Among other things: this is a reminder that power generation technologies require a lot of water, and that massively increased demand on a power grid also increases the grid's water use www.france24.com/en/live-news...

Romania shuts down nuclear plant as Danube drops

Romania halted operations of its only nuclear plant on Thursday, a rare shutdown due to a drought scorching Europe that has caused the Danube river, whose waters cool the plant, to fall to record lows...

france24.com

It's my final week as a Guardian cartoonist ☹️ and here's my third last cartoon. It's a gamblin' one www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Will the government get it right on gambling reform? | Fiona Katauskas

Anthony Albanese is weighing up the options

theguardian.com

Australia’s youth mental health crisis is usually discussed as a healthcare problem (psychologists, psychiatrists, headspace centres). But an Australia Institute report released today suggests we should also look further upstream. Read the full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...

We estimate the cut to the NDIS in 2029-30 of $16.4bn is equivalent to around 52,000 jobs in the care sector - around 94m hours of paid care. Those care needs will not disappear they will just fall on families (especially women) live.thepoint.com.au/2026/08/the-...

How come we're still taxing the winners of arts prizes and not the winners of The Block?

Miles Franklin winners are taxed but winners on The Block aren't. How's that fair?

Last night, Queanbeyan local Omar Musa won the 2026 Miles Franklin award for the 'novel with the highest literary merit which presents Australian life.' He received a $60,000 prize, only he won’t get ...

thepoint.com.au

surely the first miles Franklin winner from Queanbeyan. Huge congrats Omar

Novel taking on controversial palm oil industry wins $60,000 literary prize

Malaysian Australian author Omar Musa has taken out the Miles Franklin Literary Award with his second novel, Fierceland, set between Malaysian Borneo and Sydney.

abc.net.au

Environmentalist and author Tim Flannery exposed how carbon offsets are being used to excuse fossil fuel expansion in Australia's Biggest Book Club! Watch the full video here! ⤵️ youtu.be/BCVAWn5ZGMw

“There is currently no routine national collection and monitoring of pregnancy loss data.” Is this not something worth recording, analysing, understanding, sharing?

Pregnancy loss more common than previously thought, new study shows

While pregnancy loss is common, gaps in official data mean its impacts on different demographic and geographic groups remain unknown.

abc.net.au

From my file on the IEA's world energy outlook. "Primary energy" = what goes in "Final energy" = what comes out a The space in between: mostly lost energy bc burning fossil fuels is absurdly wasteful. So in the net zero scenario, that gaps closes to zero --->>

The coal lobby's latest nonsense economics report is due out tomorrow. Coal Australia claims 782,000 jobs. ABS says 40,000 🤔

Scanning books to make them available in new formats is not bad in and of itself. For one thing, ebooks are often the best format for people with disabilities. But the idea that AI companies are hoovering up this content bc the LLMs must be fed is hideous.

AI labs buy, scan, shred millions of rare books

If you have retreated to physical books because the internet is too full of AI slop, bad news — now they’re shredding the books to feed their AI slop machines.

news.com.au

If he has concerns about the information on PRRT, taxes gas companies pay and the tax charged on exports, maybe he could take it up with the ABS, ATO and Treasury

The Point@thepointau.bsky.social · 3w ago

Many of the claims made by the Australia Institute, Senator David Pocock and others, based on research into the economics of gas in Australia is based largely on official government data sources. Read the full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/factchecks/2...

Thank you NSW!! Now that our petition has hit 20,000 signatures, truth in political advertising will have to be debated in NSW Parliament! You can still add your name and send a message ⤵️ https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/parliamentary-business/petitions/sign-epetition?epetitionId=809&ref=10902

“But while these are strong words, he did not spell out what action his government would take. Meanwhile, creators are already having their work plundered” writes @alicektg.bsky.social Read the full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Smoky in Canberra again. We get bushfire smoke in summer and burnoff smoke in winter; my least favourite thing about living in this valley. Shoutout to my fellow asthmatics

So.......how the hell did the New York Times get Australia's AI data centre story so wildly wrong? Albanese's new AI rules **WORSEN** their position by allowing more room for gas Check out my new piece at @thepointau.bsky.social for all the lovely, gory details thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

"KPMG is a big business that obtains highly sensitive information from its work with major corporations and governments, meaning that conflicts of interest are impossible to avoid." @joshbornstein.bsky.social #auspol

@amyremeikis.bsky.social is right about the PM's speech yesterday: "Australia has a history of letting industry agree to policy before moving forward with implementing anything. Albanese’s speech on Wednesday shows no signs of this being any different."

