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“I was wrong”: Dominic Perrottet admits Catholic faith played a role in gambling reform 

Dominic Perrottet has changed his tune. After reflecting on his decision to implement a new gambling policy, he admits his Catholic faith played a role. Last week ClubsNSW CEO Josh Landis made a comment claiming the premier’s “conservative Catholic gut” was linked to his decision to implement cashless poker machines across all venues in NSW. As a result, the ClubsNSW board decided to fire Landis. Perrottet responded to the comment and claimed his views were “not informed by the fact that I’m Catholic.” Since then, Perrottet has changed his mind. He admitted that the decision was influenced by his Catholic faith. “Certainly my upbringing and my faith has had an impact,” the premier said. “I don’t think that is something I should be ashamed of.” When asked why this policy is such a priority for him, he reflected on his time as NSW treasurer, “We were receiving revenue and profit from people’s misery.” Perrottet has been the state’s premier since October 2021, dealing with the state opening up after COVID and the Omnicron wave. “I haven't got everything right in the time I've been in politics, but you learn from it,” he said. “Politics is not easy. It's difficult and there will always be the external events and mistakes get made.” If Perrottet is re-elected this year, the gambling law overhaul will begin early next year with the roll-out of cashless poker machines. Image credit: Getty

Legal

Julie Bishop discusses the power of fashion in a male-dominated government

After a long career in law and politics, Julie Bishop is no stranger to being a woman in a male-dominated workplace. Throughout her time in parliament, Julie was told by "an older white male" within her party to dress more like a Minister for Aging should, to "drop the corporate look" in favour of "cardigans", and was mockingly dubbed the Minister for Fashion while Foreign Minister. "I had forged a career in law at a time when there were very few women in senior ranks and so I was accustomed to being in a very male dominated profession, so I didn't ever see my career through a gender lens," Bishop tells <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/julie-bishop-interview-breaking-barriers-australian-fashion-diplomacy-politics-of-dress-exclusive/cfb790bf-e447-48d3-bb73-a1a22c6c531d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9Honey</a> in London. "It was the norm to me, but over time, I did find the different standard, somewhat frustrating, but I knew why that happened because all the conventions and protocols and attitudes in parliament were established at a time when there were no women in parliament and it takes a long time to change people's attitudes." As Julie forged her own way through the walls of Parliament House and demanded respect from her male colleagues, she found a way to harness her love of fashion to make a political statement. Following in the footsteps of Madeleine Albright, the first female US Secretary of State – a woman Bishop says she "admired enormously" – she tried her hand at "brooch diplomacy" for a while "but I found that the use of colour was even more powerful". Bishop began to help drive the fashion industry contributing approximately $13 billion to the Australian economy at the time, with the invaluable help of Vogue Australia editor Edwina McCann. "I have come to accept that there are different standards applied to female politicians as opposed to male politicians but I use that, I think, to the advantage of Australia," she tells 9Honey. "I was representing Australia overseas. So I deliberately chose Australian fashions that were notable and appropriate to send a message that necessarily meant that there would be media focus on my clothes, so I could hardly complain about it. "But there were times when my promotion of Australian fashion was the subject of criticism. I believe that came about because of ignorance." "My critics ridiculed me by calling me the Minister for Fashion [but] little did they realise that I absolutely revelled in that and wore it as a badge of honour." "I felt vindicated every time a young designer said to me, 'Julie, when you wear one of my outfits on the world stage, I've made it. Suddenly the orders come in. Suddenly, people want to know me.' That was my vindication." Image credits: 9Honey

Beauty & Style

Male artists dominate galleries. Our research explored if it’s because ‘women don’t paint very well’ – or just discrimination

