AG Bondi, here’s that correction you requested.

open.spotify.com/episode/1OPE... In this week's DS episode @jennaprice.bsky.social, Sinclair Davidson, Mark and I discuss the governance crisis in the Australian University sector. It is telling when folk from across the political spectrum agree on the problem and most of the solution A thread🧵

Australian universities are in a governance crisis. VC pay blowouts, scandals, mission drift — these aren’t random, they’re structural. This new working paper with @marijataflaga.bsky.social & Keith Dowding digs into why the system is broken, and how to fix it. doi.org/10.25911/MWW... A thread:

I’m sure this point has been made elsewhere but not only did they openly lie about how many recommendations were in the robodebt final report, the one they erased was to reform FOI and now they’re heading in the opposite direction. Surprise is not a feature of my reaction.

Bishop needs to go as well. There is no sensible governance arrangement where she gets to lead appointing a new VC. A new Chancellor / Chair and then a deep breath followed by a proper process to appoint a new VC / CEO needed. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Read Mean Streak by @squigglyrick.bsky.social It is a great and detailed account of the #Robodebt debacle.

Mean Streak has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards in the non-fiction category. Stoked, of course, but particularly because I think this episode deserves to linger in the consciousness for as long as possible.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... An overview of yesterday’s announcement

Does Australia rely too much on taxes on incomes?

Too right ! www.themandarin.com.au/299924-sbs-d...

Prevention or patch-up? Let’s avoid reinventing the wellbeing wheel www.themandarin.com.au/299930-preve...

The "sensible centre" is not the same as evidence-based policy. With online gambling, junk food advertising or incarcerating children, evidence of harm is clear, but centrist positions are defined by politics rather than evidence. This Friday, join @richarddenniss.bsky.social for a free webinar ⤵️

*Dear Susssan* "—if the international community had stepped in as soon as Israel commenced taking Palestinian land beyond its side of the 1967 borders, we would not be in this position." johnmenadue.com/post/2025/09...

David McBride speaks to MWM from Jail youtube.com/shorts/wu5D_...

And we knew about climate change 3 decades ago. We did nothing then either. Short-sighted profiteering elected idiocy doesn't mean we should become silent on existential threats. Either then or now.

‘Publish or perish’ evolutionary pressures shape scientific publishing, for better and worse

Yet another child rapist charged in a Sydney childcare centre this week. So saying it again below

An epidemic of loneliness Østby’s proposed response; “The world needs less violence, prejudice social hierarchy, & more inclusion & understanding. “We can all be warm wool blankets in each other’s lives,” she writes… “We are never alone. Our flock is humanity.” insidestory.org.au/all-the-lone...

The Underestimated “Price of Parenting” www.dollarsandsense.org/the-underest...

Neonazis planned violence www.patreon.com/posts/138092...

It remains legally safe to refer to him as a war criminal.

So much I could say about the Robodebt Class Action re-settlement. But I am tired and in another time zone and will simply leave this here instead.

“It is shameful that those who are responsible for Robodebt and who ignored its harm have been subject to very little accountability, if any. “Robodebt victims and their families deserve so much better.” theaimn.net/acoss-statem...

GDP distorts our measurement of productivity, economic value and progress “Valuing human milk: Applying economic pricing to measure lactation in national accounts | The Economic and Labour Relations Review - bit.ly/45TXcwN @anucrawfordschool.bsky.social @jimchalmers.bsky.social @wbtiuk.bsky.social

New Australia Institute research reveals that the failures in Australia’s freedom of information (FOI) scheme lie with the government, not with applicants. The government’s proposal to limit FOI requests by charging fees instead of fixing the broken system misdiagnoses the problem. Read ⤵️ #auspol

GDP distorts our measurement of productivity, economic value and progress “Valuing human milk: Applying economic pricing to measure lactation in national accounts | The Economic and Labour Relations Review - bit.ly/45TXcwN @anucrawfordschool.bsky.social @jimchalmers.bsky.social @wbtiuk.bsky.social

the EU and the BRICS should tell the US firmly and clearly that the future world order is not based on hegemony, but on the rule of law under the UN Charter. That is the only path to Europe’s, and the world’s, true security. Jeffrey Sach poses 10 ways for Europe to impr ...

If the Productivity Commission was as interested in productivity as it is in ideology it would be pushing for much tougher efficiency standards for cars, houses and commercial buildings…but no…it wants market forces to fix market failure..FFS…my op-ed #climate www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2025...

