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Stormy seas ahead: Why confidence in the cruise industry has plummeted

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-holland-969445">Jennifer Holland</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-suffolk-3830">University of Suffolk</a></em></p> <p>The cruise industry has weathered many storms, including fairly regular brushes with disease. Outbreaks of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/norovirus/norovirus.htm">norovirus</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3294517/">H1N1</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/world/americas/measles-scientology-cruise-ship.html">measles</a> have all happened in the not too distant past. Despite this, a cruise has traditionally been regarded as a safe holiday – the kind where you don’t have to worry about a thing.</p> <p>COVID-19 has changed this. Cruise ships were a hotbed of transmission during the early stages of the pandemic, particularly the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined for six weeks in Japan in spring 2020. It had over <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1632">700 confirmed cases</a>, and for a period was the world’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/feb/20/coronavirus-live-updates-diamond-princess-cruise-ship-japan-deaths-latest-news-china-infections?page=with:block-5e4ea39f8f0811db2fafb3ec#block-5e4ea39f8f0811db2fafb3ec">leading COVID-19 hotspot</a> after China. Coverage of this and other ships’ outbreaks has taken its toll.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019822100035X">Research</a> that I conducted with colleagues in Australia shows that the pandemic has changed how people think of cruise holidays. We surveyed over 600 people in the UK and Australia, both cruisers and non-cruisers, to ask them about their willingness to cruise and future travel intentions, to explore how COVID-19 has affected perceptions of travel and cruise risks.</p> <p>Nearly 45% of interviewees had less belief than before the pandemic that cruise lines are transparent and honest about safety or health issues. Respondents were also fearful of going on a cruise, with 47% saying they don’t trust cruise lines to look after them if something goes wrong. This is staggering for an industry that depends on repeat customers.</p> <p>We further found that 67% of people are less willing to cruise as a result of the pandemic, while 69% said they feel less positive about cruising now. What’s most surprising is that even repeat cruisers said they feel nervous about cruising as a result of the pandemic, with this emotion coming up repeatedly in the survey’s open-ended questions. This is a gamechanger. Until now, loyal cruisers have always come back, with previous disease outbreaks having <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261517716300309">little</a> <a href="http://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_7_July_2013/2.pdf">impact</a>.</p> <h2>What went wrong?</h2> <p>When the pandemic began, cruise ships immediately suffered high infection rates among passengers and crew. During the first wave, thousands were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/stranded-at-sea-cruise-ships-around-the-world-are-adrift-as-ports-turn-them-away">stranded onboard</a> ships as they were held in quarantine or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160738320302103?via%3Dihub">refused entry to ports</a> as borders closed. By the end of April 2020, <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241640166.html">over 50 cruise ships</a> had confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 65 deaths had occurred among passengers and crew.</p> <p>The story of one ship – the Ruby Princess – gained particular attention. Its passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney in mid-March, with a number carrying the virus. The ship would go on to be linked to more than <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-53802816">900 COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths</a>. The state of New South Wales later launched a <a href="https://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/assets/dpc-nsw-gov-au/publications/The-Special-Commission-of-Inquiry-into-the-Ruby-Princess-Listing-1628/Report-of-the-Special-Commission-of-Inquiry-into-the-Ruby-Princess.pdf">public inquiry</a> into the ship’s outbreak and found that the state’s ministry of health made a number of serious errors in allowing passengers to get off.</p> <p>It didn’t take long for cruises to be depicted as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-24/virus-explosion-in-australia-exposes-cruise-ships-hidden-menace">places of danger and infection</a>, particularly in Australia. Lots of information about COVID-19 on cruise ships was published, especially about the <a href="https://cruiseradio.net/the-cruise-ship-story-mainstream-media-got-wrong/">Ruby Princess</a>, grabbing the <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&amp;q=Ruby%20Princess">public’s attention</a>. Undoubtedly, this amplified people’s perceptions of risk around cruise holidays. Our study found that the many stories on COVID-19 also reminded the public of previous illnesses and outbreaks onboard cruise ships.</p> <p>Given the high intensity of media interest in Australia, we weren’t surprised to find that perceived risks were higher there compared with the UK, with willingness to cruise lower. This suggests that there could be regional differences in how difficult it is for the industry to recover after the pandemic.</p> <h2>What happens next?</h2> <p>Most respondents in the study said they would wait until it was safe to cruise again – and there’s probably a long way to go on changing the current perception of cruise ships as giant incubators of disease. It’s doubtful pent-up demand from loyal cruisers will be enough to fill cruise ships to capacity – which is critical for <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057%2Fs41278-020-00158-3">long-term economic viability</a> – and so <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-the-cruise-industry-really-recover-from-coronavirus-144704">financial uncertainty</a> grows.</p> <p>The pandemic has been <a href="https://cruising.org/-/media/Facts-and-Resources/Cruise-Industry-COVID-19-FAQs_August-13-2020">catastrophic</a> for the industry so far, with financial losses of US$50 billion (£36 billion), 1.17 million job losses, 18 cruise ships sold or scrapped and at least <a href="https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/cmv-becomes-the-third-cruise-line-to-go-out-of-business-in-a-month">three cruise lines stopping trading</a>. Before the pandemic, a new cruise ship was built <a href="https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news-headlines/golden-age-med-ports-need-prepare-new-generation-large-ships">every 47 days</a>, and off the back of the industry’s robust growth over the past two decades another <a href="https://cruising.org/en-gb/news-and-research/research/2020/december/state-of-the-cruise-industry-outlook-2021">19 ships</a> are due to enter operation in 2021, despite demand very likely to have fallen.</p> <p>To recover, the industry will need to address people’s perceptions of risk, which our research shows have heightened. Risk perception has a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/004728759803700209">significant influence</a> on holiday decision-making, and it will be even more critical post-COVID.</p> <p>In the wake of the pandemic, would-be cruisers will need to think about health protocols, outbreak prevention plans, onboard sanitation procedures, social distancing measures and health screenings. Also, they’ll need to consider the implications of potential outbreaks during the cruise. These could result in being quarantined in their cabin, needing to access healthcare, or even the cruise being terminated.</p> <p>All of this creates uncertainty, which adds to perceptions of risk. The industry will need to provide reassuring answers on all of these points to entice holidaymakers back onboard. Cruise companies will also need to convince customers that they are trustworthy and accountable, given the concerns about honesty and transparency raised by our research.</p> <p>Overall, the sector has been devastated by the pandemic. Possibly no other area of tourism has been as widely affected. A return to the robust growth enjoyed previously is unlikely for many years, if ever. But for there to be any chance of this happening, the industry must understand how the pandemic has affected people’s perceptions of cruises and address their concerns.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/152146/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-holland-969445"><em>Jennifer Holland</em></a><em>, Lecturer in Tourism, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-suffolk-3830">University of Suffolk</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/stormy-seas-ahead-confidence-in-the-cruise-industry-has-plummeted-due-to-covid-19-152146">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Cruising

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How would a switch to nuclear affect electricity prices for households and industry?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/roger-dargaville-1832">Roger Dargaville</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p>Peter Dutton has announced that under a Coalition government, seven nuclear power stations would be built around the country over the next 15 years.</p> <p>Experts have declared nuclear power would be <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-20/power-prices-wont-fall-with-nuclear/103998172">expensive</a> and <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/nuclear-to-cost-17b-and-take-until-2040-to-build-csiro-20240521-p5jfaj#:%7E:text=Nuclear%20could%20cost%20up%20to,until%202040%20to%20build%3A%20CSIRO&amp;text=Peter%20Dutton's%20nuclear%20energy%20plans,operational%20until%20at%20least%202040.">slow to build</a>.</p> <p>But what might happen to energy prices if the Coalition were to win government and implement this plan?</p> <h2>How might we estimate the cost of nuclear?</h2> <p>By 2035, 50–60% of the existing coal-fired fleet will very likely <a href="https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/stakeholder_consultation/consultations/nem-consultations/2023/draft-2024-isp-consultation/draft-2024-isp.pdf">have been retired</a>, including Vales Point B, Gladstone, Yallourn, Bayswater and Eraring – all of which will have passed 50 years old.</p> <p>These five generators contribute just over 10 gigawatts of capacity. It’s probably not a coincidence that the seven nuclear plants proposed by Dutton would also contribute roughly 10 gigawatts in total if built.</p> <p>Neither my team at Monash University nor the Australian Energy Market Operator has run modelling scenarios to delve into the details of what might happen to electricity prices under a high-uptake nuclear scenario such as the one proposed by the Coalition. That said, we can make some broad assumptions based on a metric known as the “levelised cost of electricity”.</p> <p>This value takes into account:</p> <ul> <li> <p>how much it costs to build a particular technology</p> </li> <li> <p>how long it takes to build</p> </li> <li> <p>the cost to operate the plant</p> </li> <li> <p>its lifetime</p> </li> <li> <p>and very importantly, its capacity factor.</p> </li> </ul> <p>Capacity factor is how much electricity a technology produces in real life, compared with its theoretical maximum output.</p> <p>For example, a nuclear power station would likely run at 90–95% of its full capacity. A solar farm, on the other hand, will run at just 20–25% of its maximum, primarily because it’s night for half of the time, and cloudy some of the time.</p> <p>CSIRO recently published its <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/energy/gencost">GenCost</a> report, which outlines the current and projected build and operational costs for a range of energy technologies.</p> <p>It reports that large-scale nuclear generated electricity would cost between A$155 and $252 per megawatt-hour, falling to between $136 and $226 per megawatt-hour by 2040.</p> <p>The report bases these costs on recent projects in South Korea, but doesn’t consider some other cases where costs have blown out dramatically.</p> <p>The most obvious case is that of <a href="https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/journalists/all-press-releases/hinkley-point-c-update-1">Hinkley Point C nuclear plant</a> in the United Kingdom. This <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/edfs-nuclear-project-britain-pushed-back-2029-may-cost-up-34-bln-2024-01-23/">3.2GW</a> plant, which is being built by French company EDF, was recently <a href="https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/journalists/all-press-releases/hinkley-point-c-update-1">reported</a> to be now costing around £34 billion (about A$65 billion). That’s about A$20,000 per kilowatt.</p> <p>CSIRO’s GenCost report assumed a value of $8,655 per kilowatt for nuclear, so the true levelised cost of electricity of nuclear power in Australia may end up being twice as expensive as CSIRO has calculated.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="Aryx7" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Aryx7/4/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <h2>Other factors play a role, too</h2> <p>Another factor not accounted for in the GenCost assumptions is that Australia does not have a nuclear industry. Virtually all the niche expertise would need to be imported.</p> <p>And very large infrastructure projects have a nasty habit of <a href="https://www.cis.org.au/publication/bungles-blowouts-and-boondoggles-why-australias-infrastructure-projects-cost-more-than-they-should/">blowing out in cost</a> – think of Snowy 2.0, Sydney’s light rail project, and the West Gate Tunnel in Victoria.</p> <p>Reasons include higher local wages, regulations and standards plus aversion from lenders to risk that increases cost of capital. These factors would not bode well for nuclear.</p> <p>In CSIRO’s GenCost report, the levelised cost of electricity produced from coal is $100–200 per megawatt-hour, and for gas it’s $120–160 per megawatt-hour. Solar and wind energy work out to be approximately $60 and $90 per megawatt-hour, respectively. But it’s not a fair comparison, as wind and solar are not “dispatchable” but are dependent on the availability of the resource.</p> <p>When you combine the cost of a mix of wind and solar energy and storage, along with the cost of getting the renewable energy into the grid, renewables end up costing $100–120 per megawatt-hour, similar to coal.</p> <p>If we were to have a nuclear-based system (supplemented by gas to meet the higher demands in the mornings and evenings), the costs would likely be much higher – potentially as much as three to four times if cost blowouts similar to Hinkley Point C were to occur (assuming costs were passed on to electricity consumers. Otherwise, taxpayers in general would bear the burden. Either way, it’s more or less the same people).</p> <h2>But what about the impact on your household energy bill?</h2> <p>Well, here the news is marginally better.</p> <p>Typical retail tariffs are 25-30 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is $250–300 per megawatt-hour. The largest component of your energy bill is not the cost of generation of the electricity; rather, it’s the cost of getting the power from the power stations to your home or business.</p> <p>In very approximate terms, this is made up of the market average costs of generation, transmission and distribution, as well as retailer margin and other minor costs.</p> <p>The transmission and distribution costs will not be significantly different under the nuclear scenario compared with the current system. And the additional transmission costs associated with the more distributed nature of renewables (meaning these renewable projects are all over the country) is included in the estimate.</p> <p>According to my back-of-the-envelope calculations, your retail tariff under the nuclear scenario could be 40–50c per kilowatt-hour.</p> <p>But if you are a large energy consumer such as an aluminium smelter, you pay considerably less per kilowatt-hour as you don’t incur the same network or retailer costs (but the cost of generating electricity in the first place makes up a much bigger proportion of the total cost).</p> <p>So if the cost of electricity generation soars, this hypothetical aluminium smelter’s energy costs will soar too.</p> <p>This would be a severe cost burden on Australian industry that has traditionally relied on cheap electricity (although it’s been a while since electricity could be described as cheap).</p> <h2>A likely increase in energy costs</h2> <p>In summary, in a free market, it is very unlikely nuclear could be competitive.</p> <p>But if a future Coalition government were to bring nuclear into the mix, energy costs for residential and especially industrial customers would very likely increase.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/232913/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/roger-dargaville-1832">Roger Dargaville</a>, Director Monash Energy Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>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/how-would-a-switch-to-nuclear-affect-electricity-prices-for-households-and-industry-232913">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

