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“Hypocrite”: Hughesy's on-air clash with Greens leader

<p>Dave “Hughesy” Hughes had a fiery debate with Australian Greens Leader Adam Bandt about veganism on-air on<em> </em>The Fox’s <em>Fifi, Fev &amp; Nick</em>. </p> <p>Before Bandt appeared on the show, a clip played of Hughesy, who is a vegan, calling for the leader to "quit the party" after learning the Greens leader wasn't a vegan. </p> <p>He questioned how Bandt could advocate for climate action without adopting a plant-based lifestyle, and the Greens leader was brought onto the show to explain his stance. </p> <p>“So you are not a vegan?” Hughesy asked the politician. </p> <p>“I’m not….” replied Bandt. “I applaud those who are, I applaud those who have made the shift. I’ve been thinking about it …”</p> <p>Hughesy then loudly interjected “ … URGH, THINKING ABOUT IT?”</p> <p>The Greens leader replied: “I don’t have a good drop-dead reason, but I’ve been thinking about it, and I can probably give you three justifications for it.</p> <p>"Firstly, we’ve made big changes at home and basically only eat meat for special occasions, the rest of the time we’re vegan or vegetarian at home.”</p> <p>“…. THERE’S ONE WAY, ADAM, THERE’S ONE WAY …” the presenter yelled in response. </p> <p>Hughesy's co-star Fev then tried to make light of the situation and asked him:  “What are you doing Dave?"</p> <p>"Adam is doing the version of Leonardo DiCaprio and his private jet flying around the world while banging on about climate change, but you flew to Brisbane on the weekend,” he continued suggesting that Hughesy too was being a hypocrite by getting on a flight recently. </p> <p>“But I don’t bang on about it,” exclaimed Hughesy.</p> <p>“Adam is the leader of the Greens … it’s hypocritical! C’mon, you can do it, Adam, you can become a vegan! Be the change you want to see in the world, buddy!”</p> <p>Hughesy adopted the vegan lifestyle for his own health, but he has previously revealed that it comes with its challenges and his family were also not that enthusiastic about the change. </p> <p><em>Image: news.com.au/ Fifi, Fev &amp; Nick</em></p>

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Yunupinju was a great clan leader, a great family man and very much loved. I wish Australian political leaders could have learned more from him

<p><em><strong>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. Yunupiŋu’s family have given permission for his name and images to be used.</strong></em></p> <p>Dr Yunupiŋu was a magnificent person and a magnificent leader. Most people in Australia who are aware of him know him as a ceremonial leader because of his towering presence leading ceremonies at the Garma Festival for so many years and, most importantly, at events that he himself curated in order to make representations to prime ministers and ministers of Australian governments.</p> <p>Throughout his life, he has spoken and made representations to every prime minister of his adulthood.</p> <p>He was a great clan leader, a great family man and very much loved by so many Australians who came into contact with him through his Garma Festival and so many other good works.</p> <p>He was also an intellectual. He published some wonderful works, particularly <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/tradition-truth-and-tomorrow">Tradition, Truth and Tomorrow</a>.</p> <p>He was a musician, one of the most important traditional singers from Northeast Arnhem Land. Indeed, one could hear his beautiful voice on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribal_Voice">Tribal Voice</a> album, which his late younger brother’s band Yothu Yindi made famous.</p> <p>So many people will be in mourning for him. He touched so many people with his gracious leadership and kindness.</p> <p>It’s such a shame, really, that he didn’t live to see better outcomes.</p> <h2>Working for land rights</h2> <p>Constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians was his idea. I was with him in Arnhem Land and he said to me, “I want to see Noel Pearson”. They’d never met, and he told me to find Noel and get him to come and speak to him.</p> <p>So, in those days, I had to drive around and find a Telstra hotspot.</p> <p>I found Noel. Noel jumped on a plane immediately and they met, and Yunupiŋu put to him constitutional recognition as a matter of highest importance. Because, as Yunupiŋu explains in his writings, he felt the existential threat towards his clan and other Indigenous people.</p> <p>He was the interpreter for the clan leaders in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_Land_Rights_Commission">Aboriginal Land Rights Commission</a>, appointed by Gough Whitlam to determine how land rights were to be recognised. He had been appointed by his father to become a clan leader and to go through the many years of learning that involved.</p> <p>By interpreting for all the clan leaders and their evidence, he became extremely knowledgeable. He also interpreted in the court in Canberra in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milirrpum_v_Nabalco_Pty_Ltd">Milirrpum case</a>. Later, of course, when the Land Rights Act had passed and the land councils were established, he became Chair of the Northern Land Council and served in that position twice.</p> <p>So, he is, in many ways, one of the crucial figures in the land rights movement. He was able to translate philosophical beliefs and the inherited ancient property systems of Yolŋu people to a very wonderful judge, Justice Woodward, to enable a land rights system to be legislated.</p> <p>He also contributed to culture, the survival of Aboriginal culture, and to education. The Yothu Yindi Foundation <a href="https://gy.yyf.com.au/">press release on his passing</a> explains how he initiated the Dhupuma Barker School in his community in Arnhem Land, which has been producing wonderful results with high attendance rates for the children.</p> <p>He also led many other initiatives; too many to mention. People turned to him for advice because of his highly honed political and strategic skills.</p> <h2>A kind man</h2> <p>The great quality he had was kindness. He chose not to make people his enemy, unless they’d committed some egregious crime. He always attempted to find humanity in people. He was able to speak to every prime minister, as I’ve said, and encourage Indigenous leaders to set goals – such as constitutional recognition – and find a way to achieve it.</p> <p>He pulled together the clans of Arnhem Land and presented three petitions on constitutional recognition to prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. He was very determined about this. He also gave some wonderful lectures on this topic.</p> <p>Many people have been inspired by him because he always found a way through the terrible burden of colonialism. Nobody suffered it more than people like himself.</p> <p>There is a terrible view, sometimes, that traditional people were not affected by colonialism. That’s far from the truth. In fact, I think if any Indigenous culture survives today, and of course so much does, it is precisely because people like this great man valued culture above all else.</p> <p>He took his ceremonial responsibilities as the highest priority and he regarded the survival of his own culture, and by extension other Indigenous cultures, as matters of the highest importance.</p> <p>Because it is in our cultures that we find the values that make life worthwhile, make life worth living, and enable us to enjoy life.</p> <p>And he did enjoy life. He had a wonderful life. It’s such a tragic loss for everyone.</p> <p>I met him in the late 1970s and we became very good friends and remained so throughout our lives. He was very curious, a great intellectual, and I believe he had a huge concern, not only for his family, but also the friends he made far and wide.</p> <p>Hence, the popularity of the Garma Festival with so many people from Australia and around the world. He truly believed that we are all one people; we all have red blood running through our veins.</p> <p>I wish Australian political leaders could have learned more from him, because Australia would be so much a better country if they had adopted some of his values. He certainly showed the way forward.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/yunupinu-was-a-great-clan-leader-a-great-family-man-and-very-much-loved-i-wish-australian-political-leaders-could-have-learned-more-from-him-203160" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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"Giant of the nation": Indigenous leader Yunupingu dies

