Broadcast every Tuesday at 11am AEDT on Radio Port Phillip 98.7 or 98.3 FM. It’s your weekly dose of science and technology. Including features on cool gadgets, website reviews, the latest science and IT news, not to mention astronomy and space exploration. http://beyondinfinity.com.au/ Special thanks to John Young, Paul Wattie, Steve Meyers, Brendon Telfer and the team at RPPfm.
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Varroa Hits Victoria While Fire Ants Wreak Havoc In Brisbane
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Piers sits down with Simon to discuss the spread of varroa mite into Victoria and what might be done to manage the problem. Also, the effects on honey purity and retail cost. Simon also discusses Queensland authorities' alarmist response to fire ants, including the indiscriminate use of chemical spraying, often without land owners knowledge or perm…
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Within minutes of former president Trump's attempted assassination on 13th July 2024, Elon Musk posted on X: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” along with a video of Trump raising his fist after being shot in the ear. Musk has since pledged hundreds of millions in campaign support and on 13th August conducted a 2 hou…
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Dan's Gong: Ex-Premier Handed Australia's Highest Honour
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The announcement on the King's Birthday public holiday that Dan Andrews has been awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia has left many people shocked and bewildered. Why on earth is a failed leader who presided over Victoria's disastrous response to the covid pandemic with the world's longest lockdowns, a health system in crisis, stratosphe…
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Prioritising Public Safety Over Freedom Of Expression
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The Australian Government has taken on social media platform X and its mercurial proprietor Elon Musk over the broadcast of a chilling attack on an Assyrian priest in Sydney. Is the medium to blame, or are deeper societal issues the cause? There's little doubt social media can amplify violence, making it more vital to find the right balance between…
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Mitigation Vs Eradication: Finding A Realistic Solution To Fire Ants In Australia
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Piers catches up with bee-keeper activist Simon Mulvany and hears about the Australian government's fire ant poisoning program in Queensland and NSW. There's concerns about the use of harmful insecticides like Fipronil and Pyriproxyfen. There are serious fears for native species and waterways stemming from hit or miss aerial spraying campaigns. Are…
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If Not This What? If Not Now When?
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Welcome back to Beyond Infinity. It's been a while. Today Piers discusses latest space news from Jupiter, the Moon and Mars. NASA admits it can't afford the high cost of returning the Perseverence rover's precious Mars sample tubes to Earth and is looking for help from space privateers. And SpaceX continues to develop the world's most powerful laun…
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Dan's Legacy - How Well Did The Ex-Premier Handle Covid?
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A wide-ranging conversation about Dan Andrews life, personality, socialist left politics and the repercussions. Does he deserve hatred or grudging respect? Geoff Wells, a medical specialist who repeatedly warned about brutal and misguided lockdowns during covid, offers insights. We talk golf, medical science, Victoria's economy and the world's resp…
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In a fiery appearance at the DealBook Summit in New York City, Elon Musk unloaded on Disney CEO Bob Iger. Musk insisted he would not be 'blackmailed' and that Iger should 'GFY' over his advertising boycott of X. We consider what's at stake for the mercurial Musk and the potential fallout for his other businesses.…
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Piers and John Mac chew the fat, again. Why such heated controversy around the esteemed former Victorian State Premier Dan Andrews joining a couple of Mornington Peninsula golf clubs? Can't a man just relax and enjoy his hard-earned, early retirement in peace? (If you like this stuff, there's PLENTY more at beyondinfinity.com.au)…
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Exorbitant prices, high interest rates and lack of housing stock mean many young people will never own their own home in Australia. And with 1% or less rental vacancy and record immigration, people are struggling to get any kind of a roof over their heads. Yet governments seem powerless to help, even as banks say lending rules are too tight and mak…
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Wasted Opportunity - Why The Voice Referendum Failed
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Piers and veteran radio presenter John McCormack discuss Australia's recent referendum on the Voice to Parliament. Passing referenda is historically and technically difficult: only 8 out of 45 attempts to amend the Constitution have succeeded since Federation in 1901 and they require support from a majority of people in a majority of states. Yet th…
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This Evolving Social Media Landscape
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Mature (?) social media goes subscription-based; Twitter's blue tick of approval; Reddit's unpopular IPO; TickTock gains ground - forcing change on incumbents; Renting options on new cars. Piers and Brad show their age.Af Piers Cunningham
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On The Politicisation Of Climate Science
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Piers and bee activist Simon Mulvany chat about the politicisation of the debate around so-called climate change, with its fear mongering and manipulation by vested interests. Is 'pollution' a better term to use than 'climate change'? We consider how important it is for Australia to transition carefully to renewables, without causing peak load blac…
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With the referendum to alter Australia's Constitution set for Saturday, 14 October 2023, people will vote yes or no on a single question about the establishment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Yet the devil is in the detail and the challenge for the government and other proponents remains to explain just how the new law will work…
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Piers reconnects with mathematician Dr Ian Storey and pro investor Guy West over a glass of wine to update listeners on artificial intelligence's effects on markets and investing in AI. Are we seeing the start of an AI bubble, more about hype than a real threat to humanity? We discuss how hedge funds use machine learning and the need to regulate AI…
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After Covid, Does Melbourne Have PTSD?