In the art world, there is a gaping gender imbalance when it comes to male and female artists. In the National Gallery of Australia, <a href="https://nga.gov.au/knowmyname/about/">only 25%</a> of the Australian art collection is work by women. This is far better than the international standard where <a href="https://nmwa.org/support/advocacy/get-facts/">roughly 90%</a> of all artworks exhibited in major collections are by men. The <a href="https://www.artsy.net/artwork/georgia-okeeffe-jimson-weed-slash-white-flower-no-1">most expensive</a> painting by a female artist – Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 – does not even rank among the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintings#List_of_highest_prices_paid">100 most expensive paintings</a> ever sold. Why is women’s art valued so much less than art by men? Some economists <a href="https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2005/02/why_do_women_su.html">have suggested</a> the greater burden of child rearing and other domestic duties means women have had fewer opportunities to succeed in the art world. Others have blamed the “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/report-names-laggers-as-women-artists-win-parity-20191029-p534vy.html">quality</a>” of women’s art. In 2013, German painter <a href="https://observer.com/2013/01/georg-baselitz-says-women-dont-paint-very-well/">Georg Baselitz said</a> “Women don’t paint very well. It’s a fact. The market doesn’t lie.” We wanted to know: is work by women generally valued differently to work by men because it is of a lower artistic quality, or is it just discrimination? <h2>Which painting do you like better?</h2> In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268122002669?dgcid=author">our new research</a> we showed average Americans pairs of paintings, painted between 1625 and 1979, side by side. Each of the pairs are similar in style, motif and period, but one work was by a male artist and the other by a female artist. Participants were in two groups. One group saw the artists’ names and the other didn’t. We wanted to see whether more people among those who saw artist names preferred the male painting. If seeing the names – and thereby inferring artist gender – causes more people to prefer male paintings, then there is gender discrimination. Before we tell you the results, think about what you would have expected. And <a href="https://rmit.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e4JBs0wxKeftYF0">take a look</a> at our actual painting pairs and see if you can guess which is the male one (hint: you can’t). We were pleasantly surprised to find our participants did not give a hoot about artist gender. In both groups, 54% preferred the painting from a woman. We repeated this experiment, this time rewarding participants if they could accurately guess the preferences of others – the people in the first experiment. Again, 54% of the people in each group picked the female paintings. <h2>Which painting do you think is worth more?</h2> Next we wanted to find out if people picked male paintings for reasons other than personal taste. Art isn’t just bought and sold on aesthetic value: it is a speculative market, where art is treated as an investment. We conducted two more experiments. In one, participants were rewarded if they picked the more expensive painting. In the other, they were rewarded to pick the one painted by the more famous artist. Gender discrimination emerged in both these experiments. When asked to predict the value of and creator fame of paintings, people suddenly swung towards picking male artists. Preference for female paintings fell by 10% and 9% in these two new experiments. Gender discrimination in art comes not from personal aesthetic preference – Baselitz’ argument that women “don’t paint very well” – but people thinking paintings are more valuable and famous when painted by male artists. <h2>A question of fame</h2> In our fifth experiment, we again rewarded participants who could correctly guess which painting would be preferred by others. This time everyone saw the names of the artists. But only one group was told which of the two artists was objectively more famous – the male artist in 90% of cases. The group with that information was 14% more likely to pick male paintings. People used fame information to predict the painting others liked better. If women artists were discriminated against just because of their gender we would have seen a higher premium put on the male artists even in questions of aesthetics. Here, discrimination only occured when our participants were asked to assign a monetary value to the art works, or when they were given information about the level of fame of the painter. This means our art appreciators discriminated not on gender, but on something closely associated with gender: fame. And because male artists have, historically, been given <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1574067606010234">more opportunities</a> to become artists – and therefore become famous – artwork by men is perceived as having a higher value. Policy is slowly starting to recognise and target institutional factors that perpetuate male dominance because of historical notions of fame, like the National Gallery of Australia’s <a href="https://knowmyname.nga.gov.au/">Know my Name</a> initiative. Discrimination in the arts exists, but it often comes from people’s beliefs about what others care to discriminate about. The task ahead is to change perceptions of people and institutions who do not discriminate – but merely conform to others’ discrimination. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/male-artists-dominate-galleries-our-research-explored-if-its-because-women-dont-paint-very-well-or-just-discrimination-189221" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Art

