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Why isn’t Australian music charting on the ARIA charts?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-mckenry-287534">Timothy McKenry</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a> The excitement generated by the 2023 Eurovision contest was palpable. Members of my family, like thousands of Australians, were awake at 5am on a Sunday to cheer on Australia’s Eurovision contenders, Perth band Voyager. Their song <a href="https://youtu.be/aqtu2GspT80">Promise</a> was the eighth Australian entry since we first competed in 2015. Seven of these entries have made the finals. The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/sweden-wins-australia-ninth-in-thrilling-eurovision-final-showdown-20230512-p5d7v9.html">media coverage</a> and public engagement with Eurovision demonstrates how intensely interested we are in the international success of our musicians. However, <a href="https://www.aria.com.au/industry/news/australian-music-celebrates-four-years-of-growth">recent comments</a> made by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) CEO, Annabelle Herd, reveal a jarring discrepancy between our support for Australian musicians at Eurovision and our actual listening and spending habits. Even though we spent $609.6 million on recorded music in 2022 through direct sales and streaming, a 16-year high and more than $40 million higher than 2021, we tend to neglect the music of Australians in favour of overseas artists. Herd stated: "the lack of a single Australian album in the ARIA Albums Chart last week alone proves the need to develop an urgent strategy […] to ensure that the growing number of Australian music lovers can connect with Australian artists." Though Kate Ceberano’s My Life is a Symphony has just this week entered the chart at number six, ARIA’s <a href="https://www.aria.com.au/charts/albums-chart/2023-05-22">top 50 album chart</a> demonstrates our preoccupation with the likes of huge non-Australian artists such as Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Harry Styles and others. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aqtu2GspT80?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Cultural cringe</h2> Non-Indigenous Australians <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Currency-Companion-Music-Dance-Australia/dp/0958121311">have a history</a> of importing or “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/23512424.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A4272009b6d90aea4b0c2ee111916cc83&ab_segments=&origin=&initiator=&acceptTC=1">transplanting</a>” their musical culture. From <a href="https://www.nla.gov.au/collections/guide-selected-collections/williamson-collection#:%7E:text=In%201904%20Williamson%20entered%20a,Tait%20was%20the%20general%20manager">Italian opera in the 1890s</a> to the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/853189">Beatles in the 1960s</a> to Taylor Swift in the 2020s (who currently has eight albums in our top 50), our predilection for imported music is inarguable. While there’s nothing wrong with cosmopolitan taste, and we should note ARIA does track the sales of Australian artists through <a href="https://www.aria.com.au/charts/">dedicated charts</a>, we must interrogate the patterns of music consumption that reveal a tendency to neglect our homegrown musicians. The term “cultural cringe”, coined by AA Philips in his <a href="https://meanjin.com.au/essays/the-cultural-cringe-by-a-a-phillips/">seminal Meanjin article</a> of 1950, describes a “disease of the Australian mind” that assumes “domestic cultural product will be worse than the imported article”. For much of the 20th century, overseas training or overseas acclaim was a pre-requisite for domestic acceptance of Australian artists, musicians and writers. Pianist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Percy-Aldridge-Grainger">Percy Grainger</a>, considered an archetypal Australian musician, lived and worked in America for much of his life and is often remembered as an American composer. The experience of creatives like Germaine Greer, <a href="https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/7-notable-masters-of-the-queens-kings-music/">Malcolm Williamson</a> and Clive James needing to leave our shores to pursue a career in the arts is echoed in the story of a millennial singer like <a href="https://themusic.com.au/features/australian-artists-finding-success-overseas-part-one-vassy/HEsEDjEwMzI/23-11-22">Vassy</a>. In a 2022 interview, Vassy describes the frustrations that led her to leave Australia to pursue opportunities in America. She describes her then-record label as not being committed to Australian performers unless they evoked a specific type of “Australiana”. “So it was either you look that part and you be that Australian thing that they want or they just push American acts, like, A-list acts.” Is it possible that our love of Eurovision, and our collective desire for the international acclaim that would accompany a win, has its roots in the cultural cringe? That we’d cheer our musicians overseas, but inadequately support them at home, generates a vicious cycle that prevents Australian music thriving as it should. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/twyPPjEyd7o?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Pirates and streaming</h2> There may be other reasons apart from our awkward cultural history that account for the underrepresentation of Australian music on the ARIA charts. Two decades ago, digital disruption in the form of filesharing sites like Napster <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Ripped/Greg-Kot/9781416547310">broke the business model</a> of the recording industry. While streaming subscriptions and the resurgence of vinyl now <a href="https://www.aria.com.au/industry/news/australian-music-celebrates-four-years-of-growth">underpin sales of recorded music</a>, the effects of disruption continue to be felt. ARIA, for example, only began to <a href="https://www.aria.com.au/aria-charts-code-of-practice">include streaming</a> in its charts from 2014, with current arrangements updated as recently as March 2022 to include official content streams by logged-in YouTube users in the charts. While the ARIA charts tell us a great deal about music consumption in Australia, they, like any survey, are not perfect. Musicians who independently release their music and monetise their work in non-traditional ways, such as via a following on social media, direct support through a platform like <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/music">Patreon</a> or through merchandise sales, are less likely to have their output recognised in the ARIA charts. Likewise, a consumer’s use of a VPN to access music via a streaming service in an international jurisdiction may render the economic activity that results impossible to track. <h2>Quotas and solutions</h2> The other significant impact of the changing digital landscape is the blunting of long-standing policies designed to support Australian music making. For example, the <a href="https://www.cbaa.org.au/resource/codes-practice-%E2%80%93-code-5-australian-music">CBAA Code of Practice</a> requires most community radio stations to broadcast at least 25% Australian content. This requirement has over many decades fuelled a need for Australian music. Streaming services have no equivalent requirement and, as audiences increasingly migrate to these new platforms, this imperative for new Australian music wanes. The federal government has sought to <a href="https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-culturalpolicy-8february2023.pdf">address some of these challenges</a> via its National Cultural Policy, titled Revive. It plans to introduce legislation later this year. Australia’s music industry will likely welcome this intervention, particularly if it builds capacity and creates opportunities for Australian musicians to thrive in Australia. Such policy interventions are not without hazard: <a href="https://www.jmro.org.au/index.php/mca2/article/view/84/32">my research reveals</a> that when government uses cultural policy as a political tool it distorts and ultimately stifles creative practice. Listening to musicians, addressing their needs (such as navigating the eligibility requirements for inclusion in the ARIA charts) and helping connect them to Australian audiences are key. In the meantime, we should all listen to some new Australian music. Let’s make our <a href="https://www.mso.com.au/performance/2023-kate-ceberano">Kate and the MSO</a> number one!<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206088/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-mckenry-287534">Timothy McKenry</a>, Professor of Music, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-isnt-australian-music-charting-on-the-aria-charts-206088">original article</a>.