<p><em><strong>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this article contains images of deceased persons.</strong></em></p> <p>Indigenous leader Yunupingu has passed away at the age of 74. </p> <p>Yunupingu, a Yolngu man and the Gumatj clan leader, was known for his longtime advocacy work, campaigning for land rights for Indigenous Australians. </p> <p>The influential leader was one of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which called for Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, as well as the upcoming Voice to parliament vote. </p> <p>He was named Australian of the Year in 1978, made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1985, and was later made an honourary Doctor of Laws by Melbourne University in 2015.</p> <p>Yunupingu became the first chairman of the Northern Land Council in 1977, and was re-elected to the position in 1983, which he held until his retirement in 2004.</p> <p>Tributes have flown for the influential First Nations leader, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling him a "great Australian". </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Yunupingu walked in two worlds with authority, power and grace, and he worked to make them whole — together. He was a leader, a statesman, a great Yolngu man and a great Australian. He now walks in another place, but he has left such great footsteps for us to follow in this one. <a href="https://t.co/aOgZMU6UTJ">pic.twitter.com/aOgZMU6UTJ</a></p> <p>— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1642660247516086273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>Yunupingu's family broke the news of his passing as they issued an emotional statement, saying they mourned his death "with deep love and great sadness".</p> <p>"The loss to our family and community is profound. We are hurting, but we honour him and remember with love everything he has done for us," daughter Binmila Yunupingu said.</p> <p>"We remember him for his fierce leadership, and total strength for Yolngu and for Aboriginal people throughout Australia. He lived by our laws always.</p> <p>The family said Yunupingu would be returned to his land and will be honoured in ceremonies to be announced in due course.</p> <p>"There will never be another like him," Binmila said.</p> <p><em>Yunupingu's family have given permission for the use of his surname and image to be used in media articles.</em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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“Several of these floods happened on your watch”: Nat Barr slams Liberal Party deputy leader

<p dir="ltr"><em>Sunrise</em> host Natalie Barr has called out Liberal MP Sussan Ley for claiming the Labor government was too slow in their handling of the NSW floods. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Liberal Party deputy leader appeared alongside Labor's Minister for Education Jason Clare on <em>Sunrise</em> on Friday July 8 who were discussing raising the walls of Warragamba Dam to stop future flooding. </p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Barr got the ball rolling, asking Ms Ley why nothing was done when her government was in power. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Sussan what do you think? Because several of these floods happened on your watch and nothing seemed to go ahead did it?” she asked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s heartbreaking to hear from those people who are so affected when they feel yet another flood event,” Ms Ley began before she was cut off by Ms Barr.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hang on Sussan, the first flood, the big one, was in March last year, then we had March this year, April this year, with all due respect, what did your government do?” Ms Barr questioned.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We worked closely and started a planning process at federal environment level that I was actually involved with. At the moment, the issue is with the NSW Government but a lot of work has been done by the Commonwealth,” Ms Ley said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now, this incoming government seems to not know how to pick up that work and continue with it. And that’s my point, at least start with the right minister. It’s waiting there and it needs [NSW]..., but at least start in the right area of the government to get this ball running.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Nat, I think Sussan’s got a short memory here. Go back to the start of the year, we had a tinny army that rescued people,” Mr Clare said of Morrison’s Government response to the March floods. </p> <p dir="ltr">“People had to hire their own helicopters because rescue services weren't on the way.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We were proactive. We got helicopters ready and soldiers ready before we were even asked.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Ley however then questioned why the government took too long to announce relief payments for the affected areas. </p> <p dir="ltr">“On Monday I raised the issue that payments that could have been made in hours were taking days,” she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The floods were on the weekend. It wasn't until Thursday that a signature on a paper was made, coincidentally when the Prime Minister came back from overseas.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Barr snapped at Ms Ley saying: “Well, it may have been a couple of days but it's burnt into our memory that people had to go rescue themselves and their communities.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The residents in the 23 LGAs affected by the severe storms and flooding since June 27, are eligible for disaster relief payments funded by the NSW government and the Commonwealth.</p> <p dir="ltr">The LGAs include Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Canterbury Bankstown, Campbelltown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Kiama, Lithgow, Liverpool, Northern Beaches, Penrith, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Sutherland, The Hills, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Wollongong.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Sunrise</em></p>

TV

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Greens leader slammed for rejecting Australian flag

<p dir="ltr">Greens leader Adam Bandt has been accused of "virtue signalling" after refusing to stand next to the Australian flag while speaking at a press conference on Monday.</p> <p dir="ltr">Before Mr Bandt spoke at Sydney's Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices on Monday, a member of staff was seen moving the flag from behind the podium so that only the Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Island flag could be seen.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Bandt said he removed the flag because it “represents lingering pain” for some Australians, sharing his view that Australia should become a republic with a new flag.</p> <p dir="ltr">“For many Australians, this flag represents dispossession and the lingering pains of colonisation,” Mr Bandt said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Through Treaty with First Nations’ Peoples and by moving to a Republic, we can have a flag that represents all of us.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, his "stunt" prompted severe backlash with Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten describing it as a divisive act.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-876c3067-7fff-f984-ba88-829f5fbcb98d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Antics like this, this virtue signalling saying, ‘I love First Nations People more than anyone else’ ... it turns more people off than turns them on,” he told Today.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ahead of a press conference with Greens leader Adam Bandt, a Greens staffer has just moved the Australian flag out of the TV camera shot. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a> <a href="https://t.co/g524GbpKKH">pic.twitter.com/g524GbpKKH</a></p> <p>— Isobel Roe (@isobelroe) <a href="https://twitter.com/isobelroe/status/1538733802037846016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">2GB’s Jim Wilson also told the show it was “highly offensive” and “insulting”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We had a Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide resume in Townsville yesterday - men and women who fought under the Australian flag. On the same day, you have this peanut who goes on and removes the Australian flag,” Wilson said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I find it deeply offensive and not the Australia we want to embrace.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Have all three flags, but don’t remove the national flag.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Indigenous leader Warrne Mundine also weighed in on Mr Bandt’s display shortly after, questioning whether it was appropriate for federal parliament and whether the Greens “actually hate Australians”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s idiotic,” Mr Mundine said. “Are the Greens actually in the Australian federal parliament? Seriously? Do they actually hate Australians that much? Aboriginals call themselves Australians all the time.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Greens are just a fringe university type group trying to run down the country.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Bandt primarily spoke about Labor’s approach to emissions during the press conference, claiming the party is “an obstacle to greater climate action” and that they aren’t listening to the Australian people..</p> <p dir="ltr">“Labor is bringing a weak target to parliament that means the end of the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Labor is now an obstacle to greater climate action and they are refusing to listen to the will of the people who have just delivered a big mandate for climate mandates at the election.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Image: Getty Images</p>

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Peter Dutton frontrunner for leader of Liberal Party

