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Understanding university drop-out rates
Open Forum | April 30, 2018More than 50,000 students who started university in Australia this year will drop out, according to a new Grattan Institute report. However not every incomplete degree should be seen as a waste of time and money.
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Press censorship clouds the Asia-Pacific
Open Forum | April 28, 2018The Chinese model of state-controlled news and suppression of free speech and information is being copied in other countries in Asia and the Pacific, threatening democracy and civil society.
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Aussie teens prefer screens to sleep
Open Forum | April 27, 2018New research from VicHealth and the Sleep Health Foundation has found Australian teenagers are missing out on crucial sleep due to screen time, caffeine, stress and other addressable factors.
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Hacking the reef
Open Forum | April 21, 2018Queensland’s innovation festival Myriad is hosting a ground-breaking creative think tank today to find solutions to the problem of plastics and other marine debris despoiling the Great Barrier Reef.
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Is “low carb” beer really better for you?
Open Forum | April 21, 2018“Low carb” beer is widely advertised but its implied health claims are smoke and mirrors. Health groups are calling for nutrition info panels on alcohol to help make the public make more informed consumption choices.
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Myths and misconceptions about organ donation
Open Forum | April 20, 2018Organ donation saves lives but research by the Organ and Tissue Authority suggests that a range of common myths and misconceptions are holding Australians back from helping others after their death.
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Assessing Australia’s South Pacific guest worker programme
Open Forum | April 10, 2018A new report from the World Bank offers a detailed examination of the impact of Australia’s guest worker programme on labour from the South Pacific. The study also suggests eleven ways to improve inclusion, equity and economic returns.
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The world’s richest 1% took 82% of the wealth created last year
Open Forum | April 4, 2018Eighty two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth, according to a new Oxfam report.
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Your chance to suggest topics for the 2021 census
Open Forum | April 4, 2018The Australian Bureau of Statistics wants your help to decide which information to gather in the next Census.
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Land degradation threatens nature – and humanity
Open Forum | March 29, 2018Worsening land degradation caused by human activities is undermining the well-being of two fifths of humanity, driving species extinctions and intensifying climate change. It is also a major contributor to mass human migration and increased conflict, according to the world’s first comprehensive evidence-based assessment of land degradation and restoration.
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Australia needs a moratorium on genetic tests for life insurance
Open Forum | March 29, 2018Australian Life Insurers will no longer be able to use predictive genetic test results in underwriting, if recommendations tabled by a Parliamentary Inquiry into Life Insurance are adopted.
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Productivity Commission calls for customer focused reforms in human services
Open Forum | March 27, 2018The Productivity Commission recommends steps to increase competition, contestability and informed user choice to improve human services in six vital areas of community provision.