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End of the line for P&O: why is Australia such a tough market for the cruise ship industry?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/freya-higgins-desbiolles-181651">Freya Higgins-Desbiolles</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p>Miami-based cruise operator Carnival Corporation has <a href="https://www.carnivalaustralia.com/media-releases/2024/june/media-release.aspx">announced</a> it will retire its P&amp;O Cruises Australia brand in March 2025.</p> <p>The decision marks the end of the line for an iconic cruise brand in Australia and the Pacific, after <a href="https://www.pocruises.com.au/about/history">nearly a century</a> of operations.</p> <p>Parent company Carnival has been on a campaign of international growth through acquisitions and mergers since at least 1989. P&amp;O Cruises Australia was bought by the company in 2003.</p> <p>Many Australians might remember the brand’s iconic television advertisements from the 1980s and ‘90s that encouraged them to escape the rat race.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/curt8yAwPpY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">P&amp;O’s memorable advertisements from the 1980s and 1990s encouraged Australians to escape the rat race.</span></figcaption></figure> <p>But the reality of cruising’s international consolidation leaves little room for such nostalgia and national brand attachment.</p> <p>Still, cruising is a big part of Australia’s tourism sector, and cruises are a large source of inbound visitors. The Australian Cruise Association estimates the industry’s <a href="https://www.australiancruiseassociation.com/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10/CLIA_ACA_CruiseEIA_Infographic.pdf">total economic contribution</a> is as high as A$5.63 billion.</p> <p>Australians are hungry for cruise ship experiences. They make up the <a href="https://www.cruising.org.au/Tenant/C0000003/2020%20Awards%20Sponsors/2023%20Australia%20Source%20Market%20Infographic_Final%20V3.pdf">fourth largest</a> source market for passengers, at 1.25 million last year.</p> <h2>Australia is a tough place to make a profit</h2> <p>A <a href="https://cruising.org/en/news-and-research/press-room/2024/april/state-of-the-cruise-industry-report">recent report</a> by Cruise Lines International Association painted a picture of a thriving industry. New, bigger ships are being rolled out to meet a growing market of both new and loyal cruise enthusiasts.</p> <p>So why are operators struggling here? P&amp;O hasn’t been the only brand facing difficulties down under.</p> <figure class="align-right "><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>P&amp;O’s sister line Cunard recently announced it will <a href="https://www.cruisehive.com/iconic-cruise-line-will-stop-homeporting-in-australia/114867">stop basing itself</a> in Australia from 2026, and Virgin Voyages’ Resilient Lady has <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/branson-s-virgin-voyages-scraps-next-summer-s-australian-cruises-20240227-p5f83q.html">cancelled plans</a> for a second sailing season here next summer.</p> <p>Carnival <a href="https://www.carnivalaustralia.com/media-releases/2024/june/media-release.aspx">said</a> its decision on P&amp;O Australia came down to the region’s “significantly higher operating and regulatory costs” and small population. The company said it had been forced to change its operating approach to achieve “efficiencies”.</p> <p>The cruise sector was hit hard by the pandemic. In early 2020, Carnival reported a staggering single quarter net loss of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N2DV2XV/">US$4.4 billion</a>. The company also suffered reputational damage following a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67215595">high-profile COVID outbreak</a> on its Ruby Princess cruise ship.</p> <p>The international cruise market is heavily concentrated. Almost <a href="https://cruisemarketwatch.com/market-share/">80%</a> of the passenger market is shared by three big companies: Carnival, Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian cruise lines.</p> <p>Australia’s high operating costs and relatively small market make it tough for big cruise companies to achieve the profitability they expect. Carnival’s Cunard Line attributed its decision to <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8440670/carnival-cruise-lines-shun-victoria-over-fee-hike/">move out</a> of Melbourne to a 15% hike in port fees.</p> <p>As these companies have sought to strengthen their competitive advantage, acquiring smaller players has been a popular strategy.</p> <p>This mass tourism model can deliver relatively cheap holidays for passengers. But it often also sacrifices well-loved smaller cruise operations that are more connected to local histories and cultures.</p> <p>There is also the tyranny of distance for Australia, and increasing geopolitical risks affecting cruising.</p> <p>The Australasian region faces stiff competition as a cruise destination from alternatives such as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, which are close to large markets. Virgin Voyages said its cancellation of the 2024–25 sailing schedule was due to major safety concerns in the Red Sea.</p> <h2>What does its future hold?</h2> <p>Reassuringly, customers with P&amp;O bookings for the remainder of 2024 will not be affected. Next year, the brand’s Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure ships will continue to sail, but under new branding for Carnival Cruise Line. Pacific Explorer will be retired from service.</p> <p>In Australia, the mass tourism model of the big cruise operators is no doubt here to stay. But there could be further cuts to the range of destination ports offered as the industry prioritises profits.</p> <p>In the longer term, however, a crucial question concerns the future of ports around Australia that have been enticed into engaging with the cruise industry. Many government tourism authorities have been keen to expand the sector.</p> <p>As a result, access to some smaller ports has been negotiated and there has been a push to build new facilities in New South Wales, the biggest market.</p> <p>This has received <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/government-acts-to-protect-yarra-bay-from-cruise-ship-terminal">pushback</a> from some parts of the community who argue the economic benefits don’t outweigh the cultural and ecological cost.</p> <p>In the future, there could be a more sustainable solution for Australian cruising in smaller expedition-like formats. These have been particularly successful in locations such as the Kimberley in Western Australia.</p> <p>Local communities at small-ship destinations may find this model of cruising more acceptable, given its lower passenger numbers and smaller environmental impact.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/231607/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/freya-higgins-desbiolles-181651">Freya Higgins-Desbiolles</a>, Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management/ Adjunct Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/end-of-the-line-for-pando-why-is-australia-such-a-tough-market-for-the-cruise-ship-industry-231607">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Cruising

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Rough seas or smooth sailing? The cruise industry is booming despite environmental concerns

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frederic-dimanche-836528">Frédéric Dimanche</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/toronto-metropolitan-university-1607">Toronto Metropolitan University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kelley-a-mcclinchey-1287281">Kelley A. McClinchey</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/wilfrid-laurier-university-1817">Wilfrid Laurier University</a></em></p> <p>Cruise ship season is officially underway in British Columbia. The season kicked off with the arrival of Norwegian Bliss on April 3 — the <a href="https://www.cheknews.ca/first-cruise-ship-of-the-season-to-arrive-in-victoria-in-less-than-2-weeks-1196426/">first of 318 ships</a> that are scheduled to dock in Victoria this year. Victoria saw a record 970,000 passengers arrive in 2023, with more expected in 2024.</p> <p>The cruise industry <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2021.100391">was badly hit</a> by the <a href="https://financialpost.com/financial-times/the-2020s-were-meant-to-be-a-boom-decade-for-cruises-then-covid-19-hit-them-like-a-tidal-wave">suspension of cruise operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic</a> in 2020. Fuelled by heavy consumer demand and industry innovation, cruising has made a comeback. It is now one of the fastest-growing sectors, rebounding even faster than international tourism.</p> <p>While many predicted <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/05/carnivals-struggle-to-survive-the-coronavirus-as-outbreak-wipes-out-the-cruise-industry.html">a difficult recovery</a>, a <a href="https://cruising.org/en">recent industry report shows a remarkable post-pandemic rebound</a>. Two million more people went on cruises in 2023 versus 2019, with demand predicted to top 35 million in 2024.</p> <p>But environmental issues plague the sector’s revival. Are they an indication of rough seas ahead? Or will a responsive industry mean smooth sailing?</p> <p>Cruising has long been criticized <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/their-purpose-is-to-be-fun-but-theres-a-dark-side-to-cruising-the-seas/dzxivdoos">for being Janus-faced</a>: on the surface, cruises are convenient, exciting holidays with reputed economic benefits. But lurking underneath are its <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.11.002">negative environmental and social impacts</a>.</p> <h2>Unprecedented growth</h2> <p>Newly constructed mega-ships are part of the industry’s unprecedented growth. Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is the <a href="https://www.cruisehive.com/top-10-biggest-cruise-ships-in-the-world/66448">largest cruise ship in the world</a>, with 18 decks, 5,600 passengers and 2,350 crew.</p> <p>MSC World Europa with 6,700 passengers and 2,100 crew, P&amp;O Arvia with 5,200 passengers and 1,800 crew, and Costa Smeralda with 6,600 passengers and 1,500 crew also claim mega-ship status.</p> <p>Those sailing to and from Alaska via Victoria will be some of the <a href="https://hakaimagazine.com/features/cruise-ship-invasion/">estimated 700,000 passengers departing Seattle</a> on massive ships three sport fields in length.</p> <p>Baby boomers represent less than 25 per cent of cruise clientele. Gen X, <a href="https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/01/15/cruise-millennials-gen-z">Millennials and Gen Z</a> have more interest than ever in cruising, with these younger markets being targeted as the future of cruise passengers.</p> <p>The Cruise Lines International Association asserts that <a href="https://cruising.org/-/media/clia-media/research/2024/2024-state-of-the-cruise-industry-report_041424_web.ashx">82 per cent of those who have cruised will cruise again</a>. To entice first-timers and meet the needs of repeat cruisers, companies are offering new itineraries and onboard activities, from <a href="https://www.timescolonist.com/business/royal-caribbean-quantum-cruise-ship-1st-at-sea-bumper-cars-skydiving-observation-capsule-4585987">simulated skydiving and bumper cars</a> to <a href="https://nationalpost.com/travel/cruise-ship-offers-pickleball-on-the-high-seas">pickleball</a> and lawn bowling.</p> <p>Solo cruise travel is also on the rise, and <a href="https://www.cruisetradenews.com/demand-for-multi-generational-cruise-holidays-on-the-up-data-finds/">multi-generational family cruise travel</a> is flourishing, explaining the extensive variety of cabin classes, activities and restaurants available on newly constructed and retrofitted ships.</p> <p>However, only a few cruise ports are large enough to dock mega ships. Cruise lines are responding by offering off-beat experiences and catering more to the distinct desires of travellers.</p> <p>In doing so, there is a <a href="https://www.positivelyosceola.com/2024s-top-cruise-trends-embracing-smaller-ships-solo-adventures-and-luxury-suites/">move towards smaller vessels and luxury liners</a>, river cruises and <a href="https://www.travelweek.ca/news/cruise/expedition-cruising-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-sell-it/">expedition cruising</a>. Leveraging lesser-known ports that can only be accessed via compact luxury ships <a href="https://www.cntraveler.com/story/small-cruise-ships-are-more-sustainble-and-on-the-rise">offers more mission-driven, catered experiences</a> for the eco-minded traveller.</p> <h2>Cruising and environmental costs</h2> <p>Cruise ship visitors are known to negatively impact Marine World Heritage sites. While most sites regulate ballast water and wastewater discharge, there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020611">concerns about ship air emissions and wildlife interactions</a>.</p> <p>Cruise ship journeys along Canada’s west coast, for example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/09/us-cruise-ships-using-canada-as-toilet-bowl-for-polluted-waste-alaska-british-columbia">are leaving behind a trail of toxic waste</a>. <a href="https://foe.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Comparison_of_CO2_Emissions_v2.pdf">A study by environmental organization Friends of the Earth</a> concluded that a cruise tourist generates eight times more carbon emissions per day than a land tourist in Seattle.</p> <p>Also, a rise in expedition cruising means more negative impacts (long-haul flights to farther ports, less destination management in fragile ecosystems, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/briefing/last-chance-tourism.html">last chance tourism</a>) and a rise in carbon dioxide emissions.</p> <p>Toxic air pollutants from cruise ships around ports are higher than pre-pandemic levels, <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/europes-luxury-cruise-ships-emit-as-much-toxic-sulphur-as-1bn-cars-study/">leaving Europe’s port cities “choking on air pollution</a>.” Last year, Europe’s 218 cruise ships emitted as much sulphur oxides as one billion cars — a high number, considering the introduction of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30002-4">International Maritime Organization’s sulphur cap in 2020</a>.</p> <h2>Rough seas ahead or smooth sailing?</h2> <p>Royal Caribbean said its Icon of the Seas is designed to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/worlds-largest-cruise-ship-sets-sail-bringing-concerns-about-methane-emissions-2024-01-27/">operate 24 per cent more efficiently than the international standard</a> for new ships. International Maritime Organization regulations <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-22/royal-caribbean-s-icon-of-the-seas-highlights-climate-impact-of-cruises">must be 30 per cent more energy-efficient</a> than those built in 2014.</p> <p>But despite the industry using liquefied natural gas instead of heavy fuel oil and electric shore power to turn off diesel engines when docking, industry critics still claim <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/26/icon-of-the-seas-largest-cruise-ship-human-lasagne-climate-fuel-lng-greenwashing">the cruise sector is greenwashing</a>. As a result, some cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona and Venice are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/07/21/war-on-cruise-ships-amsterdam-latest-port-to-limit-or-ban-cruise-liners">limiting or banning cruise ships</a>.</p> <p>Environmental critiques remain strong, especially for <a href="https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijegeo/issue/65449/957262">polar expeditions</a>. The industry must respond and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01949-4_131">increase sustainability efforts</a>, but their measures remain reactive (i.e., merely meeting international regulations) rather than proactive. In addition, by sailing their ships under <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/13/real-problem-with-cruise-industry/">flags of convenience</a>, cruise companies evade taxes and demonstrate an unwillingness to abide by a nation’s environmental, health and labour regulations.</p> <p>In any case, environmental concerns are escalating along with the industry. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/cruising-green-eco-operators-make-waves">Travel agents and industry figures are aware of these impacts</a> and should help promote cruise lines that demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practices.</p> <p>Local residents need to expect more from port authorities and local governments in order <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2024.103732">to cope with cruise tourism</a>. Cruise consumers should recognize the environmental costs of cruising, and demand accountability and transparency from cruise lines.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/228181/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frederic-dimanche-836528"><em>Frédéric Dimanche</em></a><em>, Professor and Director, Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/toronto-metropolitan-university-1607">Toronto Metropolitan University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kelley-a-mcclinchey-1287281">Kelley A. McClinchey</a>, Teaching Faculty, Geography and Environmental Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/wilfrid-laurier-university-1817">Wilfrid Laurier University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>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/rough-seas-or-smooth-sailing-the-cruise-industry-is-booming-despite-environmental-concerns-228181">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Cruising

