href="https://m.facebook.com/SydneyAirport/photos/a.302787769759897/2906361926069122/?type=3&locale=zh_CN">Sydney Airport</a>, which is built on Botany Bay. In 2021, a turtle strolling across a runway in Japan <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/28/turtle-slow-moving-reptile-delays-five-planes-at-japan-airport">delayed five planes</a>. A few years earlier, a passenger plane <a href="https://qcostarica.com/turtle-shuts-down-limon-airport/">aborted takeoff</a> because a 1.5m leatherback turtle was on the runway. And at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, employees <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/644989/nyc-airport-gets-barrier-to-protect-runway-from-armoured-short-slow-moving-turtle-threat/">carried 1,300 turtles</a> off the tarmac in one nesting season alone. Our expertise spans zoology, conservation biology and ecology. We know individual freshwater turtles can wander well beyond their wetland habitat into areas where they pose a risk to aviation safety, if proper planning is not in place. We urge authorities to incorporate turtle-friendly features into the airport’s design and make contingency plans for these remarkable reptiles. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vHbM3ytHKdA?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Western Sydney airport: construction is well underway.</figcaption></figure> <h2>Western Sydney airport is turtle nesting habitat</h2> Freshwater turtles face an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220306369">uncertain future</a>. Their numbers in Australia are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39096-3">declining</a>. Globally, more than half of all freshwater turtle species face <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30636-9">extinction</a>. <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/zo/zo17065">Collisions with vehicles</a> are a main cause of death for adult freshwater turtles across south-eastern Australia. And data collected through the <a href="https://1millionturtles.com">1 Million Turtles</a> citizen science tool <a href="https://TurtleSAT.org.au">TurtleSAT</a> reveals Western Sydney is a roadkill hotspot. Wetlands, including the area around the new airport at Badgerys Creek, serve as prime nesting habitat. Citizen science data also feeds into our world-first predictive <a href="https://emydura6.users.earthengine.app/view/predicted-nests-and-water-bodies">nest mapping tool</a>, which confirms Sydney’s newest airport is prime nesting area for both long- and short-neck turtles. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535185/original/file-20230703-213604-aa70gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535185/original/file-20230703-213604-aa70gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535185/original/file-20230703-213604-aa70gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535185/original/file-20230703-213604-aa70gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535185/original/file-20230703-213604-aa70gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535185/original/file-20230703-213604-aa70gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535185/original/file-20230703-213604-aa70gw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Left, hotspots of turtle roadkill in Western Sydney. Right, predicting turtle nesting areas at Western Sydney airport. TurtleSAT and 1 Million Turtles</figcaption></figure> Turtles nest throughout the airport district from November to January. Given the number of wetlands and the extent of cleared, open vegetation, turtles can be expected to emerge from the water and traverse the entire area during this period. Between nesting seasons, eastern long-necked turtles often move between wetlands on rainy days. Redirecting turtles away from runways (and roads) is a challenging but feasible task. It requires proactive planning, integration of turtle-friendly design elements, and recognition of their significance in environmental impact assessments. Construction of the Western Sydney airport involved filling in streams and farm dams. The Environmental Impact Statement for the project, released in 2016, <a href="https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/WSA-EIS-Volume-2a-Chapter-16-Biodiversity.pdf">recognised</a> the threat to turtles. To mitigate the impact on aquatic animals generally, the proponents planned to salvage and relocate them to nearby habitats deemed suitable. A spokesperson for Western Sydney airport, contacted for comment on this story, said all of the required wildlife and risk management procedures would be in place when the airport opens in late 2026. She said the turtle habitat was well outside of the airport site, so the risk of turtles on the runway was negligible. But around the airport, many streams and wetlands remain. So we believe there’s still a chance turtles will enter the airport grounds and, potentially, walk onto runways. <h2>Turtles at the crossroads</h2> Turtles are often little more than an afterthought in hectic construction plans and timetables. Wetlands are often filled in and roads built without any thought to wildlife crossings. Our study of the wetlands of Western Sydney, and the corridor between north-western and south-western Sydney, found up to 25% of wetlands were lost <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.22.12736">in the last decade alone</a>. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535249/original/file-20230703-240908-y2xpsk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A map showing the change in western Sydney wetland surface area between 2010 and 2017 by local government area" /></a><figcaption>Change in western Sydney wetland surface area between 2010 and 2017 by local government area: more than 1% increase (green), 0-10% decrease (orange), more than 10% decrease (red). Harriet Gabites, Author provided</figcaption></figure> While groups such as <a href="https://www.wildconservation.com.au/turtle-rescues-nsw/">Turtle Rescue NSW</a> can relocate wildlife such as turtles, eels and fish, many animals die when streams and wetlands are <a href="https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/WSA-EIS-Volume-2a-Chapter-16-Biodiversity.pdf">drained and filled</a> during development. Western Sydney’s new airport offers an opportunity to break this pattern. Construction has passed the half-way mark but it’s not too late to incorporate turtle-friendly infrastructure such as <a href="https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1466&context=theses">specialised underpasses</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wlb3.01012">fencing</a> to guide these slow-paced wanderers away from high-risk areas. We also need monitoring programs to check interventions are working and identify any problems along the way. <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-turtle-program-shows-citizen-science-isnt-just-great-for-data-it-makes-science-feel-personal-155142">Our research</a> emphasises education and awareness campaigns foster a culture of understanding and respect. This is important to ensure the long-term survival of turtles in the region. <h2>It’s not too late for Western Sydney’s turtles</h2> We must prioritise turtle-friendly design and integrate turtles into environmental impact assessments for major developments. The likely presence of turtles on runways at Western Sydney’s new airport warrants immediate attention. The project and its network of major roads are a chance to demonstrate how major urban infrastructure and wildlife can coexist harmoniously. <hr /> We acknowledge the vital contribution of Western Sydney University masters student Harriet Gabites to research on the turtles of Western Sydney and this article.<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/208930/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Image credits: Getty Images <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ricky-spencer-158597">Ricky Spencer</a>, Associate Professor of Ecology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/deborah-bower-283709">Deborah Bower</a>, Associate Professor in Zoology and Ecology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-van-dyke-351841">James Van Dyke</a>, Associate Professor in Biomedical Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-b-thompson-351796">Michael B. Thompson</a>, Emeritus Professor in Zoology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-thomas-1451841">Richard Thomas</a>, Senior lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</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/turtles-on-the-tarmac-could-delay-flights-at-western-sydney-airport-208930">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

