Sydney's poorest suburbs get a worse deal than those in Melbourne

Editor's note

The most disadvantaged suburbs get a much smaller share of state funding in Sydney than in Melbourne, according to a new study that undertook a suburb-by-suburb breakdown of state investment in facilities and services.

Also today, science writing is often linked with paywalls, predatory journals and peer review. But another big issue is dense and stuffy prose that even scientists can’t understand. So here are five tips to make science writing less turgid.

John Watson

Editor

Top story

While state investment decreases on average with distance from the CBD, Melbourne’s neediest suburbs aren’t forgotten. ymgerman from www.shutterstock.com

Melbourne shows up Sydney in funding the most disadvantaged suburbs

Ilan Wiesel, University of Melbourne; Caitlin Buckle, UNSW; Fanqi Liu, University of Melbourne

The neediest suburbs get a much poorer deal in Sydney than in Melbourne. A new study provides a suburb-by-suburb breakdown of state investment, including what facilities and services have been funded.

Science + Technology

Bored reading science? Let's change how scientists write

Zoe Doubleday, University of Adelaide

Science papers are supposed to be communication tools - and yet hardly anyone can understand them, even other scientists.
Curious Kids: Why don't the planets closest to the Sun melt or burn up?

Chris Tinney, UNSW

The planets closer to the Sun are indeed hotter than the Earth is. But they are still not hot enough to melt the rocks they are made from.
Cyberspace aggression adds to North Korea's threat to global security

Joe Burton, University of Waikato

Reports of North Korea's capability of firing nuclear weapons are not the only serious threat to global security. North Korea has also become an aggressive cyber power.
A fragmented streaming video market is good for everyone but the consumer

Marc C-Scott, Victoria University

The cost and confusion of having content tied to so many different streaming platforms could ultimately provoke a return to bundling and a pay TV model.

Politics + Society

To the High Court we go: six MPs under clouds in decisions that could undermine the government

Graeme Orr, The University of Queensland

The High Court ruling over the five MPs' legitimacy to hold seats may hang on whether they took reasonable steps to renounce their non-Australian citizenships.
Royal commission provides a vital blueprint for justice for sex abuse victims – now it's time to act

Michael Salter, Western Sydney University

Reporting child sexual abuse to police, and any subsequent investigation or trial, is a time of profound instability for victims and their families.

Health + Medicine

Here's how many people get infections in Australian hospitals every year

Brett Mitchell, Avondale College of Higher Education

Australia does not have a national system that collects data on hospital acquired infections. But new research has shed light on how many do occur each year across the country.
No, combination vaccines don't overwhelm kids' immune systems

Kristine Macartney, University of Sydney

Vaccines against multiple diseases in one jab strengthen kids' immune systems, not weaken them. Here's why we shouldn't fear these combination vaccines.
Book review: The New Puberty

Lisa Mundy, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

A new book on puberty has explored why we find it so difficult to talk about puberty, and why we need to start talking about it earlier.

Business + Economy

The hollow promise of construction-led jobs and growth

Sally Weller, Australian Catholic University

The threat of a loss of jobs in the the industries that support construction reveals the problem in relying on building to sustain the economy.
What the baby bonus boost looks like across ten years

Sarah Sinclair, RMIT University; Ashton De Silva, RMIT University; Jonathan Boymal, RMIT University

The baby bonus did its job, encouraging people to have more children at a time when fertility rates were low.

Arts + Culture

For a true war on waste, the fashion industry must spend more on research

Mark Liu, University of Technology Sydney

The scale of fast fashion is so massive it can easily eclipse sustainability initiatives. We need investment in new technologies to revolutionise the industry.
On brand: how Australia's apartment frenzy echoes the 1870s cattle boom

Stephen Banham, RMIT University

Melbourne has seen tens of thousands of new apartments constructed over recent years, and apartment brands are flourishing. We can see striking typographic similarities with another economic frenzy: the 1870s cattle boom.

Environment + Energy

Costly signals needed to deliver inconvenient truth

Quentin Douglas Atkinson; Shaun Hendy

Taking inspiration from the spread of world religions, Quentin Atkinson and Shaun Hendy argue scientists need to do more to signal commitment to ideas they want to spread.
Climate change is a financial risk, according to a lawsuit against the CBA

Anita Foerster, University of Tasmania; Jacqueline Peel, University of Melbourne

A new lawsuit against the CBA puts climate change in a new legal light: a financial hazard. The case opens up fresh lines of attack on institutions that contribute to climate change.