One of the most profound ways the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives has been in the way we work. For people lucky enough to keep their jobs, and for those of us in professions where it’s possible, working from home has become the new normal. Australia’s success in “flattening the curve” means restrictions are… Read more »
In recent months, food security concerns have emerged for nations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as swarms of desert locusts wreak havoc on crops. While the same level of damage isn’t currently being felt in Australia, the threat of infestations extends to us too. But drone technology is offering up solutions. Not… Read more »
In late March, we posed a hypothetical scenario to a sample of Australians, asking if they would download a contact tracing app released by the federal government; 70% responded in favour. But a more recent survey, following the release of COVIDSafe, revealed only 44% of respondents had downloaded it. The Australian government’s COVIDSafe app aims… Read more »
The Australian government’s COVIDSafe app has been up and running for almost a fortnight, with more than five million downloads. Unfortunately, since its release many users – particularly those with iPhones – have been in the dark about how well the app works. Digital Transformation Agency head Randall Brugeaud has now admitted the app’s effectiveness… Read more »
There are billions of mobile phones in use around the globe. They are present on every single continent, in every single country and in every single city. We reviewed the research on how mobile phones carry infectious pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, and we believe they are likely to be “Trojan horses” that contribute… Read more »
Digital platforms such as Google and Facebook will be forced to compensate news media companies for using their content, under a new mandatory code to be drawn up by Australia’s competition watchdog. The announcement, made by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg today, follows last year’s landmark report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which found… Read more »
The federal government has announced plans to introduce a contact tracing mobile app to help curb COVID-19’s spread in Australia. Read more: Explainer: what is contact tracing and how does it help limit the coronavirus spread? However, rather than collecting location data directly from mobile operators, the proposed TraceTogether app will use Bluetooth technology to… Read more »
The A$130 billion $1,500-per-fortnight JobKeeper payment will benefit six million Australians for six months, with payments expected from May 1. Eligible businesses include not-for-profits and businesses with turnovers of less than $1 billion per year whose turnover is down 30%. Businesses with turnovers of more than $1 billion per year need to have lost 50%… Read more »
With #StayAtHome and social distancing now becoming a way of life, an increasing number of people are relying on the internet for work, education and entertainment. This has placed greater demand on our network infrastructure, reducing the bandwidth available for each user, and is leaving people frustrated at seemingly slow internet speeds. While internet service… Read more »
Editor’s note: Here are some of the top coronavirus and COVID-19 claims our readers said they’d like to see tested against the research evidence. We asked these public health and infectious disease experts to explain. 1. Is herd immunity a good strategy? Herd immunity is not part of the Australian strategy for controlling the outbreak.… Read more »
As the COVID-19 outbreak intensifies, we’re seeing mass isolation in virus epicentres, with about 500 million people in China “under varying degrees of quarantine”, and all of Italy in lockdown. In Australia, self-isolation is being advised for those who have been in close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, or have travelled from a country… Read more »
Short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb are increasingly displacing hotels and holiday letting agencies as the go-to form of accommodation. The ease of booking it all in seconds on your smartphone adds to the appeal of renting a well-appointed flat in Noosaville, or having basil or turmeric on hand in the kitchen of your Katoomba… Read more »
A total of 6718 electric vehicles were sold in Australia in 2019. That’s three times as many as in 2018, but it’s still small beer. More than a million fossil-fueled light vehicles (including SUVs and utes) were sold in the same period. The sales figures were published in the wake of UK Prime Minister Boris… Read more »
Darwin City Council installed a network of hundreds of new devices across the centre of the city last year. This web of “smart” lights, environmental sensors and video cameras is designed to give the council more power to monitor and manage urban places – and the people who occupy them. The council says the A$10… Read more »
In the first week of 2020, hashtag #ArsonEmergency became the focal point of a new online narrative surrounding the bushfire crisis. The message: the cause is arson, not climate change. Police and bushfire services (and some journalists) have contradicted this claim. We studied about 300 Twitter accounts driving the #ArsonEmergency hashtag to identify inauthentic… Read more »
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