Actors blamed for delaying movie production

These single cast members have been responsible for delaying movie production on these titles. 1. Marlon Brando — Mutiny on the Bounty Brando was singled out as the reason months of production and $6 million went down the drain during the making of Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962. According to the film’s director Lewis Milestone, Brando put earplugs in on set to silence instructions and argued over many scenes in the script. Reportedly, he also refused to shoot the finale and demanded to make his own ending. The delays and tension on set were ironic as the film focused on deadly mutiny. 2. Johnny Depp — Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales The fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise had a very messy production due to extensive delays and behind-the-scenes drama. Depp delayed production after illegally bringing his dogs into Australia during shooting, injuring his hand and reportedly showing up late to shooting. 3. Brad Pitt — The Fountain Writer and director of The Fountain Darren Aronofsky admitted that Brad Pitt was responsible for delaying film production. Pitt was initially going to star in the film but when it was just weeks away from the start of principal photography in Australia, Pitt let Aronofsky know that he was leaving the film. The departure meant there were extensive delays in starting production, but Aronofsky pins the departure on creative differences and says that neither of them were to blame. 4. Benedict Cumberbatch — Doctor Strange Benedict Cumberbatch was originally the only actor director Scott Derrickson had in mind to play Marvel’s Doctor Strange. Cumberbatch initially turned the role down due to conflicting schedules, so production was delayed to allow the actor a second chance at starring in the film. "If you can't jump on board when the ride's going past, that's usually it," Cumberbatch said "So the hugest compliment they paid me was to come back to me. It motivated me to try to fulfil their faith in me." 5. Robert Downey Jr — Sherlock Holmes 3 The next instalment of Sherlock Holmes has been delayed while Robert Downey Jr fulfils his contractual obligations with the Avengers, according to Holmes producer Joel Silver. Hopefully Downey will return to the Sherlock films after the fourth Avengers. Images: Getty

Movies

10 ways to stay sane on a flight delay

Flight delays seem to be a part of air travel today, so you’ll need some innovative ways to fill your time. Here are 10 ideas to pass time at the airport (without having to pull your smartphone out of your pocket). 1. Explore the city Depending on how long your delay is (and how close the airport is to town), you might be able to get out and have a quick look around. Many airports even offer free bus tours for passengers that will take them past all the major sites. 2. Or explore the airport Airports aren’t what they used to be. In fact, many are practically cities in their own right! Have a look around and you will be amazed what you can find – movie theatres, spas, gardens, libraries, playgrounds and more. 3. Grab something to eat Would you believe that celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver and Wolfgang Puck now operate airport restaurants? The quality of food in airports has increased dramatically over recent years, so you can spend your time on a great meal. 4. Take a nap This will depend on how comfortable you are with sleeping in public, but most airports have a lot of quiet hidey holes that you can seek out. Use your carry on or your coat as a pillow, set your alarm (you don’t want to miss your flight) and catch a few Zs. 5. Buy a new book Airports reliably have great bookstores, so grab yourself the latest bestseller or a classic you’ve always wanted to read and settle in for the wait. We think that time spent reading is never time wasted. 6. Do some exercise Plane travel means sitting still in a small space for hours at a time, so take this opportunity to get moving. This can be a simple walk around the terminal or outside, or you can find a quiet space and do some stretching. Some airports even have gyms, yoga rooms or jogging tracks for passengers to use. 7. Hit the shops Frustrated at the delay? Retail therapy can do wonders for your mood. Airports are a great place to get new release makeup or perfumes, high tech electronics or fashion accessories like handbags and sunglasses at a great price. 8. Splurge on lounge access At a number of airports you can pay a relatively small fee (usually less than $50) and access one of the exclusive priority lounges. Facilities will vary, but you can expect free food and drinks, wi-fi, televisions, books and magazines, and showers. Think of it as a little treat for having to put up with a delay. 9. Find the airport hotel If your delay is going to be a long one, it might be worth checking into the airport hotel for a few hours. Many will offer special rates for a day or part thereof, so for a reasonable price you can have a shower, watch some TV and even have a nap in a proper bed. 10. Meet new people Remember when we used to be able to strike up conversations with people in real life? Without the aid of a smartphone? Now’s a great time to bring it back. Others from your flight will be in the same position as you, so you’ve already got some common ground. Image credit: Shutterstock

Travel Tips

Airlines to cough up millions in refunds and fines over delays and cancellations

Frustrated travellers subject to major delays or cancellations to their US flights could be entitled to a portion of $US 600 million ($AU 896 million) in refunds from six airlines forced to refund their customers. The airlines have been ordered to pay back customers by the US Department of Transport as part of “historic enforcement actions”. Under US law, customers must be refunded by airlines or ticket agents if the airline cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from or within the US and they don’t want to accept the alternate offer. The department also ordered the airlines to pay a total of $US 7.25 million ($AU 10.84 millIon) in fines for “extreme delays in providing refunds”. “When a flight gets cancelled, passengers seeking refunds should be paid back promptly. Whenever that doesn’t happen, we will act to hold airlines accountable on behalf of American travellers and get passengers their money back.” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/more-600-million-refunds-returned-airline-passengers-under-dot-rules-backed-new" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press release</a> shared on Monday. “A flight cancellation is frustrating enough, and you shouldn’t also have to haggle or wait months to get your refund.” According to 7News.com.au, the refunds apply to both US and international travellers. The fines and refunds vary from airline to airline, with the affected airlines including: <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Frontier Airlines - ordered to refund $US 222 million ($AU 331.9 million) and pay $US 2.2 million ($AU 3.2 million) in fines </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Air India - to pay back $US 121.5 million ($AU 181.6 million) and fined $US 1.4 ($AU 2.1 million) </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> TAP Portugal - with refunds totalling $US 126.5 million ($AU 189.1 million) and fines of $US 1.1 million ($AU 1.6 million) </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Aeromexico - to refund $US 13.6 million ($AU 20.3 million) and pay $900,000 ($AU 1.3 million) in fines </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> El Al - due to pay $US 61.9 million ($AU 92.5 million) in refunds and $900,000 ($AU 1.3 million) in fines </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> Avianca - with total refunds of $US 76.8 million ($AU 114.8 million) and a fine of $US 750,000 ($AU 1.1 million) </li> </ul> Most of the fines will be paid to the Treasury Department, with the remainder to be credited based on airlines paying customers beyond the legal requirement. According to Blane Workie, the assistant general counsel for the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection DOT, the refunds have either already been made or customers should have been informed of them. Image: Getty Images

