Keeping young people safe at Schoolies, and facing ageism in the healthcare system
Pill testing was available at Schoolies on the Gold Coast in 2024, but this year the Queensland government has taken a firm stance against the practice. So what conversations do parents need to have with their kids to stay safe this summer? Jennie Ross-King became a drug harm prevention advocate after her daughter's overdose death in 2019, Cameron Francis is the CEO of national drug-checking service The Loop, and Sophia, 19, plans on using drug-checking services at Strawberry Fields music festival.A new report from the Australian Human Rights Commission details the how older people too often feel unseen, unheard, or undervalued in the healthcare system. It found that perceptions of ageism are widespread across all levels of the health system, from how older people are treated by staff to broader systemic and policy issues. So how does ageism impact quality of care for older Australians, and how can we stamp it out? Val Fell is an Aged Care Council of Elders member, Robert Fitzgerald is Age Discrimination Commissioner and Patricia Sparrow is CEO of Council on the Ageing.The swear words that used to shock us… don't anymore. They've lost their sting. Researchers have unpacked the words Aussies really cringe at in 2025 - and it turns out slurs are now much more taboo than curse words. Our outrage has moved on to a whole new set of offensive words. Dr Joshua Wedlock is a researcher at Macquarie University's Department of Linguistics.
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How Schoolies celebrations have changed, and the power of a mentor
Schoolies travel has been a rite of passage for Aussie teenagers since the 1970s, but the event that was synonymous with getting sauced on the sandy shores of the Gold Coast is changing. Many young people are heading overseas to places like South-East Asia, Fiji, or Vanuatu. So, is it a good thing that today's school leavers are rewriting the script, ditching the binge-drinking and redefining what makes this milestone meaningful in the first place? Grace Richards is Growth and Marketing Manager at Schoolies.com and Dan Woodman is a Professor in Sociology at the University of Melbourne.The average Australian worker does 3.6 hours of unpaid overtime a week. National Right to Disconnect Laws, which were supposed to tackle work-life imbalance, were phased in last August. So, has anything changed? Fiona Macdonald is the Director of the Centre for Future Work and Dr Ben Searle is an organisational psychologist.The trailer for the The Devil Wears Prada sequel has dropped - and viewers immediately noticed a huge change in the dynamic between the two main characters. In the original film, magazine editor Miranda Priestly famously terrorised her staff, but also served as an unconventional mentor to Anne Hathaway's character. In the sequel's trailer, the pair look to be on even footing. So, who shapes our careers? And how big a difference can a mentor make? Professor Naomi McClure-Griffiths is an astrophysicist whose two mentors helped guide her career and Norah Breekveldt is the author of Me and my Mentor.
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What a longer mortgage would cost you, and Australia's millionth refugee
In the United States, there's a new proposal to address their nation's housing crisis. The Trump Administration is working to introduce 50-year mortgage terms for home buyers. Here in Australia, some lenders have recently started offering 40-year mortgages. One-third of Aussie adults polled said they'd take out a 40-year home loan if it reduced their monthly repayments to a more affordable level. So what are the pros and cons of longer mortgage terms? Eliza Owen is Head of research at Cotality, formerly CoreLogic Australia and Molly Benjamin is the founder of Ladies Finance Club.Australia is on the cusp of welcoming its one millionth refugee visa since the second world war. Behind that statistic are so many stories of upheaval and hardship, but also resilience and hope in starting a new life. Ogy Simic is the Head of Refugee Leadership and Advocacy at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Daniel Ghezelbash is Professor and Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW.There's a growing trend of adding supplements and vitamins to every meal and snack. Between vitamin gummies and drinks fortified with this or that, we're constantly being sold "extras" ... even as headlines warn of inconsistent dosages and questionable efficacy. So, what's the consumer psychology behind their appeal? Paul Harrison is the Chair of Consumer Behaviour at Deakin University's Business School.
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The impact of Black Friday, and how parents supporting their adult children became the norm
It's sales season and Black Friday takes place on the last Friday of every November. But it's no longer just a day. It's more like a month-long retail extravaganza. So, how did Black Friday evolve from a US phenomenon... to our biggest sales event? And what impact is this having on our year-round spending? Gary Mortimer is a professor of consumer behaviour and retail marketing at QUT Business School and Fleur Brown is Chief Industry Affairs Officer at the Australian Retailers Association.If you've got adult kids in 2025, you'll know that reaching independence looks a lot different now than it did in your day. New research confirms what lots of us already know - the intensive phase of parenting doesn't end on your child's 18th birthday anymore. Dr Susie O'Brien is a journalist and the National Education Editor with News Corp. She has three children living at home with her - including two young adults. And Dr Julia Cook is a youth sociologist at the University of Newcastle.In My Two Cents, we ask those questions you'd rather not answer about money. Today hear how actor, artist and author Ione Skye makes and spends her money.As the school year winds down, many teenagers are about to start the next chapter of their lives – and potential careers. Whether it's a bit of summer work experience or a mandatory placement for a university degree, unpaid work can often feel like the only way for young people to get a foot in the door. So how did working for free become the norm? What supports are available? And when does an internship stop being experience, and start looking like exploitation? Andrew Stewart is a professor of Work and Regulation at the Queensland University of Technology and James Sherriff is a third-year teaching student and co-founder of Students Against Placement Poverty.
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Reigniting the spark for work, and what happens when your best friends are mates with your ex?
It’s the time of year when you can't wait for time away from your job. But, as you reset for 2026, workplace researcher Dr Michelle McQuaid says there are lots of changes you can make to how you "do work" and how you "do life" so you feel re-energised in both these domains. And when it comes to complicated relationship dynamics … what happens when your marriage ends but your best friend and his wife remain close to your ex? Today's aunties work out who gets what in this potentially very messy split. Bridie Jabour is a journalist, author and associate editor at Guardian Australia and Lachie Mackintosh is Life Matters executive producer.
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