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2023 Australian Book Industry Awards winners announced

<p>The winners of the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) have been revealed, while a whole host of titles taking home their well-deserved accolades from an impressive shortlist of 70. </p> <p>Categories included Book of the Year for Social Impact, International Book, Literary Fiction, New Writer, General Non-Fiction, Biography, Children’s Picture Book, and more - to the delight of booklovers all across the nation. </p> <p>There was an ‘overall’ winner from the big night, too, with Nagi Maehashi’s <em>RecipeTin Eats: Dinner </em>taking home the Book of the Year award. </p> <p>Nagi took to social media to celebrate her win, in the wake of her self-proclaimed “worst acceptance speech of the year”, to thank everyone and express her enthusiastic gratitude for all of the support for her work. And, of course, to thank her four-legged best friend and ‘co-author’, Dozer the dog. </p> <p>She wasn’t the only one with a smile on her face on the big night, however, with her fellow given plenty of reason to rejoice right along with her. </p> <p>And so, in no particular order, here are all the winners from the 2023 ABIAs! </p> <p><strong>ABIA Book of the Year &amp; Illustrated Book of the Year:</strong> <em>RecipeTin Eats: Dinner</em>, Nagi Maehashi</p> <p>“150 dinner recipes. Fail-proof. Delicious. Addictive. The food you want to cook, eat and share, night after night.</p> <p>"Through her phenomenally popular online food site, RecipeTin Eats, Nagi Maehashi talks to millions of people a year who tell her about the food they love.</p> <p>"Now, in her first cookbook, Nagi brings us the ultimate curation of new and favourite RecipeTin Eats recipes - from comfort food (yes, cheese galore), to fast and easy food for weeknights, Mexican favourites, hearty dinner salads, Asian soups and noodles, and special treats for festive occasions.”</p> <p><strong>General Fiction Book of the Year: </strong><em>Dirt Town</em>, Hayley Scrivenor</p> <p>“On a sweltering Friday afternoon in Durton, best friends Ronnie and Esther leave school together. Esther never makes it home.</p> <p>“Ronnie's going to find her, she has a plan. Lewis will help. Their friend can't be gone, Ronnie won't believe it.</p> <p>“Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels can believe it. She has seen what people are capable of. She knows more than anyone how, in a moment of weakness, a person can be driven to do something they never thought possible.</p> <p>“Lewis can believe it too. But he can't reveal what he saw that afternoon at the creek without exposing his own secret.</p> <p>“Five days later, Esther's buried body is discovered.”</p> <p><strong>Literary Fiction Book of the Year:</strong> <em>Horse</em>, Geraldine Brooks</p> <p>“A discarded painting in a roadside clean-up, forgotten bones in a research archive, and Lexington, the greatest racehorse in US history. From these strands of fact, Geraldine Brooks weaves a sweeping story of spirit, obsession and injustice across American history …</p> <p>“With the moral complexity of March and a multi-stranded narrative reminiscent of People of the Book, this enthralling novel is a gripping reckoning with the legacy of enslavement and racism in America. <em>Horse</em> is the latest masterpiece from a writer with a prodigious talent for bringing the past to life.”</p> <p><strong>General Non-fiction Book of the Year: </strong><em>Bulldozed</em>, Niki Savva</p> <p>“Between 2013 and 2022, Tony Abbott begat Malcolm Turnbull, who begat Scott Morrison. For nine long years, Australia was governed by a succession of Coalition governments rocked by instability and bloodletting, and consumed with prosecuting climate and culture wars while neglecting policy.</p> <p>“By the end, among his detractors — and there were plenty — Morrison was seen as the worst prime minister since Billy McMahon …</p> <p>“Niki Savva, Australia’s renowned political commentator, author, and columnist, was there for all of it … Now she lays out the final unravelling of the Coalition at the hands of a resurgent Labor and the so-called teal independents that culminated in the historic 2022 election. With her typical access to key players, and her riveting accounts of what went on behind the scenes, <em>Bulldozed</em> is the unique final volume of an unputdownable and impeccably sourced political trilogy.”</p> <p><strong>Biography Book of the Year: </strong><em>My Dream Time</em>, Ash Barty </p> <p>“<em>My Dream Time</em> is about finding the path to being the best I could be, not just as an athlete but as a person, and to consider the way those identities overlap and compete. We all have a professional and a personal self. How do you conquer nerves and anxiety? How do you deal with defeat, or pain? What drives you to succeed – and what happens when you do? The answers tell me so much, about bitter disappointments and also dreams realised – from injuries and obscurity and self-doubt to winning Wimbledon and ranking number 1 in the world.</p> <p>“My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you, about the importance of purpose – and perspective – in our lives.”</p> <p><strong>Social impact Book of the Year: </strong><em>The Boy from Boomerang Crescent</em>, Eddie Betts</p> <p>“How does a self-described ‘skinny Aboriginal kid’ overcome a legacy of family tragedy to become an AFL legend? One thing’s for sure: it’s not easy. But then, there’s always been something special about Eddie Betts …</p> <p>“Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic and always honest – often laceratingly so – <em>The Boy from Boomerang Crescent</em> is the inspirational life story of a champion, in his own words. Whether he’s narrating one of his trademark gravity-defying goals from the pocket, the discrimination he’s faced as an Aboriginal person or the birth of his first child, Betts’s voice – intelligent, soulful, unpretentious – rings through on every page.</p> <p>“The very human story behind the plaudits is one that will surprise, move and inspire.”</p> <p><strong>Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+): </strong><em>Blood Traitor</em>, Lynette Noni</p> <p>“Kiva thought she knew what she wanted - revenge. But feelings change, people change … everything has changed.</p> <p>“After what happened at the palace, Kiva is desperate to know if her friends and family are safe, and whether those she wronged can ever forgive her. But with the kingdoms closer to the brink of war than they’ve ever been, and Kiva far away from the conflict, more is at stake than her own broken heart.</p> <p>“A fresh start will mean a perilous quest, forcing mortal enemies and uneasy allies together in a race against the clock to save not just Evalon, but all of Wenderall. With her loyalties now set, Kiva can no longer just survive - she must fight for what she believes in. For who she believes in. But with danger coming from every side, and the lives of everyone she loves at risk, does she have what it takes to stand, or will she fall?”</p> <p><strong>Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7–12): </strong><em>Runt</em>, Craig Silvey (illustrated by Sara Acton)</p> <p>“Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. The two share a very special bond.</p> <p>“After years evading capture, Runt is remarkably fast and agile, perfect for herding runaway sheep. But when a greedy local landowner puts her family's home at risk, Annie directs Runt's extraordinary talents towards a different pursuit - winning the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London.</p> <p>“However, there is a curious catch: Runt will only obey Annie's commands if nobody else is watching.</p> <p>“With all eyes on them, Annie and Runt must beat the odds and the fastest dogs in the world to save her farm.</p> <p>“<em>Runt</em> is a heart-warming and hilarious tale of kindness, friendship, hurdles, hoops, tunnels, see-saws, being yourself and bringing out the best in others.”</p> <p><strong>Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0–6): </strong><em>What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say</em>, Davina Bell &amp; Hilary Jean Tapper</p> <p>“A warm and whimsical guide to negotiating life's little moments and big emotions with empathy, kindness and words from the heart.”</p> <p><strong>International Book of the Year: </strong><em>Lessons in Chemistry</em>, Bonnie Garmus</p> <p>“Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.</p> <p>“But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fuelled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation.</p> <p>“Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.”</p> <p><strong>Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year: </strong><em>The Dreaming Path</em>, Paul Callaghan</p> <p>“The Dreaming Path has always been there, but in the modern-day world, it can be hard to find. There are so many demands on us – family, health, bills, a mortgage, a career – that it can be hard to remember what’s most important: you.</p> <p>“It’s time to reconnect with your story.</p> <p>“Through conversations, exercises, Dreamtime stories and key messages, Paul Callaghan and Uncle Paul Gordon will sit you around the fire and share knowledge that reveals the power of Aboriginal spirituality as a profound source of contentment and wellbeing for anyone willing to listen.</p> <p>"This ancient wisdom is just as relevant today as it ever was.”</p> <p><strong>Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year:</strong> <em>Off to the Market</em>, Alice Oehr</p> <p>“Sunday is market day. We are looking for pumpkin, apples, eggs, and bread. What else will we find? Where did it come from? And what will we make with it?</p> <p>“Learn all about produce in this delightful child’s tour of a food market, full of fun facts, delicious new discoveries, and charming characters.</p> <p>“A loving ode to the people who bring food to our table and connection to our community, from acclaimed artist Alice Oehr.”</p> <p><strong>Audiobook of the Year: </strong><em>The Whitewash</em> (Siang Lu, Wavesound) </p> <p>“Siang Lu's searing debut is a black comedy about the whitewashing of the Asian film industry, told in the form of an oral documentary. It sounded like a good idea at the time - a Hollywood spy thriller, starring, for the first time in history, an Asian male lead. With an estimated $350 million production budget and up-and-coming Hong Kong actor JK Jr, who, let's be honest, is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but probably the hottest, Brood Empire was basically a sure thing. Until it wasn't …</p> <p>“<em>The Whitewash</em> is the definitive oral history of the whole sordid mess. Unofficial. Unasked for. Only intermittently fact-checked, and featuring a fool's gallery of actors, producers, directors, film historians and scummy click-bait journalists, to answer the question of how it all went so horribly, horribly wrong.”</p> <p><strong>The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year: </strong><em>WAKE</em>, Shelley Burr</p> <p>“Evelyn simply vanished …Mina McCreery's life has been defined by the intense and ongoing public interest in her sister's case. Now a reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family's sunbaked, destocked sheep farm. The million-dollar reward her mother established to solve the disappearance has never been paid out.</p> <p>“Enter Lane Holland, a private investigator who dropped out of the police academy to earn a living cracking cold cases. Lane has his eye on the unclaimed money, but he also has darker motivations.</p> <p>“<em>WAKE</em> is a powerful, unsparing story of how trauma ripples outward when people's private tragedies become public property, and how it's never too late for the truth to set things right.”</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Books

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Are bigger super funds better? Actually no, despite what the industry is doing

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/geoff-warren-3657">G<em>eoff Warren</em></a><em>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em></p> <p>Australia’s superannuation funds are getting bigger – and fewer. There were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/29/australian-superannuation-mergers-cut-number-of-funds-by-half-in-a-decade">close to 400</a> funds in 2010. With mergers, it’s now <a href="https://www.investordaily.com.au/superannuation/53144-are-mega-funds-poised-to-dominate-the-super-industry">closer to 120</a>. By 2025, according to industry executives surveyed last year, there will be <a href="https://www.investordaily.com.au/superannuation/50971-rise-of-mega-funds-set-to-intensify-erasing-100-funds-by-2025">fewer than 50</a>.</p> <p>The portfolios of the two biggest super funds, AustralianSuper and Australian Retirement Trust, are bigger than even the federal government’s Future Fund Management Agency, which oversees the A$194 billion <a href="https://yearinreviewfy22.futurefund.gov.au/performance-results.html">Future Fund</a> and several other funds worth a total $242 billion.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="0wOBb" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0wOBb/5/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>Underpinning this consolidation is the idea that larger scale is beneficial for superannuation fund members. But that’s not necessarily true. A bigger fund is no guarantee of better returns.</p> <p>I’ve examined the issue of fund scale with Scott Lawrence, an investment manager with 35 year’s industry experience. Together we’ve written <a href="https://theconexusinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Does-Size-Benefit-Super-Fund-Members-24-March-2023.pdf">a report</a> for the Conexus Institute, an independent research centre focused on superannuation issues.</p> <p>Our conclusion: funds, large and small alike, succeed or fail depending on how well they formulate and execute their strategies.</p> <h2>Managing assets in-house</h2> <p>The first potential benefit of bigger size is that funds can manage assets using their own dedicated investment professionals, rather than outsourcing everything to external investment managers to invest on their behalf.</p> <p>For example, UniSuper (the higher education industry fund) manages <a href="https://www.unisuper.com.au/investments/how-we-invest/investment-managers">70% of assets in-house</a>. AustralianSuper, with more than double UniSuper’s assets, manages <a href="https://www.australiansuper.com/-/media/australian-super/files/about-us/annual-reports/2022-annual-report.pdf">53% of assets</a> in-house.</p> <p>This can be cheaper than paying fees as a percentage of assets to these external providers. It offers more control as the super fund can decide the assets in which they invest, rather than leaving the decision to someone else.</p> <p>But fund members will only benefit if the internal team makes investment decisions that are as good as the service they are replacing. For this reason, there is no reliable correlation between performance and degree of in-house management.</p> <h2>Investing in big-ticket items</h2> <p>The second potential benefit is it becomes more possible to become successful direct investors in “big ticket” assets such as infrastructure and property, instead of just focusing on shares and other assets traded on stock exchanges.</p> <p>For example, AustralianSuper owns <a href="https://www.australiansuper.com/-/media/australian-super/files/about-us/media-releases/australiansuper-increases-investment-in-westconnex.pdf">20.5% of WestConnex</a>, Australia’s biggest infracture project, having contributed $4.2 billion to the consortium that is building the mostly underground toll-road system linking western Sydney motorways.</p> <p>Opportunities like this are easier to access by large funds, and can help to diversify their portfolios.</p> <p>But such direct investment is costlier than buying shares and bonds. This limits the potential for fee reductions.</p> <p>For members to benefit, these investments must deliver attractive returns. This requires a fund developing capability in what are specialised markets. Size alone won’t deliver on its own.</p> <h2>Economies of scale and scope</h2> <p>The third potential benefit is that size brings economies of scale and scope.</p> <p>Scale can reduce fees, by spreading the fund’s fixed costs over a larger member base.</p> <p>Our review of the research literature confirms there are solid reasons to expect administration costs to reduce with size, as well as in-house management reducing investment costs.</p> <hr /> <p><iframe id="26cxr" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" style="border: none;" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/26cxr/3/" width="100%" height="400px" frameborder="0"></iframe></p> <hr /> <p>Economies of scope involve an organisation being able to improve or increase services, say by investing in better systems and more staff.</p> <p>But investing in better systems also brings potential pitfalls. Big visionary projects tend to run over time and over budget, and sometimes fail.</p> <p>An example is the disastrous attempts of five industry funds (AustralianSuper, Cbus Super, HESTA, Hostplus and MTAA Super) to develop a shared administration platform, called Superpartners. It was meant to cost $70 million, but development costs blew out to $250 million before <a href="https://www.investmentmagazine.com.au/2016/12/link-group-completes-superpartners-integration/">they gave up</a>.</p> <h2>Size brings its own challenges</h2> <p>Large funds also face some unique challenges. Because they have more money to invest, they have more work to do in finding sufficient attractive assets to buy.</p> <p>The risk is they need to accept some assets offering low returns to do so. They can also outgrow some market segments, such as owning shares in smaller companies.</p> <p>Large organisations are typically more complex, more bureaucratic and less flexible. They can find it difficult to coordinate staff to work towards a common purpose. These elements may create dysfunction if not managed.</p> <p>This may explain why, despite the potential increased scope of their offerings, surveys suggest large funds tend to deliver <a href="https://www.investmentmagazine.com.au/2022/08/members-willing-to-pay-for-better-service-post-retirement/">less personalised service</a>.</p> <p>So the idea “bigger is better” is not necessarily true. Large size is not an automatic win. Whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and challenges ultimately depends on fund trustees and management doing their jobs well so that members benefit.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/203417/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/geoff-warren-3657">Geoff Warren</a>, Associate Professor, College of Business and Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>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/are-bigger-super-funds-better-actually-no-despite-what-the-industry-is-doing-203417">original article</a>.</em></p>

