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Personal finances have long been a devastating tool in situations of family violence. But as Catherine Fitzpatrick writes, insurance can be used as a weapon too.
Take the example of one woman Fitzpatrick spoke to, whose ex-partner cancelled their home and contents insurance, and received a refund of the premiums the woman had recently paid. She did not know he had done this until well after he had threatened to burn down the house with her and the children in it. This is far from an isolated example.
Fitzpatrick argues systemic change is required in the way situations like these are handled. For example, we need to close the loopholes that enable perpetrators to cancel insurance policies without the knowledge or consent of victim-survivors, and change the law so protection against financial abuse is embedded in insurance products.
While some insurers have moved on the issue, it’s not enough and it’s too slow. There must be urgent action for greater protection against this kind of abuse.
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Amanda Dunn
Politics + Society Editor
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Catherine Fitzpatrick, UNSW Sydney
Insurance is supposed to be a safety net, but it can be weaponised in domestic and family violence situations. There’s a lot we can do to better protect victim-survivors.
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Brendan Coates, Grattan Institute; Joey Moloney, Grattan Institute
Neither investors nor super funds are prepared to wear the losses needed to put low-income Australians into housing. The government should double the size of its Housing Australia Future Fund.
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Michael Noetel, The University of Queensland; Alexander Saeri, The University of Queensland; Jess Graham, The University of Queensland
Increasingly powerful AI is everywhere. But the hype is tempered by public and expert concerns – they want stronger regulation before it’s too late.
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Katey Thom, Auckland University of Technology; Stella Black, Auckland University of Technology
A major new report identifies how a ‘trauma-informed’ justice system would acknowledge and act on the deprivation and mental health problems experienced by so many offenders.
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Marnee Shay, The University of Queensland; Amy Thomson, The University of Queensland; Antoinette Cole, The University of Queensland; Jodie Miller, The University of Queensland; Ren Perkins, Griffith University
A survey of Indigenous people found almost one quarter had not heard of STEM. But more than 80% saw a connection between science, technology, engineering, maths and Indigenous culture.
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Katie Lee, The University of Queensland; Claire Coulstock, Victoria University; Samantha Reeve, Victoria University
Not all tattoo removal services are licensed, so you’ll have to do some research before booking yourself in. Here’s what to look out for.
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Josh Stenberg, University of Sydney
With an adaptation of Chinese bestseller The Three-Body Problem soon to air on Netflix, Josh Stenberg parses the novel and its many themes.
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Anthony Dosseto, University of Wollongong; Katharine Haynes, University of Wollongong; Leanne Brook, Indigenous Knowledge; Victor Channell, Indigenous Knowledge
What does fire management do to soils? We compared prescribed burning to cultural burning and looked at how soil properties changed after fire. Cultural burning was better.
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Jonathan W. Marshall, Edith Cowan University
Across the program, I was struck by how it was often more in the act of putting on and performing the work, rather than their spoken content, that expressed political responses to our times.
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Politics + Society
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Anna Draffin, University of Canberra; Gary Dickson, University of Technology Sydney
Australia needs to prioritise finding new funding to support journalism, particularly in remote and regional areas.
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Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne
Two new polls also have Labor ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred measure.
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Lisa Marriott, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Jonathan Barrett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
National’s tax policies have been tweaked since the election, thanks to coalition agreements with NZ First and ACT. But the plan for tax cuts seems to have survived, to the benefit of core supporters.
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Health + Medicine
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Elise Waghorn, RMIT University
Many families want to set ground rules to reduce their screen time – and have time to connect with each other, without devices. Here’s where to start.
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Environment + Energy
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Lily O'Neill, The University of Melbourne; Rebekkah Markey-Towler, The University of Melbourne
A first-of-its-kind legal decision puts native title holders in a stronger position when fighting fossil fuel projects. The Gomeroi people won their appeal against the Native Title Tribunal.
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Jochen Kaempf, Flinders University
This marine ecosystem is so important it’s one of the main reasons the federal government has greatly reduced the area available for offshore wind farms in the region.
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Arts + Culture
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Natasha Szuhan, Australian National University
These private online communities represent a long-held feminist maxim: to solve sexism requires women to solve it themselves.
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Hannah Lewi, The University of Melbourne
I recently visited four historic houses in Victoria that are open to the public to get a better understanding of women who worked from home.
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Books + Ideas
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Mario Peucker, Victoria University
Claims of anti-white or “reverse” racism are based on a shallow, misguided and inaccurate understanding of what racism really constitutes.
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Business + Economy
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Shelagh K. Mooney, Auckland University of Technology; Matthew Brenner, Southern Cross University; Richard Robinson, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Stress, poor pay and job insecurity are driving professional chefs away from the hospitality industry in Australia and New Zealand. Tourism is also feeling the impact of the looming skill shortage.
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