Music

Doctor makes international headlines for unusual note on patient's chart

A Canadian doctor who cited climate change on a patient’s medical chart and attracted worldwide attention has now clarified what he meant by doing so. During a heatwave in Nelson, British Columbia, in late June, a 70-year-old woman’s health deteriorated, and GP Dr Kyle Merritt believed that extreme weather conditions during the North American summer were a contributing factor. The woman was already suffering from diabetes and heart failure, and lived in a caravan with no air conditioning, during a heatwave that would come to be known as the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.timescolonist.com/bc-news/bcs-chief-coroner-reveals-city-death-tolls-due-to-heat-wave-4710606" target="_blank">hottest and deadliest</a> in Canadian history. Speaking to <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/doctor-reveals-why-he-wrote-climate-change-on-patients-medical-chart-023010837.html?guccounter=1" target="_blank">Yahoo News</a>, Dr Merritt said, “Oftentimes it's vulnerable patients that are the most affected. It’s people who don't have air conditioning in their homes in the case of the heat dome, or live in places where they can’t get away from the wildfire smoke. ‘ “To see a patient affected that way and being forced to come in and get admitted to hospital because where they're living is not really safe for them anymore, I found it upsetting. “ wanted to think about the the underlying factors that were driving (her deterioration), so that's why I wrote it down.” Dr Merritt clarified that he only mentioned climate change on one patient’s chart, as he believed it “had to be part of the reason” his 70-year-old patient was admitted to the emergency room. He said he “wasn’t trying to make a big deal out of it”, but felt that it was important for both him and his colleagues to “recognise the truth” and acknowledge the contributing factor of climate change on people’s ill health. While some headlines have claimed he diagnosed a patient with ‘climate change’, Dr Merritt confirmed that this was not the case, as "climate change is not a medical condition”, but merely a contributing factor which can worsen existing illnesses, much like exposure to any extreme temperatures or weather conditions can worsen people’s health. He explained, “The diagnosis has to be a specific medical condition that's recognised as a medical condition. As physicians, we can’t just start making things up, of course we work within a medical framework." The links between climate change and people’s health are already well documented, with the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health" target="_blank">World Health Organisation</a> describing climate change as the “biggest health threat facing humanity”. The WHO predicts that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, primarily from malnutrition, diarrhoea, and heat stress. This is because climate change severely impacts the social and environmental determinants of health - clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter. Without these basic necessities, it becomes incredibly difficult for people to maintain good health. Dr Merritt told Yahoo that he hopes that in the coming years, GPs will seek to recognise the impact of climate change on the health of their patients. He said, “In a lot of places, and certainly in my corner of the world, we're starting to see the direct impacts of climate change on human health. “It’s always difficult to make the link, but it's got a lot more clear as time has gone on.”