Retirement Income

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3 sales tactics rife in the real estate industry, and why they work

<p>Buying a home is likely to be the biggest financial transaction you will ever make, and you’re at a distinct disadvantage. You’re an amateur up against professionals – real estate agents – versed in psychological tricks to get you excited about owning a property and paying more than you planned.</p> <p>These tricks start with comparatively simple things such as making rooms look bigger in adverts by using a wide-angle photography. They extend all the way to the point of sale. </p> <p>None of these tactics necessarily involve outright lying – there are laws against false and misleading conduct. But they are manipulative, exploiting the fact that humans are emotional beings with many “cognitive biases” – a perception of reality that is more emotional ratther than rational.</p> <p>The three most common tactics come down to manipulating your confidence in your own decisions. Close to <a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0217590816500156">80 studies</a> suggest overconfidence is one of the most significant cognitive biases influencing behaviour in the real estate market.</p> <h2>1. Underquote, entice the bargain hunters</h2> <p>You see a property in your price range that’s everything you want. You call the agent, inspect the property, then prepare for the auction. It sells for $200,000 more. </p> <p>Underquoting involves deliberately advertising a property significantly lower than its likely sales price. While the prevalence of the practice is disputed, with industry representatives saying most agents do the right thing, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/property/news/new-3-8-million-crackdown-on-underquoting-by-victorian-real-estate-agents-20220914-p5bhzq.html">anecdotal evidence</a>points to underquoting being very common. </p> <p>Underquoting is effective because it attracts more interested buyers and increases the number and intensity of bidding. It exploits two of the most ubiquitous cognitive biases – herd behaviour and irrational exuberance. </p> <p>More interest doesn’t just increase competition. A real estate agent will communicate that interest to us, confirming our desire in the property is justified. </p> <p>This tendency to “follow the herd” and imitate others, as US economist Robert Shiller noted in an influential <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2117915">1995 paper</a>, is built on the assumption others have information that justifies their actions. </p> <p>This helps explain pretty much every stockmarket bubble since <a href="https://theconversation.com/tulip-mania-the-classic-story-of-a-dutch-financial-bubble-is-mostly-wrong-91413">tulipmania in the 17th century</a>, including the <a href="https://lsecentralbanking.medium.com/how-did-herd-behaviour-contribute-to-the-global-financial-crisis-3b0024a4755e">Global Financial Crisis of 2007-8</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1544612318303647">speculation on cryptocurrency</a>. We are emotionally swayed by the decisions of others, assuming their decisions are rational, even when they are not. This is fertile ground for our own decisions to be manipulated.</p> <h2>2. Hide reality, inflate expectations</h2> <p>Real estate agents will generally favour auctions to extract the <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/selling-at-auction-in-melbourne-earns-vendors-tens-of-thousands-in-extra-cash-1072565/">maximum sales price</a>, for the reasons outlined above and the prospect of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220505543_Understanding_auction_fever_A_framework_for_emotional_bidding">auction fever</a> – when carefully decided limits are forgotten in the thrill of the moment. </p> <p>But that’s not always the case. In a soft market with few buyers, agents may instead opt for a private sale, sometimes called a “<a href="https://attwoodmarshall.com.au/the-silent-auction/">silent auction</a>”. The goal here is to cause you to overestimate the degree of competition and thus make a bigger offer.</p> <p>An agent might assist this perception by instead supplying you with information from previous public auctions of similar properties more favourable to their preferred narrative.</p> <p>The value of hiding information also explains why you may come across so many sold listings with <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/should-you-be-able-to-know-how-much-your-neighbours-sold-their-house-for-20220223-p59z2t.html">labels</a> such as “price not disclosed” or “price withheld.” The reason for this may well be that the property sold for less than hoped.</p> <p>Hiding information the agent doesn’t want you to think about depends principally on exploiting our cognitive bias towards <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/overconfidence">overconfidence</a> – assuming we are smarter, more knowledgeable or better skilled than we actually are.</p> <p>In lieu of that negative information, you are more likely to focus on the available information – particularly if it suits what you want to believe.</p> <h2>3. Talk up nominal gains</h2> <p>You may have heard the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/do-house-prices-really-double-every-10-years-20211203-p59eif.html">old saying</a> that property values double every 10 years. Stressing what a property is likely to be worth in a decade <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/suburbs-you-shouldve-bought-a-home-in-10-years-ago-and-how-much-your-area-has-grown/">based on what it was worth a decade ago</a> can be a powerful motivator to bid more.</p> <p>As Robert Shiller noted in his 2013 book <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691156323/the-subprime-solution">The Subprime Solution</a> (about the property-buying mania that led to the Global Financial Crisis), homes are such significant investments that we tend to recall their prices from the distant past (unlike, say, like a loaf of bread or bottle of milk).</p> <p>This tendency results in an unconscious focus on nominal values rather than <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/04/12/the-illusion-of-housing-as-a-great-investment.aspx">real (inflation-adjusted) values</a>. This cognitive bias is known as the <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/14635789810212931/full/html">money illusion</a>, a mental miscalculation that may increase your willingness to pay more for the property. </p> <h2>In conclusion…</h2> <p>There’s a case for laws to <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/push-to-end-home-sale-price-confusion-in-victorian-property-industry-review/">increase transparency</a> and the accuracy of information available in the real estate market. </p> <p>But in the meantime, if you’re buying a home, it’s wise to acknowledge your limitations. Do your homework, seek out independent advice and even consider hiring a professional advocate with the knowledge and experience to balance emotional and rational thoughts.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-sales-tactics-rife-in-the-real-estate-industry-and-why-they-work-202960" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Real Estate

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Molly Meldrum at 80: how the ‘artfully incoherent’ presenter changed Australian music – and Australian music journalism

<p>Ian Alexander “Molly” Meldrum is 80 on January 29 2023.</p> <p>The Australian music industry would not be where it is today without his work as a talent scout, DJ, record producer, journalist, broadcaster and professional fan.</p> <p>His legacy has been acknowledged by the ARIAs, APRA, the Logies, an Order of Australia and even a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-molly-help-us-remember-australian-culture-54117">mini-series</a>.</p> <p>Just a couple of weeks ago, Meldrum made headlines again for an appearance at Elton John’s farewell concert in Melbourne when he <a href="https://themusic.com.au/news/molly-meldrum-bares-his-bum-at-elton-john-concert/oL24srW0t7Y/14-01-23">“mooned” the crowd</a> in a playful display of rock and roll rebellion. He later <a href="https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/molly-meldrum-apologises-for-mooning-audiences-at-elton-johns-melbourne-concert-3381156">apologised</a> to the audience and old friend Elton, keen to make sure no one else was blamed.</p> <p>It was an irreverence typical of Meldrum’s long career. But his legacy is not just in the musical acts he supported. It is also in the taste makers who followed in his footsteps.</p> <h2>‘Artfully incoherent’</h2> <p>A journalist at pioneering music magazine Go-Set, a presenter and record producer, Meldrum became a household name with the ABC TV music show Countdown (1974-87). Countdown was a weekly touchstone for the industry and fans, promoting local acts alongside the best in the world.</p> <p>Meldrum’s approach to interviewing and commentary is legendary. ABC historian Ken Inglis called his interviewing style “artfully incoherent”.</p> <p>Importantly, his charm put artists and fans at ease.</p> <p>Meldrum is not a slick player, but a fan. This fandom is felt so deeply that, at times, he became overwhelmed.</p> <p>One of Meldrum’s most famous interviews was in 1977 when the then Prince Of Wales appeared on Countdown to launch a charity record and event. The presenter became increasingly flustered.</p> <p>Even now, watching back, it’s hard not to side with Meldrum rather than his famous guest. Pomp, ceremony and hierarchy really didn’t make sense in this rock and pop oasis.</p> <p>In another interview, Meldrum spoke to David Bowie on a tennis court. Both men casually talked and smoked (it was the ‘70s!), talking seriously about the work but not much else.</p> <p>As Meldrum handed Bowie a tennis racket to demonstrate how the iconic track, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkLE1Gno724">Fame</a> (with John Lennon) was born, the Starman was given space to be hilariously human.</p> <p>When meeting a sedate Stevie Nicks, Meldrum met her on her level.</p> <p>Nicks told Meldrum she was only happy “sometimes”, and rather than probing, he just listened. When Meldrum asked about the dog Nicks had in her lap, she opened up, "I got her way before I had any money, I didn’t have near enough money to buy her […] She’s one of the things I’ve had to give up for Fleetwood Mac, because you’re not home."</p> <p>Meldrum approached this, and all his guests, with humanity. This is how his insights into the reality of rock royalty are effortlessly uncovered.</p> <h2>New taste makers</h2> <p>A country boy who came to the city, Meldrum studied music and the growing local industry much more attentively than his law degree. He passionately supported (and continues to support) Australian popular music – and Australian music fans.</p> <p>He speaks a love language for music that musicians and fans share, and a language which has continued in other presenters.</p> <p>Following in Meldrum’s footsteps we have seen distinct critical voices like Myf Warhurst, Julia Zemiro and Zan Rowe.</p> <p>Each of these women have approached the music industry with charm like Meldrum, but also their own perspectives: Zemiro with a love of international influence; Warhurst with pop as a language to connect us to the everyday; Rowe with a way to connect audiences and musicians through conversations about their own processes and passions.</p> <p>Our best music critics, and musicians, have embraced an unapologetic energy Meldrum made acceptable.</p> <p>Meldrum is also a pioneer in the LGBTQ+ community, weathering the storms of prejudice during his early career. Today, members of the media and musical community have greater protection from the prejudice common when his career began.</p> <h2>The music, of course, the music</h2> <p>The Australian music industry would not be what it is had Molly Meldrum gone on to be a lawyer.</p> <p>Through the pages of Go-Set and on Countdown he worked to promote new talent, believing in and developing acts like AC/DC, Split Enz, Paul Kelly, Do Re Mi, Australian Crawl and Kylie Minogue before the rest of the industry knew what to do with them.</p> <p>He did the same for international artists. ABBA, Elton John, KISS, Madonna and many other now mega-names were first presented to Australian audiences via Meldrum’s wonderful ear.</p> <p>Today, Australian music encompasses pop, dance, electro and hip hop, and artists from all walks of life. Meldrum’s willingness to listen has contributed to this, and he encouraged others to do the same.</p> <p>Meldrum remains revered not just for nostalgia but as an example of what putting energy into the local scene can achieve.</p> <p>Most importantly, Meldrum continues to be a music fan. He loves the mainstream, the place where the majority of the audience also resides. He has never bought into the idea of a “guilty” pleasure – if it works, it works, no music snobbery here.</p> <p>His catch-cry – “do yourself a favour” – really does sum up the importance of music. It is not a luxury, but something to really keep us going.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/molly-meldrum-at-80-how-the-artfully-incoherent-presenter-changed-australian-music-and-australian-music-journalism-196793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

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Short shift: Fashion week research on how the ’60s and ’70s rocked Australia’s clothing industry

