The most recent data we have is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2013 survey assessing adult competencies. It found 44% of Australian adults have literacy skills below the “necessary proficiency level for navigating modern work and life”.

https://youtu.be/nuPi4z6jldo?si=wqfIdPU_Zi-rHdBg

Bring in an iconic great energy, song/performance familiar to the fans, eg Gala singing live “Freed from Desire”…more fans would want to attend including families, then broadcasters will want to showcase it…commercialise the event and 💰grows it every year…this year I noticed a huge majority of young men only. While this is good it’s also a sign that something is slightly wrong. It must appeal to family attendance. It will also grow the junior and women’s game as a result. And if they need a bigger stadium the MCG/SCG can cope if Melbourne or Sydney alternating was chosen as the locked in venue. All this is not very hard. It can be done in baby steps and not too over the top to start with…

Australia Cup opening ceremony must be elevated…

Considering their history and pivotal reputation, this feels a noteworthy occasion. Listening to it from start to finish I seriously think it's a new classic. Always a long time coming with them but it was worth the wait. A super strong album. Curious to hear other peoples thoughts

Australia has won a classic World Cup clash against New Zealand, with debutant Jack Bostock scoring a match-winning hat-trick.

Bostock's third and final try won the match for the Kangaroos, who were second-best for so much of Thursday night's World Cup opener.

Both the Kangaroos and Kiwis have injury worries, with Mitchell Moses limping off and Kalyn Ponga having his arm in a sling.

Edit: Clearly hit the beers too hard on Thirsty Thursday!

I’m currently cooking a kg of chicken breast from Woolworths. It has been in the pan for 5 minutes and is currently borderline being boiled by the amount of water that has seeped out of it. I swear this was not a thing 10 years ago.

"...we asked a range of authors to nominate their two best Australian books of all time: ideally one fiction or poetry, the other non-fiction. Their picks are varied and surprising."

The Greens have confirmed WA senator Jordon Steele-John has taken leave from the party room after reports from the Sydney Morning Herald about allegations of inappropriate comments towards women.

Greens leader David Shoebridge said the party was taking the situation seriously.

When I first started with optus, the 365 prepaid deal was $180, now its going up to $395.

I just want a decent deal with a decent amount of data that doesn't cost a ridiculous amount.

Cost of living is killing me man

Attribution science is increasingly being used to link individual companies to specific climate harms. A new, free tool aims to make it even easier.

As the tobacco industry learned, these efforts may prove akin to trying to hold back the tide, especially as public awareness of the field grows and access widens—as one Australian research team is attempting to do with the Carbon Impacts Tracer. Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate scientist with Australian National University and a coordinating lead author for the next IPCC report, leads the team that sought to expand on the work in the October 2025 study published in the journal Climate Action that looked at Australian petroleum giant Woodside’s contribution to climate change. She says the goal was to make the latest attribution science free and easy to access.

“The field of attribution has grown rapidly in the last 20 years,” Perkins-Kirkpatrick says. “It’s had an evolution and this is the next phase of the evolution. Finally, we can show with a reasonable degree of certainty how every tonne of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does really matter.”

The tool, funded by the Australian National University, the Lethal Humidity Global Council and 21st Century Weather, is intended for use by anyone—journalists, campaigners, planners, government assessors, litigators, activists, and even fossil fuel companies. The Lethal Humidity Global Council is financially supported by the Minderoo Foundation, the personal charity of Australian iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest.

I know there was a post about Lifeblood donations as early as four months ago, but given the critical levels of nearly every blood type outside AB+/- across Australia, I thought this derserved a new post for awareness.

As per Lifeblood, a prolonged flu season has led to many cancelled donations, "contributing in a 60% fall in supplies since June." At this rate, 16,000 donations will be needed over the next week for a safe supply across needed blood types.

As a reminder, you don't need to know your blood type to donate. Lifeblood has also updated their eligability rules, especially for men who have sexual relations with men (many gay men still mistakenly believe they're still excluded). So if you're unsure of your eligability please check their website or give them a call!