<p dir="ltr">As Anthony Albanese is sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia and announces his cabinet, the Liberal Party is now looking to vote for another person to lead the party in the opposition.</p> <p dir="ltr">Peter Dutton, former defence minister, has emerged as a likely candidate to lead the opposition for the next three years.</p> <p dir="ltr">A most-likely contender to run against Dutton would also be outgoing Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.</p> <p dir="ltr">Others that may put their name in the running include outgoing energy minister Angus Taylor, home affairs minister Karen Andrews and trade minister Dan Tehan.</p> <p dir="ltr">They are however not seen as a threat.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Until we have a field of candidates I don’t know who the leader will be but I can only assume Peter Dutton is in the ranks,” Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes told <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/peter-dutton-to-contest-leadership-of-liberal-party-angus-taylor-dan-tehan-and-karen-andrews-rivals/news-story/1359124cdc0d8dddd2229e4a0831b45d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Telegraph</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He’s an absolute star performer and a terrific ­defence minister.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He, like Scott, has been unfairly maligned, but those of us who know him know what an amazing guy he is.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Former ABC political analyst Barrie Cassidy opposed the idea of Dutton leading opposition and that the party needs to move to the centre to win back seats.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That's a debate that will go on within the party now, and I think the answer to that probably depends on the leadership and who is the next leader of the party,” he said on The Project on Sunday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The party has been going more to the right and more so by the minute.”<br />He explained that one of their issues is that they have a problem with women, climate change, and integrity.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Who are you going to call? Peter Dutton to fix those issues when he's ideologically opposed, not to women, but to the other issues. But if it's not him. Who else?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Even though it seems illogical, it could be Peter Dutton, because now, when you look at the fresh numbers, 30 or 40 per cent of the Liberal Party in the parliamentary party are now from Queensland, the LNP is not going to change its spots.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

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Body language expert dissects third leaders' debate

<p dir="ltr">The third and final leaders’ debate is finally over just a few days out from the Federal Election.</p> <p dir="ltr">A body language expert has weighed in on Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s performance during the debate that was aired on Channel 7 on Wednesday night.</p> <p dir="ltr">Connection and body language expert Katia Loisel pointed out the very obvious “agitation” coming from the leaders. </p> <p dir="ltr">“As the final debate opened, both leaders displayed signs of discomfort and nervousness,” she told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/body-language-expert-weighs-in-on-third-leaders-debate/news-story/5a5196f3314ffc994ca28d57d4dac97a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Despite an open, wide leg stance, Albanese’s ducked head and turtling of the neck, restless legs, and hands clasped in front, fingers interlaced fingers indicated vulnerability and emotional discomfort.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In contrast Morrison appeared more confident, his hands resting lightly on the podium, an asymmetric dominance smile dancing on his lips. Whilst his body language says, ‘I’ve got this,’ a fleeting attempt to lubricate his mouth suggests that he was feeling far from confident.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Katia noted that both leaders would occasionally use the lectern, as a non-verbal clutch, to grasp on when making a point </p> <p dir="ltr">She explained that Morrison was clutching the lectern and would then use single hand gestures before resorting to clasping his hands which indicated the discomfort and nerves.</p> <p dir="ltr">Albanese was occasionally shifting his weight from one foot to another before interlacing his fingers in front of his body to ease up the stress.</p> <p dir="ltr">When it came to exerting dominance, Ms Loisel said that came later on in the debate with Morrison “jaw jutting, finger pointing and dominance smile”.</p> <p dir="ltr">On the other hand, Albanese showed “increased frustration, agitation and dominance display”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Federal Election will be held on Saturday May 21.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>

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"Painful": ScoMo and Albo slammed for shouty debate performance

<p dir="ltr">Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have been slammed for their unruly behaviour toward the host of the second political debate.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Prime Minister and Opposition Leader butted heads in the fiery debate that was broadcast on Channel 9 on Sunday evening and hosted by Sarah Abo.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair were not only speaking over each other, but completely disregarded Abo’s moderating as she asked them again and again to stop as there was another question.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think we are getting more questions … Excuse me. I think we’re getting more questions between the two of you than from our panel,” Abo struggled to say.</p> <p dir="ltr">The leaders, however, completely ignored Abo and continued firing comments at one another – forcing her to butt in once again.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Mr Morrison and Mr Albanese, this is enough, we do need to move on.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, it seemed that both party leaders wanted to get the last word in and continued to speak over Abo, who finally snapped.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You all agreed to the rules this evening. Chris Uhlmann has a question, and we will move on to his question,” she said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">"That is NOT right."</p> <p>Moderator Sarah Abo had to step in after the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LeadersDebate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LeadersDebate</a> heated up over energy policy.</p> <p>Stream LIVE on <a href="https://twitter.com/9Now?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@9Now</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/60Mins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#60Mins</a> <a href="https://t.co/gIRAYcOxzG">pic.twitter.com/gIRAYcOxzG</a></p> <p>— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1523262191167688704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">After the question was asked and both Morrison and Albanese were given time to respond, Abo once again had to interject and inform the Opposition Leader it was time to move on.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Something that – Mr Albanese, we have a question. Mr Albanese, we have given you more than enough time,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The pair of you have had more than enough time. You agreed … You agreed to these rules before coming on the program tonight.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Abo concluded the evening by summing up what many viewers must have been feeling: “The truth is, the voters are feeling disenchanted. Neither of them are thrilled with either of you as a choice for prime ministers."</p> <p dir="ltr">Viewers slammed the leaders for ignoring Abo, who made every effort to keep the debate running as smooth as possible.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Nine's Sarah Abo could have done with a whistle at this point as both leaders spar on national security,” someone wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“OMG...did Morrison just dismiss a female speaking waving his hand at her to shut her up? how embarrassing for poor Sarah Abo,” another commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Royal Commission into the moderation of the debate,” another added.</p> <p dir="ltr">Others, however, called out Abo for not moderating the debate efficiently, while also calling out her bias.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sarah Abo as moderator was supposed to hold the debate together! Instead Sarah Abo allowed the debate to fall apart and descend into chaos!” a comment read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sarah Abo is a terrible moderator. Allowing these two men to yell and talk over each other for over an hour is not a debate,” another added.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Top notch moderating by Sarah Abo. Let Morrison talk all over Albanese then cut Albanese’s time in response,” someone else commented.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Channel 9</em></p>

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Grace Tame calls out PM after "blessed" comment

<p>Scott Morrison has been criticised online after saying he and Jenny were "blessed" to have children that aren't disabled.</p> <p>While answering questions about the future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme at the leaders' debate against Anthony Albanese in Brisbane, the PM was caught off guard.</p> <p>The audience member who asked the question, Catherine, said she had a four-year-old autistic son, and his NDIS funding had been cut by 30 per cent under the Morrison government.</p> <p>Scott Morrison asked Catherine questions about her son before speaking of his own family.</p> <p>“I can’t …,” he began.</p> <p>“Jenny and I have been blessed, we have two children who haven’t had to go through that,” he continued.</p> <p>“And so for parents, with children who are disabled, I can only try and understand your aspirations for those children."</p> <p>“And then I think that is the beauty of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.”</p> <p>Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, who is also autistic, was quick to slam the PM's comments online.</p> <p>“Autism blesses those of us who have it with the ability to spot fakes from a mile off,” she said in a tweet, accompanied by the now infamous picture of her side-eyeing Mr Morrison.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Autism blesses those of us who have it with the ability to spot fakes from a mile off <a href="https://t.co/Ck41YcqAAq">pic.twitter.com/Ck41YcqAAq</a></p> <p>— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/TamePunk/status/1516777256139386884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p style="color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: #000000;">Mr Morrison’s words caused widespread online fury during the forum, with many, including Labor’s NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten pointing out “every child is a blessing.”</p> <p style="color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: #000000;">Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher, who also has a daughter with autism, also aired her criticism of the comment.</p> <p style="color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: #000000;">“I am “blessed” to have a child with autism. She teaches me things every day. Our lives are enriched by her,” she wrote.</p> <p style="color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: #000000;">However Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes, who is also a parent of a son with autism, slammed Mr Morrison’s opponents for “politicising” the issue and missing the point.</p> <p style="color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: #000000;">She said, "If that's what you want to pick up from the Prime Minister, if you want to push this point that somehow he’s disregarding the experience … go away, stop politicising our experience if you’ve never been through it."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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As Aucklanders anticipate holiday trips, Māori leaders ask people to stay away from regions with lower vaccination rates