New Zealand dominates Traveller’s Choice Awards

New Zealand has beaten Australia in TripAdvisor’s annual Traveller’s Choice list across several adventurous categories, with Queenstown taking out the top spot for the Pacific.The annual list is compiled using reviews and ratings on the TripAdvisor website, and 2021’s results showed it was the year for short getaways and outdoor destinations.Auckland ranked as the third most popular destination in the Pacific, following behind scenic balloon tours by Lake Wakatipu and jet skiing in Bora Bora in first and second place.As for the best overall experiences, Rotorua came in first and fourth for white water rafting and ziplining respectively, followed by quad bike tours on Kangaroo Island in second place, and a discovery tour on Queensland’s Magnetic Island coming in third. Though New Zealand took out the top spots, Australia had six “best destinations” in the top 10 over their Kiwi neighbour’s three.Top 10 Popular Destinations in the South Pacific1. Queenstown – New Zealand2. Bora Bora – French Polynesia3. Auckland – New Zealand4. Gold Coast – Australia5. Hobart – Australia6. Sydney – Australia7. Port Douglas – Australia8. Cairns – Australia9. Melbourne – Australia10. Rotorua – New ZealandImage: @queenstownnz (Instagram)

Domestic Travel

White male artists dominate US galleries

The walls of art galleries in the US are hung, almost to the exclusion of all else, with the works of white men. That’s the conclusion of a team of statisticians and art historians, <a rel="noopener" href="https://doi.org/%2010.1371/journal.pone.0212852" target="_blank">published</a> in the journal PLOS One. The researchers, led by Chad Topaz from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Williams College in Massachusetts, US, examined the public online catalogues of 18 major US museums and extracted records for 9000 named artists. These were then given over to a crowdsourcing platform, and with the help of the many people thereon the majority of the artists were successfully identified and biographies built. “Overall,” the authors report, “we find that 85% of artists are white and 87% are men.” Topaz and colleagues position their work in the context of previous studies that have examined diversity in museum and gallery staff, as well as visitor profiles. <a rel="noopener" href="https://mellon.org/programs/arts-and-cultural-heritage/art-history-conservation-museums/demographic-survey/" target="_blank">One study</a>, for instance, found that 72% of members of the US Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) identified as white. The same study found that while 60% of museum staff are female, women occupy only 43% of senior positions. Other studies have looked at visitors, and identified communities to target through outreach programs in attempts to increase diversity. The present work, though, is the first to study diversity among the artists represented. “If museums find knowledge of staff and visitor demographics important for programming decisions,” the authors write, “one might ask if demographics of the artists are important for collection decisions.” They cite “anecdotal evidence” that in the field of contemporary American art some collections are being actively augmented to rectify diversity imbalance, with the welcome effect that “it is now not unusual for these museums to compete with each other for major works of African American art”. However, the big picture – no pun intended – remains overwhelmingly coloured by men who are white. “With respect to gender, our overall pool of individual, identifiable artists across all museums consists of 12.6% women,” the authors report. “With respect to ethnicity, the pool is 85.4% white, 9.0% Asian, 2.8% Hispanic/Latinx, 1.2% Black/African American, and 1.5% other ethnicities.” Introducing greater diversity, however, is perhaps not as difficult as some might imagine. “We find that the relationship between museum collection mission and artist diversity is weak, suggesting that a museum wishing to increase diversity might do so without changing its emphases on specific time periods and regions,” the researchers conclude. They also admit that their analysis is constrained by a couple of limitations. First, a small proportion of artists identified could not be satisfactorily identified by gender or ethnicity. Second, artworks made by more than one artist were not included, and, third, many works of art – those from the Graeco-Roman period, for instance – are not assigned to identifiable individuals. Image credits: Shutterstock This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/white-male-artists-dominate-us-gallery-collections/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Andrew Masterson.

