High interest rates are not bad news for everyone

Every day this week The Conversation has published a piece looking at the world’s cost of living crisis, as it is being experienced by Australia.

On Monday, economist John Hawkins got back-to-basics by explaining what economists mean by the term “cost of living” and how the CPI (consumer price index) is used to track the price of goods and services used by most households.

Supply chain expert Flavio Macau wrote about how supply lines collapsed with the closure of borders during the pandemic, causing shortages and price rises. Then, just as we were coming out of that, we were hit again by fuel and other shortages triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Economist Ben Phillips discussed the fact that while the media is full of reports about the impact of rates and price rises on households who rent, households with mortgages have actually been hit harder.

Today Isaac Gross points out that there have been some “winners” out of the current crisis - with importers, investors and overseas travellers benefiting from higher interest rates.

Margaret Easterbrook

Business Editor

Today's newsletter supported by Melbourne Connect

High interest rates are not bad news for everyone. Just ask savers, importers and Australians heading overseas

Isaac Gross, Monash University

We hear a lot about the negative impact of rate rises on mortgage repayments while little is made of the benefits of high interest rates.

Intergenerational report highlights the threat of a hotter, less productive Australia due to global warming

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

The report to be released on Thursday says an increase in global temperatures of 3-4°C would cost Australia $135 billion to $423 billion.

The latest NAPLAN results don’t look great but we need to go beyond the headline figures

Jessica Holloway, Australian Catholic University

According to this year’s NAPLAN results, one third of Australian students do not meet minimum achievement levels in literacy and numeracy.

The intergenerational report will try to scare us about ageing. It’s an old fear, and wrong

John Quiggin, The University of Queensland

The financial impacts of an ageing Australia aren’t particularly worrisome, but we’ve been worrying for decades.

As ABC chair, Ita Buttrose stood up for the broadcaster’s independence. It’s time others did the same

Denis Muller, The University of Melbourne

Buttrose’s tenure as chair was tainted by being a Morrison government ‘captain’s pick’, but she nonetheless defended the ABC against tat government’s predations.

Lucy Letby: it is not being ‘beige’, ‘average’ or ‘normal’ that makes her crimes so hard to understand

Lizzie Seal, University of Sussex

Our sense that Letby’s appearance or lifestyle makes her an outlier is based on our own preconceptions – and misconceptions.

Trampling plants, damaging rock art, risking your life: taking selfies in nature has a cost

Samuel Cornell, UNSW Sydney; Amy Peden, UNSW Sydney

It’s not always “worth it for the ‘gram”. People risk life, limb, and the environment for a selfie – and land managers can’t keep up.

Birdwatching, immune responses and evolutionary mapping honoured at 2023 Eureka Prizes

Michael Lucy, The Conversation

The annual prizes for Australian science recognised efforts to confront the key challenges facing our world.

In one chaotic day, Thailand sees one PM elected, one ex-PM sent to jail. Where does the country go from here?

Adam Simpson, University of South Australia

The country may very well be entering yet another tumultuous political era.

This cave on Borneo has been used for 20,000 years – and we’ve now dated rock art showing colonial resistance 400 years ago

Jillian Huntley, Griffith University; Andrea Jalandoni, Griffith University; Emilie Dotte-Sarout, The University of Western Australia; Fiona Petchey, University of Waikato; Paul S.C.Taçon, Griffith University

New dates for the rock art in the Gua Sireh cave in Malaysia reveal resistance to frontier violence between 1670 and 1830.

Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech sounded more like a snake oil salesman than a statesman

Nitasha Kaul, University of Westminster

The Indian prime minister’s rhetoric strayed a long way from reality.

Six pregnancy terms you probably won’t hear again, including ‘high risk’ and ‘failed’

Sarah Aubrey, University of South Wales

Several familiar maternity terms have been abandoned after a consultation with pregnant women and healthcare professionals.

