Meet the Aussie deported from the US, the HPV vax drop + explaining the digi cam hype
HPV vaccine rates are declining in Australia, and experts have warned it's putting our ability to eradicate cervical cancer at risk.
Plus, Alistair Kitchen is an Aussie who flew to the US last week for a holiday. But when he landed, he was detained, interrogated and eventually deported. Why? He reckons it was because of his stance on Gaza.
Also, why gen z is capturing Y2K nostalgia through the lens of a digital camera.
Listen now:
01:14 - The decline in HPV vaccination rates
06:31 - Why Trump ditched Albanese
10:19 - Alistair Kitchen on being deported from the US
23:13 - Why digi cams are having a moment right now
Guests:
Professor Julie Leask, School of Public Health, University of Sydney
Professor Julie Leask, School of Public Health, University of Sydney Alistair Kitchen, freelance journalist
Alistair Kitchen, freelance journalist
Dr Kathleen Williams, School of Creative Arts and Media, University of Tasmania
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
MPs, media, public figures warned to take care when discussing farmer suicide
Mental health experts are urging Victoria's elected representatives to avoid using farmers' challenges as a political football as MPs return to state parliament this week. It comes after MPs told the state government last month they would have "blood on [their] hands" if they passed a controversial emergency services levy, and claimed farmers had taken their own lives because of the then-proposed bill. Advocates say there is a real mental health crisis among Aussie farmers but warn of the potentially dangerous consequences of publicly spreading misinformation or talking about suicide recklessly. Discussions about the suicide rate among farmers reached fever pitch last month when state parliament passed a controversial emergency services levy that would see a tax increase for farmers of about 150 per cent. On May 30, the Victorian government announced that the implementation of the new tax rate for primary producers would be paused for 12 months. In the days after the bill passed, a social media post gained traction claiming 17 farmers had taken their own lives since the bill was announced. The ABC has been unable to verify this figure. A follow-up post from the account in the days after confirmed they had not verified the figure but said it had come from a "trusted source". "That's what had been reported to me at the time. Could the number be lower? Maybe. Could it be higher? Absolutely. If that's what you're fixated on … you're missing the point," the post read. The unverified figure is still cited publicly, including by a local councillor and in official statements from a farming advocacy group. Some Victorian politicians also raised the matter of farmer suicide when debating the bill. The day before the levy passed, Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur told parliamentarians farmers had already taken their own lives because of the then-proposed bill. "I am here to tell you, you have blood on your hands. There were two suicides last week as a result of what you are imposing on farmers," she said. The statement echoed the words of the Member for the Southern Metropolitan region, Georgie Crozier, who alluded to the farmer suicide rate when she told the state treasurer that the mental health toll for farmers would mount as a result of the bill. "You will have blood on your hands. I am telling you there will be some very sad circumstances because of the pressures you are putting on people," she said. Member for Eastern Victoria Renee Heath repeated the figure cited by Ms McArthur. The ABC has contacted government and mental health agencies to factually check the number of farmer suicides in Victoria since the levy passed, as well as in the three years prior. Suicide data classified by occupation was either not collected or not made available to protect the identities of the deceased and their families. Suicide experts agree that politicians and the media need to be extremely cautious when discussing the issue, as public conversations about suicide can affect vulnerable individuals. Professor Kairi Kõlves works at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention at Griffith University. Dr Kõlves said suicide statistics should not be highlighted as part of a political debate. "It is very dangerous," she said. Dr Kõlves said public figures needed to be careful about the language they used when talking about suicide because over-reporting could lead to serious repercussions. "We may lead other people to take their own lives. People who are particularly impacted here are those who are already in a vulnerable situation," she said. "Specifically, those vulnerable farmers might be further impacted, and it may lead to further suicide clusters. "When it's over-reported or presented in a certain way, people might feel like 'Oh my God, that's me, this is my way out.'" Experts agree that multiple factors over time are more likely to contribute to an individual taking their own life, rather than a single challenging event or circumstance. National Rural Health Alliance chief executive Susi Tegan said removing the levy would not be enough to alleviate the mental health crisis among