<p>Despite the emergence of the new Omicron variant, New Zealand will move to a new <a href="https://covid19.govt.nz/traffic-lights/covid-19-protection-framework/">COVID-19 Protection Framework </a> this Friday, with a traffic light system to mark the level of freedoms for each region.</p> <p>Auckland and other parts of the North Island that are battling active outbreaks or have low vaccination rates will start at red, which means hospitality and businesses will be largely open only for fully vaccinated people. The rest of the country will be in orange, which allows for larger gatherings but restricts access for those who remain unvaccinated.</p> <p>From December 15, the Auckland boundary will lift and Aucklanders will be free to travel around the country, despite the ongoing community outbreak in which <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-case-demographics#vaccinations-details">23% of cases have been children under 12 and 14% were fully vaccinated</a>.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434350/original/file-20211129-13-pa5w88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Map of traffic light COVID-19 Protection Framework" /> <span class="caption">Parts of the North Island will continue to have restrictions in place, particularly for people who remain unvaccinated, once New Zealand shifts to a new system on Friday.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Provided</span>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-NC</a></span></p> <p>To travel outside the Auckland boundary, anyone aged 12 or over will need to be fully vaccinated or have had a negative COVID-19 test within three days of departure. This will reduce the number of infected people leaving Auckland, but cases will spread across the country as people travel to see whānau and go on holidays.</p> <p>As part of our research to build a <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2021/04/15/super-model-for-team-of-5m.html">population-based contagion network</a>, we used electronic transaction data from previous years to derive movement patterns across the country. We show that during weeks without public holidays, just over 100,000 travellers left Auckland to visit one or more other regions.</p> <p>For the summer period of 2019-2020, close to 200,000 people left Auckland each week, with travel peaking over the Christmas and New Year period. The most common destinations for these trips were Thames-Coromandel (30,000 people), Tauranga (17,000 people) and Northland (15,000 people).</p> <h2>Vaccination remains the best protection</h2> <p>While full (two-dose) vaccination levels in Auckland are almost at 90% — remembering that 90% of eligible people means only about 75% of the total population, with lower rates for Māori — rates are much lower in many places Aucklanders like to visit over summer. This provides much less protection, against both illness and transmission, and any outbreak would be larger and more rapid.</p> <p>Vaccination coverage in these areas is increasing but is unlikely to be at 90% before Christmas. Holiday destinations also have health infrastructure designed for the much lower local population and face additional pressures if visitors get sick.</p> <p> </p> <p>New Zealand’s outdoor summer lifestyle might be an advantage; transmission is greatly reduced outdoors with good air movement. But people should remain mindful anytime they move into an environment with less ventilation, such as using the toilet at the beach or sharing a car. A good rule of thumb is if you can smell perfume in the air then there’s a transmission risk.</p> <p>COVID-19 is passed on through the air we breathe, which is why masking remains important, as long as the mask <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/proper-mask-wearing-coronavirus-prevention-infographic">fits properly</a>.</p> <p>People planning to travel should reduce their risk of exposure during the two weeks before a trip.</p> <ul> <li> <p>Skip the office party (especially if they are held indoors)</p> </li> <li> <p>consider postponing meetings until after the holidays rather than having them during the days before people are likely to travel around the country</p> </li> <li> <p>if you decide to go ahead, make sure gatherings and parties are outdoors</p> </li> <li> <p>avoid alcohol as it can increase the likelihood of risky behaviour</p> </li> <li> <p>limit yourself to one meeting per week (if someone is infected, you’ll have a better chance to find out and self-isolate before passing it on)</p> </li> <li> <p>use your contact tracer app, always</p> </li> <li> <p>shop online</p> </li> <li> <p>wear a mask anywhere there is a crowd, even outdoors.</p> </li> </ul> <h2>Protecting people in regions with lower vaccination rates</h2> <p>Vaccination is the best step to reduce spread and symptom severity. But it’s not perfect. The risk of “breakthrough” infections depends on the intensity of exposure – short exposure to an infected person is less likely to result in infection and meeting indoors poses a higher risk.</p> <p>When people are vaccinated, we’d expect to see most transmission happening in dwellings where people are together for long periods of time. For anyone with a breakthrough infection, vaccination approximately halves the chance of transmitting the virus.</p> <p>Vaccination also reduces the risk of developing symptoms, and greatly reduces the risk of needing hospitalisation. But having milder symptoms can make it harder to detect cases, which means it remains important to get tested.</p> <p>The most popular places New Zealanders like to visit over summer are remote and people living there haven’t had the same easy access to vaccination as those living in bigger cities.</p> <p>Nearly a third of Northland’s eligible population remains unvaccinated, the East Cape is only 65% fully vaccinated and parts of the Coromandel Peninsula are also sitting well under ideal vaccination rates.</p> <p>These places also have fewer testing facilities, which could mean outbreaks become harder to detect and manage. Many rural communities aren’t connected to town supply, so wastewater testing won’t be as useful, and emergency medical attention is harder to access.</p> <h2>Planning to manage COVID infections</h2> <p>Many residents in these remote towns, including <a href="https://waateanews.com/2021/11/18/border-opening-no-christmas-treat-for-taitokerau/">iwi leaders</a>, are <a href="https://tinangata.com/2021/11/21/painting-a-covid-picture/">asking holiday makers to stay away</a>, regardless of vaccination status. Māori are already disproportionately represented in our COVID-19 statistics and have more young people who can’t be vaccinated yet.</p> <p>By travelling to areas with low vaccination rates among the Māori population we risk <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/people-will-die-at-home-covids-unstoppable-summer">compounding tragedy</a> in places where health services would not cope with the level of illness.</p> <p>Anyone choosing to go on holiday after weighing these factors should have a plan for what they’ll do if they or someone on their group develops COVID-like symptoms while away from their usual health support systems.</p> <p>Questions to ask include:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Where will you go to get a test?</p> </li> <li> <p>What will you do while you wait for test results?</p> </li> <li> <p>Will it be possible for you to self-isolate while you wait for a test result?</p> </li> <li> <p>Where is the closest medical centre? Do they operate after hours?</p> </li> <li> <p>Is there an ambulance service and how far is the nearest hospital?</p> </li> <li> <p>Is there good phone reception? If not, what will you do in a health emergency?</p> </li> <li> <p>How would you manage an outbreak in your holiday accommodation?</p> </li> </ul> <p>Campers should take extra precautions by wearing masks in shared kitchens and bathrooms and using their own cleaning and hygiene products. They should keep good social distance wherever possible and minimise contact with people they don’t know.</p> <p>Family gatherings will also bring together different generations, with elders who may be more vulnerable and younger people who are more mobile and more likely to be infected. A group of New Zealanders who experienced COVID-19 put together a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e2v-rOztBgQfFBKHJN0R59RrinRtq2RmjuFhEZP9JfM/edit#gid=0">management kit</a> with a list of things anyone travelling will find useful.</p> <p><em>We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Kylie Stewart, a member of the team at Te Pūnaha Matatini and the HRC-funded project <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2021/04/15/super-model-for-team-of-5m.html">Te Matatini o te Horapa</a> — a population-based contagion network for Aotearoa New Zealand.</em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/172682/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dion-oneale-1283438">Dion O'Neale</a>, Lecturer - Department of Physics, University of Auckland; Principal Investigator - Te Pūnaha Matatini, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andrew-sporle-1151937">Andrew Sporle</a>, Honorary associate professor, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emily-harvey-1284406">Emily Harvey</a>, Principal Investigator, Te Pūnaha Matatini, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a></em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/steven-turnbull-1280540">Steven Turnbull</a>, Te Pūnaha Matatini Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a></em></span></p> <p>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/as-aucklanders-anticipate-holiday-trips-maori-leaders-ask-people-to-stay-away-from-regions-with-lower-vaccination-rates-172682">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Phil Walter/Getty Images</span></span></em></p>