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Longest cumulative lockdowns on the planet, declining mental health, record state debt, economic damage, new taxes and levies and now the loss of the Commonwealth Games. Melbourne continues to endure tough times. Piers sits down with Brad Mackenzie to ponder the question: are Melburnians scarred from their collective experiences since early in 2020…
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Spread Of Varroa Destructor Threatens Australian Bees
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Piers sits down with beekeeper activist Simon Mulvany to discuss the spread of a parasite killing honey bees in New South Wales. Simon explains how the varroa mite entered Australia, the only country in the world that was varroa-free until recently. He outlines the enormous damage the mite causes to wild and commercial bee populations and its threa…
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This New Artificially Intelligent World
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Piers is joined by Dr. Ian Storey, lecturer in information systems at Torrens University, for a chat about the many and varied effects of artificial intelligence on almost every aspect of human life. From AI-powered battle drones and deep fake voice cloning for ransoms through to plagiarism, provenance of online images and manipulating elections, w…
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Dawn Of The New Starship Era
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Despite its spectacular 'rapid unscheduled disassembly' four minutes into its flight, the maiden voyage of SpaceX's monster super heavy lift rocket is considered a successful failure. SpaceX say they will learn from their mistakes and try again in a matter of months. And if they succeed, they will have a vehicle far more powerful than the Saturn V …
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The Inevitable Intersection Of Sport And Politics
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Piers sits down with Brad Mckenzie to discuss whether Russia should be banned from the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. We look at the long history of politics' involvement in sport - from Jessie Owens at the Berlin Games of 1936 through to the World Cup in Qatar and the Australian Tennis Open. For all the anguish over mixing politics and sport, sport …
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The Many Uses And Abuses Of Drones, On Earth As In Heaven
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Welcome to the latest episode of Beyond Infinity and our first for 2023. We discuss how Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology is re-shaping the battlefield and beyond. We dive into the exciting world of drones and how they will revolutionize space exploration - like on Mars with the Ingenuity helicopter, which has just completed its 40th ground breaki…
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That's A Wrap - A Look Back At 2022
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A retrospective on the year's podcasts: how bee-keeping works; extreme weather hits eastern Australia; covid dwindles yet lingers as other biohazards emerge; Elon Musk's Twitter fiascos; the Multiverse; the mega hacks of Optus and Medibank. 2022 was supposed to mark an inflection point in history - with the rise of China, war in Ukraine and a clima…
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The world's most successful entrepreneur now owns what he hopes will be Earth's digital town square, but he faces stiff head winds. He paid a very high price for the business at the top of the market, seems to have pissed off many employees, including senior management, as well as raised doubts among key advertisers. He's made his presence felt thr…
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Lest We Forget? Victoria Seems Poised To Re-elect Dan Andrews
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The Premier looks like winning another four years in office, despite what many see as his disastrous and incompetent mishandling of the pandemic. First, there was Melbourne's hotel quarantine fiasco, then problems with contact tracing and hundreds of preventable aged care deaths. There followed the longest cumulative lockdown of any city on Earth -…
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A massive cyber attack threatens the private data of 9.8 million current and former Optus customers. Authorities are being forced to reissue drivers licenses and passports, while the Federal Government promises regulatory reforms with stiff telco penalties for future breaches.Af Piers Cunningham
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Push To Allow Recycled Water In Victoria
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Better to recycle waste water and reduce ocean outfall or rely on energy-hungry desalination plants? In the lead up to the Victorian state election, a petition on change.org calls for a $60 million upgrade to the Eastern Treatment Plant to remove all contaminants from wastewater currently discharged near Gunnamatta on the Mornington Peninsula, sout…
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From Varroa Mite Or Foot And Mouth To Polio And Monkey Pox, Biohazards Still Threaten Australia
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Bee keeping activist Simon Mulvany explains the problem of varroa mites for bees; how the pest entered Australia and what's being done to control it, including the controversial use of fipronil insecticide. We broaden the conversation to include other biohazards, like foot and mouth disease in Indonesia, the reemergence of drug-resistant polio, mon…
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A Casual Discussion Of Quantum Mechanics
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It's theorised that birds use quantum effects to navigate with help from the Earth's magnetic field. And how do massive flocks move as clouds in such exquisite and controlled close proximity? Inspired by the movie 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', mathematician and lecturer in information systems Dr. Ian Storey outlines the two main theories of …
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Can Elon Go Where No Man Has Gone Before?