Is the massive death and destruction of wildlife off the coast of South Australia due to a desalination plant? Would they tell us if it were? Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake so we may not be told the truth - until it’s too late www.patreon.com/posts/137735...

Private health insurance is a dud product with the majority of Australians preferring not to have it. The reality is we should be offering better public health services. 📺 Senior Economist Matt Grudnoff @mattgrudnoff.bsky.social #auspol

The same groups advising on how to disarm the intergenerational economic bombs that have started to explode are the same groups that helped set them, writes Amy Remeikis.

The gun lobby is attacking our good friends at the Australia Institute As we know, that's bullshit imported by America (remember Pauline Hanson meeting with the NRA?) Sign their Australia Institute's petition for a National Gun Register nb.australiainstitute.org.au/australia_ne...

While I support having a National Firearms Register, if the shooters are getting cocky and bragging how there's millions more guns around now, I also support a National Firearms Confiscation and Destruction scheme and even harsher gun ownership laws.

What tax do Australia’s pay? We don’t know. We don’t collect data on wealth, let alone tax it. A clever new study "confirms that the country’s tax code is regressive, not progressive, at the very top," @AnnieLowrey. American billionaires "pay lower tax rates than many middle-class professionals":

Tax breaks for huge, American-style utes cost the Australian government $250 million in 2023. But it gets worse. Emissions from passenger cars have fallen since 2005, but that drop was wiped out by the increased use of big utes. #auspol

It’s 2yrs since the Robodebt Royal Commission & we are yet to see the Fed Gov legislate to stop it happening again. Well, I’ve now done the work for them & urge the Gov to come to the table on these reforms. We cannot allow a repeat of this shameful part of Aus history #auspol

More cormorants and a fur seal have died in #salmon pens that were meant to prevent the entry of wildlife. The deaths have sparked calls to cancel Tassal's 'green tick' for salmon from its West of Wedge lease. Bob Burton has the details. #politas #auspol ▶️ tasmanianinquirer.com.au/news/adult-s...

This isn't so much broken lobbying laws as broken anti-bribery and anti-corruption systems.

While US activists protest Palantir, Australians should take note: Palantir operates here in Defence, Westpac and more, with similar AI surveillance systems potentially deployed for immigration enforcement or other targeting like protests. We need proactive privacy safeguards now

Did you see this article? A former Palantir employee reveals how ICE is using AI surveillance systems called ISTAR to track and detain immigrants at scale. These AI kill chains combine massive datasets to identify targets automatically. 🧵

Bad governance or management cannot help, but the logic of the funding system will drive similar behaviour across all universities.To stay competitive in the labour market, universities need to offer better-than-CPI wage increases. andrewnorton.id.au/2... 1/2

In Germany, scientists have made a breakthrough in treating Parkinson’s by implanting a chip in the brain that sends precise signals to restore movement. A stunning leap in neuroscience—witness the power of innovation and the beauty of science in action. Powerfull content

The big reform that would keep our most vulnerable safe is to increase paid maternity leave to 12 months & mandate new laws for parents to work short hours. That’s what they have in Scandinavia and they don’t spend money on childcare for infants. Parental care is more doable with shorter hours too.

Amy Remeikis: “We could easily double productivity of teachers by doubling their class sizes, but we don’t do that because we know it won’t improve education outcomes. Productivity as we measure it doesn’t take quality into account, but that doesn’t seem to be something we want to discuss.”

The same groups advising on how to disarm the intergenerational economic bombs that have started to explode are the same groups that helped set them, writes Amy Remeikis.

A great critique of the current economic policy narratve on productivity . Maybe now let’s all about the sharing magic pudding of unpaid care work and its implications for productivity measurement? www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/share/21409/...

I think it was when we changed the tax system and halved the tax on capital gain…imagine taxing passive income from investing at half the rate we tax wages and salaries… And all those rich kids inheriting all those multimillion super balances rather than working to earn their own money… bludgers!

This Guardian article by Dr Arun Gupta details the intersection of trade & health, gaps in India’s regulatory protections, & calls for constitutional responsibility under Article 21 & 47. disclosure of true information about sugar/salt of fat should be the norm, not hiding it behind the “stars”.

New Zealand government abandoned infant formula regulations because big multinational baby milk maker Danone Nutricia NZ want a free rein for dodgy marketing to mums in China. Babies before bottom lines please #endexploitativemarketing #china #newzealand www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...