International Travel

Airline havoc and lost luggage become major headache for cruise-goers

With airlines across the globe making headlines for delays, <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-trouble/qantas-loses-woman-s-luggage-that-contains-her-mother-s-ashes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing passengers’ luggage</a>, and a host of other issues, it might seem that going on a cruise would be a safer option. But many cruise-goers have faced even more significant problems as a result of waylaid luggage, with some telling <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lost-luggage-cruise-vacation-travel-transport-europe-trip-airport-airline-2022-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Insider</a> that they had to choose whether to stay at the airport to find out what happened to their luggage or make it in time for their cruise boarding time. For Ed Perry and his wife, who flew from North Carolina to Amsterdam for a two-week cruise to Budapest and Hungary, flight delays, route changes and having to check their hand luggage resulted in both their carry-on bags and their hold luggage being lost. “It was a disaster from start to finish,” Mr Perry told Insider. He added that he and his wife couldn’t shop for clothes when their ship docked because they’d paid for excursions, but that other passengers stepped in to lend them clothes. Todd McCloud Jr said losing his luggage after last-minute flight changes “put a dampener on our whole trip”. He said a staff member told him his bags would arrive on another flight and be taken straight to the port where his family’s cruise around the Caribbean would be departing from, but that the bags ultimately never arrived. “I’m lucky that I didn’t put our birth certificates in those bags or else we wouldn’t have been able to go on that cruise at all,” Mr McCloud said. Fortunately, his bags were waiting for him when he returned to the airport, along with a voucher and a cheque from Southwest, the airline he flew with, to cover the cost of the replacement items he purchased during the trip Other passengers shared how their luggage was lost during layovers, with some bags being passed between multiple airports as airlines tried to follow cruise itineraries to match up the luggage with their rightful owners. Thomas Hatch, who was meant to arrive in Rome for a 10-day Celebrity Cruises trip around Europe, said a total of eight bags belonging to him and three other passengers failed to arrive in time. British Airways staff told Mr Hatch that the luggage would be flown to Rome on a later flight, but the flight’s cancellation resulted in six of the bags being sent to Athens the day before Mr Hatch’s ship docked there. Despite matching his itinerary, Mr Hatch said the airport was “overwhelmed” with luggage and wouldn’t let the ship's porter collect the bags. He said two of his bags were sent to Thessaloniki Airport in Greece, despite the ship never stopping there. Another passenger, who wished to remain anonymous so as not to jeopardise her chances of compensation, shared photos of luggage tags from her bag, which showed the airline apparently sent it to four European airlines in failed attempts to match up with her cruise. While passengers said they struggled to get help from the airlines, cruise lines went out of their way to be of assistance. Mr Perry said Viking “bent over backwards for us”, with staff lending him their mobile phones so he could call Air Canada, who he said were difficult to reach during the trip and never offered to send his luggage to other ports. Zoe Greenberg had a similar experience to Mr Perry, sharing that Air Canada was “impossible to reach” despite her calling them daily and her husband spending three-and-a-half hours on hold on one occasion. “They had no idea where our bags were,” she said. On the other hand, both Mr Perry and Ms Greenberg said their cruise lines also waived laundry fees during their trip. When she arrived back at Barcelona airport, Ms Greenberg said her husband found her luggage in a storage room “with thousands of bags” but that he didn’t receive his until 26 days after their trip. Image: Getty Images

Cruising

Is delaying retirement a good idea?

It’s that time in your life when you should be able to kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour, so how does the prospect of delaying retirement sit with you? The idea may not be a popular one but with the rise in the cost of living and the government looking to slash financial support for older Australians, it’s a decision many need to consider. US sites have been awash with stories of seniors remaining in the workforce beyond retirement age, with data suggesting more than one in five people in the US by 2040 will be over the age of 65. The same is true here in Australia. Following the Federal Government’s announcement to raise the pension age to 70 by 2035, it also seems like a trend that will continue, and for those born after 1965, a reality of life. But, is it all bad? While in most cases the decision to remain in the workforce is a financial one, many older workers enjoy the social engagement and the health benefits associated with keeping a job. Last year, a report found that workers in their early 60s who had a chronic health condition had better retirement savings and wealth than those who had quit work. The findings, released in National Seniors Australia Productive Ageing Centre’s report, A widening gap: The financial benefits of delaying retirement, also found that remaining in the workforce past the age of 65 had the potential to offset the high costs of poor health, which include treatment costs, changes to living arrangements and buying aids or equipment. The same study found that working up to and past the retirement age was associated with a significant increase in the value of household assets. For example, between 2006 and 2010, the financial assets of those who remained employed in 2006 and in 2010 increased by $59,400 while those who were employed in 2006 but not in 2010 saw less of an increase with $34,300. The upside of phased retirement Darren James, financial planner at AMP, says many Australians are giving greater consideration to the option of a phased retirement – reducing their hours over time and gradually “weaning” themselves into retirement – rather than going cold turkey. An approach which can lead to significant advantages from a superannuation standpoint. “The biggest advantage of waiting to retire until 60 or over is that income and any withdrawals from super are 100 per cent tax free, whereas up until this age tax may apply,” he reveals. “Also for every year that you delay retirement is another year that you avoid dipping into your retirement savings which will obviously help your retirement income last longer. You will also be another year closer to being eligible to receive the age pension which could reduce the amount of money you need to draw from your own retirement savings (provided you meet an income and assets test).” Why it pays to keep working For those nearing retirement but still working, look into topping up your super balance without reducing your after-tax income with a transition to retirement strategy. Mr James says you can make extra contributions to boost your super by salary sacrificing but then draw on the super to replace this income. “This super income is highly tax effective – it is currently tax free for people over 60 and tax advantaged for those aged 55 to 59,” he explains. “As the tax benefits of super really kick in after retirement, the less you can draw down on your super balance before retiring, the more money you will keep in your pocket for the future.” The reality is that Australia has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, which is good news, but along with that has gone the retirement age. For those who enjoy their job and are in no hurry to retire, or who wish to retire with a few extra bucks in the bank, delaying retirement can be a great boost for setting yourself up to be in a much better financial position for when you decide the time is right. Always seek professional advice to better understand your financial position and to find out when retirement may be possible for you. Image credits: Getty Images