<div class="copy"> <p>It was the dress that shocked a nation and signalled an industrial revolution.</p> <p>When sixties model Jean Shrimpton attended the 1965 Melbourne Cup dressed in a simple white shift hemmed well above the knee – with no gloves or stockings – the outfit immediately sparked scandal.</p> <p>The moment encapsulates a series of cultural, social, economic and technological shifts underway in Australia which led to the unravelling of the local clothing manufacturing industry.</p> <p>It was this iconic photo, depicting nonchalant Shrimpton on the lawns of Flemington Racecourse, which inspired Pauline Hastings PhD research at Monash University into the history of Australia’s textiles and clothing industry from the 1960s on.</p> <p>Hastings is <a href="https://mfw.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/miniskirts-the-unravelling-rag-trade/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">presenting her research</a> as part of Melbourne Fashion Week.</p> <p>A lesser-known detail about ‘that dress’: Shrimpton was sponsored to attend Derby Day by industrial chemical and fossil fuel company Du Pont, to promote the company’s new synthetic fabric, Orlon. </p> <p>Cheap, mostly imported synthetic fabrics (made from fossil fuels) were one of several factors contributing to a major shift in Australian clothing manufacturing and consumption, Hastings says.</p> <p>Hastings says, there is a clear thread linking the rise of synthetic fabrics like Orlon, Dacron, Rayon (… anything ending with an ‘on’), which had a throwaway quality to them, and today’s <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/sustainability/fast-fashion-part-one/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fast fashion addiction</a>. Australia is the second largest consumer of textiles globally, buying on average <a href="https://www.monash.edu/msdi/news-and-events/news/articles/2022/urgent-call-to-reduce-australias-sizeable-fashion-footprint-and-its-impact-on-planetary-and-human-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">56 new items of clothing </a>per person, per year.</p> <p>Post war immigration and the rise of the ‘baby boomers’ led to a greater emphasis on youth culture and individualism. </p> <p>This, together with the rise of advertising and mass marketing helped drive a cultural shift away from the ‘make do and mend’ era where fabrics and clothing were often unpicked and re-sewn into new garments. </p> <p>Hastings says the removal and reduction of tariff protections was another contributing factor to the demise of local manufacturing.</p> <p>Before the post-war era, “everyday clothes weren’t imported. They were manufactured here … made for local consumption,” she says.</p> <p>“Imports on mass were kept out by tariff protection. So, very high tariffs on anything important [which] meant that if they did come in, imports were sort of priced considerably higher in the marketplace than our local product. And our local product was not overly cheap from what I can gather, because it was pretty,  labor intensive and Australian wages at the time were quite high.”</p> <p>Interwoven, these different factors – the commodification of youth culture, the reduction in tariff protections by the Whitlam government, and the rise of new synthetic fabrics – all contributed to the demise of Australia’s local clothing manufacturing industry.</p> <p>Today, 97% of Australia’s clothing is imported.</p> <p>By sharing her research, Hastings says, she hopes we can learn from history.</p> <p>“It’s how culturally we can shift. Because, we did a major shift from the post war era of what I call ‘thrift and making do.’ We did a major shift then to a sort of a ‘purchase everything we can possibly see throwaway society’ when it comes to fashion, in a couple of decades.” </p> <p>She says, history shows, if we really wanted to, we could learn again, to value things, recycle, upcycle and cultivate a culture of sustainability.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em><!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --> <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=217818&amp;title=Short+shift%3A+Fashion+week+research+on+how+the+%26%238217%3B60s+and+%26%238217%3B70s+rocked+Australia%26%238217%3Bs+clothing+industry" width="1" height="1" /> <!-- End of tracking content syndication --></em></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/how-the-60s-rocked-australian-fashion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Petra Stock. </em></p> </div>

Beauty & Style

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Ads are coming to Netflix soon – here’s what we can expect and what that means for the streaming industry

<p>Ads are coming to Netflix, perhaps even sooner than anticipated.</p> <p>The Wall Street Journal has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/netflix-seeking-top-dollar-for-brands-to-advertise-on-its-service-11661980078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Netflix has moved up the launch of their ad-supported subscription tier to November. The Sydney Morning Herald, meanwhile, is <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/netflix-with-ads-is-coming-this-year-here-s-what-we-know-20220902-p5bezy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporting</a> that Australia is amongst the first countries likely to experience ads on Netflix later this year.</p> <p>Netflix first announced they would introduce a new, lower-priced, subscription tier to be supported by advertising in April. This was an about-face from a company that had built an advertising free, on-demand television empire. Indeed, it was only in 2020 <a href="https://bgr.com/entertainment/netflix-ads-why-no-commercials-cheap-tier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings ruled out advertising</a> on the platform, saying “you know, advertising looks easy until you get in it.”</p> <p>The change of heart followed Netflix’s 2022 first quarter earnings report which saw a <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-market-swamped-with-streaming-services-netflixs-massive-loss-of-subscribers-is-a-big-deal-181780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subscriber loss</a> for the first time in over a decade. The addition of ads to the platform is a clear sign of the emerging period of experimentation across the streaming landscape.</p> <h2>How will it work?</h2> <p>It’s important to note that not every Netflix subscription tier will carry advertising. The current plan is there will be one newly introduced and cheaper subscription tier supported by advertising, targeting in the US market around USD $7-9 a month as the price point. This will represent a discount from the current cheapest plan of US $9.99 (AUD $10.99) a month. These prices will be adapted to the different currency markets Netflix operate across and the existing price points in those markets.</p> <p>By bringing a hybrid advertising/subscription tier, Netflix is adopting a business model already present on other streamers like Hulu. Netflix is keeping this a hybrid tier, meaning while the new tier will be cheaper, it will not be free, like ad-supported streaming available on Peacock.</p> <p>Advertising presents complex new technological and business challenges for Netflix, which has not worked in this market before. To enter this new market, Netflix announced advertising would be <a href="https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-partners-with-microsoft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivered through a partnership with Microsoft</a>.</p> <p>Partnering with Microsoft allayed some fears around Netflix entering a new media market and gives Netflix access to Microsoft’s extensive advertising delivery infrastructure.</p> <p>Netflix has announced that original movie programming may stay free of ads for a limited period upon release, and that both original and some licensed childrens’ content will remain free of ads.</p> <p>As well as staying away from children’s advertising, which in Australia is highly regulated by government and industry codes, Netflix is also avoiding any advertising buyers in cryptocurrency, political advertising, and gambling.</p> <p>Advertising will run around 4 minutes per hour of content - for context Australian commercial free-to-air TV networks are limited on their primary channels to 13 minutes per hour and 15 minutes per hour on multi-channels between 6am and midnight.</p> <p>Netflix will also have limits on the number of times a single ad can appear for a user and there is expectation that ads for movie content will be delivered in a pre-roll format, not interrupting the feature.</p> <h2>Advertising in the streaming sector</h2> <p>Netflix is not the only subscription service to announce advertising as part of new pricing strategies. Earlier this year <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/disney-raises-streaming-prices-services-post-big-operating-loss-rcna42600" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disney announced a highly successful quarter</a> from a subscriber uptake perspective, growing by 15 million subscribers, however streaming-induced losses were $300 million greater than estimated.</p> <p>Disney also announced that an ad-supported Disney+ subscription option will become available in December. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-price-increase-shows-limits-of-subscriber-growth-push-11660256118" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal reported that</a> the December timeline given by Disney is what drove Netflix to bring forward their ad plans.</p> <p>TV consumers are historically well accustomed to advertising in television - in Australia, commercial free-to-air networks Seven, Nine, and Ten carry advertising, public broadcaster SBS carries a limited amount of advertising, and even pay-TV provider Foxtel is supported by both subscription fees and advertising. Advertising itself is not new to audiences, but it has not been present on a number of premium streaming platforms like Netflix before.</p> <p>Streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ are seeking ways to both reach new audiences and to maximise their revenues from each user. There is a belief amongst top executives that providing a cheaper ad-supported tier will tap into the market of audiences who both do not mind advertising and see current subscription prices as too high.</p> <p>There is also evidence from other streaming platforms, such as Hulu and Discovery+, that have offered ad-supported subscription tiers, that these tiers can generate greater average revenue per user <a href="https://baremetrics.com/academy/average-revenue-per-user-arpu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(ARPU)</a> than higher priced subscription-only tiers.</p> <p>The ARPU is a metric used in the streaming industry that looks at how much money a company makes from each subscriber after deducting business costs. Having higher revenues from a subscriber can be driven by increasing subscription prices, driving subscribers to more expensive subscription tiers, reducing business costs, or by adding additional revenue streams like advertising.</p> <p>In 2021, <a href="https://www.nexttv.com/news/david-zaslav-says-discovery-gets-more-revenue-per-sub-dtc-than-with-cable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Discovery CEO David Zaslav noted</a> that Discovery+ was generating more revenue per subscriber from their cheaper ad-supported tier than their more expensive subscription-only tier thanks to the advertising revenue. Zaslav commented that advertisers were keen to reach an audience that was largely not accessible through other television means.</p> <p>With this in mind, Netflix and Disney are betting that their ad-supported tiers can perform similarly and increase the revenue they can generate per subscriber.</p> <h2>Experimentation across the streaming sector</h2> <p>Experimentation around established business strategies is ruling the current streaming landscape.</p> <p>HBO Max, under newly merged corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery, is now switching to licensing content in select markets rather than streaming on its own platform. With the airing of The Lord of the Rings prequel <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-lord-of-the-rings-prequel-the-rings-of-power-is-set-in-the-second-age-of-middle-earth-heres-what-that-means-175333" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Rings of Power</a>, Amazon Prime Video is discovering whether its experiment with the most expensive television production ever at US $715 million (AUD $1.05 billion) will pay off with audiences.</p> <p>There is experimentation across the streaming industry in licensing strategies, spectacle television, pricing models and beyond. The results of this experimentation will take time. But what the arrival of advertising on Netflix signals is that established strategy no longer rules the streaming landscape.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/ads-are-coming-to-netflix-soon-heres-what-we-can-expect-and-what-that-means-for-the-streaming-industry-190236" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

TV

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White, female, and high rates of mental illness: new diversity research offers a snapshot of the publishing industry

<p>Books are fundamental to our society: they shape our culture, education and ideas. To do this well, books should reflect the amazing and varied world we occupy.</p> <p>Those who create books – publishers and publishing industry workers – are the gatekeepers. If those industry professionals are diverse and work within an industry that is inclusive, then there is a better chance that books will represent a wider range of experiences.</p> <p>But how diverse is Australian publishing?</p> <p>The 2022 <a href="https://www.publishers.asn.au//WorkplaceSurvey2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion</a>, produced by the Australian Publishers Association and the University of Melbourne, shows there is work to be done.</p> <p>The industry needs to be more culturally diverse: fewer than 1% of Australian publishing professionals are First Nations and only 8.5% have an Asian cultural identity.</p> <p>Perhaps the most startling finding of the survey is the high proportion of publishing workers experiencing mental illness. 35.4% of respondents were experiencing mental health conditions. This compares with 25% of respondents to a similar survey of the UK publishing industry in 2021, an increase from 20% in 2020.</p> <p>While the reasons for the high rate of mental illness are no doubt complex, the message for publishers is clear: staff need support. The industry can also be more inclusive for those with disabilities. 24.7% of publishing professionals reported having a long-term health condition or disability, including a physical or mental health condition, with just over 5% of respondents identifying as living with disability.</p> <h2>Shortfalls of diversity</h2> <p>The Australian survey was a response to Radhiah Chowdhury’s groundbreaking <a href="https://www.publishers.asn.au/common/Uploaded%20files/APA%20Resources/Research/BDEF/BDEF%202019-2020%20Report%20-%20Radhiah%20Chowdhury.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 APA-funded report</a> on lessons in diverse and inclusive publishing from the UK, which reverberated around the industry.</p> <p>Chowdhury called for more empirical data to sit alongside qualitative accounts of working in publishing, noting “a paucity of research on the demographic composition of the industry, as well as of our national trade publishing output”.</p> <p>Our survey was launched in March this year and received close to 1000 responses from across the sector. These came from small, medium and large organisations, micro-publishers and freelancers.</p> <p>The broad uptake gives us confidence in the survey as a snapshot of Australian publishing today. It also shows a widespread recognition of the importance of diversity and inclusion within the publishing industry, and a commitment to positive change.</p> <p>What the initial survey reveals is perhaps not surprising for those who work in and around publishing. The industry is largely white, including a high percentage who identify as British. The proportion of those who identify as having Asian or European backgrounds is lower than in the general population.</p> <p>Very few Australian publishing professionals identify as First Nations. This matters, because it suggests publishing is not an industry of choice for Australians of diverse cultural backgrounds, and because it limits the industry’s capacity to produce books that speak to readers of different cultural identities.</p> <p>In other areas, the publishing industry is more inclusive. Survey respondents identify as LGBTQ+ at around twice the representation in the Australian population (21% compared to population estimates of 11%). The majority of LGBTQ+ respondents are open or partially open about their sexuality at work.</p> <p>Women make up the majority of the Australian publishing workforce: 84% of the survey respondents were women. But representation of women and non-binary people shrinks in more senior positions in the industry.</p> <p>There is also work to be done in breaking down the class dynamics of publishing. A minority (33.6%) of publishing workers come from family backgrounds that could be described as working or lower middle class. Only 24.7% are located outside of Sydney or Melbourne.</p> <p>More than 85% of those working in publishing hold a bachelor degree and more than half also hold at least one postgraduate degree. 48% of publishing industry respondents attended private schools, compared to around 30% of the Australian population.</p> <h2>Potential for change</h2> <p>The potential for change in the Australian publishing industry is now evident. The industry would benefit from focusing on how to include workers with disabilities of all kinds and ensure workplaces are accessible. It also has work to do in encouraging participation from around Australia, and in opening up pathways for entry that recognise a range of relevant skills and experiences.</p> <p>This initial survey sets a baseline. It provides the necessary data that will allow initiatives to be targeted. It is already driving practical steps towards change.</p> <p>The industry has committed to act on the results. The Australian Publishing Association has established a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group to monitor progress and target the gaps highlighted in the survey. It has renewed support for paid internship schemes as inclusion initiatives.</p> <p>In response to the survey, President of the Australian Publishing Association James Kellow said:</p> <blockquote> <p>We have a highly able and committed workforce, but our workforce doesn’t always represent the breadth of our culture. This plays into what and how we publish and the extent to which we reach, or don’t reach, all potential readers […] This survey’s hard data tells us we have a great deal of work ahead and provides a solid base from which we can lead change.</p> </blockquote> <p>A better understanding of the book publishing industry can help to improve working environments and, ultimately, diversity in cultural products in Australia. Future surveys will allow changes to be tracked and progress to be measured. We look forward to seeing positive change in the publishing industry and in the good work publishing people are doing.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://theconversation.com/white-female-and-high-rates-of-mental-illness-new-diversity-research-offers-a-snapshot-of-the-publishing-industry-189679" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Books

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The Proclaimers feel shocked at the longevity of their music