Art

Dominic Perrottet is the new Premier of NSW

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has won a NSW Liberal party room vote for the position of party leader, making him the next Premier of New South Wales. Perrottet won with 39 votes to Planning Minister Rob Stokes’ five, and Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres was elected unopposed as deputy Liberal leader. The vote followed Gladys Berejiklian’s resignation as party leader on Friday, which itself followed the announcement of an ICAC investigation into the question of whether Berejiklian breached public trust during her secret relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire. Perottet will be the 46th Premier of NSW, and the fourth Liberal Premier since 2011, succeeding Barry O’Farrell, Mike Baird, and Gladys Berejiklian. Perrottet is from the right-wing of the Liberal Party, and has been endorsed by <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/the-best-person-john-howard-backs-dominic-perrottet-for-nsw-premier-20211002-p58wnz.html">former Prime Minister John Howard</a>. Perrottet represents the electoral district of Epping, which includes the suburbs of Beecroft, Cheltenham, Cherrybrook, North Epping, as well as parts of Epping, Carlingford, Castle Hill, Dural, Eastwood, Pennant Hills and West Pennant Hills. Perottet himself was raised in West Pennant Hills and went to school in Dural and Castle Hill before attending the University of Sydney, where he was active in student politics. Perrottet is a devout Catholic, and has said of his religious views, “I think having a Christian faith is part of who I am and inspires me to make a difference wherever I go.” In 2019, he was the most senior member of the NSW government to oppose the decriminalisation of abortion. Despite this, reports have suggested he will support a conscience vote on the issue of voluntary assisted dying. In the days leading up to Tuesday’s party room vote, a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/04/conservative-warrior-economic-reformer-premier-meet-dominic-perrottet-nsws-likely-next-leader">2016 Facebook post Perrottet made</a> following the successful election of Donald Trump was widely circulated. In the post, Perrottet welcomed Trump’s win as “a victory for people who have been taken for granted by the elites”, going on to write, “If you support stronger borders, you are not a racist. If you want a plebiscite on same-sex marriage, you are not a homophobe.” Despite this, in a speech given later that year, he also criticised what he identified as the failure of mainstream political parties to stop the rise of populists like Trump. He criticised the Republican Party for embracing an “elite big business agenda” that had “shut out their base” and failed to respond to the “growing disillusionment around them”. Image: Bianca De Marchi - Pool/Getty Images

News

They did it! Baby Dominic scores 60 years of free pizza

Dominic Julian Lot came into the world at 1:47 am last Wednesday, weighing the same amount of approximately 23 garlic breads, at 3.9 kilograms. And while his arrival has left his parents overjoyed, they’re also celebrating another gift - 60 years of free pizza from Domino’s Pizza. The pizza chain was running a competition for their 60th birthday last Wednesday, and Clementine Oldfield and Anthony Lot were the lucky winners. The first baby to be born in Australia on that day called Dominic or Dominique would win the cash equivalent of a pizza a month, for six decades - $10,080. "My mother sent us a screenshot of the promo on Tuesday and we laughed it off thinking well that's kind of funny because he's coming today on Tuesday, not on Wednesday," Mr Lot told A Current Affair. But baby Dominic had other plans, arriving in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The couple had already chosen the name Dominic when they first discovered Ms Oldfield was pregnant with a boy. "It's one of my favourite names since I was a little kid," Ms Oldfield said. "We both liked it and we struggled with finding names we both liked to be honest." Dominic’s grandmother Janine, and cousin Dominique had both alerted the couple to the competition. "I sent it to Anthony just as a joke saying 'here is some inspiration if you need any names or anything'," cousin Dominique said. "The next day found out that he was born and then he was called Dominic and it was just the best day ever because I've never met another little Dominic before." "We had a lot of people who were pretty disappointed wanting nine months so they could prepare a little bit better," CEO of Domino's Pizza, Australia and New Zealand, Nick Knight said. "But it was great to see that we were able to celebrate that so early on in the competition." A copy of the birth certificate was provided before the prize was awarded.