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120-year prison sentence for cult leader

<p>Keith Raniere, who ran a cult-like group that kept women as virtual sex prisoners to service him in upstate New York was sentenced to 120 years prison on Tuesday.</p> <p>Reniere was convicted on federal sex trafficking, racketeering and possession of child pornography charges last year for his role in the alleged sex cult called NXIVM (pronounced “nexium”).</p> <p>The sentence was issued by the US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who presided over the six-week trial last year that ended in Raniere convicted on all counts.</p> <p>Acting US Attorney Seth DuCharme said he hopes the sentence will serve as a warning to any aspiring cult leaders.</p> <p>“When justice catches up to you, as it did today, it is severe," DuCharme told reporters outside court in Brooklyn. "Keith Raniere will not be able to victimize people anymore after today's sentence and we’re very grateful for that."</p> <p>Marc Elliot, a former NXIVM member and supporter of Raniere's, said the defendant didn't get a fair trial.</p> <p>"We all should be fighting for due process no matter how much you don't like it or how inconvenient it is," Elliot said. "Because if someone or society ever turns on you, you better hope to God that due process and laws are still standing to protect you."</p> <p>Appearing on Dateline NBC from jail, Raniere apologised for the “tragedy” and “hurt” he caused the victims but also claimed he was not guilty.</p> <p>"I am innocent," Raniere said.</p> <p>"This is a horrible tragedy with many, many people being hurt," he added. "There is a horrible injustice here. And whether you think I'm the devil or not, the justice process has to be examined."</p> <p>NXIVM is the subject of the HBO docuseries “The Vow”, which is set to feature Raniere in its second season next year.</p>

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Julia Gillard hits out at “strongman” leaders over coronavirus response

<p>Former prime minister Julia Gillard has slammed “strongman” leaders around the world for their “catastrophic” response to the coronavirus pandemic, calling for science-based action.</p> <p>Speaking on <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-14/julia-gillard-coronavirus-pandemic-trump-morrison-ssm-q+a/12451610">ABC’s <em>Q&amp;A</em></a> on Monday night, Gillard said “blustering” leaders – such as Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, the UK’s Boris Johnson and the USA’s Donald Trump – were not doing the right thing by ignoring facts and evidence.</p> <p>The US and Brazil have the highest number of confirmed <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">COVID-19 cases and deaths</a> across the globe.</p> <p>“What you can’t do in this time is that blustering strongman, ‘I know, I can tell you, facts don’t really matter’ style of leadership – that’s catastrophic,” Gillard said.</p> <p>“This is a time when – unless you’re following the science – you can’t possibly be doing the right thing.</p> <p>“Evidence matters.”</p> <p>She said male and female leadership are viewed in different ways.</p> <p>“A female leader, to succeed, has to manage a balance between strength and empathy. If she’s too strong, people will go, ‘Ugh, she’s not very likeable’,” she said.</p> <p>“If she’s too nurturing and caring, people will say, ‘She hasn’t got the backbone to lead’. So women leaders are already very highly skilled in this balance of strength and empathy.</p> <p>“And I think at a time like this, people want both – they want to know that someone’s getting the job done, but they also want someone to care about how they’re feeling.</p> <p>“I think people like Jacinda Ardern and Erna Solberg in Norway have been able to put that together.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Does the future of global politics lie in the adoption of a ”feminine style of leadership”? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QandA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QandA</a> <a href="https://t.co/SLiYbnmvza">pic.twitter.com/SLiYbnmvza</a></p> — QandA (@QandA) <a href="https://twitter.com/QandA/status/1282643299921039362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>The comments came days after Gillard warned voters that their voice in the ballot box is <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/whom-you-vote-for-is-a-matter-of-life-or-death-julia-gillard-20200709-p55apw.html">a matter of life and death</a>.</p> <p>“I’m not saying people shouldn’t have a laugh or a joke but selecting who is going to represent you in Parliament is a serious thing,” Gillard told a British audience in an online <em>Guardian </em>event on Thursday.</p> <p>“It’s been so serious in 2020 that the capacity of people [whom] voters have selected right around the world has increased or decreased people’s chances of living or dying.”</p> <p>She cited Brazil’s Bolsonaro as an example of the “absolute macho strongman” leader.</p> <p>“’Oh, a virus, it’s not going to get me’. Well guess what? This is nature. It’s science. And it’s not going to respond to confident posturing or blustering. That’s not how this works. So that pure strongman model I think has had adverse consequences and people have looked for the warmth and empathy.”</p> <p>When asked about Australia’s efforts in the virus containment on the ABC program, Gillard praised Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state leaders for their coordinated “national effort”.</p> <p>“Across Australia, people have done very, very well,” Gillard said.</p> <p>“I’ve been really pleased to see the spirit of bipartisanship that has been brought to the task. A conservative prime minister working with Labor premiers – the opposition leaders at every level helping support the government.”</p> <p>Gillard said errors can be expected amid the recent surges in the number of cases in Victoria.</p> <p>“I think the realisation now is really with us that, for the next few years – until we get a vaccine – that there will be times of restrictions, times of loosening … getting the economic settings right for that is incredibly complicated and something that I think leaders at all levels are still working through.”</p>

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Are firstborns really natural leaders?