Money & Banking

The “marshmallow test” of delayed gratification is actually culturally diverse

The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford marshmallow experiment</a> is one of the most enduring child psychology studies of the last 50 years. The test is a simple one. A child aged between 3 and 6 had a marshmallow (later experiments also used a pretzel) placed in front of them and told that if they wait, they could have a second marshmallow when the tester returned. The original study found that those who waited for the extra marshmallow had more success as an adult than those that scoffed the marshmallow down, suggesting that being able to delay gratification is an important life skill. But since its inception, people have argued whether waiting for a marshmallow as a five-year-old can really tell you how successful, thin and educated you’ll be as an adult, or if there might be other, more complicated factors going on behind the scenes. A new study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09567976221074650?journalCode=pssa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Psychological Science</a> has suggested one of those factors – showing that cultural upbringing could change the way children respond. “We found that the ability to delay gratification – which predicts many important life outcomes – is not just about variations in genes or brain development but also about habits supported by culture,” <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/today/2022/07/21/new-take-marshmallow-test-when-it-comes-resisting-temptation-childs-cultural-upbringing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said one of the researchers</a>, University of Colorado Boulder psychology researcher Yuko Munakata. “It calls into question: How much of our scientific conclusions are shaped by the cultural lens we, as researchers, bring to our work?” <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p199467-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.62 resetting spai-bg-prepared" action="/people/marshmallow-test-cultural-diverse/#wpcf7-f6-p199467-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="resetting"> <input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page spai-bg-prepared" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/" aria-invalid="false" /> </form> </div> </div> This is a larger problem than just some kids eating marshmallows. Historically, science – across <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/clinical-trials-have-far-too-little-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clinical</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691620927709" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">psychology</a> research – has a habit of having too little cultural diversity, and the new research shows why this can be an issue. The researchers found that the 80 children in Japan were much better at waiting to eat food when asked than the 58 children in the United States. However, this was reversed when asked to wait to open gifts. “This interaction may reflect cultural differences: waiting to eat is emphasised more in Japan than in the United States, whereas waiting to open gifts is emphasised more in the United States than in Japan,” <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09567976221074650" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the team write in their new paper.</a> “These findings suggest that culturally specific habits support delaying gratification, providing a new way to understand why individuals delay gratification and why this behaviour predicts life success.” This small study doesn’t look into the longer-term results of the original marshmallow experiment, like whether the kids will be more successful as adults. Along with cultural differences, other studies have shown <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/06/marshmallow-test/561779/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">qualities like affluence</a> are also a defining factor. All of this is only if the marshmallow test actually holds at all. <a href="https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/new-study-disavows-marshmallow-tests-predictive-powers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Recent follow up studies</a> with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797618761661" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">larger groups</a> of children followed into adulthood have shown that those who chose marshmallowey goodness straight away are not generally more or less financially secure, educated or healthy than their food-delaying peers. It seems that 50 years later the test is still telling us things – just about our own biases rather than predicting the future of five-year-olds.  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=199467&title=The+%26%238220%3Bmarshmallow+test%26%238221%3B+of+delayed+gratification+is+actually+culturally+diverse" width="1" height="1" />  <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/marshmallow-test-cultural-diverse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/jacinta-bowler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jacinta Bowler</a>. Jacinta Bowler is a freelance science journalist who has written about far-flung exoplanets, terrifying superbugs and everything in between. They have written articles for ABC, SBS, ScienceAlert and Pedestrian, and are a regular contributor for kids magazines Double Helix and KIT. Image: Getty Images </div>

Caring

Aussie airports brace for record crowds over Easter

Aussie travellers are facing ongoing mayhem across the country as airports feel the pressure of the Easter long weekend. Sydney Airport is at the epicentre of the chaos, with travellers in the airport’s domestic terminals experiencing <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/domestic-travel/give-us-patience-chaos-continues-at-sydney-airport" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lengthy queues</a> and hours of waiting to check-in and get through security. With an already stretched staffing system and 82,000 people expected to go through the domestic terminal gates on Thursday - the busiest the airport’s been since 80,000 people filed through on March 6, 2020 - it’s unlikely that the pressure will ease anytime soon. An additional 79,000 people are predicted to travel through the terminals on Good Friday, with numbers dropping to around 60,000 on Saturday and Sunday before picking up again. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Melbourne airport 5:45am.. big queues for bag drops but flights being called out to make sure people aren’t missing them. With traffic into airport too the advice is definitely still to get here early though! <a href="https://twitter.com/10NewsFirstMelb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10NewsFirstMelb</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/melbourneairport?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#melbourneairport</a> <a href="https://t.co/R0M8HcdoO2">pic.twitter.com/R0M8HcdoO2</a> — Caty Price (@caty_price) <a href="https://twitter.com/caty_price/status/1513968147052736512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> But the chaos hasn’t been limited to Sydney, after Melbourne and Adelaide airports saw similar situations unfolding on Thursday morning. Melbourne is also expecting crowds over the Easter break, with 380,000 people set to walk through the airport over the entire long weekend. Brisbane hasn’t been spared either, with foot traffic of 56,000 predicted for Thursday. In response, Australians have been advised to arrive at least two hours before their domestic flight - or three hours for international flights - and expect delays. Lyall Stranby, the chief executive of Melbourne Airport, told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/warnings/sydney-airport-chaos-to-continue-with-more-than-80000-people-expected-on-thursday/news-story/d7b9b0d277cd44cf7240de7ca36dcc5d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a> impacts of the widespread redundancies among airline and airport staff during the pandemic are still being felt despite efforts to rapidly expand the workforce. “COVID-19 decimated airlines and airports and resulted in thousands of highly-skilled workers being stood down or made redundant,” she said. “The airlines and their suppliers are now scaling up their workforce but given the safety-critical nature of the jobs they do; recruitment and retraining can take time.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> As someone who works at Sydney Airport, please be kind to us, we are trying to get you to where you need/want to be. Short staffed due to being dead quiet for like 1.5 years and then suddenly going full speed once the borders opened. We get it, it’s hard for us too — louis (@louis20016) <a href="https://twitter.com/louis20016/status/1512282830478356482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2022</a></blockquote> Travellers in Melbourne have also faced lengthy wait times for their luggage, with some waiting up to an hour to pick up their bags. Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert said this period has been challenging for everyone, including passengers. “We’ve got staff shortages, we’ve been rebuilding the business from the ground up,” Mr Culbert told 2GB’s Chris Smith on Wednesday. “You go back to November last year, and we were all in lockdown, we were operating at one percent of normal capacity and we all started recruiting for Easter back in December last year, right when we got a sense of the borders were going to open but we just haven’t been able to get enough staff. “Then you add on top of that the Covid issues, on any given day up to 20 percent of staff can’t come to work due to Covid. So we’re running at 60 percent of ordinary staff capacity.” As staff face the crowds, senior staff at Sydney Airport have been told to leave their offices to help manage queues, while retail and IT staff have been redeployed onto the security floor, as reported by news.com.au. With airport service staff, including security workers, now recognised as critical workers in NSW and Victoria, they are exempt from isolating for seven days if they are close contacts and have no COVID-19 symptoms. Image: @cajlamb (Twitter)