Caring

The Ocean Decade: how the next ten years can chart a new course for the blue planet

When birdsong was filling the muted days of the first lockdown, marine scientists were noticing something similar in the world’s oceans. Container vessels, cruise ships and drilling platforms had fallen silent, and so the oceans grew quieter than at any other time in recent memory. Researchers are trying to understand how the lull affected ocean life, but there are already stories of whales seizing the chance to sing and dolphins venturing into coastal areas they’d avoided for decades. The year of the quiet ocean is over, and noise pollution is roaring back to pre-pandemic levels, drowning out the sounds that marine species depend on to communicate and make sense of their surroundings. Sadly, that’s just one problem among many. The UN has declared that the next ten years will be <a href="https://www.oceandecade.org/">the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development</a>, recognising the enormous challenges facing our blue planet. The Conversation has been keeping an eye on some of these as part of our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/oceans-21-96784">Oceans 21 series</a>. Already, we’ve heard from experts about how chemical pollution in the ocean <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ocean-pollution-is-a-clear-danger-to-human-health-152641">threatens human health</a>, how the ocean economy is dominated by <a href="https://theconversation.com/blue-economy-how-a-handful-of-companies-reap-most-of-the-benefits-in-multi-billion-ocean-industries-153165">a handful of mega-rich corporations</a> and why global warming is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ocean-is-becoming-more-stable-heres-why-that-might-not-be-a-good-thing-157911">making the ocean more stable</a> – with surprisingly worrying results. But we’ve also heard informed reasons for hope. From the geographer studying <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hopeful-return-of-polar-whales-151487">the recovery of polar whale populations</a> and the team of physicists learning how to track the journey of <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-does-plastic-pollution-go-when-it-enters-the-ocean-155182">each plastic particle</a> when it reaches the shoreline, to the anthropologist documenting the role that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-scottish-gaelic-is-helping-protect-scotlands-seas-155660">Scottish Gaelic plays in conservation</a> in Outer Hebridean fisheries.

Cruising

Why this Baby Boomer hit song is topping the charts 40 years on

Fleetwood Mac are back in the spotlight after a TikTok featuring one of their songs went viral last month. The album Rumours was released over 43 years ago but it quickly moved up to No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart this week, jumping six spots from the previous week. The song Dreams had an even more impressive week after a man long boarding down the street used it in his TikTok video. The single has moved up to No. 4 - a 10-spot jump from last week. Nathan Apodaca was the man behind the viral TikTok - dubbed The Dreams Challenge - and quickly became an internet sensation. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I don’t use this verbiage often but this is a whole vibe. simple as that <a href="https://t.co/NfdLsgLkxu">pic.twitter.com/NfdLsgLkxu</a> — DrewFrog (@DrewFrogger) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewFrogger/status/1309531633545089024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2020</a></blockquote> It currently has over 60 million views. Soon it caught the attention of the band’s very own Mick Fleetwood, as he recreated the video. Apodaca appeared on the Today show and said he was honoured after watching the TikTok. "He made his own TikTok account. His first video was this one. The parody of my video. I feel honoured. A legend doing that. It's just amazing," he said. "I got to talk to him in the another interview. He was telling me that his daughters and everything said 'Dad, you need to do this'.