<p>Everybody knows that firstborns are natural leaders, middle children are rebels and the baby of the family is spoiled yet confident. At least, that’s what received wisdom tells us. But is any of it true? And where did this idea come from in the first place?</p> <p>In the 1930s the Austrian psychotherapist Alfred Adler was the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason_Kaufman3/publication/282442353_The_Role_of_Birth_Order_in_Personality_An_Enduring_Intellectual_Legacy_of_Alfred_Adler/links/56a10ebb08ae24f62701e979/The-Role-of-Birth-Order-in-Personality-An-Enduring-Intellectual-Legacy-of-Alfred-Adler.pdf">first to study birth order</a> and its effect on personality. He believed that “every difficulty of development is caused by rivalry and lack of cooperation in the family”.</p> <p>According to Adler, an only child never has to compete for their parents’ attention and is never “replaced” by other siblings. Similarly, the oldest child receives most of the parents’ attention and is likely to feel responsible towards their younger siblings, which is reflected in their perfectionism, hard-working attitude and conscientiousness.</p> <p>A second-born child is constantly competing with their older sibling and trying to catch up with them. Middle children are caught between their older and younger siblings, who may often leave them out or gang-up on them. As a result, the middle child may become easily angered and sensitive to criticism.</p> <p>The youngest child is often the most pampered in the family. They depend on their family more than any other siblings and may demand that everything is done for them. In the opposite case, they may feel unwanted, disliked or even ignored.</p> <p>Adding a child to the family has an impact on how a family operates. But Adler suggested that other factors play a role, too, such as family size, health, age, culture or the child’s sex.</p> <p>Adler’s theories continue to hold sway and birth order is still an important area of study in psychology. And the role of firstborn holds a particular fascination.</p> <p><strong>The firstborn effect</strong></p> <p>According to a <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w23393">recent Swedish study</a>, firstborns have more favourable personality traits, including openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, extroversion, friendliness and greater emotional stability, than their later-born siblings. As a result, they are more likely to become chief executives and senior managers, whereas later-born children, who love to take risks, often end up being self-employed.</p> <p>Firstborns tend to possess psychological characteristics related to leadership, including responsibility, creativity, obedience and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886905003314">dominance</a>. They are also more likely to have higher academic abilities and levels of intelligence than their younger siblings. These qualities are believed to make firstborns more successful. But the “baby” of the family is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224540009600502">more likely</a> to take risks, rebel, show addictive behaviour and lack independence compared with their older siblings.</p> <p>There are two explanations that could justify this firstborn effect. From the evolutionary perspective, parents favour and invest (shelter and food) in their firstborn to increase their chances of survival and reproduction. But this comes at a cost because the parent is now unable to invest the same amount of resources in later-born offspring.</p> <p>Younger siblings then have to compete for these limited parental resources and attention. (So parents who spend less time helping their later-born children with schoolwork may do so because of the lack of spare resources.)</p> <p>But children who are born last often receive preferential treatment. This is because parents now have the last chance to invest their resources. They are also older and tend to have more money at this point. Parents are more likely to invest in the education <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313072471_Birth_Order_and_Parental_Investment">of their latest-born offspring</a>.</p> <p>Parental expectations could also explain the more favourable personality traits among firstborns. That is, parents tend to be stricter in their parenting with the firstborn. Parents also encourage toughness because firstborns need to act as role models (and surrogate parent) for their later-born siblings and defend the values of the parents.</p> <p>Firstborns must keep their “first” position and never fall behind the younger sibling. The rivalry and conflict between firstborn and later-born offspring is the result of the younger sibling’s need to establish their position in the family. Although they try to race and copy the role of their older firstborn sibling, this privileged position is already taken. Laterborns must also differentiate themselves to attract parental resources, which could explain their rebellious behaviour.</p> <p><strong>Mixed evidence</strong></p> <p>These explanations are sound, but the evidence to support the link between personality traits and birth order is mixed. Some studies show a strong association between <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886913012142">leadership abilities and birth order</a>, but others <a href="https://articlegateway.com/index.php/JOP/article/view/1094">do not support these findings</a>.</p> <p>The inconsistencies in findings may stem from factors that are sometimes neglected, such as the sex of the siblings. The firstborn effect (and the chances of becoming a chief executive) is weaker in the case of later-born males with older brothers as opposed to those who have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/0162-895X.00343">older sisters</a>.</p> <p>Age gap spacing also needs to be taken into account because larger age gaps between siblings result in a more nurturing surrogate parent role of the older sibling and reduces the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203837962">rivalry conflict between the siblings</a>.</p> <p>The fertility age of the mother could also sway the personality outcomes because mothers who have later-born children are older than when they had their firstborn and many studies don’t control for this factor.</p> <p>It appears that the psychological profiles of firstborns may have been over-generalised.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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/126215/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/klara-sabolova-875126">Klara Sabolova</a>, Lecturer in Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-wales-1586">University of South Wales</a></em></p> <p><em>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/are-firstborns-really-natural-leaders-126215">original article</a>.</em></p>

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World leaders mock Donald Trump during NATO summit

<p>Donald Trump has slammed Canadian prime minister as “two-faced” after a video shared on Twitter revealed world leaders mocking the US president at the NATO anniversary celebration in London.</p> <p>In a video footage posted by the CBC, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau appeared to be talking about Trump at a Buckingham Palace reception with French president Emmanuel Macron, British prime minister Boris Johnson and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.</p> <p>“He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference at the top,” Trudeau could be heard saying, apparently alluding to Trump’s appearance before the press prior to the event.</p> <p>“You just watch his team’s jaws drop to the floor.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JustinTrudeau</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EmmanuelMacron</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a> and other VIPs shared a few words at a Buckingham Palace reception Tuesday. No one mentions <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> by name, but they seem to be discussing his lengthy impromptu press conferences from earlier in the day. (Video: Host Pool) <a href="https://t.co/dVgj48rpOP">pic.twitter.com/dVgj48rpOP</a></p> — Power &amp; Politics (@PnPCBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/PnPCBC/status/1202008162997538817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Speaking in his closing news conference Wednesday, Trudeau confirmed that he had been talking about Trump and said the moment that made “his team’s jaws drop” was when the US president announced the location for next year’s G7 summit at Camp David.</p> <p>“Last night I made reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump. I was happy to be part of it but it was certainly notable,” Trudeau said.</p> <p>When asked about the video during a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, Trump slammed Trudeau as “two-faced” and criticised Canada for not meeting NATO’s 2 per cent defense spending target.</p> <p>“Well, he's two-faced ... he’s not paying 2 per cent and he should be paying 2 per cent. It’s Canada, they have money,” Trump said. “And honestly with Trudeau he’s a nice guy, but the truth is I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying 2 per cent and I guess he’s not very happy about it.”</p> <p>Spokespersons for Macron and Rutte have declined to comment on the matter.</p>

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“No life experience, disgraceful”: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson hits back at Greta Thunberg

