Gippsland lakes revisited

Incorporating traditional cultural values – such as the idea of soil being a living entity – into science can help restore land and water habitats in the Gippsland Lakes and elsewhere.

Has the law been a casualty of COVID?

The unprecedented social restrictions – backed by the full force of the law – in Victoria and the rest of Australia raise some tricky questions about the rights of citizens, the power of politicians and the effectiveness of our government system.

Complying with Victorian guidelines on using recycled water

Major amendments to Victoria’s Environment Protection Act are expected to be passed in 2021, and this paper offers professionals and others a standard method for calculating infrastructure requirements in agricultural water recycling proposals.

A sporting chance for liberty

The over-regulation of Australian Rules football is an example of the nanny state nature of Australia itself. Simplifying the rules of sport and life, rather than adding to them, might produce better outcomes for us all.

Look before you leap to a republic

Revived calls for a Republic of Australia ignore the fact that it could prove less functional than our constitutional monarchy, making democratic change all the more difficult to achieve.

Electric cars to power ahead

Electric cars will become an ever-more common sight on this country’s roads, but without an increase in renewable electricity generation, vehicle emissions will simply be transferred from cars to coal-fired power stations.

After the flood

The heavy rain of recent days has extinguished bushfires and brought relief to drought-stricken farmers and city catchments, but the sediment washed from damaged land will bring its own set of problems.

Where there’s smoke…

Melbourne, Sydney and vast swathes of the Eastern States have suffered the effects of the worst bushfire season for years, and the effects of smoke on the population must be taken into account in future planning.

Who gives a flying fox?

Flying Foxes or Fruit Bats are fascinating native creatures but nobody welcomes them to their neighbourhood.

Rage against the machine?

Is humanity sowing the seeds of its own destruction by creating ever more ‘intelligent’ machines? Max Thomas wrestles with the thorny issues of defining sentience and the threat of automating war.

Life imitating farce

Violence and anti-social behaviour by young people are in the news, but the mass media itself must take its fair share of the blame for social discontent and disorder.

It’s easy being green – or not?

Most people are now rightly concerned about the environment, but does popular concern necessarily translate into effective action?