Travel Trouble

“Give us patience”: Chaos continues at Sydney Airport

Aussies hoping to fly from Sydney airport over the Easter holidays are facing ongoing chaos, as long queues build up inside the airport’s domestic terminal. It’s seen some passengers have been waiting for upwards of two hours to get through security, due to the start of the school holidays and staff shortages, which Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has attributed to Covid. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Sydney airport is absolutely insane. Security line starts inside and snakes back and forth, then it goes outside and snakes back and forth, then you can go back inside and snakes back and forth. Flights are delayed because they can't get humans through fast enough! <a href="https://t.co/NpE2AiNJkh">pic.twitter.com/NpE2AiNJkh</a> — James Ryall (@jgryall) <a href="https://twitter.com/jgryall/status/1511982559353532420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote> “At the moment the sick leave, absenteeism is twice the level of the reserves,” Mr Joyce <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-airport-delays-continue-as-queues-form-and-joyce-blames-covid-staff-shortages/a3a6164b-5483-4cc5-941e-f4c09b2366ba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Today show. “You have 15 percent of cabin crew typically on reserve or backup to stand by, where now you’re getting up to 30 percent of people not turning up because Covid or (from being) close contacts. “Managing that, we ask people to give us patience. We again apologise for it.” The third day of delays has seen queues forming before 5am, with images from inside the packed terminal quickly circulating on social media. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Hell is… this at 5am. 🤦🏻 <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyAirport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SydneyAirport</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JetstarAirways?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JetstarAirways</a> <a href="https://t.co/Gq8VaKD5Az">pic.twitter.com/Gq8VaKD5Az</a> — Dr Darren Saunders (@whereisdaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/whereisdaz/status/1512521908050309122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2022</a></blockquote> It comes less than a week after Mr Joyce came under fire for appearing to blame customers for contributing to the delays. “I went through the airport on Wednesday and people forget they need to take out their laptops and they need to take out their aerosols,” he said previously. “So that is taking longer to get through the queue.” Going forward, Mr Joyce said changes to the rules for close contacts - which has seen the rules for isolation become more varied depending on a person’s risk of getting sick - would also help the situation. Image: Twitter

Domestic Travel

Pierce Brosnan film to debut after eight-year delay

Pierce Brosnan’s latest role sees him portray King Louis XIV in The King’s Daughter, but its January release comes after an unusually long delay. The film, based on Vonda N. McIntyre’s 1997 novel The Moon and The Sun, follows King Louis XIV’s journey for immortality. His quest seemingly ends when he captures a mermaid with the intention of stealing her life force to fuel his immortality. However, the plot thickens when he discovers his illegitimate daughter, Marie-Josèphe, has become close with the mythical creature. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OdCNs2pkNLk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Starring alongside Brosnan is Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner) as Marie-Josèphe, Fan Bingbing (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as the Mermaid, and Julie Andrews as the film’s Narrator, as well as William Hurt, Benjamin Walker and Rachel Griffiths. Although a trailer for the film was released in December 2021, no-one had heard of the film at the time, with <a rel="noopener" href="https://screenrant.com/kings-daughter-pierce-brosnan-movie-8-year-delay-release/" target="_blank">ScreenRant</a> reporting that the film was actually completed in 2014. With an initial release date set for the following year, The King’s Daughter was cancelled just weeks before its premiere due to issues with the film’s water-based visual effects with no future release date set. After responsibility for the film’s distribution was passed around multiple times, independent film company Gravitas Ventures eventually secured the rights and will now release it on January 21, 2022. <img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846767/brosnan2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f96782bb92b94b66a203ff15ec356131" /> Pierce Brosnan stars as a French king in the film, which will finally be released after eight long years of delays. Image: Thekingsdaughter.com The film’s lengthy delay comes as the film industry continues to grapple with the impact of COVID-19, which has seen delays affect big titles such as John Wick 4 and Marvel’s Morbius among others. Though delays are often a bad sign for films, Paul Currie, a producer for <a rel="noopener" href="https://thekingsdaughtermovie.com/" target="_blank">The King’s Daughter</a>, has said he is confident in the film and claims it will be “somewhere between Twilight and Alice in Wonderland”. Expectations may also be running high due to the popularity of the source material, with the critically acclaimed The Moon and The Sun even beating Game of Thrones for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1997. But, it’s debut is sure to spark plenty of scrutiny too, as is common with book adaptations. Whatever the outcome, the long-overdue release of The King’s Daughter will prove to be a victory in itself, all while showing that pandemic-related delays are nothing to be complained about. Image: Thekingsdaughter.com

Movies

Will omicron delay Australia's return to cruising?

Image: Shutterstock Last fortnight, after a meeting with cruise lines and NSW government officials looked set to result in permission to sail as early as next February for local waters. Now, with the sudden concerns over Omicron and the world’s response could mean health officials will delay all announcements about cruising in NSW. It had been expected that an early announcement on the Biosecurity Act ban on foreign flagged vessels, which expires on December 17, would allow homeported fleets like those of Princess, P&O and Carnival could be back. There is widespread support from NSW and Federal Government and the move may still eventuate. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has revealed there is a confirmed two cases and a “possible” third of the new strain in NSW. As a result, NSW, the ACT and Victoria are now requiring all overseas arrivals to get tested and isolate for 72 hours and South Australia is now requiring all international arrivals to do a full two weeks of quarantine. At a Federal level, Australia has closed its borders and suspended flights to nine Southern African countries, including South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Countries across the world including the US, European Union, Brazil, Canada and more have placed restrictions on those entering from Southern African countries, while these are unlikely to affect Australian travellers, they more so serve as reminders to how quickly you can get shut out. Some countries have taken even more drastic actions, with Israel completely shutting down borders to all non-citizens and Morocco suspending all incoming flights for the next fortnight. Many travel insurance policies at the moment are not covering for border closures, highlighting an importance to be aware of what your insurance covers. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he is planning on calling a meeting of state and territory leaders to discuss the nation’s response to the Omicron variant and has said he is not yet willing to make decisions about whether quarantine could be reinstated before Christmas. Mr Morrison said: “We have had many new variants, we have had many variants of concern.” “This is another variant of concern and it is one that the initial information is suggesting some [increased] transmissibility but even that, as yet, is not fully proven. So it is important we just calmly and carefully consider this information.” “National Cabinet will come together over the next couple of days and a key purpose of that is to ensure we are all working off the same information.”

