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Editor's note
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The government has framed its proposal to drug test welfare recipients as a helping hand to get people with drug problems back into work. But as drug and alcohol psychologist and researcher Nicole Lee writes, the proposal is deeply flawed.
The two-year trial would test around 5,000 Newstart and Youth Allowance recipients for MDMA, opioids (such as heroin), cocaine and methamphetamines such as ice. Those who test positive will be placed on income management, with 80% of their income quarantined.
But as Lee explains, a positive drug test can’t determine one-off or regular use, and most people who use drugs aren’t dependent on them. There’s also no evidence kicking people off welfare would save money, given the high cost of running drug testing programs.
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Anna Evangeli
Deputy Editor: Health+Medicine
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Top stories
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Drug testing risks further marginalising welfare recipients.
Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock
Nicole Lee, Curtin University
There's no evidence drug use is a barrier to job seeking. And testing can't distinguish between one off, irregular or regular use.
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During a heatwave in late 2018, Cairns temperatures topped 35°C nine days in a row and sensors at some points in the CBD recorded 45°C.
Taha Chaiechi, James Cook University; Silvia Tavares, James Cook University
The world's fastest-growing cities are in the tropics. They are highly exposed to climate change, especially as urban heat island effects and humidity magnify the impacts of increasing heatwaves.
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Apothecaries of the 17th and 18th centuries diagnosed illness, mixed up medicine and dispensed it, a far cry from the current turf war between doctors and pharmacists.
Cam Miller/Flickr
Philippa Martyr, University of Western Australia
The 'turf war' between doctors and pharmacists we see in current debates has a long history.
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Education
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Tracey-Ann Palmer, University of Technology Sydney
Students picking their subjects for Years 11 and 12 need to understand that science can be useful in a wide range of future jobs.
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Arts + Culture
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Lisa Dethridge, RMIT University
This is a film about farmyards; single dads; a wedding; a funeral; horses - falling off them and getting back on - all leading to a fast climax and a no-nonsense denouement.
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Daryl Sparkes, University of Southern Queensland
Zombie TV shows are reboots with the same casts and same locations. Our beloved Seachange is the zombie virus's latest victim but the zeitgeist has moved on and the show's comic tone grates.
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Politics + Society
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Adam Karg, Swinburne University of Technology; Emma Sherry, Swinburne University of Technology; Jason Pallant, Swinburne University of Technology; Samuel Wilson, Swinburne University of Technology; Tim Breitbarth, Swinburne University of Technology; Timothy Colin Bednall, Swinburne University of Technology
While trust in politics maybe at an all-time low, new research finds that trust in sporting bodies is relatively high.
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Terry Goldsworthy, Bond University
Although opportunities have expanded for women in policing, the numbers of women on most forces remain well below 50% and women are very underrepresented in senior roles.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Former national president of the ALP Mark Butler called for a root and branch overhaul of policy on Monday, in sharp contrast with the current ALP president, Wayne Swan.
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Health + Medicine
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Max Abbott, Auckland University of Technology
A change to drug laws in New Zealand has been hailed as a leap towards treating drug addiction as a heath issue. But it has also been criticised for essentially decriminalising class A drugs.
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Science + Technology
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Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer, Swinburne University of Technology
Most people think that many millions of years ago, Saturn didn't have rings at all. Instead, it had a big moon moving around it. Eventually, the moon burst and broke into pieces.
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Business + Economy
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David Peetz, Griffith University
After decades of research showing the link between union power and wages growth, government economists don't want to talk about it.
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Environment + Energy
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Michelle Ward, The University of Queensland; April Reside, The University of Queensland; Hugh Possingham, The University of Queensland; James Watson, The University of Queensland; Jeremy Simmonds, The University of Queensland; Jonathan Rhodes, The University of Queensland; Martin Taylor, The University of Queensland
A staggering 7.7 million hectares of critical habitat has been destroyed since environment laws were enacted - and 93% was not referred to the federal government for assessment.
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Featured jobs
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Charles Sturt University — Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
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La Trobe University — Bundoora, Victoria
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University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
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University of Western Australia — Perth, Western Australia
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Featured events
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Learning and Teaching building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton campus, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia — Monash University
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The University of Sydney, Sydney , New South Wales, 2006, Australia — The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
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Leighton Hall, John Niland Scientia Building, UNSW, Kensington, Sydney , New South Wales, 2052, Australia — UNSW
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UNSW CBD Level 6, 1 O'Connell Street,, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia — UNSW
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