Family & Pets

5 minutes with author Dominic Smith

In 5 minutes with author, Over60 asks book writers about their literary habits and preferences. Next in this series is Dominic Smith, a Sydney-born author and essayist based in Seattle, Washington in the US. His acclaimed novel, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos was a New York Times bestseller and won various awards, including the Literary Fiction Book of the Year from the Australian Book Industry Awards and the Fiction Indie Book of the Year Award from the Independent Booksellers Association. His latest novel, The Electric Hotel, is out now. Over60 talked with Smith about the challenges in reading James Joyce’s works, the travel book that makes him laugh, and the redemption tropes he has no interest in. Over60: What is the worst writing advice you’ve ever received? Dominic Smith: “Write what you know.” So much of fiction writing, for me, is about discovering new worlds. I’ve always thought telling aspiring writers to write about what they know is terrible advice. Write about what you want to know! What book(s) are you reading right now? I’m reading Jane Gardam’s wonderful Old Filth, about a British barrister who returns to England after a career in Hong Kong — FILTH stands for: Failed in London, Tried Hong Kong. I’m also reading Lisa Halliday’s very smart and affecting novel Asymmetry. What was the last book that made you cry or laugh? I recently read Italian Neighbors, by Tim Parks, about his experiences living in Italy. Parks has that rare ability to poke fun at cultural norms, types and beliefs without ever being condescending. As a devoted traveler to Italy, I found it to be a very astute and funny read. What book do you think is underrated? In 1992, two books won the Man Booker Prize: Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and Barry Unsworth’s Sacred Hunger. Almost everyone has read the former and very few the latter. Sacred Hunger is a brilliant and harrowing account of an African slave trade ship that ventured out from the Liverpool docks in England during the 18th-century. What are the tropes that you can’t help but love? Alternatively, which trope grinds your gears? I’m a sucker for tropes about discovery, exploration and sprawling family sagas. I’m less enthused about tropes of redemption through romantic love. What do you think is the most challenging work you’ve ever read? As an undergraduate, I was determined to read all of James Joyce. When I got to Finnegans Wake I made it about halfway through before giving up. All those dense, dreamy associations, the obscure usages and the layers of wordplay took me too far away from readerly pleasure. How do you deal with writer’s block? I accept writer’s block, or a lack of inspiration, as just part of the process. I tend to schedule my writing — mornings, before noon — so that I don’t wait for inspiration to strike before I sit down at the laptop. In a sense, I believe inspiration comes out of the work. If you show up, inspiration bubbles up from the page. A runner doesn’t always enjoy the first mile, but then the endorphins kick in. Writing is the same. Which three authors – living or deceased – would you most like to have dinner with? Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and Bruce Chatwin – though I expect Bruce and I would be doing most of the work to keep the conversation flowing.

Books

Serena Williams responds to French Open spat with Dominic Thiem

Serena Williams has spoken up on her spat with Austria’s Dominic Thiem at the French Open 2019. The 23-time grand slam champion found herself in a growing controversy after Thiem was told to leave in the middle of his post-match press conference and move to a smaller room to accommodate Williams, who at the time just made her <a rel="noopener" href="https://nypost.com/2019/06/03/dominic-thiem-serena-williams-miffed-after-press-conference-confusion/" target="_blank">earliest grand slam exit in five years</a> after losing to Sofia Kenin. Thiem reportedly accused Williams of having a “bad personality”. He told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/06/03/tennis/dominic-thiem-blasts-serena-williams-bad-personality-roland-garros-press-conference-row/#.XRlegegzaM8" target="_blank">Eurosport German</a>: “It is just the principle… even if a junior is in there, every player has to wait.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> Dominic Thiem was midway through the German-speaking section of his press conference when he was told he had to leave the main interview room and switch to a smaller one in order to accommodate Serena Williams after her loss to Sofia Kenin. He was furious. Understandably.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RG19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RG19</a> <a href="https://t.co/KyzOAuh8mm">pic.twitter.com/KyzOAuh8mm</a> — Biola Solace-Chukwu (@Beeorlicious) <a href="https://twitter.com/Beeorlicious/status/1135059613236301824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2019</a></blockquote> Williams said in an interview ahead of the Wimbledon Championships 2019 that she did not demand Thiem to be removed from his press conference. “I asked them to put me in the small room,” said the 37-year-old. “I begged them to put me in the small room, and they didn’t. “I said, ‘Listen, I can come back. I’m just going to go back’. They were like, ‘No, stay here’. “They pulled him out. I was like, ‘You guys are so rude to do that’, quote-unquote, that’s what I said. The next day I had a bad personality. Literally that’s what happened. “I actually stuck up for the guy, so I don’t understand how I got a bad personality for telling them what they did was wrong to him. “I’m really, quite frankly, too old to be in controversy. That’s why I just wanted to clear the air.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> "So not cool"..Serena Williams plays down spat with Dominic Thiem ahead of Wimbledon . . .<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SerenaWilliams?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SerenaWilliams</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Thiem?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Thiem</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tennis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tennis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wimbledon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RolandGarros?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RolandGarros</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sport?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sport</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/athlete?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#athlete</a> <a href="https://t.co/eoX0fpX1TT">pic.twitter.com/eoX0fpX1TT</a> — sntv (@sntvstory) <a href="https://twitter.com/sntvstory/status/1145026160247627776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2019</a></blockquote> Williams said she spoke to Thiem about the incident. “I’m like, ‘Dude, I told them that it wasn’t right what they did’. He said he didn’t say ‘bad personality’, that the media mixed up his words. It’s all good.” She concluded, “They should have never kicked the guy out. It was not cool.” Williams is vying to win her 24th grand slam title at the Wimbledon to equal <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jun/29/serena-williams-andy-murray-mixed-doubles-wimbeldon" target="_blank">the all-time record of Australia’s Margaret Court</a>. “Let’s see how my knee’s going,” said Williams. “I’m finally doing good. I don’t want to, like, go back.”

