Research stories
Self-employed Australians’ hours have fallen 32% since coronavirus hit – double the impact on all employees
Australia Bureau of Statistics data has confirmed the massive economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, with total hours worked across the economy officially falling 9% between early March and early April 2020. Our analysis, using data from the quarterly ANUpoll, suggests the self-employed have…
Singing the unsayable
Dr Bonnie McConnell’s new book opens with the musician Fatou singing the unsayable. “You know I am HIV positive and taking my treatment. Don’t worry, let’s join hands and fight the virus.” It’s 2007 in the Gambia, and Dr McConnell was onstage playing keyboard next to Fatou. In the front row of…
Why self-determination is vital for Indigenous communities to beat coronavirus
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know very well the challenges of dealing with infectious diseases introduced from overseas to which the people have no immunity. Historically, epidemics have brought a double threat: first to Indigenous health, then to Indigenous self-determination.…
Lost without words
By Dr Sonia PertsinidisApart from wreaking havoc across the globe, the COVID-19 crisis has spawned a host of new jargon, from ‘social distancing’, ‘herd immunity’ and ‘flattening the curve’ to ‘PPE’ (Personal Protective Equipment), and ‘The Great Lockdown’. But, a lot of the vocabulary that we have…
ANU Ceramics researcher aiding doctors on frontline of Coronavirus
ANU School of Art & Design researcher Mr Rod Bamford is applying his design expertise to create face shields for doctors on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. Mr Bamford, a Senior Lecturer in Ceramics, has been using designs developed by members of the global …
1 in 10 children affected by bushfires is Indigenous - We've been ignoring them for too long
The catastrophic bushfire season is officially over, but governments, agencies and communities have failed to recognise the specific and disproportionate impact the fires have had on Aboriginal peoples. Addressing this in bushfire response and recovery is part of Unfinished Business: the work…
How Australia’s response to the Spanish flu of 1919 sounds warnings on dealing with coronavirus
Most Australians - Indigenous people under the protection acts were an exception - have long taken for granted their right to cross state borders. They have treated them much as they do the often unmarked boundaries dividing their suburbs. Not any more. Australia has closed its international…