<p dir="ltr">The Proclaimers have been surprised by their own longevity, and have far surpassed their own expectations in the music industry. </p> <p dir="ltr">Craig and Charlie Reid formed the group in 1983, and Craig has admitted they have been shocked by their ongoing careers. </p> <p dir="ltr">Craig recently told the BBC, "We've had a much longer run at it than we thought we would, so now we are at 60 we just want to do the best that we can and do it for as long as we can and to keep enjoying it."</p> <p dir="ltr">With the Scottish band currently on tour, they said their classic tunes are as much crowd pleasers now as they were when they were first released in the 1980s. </p> <p dir="ltr">Charlie said, "<em>500 Miles</em>, <em>Letter from America</em>, <em>Let's Get Married</em>, <em>Sunshine on Leith</em>, we always do them at every show.”</p> <p dir="ltr">"The fact that people still want to hear them 30 years later is great for us and I suppose for the audience it connects them with their own past as well. But to do a show without any new songs would not be right because I think as writers we've got better as time's gone on."</p> <p dir="ltr">The Proclaimers' latest album, <em>Dentures Out</em>, is much more political than many of their previous records, with Craig suggesting that Britain is in a state of "terminal decline", which was a huge influence on the new music. </p> <p dir="ltr">He said, "I think Britain has been diminishing in power and reach since World War Two, but I think that in the last 10 years Britain has nose-dived as regards its own self-worth and certainly in regard to its own place in the community of nations."</p> <p dir="ltr">Charlie also admitted that the new album has a strong sense of "nostalgia" about it, and taps into some of their older style of music. </p> <p dir="ltr">He reflected, "For the first time ever there's a constant theme in an album we've done. A lot of it is about nostalgia, about people looking back and perhaps looking back with rose-coloured glasses or not remembering at all."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Music

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Cancelled flights, disrupted vacations, frayed tempers: FAQs about the chaos in the airline industry

<p>People around the world are anxious to travel again as pandemic restrictions are being lifted. But those planning to jump on a plane for a vacation have been frustrated by chaos in the airline industry. In both North America and Europe, thousands of flights have been cancelled and hundreds of thousands of passengers have had their trips disrupted. </p> <p>Things will get worse before they get better. Air Canada has announced it will eliminate more than 150 daily flights for July and August. “Regrettably, things are not business as usual in our industry globally, and this is affecting our operations,” Air Canada president Michael Rousseau <a href="https://milled.com/air-canada/a-message-from-air-canadas-president-gQLU1OsSJMb4j5Fl">said in an email to customers when announcing the flight cutbacks</a>. </p> <p>So why is this happening? Here are answers to some key questions about the current problems with air travel.</p> <h2>Why are so many flights being cancelled or delayed?</h2> <p>The principal cause of the disruptions has been a shortage of qualified personnel at airports to handle the recent surge in passenger traffic.</p> <p>Airlines have been taking advantage of recent demand for air travel by returning aircraft and flight schedules to close to <a href="https://www.aviationpros.com/airlines/news/21271750/air-passengers-to-reach-83-of-2019-levels-this-year-iata">80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels</a>, with the resulting volume of flights putting significant stress on the capability of the supporting infrastructure — <a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/06/easyjet-to-scrap-more-summer-flights-from-schiphol-klm-limits-sales/">airports, air traffic control and labour conditions</a>.</p> <h2>Are the problems only happening in certain airports or is this a worldwide issue?</h2> <p>The congestion phenomenon in the summer 2022 travel season is rapidly spreading across a number of European and North American airports. The reason behind this concentration of congestion is quite simple: these are the air travel markets that have experienced the highest volumes of air travellers in recent months.</p> <figure> <p>The rapid elimination of COVID-19 protocols in these markets since March have generated a significant increase in the demand for air travel, with volumes of passengers that haven’t been seen in more than two years. This increase in volume has been highly evidenced in major airline hub airports such as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schiphol-airport-amsterdam-photos-security-staff-shortages-europe-flight-2022-6">Amsterdam</a>, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/airport-chaos-european-travel-runs-into-pandemic-cutbacks-1.5959561">London</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/19/us-travelers-flight-cancellations-chaos">New York</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/8905320/frustrations-mount-over-ongoing-delays-at-toronto-pearson-airport">Toronto</a>, where tens of thousands of passengers are processed every day.</p> <h2>Are all the problems related to the pandemic?</h2> <p>When the global air travel market collapsed in March 2020 with the introduction of travel restrictions and border closures, the commercial aviation industry took steps to conserve cash and maintain a minimal workforce. </p> <p>Hundreds of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/02/01/airlines-lost-over-40000-workers-united-airlines-announced-another-14000-jobs-may-be-lost/?sh=6fa3ff1324b3">thousands of aviation workers were laid off or terminated</a>, with years of experience and technical expertise removed from the ranks of the commercial aviation communities. </p> <p>With the assistance of governments throughout the world, over US$200 billion of financial support was provided by governments to help the commercial aviation industry maintain minimal service and prevent financial collapse. </p> <p>When demand for air travel returned this March, the hiring frenzy began, but in a very different labour environment. The people who left in 2020 had, for the most part, moved on to other career opportunities and no longer had much interest in returning to an industry characterized by lower compensation and a higher employment risk. So the staff shortages have their genesis in the pandemic, and will continue to impact employment levels as travel returns.</p> <h2>How many more people are travelling these days compared to a year ago – and compared to pre-pandemic levels?</h2> <p>The International Air Transport Association publishes <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2022-releases/2022-06-09-01/">air travel statistics</a> relating to the volume of air travel throughout various world markets. It has noted that there is a significant difference in the volume of air travel, when compared to both 2021 and pre-pandemic levels. </p> <p>The air travel market that has demonstrated the highest rebound has been domestic North America — travel for April 2022 has increased more than 280 per cent compared to April 2021 traffic levels, but remains at slightly more than 30 per cent lower than April 2019 levels. </p> <p>In the Chinese domestic market, continuing pandemic-related travel restrictions and occasional city lockdowns have resulted in <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/publications/economic-reports/air-passenger-monthly-analysis---april-2022/">traffic levels down by close to 80 per cent</a> in April 2022, compared to April 2021 and 2019.</p> <h2>What can be done to prevent delays?</h2> <p>There are a number of perspectives that can be applied to a resolution of the current level of delays.</p> <p>European authorities have announced <a href="https://nltimes.nl/2022/06/16/schiphol-press-conference-many-flights-will-slashed-limit-passengers-ceo-wont-quit">specific reductions in flights</a>, while the U.S. government is <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/flight-cancellations-surge-buttigieg-demands-airlines-hire-staff-1717188">threatening to impose flight reductions</a> as a means of minimizing flight cancellations. </p> <p>The Canadian government has facilitated a meeting with the major aviation organizations in Canada to discuss <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/06/21/transport-minister-airlines-airports-delays/">a concerted and effective resolution </a> and <a href="https://investors.aircanada.com/2022-06-23-Air-Canada-Comments-on-Aviation-Industry-Summit-with-Federal-Transport-Minister">Air Canada announced measures</a> it was intending to implement to ease congestion at both Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau airports. </p> <p>Canadian government officials have also announced <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/05/25/airport-delays-are-here-to-stay-for-the-long-term-due-to-a-shortage-of-workers-in-airport-security-union-says.html">plans to hire close to 2,000 additional border security and screening personnel</a> to deal with specific congestion issues. Labour groups are not certain that the problems of congestion will be addressed by such actions. </p> <p>The main issue is the volume of air travellers that are being drawn into the airport environment by the volume of flights operated by the airlines. Airlines have decided to grow their capacity to meet surging air travel demand, but the airport infrastructure is not equipped to handle such volumes. </p> <p>While such enthusiasm by the airline industry is laudable in times where adequate and experienced staff are available at airports, that is not the case now — and will not be the case for the foreseeable future.</p> <h2>How long will this last?</h2> <p>The summer travel season is in full flight in the northern hemisphere. Additional airline capacity and greater demand for air service by a travel-starved population will continue through at least September. </p> <p>Unless actions being contemplated by American, European and Canadian carriers results in a reduction of peak loading of aircraft movements across major airline hubs, in North America and Western Europe primarily, the congestion and delays will continue – and possibly worsen. </p> <p>Relief will most likely come in the fall, as demand for air travel is reduced with the arrival of the school season. Staffing will also reach required levels by the fall, with the arrival of normal commercial air operating conditions. </p> <p>Other issues that may reduce demand include <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/05/13/airfare-inflation-cool-demand-summer/?sh=42ae089032c3">higher airfares due to inflation and higher oil prices</a>, which may impact the survival of some airlines. </p> <h2>What advice would you give to air travellers over the next few months?</h2> <p>Airport authorities have been providing <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/travelling-this-summer-toronto-pearson-and-its-airport-partners-offer-travel-advice-for-passengers-822689624.html">guidance to travellers</a> on how best to prepare themselves for summer travel, including tips on how to avoid delays at security checks.</p> <p>In this coming summer of disruption, I would recommend travellers embark on their air journey with patience, ensure they are well-rested prior to departing for the airport and remember that airline staff are also experiencing stressful moments during their day. </p> <p>A smile, a thank you and, above all, a caring attitude for fellow travellers and staff is called for. The air travel experience will get better!</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/air-canada-flight-reductions-faqs-about-the-chaos-in-the-airline-industry-185750" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p> </figure>

International Travel

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Australia is one of few countries that doesn’t pay session musicians ongoing royalties. Our music industry suffers as a result

<p>Most of the music we listen to is made by session musicians. These guns for hire are experts in their field, much sought after and often bring a unique sound – that extra thing that helps to make the recording what it is.</p> <p>Whether we’re at home or in our cars, at the gym, the shops, a cafe or a pub, recorded performances form the soundtrack to our lives. This soundtrack includes music made by hired freelance instrumentalists and singers whose contributions are vital to the appeal and quality of those recordings.</p> <p>While we get to enjoy the end product seemingly free of charge, all music that is broadcast or communicated to a listener is licensed by the owner of that recording and a fee is paid for that licence. Collection agencies such as <a href="https://www.ppca.com.au/music-licensing/">PPCA</a> collect these licences and disperse royalties to the rights holders of the registered recordings.</p> <h2>Does Australia value musicians?</h2> <p>Historically, Australian session musicians have had no economic claim to their recorded performances beyond a basic session fee – an unregulated fee that in real terms, has been going backwards for decades.</p> <p>While many other countries support the rights of performers to ongoing royalties, Australia is one of a handful of developed economies that does not. This has denied our musicians access to important income streams at home and abroad, placed a limit on our trade with other countries and positioned us as an outlier.</p> <p>We are seen as a country that does not value musicians the way they are valued elsewhere in the world, a perception that needs to change if we want to provide some incentive for the next generation to keep making music.</p> <p>So, how did it get to this?</p> <p>In 1996 the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) drafted the <a href="https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/text/295578">WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty</a>, which granted performers economic rights for their recorded performances and “equitable remuneration” when these performances were monetised.</p> <p>Since then, free trade agreements, such as the one between Australia and the United States in 2004, have required that parties sign up to the treaty, which our government did in 2007. Unfortunately, then Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer <a href="https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/notifications/wppt/treaty_wppt_67.html">deliberately excluded Article 15.1</a> from the agreement, leaving Australian musicians without the same rights as those enjoyed by musicians in other parts of the world.</p> <p>For example, in the UK, US, most of Europe, as well as Mexico, Brazil, Canada and Japan, performers are assigned a percentage of the licence revenue.</p> <p>According to Peter Thoms, board member of the UK collection agency PPL "[…] in the UK, PPL royalties are split 50/50 with the labels and performers. A featured artist, who will be contracted to the label, gets a bigger performer share but session players also share in this revenue. Players who have been active on many recordings receive significant amounts annually. This helps make session playing as a vocation more viable and is a fair recognition of their contribution."</p> <p>However, when the same recordings are then broadcast in Australia, these musicians are not entitled to any performance royalties. This has led to countries like the UK reciprocating our approach and no longer paying session musicians or artists on Australian recordings when they are broadcast in the UK.</p> <h2>The Australian musician brain drain</h2> <p>The extra twist is that Australian artists with international appeal are now frequently recording outside Australia to enable them to qualify for European royalties, which are paid on a <a href="https://www.ppluk.com/international-collections/international-agreements/">qualifying territory</a> basis.</p> <p>As Australia is no longer a qualifying territory there is motivation for Australian artists to record in the UK and elsewhere to ensure they can claim equitable remuneration in the big overseas markets.</p> <p>The WIPO Treaty aimed to “provide adequate solutions to the questions raised by economic, social, cultural and technological developments”, all of which have evolved enormously since 1996. If Australia is to keep up with these changes, it must stop lagging behind and adopt Article 15.1.</p> <p>This has the potential to increase productivity in the recording economy, including revenue derived from export, and expand a sector that is currently heavily reliant on live music. Increasing passive income streams would also help to grow and sustain the careers of young musicians and support performers through future crises.</p> <h2>What can we do to fix this problem?</h2> <p>The current <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-australia-fta-chapter-15-intellectual-property/chapter-15-intellectual-property-web-version">free trade agreement</a> between Australia and the UK provides us with a political opening for this conversation. The agreement calls for a discussion about measures to ensure “adequate” remuneration for performers and producers of recordings. If we truly value our musicians, adequate must be equitable.</p> <p>All performers, classical and contemporary, as well as record producers should be having this conversation right now, engaging with other stakeholders and raising awareness.</p> <p>If the Australian government and recording industry will acknowledge the prevailing conditions for musicians globally and adopt the principle of equitable remuneration, we can begin rebuilding the structures that support payments to performers at home and overseas.</p> <p>By valuing our musicians more we will add value to the sector, with better economic regulation and new systems connecting all Australian musicians to the larger markets.</p> <p>So next time you hear music playing, think of the session musicians and producers whose skills helped to make that song a hit - the drummer on X, the trombone player on Y, or the vocalist on that annoying advertisement that’s been running for 20 years – and ask someone close by, why is it that Australian musicians are denied equitable remuneration that exists in so many other parts of the world?</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-one-of-few-countries-that-doesnt-pay-session-musicians-ongoing-royalties-our-music-industry-suffers-as-a-result-185022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Music