Music

The amazing chart showing the ticking housing time bomb caused by Australians delaying major decisions

Australians are carrying significant mortgage debt into retirement because they are increasingly delaying major life decisions such as marriage, home purchases and even getting a full-time job. On Monday, 18 November the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) <a href="http://cepar.edu.au/resources-videos/research-briefs/housing-ageing-australia-nest-and-nest-egg">released a new report </a>which seeks to explain why so many Australians are now entering retirement with housing debt. In 2016, about 36% of homeowning households still had a mortgage at the point of retirement (age 60-64), up from 23% a decade earlier. The report finds that the situation can be explained by the fact that Australians are practising bulk procrastination and making practically every major decision later in life. The report finds that, between 1971 and 2011, the median age at which Australians: <ul> <li>Started their first full-time job increased from 16 to 25</li> <li>Finishing education increased from 17 to 22</li> <li>Had their first child increased from 24 to 31</li> <li>Married increased from 23 to 31</li> <li>Bought their first home increased from 27 to 33.</li> </ul> According to the report, these delayed decisions mean that the median age that Australians had paid off their mortgage has increased from 52 in 1971 to 62 in 2011 (and is likely to have increased since 2011). In addition, the delayed decisions are continuing well into retirement. For instance, the median Australian is now leaving the labour force at 64, rather than 61 in 1971, and entering aged care at 85, rather than 81 in 1971. Here's the data in chart form: <img src="https://img.seniorshousingonline.com.au/787cb58b6bac427d7cfab89e067d4a131f172e1b" alt="" width="650" height="298" /> Rafal Chomik, a CEPAR senior research fellow at UNSW Sydney, said that while high house prices and overall reduced affordability was a factor in delayed home purchase decisions, people needed to be wary about taking forever to get into the market. “Lifetime homeownership rates will decline if some people postpone purchasing a home indefinitely,” said Rafal Chomik. “Banks may be reluctant to lend past a certain age given retirement ages are increasing more slowly.” Centre Director John Piggott, Scientia Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School, said that with the Australian retirement system built on the premise of homeownership, excessive or indefinite deferral of home purchase can have consequences. “There is the potential that in the future more older people end up renting, and if so, we need a safety net to support them as the current retirement income system is failing renters,” he said. The Downsizing.com.au view This research brings a different perspective to the national debate about retirement incomes and indicates part of the problem is an emerging national psychology against taking early, hard decisions. As the old saying goes ‘there is no time like the present’. Australians need to be alert to, and wary of, this growing life decision deferral trend. While it’s a bad move to delay buying your first home, it is an equally bad move to delay making a decision to move from the family home into more suitable and more lifestyle-rich downsizing-friendly accommodation. Many Australians delay making a downsizing decision, and then find they are too old to move into a retirement village or land lease community and need to go straight into aged care. In doing this, they have missed the opportunity to live among a supportive community and access great lifestyle features and age-appropriate accommodation. Indeed, research shows that moving into a <a href="https://www.cityam.com/retirement-villages-extend-life-expectancy-women/">retirement village community can extend life by five years.</a> Written by Mark Skelsey. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.downsizing.com.au/news/626/The-amazing-chart-showing-the-ticking-housing-time-bomb-caused-by-Australians-delaying-major-decisions" target="_blank">Downsizing.com.au</a>.