News

The names that will soon dominate school roll-calls

In coming years, boys called Oliver and girls named Charlotte will be dominating NSW primary school roll-calls. The names took out the top spots for the state’s Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages list of 100 most popular baby names. Oliver was named the most popular boys’ name for the fourth year in a row last year. The second most popular boys’ name, William, has remained in second place for each of those four years. In 2017, Charlotte replaced Olivia as the most popular girls’ name. While the popularity of Oliver and Olivia in Australia can’t be explained, the popularity of Charlotte and William is because of the Royal Family namesakes, according to BDM Registrar Amanda Ianna. "We are seeing little change in the most popular names, but there definitely seems to be a Royal flavour in the air," she told the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/these-names-will-soon-dominate-nsw-primary-school-roll-calls-20180516-p4zfr5.html" target="_blank">Sydney Morning Herald.</a> Due to the birth of Prince Louis last month, the name is expected to grow in popularity this year. Last year, Louis was the 70th most popular name, while George, ranked at 28. “Mums and Dads are also wild about Harry with his name jumping from 27 to 21. While his real name, Henry, was the biggest mover on the list finishing seventh last year up from 18th in 2016," Amanda said. Other newcomers that made it in the top 10 include Ella and Zoe, which replaced Emily and Ruby. "Whether it’s significant to your heritage, trendy or unique, it’s important to choose wisely as your child will carry their name for life," Amanda said. Top 10 boys’ names in NSW in 2017 1. Oliver 2. William 3. Noah 4. Jack 5. James 6. Thomas 7. Henry 8. Lucas 9. Ethan 10. Alexander Top 10 girls’ names in NSW in 2017 1. Charlotte 2. Olivia 3. Ava 4. Amelia 5. Mia 6. Isla 7. Chloe 8. Grace 9. Ella 10. Zoe