<p>Controversial One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was not impressed at all with 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg’s passionate speech to United Nation leaders about climate change.</p> <p>“I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” Thunberg said during her speech at the Climate Action Summit in New York on Monday.</p> <p>Hanson went on<span> </span>Sky News<span> </span>and blamed the education system for teaching children about the issue of climate change.</p> <p>“It's very biased. It's not a balanced view and this is why children are faced with anxiety, panic attacks, and they feel the world is coming to an end and it's doomed,” Ms Hanson said. </p> <p>"I think that she's basically a teenager who has had no life experiences. She was actually voicing what other people have put into her head," Senator Hanson told<span> </span>Sky News, according to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/no-life-experiences-pauline-hanson-takes-aim-at-greta-thunberg" target="_blank">SBS</a></em>.</p> <p>"I blame the adults around her for allowing this to happen."</p> <p>Hanson also blamed the fact that the climate change strike was on a school day.</p> <p>“'How much effort would these kids put into it if they had to go on a weekend? You know, their own time. It was great to take a day off school. It was hyped up by the media and by everyone and I think it's disgraceful,” she said.</p> <p>She’s not the only Australian politician whose unhappy with the Swedish activist’ strong words.</p> <p>Sutherland Shire MP Craig Kelly posted on Facebook, "this child has no comprehension or understanding whatsoever of how free markets and fossil fuels she condemns".</p> <p>"Her childhood has been stolen by alarmists that have brainwashed her."</p> <p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison also cautioned those who are imposing “needless anxiety” on children when dealing with concerns around climate change.</p> <p>"We have got to caution against raising the anxieties of children," he said.</p> <p>"But I do understand that people do feel strongly about this ... I want children growing up in Australia to feel positive about their future."</p>

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“How dare you”: Greta Thunberg delivers scathing speech at UN climate summit

<p>A furious 16-year-old has held world leaders accountable for “stealing my dreams and my childhood” as they fail to address the issue of climate change.</p> <p>Greta Thunberg put on a brave front and gave a speech at the United Nations headquarters that quickly gained worldwide attention.</p> <p>It came as over 50 global leaders, with the exception of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US President Donald Trump, attended the Climate Action Summit in New York on Monday, local time (Tuesday AEST).</p> <p>The teenage girl may be young, but she travelled from the UK in a zero-emissions yacht to convey her anger to the politicians seated in front of her.</p> <p>Thunberg said young people would forever hold world leaders accountable if they failed to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Greta Thunberg to world leaders at the U.N. climate summit: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words” <a href="https://t.co/vhK7qb7Dgb">https://t.co/vhK7qb7Dgb</a> <a href="https://t.co/kArrseEu9f">pic.twitter.com/kArrseEu9f</a></p> — TIME (@TIME) <a href="https://twitter.com/TIME/status/1176216246943125505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">23 September 2019</a></blockquote> <p>“This is all wrong,” she said. “I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”</p> <p>She then added: “If you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you.”</p> <p>Leaders who spoke at the summit included New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emannuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.</p> <p>Foreign Minister Marise Payne was there on behalf of Australia but did not speak.</p> <p>The US President sat in the audience for a brief period of time before attending a session on religious freedom.</p>

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“Who’s got in her ear?”: Pauline Hanson launches scathing attack on Jacqui Lambie over drug testing

<p>Controversial One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has ruffled feathers again, after personally calling out Jacqui Lambie for removing her support for drug testing welfare recipients.</p> <p>"No, I won't be supporting it, unless I can see the rehabilitation services and the services that these people need to kick their habit are actually set up. Which I am yet to see," Lambie said.</p> <p>Hanson, after hearing that Lambie had backflipped on supporting the drug testing for welfare recipients, said that she’s surprised to hear that Lambie isn’t supporting this.</p> <p>Why? Because Lambie’s son “has been on drugs”.</p> <p>"Her child has been on drugs and you wouldn't knock back something that could possibly help people like her son," Ms Hanson said in parliament, according to <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/australian-politics-live-tuesday-september-10/live-coverage/054eb53f424d35e8ee77c27512284649" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>.</em></p> <p>"Why is she knocking this back? Who's got in her ear?"</p> <p>Lambie has since responded on Twitter, saying that her son Dylan defeated his addiction due to being able to access rehab services.</p> <p>She tweeted saying the following:</p> <p>“My son is an example of what happens when you have access to the support and rehab services you need. 500K Aussies don’t have access to those services. My son has moved on from the past, he can thank his 18 mths Teen Challenge in Toowoomba and the people of QLD for that.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">My son is an example of what happens when you have access to the support &amp; rehab services you need. 500K Aussies don't have access to those services. My son has moved on from the past, he can thank his 18 mths <a href="https://twitter.com/teenchallenge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@teenchallenge</a> in Toowoomba &amp; the people of QLD for that.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a></p> — Jacqui Lambie (@JacquiLambie) <a href="https://twitter.com/JacquiLambie/status/1171242520358948864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">10 September 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Lambie first referenced her son’s battle with drug addiction in parliament after she revealed she was desperate to help him.</p> <p>"I am a senator of Australia, and I have a 21-year-old son who has a problem with ice," she said.</p> <p>"I can't involuntarily detox my own son, because I'm not talking to my son anymore, I'm talking to a drug."</p> <p>However, this candid moment from Lambie back in 2015 was used against her by Hanson, who also mentioned her son Dylan during an interview with <em>Sky News.</em></p> <p>"She should be the first one to say yes, yes I want it, because I want my child off drugs. So what is the issue here?" she said.</p> <p>The government is currently pushing for a trial that would screen 5,000 Newstart and Youth Allowance recipients for drugs, quarantine the payments of those who test positive and organise rehabilitation services for them.</p> <p>The Senate is currently trying to regain Lambie’s support by suggesting that those who do test positive for drugs could receive up to $65,000 worth of rehabilitation services, according to <u><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank">The Telegraph</a>.</em></u></p> <p>However, Lambie remains unmoved. Labor was also equally dismissive of the move by the Coalition.</p> <p>"Every single health expert in the country tells them that they are wrong. This does not work. It will not assist people who are drug addicted,” said frontbencher Catherine King.</p> <p>"What assists people who are drug addicted is proper services, not punishing them and sending them into dire poverty. That is what this government wants to do.</p> <p>"It's all about punishing people on welfare. It is not about actually helping people with what is a substantial health problem."</p>

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"I'm Indigenous": Pauline Hanson faces scrutiny after controversial statement on A Current Affair