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Controversial reason man barred wife's bridesmaid

<p dir="ltr">A man has asked whether he’s in the right for asking his fiancée to ban her friend from their wedding because she works in the adult entertainment industry.</p> <p dir="ltr">The groom took to Reddit revealing that his future wife is very close friends with the adult industry star, who is well known and could possibly be asked for autographs at the wedding.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, he is questioning whether or not he is being reasonable to bar the friend from the wedding.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t disapprove of her at all, that’s her business. She’s great. But my family is staunchly religious,” he wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So much so that my mom said that if the wedding was not held in a chapel she would not be attending. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I know it’s ridiculous but it’s my family. And it’s not just her, it’s that entire side with the exception of a few cousins and my siblings.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He insisted the problem with having her attend the wedding is because of how “recognisable she is” and even admitted to having seen some of her videos. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ll fully admit that prior to meeting her, I had watched a few of her videos just because of how viral they are,” he confessed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m sure other guys there will have seen her videos too, and if something gets mentioned or pointed out it could cause so much drama that I really don’t want to deal with on the wedding day. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I also don’t want attention to be taken off the woman I’m marrying.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The couple broached the subject and his fiancée said she would have her friend at the wedding regardless of what anyone thinks or says despite trying to compromise.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She told me that she is one of her closest friends and that she’s not moving her out of our wedding just to appease my mother,” the man continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I told her that I want our day to go off without a hitch and this is just mitigating risk. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I also said that I felt that she owed me one because she vetoed a groomsman of mine because he cheated on someone in the bridal party.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She felt it was unfair and now we’re at an impasse. She told me that the way I was behaving was gross and I was being an a**hole.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Reddit community did not hold back questioning why the man was so worried about his religious family’s reaction when they shouldn't be watching such content.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And how, pray, is this deeply religious family going to recognise an adult film actress? Anyone who recognises her has no right to be outraged,” someone wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Your family is deeply religious, but you were going to have a cheating groomsman? How does that work? This is about you being a prude,” another commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m dying to know how the ‘very religious’ mother would know who this person was,” another interjected.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Relationships

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Green hydrogen is coming - and these Australian regions are well placed to build our new export industry

<p>You might remember hearing a lot about green hydrogen last year, as global pressure mounted on Australia to take stronger action on climate change ahead of the COP26 Glasgow summit last November.</p> <p>The government predicts green hydrogen exports and domestic use could be worth up to <a href="https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/taylor/media-releases/strong-potential-future-australia-germany-hydrogen-exports">A$50 billion within 30 years</a>, helping the world achieve deep decarbonisation.</p> <p>But how close are we really to a green hydrogen industry? And which states are best placed to host it? My research shows that as of next year, and based on where the cheapest renewables are, the best places to produce green hydrogen are far north Queensland and Tasmania.</p> <p>As ever more renewable energy pours into our grid, this picture will change. By the end of the decade, the north Queensland coast could become the hydrogen powerhouse. By 2040, dirt-cheap solar should make inland areas across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia the lowest cost producers.</p> <h2>Renewable energy you can store and transport</h2> <p>Why is there so much buzz around green hydrogen? In short, because it offers us a zero emissions way to transport energy. Take cheap renewable energy and use it to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrolyser. Store the hydrogen on trucks, ship it overseas, or send it by pipeline. Then use the hydrogen for transport, manufacturing or electricity production.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440605/original/file-20220113-19-1sc50s2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440605/original/file-20220113-19-1sc50s2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Diagram of uses of green hydrogen" /></a> <span class="caption">Pathways for the production and use of green hydrogen.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></p> <p>All the technology exists – it’s the cost holding the industry back at present. That’s where Australia and its wealth of cheap renewable energy comes in.</p> <p>Making hydrogen is nothing new – it has a long history of use in fertiliser production and oil refining. But until now, the main source for hydrogen was gas, a fossil fuel.</p> <p>In the last few years, however, there has been a sudden surge of interest and investment in green hydrogen, and new technology pathways have emerged to produce cheap green hydrogen. As global decarbonisation gathers steam, Japan, South Korea and parts of Europe are looking for clean alternatives to replace the role fossil fuels have played in their economies.</p> <p>Australia is exceptionally well placed to deliver these alternatives, with world-beating renewable resources and ports set up for our existing fossil fuel exports, such as coal and LNG.</p> <p>In 2019, we sold almost $64 billion of black coal, with most going to Japan, South Korea, India and China. As these countries decarbonise, the coal industry will shrink. Green hydrogen could be an excellent replacement.</p> <h2>How competitive is Australian hydrogen?</h2> <p>At present, Australia is a long way from producing green hydrogen cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels, given we seem to have no appetite for taxing carbon pollution.</p> <p>Does that mean it’s a non-starter? Hardly. It was only a decade ago sceptics ridiculed solar and wind as too expensive. They’ve gone awfully quiet as renewable prices fell, and fell, and fell – as tracked by the <a href="https://www.irena.org/Statistics/View-Data-by-Topic/Costs/Global-Trends">International Renewable Energy Agency</a>. Now renewables are <a href="https://www.csiro.au/-/media/EF/Files/GenCost2020-21_FinalReport.pdf">cheaper than coal</a>. Battery storage, too, has fallen drastically in price. The same forces are at work on the key technology we need – cheaper electrolysers.</p> <p>By 2040, the CSIRO predicts an 83% fall in electrolyser costs, according to its <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/publications/publication/PIcsiro:EP2021-3374">Gencost 2021-22 report</a>. By contrast, gas-derived hydrogen with carbon capture is predicted to reduce in cost only slightly. That means green hydrogen is likely to capture much of the market for hydrogen from 2030 onwards.</p> <h2>Which states could benefit?</h2> <p>My research with the <a href="https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/platforms-initiatives/victorian-hydrogen-hub/">Victorian Hydrogen Hub)</a> shows as of next year, the lowest cost location for green hydrogen would be Far North Queensland ($4.1/kg) and Tasmania ($4.4/kg) due to high renewable resources.</p> <p>But this picture will change. By 2030, northern Queensland’s coastal regions could be the Australian hydrogen powerhouse due to a combination of cheap solar and access to ports. Western Australia and the Northern Territory could also have similar advantages, though the modelling for these areas has not yet been done.</p> <p>As solar energy and electrolyser costs continue to fall, new states could enter the green hydrogen economy. In CSIRO’s cost predictions, electricity from solar is predicted to become much cheaper than wind by 2040. This means sunny areas like central and northern Queensland ($1.7/kg) and inland NSW, Victoria and South Australia ($1.8/kg) could be the best locations for green hydrogen production.</p> <p>In making these estimates, I do not consider supply chain and storage infrastructure required to deliver the hydrogen. Transport could account for between $0.05/kg to $0.75/kg depending on distance.</p> <p>Comparing my modelling to price thresholds set out in the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-11/australias-national-hydrogen-strategy.pdf">National Hydrogen Strategy</a> indicates we can produce green hydrogen for trucking at a similar cost to diesel within four years. Fertiliser would take longer, becoming competitive by 2040.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440388/original/file-20220112-21-1jzafzm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440388/original/file-20220112-21-1jzafzm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">The levelised cost of hydrogen at renewable energy zones in Australia for 2023, 2030 and 2040. (source: Steven Percy, Victorian Hydrogen Hub)</span></p> <h2>Does our dry country have the water resources for green hydrogen?</h2> <p>If we achieved the $50 billion green hydrogen industry the government is aiming for, how much water would it consume? Surprisingly little. It would take only around 4% of the water we used for our crops and pastures in <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/agriculture/water-use-australian-farms/latest-release">2019-20</a> to generate an export industry that size – 225,000 megalitres.</p> <p>Much more water than this will be freed up as coal-fired power stations exit the grid. In Queensland and NSW alone, these power stations consume around 158,000 megalitres a year according to a <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-04/apo-nid303605.pdf">2020 report</a> prepared for the Australian Conservation Foundation. Coal mining in these two states takes an additional 224,000 megalitres.</p> <p>As the cost of renewable energy falls and falls, we will also be able to desalinate seawater along our coasts to produce hydrogen. We estimate this would account for only about 1% of the cost of producing hydrogen, based on Australian Water Association <a href="https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/14568786/Fact%20Sheets/Desalination_Fact_Sheet.pdf">desalination cost estimates</a>.</p> <h2>How can we get there faster?</h2> <p>This decade, we must plan for our new hydrogen economy. Government and industry will need to develop and support new hydrogen infrastructure projects to produce, distribute, use and export hydrogen at scale.</p> <p>We’re already seeing promising signs of progress, as major mining companies <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-10/qld-palaszczuk-andrew-forrest-hydrogen-gladstone/100527670">move strongly</a> into green hydrogen.</p> <p>Now we need governments across Australia to rapidly get optimal policy and regulations in place to allow the industry to develop and thrive.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174466/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-percy-611961">Steven Percy</a>, Senior Research Fellow, Victorian Hydrogen Hub, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em></span></p> <p>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/green-hydrogen-is-coming-and-these-australian-regions-are-well-placed-to-build-our-new-export-industry-174466">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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The greener future of the live music industry

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As climate change discussions front global politics, many sectors of the arts are trying to find a solution to do their part to help environmental causes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It turns out that staging a live show leaves behind a bigger carbon footprint than you might imagine, when considering the energy consumption involved with constant transport, lighting, PA systems and facilities, not to mention accommodating all the needs of the crew involved. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A </span><a href="https://juliesbicycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MA_Vol1_Touring_Bands_Report_2010.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">study</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> conducted in 2010 found that the live music industry alone is responsible for a whopping 405,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in a single year in the UK alone, which does not include the amount of micro-plastics used throughout the duration of a tour. </span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846781/carbon-footprint.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/9026b5caeed24eaeb98f841f3da3060d" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Green Touring Network</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Due to these astonishing figures, drastic measures are being taken to help reduce the amount of emissions produced by the music industry. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As early as 2004, Neil Young began to advocate for eco-friendly touring by exclusively using tour vehicles that only ran on biofuels made from soybeans and vegetable oils. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More recently, artists such as Maroon 5 have been strong advocates for green touring, with the band co-founding the Green Music Group. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The group have “greened up” their tours by using biofuel in t</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">heir tour vehicles, advocating for use of solar power and other renewable energy sources, and even donating the entire income of their 2005 tour to the global environmental organization "Global Cool".</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other musicians such as the rock band Green Day, Radiohead, Linkin Park, U2 and many more, have also opted for sustainably made merchandise, using ship transportation as opposed to air travel, and donating millions of dollars to organisations dedicated to the climate change fight. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though these changes seem small in the grand scheme of the global warming fight, influential musicians are still doing their part to ensure there is still a planet to perform on, while healing hearts with the incomparable experience of live music. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Music

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How we can use the law to make the fashion industry fairer to women and the earth