Family & Pets

Smartphones will soon dominate digital payments

If cash is king, there's a revolution in the land. Plastic started to dislodge cash from its throne, now smartphones and online payments are set to finish the job. The Reserve Bank of Australia figures show ATM withdrawals peaked at in 2009-10 and have been on the slide ever since. More than three out of four face-to-face payments are now estimated to be tap and go, according to Leila Fourie, the chief executive of the Australian Payments Association. Cash is falling out of favour in other ways too. The rise of the subscription economy is a big trend, where goods and services and paid by direct debit. For example, a subscription to Netflix or Lightbox has supplanted the video store, gym memberships are on rolling monthly payments, while companies are providing different ways to shop for groceries. Mike Ebstein, the founder of payments consultant MWE Consulting, estimates that recurring direct debit payments would be about 10 per cent of of the value of credit card payments. Meanwhile, in-app payments such as in rideshare and taxi services Uber and GoCatch provide yet another way to do away with cash. And pretty soon Australia's Reserve Bank's New Payments Platform will make electronic payments from bank account to bank account in that country even faster and easier, meaning you'll be able to pay online for that secondhand fridge at a garage sale on a Saturday. But who benefits from the decrease in cash? Electronic payments are convenient for consumers, but is there a downside? Mark McCrindle, a social researcher with his own consultancy, McCrindle Research, says the convenience can come at a cost as "out of sight is out of mind". "It is all around us, with tollway e-tags, for example, where there is a bip but most people are not aware of how much they are paying," he says. "There's not that 'point of pain' of paying with cash that has a psychological impact of making us aware that we are now poorer having made that transaction." <img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/37282/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (318)"/> Game of phones The major drawcard for contactless payments is convenience, including the ability to use a credit or debit card for small amounts and the efficiency of the transaction. With Visa payWave and MasterCard PayPass, consumers can 'tap and go' for everyday transactions, up to $100 a time, without the need to enter a PIN or sign a receipt. Smartphones are the next frontier in contactless payments with the big tech companies coming out with apps that allow payments without even require opening the app or unlocking the device. Australia is one of the leading countries in the world for smartphone uptake, with more than four out of five people owning a device, according to Deloitte for its Mobile Consumer Survey in 2016. That's up from up from three out of four in 2014. Seventy per cent of New Zealanders have smartphone, according to Research NZ survey in 2015. Elizabeth Barry, 26 from Sydney's Zetland, uses CommBank's contactless app, which has replaced its earlier app, Kaching, for everyday transactions. "I use my phone for pretty much all of my smaller payments like grocery shopping. I find it more convenient taking my phone out than taking a card out," Barry says. Barry has a Samsung phone and she can put a short-cut on the phone screen but she prefers to log-in to make sure that she is making the payment correctly. "It's all really easy – I don't remember the last time I logged-on for internet banking," she says. A senior writer with comparison site Finder, Barry doesn't shop too much online and when she does she prefers to use PayPal if it is available, because it's easy and PayPal will refund her money if something goes wrong. Cash not dead However, not everyone is a winner from the shift. It is having a detrimental effect on waiters' tips and charities that solicit cash donations from passers-by on the streets. According to a survey of 2000 people, commissioned by ME Bank, those who pay with a card or smartphone are less likely to pay tips to waiters or to donate to a charity in the street. Nic Emery, the ME head of deposits and transactional banking, says the move to digital money also excludes people who do not have a bank account, which sometimes includes the poorest people. Though use of cash is slowing, cash is not dead. In fact, it's going to remain part of the Australian economy and the payment system for the foreseeable future, says the Reserve Bank in its December 2016 Quarter Bulletin. The Reserve Bank's Consumer Use Survey of 2013, the latest available, found that about one in 10 respondents said they make all of their in-person payments with cash. And cash remains an important store of value. About three out of four people told the survey they held cash in places other than their "wallets". Following day-to-day transactions, the next most-cited reason for storing cash was to cover emergencies. McCrindle says tapping a smartphone connected to a credit card tends to loosen people's natural restraint. He points out that the ratio of household debt to income is the highest it's ever been, and the January crunch from Christmas spending is now happening year round. "It's going beyond the budget and living in a financial fog, tapping here there and everywhere, making it harder to manage money," he says. <img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/37283/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (319)"/> Which app? Tech experts predict digital "wallets" will soon be used not only in place of cash, but for paying for all sorts of things such as travel tickets and passes. Tech companies are seeking to strike deals with as many banks, card providers, retail chains and big providers of services as possible. Apple Pay app is probably the market leader, though it is the only app that works with the iPhone's "near-field communications", which communicates with payment terminals, says Alex Kidman, tech expert at Finder. It allows payments on an iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad or Mac using Visa, MasterCard and American Express debit and credit cards. ANZ has entered into a deal with Apple to use Apple Pay, as has several smaller banks and credit unions. Android Pay is probably the next most popular. It can be used by any smartphone using the Android operating system - such as popular Samsung, HTC and Google models - and works with those financial institutions who support it. Android Pay supports MasterCard, Visa and American Express credit and debit cards. Android Pay can be used on an ever-growing number of Australian stores, including 7-11, Coles, McDonald's and some government agencies. Security Trying to remember passwords is becoming a frustration of the past as biometric scanning gains traction. Technology that involves our own money is always something that's likely to make us nervous, but the reality is that smartphones can be significantly more secure, Kidman says. Most mobile payment systems will allow you to use a PIN if that's your desire, but payment by smartphone-apps like Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay offer an additional level of security, provided your device is protected with fingerprint scanning. These use your fingerprint to pre-enrol onto the device as an additional layer of authentication. Kidman says even if your phone is lost or stolen, thieves can't use it for contactless payments. "Your fingerprint data is stored securely on the device itself, so there are no worries about your biometric data being stored or illicitly accessed online," he says. Smartphone payment systems work like PayPal in that the details of your card do not go to the retailer. Instead, a one-time token is generated for each purchase. What are your thoughts on a move to a cashless society? Written by John Collett. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/">Stuff.co.nz</a>.

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