Retirement Income

5 charts that show what a Newstart recipient looks like

The Newstart unemployment benefit is all over the news. It’s the subject of a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Newstartrelatedpayments">Senate inquiry</a>. Today it will take evidence in <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Newstartrelatedpayments/Public_Hearings">Elizabeth</a>, in what used to be Adelaide’s industrial north. Should it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/07/accounting-giant-kpmg-calls-for-newstart-to-increase-by-100-a-week">be higher</a>? Should recipients be paid with a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/scott-morrison-eyes-long-term-cashless-debit-card-roll-out-20190907-p52oxb.html">cashless card</a>? Or <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-government-to-revive-plans-to-drug-test-dole-recipients-20190905-p52odq.html">drug tested</a>? Or <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/peter-dutton-suggests-cancelling-welfare-of-climate-protesters/11572370">stripped of their payments if they join climate protests</a>? To make sense of these proposals it helps to know something about who receives Newstart payments. It’s a picture many of us get wrong. Here’s a heads-up. They are not particularly likely to be young, they are are not especially likely to be men, and more live in regional areas than we might expect. Here are some facts to give us something to work with, set out in five charts: Likely to be middle aged First, Newstart recipients are a lot older than you might think. Half are over 45. Partly this is because unemployed people aged 24 or younger are more likely to be getting <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/youth-allowance-job-seekers">Youth Allowance</a>. But even if we include unemployed Youth Allowance recipients in the figure, an outsized 45% of all unemployment benefit recipients are over 45. One quarter are over 55. Women on Newstart are older still: 51% of female job-seekers are over 40, compared with 42% of male job-seekers. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299170/original/file-20191029-183103-ofhmt1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299170/original/file-20191029-183103-ofhmt1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Youth Allowance (other) excludes student and apprentice youth allowance. DSS Payment Demographics, March 2019 They are older on average than five years ago. Over the five years to March 2019, the number of people on Newstart aged over 45 swelled by one fifth, and the number over 55 by two fifths. At the same time the number under 45 fell by 16%. The increase in the number of older people on Newstart has coincided with a sharp decline in the number of older people receiving the Disability Support Pension. <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Budget_Office/Publications/Research_reports/Disability_support_pension_Historical_and_projected_trends?CalendarWidgetTarget=20-05-2018&tab=tab2a">Tighter assessment measures</a> since 2012 have led to a decline in the number of people being assessed as eligible for the Disability Support Pension, forcing many declined applicants <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-12/disability-support-pension-applicants-diverted-to-newstart/11486164">on to Newstart</a>. Less likely to live in big cities People from the biggest states are less commonly on Newstart. Someone from Victoria, NSW, or the ACT is about one third less likely to be on Newstart than someone from the rest of the country. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299171/original/file-20191029-183147-1g7h3ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299171/original/file-20191029-183147-1g7h3ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> DSS Payment Demographics, March 2019, ABS 3101.0 Rural areas also have higher proportions of people on Newstart than cities. Someone outside a major city is one and a half times as likely to be on Newstart as someone in a major city. And the difference gets starker the further out you go. Someone in a “remote” or “very remote” area is more than twice as likely to be on Newstart as someone in a major city. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299172/original/file-20191029-183112-1jr36oj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299172/original/file-20191029-183112-1jr36oj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Population at March 2019 is estimated based on ABS data at June 2018. DSS Payment Demographics, March 2019, ABS 3281 Likely to have been on it for a long time Contrary to claims by <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-most-people-on-the-newstart-unemployment-benefit-for-a-short-or-long-time-120826">Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and others</a>, Newstart is not always a transitional payment. It’s true many of the people coming on to Newstart leave it soon after: of those who began receiving Newstart payments in 2017, 63% had come off within 12 months. But a focus on new recipients ignores the bulk of current recipients, who have been on it for much longer. Someone who has recently begun receiving Newstart payments is far more likely to move off them than someone who’s been on them for a longer period. As at March 2019, two thirds had been on it for more than a year. One fifth had been on it for more than five years. A significant 4% had been on it for more than ten years. Older recipients are more likely to have been on it for more than a year, and across all ages, women are more likely than men to have been on Newstart for more than a year. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299173/original/file-20191029-183151-1kqw2e4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299173/original/file-20191029-183151-1kqw2e4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Includes Newstart and Youth Allowance (other) recipients classified as ‘job seekers’. At August 2019, job seekers made up 52% of all Newstart and Youth Allowance (other) recipients. <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-department/labour-market-and-related-payments-monthly-profile-publications" class="source">Labour Market and Related Payments Monthly Profile, August 2019</a> Tasmanian and Northern Territory recipients are the most likely to have been on it for more than a year; ACT and Queensland recipients are the least likely. But across all states, a clear majority of recipients have been on it for more than a year. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299174/original/file-20191029-183151-jl7eje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299174/original/file-20191029-183151-jl7eje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Includes Newstart and Youth Allowance (other) recipients classified as ‘job seekers’. At August 2019, job seekers made up 52% of all Newstart and Youth Allowance (other) recipients. <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-department/labour-market-and-related-payments-monthly-profile-publications" class="source">Labour Market and Related Payments Monthly Profile, August 2019</a> <hr /> So next time you picture a Newstart recipient, it might be wise to think of a middle aged woman living outside of the city in a smaller state. Unless we keep her in mind, we are likely to make the wrong decisions about the rate, about drug testing, and about everything else.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125937/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/owain-emslie-250445">Owain Emslie</a>, Associate, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/danielle-wood-147710">Danielle Wood</a>, Program Director, Budget Policy and Institutional Reform, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-charts-on-what-a-newstart-recipient-really-looks-like-125937">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

This handy chart lists how long you can freeze everything

If you’re wondering how long can you can keep something in the freezer, wonder no longer! This handy chart has all the answers to how long you can freeze vegetables, juice, steak, margarine, spices, lobster, whole chickens and turkeys, muffins, roasts and much more. Bookmark this chart from <a href="http://www.freezerlabels.net/" target="_hplink">FreezerLabels.net</a> for an easy guide to how long freezer foods will keep. <img width="581" height="3087" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/bc/ac/10/bcac10d07a65e588b372c7713d2a9f88.jpg" alt="Frozen Food Recommended Storage Times #infographic" border="0" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/>