farmers. A 2023 survey of 1,300 farmers found that 30 per cent of farmers had attempted self-harm or suicide, while a 2021 report by the National Rural Health Alliance found one farmer died by suicide every 10 days in Australia. Ms Tegan said, since then, farmers have continued to face a seemingly endless torrent of major challenges. "Rural Australia has been through major financial, environmental, and global stressors in the past few years," Ms Tegan said. "That has been due to floods, droughts and fires, global markets, and also internal politics and policy positions in federal and state governments. "The stress is increasing, the mounting debts, and the issue of farming being a seven-day-a-week career. "You can understand why the suicide rate is high because of the conditions wreaking havoc for those communities." Kelly Marson from mental health awareness charity Let's Talk said the governments needed to work proactively to solve the farmer mental health crisis. Ms Marson called on governments to implement regionally specific mental health and suicide prevention strategies. "We cannot provide a preventative strategy that works in Melbourne; the country has to be looked at differently," she said. "The stigma is still so raw." In the meantime, National Centre for Farmer Health director Alison Kennedy said she encouraged farmers to prioritise their mental wellbeing by staying socially connected. "Having that time to refill your cup will make you much better at doing the things you have to do as well," she said.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Preservative chemicals to winged eyeliner: How embalmers bring dignity to the deceased
Unlike the image often conjured of embalmers — "the creepy guys down in the dark, dungeon mortuary" — Luan Murray sees her job as offering a service to people who are grieving the death of a loved one. On any given day, the mortician from Wollongong will perform body preparations on anywhere from three to 12 deceased persons. "Families still want to say their goodbyes to that person. So if I can make it just that little bit better and give back to the family, that's my purpose." Embalming is the process of preserving a body by means of the removal of some of the body fluids and arterially injecting the body with special embalming fluids. For Ms Murray, the focus with embalming is ultimately to sanitise, deodorise, preserve and restore a deceased person. "The majority of the scientific magic is done from the inside out," she said. The artistic side of embalming materialises in the external part of the process. Waxes and over-the-counter cosmetics are applied, colour wheel knowledge is considered, and occasionally, specialised mortuary makeup is used for traumatic cases where imperfections are trying to be hidden. "When we get a trauma case in, we like to ask the family for photographs to see if there is an attempt we can make to restore that person," Ms Murray said. The level of preparation of a body exists on a scale and comes down to the deceased's last wishes, a family's desires, the condition of the deceased, legal requirements and cultural or religious reasons. It goes from basic preparation — which includes cleaning of the deceased, closing their eyes, suturing the mouth shut and dressing them before placing in the coffin — to full embalming. Sometimes reconstruction is necessary in cases where there has been significant trauma. In NSW, full embalming is required by law if the deceased is being sent overseas on a repatriation by air travel. It is also mandatory if the deceased is being put into an aboveground burial such as a vault or mausoleum. Crypts of this nature range in price — for example, the Mary of Assumption crypts at Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery can be priced from $54,000. Sandra van der Laan from the University of Sydney co-authored a report that investigated death care and funeral industry. Professor van der Laan said while mausoleums were not exclusive to any single cultural or ethnic group, they were often chosen for cultural or religious reasons. "They've been around in Sydney cemeteries since 1800 or similar. Some religious communities prefer aboveground burials, for example, the Catholics or Maronite Christians — it also allows families a legacy to be interred together," she said. "The majority of the population do not like to discuss funerals and burials and what happens after people die. It's sort of a bit a taboo subject." Since Ms Murray was little, she has been curious about death. "It's a part of my daily life now. I don't take anyone or anything for granted," she said. Although the prevalence of death has been completely normalised throughout her 30 years in the job, it's not to say there aren't hard days. She said the hardest cases had always been the relativity of the age of the deceased person in relation to her children's ages. "When my kids were babies, it was seeing infants come into the mortuary, then toddlers, then young children, right up to mid-20s now, like my children's ages currently," she said, noting that any deaths brought about through violence also have an impact. "It's hard work, but I feel comfortable talking about death and grief. "It's given me a better appreciation for the fragility of life."