Cruising

“A bit terrifying”: Shocking image from Australia Post emerges

A photo <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/terrifying-photo-reveals-extent-of-australia-post-backlog-amid-delivery-delays-075607215.html">has emerged</a> of an Australia Post distribution centre, showing the “Christmas levels” of parcels the postal giant faces amidst a COVID-19 induced staff crisis. After almost 200 staff entered self-isolation, Australia Post has struggled with “an enormous logistical problem” as the online shopping boom continues in Victoria. A spokesperson from Australia Post told Yahoo News that the staff shortages have combined with “border closures, reduced flights and compliance with COVID-safe restrictions” to “create challenges” and delay deliveries. The new photo comes a week after the company announced a temporary pause on e-parcel pickups and collections in an attempt to clear the backlog. “With parcel volumes at Christmas levels, our network continues to be under pressure, and is amplified in Victoria where we continue to manage a heavily reduced workforce due to the impact of the Delta strain,” a statement read. “The temporary pause will help manage the record volumes being experienced in the network and importantly return them to a level that is safe and manageable for our people.” In the photo, sent to radio station 3AW, the distribution centre in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine is shown to be filled with piles of parcels waiting to be delivered on Sunday. Michelle Skehan, Australia Post general manager of corporate affairs, admitted to 3AW Breakfast that the picture “looks a bit terrifying”. “It is very orderly and they are massive facilities, but look, it’s not a great situation we’ve found ourselves in,” she said. Ms Skehan said the company was finding it more difficult to cope with increased demand during the current outbreak than earlier in the pandemic. “Even last year when we had workforce restrictions in our facilities … we could send things up to Sydney,” she said. “Because we’ve got Sydney, the ACT and Victoria all in lockdown, it's an enormous logistical problem.” The postal giant told Yahoo News that more than one million parcels passed through its facilities in Victoria over the weekend, with around half a million being delivered from Friday to Sunday. “Our people at our facilities, our drivers and our posties, are busier than ever before, processing and delivering a record number of parcels, as online shopping in locked down Melbourne and Sydney soars,” a spokesperson said. Australia Post said it has invested in chartering additional planes, using more vehicles, and opening new permanent and temporary facilities to process parcels, as well as starting a hiring spree of 1000 people in Victoria in the lead-up to Christmas. Image: 3AW

Money & Banking

Nobel laureate delays retirement to help combat COVID

Peter Doherty was preparing to retire in early 2020, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic saw him meeting with leading coronavirus experts and working on a new book about the pandemic instead. “I thought I was going to retire,” the laureate professor said. “I was 79 years old, I’d just finished our last big NHMRC grant, and I was also working on a book that I’ve been working on for ages.” Professor Doherty won a Nobel Prize in 1996 after discovering how our immune cells destroy viruses, and has since revolutionised the field of immunology. Last year, he joined conference calls with senior researchers from The Doherty Institute - named in his honour - to discuss the latest findings about the deadly disease. “I haven’t been running a lab for a while, but I joined in on that, and suddenly got a sense [COVID-19] was pretty dangerous,” Professor Doherty said of the early meetings. “My sense was I could help by being in the discussion because I’d been working on this kind of stuff for years so I have got some sort of understanding of it. “Sitting on these morning discussions, I’m hearing details of what people who are running the diagnostics, evaluating the tests and so forth are doing. “And though I knew superficially about the challenge, I had no idea about the actual detail that was involved.” But his scientific work isn’t the only reason why he came to prominence during the pandemic. In April 2020, the 80-year-old gave the internet a well-needed laugh when he accidentally asked his Twitter followers when Dan Murphys was open, mistaking the platform for Google. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Dan Murphy opening hours — Prof. Peter Doherty (@ProfPCDoherty) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfPCDoherty/status/1254616358479966209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2020</a></blockquote> “I love it. Scientists (even Nobel laureates) are human first,” one follower commented. Predicting the pandemic Scientists like Professor Doherty have been warning about the threat of a pandemic for decades. In 2013, he wrote a book he jokingly described as “pandemics for dummies”, called Pandemics: What Everyone Needs to Know. “It didn’t sell well because who wants to read about disease and death?” Though the science in his book still holds up, Professor Doherty said he and other experts mistakenly believed a flu pandemic would be a threat. “If I’d been thinking more clearly, I would have thought about coronaviruses, and what happened with SARS,” he said. While he did predict the economic cost of the pandemic, the use of social media, and the transition to working from home, he said COVID-19 has proved to be a “steep learning curve”. “Both on the science side - we didn’t understand the virus to begin with, it’s much more complicated than we thought,” he said. “And also the social dimension of it - I think we’ve all been grappling with that one. “I had no real understanding of the social dimension of [a pandemic], and I think you have to live through it to really understand that.” Based in Melbourne, Professor Doherty and his wife Penny joined other Melbournians in the city’s 112-day lockdown during the second wave of the virus. “It’s pretty scary because we’re both old,” he said. He tried to stay cautious and still take regular walks, including some in his own backyard to avoid needing to wear a mask, where he would “stride up and down like on the deck of a ship”. Looking to the future Thinking about the next 12 months, Professor Doherty’s biggest concern is a possibility of a new variant emerging that vaccines won’t be able to protect against. Current variants such as Delta appear to dilute the effectiveness of the vaccines but don’t prevent the immune response triggered by vaccination. He worries that the virus could mutate in such a way that it “subverts the vaccine”, requiring scientists to modify the vaccines. “Apart from that concern, I think we’re now really on the right track,” he said. “What we absolutely need is for people to get vaccinated. “[Herd immunity] is incremental. If you get 50 percent of the people vaccinated, you’d worry a lot less about locking down and all that sort of stuff. “But if we can get to 80 percent vaccinated, I think we’d be in pretty good shape.” Image: The Doherty Institute / Instagram

Retirement Income

"How were the oysters?" Sydney model booed for delaying flight

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> A Byron Bay model has fought back after being heckled by the media and fellow Jetstar passengers for being late to board a flight. Ruby Tuesday Matthews was due to fly from Ballina to Sydney but her flight was delayed due to technical issues and was rescheduled to fly at 7:45pm. After being told the flight was delayed, she shared a picture to her Instagram story of her eating oysters, saying "Flight delayed, f*** my life". However, after an engineer assessed the aircraft, the take-off time was pushed forward to 6:20pm. After Matthews boarded the plane at around 6:50pm, she was booed by other passengers on the flight. Frustrated travellers yelled at the model “how were the oysters?” and “what a good day to be pretty”. She has since hit back at passengers, saying she didn't hear the announcement. <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-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGj01xjBNGV/?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> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGj01xjBNGV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">regular mum ?</a> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/rubytuesdaymatthews/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> RUBY TUESDAY MATTHEWS</a> (@rubytuesdaymatthews) on Oct 20, 2020 at 2:08am PDT </div> </blockquote> “I didn’t hear that, I swear to god, I wouldn’t have left the airport,” she said. “I’m not a d***head, I do have respect for everyone else.” She has also lashed out at criticisms saying she was "entitled". “You failed to mention the other passengers that were actually another 30 minutes later than me and copped no verbal abuse,” she said, regarding an article about the incident. “After a 5 pm flight change we were given a time of 7.45 takeoff that then changed with no text update.” She has said that she received no support from airline staff when she was being yelled at and have said that her children were threatened. “I was abused, followed and my children were threatened,” she said. Jetstar has not commented on the incident. </div> </div> </div>

