Hungarian British author David Szalay has bested past winner Kiran Desai and former shortlistee Andrew Miller to win the prestigious Booker Prize for his sixth book, the 'extraordinary, singular' Flesh.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Angus admits he is not focused. Well done Angus!

theconversation.com/new-interact... Great work Marta! @anufennerschool.bsky.social

Exciting! Endangered, cryptic eastern ground parrot found well outside known areas of occurrence in Narawntapu National Park

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Doesn't work with refugees either. Dubious with prisons and in the care sector. "For profit" models are no good for governance and services. Let's stop wasting money on them. Public interest needs public servants. They cost less too.

theconversation.com/heres-why-mo... It might also be just when you drink coffee? ☕️

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio... Wise words here. Too much of the too glossy. Does anyone else feel that entertainment should not add to the decisions at the end of the day? Sometimes options overwhelm & it is just nice to retreat to a good book 📖📚

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... Here's a good idea! Treat gambling reform as a matter of personal commitment, not something lobbyists dictate. For Peta's Sake, @albomp.bsky.social

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... Affordable renting also makes London safer. Empty mansions abandoned by celebrities and oil barons (and rich English ppl too) make parts of London unsafe. Buildings filled with happy renters make communities. Charging developers at the start makes process transparent.

Consequences! Maybe this will slow pernicious journalism?

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... @abcnewsbot.bsky.social finally runs a story not on Sydney ... but oops it is "African gangs" in Melbourne again. Really? Lots of people love living here legally. "Youth crime" is widespread in rural areas too & even in Sydney. This isn't just Melbourne. Or African.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... So maybe think about using history, not just eco modelling. And a little empathy for humans. Not just "markets" ... who would have thought short-supply might behave differently from over-demand??? 🤔 More compassion for vulnerable people will be a winner every time.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... Of course the gov support should be for renters and not for landlords! When -ve gearing makes leaving places empty viable, we all suffer. Gouging landlords are forcing out small otherwise successful cafes & restaurants too.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... The devil's in the detail and the forecasts have been getting blander and less precise with more and more reliance on automated predictions and less and less on observed data. Wind changes (timing, direction & strength) need real precision for fire fighting. 🔥🔥🔥

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Apartheid reinvented. 🤔

www.abc.net.au/news/science... Crazy loopholes in the law. Let's make #protection a priority not extinction! @ipbes.net @ipbesfr.bsky.social @dollyjorgensen.bsky.social

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... Burning more, burning hotter isn't better. It is just less nuanced - and awful for air quality. Burns leave adjacent forests exposed to wind damage (pers obs) It is nothing like cultural burning at all. Just industrial risk management. @anufennerschool.bsky.social

Top diplomatic gifting right there

#BillieEilish is a big philanthropist for hunger & climate action. Nice that she is chasing even bigger ones: “If you have money... give it to some people that need it... “If you are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties.” No claps from #MetaMan

springs-rcc.org/eagles-marmo... A fantastic tale of #conservation and #care in logged landscapes. Rich in personal detail - free-to-air with #Springs @carsoncenter.bsky.social Congratulations @monicavasile.bsky.social @esehnextgate.bsky.social @iceho.bsky.social @nichecanada.bsky.social

We need this bill. Politicians used to retire and do honourable service living on their well-paid pension. Now it is a stepping-stone to big money. And all those "national security" secrets not publicised to taxpayers are available to commercial interests. Outrageous.

www.crikey.com.au/2025/11/03/e... Interesting parallels with Sydney-based media telling us all about crime in Melbourne. It's a "narrative" not a fact.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... But only some 'Australians' ... the cold states miss out. And WA.

www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/post/2025/11... Oh dear! The cold states that need it more don't get it... more "national" stuff that leaves out Victoria, WA, Tas...

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... A meteor in Maffra?

“The Australian Government is telling Australians that we don’t have enough gas for manufacturing…yet it allowed the export of enough gas to supply manufacturing for 60 years.” 📺Mark Ogge, Principal Advisor @markogge.bsky.social #auspol

thepoint.com.au/explainers/2... Easily fixed to make the system fairer... but not if the pollies are being lobbied by vested interests & "clever accountants". Let's also stop calling them clever. They are robbing the poor to pay the rich. Not nice.

Australia Institute research shows that in areas where at least 10% of the population is Indigenous, there are likely to be 50% more poker machines than the national average. Stronger poker machine regulation would significantly benefit Indigenous Australians. #auspol

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11... More independent local power hubs please! The bigger-better model is broken, and is failing as a "service". It's just BAU.

@squigglyrick.bsky.social on BoM web. Why is https so much "better" than http? Ans 1: it collects user data; Ans 2: it "secures" data... subtext: eventually to *sell* back public interest data to users, not safer for emergencies. Wi fi notoriously unreliable in storms. Less security = easier use

Time to stop employing #Nous, tax payers and not-for-profits! They waste time & money while women are dying. This is not what donors to underfunded causes like DV need to hear. Other consultancies need scrutiny too. Accountants are not enough. Anywhere.

www.theguardian.com/environment/... We've gotta look harder at cost of poles & wires (including fire risks and "management" ie chain saw teams ruining roadside vegetation). More local hubs and fewer wires strung across remote areas will bring costs down - but not suit Energy businesses.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... All the incentives are about new builds (and jobs for construction workers). How about some upcycling and repair? People like living in pleasant heritage buildings. "Raze and start again" is a wasteful, unsustainable and boring policy.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... Perhaps consultants who give poor advice should return their fees? A much better idea than allowing them to keep on charging extra when time frames blow out... When consultants *profit* from delay tactics, they will keep delaying.

Worth checking Environmental Justice Australia’s analysis of EPBC Act reform now in Fed Parliament. Check out their Scorecard: Www.envirojustice.org.au/environment-law-reform-scorecard/ How does the package stack up overall? (To be updated as more info comes to light.). Great job by EJA by the way.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01... If you can buy in why would you keep paying ridiculous rents? Landlords are better off paying back the oversize loans too. This story has more layers.

Some ideas for nature and cultures in high places...

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10... Top story today @abcnewsbot.bsky.social NOT the Royals. Please.

Treaty, It’s Here We have negotiated Australia’s first Treaty between First Peoples in Victoria and the Victorian Governmen firstpeoplesvic.org/treaty/

Congratulations Victoria! #auspol FIrst state treaty in Aus. It's a start. firstpeoplesvic.org

Treaty vote has passed in Parliament of Victoria, Australia. #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe 🖤💛❤️ #auspol #springst

#auspol The coal ship called Climate Justice?? They are taking the piss

www.crikey.com.au/2025/10/30/m... Singling out #climateAction research for axing is not a good look, Monash. Jock Marshall, 1960s professor who started "sustainability studies" at Monash before it was called that, would be appalled. (His name is still remembered on the university nature reserve).

Tax them! Excellent message on a crazily named ship. @knitnannassyd.bsky.social #RisingTide via @theguardian.com

The Housing Fund isn't building nearly enough houses. Guardian reports critique by Senator Barbara Pocock. Building red tape isn't helping anyone.