LATEST ARTICLES

Visitors in search of a road less trampled

Visitors in search of a road less trampled

As the world takes action to confront the looming threat of climate change, the Australian tourism industry is gearing up for a paradigm shift to greener travel options. With regenerative and sustainable tourism increasingly on the industry agenda, experts foresee a mix of government regulation and incentivisation is on the cards to shepherd the green transformation …read more

Reef tourism operating according to a new purpose

Reef tourism operating according to a new purpose

A new tourist pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef offers far more than sunbeds and soft-drinks. Forty-five kilometres from Cairns, on Moore reef, the Reef Magic pontoon is solar and wind-powered; it has a working scientific laboratory and accommodation for scientists. Launched in April 2022, the pontoon signifies the new thinking in the region: the need …read more

‘The pilot also eats potatoes’: Papuan separatists say kidnapped NZ pilot is living in jungle with independence fighters

‘The pilot also eats potatoes’: Papuan separatists say kidnapped NZ pilot is living in jungle with independence fighters

The New Zealand pilot kidnapped by independence fighters in Indonesia’s restive eastern-most province of Papua is now living in the jungle with the separatist fighters and eating what they eat, a separatist spokesman has told Crikey. Independence fighters from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) seized Susi Air’s small propeller plane when it landed at …read more

Kidnapped New Zealand pilot ‘will be executed’, claim Papuan separatists, if independence negotiations fail

Kidnapped New Zealand pilot ‘will be executed’, claim Papuan separatists, if independence negotiations fail

Separatists in Indonesia’s eastern-most area of West Papua have taken guerrilla warfare to another level by kidnapping a New Zealander pilot in the rugged mountainous terrain of Nduga. History suggests this desperate bid to win some autonomy from Jakarta will not end well.

Widodo’s regret for historic atrocities of little value while armed forces act with impunity

Widodo’s regret for historic atrocities of little value while armed forces act with impunity

It took Indonesian president Joko Widodo nearly a decade to make good on his 2014 election promise to address the nation’s historic gross human abuses – most of them the bloody work of the police and the military.  Last week he listed 12 of the historic atrocities that have blighted the nation’s human rights record. …read more

Three things regional Australia badly needs

Three things regional Australia badly needs

Increasing numbers of Australians are leaving the nation’s capital cities and moving to the regions, encouraged by proliferating work-from-home options and the digital wave revolutionising healthcare and education. The shift has slowed since the peak of the pandemic, yet the push is still there, raising questions of how rural Australia will cope with an inflow of …read more

Medical services take a leap into remote areas

Medical services take a leap into remote areas

The worldwide convulsions of the Covid pandemic focused attention on health management and health logistics – particularly on the knotty problems of providing for those unable or unwilling to visit health professionals in person. Expanding fast into this field is Glenn McKay’s Medical Rescue Group, which provides a range of medical and evacuation services to Australians …read more

James Rigby was an inaugural Ramsay postgraduate scholar

James Rigby was an inaugural Ramsay postgraduate scholar

With bachelor’s degrees in law and economics from the University of Queensland and a University medal under his belt, James Rigby looked further afield for his postgraduate study, choosing a Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford University as the course that best suited his interests. Recognised as one of the world’s leading master’s degrees in common …read more

Hiring more women is one answer to the employment crunch

Hiring more women is one answer to the employment crunch

Australia’s male-dominated supply chain and logistics industry is currently dealing with a workforce crunch exacerbated by limited range of a large proportion of the workers: mostly aging men. Hermione Parsons, appointed Australian Logistics Council chief executive officer four months ago, is working hard to drag the industry into the modern age. She is gathering a team …read more

Cuie Wen of RMIT moved from aeronautics to biomedical technology

Cuie Wen of RMIT moved from aeronautics to biomedical technology

A much-awarded bio-materials scientist and a leader in the field of bio-medical technology, Cuie Wen began her academic career at the institution then called the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but she long ago shifted her gaze from aeroplanes to the human body. Now a professor of bio-materials engineering at RMIT, she says that as …read more