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Editor's note
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After a long campaign, Victorians will today go to the polls to decide whether they want to give Daniel Andrews’ Labor government another term or switch to a Coalition government led by Matthew Guy. While the polls favour Labor, there is much that hangs in the balance, and the upper house may end up looking particularly messy. Meanwhile, The Greens have had a terrible campaign, and may find themselves struggling to hold seats.
As is the way of election campaigns, it has been rife with scandals and sloganeering, but there have been some meaningful policy debates too. Law and order has played a major role in this campaign, and
Labor in particular has run hard on social policy. And whichever party wins, Victoria’s new government will have promised the biggest transport infrastructure project in Australian history, although the priorities of
the competing parties are clearly different. We will have initial results tonight [Saturday], followed by a full analysis by psephologist Adrian Beaumont and political analyst Paul Strangio on Sunday.
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Amanda Dunn
Section Editor: Politics + Society
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Top story
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Transport promises stretching as far as the eye can see: Victorian Labor’s big one is a $A50 billion suburban rail loop.
Penny Stephens/AAP
Marion Terrill, Grattan Institute; James Ha, Grattan Institute
Whichever party wins, Victoria's new government will have promised the biggest transport infrastructure project in Australian history. So what are the promises and are they backed by proper assessment?
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Scandals have dominated the recent headlines, but healthcare, education and public transport have been at the core of the policy debates.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation
Zareh Ghazarian, Monash University
With just days to go before the election, Labor made a last-minute appeal to voters to stay in power, while the Liberals are pressing for change.
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#VicVotes FactCheck
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Don Weatherburn, UNSW
Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy said under Premier Daniel Andrews, 'Victoria has won the unenviable title as the state with the country’s highest rate of crime'. Is that right?
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Jennifer Buckingham, Macquarie University
Were the Victorian Greens correct about pubic school funding? We asked the experts to check the numbers.
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Health + Medicine
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Leah Sharman, The University of Queensland
There are many theories around for why we cry and what may be happening in our bodies when we're doing it. But the research on all these things is fairly mixed, and culture plays a big part.
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Makungun Marika, Menzies School of Health Research; Alice Mitchell, Menzies School of Health Research; Anna Ralph, Menzies School of Health Research; Barungun Marawili, Menzies School of Health Research; Emma Haynes, Telethon Kids Institute; Minitja Marawili, Menzies School of Health Research
The disempowering effect of lack of knowledge, and the downstream impacts on health behaviours and outcomes, underpins the disadvantage of First Nations people.
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Joseph Ibrahim, Monash University; Daisy Smith, Monash University; Lyndal Bugeja, Monash University
Eliminating sexual assault in nursing homes is a major challenge which starts with acknowledging it exists and recognising the scale of this abuse.
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Politics + Society
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Effie Karageorgos, University of Melbourne
Australia is spending cast amounts of money commemorating the war dead, but it's time we took better care of ex-servicepeople who are still living.
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Mark Moran, The University of Queensland
PNG is enjoying unfamiliar global attention after the APEC summit earlier this week, and the rivalry between the United States and China to exert influence in the region.
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Cities
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Pratichi Chatterjee, University of Sydney; Alistair Sisson, University of Sydney; Jenna Condie, Western Sydney University; Laura Wynne, University of Tasmania
Working-class residents of Waterloo have a history of resisting threats to their community. Many tenants see the redevelopment of public housing as state-led gentrification to squeeze them out.
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Alanna Kamp, Western Sydney University; Ana-Maria Bliuc, Western Sydney University; Kathleen Blair, Western Sydney University; Kevin Dunn, Western Sydney University
Asian Australians experience high levels of racism. Almost six in ten Asia-born Australians report having had experiences of discrimination when trying to rent or buy housing.
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Science + Technology
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Paul Franciscus Johannes Merkes, Edith Cowan University; Chris Abbiss, Edith Cowan University
Most long distance road cycling events are won or lost in the final sprint of any race stage. Here's one tip that could give you an extra 5kph advantage.
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Julian Koplin, University of Melbourne; Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford
Science is creating new living matter – like stem cells grown to create brain tissues in the lab. With power comes responsibility and what matters is an ethical question, not a scientific one.
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Arts + Culture
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Kristyn Harman, University of Tasmania
The 1991 Royal Commission into deaths in custody was preceded by an 1850 inquiry, which recommended that Aboriginal people be released should their health deteriorate in gaol.
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Stuart Kells, La Trobe University
Shakespeare’s first reputation was as a poet, and particularly as a sex poet. He would later incorporate his bawdy inclinations into his most famous plays.
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Environment + Energy
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Nina Lansbury Hall, The University of Queensland; Susan Mott, The University of Queensland; Wendy Hoy, The University of Queensland
Drinking water in Australia can be contaminated by natural and manmade processes, especially in communities. Innovation is needed to ensure water is ‘fit for purpose, place and people’.
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Guy Dundas, Grattan Institute
Federal Labor has promised to give rebates of up to $2,000 to 100,000 households to install batteries to store power from solar panels. Is this good energy policy, or just middle-class welfare?
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Business + Economy
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Weihuan Zhou, UNSW
China's so-called anti-dumping action against Australia is really an action against Australia's overuse of anti-dumping provisions. Barley producers are caught in the crossfire.
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Simon Segal, Macquarie University
Hong Kong's CKI taking over Australian infrastructure company APA Group has been ruled against the national interest. That's rare, but not a huge deal.
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Louise Metcalf, Macquarie University
The first bank to embrace radical honesty would do well out of the royal commission and leave its rivals in the dust. But it would be hard.
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Lyn Craig, University of Melbourne
We've been in the dark about how we use our time for more than a decade. It's the decade that saw the rise of the smartphone, streaming and social media.
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Education
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Katina Zammit, Western Sydney University
School reports are coming soon. Here's a guide for how to interpret and make best use of your child's school report.
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Julie Hare, University of Melbourne
Most international students who study overseas feel positive about their experiences. But universities could be actively working with businesses in home countries to help secure jobs for graduates.
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Featured jobs
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University of Western Australia — Perth, Western Australia
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RMIT University — Bundoora, Victoria
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University of Melbourne — Melbourne, Victoria
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La Trobe University — Bundoora, Victoria
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Featured events
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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Deakin Downtown, Level 12, Tower 2 Collins Square, 727 Collins Street, , Docklands, Victoria, 3008, Australia — Deakin University
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Abercrombie St and Codrington St, Darlington, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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14-28 Ultimo Road, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
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