This year has seen some soaring highs and shattering lows for women. On the global stage, Kamala Harris and Jacinda Ardern had historic electoral wins. Closer to home, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk emerged as the most successful female politician in Australian political history. But COVID-19 also hit women’s work, study and home lives hard. And the Morrison government’s policy responses didn’t adequately make up for this.
Instead, as gender politics scholar Dr Chris Wallace writes, the Coalition “discounted and disadvantaged women across the board”. According to Wallace, 2020 has been “both a remarkably good and remarkably bad year for Australian women.”
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Judith Ireland
Deputy Editor, Politics + Society
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AAP (various)/The Conversation
Chris Wallace, University of Canberra
Women's leadership reached new heights this year, just as the Coalition's gendered policy response to the pandemic set women back across the board.
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Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato
New Zealand scores well against other countries — especially over its handling of the pandemic — but there are still areas that need improving.
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Andy Hay/Unsplash
Frieda Moran, University of Tasmania
Originally made with curry powders imported by British colonialists, Australia's understanding of curry has come a long way.
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Dan Caprar, University of Sydney; Ben Walker, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Our work is often so closely tied to our sense of who we are, many of us struggle to switch off on holidays. But it's never too late to hide the laptop.
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The banjo frog, Limnodynastes dumerilii
Jodi Rowley
Jodi Rowley, Australian Museum
Not all frogs 'ribbit' — some sound like a motorbike changing gears or a tennis ball being hit. This summer, keep your eyes and ears out for these Aussie frogs.
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PopTika/Shutterstock
Tony Ward, University of Melbourne
New Zealand's government seems to trust scientists the most, the US government, the least.
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Ben Newell, UNSW
Australia's behavioural economics unit publishes rather than hides the results of its unsuccessful experiments.
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Politics + Society
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Denis Tolkach, James Cook University; Stephen Pratt, The University of the South Pacific
There is no particular 'type' of stupid person. Anyone can behave stupidly, especially in unfamiliar environments.
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Arts + Culture
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Margaret Baguley, University of Southern Queensland; Martin Charles Kerby, University of Southern Queensland
Born Christmas day, 1909, Mary Shepard greatly helped shape the image of Mary Poppins that carries through to today.
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Madeline Shanahan, University of New England
When British colonials came to Australia, they stuck to their winter Christmas traditions of roast meats and plum puddings. But over the centuries, Australians found their own ways to celebrate.
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Business + Economy
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Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The good projects have already been identified and interest rates are low. We could speed up the electricity transition by decades.
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Health + Medicine
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Cameron Webb, University of Sydney
Summer is here, and so are the mozzies. So what do you need to consider when you're picking a mosquito repellent?
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Science + Technology
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Peter Evans, The University of Queensland
Quantum mechanics is strange. A philosopher explains just how strange, and what it means for reality.
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Featured jobs
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Featured Events & Courses
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Level 21, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
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Online, AEDT, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Australia New Zealand School of Government
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