<p>In March 1911, in a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-social-inquiry/article/abs/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-of-1911-social-change-industrial-accidents-and-the-evolution-of-commonsense-causality/576CA665F1EC2DB1C246F9DA22AAD2BC">garment factory in Manhattan</a>, over 100 people, mostly Jewish and Italian women migrants, some as young as 14, were trapped inside and died as the factory burnt to the floor. Management had locked the doors.</p> <p>In the following years, women workers mobilised. Their protests catalysed major law reforms in the US which are still enjoyed today – social security, unemployment insurance, the abolition of child labour, minimum wages and the right to unionise.</p> <p>Yet the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is alarmingly reminiscent of the 2013 collapse of the <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/geip/WCMS_614394/lang--en/index.htm">Rana Plaza</a> in the Savar Upazila district of Dhaka, Bangladesh, which saw the death of 1,134 people, mostly young women, and over 2,500 injured.</p> <p>Rana Plaza was home to factories manufacturing garments for <a href="https://archive.cleanclothes.org/safety/ranaplaza/who-needs-to-pay-up">renowned global brands</a>, but the spotlight on this tragedy is now dimming. Years on, accountability for the resulting safety accords remains insufficient and many factories continue to <a href="https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/five-years-after-rana-plaza-way-forward">escape scrutiny</a>.</p> <p>Consumers are increasingly looking for sustainable and ethical fashion. We believe these goals are inseparable from an industry which embraces gender justice. But gender justice cannot be achieved by consumer demand and boycotts alone. Instead, we need <a href="https://www.genderlawindex.org/">gender-responsive law reform</a>.</p> <p>Our <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-human-rights-journal/article/abs/fast-fashion-for-2030-using-the-pattern-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-to-cut-a-more-genderjust-fashion-sector/326A2604C7FB89EAAC2B931B98F4C6A0">new research</a> sets out six ways to cut a more gender-just and sustainable fashion sector.</p> <h2>1. Accountability</h2> <p>The fashion sector’s gendered hierarchy is ingrained. Workers on the floor are largely female, while floor managers, security and factory owners are largely male.</p> <p>Female workers are vulnerable to harassment, violence and exploitation. There is an absence of adequate complaint mechanisms and women often risk retaliation.</p> <p>Accountability is needed not only in the countries producing garments, but also in countries where the garments are sold, and through all stages of the supply chain.</p> <p>Modern Slavery Acts, including <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2018-030">Australia’s 2018 law</a>, establish reporting obligations for businesses, requiring them to report on the due diligence they have conducted with respect to potential risks of exploitation in their supply chains.</p> <p>But accountability has to go beyond the current <a href="https://law.adelaide.edu.au/ua/media/1410/ALR_40%283%29_11_Vijeyarasa_Web.pdf">“naming and shaming” provisions</a>.</p> <p>Penalties should be imposed and used to fund victim compensation, not just for workplace injuries but also for workers who suffer gender-based harms.</p> <h2>2. A living wage</h2> <p>Minimum wages rarely equate to a <a href="https://www.globallivingwage.org/about/what-is-a-living-wage/">living wage</a>, one that affords a decent standard of living for the worker and her family.</p> <p>The United Nations’ <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> call for full and productive employment and decent work for all.</p> <p>In factories, this would mean acknowledging a living wage is needed for workers to be able to afford food, water, housing, education, health care, transportation, clothing and other essential needs. This needs to be coupled with an appreciation of how workers are impacted when rental prices outpace annual increases in the minimum wage.</p> <p>Sustainable economic growth also requires financing the social security of workers including maternity leave, unemployment and disability insurance.</p> <h2>3. Community</h2> <p>Workers are often migrants who leave their children behind in the care of families.</p> <p>Many garment-producing countries lack sufficient gender-responsive public services needed by women workers: decent public housing, street lighting and healthcare in close proximity to factories.</p> <p>The Sustainable Development Goals ask for the recognition of the unequal share of unpaid care work borne by women. This impacts women workers’ lives outside the factory floor. Without this recognition, gendered labour will continue to sustain the global economy.</p> <p>Women also face <a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190">gender-based violence</a> on and off the factory floor. Legislation is needed to protect workers from such violence in all the spaces in which they move, including the commute to and from work.</p> <h2>4. Taxation</h2> <p>Potential tax revenue is lost by governments in garment-producing countries through regulatory loopholes.</p> <p>Rather than directly owning production factories, some companies claim to buy their products from “independent suppliers”. This arms-length principle eradicates the need for major retail brands to pay corporate tax in these countries.</p> <p>This lost revenue has a disproportionate impact on women, including undermining the provision of gender-responsive public services. Comprehensive social protection schemes remain underfunded.</p> <p>Reforms to eradicate these tax loopholes may see a notable increase in government revenue for garment-supply countries to fund these much needed services.</p> <h2>5. Representation and voice</h2> <p>Women make up the majority of garment workers, but their influence over corporate and government decision-making remains marginal.</p> <p>Trade unions have improved representation, but frequently their approach to gender equality is piecemeal. Many women fashion workers remain un-unionised. As a result, fundamental concerns of women workers are often given inadequate attention.</p> <p>The implementation of <a href="https://indicators.report/targets/8-8/">labour standards from the International Labour Organization</a> could see more spaces carved out for women worker’s interests to be voiced and heard.</p> <h2>6. Responsible consumption</h2> <p>Consumer choice is often presented as the key to transforming the fashion industry. Consumers need persuading to make human rights-based decisions, in the same way they are persuaded by brand, quality and price.</p> <p>Consumers may look for clothing labelled as “ethical fashion”, “organic” or “eco”, but shoppers are also wary of “<a href="https://jcsr.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40991-019-0044-9">greenwashing</a>”.</p> <p>While <a href="http://www.makethelabelcount.org/">imperfect</a>, the European Union’s proposal to make transparent the <a href="https://www.ecotextile.com/2021070828060/materials-production-news/consultation-opens-on-european-pef-proposals.html">environmental footprint of clothing</a> should enable stronger transparency on the environmental impact of fashion labels.</p> <p>This transparency must also extend to human rights issues looking at how the clothing is produced.</p> <p>Clearly law and fashion have much to gain from each other. But there has to be a more robust and effective solution than shifting accountability from corporations to the individual. A simple boycott may not be the best choice: instead contact your local MP and encourage them to care about and demand gender-responsive law reform.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173235/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-liu-291632">Mark Liu</a>, Visiting Scholar: School of Architecture and School of Engineering, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ramona-vijeyarasa-583428">Ramona Vijeyarasa</a>, Senior Lecturer, University of Technology Sydney and Women's Leadership Institute Australia Research Fellow</span></p> <p>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/how-we-can-use-the-law-to-make-the-fashion-industry-fairer-to-women-and-the-earth-173235">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: </em><em><span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/NEIL HALL</span></span></em></p>

Legal

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The ban on cruise ships has once again been extended

<p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> <p>The cruise ship industry has lamented on the cruising ban in Australia being extended until February 2022.</p> <p>Yesterday Health Minister Greg Hunt declared the human biosecurity period has been extended until the 17<sup>th</sup> of February. Consequently, cruise ships will not be allowed into Australia, although the ban will be reviewed in a month.</p> <p>The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said the decision was a "devastating blow for thousands of Australian workers".</p> <p>18,000 Australians depend on the cruise market for their livelihoods, CLIA managing director Joel Katz said.</p> <p>"In other countries close to five million people have already sailed successfully under the cruise industry's extensive new health protocols," he said.</p> <p>"We need federal and state governments to use the coming weeks for genuine discussions with the cruise industry so we can plan a similar revival in Australia."</p> <p>The cruise industry's new health measures include vaccination mandates and testing, as well as various quarantine and distancing measures.</p> <p>"Cruising has changed enormously in response to the pandemic and the work our industry has done with medical experts internationally has resulted in health protocols that are successful in mitigating the risks of COVID-19," Mr Katz said.</p> <p>"With vaccination rates increasing and borders opening, we need agreement on the way forward throughout Australia so there can be a careful revival of cruise tourism in communities around the country."</p> <p>The biosecurity period determinations also mandate pre-departure testing and mask-wearing on international flights, as well as restrictions on outbound travel for unvaccinated Australians.</p> <p>"These arrangements have been a significant contributing factor in Australia's success in avoiding the catastrophic effects of COVID-19 seen in many other countries," the announcement from Mr Hunt said.</p> <p>"The Government continues to work constructively with the cruise ship industry, with whom we remain actively engaged alongside state and territory governments to enable a phased resumption of cruising in Australia on the basis of medical advice.</p> <p>"As part of this work, the Government will continually review, on a monthly basis, whether the current restrictions on cruise ships can be safely lifted or amended."</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

Cruising

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Making the tobacco industry pay for cigarette litter could stop 4.5 billion butts polluting the Australian environment

<p>Cigarette butts with filters are the most commonly littered item worldwide, with a staggering <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5347528/">4.5 trillion</a> of them tossed into the environment each year. This is a huge problem; many end up on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119300787">beaches and in the ocean</a>, and the tar from burnt tobacco in the filter can be toxic to wildlife.</p> <p>Fixing the problem has focused on changing the behaviour of people who smoke, but a <a href="https://www.wwf.org.au/ArticleDocuments/353/pub-WWF-Australia-Ending-cigarette-butt-pollution-3Dec21.pdf.aspx">new report</a> shows making the tobacco industry responsible for the litter with a mandatory product stewardship scheme is likely to have a much greater impact.</p> <p>In Australia alone, it’s estimated up to 8.9 billion butts are littered each year. Under the proposed scheme, we could potentially reduce this by 4.45 billion a year.</p> <p>So how can it be done in practice? And what would the benefits be from a policy like this?</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433353/original/file-20211123-15-8zbai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433353/original/file-20211123-15-8zbai4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Three wrens around a cigarette butt" /></a> <span class="caption">Smoked cigarette filters take months or even years to break down.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></p> <h2>Social and environmental costs</h2> <p>Cigarette filters are made of a bioplastic called cellulose acetate, and they typically take <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0117393">years to break down</a>. Smoked cigarette filters are infused with the same chemicals and heavy metals in the tar that harm humans when they smoke.</p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/cigarette-butts-are-the-forgotten-plastic-pollution-and-they-could-be-killing-our-plants-119958">Research from 2019 found</a> adding cigarette butts to soil reduces the germination of grass and clover seeds and the length of their shoots. Seaworms exposed to used filters have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep14119">DNA damage and reduced growth</a>.</p> <p>And exposure to cigarette filters (even unsmoked ones) are toxic to fish – <a href="https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/Suppl_1/i25?utm_source=TrendMD&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=TC_TrendMD-0">research with two fish species </a> found adding two to four smoked cigarette filters per litre of water could kill them.</p> <p>Currently, the tobacco industry does not have to pay for the clean-up of cigarette butts polluting the environment. Rather, the community bears the cost. Cigarette litter and its management <a href="https://www.wwf.org.au/ArticleDocuments/353/pub-WWF-Australia-Ending-cigarette-butt-pollution-3Dec21.pdf.aspx">costs</a> the Australian economy an estimated A$73 million per year.</p> <p>Local councils in particular spend large amounts of money cleaning it up. The City of Sydney, for example, has estimated their cleaning crews sweep up <a href="https://campaignbrief.com/the-city-of-sydney-launches-ci/">15,000 cigarette butts daily</a> from city streets.</p> <p>And volunteers spend countless hours picking up cigarette butts from parks, streets and beaches. In its 2020 Rubbish Report, Clean Up Australia Day found cigarette butts accounted for <a href="https://www.cleanup.org.au/cigarette-butts">16% of all recorded items</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433349/original/file-20211123-19-1qwxthm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433349/original/file-20211123-19-1qwxthm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Two smiling men hold bags of rubbish" /></a> <span class="caption">Volunteers, such as for Clean Up Australia Day, spend countless hours picking up cigarette butts from the enviornment.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glengarry Landcare VIC/Clean Up Australia</span></span></p> <h2>Current strategies are ineffective</h2> <p>The tobacco industry response to product waste has been to focus <a href="https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/2/100">responsibility on the consumer</a>. Tobacco companies have created public education campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of the butt litter problem, supplied consumers and cities worldwide with public ashtrays, and funded anti-litter groups.</p> <p>But given the amount of cigarettes that continue to be littered, it’s clear these strategies on their own have been ineffective. Many around the world are <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-explores-next-steps-to-clean-up-tobacco-litter-in-england">now calling for stronger industry regulation</a>.</p> <p>There have also been calls to ban cigarette filters completely. For example, lawmakers in <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2019/06/california-cigarette-butt-filter-ban-bill-electronic-disposable-vapes/">California</a> and New York have attempted to ban the sale of cigarettes with filters, and New Zealand is finalising their <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/proposals_for_a_smokefree_aotearoa_2025_action_plan-final.pdf">Smokefree Aotearoa Action Plan</a>, which may include a cigarette filter ban.</p> <p>Many jurisdictions in Australia and worldwide are starting to ban single-use plastics such as straws and takeaway containers, and have <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l5890">been criticised</a> for not including cigarette filters in these laws.</p> <p>If filters were banned, cigarette butt litter would remain, but without the plastic filter. Although, <a href="https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2021/11/18/tobaccocontrol-2021-056815">a recent trial</a> of cigarettes without filters found that people smoked fewer of these than when they were given the same cigarettes with filters. More research is needed on the health impact of smoking filterless cigarettes and the environmental impact of filterless cigarette butts.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433352/original/file-20211123-27-d6ktd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433352/original/file-20211123-27-d6ktd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">A pubic cigarette butt disposal facility in Salem, US.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></p> <h2>What would a stewardship scheme look like?</h2> <p>The federal government’s <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-plastics-plan-2021.pdf">National Plastics Plan</a>, released in March this year, committed to initiate a stewardship taskforce that would reduce cigarette butt litter in Australia, and would consider a potential stewardship scheme. However, they proposed the stewardship taskforce be industry led.</p> <p>Product stewardship schemes can be voluntary or written into law. For example, waste from product packaging is managed through a voluntary scheme, the <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/plastics-and-packaging/packaging-covenant">Australian Packaging Covenant</a>, which sets targets for reducing packaging waste that aren’t written into law. On the other hand, <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/products-schemes/television-computer-recycling-scheme">there is a law in Australia</a> requiring companies who manufacture TVs or computers to pay some of the costs for recycling these products.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.wwf.org.au/ArticleDocuments/353/pub-WWF-Australia-Ending-cigarette-butt-pollution-3Dec21.pdf.aspx">new research</a>, commissioned by World Wildlife Fund for Nature Australia, considered four regulatory approaches: business as usual, a ban on plastic filters, a voluntary industry product stewardship scheme, and a mandatory product stewardship scheme led by the federal government.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433344/original/file-20211123-13-tpimfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=0%2C16%2C5442%2C3600&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433344/original/file-20211123-13-tpimfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=0%2C16%2C5442%2C3600&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A hand in blue plastic gloves holds a cigarette butt on the beach" /></a> <span class="caption">Cigarette litter costs the Australian economy an estimated A$73 million each year.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Yurasits/Unsplash</span>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" class="license">CC BY</a></span></p> <p>Each of these options were ranked according to factors such as the regulatory effort required to implement them, their cost, consumer participation and the extent to which they would reduce environmental impacts on land and waterways.</p> <p>A ban on plastic cigarette filters and a mandatory product stewardship scheme were assessed as having the greatest potential environmental benefit. While uncertainties remain about a filter ban, there is no such barrier to implementing a mandatory product stewardship scheme on cigarette waste.</p> <p>This scheme could involve a tax that would pay for the recovery and processing costs associated with cigarette butt litter. The study suggested introducing a levy of A$0.004 – less than half a cent – on each smoked cigarette to manage the waste. Other studies from overseas, however, show this cost would need to be <a href="https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/Suppl_1/i36.full">higher</a>.</p> <p>We can look to the UK for an example of where to start. The UK is currently considering implementing an extended producer responsibility scheme to address cigarette litter. In November this year, it released a <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environmental-quality/call-for-evidence-on-commonly-littered-and-problem/supporting_documents/Call%20for%20evidence%20document.pdf">consultation document</a> on different options.</p> <p>They proposed a mandatory scheme where the tobacco industry would pay for the full costs of cleaning up and processing cigarette waste. Other costs they might be made to pay are for gathering and reporting data on tobacco product waste, provision of bins for cigarette butts, and campaigns to promote responsible disposal by consumers.</p> <p>It is time for the federal and state governments in Australia to make the tobacco industry pay for the mess they create.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171831/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kylie-morphett-1271253">Kylie Morphett</a>, Research Fellow, School of Public Health, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/coral-gartner-7425">Coral Gartner</a>, Director, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/william-clarke-380521">William Clarke</a>, Professor of waste management, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></span></p> <p>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/making-the-tobacco-industry-pay-for-cigarette-litter-could-stop-4-5-billion-butts-polluting-the-australian-environment-171831">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Shuttershock</em></p>

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