News

Why you shouldn’t delay in getting your hearing tested

While COVID-19 restrictions caused life as we know it to change drastically, many industries quickly adjusted to the new normal - and that was especially true of hearing aid companies. Hearing specialists knew that many of their customers would be wary or even unable to get to an appointment, so have adjusted accordingly. From sanitised stores to video check-ups, it’s meant those who need hearing help can still get it. Now restrictions are slowly being lifted, it’s a good time to get your hearing checked out - especially if you’ve been putting it off over the autumn. Companies like <a rel="noopener" href="https://hearingaidfinder.com.au/?utm_source=directgroup&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=over60-advertorial-hearing-tests-still-available" target="_blank">Hearing Aid Finder </a>can help you book an appointment, taking away the hassle of doing the research yourself. Free tests and financial assistance for hearing devices The good news for Australian pensioners is that hearing tests are free and <a href="http://hearingservices.gov.au/wps/portal/hso/site/eligibility/programhelp/eligibility/!ut/p/a1/pZFLb8IwEIT_Cj3kaPmRlzlaFGiggKq-klyQE5zEbWKH1EXk3-NIPXApFHVvK41mZ-eDKYxhqvhBltxIrXg97GmwXT75AY4QWdK3zQwxtn59XMw8ghiG7zCFaa5MayqYVF96lGtlhDIOar-zWuYOqnQjHFTobiQOouu1slvb6bLjTSXq1kGilqXMZC1NP5i1udzBxHP93RiTDAgvLICHMAfUpwLsCC7GoRsEbhDadIlNh34Zhv4U_oIE-T-CCycSmyHcEnrPHsYejjbTaIrYZP6ymNOIzEMMn2986opheLPh4loNtkbSrSar0tpyUwGpCg3jM0YwPmdk5fJjv0-ZBT_APhoY_5982zTU7cFnsV4DntH-6Cd3JwKtaBE!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/">eligible seniors</a> can get government assistance to help with the cost of a new device. Even if you’re not eligible for a government voucher, it’s worth checking if your private health fund extras will cover the cost of a hearing aid. So if you’re thinking about a test, it’s worth booking one sooner rather than later. Don’t wait for everything to reopen and risk your local hearing specialist being booked out. You can book an appointment via <a rel="noopener" href="https://hearingaidfinder.com.au/?utm_source=directgroup&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=over60-advertorial-hearing-tests-still-available" target="_blank">Hearing Aid Finder</a> today. Increasing safety at hearing aid tests Hearing specialists have been putting in special measures to ensure your safety. Stores are regularly sterilised, with longer gaps between appointments to allow time to clean. There’s also a limit on the number of people who can be in store at any given time. Companies like <a href="https://www.bloomhearing.com.au/en-au/news/coronavirus">Bloom</a> and <a href="https://www.ihear.com.au/blog/">ihear</a> are also conducting initial appointments over the phone. This will speed up the next step where, if necessary, you’ll head into the clinic for a hearing test. If you’re self-isolating or have mobility problems and are unable to leave your home, many clinicians will offer solutions, all the way from home visits through to fitting hearing aids remotely over telehealth, or leaving you an iPad with instructions on how to fit your new device. Go with the hearing experts <a rel="noopener" href="https://hearingaidfinder.com.au/?utm_source=directgroup&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=over60-advertorial-hearing-tests-still-available" target="_blank">Hearing Aid Finder</a> makes your life easy. You’ll get a free hearing screening from a professional audiologist near you, and enjoy no-obligation trials on hearing aids so you can find a device that’s right for you. So if you’re ready to book your hearing test before life gets busy again, <a rel="noopener" href="https://hearingaidfinder.com.au/?utm_source=directgroup&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=over60-advertorial-hearing-tests-still-available" target="_blank">schedule an appointment today</a>. This is a sponsored article built in conjunction with <a rel="noopener" href="https://hearingaidfinder.com.au/?utm_source=directgroup&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=over60-advertorial-hearing-tests-still-available" target="_blank">Hearing Aid Finder</a>.

Hearing

The amazing chart showing the ticking housing time bomb caused by Australians delaying major decisions

Australians are carrying significant mortgage debt into retirement because they are increasingly delaying major life decisions such as marriage, home purchases and even getting a full-time job. On Monday, 18 November the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) <a href="http://cepar.edu.au/resources-videos/research-briefs/housing-ageing-australia-nest-and-nest-egg">released a new report </a>which seeks to explain why so many Australians are now entering retirement with housing debt. In 2016, about 36% of homeowning households still had a mortgage at the point of retirement (age 60-64), up from 23% a decade earlier. The report finds that the situation can be explained by the fact that Australians are practising bulk procrastination and making practically every major decision later in life. The report finds that, between 1971 and 2011, the median age at which Australians: <ul> <li>Started their first full-time job increased from 16 to 25</li> <li>Finishing education increased from 17 to 22</li> <li>Had their first child increased from 24 to 31</li> <li>Married increased from 23 to 31</li> <li>Bought their first home increased from 27 to 33.</li> </ul> According to the report, these delayed decisions mean that the median age that Australians had paid off their mortgage has increased from 52 in 1971 to 62 in 2011 (and is likely to have increased since 2011). In addition, the delayed decisions are continuing well into retirement. For instance, the median Australian is now leaving the labour force at 64, rather than 61 in 1971, and entering aged care at 85, rather than 81 in 1971. Here's the data in chart form: <img src="https://img.seniorshousingonline.com.au/787cb58b6bac427d7cfab89e067d4a131f172e1b" alt="" width="650" height="298" /> Rafal Chomik, a CEPAR senior research fellow at UNSW Sydney, said that while high house prices and overall reduced affordability was a factor in delayed home purchase decisions, people needed to be wary about taking forever to get into the market. “Lifetime homeownership rates will decline if some people postpone purchasing a home indefinitely,” said Rafal Chomik. “Banks may be reluctant to lend past a certain age given retirement ages are increasing more slowly.” Centre Director John Piggott, Scientia Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School, said that with the Australian retirement system built on the premise of homeownership, excessive or indefinite deferral of home purchase can have consequences. “There is the potential that in the future more older people end up renting, and if so, we need a safety net to support them as the current retirement income system is failing renters,” he said. The Downsizing.com.au view This research brings a different perspective to the national debate about retirement incomes and indicates part of the problem is an emerging national psychology against taking early, hard decisions. As the old saying goes ‘there is no time like the present’. Australians need to be alert to, and wary of, this growing life decision deferral trend. While it’s a bad move to delay buying your first home, it is an equally bad move to delay making a decision to move from the family home into more suitable and more lifestyle-rich downsizing-friendly accommodation. Many Australians delay making a downsizing decision, and then find they are too old to move into a retirement village or land lease community and need to go straight into aged care. In doing this, they have missed the opportunity to live among a supportive community and access great lifestyle features and age-appropriate accommodation. Indeed, research shows that moving into a <a href="https://www.cityam.com/retirement-villages-extend-life-expectancy-women/">retirement village community can extend life by five years.</a> Written by Mark Skelsey. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.downsizing.com.au/news/626/The-amazing-chart-showing-the-ticking-housing-time-bomb-caused-by-Australians-delaying-major-decisions" target="_blank">Downsizing.com.au</a>.