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Mother calls for change after daughter with intellectual disability told to wait five months for CT scan
One of Imogen's favourite games is to play doctor with her teddy. As she pretends to take a blood sample, it is clear how familiar she is with being reassured during medical procedures. "It's OK Teddy, it doesn't hurt," she tells a knitted bear fitted with a cannula. The five-year-old knows what it is like being scared of needles, hospitals and health workers. Imogen lives with a rare condition, which involves intellectual disability and profound hearing loss. To prepare for medical procedures, her parents use games, toys and stories. But nothing they have tried works when it comes to CT scans. Her mum Ineke once managed to get her into the room at Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney, where the scanner was decorated with colourful fish to reassure young people. "It was just too overwhelming. Even though she desperately wanted to try, she was not able to," Ineke said. So when their ear nose and throat specialist had concerns a mass may be growing in her middle ear, a scan under anaesthetic was ordered. Ineke was shocked when she was told her daughter would have to wait five months for the procedure. Do you have a story to share? Email More than 450,000 Australians live with intellectual disability, according to government data. People with intellectual disability die on average 27 years earlier than the rest of the Australian population and have double the preventable death rate, according to research from UNSW's National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health. A review into deaths of people with disability in care in Queensland also found "many people [were] not diagnosed with the condition that led to their death until either just before their death or at autopsy." Cathy Franklin, a researcher with the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Autism Health, said there was not enough support for people with intellectual disability in the medical system. She said even having a simple procedure like a blood test could be challenging for this community and the people who cared for them. Accommodations that can help make it possible for a person with intellectual disability to undergo a medical procedure include role play or visual stories that explain the smells, sensations, sounds and movements to expect. Dr Franklin said only a few medical centres across Australia do this and are generally set up to accommodate children. "In most parts of Australia, there's simply nowhere to refer if someone with intellectual or developmental disability needs a blood test under sedation or even just with additional psychological support," she said. It took several weeks and many phone calls before Imogen's mum was able to secure an appointment for her CT scan under a general anaesthetic. When her GP saw the results, the family was told to take her straight to hospital. The radiologist's report noted the bones in her middle ear were "almost completely eroded" and other parts were facing "near complete obliteration". Within 48 hours, Imogen underwent urgent surgery to remove the rapidly advancing growth. "That there could have been even more serious consequences is really scary." Ineke said the family was grateful for the care Imogen received over the years across multiple hospitals, but lamented it often fell on individual healthcare workers to ensure her daughter received the care she needed. She has written to NSW Health asking for an increase to the number of days allocated to medical imaging under anaesthetic, worried that others were missing out on the kind of care Imogen received. "It was a near miss," Ineke said. "Many families, especially families who have kids with disabilities, don't have the time, energy or resources to be able to advocate in the way that I was able to." In a statement, NSW Health said it was "committed to providing safe, inclusive, person-centred care to people with disability". It said the decision to conduct imaging under sedation or general anaesthetic was based on the needs of the patient and in conversation with the treating practitioner, the patient, their families and in line with relevant policies. A statement from the Sydney Children's Hospital Network focused only on MRI scans. "All children and young people requiring an MRI scan, with or without general anaesthetic, are triaged and prioritised based on clinical need, with the most urgent cases always seen first," a spokesperson said. "Parents are given an estimated timeframe for an MRI scan, however, this timeframe may change based on a child's clinical assessment," they said. "For children who do require general anaesthetic, MRI sessions are held five times a week, with emergency sessions run on weekends, as required. There is no anticipated change to the service." If a parent feels their child's condition has worsened, they can contact their child's treating team so a clinical review can take place, the spokesperson added.