Food & Wine

Tea colour chart divides the internet

A Twitter user shared this controversial tea colour chart and unwittingly started something of a storm in a teacup (sorry, we couldn’t resist) among tea drinkers around the world. <img width="498" height="495" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/40139/image__498x495.jpg" alt="Image_ (396)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> While a small minority defended a generous splash of milk, most were in favour of a nice, strong brew. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> If it's d4, you can leave. — TeaClub ☕ (@_TeaClub_) <a href="https://twitter.com/_TeaClub_/status/889542124114456577">July 24, 2017</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Erm D4 and C4 someone forgot to put the teabag in. It's a cup of milk. Outrageous! — Ruth (@RuthGFernie) <a href="https://twitter.com/RuthGFernie/status/889537540537159680">July 24, 2017</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> D2 although I did once share an office with someone who was a D4. It was traumatic. — Jayne (@PublishingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PublishingNinja/status/890329767744069632">July 26, 2017</a></blockquote> Tell us in the comments below, which colour cuppa do you prefer?

Food & Wine

5 charts to help you bake better

From helping you figure exactly why your cake failed (look, we’ve all served a sunken cake before) to a guide on healthy baking substitutes (because we’re all about finding the balance with treats), these charts will make life in the kitchen so much easier. 1. For saving baking emergencies <img width="500" height="890" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/16782/1_500x890.jpg" alt="1 (124)"/> 2. For figuring out why your cake failed <img width="500" height="924" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/16783/2_500x924.jpg" alt="2 (127)"/> 3. For when you’re trying to convert your ingredients <img width="500" height="625" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/16784/3_500x625.jpg" alt="3 (123)"/> <img width="500" height="625" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/16785/3a_500x625.jpg" alt="3a"/> 4. For when you’re trying to be a bit healthier <img width="500" height="2219" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/16786/4_500x2219.jpg" alt="4 (114)"/> 5. For when you don’t want leftovers <img width="500" height="1250" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/16787/5_500x1250.jpg" alt="5 (106)"/> Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/02/household-items-youre-cleaning-wrong/">6 household items you’re cleaning wrong</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/10/things-to-ban-from-kitchen/">Surprising items to never take into the kitchen</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2015/09/starting-a-vegetable-garden/">Beginner’s guide to starting a vegetable garden</a>

Home & Garden

Photos chart baby bunnies growing over 30 days

A photographer has charted the growth of baby bunnies, born to their pet rabbit, over 30 days. The resulting images show the beautiful but barely recognisable little bubs mature into adorably fluffy bunnies. <img src="http://editorial.designtaxi.com/editorial-images/news-bunny030615/bunny2.jpg"/> <img src="http://editorial.designtaxi.com/editorial-images/news-bunny030615/bunny3.jpg"/> <img src="http://editorial.designtaxi.com/editorial-images/news-bunny030615/bunny4.jpg"/> <img src="http://editorial.designtaxi.com/editorial-images/news-bunny030615/bunny5.jpg"/> <img src="http://editorial.designtaxi.com/editorial-images/news-bunny030615/bunny6.jpg"/> <img src="http://editorial.designtaxi.com/editorial-images/news-bunny030615/bunny7.jpg"/> <img src="http://editorial.designtaxi.com/editorial-images/news-bunny030615/bunny8.jpg"/> Related links: <a href="/news/news/2015/08/90-year-old-saves-wife-from-fire/">90-year-old man saves wife from house fire</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/08/woman-reads-to-shelter-dogs/">Woman reads to shelter dogs to comfort them</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/08/sea-slug-photos/">Photographer captures photos of cutest underwater creature ever</a>

News

This handy chart tells you exactly how long wine will last once opened

Thanks to wine culture website Wine Folly, you don’t need to ask for a second opinion on how long your bottle of wine will last. Not that we expect you to hold back at dinner parties just to test this chart out – it’s just useful to have handy. <img width="499" height="1105" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/6778/wine-lasts_499x1105.jpg" alt="Wine Lasts" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Image source: <a href="http://winefolly.com/tutorial/how-long-opened-wine-lasts/" target="_blank">Wine Folly</a> Related links: <a href="/news/news/2015/06/food-for-glowing-skin/">Want glowing skin? Try eating these foods</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/06/homelessness-on-rise/">Soaring rental prices are increasing the number of homeless people</a> <a href="/news/news/2015/06/glenroy-grannies-hang-up-netball-bibs/">This netball team are hanging up their bibs after 45 years together</a>

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