<p>One Nation Pauline Hanson has angered many as her mission to allow all Australians to climb Uluru continues.</p> <p>She headed out to Uluru with<span> </span>A Current Affair<span> </span>and the controversial segment aired on Monday night.</p> <p>"I've come here to listen to the traditional owners," she said.</p> <p>Hanson was invited to visit Uluru by Jimpanna Yulara, a senior member of the Anangu Mayatja Council of Elders. Hanson spoke of the beauty of Uluru in the segment.</p> <p>"And what reasons people come out - whether they see it as a challenge, it's an iconic part of Australia to be involved in, to enjoy it. I'd like to see the climb stay open, I really would."</p> <p>Despite the Senator saying that her intervention in the debate over climbing Uluru is about helping Indigenous Australians, not everyone is convinced.</p> <p>This included a group of young Indigenous women who spoke to Hanson at a local café, where they were employed.</p> <p>The women argued that Uluru is part of their culture.</p> <p>"It's a big part of our Indigenous culture," one of the women said.</p> <p>"And I'm listening to the traditional owners of the land here and I will talk to them," Senator Hanson replied.</p> <p>"So our opinion doesn't matter? Even though we're Indigenous? Beautiful," the woman replied.</p> <p>Hanson tried to diffuse the tension by saying that she too was Indigenous.</p> <p>“I’m Indigenous,” she told them. “I was born here. I’m native to the land. I’m Australian as well and I’m Indigenous as well.”</p> <p>This statement was met with smirks from the women, with one suggesting that Hanson’s land is “England”.</p> <p>When Hanson was asked about the encounter, she said that she wasn’t interested in it.</p> <p>“They’ve had their opinion. I’ve come, not to talk to a 19-year-old or 20-year-old who’s not from the area. I’m listening to the traditional owners of the land.”</p> <p>The elders that Hanson met with were concerned about the long-term economic impact that the closure of the climb could have on the local community.</p> <p>“A lot of people have a lot of respect for me and appreciate the job I’m doing for them,” she said.</p> <p>However, once Hanson herself attempted the climb, she found it trickier than initially anticipated.</p> <p>She was forced to stop a short distance up, as her shoes weren’t gripping, and she was worried about slipping.</p> <p>“Seriously, I cannot walk down here. My boots are that bloody old. They’re so smooth I’m not getting any grip. I tell you what, I’m not getting any grip on my backside either.”</p> <p>Many were critical of Hanson’s decision to make the climb after meeting with elders as well as getting frustrated with<span> </span>A Current Affairfor airing the segment.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Doctor’s waiting room is the ONLY place I’d watch Pauline Hanson on ACA but my god I can’t tear my eyes away from this car crash.</p> — Anna Brain (@Brainybites) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brainybites/status/1165913511815331840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">26 August 2019</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">I assume climbers that took selfies with Pauline Hanson on the Rock were paid actors ? I assume the poll <a href="https://twitter.com/ACurrentAffair9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ACurrentAffair9</a> which is showing strong support for climbing Uluru is fake ? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9aca?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9aca</a> Or maybe Hanson does have support ? maybe large numbers support her but dont do twitter</p> — Darren Beale (@DarrenBeale2) <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrenBeale2/status/1165918843576840192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">26 August 2019</a></blockquote>

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“How can you put your hand up to be leader?”: David Koch gives verbal smackdown to Chris Bowen

<p><em>Sunrise</em> host David Koch gave a reality check to Labor leadership hopeful Chris Bowen regarding his role in the Labor party’s disappointing election result.</p> <p>Koch was interviewing Bowen on Wednesday morning, when he asked the Shadow Treasurer if he was “tarnished” by Labor’s performance in Saturday's Federal Election.</p> <p>“A lot of people are saying that it was your tax reform that lost the unloseable election,” Koch told Mr Bowen.</p> <p>Bowen claimed full responsibility, saying:</p> <p>"I claim full responsibility for all the policies I was involved in, for what we got right and for what people may say we got wrong," Mr Bowen said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Labor leadership contender <a href="https://twitter.com/Bowenchris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BowenChris</a> admits that his campaign comment "if you don't like our policies, don't vote for us" could have been worded better. <a href="https://t.co/BWTMTrrPhS">pic.twitter.com/BWTMTrrPhS</a></p> — Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1130948615281623040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">21 May 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Koch wasn’t happy with that response and asked a brutal follow up question.</p> <p>“Tax reform has never won anyone an election. History says it is the kiss of death. You went in with a massive tax reform agenda, not that we don't need it.</p> <p>“Franking credit reforms, you frightened the pants off so many retirees and families. How can you then put your hand up to be leader?"</p> <p>Koch added, “Honest losers never get into power. That is the problem with politics.”</p> <p>Bowen said that he believed that Labor’s policies were “right for this election” despite the loss.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Shadow Treasurer <a href="https://twitter.com/Bowenchris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BowenChris</a> makes his case for Labor leadership and denies a radical tax agenda lost his party the election. <a href="https://t.co/jGvdRJbAU9">pic.twitter.com/jGvdRJbAU9</a></p> — Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1130948275257761792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">21 May 2019</a></blockquote> <p>"Clearly, we respect the verdict of the Australian people. They do not like what we put forward, but we also paid a price for things that weren't our policy," Mr Bowen said.</p> <p>“There was an alleged death tax... this was an invention by the Liberal Party and I think they cost us a lot of votes as we tried to bat away that scare campaign."</p> <p>Bowen continued, “Kochie, I would not be part of a political party that was dishonest with the Australian people. We believe that those plans were right for this election and we tell people about it.”</p> <p>Koch suggested that Labor could “end up being in Opposition for a long time”.</p> <p>“A lot of people didn't like your comment during the campaign where you said 'don't vote for us if you don't like our policies'' – well, they took your advice,” Koch said.</p> <p>“What I was trying to say there was that we had the courage to put our policies out for the Australian people to judge. We were not hiding them,” Mr Bowen clarified.</p> <p>“I could have worded that sentence better to make it clearer, but we are certainly not trying to show disrespect to anybody and I think that was taken out of context by the Liberal Party on purpose, but I take responsibility for my words.”</p>

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Bill Shorten vs Scott Morrison: The leader on track to win the federal election this Saturday

<p>The latest Newspoll in <em>The Australian</em> shows that Labor is still on track to win power in Saturday’s federal election. The Labor Party is currently leading 51-to-49 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.</p> <p>Opposition leader Bill Shorten’s personal approval rating is up three points to 38 per cent whereas Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s has dropped slightly to 45 per cent.</p> <p>However, 17 per cent of voters are still undecided.</p> <p>With Scott Morrison being vague on his new housing policy, only time will tell as to which party will win.</p> <p>The new housing policy will enable first homebuyers to get a home loan with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent, instead of the usual 10 or 20 per cent.</p> <p>Labor has already agreed to match the policy, so it should become law no matter the winning party.</p> <p>A reporter <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/federal-election-2019-live-coverage-from-the-campaign-trail/live-coverage/30480538ed1c6860b889ce0a689564ae" target="_blank">asked Morrison</a> what impact his new housing policy will have on property prices, but Morrison’s answer was unclear.</p> <p>"On your housing scheme, have you done any modelling on the impact to housing prices?" a reporter asked at a press conference in Western Sydney.</p> <p>"The scheme will continue on the basis of people being able to access loans on the same basis they can now…" Mr Morrison began, before being cut off.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">What effect will Scott Morrison's new housing policy have on property prices? Will prices go up? "It's difficult to say," he says <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a> <a href="https://t.co/5w3u9sb3J4">pic.twitter.com/5w3u9sb3J4</a></p> — Sam Clench (@SamClench) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamClench/status/1127713259363028992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">12 May 2019</a></blockquote> <p>"Could it raise house prices by putting more people in the market?" the reporter interjected.</p> <p>"We want to see more first homebuyers in the market, absolutely. And we don't want to see people's house prices go down," he said.</p> <p>"You didn't answer that question. Would house prices potentially go up?" another reporter asked.</p> <p>"I don't want them to go down. I want to see people, when they buy their first home, to be able to stay in the market and keep the value of their home that they've bought," Mr Morrison said.</p> <p>"It's difficult to say. It's difficult to say, but I do know this – Labor's housing tax will force the value of your home down."</p>

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