Politics + Society

Wide verandas, picket fences or the CBD? How coastal cities near the capitals could ride post-COVID waves of growth

Akshay Vij, University of South Australia; Lynette Washington, University of South Australia

Research on where businesses and households want to be points to growth in suburban and regional centres on the coast, with Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth also gaining ground on Sydney and Melbourne.
The defence dilemma facing NZ’s next government: stay independent or join ‘pillar 2’ of AUKUS?

Robert G. Patman, University of Otago

Does New Zealand have more to lose than gain by joining ‘pillar two’ of the AUKUS security pact? The next government will have to decide, with serious implications for the country’s foreign policy.
Word from The Hill: Date for Voice referendum to be announced on Wednesday

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

This week on Word from The Hill, @michellegrattan and @amandadunn10 discuss the coming date for the Voice referendum, the Intergenerational report and Labor's national conference
‘We can’t go shopping without police coming’: north Queensland’s at-risk youth feel excluded and heavily surveilled

Susan Gair, James Cook University; Ines Zuchowski, James Cook University

Our research finds at-risk youth in north Queensland wanted to feel safe and included in the community, but often felt the opposite.

Health + Medicine

With COVID now endemic, modelling suggests targeted protection will be more effective than blanket measures

Michael Plank, University of Canterbury; Freya Shearer, The University of Melbourne; James McCaw, The University of Melbourne; James Wood, UNSW Sydney

As COVID finds its equilibrium, infection rates will rise and fall, influenced by seasons, school holidays and new subvariants. Managing the risk is complex and needs to be cost effective.
Taking more than 5 pills a day? ‘Deprescribing’ can prevent harm – especially for older people

Emily Reeve, Monash University; Jacinta L Johnson, University of South Australia; Janet Sluggett, University of South Australia; Kate O'Hara, University of Newcastle

Health care has traditionally focused on prescribing medications, with little focus on when to stop them. But pills and potions can add up over time and do more harm than good.
Keeping up with advanced MRI: Kim Kardashian promotes whole-body scans. Could they be worth the hype?

Heath Pardoe, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Doctors weren’t happy when celebrity Kim Kardashian promoted whole-body MRI scans recently. But that doesn’t mean they don’t hold promise for understanding ageing on a grander scale.

Science + Technology

Russia has declared a new space race, hoping to join forces with China. Here’s why that’s unlikely

Richard de Grijs, Macquarie University

China has made significant advances in space exploration on its own steam. It doesn’t need a partnership with Russia.
Disease in the dirt: how mange-causing mites decimated a Tasmanian wombat population

Scott Carver, University of Tasmania

Despite their solitary lifestyle, wombats are at risk from a disease that spreads via their burrows.

Environment + Energy
Greenhouse gases are changing air flow over the Pacific Ocean – raising Australia’s risks of extreme weather Georgina Falster, Australian National University It’s not just ocean temperatures that determine whether we have El Niño or La Niña. Air circulation also plays a role, and it’s changing in unexpected ways.

Arts + Culture

Censorship or sensible: is it bad to listen to Fat Bottomed Girls with your kids?

Liz Giuffre, University of Technology Sydney

It was reported this week that Queen’s song Fat Bottomed Girls has not been included in a greatest hits compilation aimed at children – presumably because of the lyrics.
Albanese has committed $200 million for women’s sport – but spending money on infrastructure won’t change systemic issues

Alana Thomson, La Trobe University; Meghan Casey, Federation University Australia

Modernising facilities can provide a short-term excitement, but it’s their management over the long term that will influence whether women and girls participate.

Books + Ideas

Do universal values exist? A philosopher says yes, and takes aim at identity politics – but not all of his arguments are convincing

Denise Gamble, University of Adelaide

Philosopher Markus Gabriel argues that a new enlightenment based on moral facts is necessary to overcome the darkness of our times.
Internet Archive’s digital library has been found in breach of copyright. The decision has some important implications

Agata Mrva-Montoya, University of Sydney

The legal ruling against the Internet Archive has come down in favour of the rights of authors.

Business + Economy
Junk fees and drip pricing: the underhanded tactics we hate yet still fall for Ralf Steinhauser, Australian National University We are easy prey for drip pricing, the practice of incrementally disclosing unavoidable additional fees, squeezing our wallets and feeling unfair.