Retirement Income

The Chase delays filming as star Andrew O’Keefe takes time off for mental health

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> Production for the 2020 season of Channel 7’s quiz show The Chase has been put on hold again as host Andrew O’Keefe needs more time to manage his mental health issues. Filming of the latest season was due to start in Melbourne this week, but Seven confirmed that filming would be delayed by months. “Production on The Chase is to be held over for a couple of months,” Seven said in a statement to the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/fiona-byrne/okeefe-takes-more-time-out-from-the-chase/news-story/dccf8606d46e637088edd259f4be0ff5" target="_blank">Herald Sun</a>. “Andrew O’Keefe is taking time to manage and recover from a health issue. “The Chase continues 5 pm weekdays on Seven unaffected by this delay.” It’s not the first time that the filming schedule has been moved to help O’Keefe deal with his health challenges, as production of the show last year finished three weeks earlier than expected to give the host a break. 2019 was tough for O’Keefe as he took an eight-week break in April to reset his life and seek out mental health treatment. “I was surprised to discover perhaps I was not as resilient as I imagined I was and that …. I was exhausted, I was a bit lost,” O’Keefe told the Sunday Herald Sun in October. “We all use different methods to escape from the most uncomfortable parts of our existence and I certainly was not using the most healthy ones. “I mean sleep would have been handy, I think maybe spending some time doing things that I enjoyed rather than spending all of my time dealing with the micro details of the more painful parts of my life would have been wise. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Congratulations to our team on their EPIC $60,000 WIN! Sorry <a href="https://twitter.com/Issa25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Issa25</a>. 😅 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheChaseAus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheChaseAus</a> <a href="https://t.co/gPc7XyC7G3">pic.twitter.com/gPc7XyC7G3</a> — The Chase Australia (@THECHASEAUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/THECHASEAUS/status/985842748166033409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2018</a></blockquote> “The diet could have been better, fluids that had no decimal points in them would have been good. “(It was) an accumulation of sorrows and stresses and poor choices about health, really, and I just could not see that I had the time or the strength to change that without removing myself entirely from the world for a bit.” However, O’Keefe is still committed to filming The Chase as his current contract is believed to run through to the end of 2020. “It is the best show on television. I will host it for as long as it is there to be hosted and as long as (Seven) wants me to,’’ O’Keefe said last year. </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-action-bar-component-wrapper"> <div class="post-actions-component"> <div class="upper-row"> <div class="watched-bookmark-container"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Caring

Flight chaos: Eight hour delay after passenger’s huge mistake

A passenger aboard a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight couldn’t seem to wait when it came to using the bathroom and as she rushed to the toilet, she accidentally opened the emergency exit door – causing the slide to deploy, according to reports. PIA Flight 702 was preparing to depart from Manchester to Islamabad on Friday night but was faced with a delay of up to eight hours according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Independent</a>. The woman allegedly chose to ignore seatbelt signs and accidentally opened the emergency door towards the back of the plane, close to the toilet. All doors were “armed” which is what caused the emergency evacuation slides to deploy. “A passenger erroneously opened the emergency door causing the emergency slide to activate,” forcing all passengers to be removed from the plane, PIA said in a statement. When a slide is mistakenly deployed, the airline is able to continue to fly as per usual and replace it at its home base, which is the option PIA chose to take. Though problems tend to arise as fewer passengers are allowed to fly because of reduced evacuation capacity. 38 passengers put their hand up to board a later flight. “All passengers were provided dinner. The offloaded passengers were provided with transportation and hotel accommodation and will be adjusted on the next available flight,” the airline said. Though not everyone was satisfied, as many complained that their luggage was left in Manchester. “Pathetic service from PIA. I am one of the 38 passengers who voluntarily offloaded from PK702 so it can fly to Islamabad only on the condition that all 38 of us will get our luggage,” a passenger tweeted. “First you did not give it to us in Manchester. … Then when we reached here today, we were told half of our luggage is still at Manchester airport,” she wrote after arriving in Islamabad.

International Travel

Samsung delaying Galaxy Fold launch due to screen issues

A report from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/samsungs-galaxy-fold-smartphone-release-delayed-11555941705?mod=e2tw">The Wall Street Journal</a> has suggested that Samsung are pushing the breaks on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which is the brands latest phone. The Galaxy Fold is a phone that is bendable, but people have found it too flimsy. The Fold has been plagued with bad press since the announcement, but not all complaints have been legitimate. Some had issues with the size of the phone, but that can be overlooked as the users adjust to their new device. However, other issues are more pressing. Some users, who were too excited about their new phone to read the instructions, peeled off the protective film that is necessary for the device to function properly. Those who keep the film on report a large crease down the middle of their phone that is frustrating to look at. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> After one day of use... <a href="https://t.co/VjDlJI45C9">pic.twitter.com/VjDlJI45C9</a> — Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevekovach/status/1118571414934753280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">17 April 2019</a></blockquote> Some are folding the phone like it’s built to do, but are losing the function of the other screens. Journalists who have been given the phones as trials are reporting these problems, which can be seen in the tweet below. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> The screen on my <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GalaxyFold?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GalaxyFold</a> review unit was completely broken and unusable just two days in. Today Samsung has replaced my review unit, and I am waiting on an official statement. <a href="https://t.co/VXionV5PsO">pic.twitter.com/VXionV5PsO</a> — Gautam Tandon (@TheGautamTandon) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheGautamTandon/status/1118804506618335237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">18 April 2019</a></blockquote> Samsung have released a statement addressing the issues with the phones: “We recently unveiled a completely new mobile category: A smartphone using multiple new technologies and materials to create a display that is flexible enough to fold. We are encouraged by the excitement around the Galaxy Fold. “While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience. “To fully evaluate this feedback and run further internal tests, we have decided to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold. We plan to announce the release date in the coming weeks. “Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance. “We will take measures to strengthen the display protection. We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold. “We value the trust our customers place in us and they are always our top priority. Samsung is committed to working closely with customers and partners to move the industry forward. We want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

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Why millions of Aussies are delaying, modifying or scrapping their travel plans

Turtles on the tarmac could delay flights at Western Sydney airport