'AI with a kangaroo sticker': PM misses mark on 'inevitable' tech

Albanese doesn’t want to see AI replace workers, he says. But there is no plan for how the government will stop it.

thenewdaily.com.au

Love to hear the PM speaking in support of copyright but it doesn't mean all that much without action. Meanwhile there's a plan to fast-track data centre approvals. Let's not make this another gas fiasco and ensure Australians get a fair return on their resources - in this case our books etc

The PM has pledged to protect artists’ copyright. But without action on AI theft it is all hot air

Anthony Albanese has made a spirited defence of artists’ rights in the AI age. But while data centres are getting concrete support, creators are not.

theconversation.com

18 months ago when I flagged that mergers often resulted in the end of the smaller press as it was absorbed into the bigger publisher, some people thought I was being chicken little. And now Hardie Grant is going to "integrate" Pantera titles:

Hardie Grant to integrate Pantera Press titles across imprints, staff to depart | Books+Publishing

Purchase a subscription to view job ads and other premium content on Books+Publishing.

booksandpublishing.com.au

If you think that the biggest defence procurement in Australian history needs more than a rubber stamp, sign the petition for a parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS: nb.australiainstitute.org.au/aukus_parlia...

✍️PETITION: AUKUS ties Australia closer to Trump – Parliament must scrutinise it now!

Launch a Parliamentary Inquiry into AUKUS NOW! Australia Institute research shows a majority of Australians support a parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS ✍️ Add your name now >

nb.australiainstitute.org.au

The Point@thepointau.bsky.social · last mo.

This isn’t just a quick turnaround for a massive multinational defence deal; it’s a fraction of the time it takes Australian bureaucracy to do far simpler tasks. Read the full piece by @alicektg.bsky.social on The Point: thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...

A+++ from Greg, talking about the Productivity Commission's commentary on AI & productivity "It is astonishing that an institution notionally filled with sentient being who understand economics have not understood where the profits of datacentres and AI will go, regardless of where they are built."

Greg Jericho@grogsgamut.bsky.social · 2mo ago

In which I ruminate on the Productivity Commission's benefit of AI #PointLive live.thepoint.com.au

Tonnes of new books, stretched resources when it comes to publicity and marketing mean it's a tough time for new work in the publishing industry. Thanks to Fran Kelly for having me on RN yesterday.

Publishing problems: Are micro publishers the answer to a deluge of books? - ABC listen

Fact and fiction, Australian bookshops are bursting with new releases, but writers are finding it harder and harder to get noticed. In the rush to get books on shelves, quality controls are slipping,...

abc.net.au

for some reason this movie springs to mind today ...

Our annual EOFY donation drive is now on. We know these aren't easy times, so we're grateful for any contribution you're able to offer. Every dollar is tax-deductible and goes directly to the costs of producing Overland both in print and online. overland.org.au/donate/

I'm not convinced that mining companies are "losers" in the QLD budget, ABC. The coal royalties don't stop companies from making profits and as your own analysis notes, the government has allocated $146m for critical minerals projects

The winners and losers in Queensland's state budget

The Queensland treasurer has handed down the state budget. Take a look at what it includes and who benefits.

abc.net.au

The call for a plebiscite on a 25% gas export tax has over 41,000 signatures. Will you help @australiainstitute.org.au get to 50K?

A National Plebiscite for a 25% Gas Export Tax

Voters across the political spectrum support a 25% tax on gas exports. So, let's put it to the people. Join the call for a national plebiscite and let Australians decide.

gas-plebiscite.australiainstitute.org.au

Collapsed timelines, floods of new titles and a low-paid workforce under pressure. @catrionamp.bsky.social examines what's happening in contemporary Australian publishing. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

Australia is publishing books too quickly – and everyone is losing out

Thanks to rushed deadlines, financial pressure and overworked staff, titles are going to market before they’re ready – and then sliding from view immediately

theguardian.com

Australia spends four times more on pets than foreign aid. Read the full piece by @alicektg.bsky.social on The Point: thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...

@byronwritersfest.bsky.social full program is live now. Can't wait to see Geetanjali Shree, Evelyn Araluen and Roman Krznaric (among others!). Also looking forward to chairing a panel with @jacktoohey.bsky.social, @richarddenniss.bsky.social and Melissa Lucashenko on fixing the housing crisis