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Musk's dream to make humanity a multi-planetary species. The frenetic pace of development at Starbase, his private rocket production facility, test site and spaceport in Texas. Success of Starlink in Ukraine annoys Russia. Musk defies the critics and weathers plenty of bets (and threats) against him, including shorting Tesla.Piers is joined by acti…
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A look at the world's wealthiest individual and his delayed takeover of the loss-making microblogging service. His battles with Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter shareholders and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Why would Musk want control? Piers is joined by activist influencer Simon Mulvany. Part 1 of a 2 part interview.…
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New Biohazards - Monkey Pox and Winter Flu
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Latest scourge causing concern (but not alarm) around the world is monkey pox. Normally endemic in Africa, cases have been appearing in the UK, Europe, Australia and the USA. Scientists have yet to determine why. Meanwhile, Australia's covid death toll passes 8000 and this year's…
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Explaining America's High Covid Death Toll
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Victorian covid stats trending higher. Comparing covid death rates around the world as US approaches 1m milestone. Australian Vs US pandemic response - very different approach, very different results; trust is key. Unreliable covid reporting - North Korea's massive covid spike.…
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. A rundown of rising covid numbers around Australia. Covid fatigue causing complacency and unnecessary risk taking - people often ignoring mask mandates in transport hubs. NZ passes 1 million confirmed covid cases, but real figure could be much higher. Shanghai expats getting desp…
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Ba4 and Ba5 first seen in South Africa now in Europe and America. Draconian lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing; weakness of Chinese vaccines. New variants more risky than sub-variants. Australia relaxes close contact rules. Dam Andrews keeps his head down.…
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Covid numbers rising dramatically especially in NSW, but hospitalisations remain low. XE mutant hybrid; NZ PM predicts more variants for 2022; close contact rules in the spotlight. Winter flu also coming, so a double whammy? Surge to peak at end of April.…
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Extreme Weather Grips SE Australia
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It's been a rough few years for Australia with extreme weather events ranging from devastating bushfires in 2019 to the record breaking floods of the summer of 2022. Piers and Simon Mulvany discuss the recent catastrophic La Niña-driven floods in South Eastern Queensland and Northern New South Wales. They explain weather modification programs like …
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A chat with bee keeper activist Simon Mulvany: how bee keeping works in different locations; a bumper season on the Southern Peninsula; his online bee keeping course; problems with almond crops in Victoria and California; Chinese imported pollen; amazing hive substance propolis; how bees bight; Portsea Estate bee sanctuary.…
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That's a wrap for the year. As a plague-weary world braces for another year 'getting by' with covid, here's a brief summary of 2021 on air, through the lens of Beyond Infinity. As ever, thanks for listening! And we'll be back in MMXXII.Af Piers Cunningham
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America Passes 800,000 Covid Deaths, As Omicron Accelerates
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Sydney daily covid cases rising sharply, with more omicron cases popping up. Data from South Africa suggest highly infectious omicron could overwhelm health systems even though it is less severe than delta; Pfizer vaccine less effective in preventing hospitalisation. Moderna to b…
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Victoria's Mounting Covid Death Toll
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Omicron more infectious than Delta, but Fauci optimistic; will be dominant UK strain in weeks not months. NYC vaccine mandates. Brazil's big turn around against covid. Studies confirm dire effects of missing school for kids. State ombudsman finds border closures 'inhumane and unj…
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On November 15, 2021 when Russia fired a hypersonic missile at its defunct COSMOS-1408 satellite in orbit just above the International Space Station, the impact created a field of at least 1500 pieces of identifiable debris, endangering its own cosmonauts aboard the station, as well as vital communication, weather and earth observation satellites. …
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Comparing vaccine efficacy between Delta and Omicron. Potential benefits of new variant. International response to WHO's 'variant of concern'. Lightening worldwide spread. Germany considering mandatory vaccines. Lessons of Omicron. Differences between Omicron and earlier Covid va…
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Mass Protests As Europe Begins Another Covid Winter Of Discontent
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Vic-NSW Covid situations compared. Fortress New Zealand closed to Aussies until 2022. Mystery of unvaccinated Africa doing fine with Covid. Central Europe reacts to more lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Vaccinating kids as young as 5 years old. AstraZeneca claims its covid vaccine…
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Learning To Live With The Plague, Victoria Nears 90% Fully Vaccinated
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Cases and hospitalisations trending down as Victoria approaches 90% fully vaccinated. Increased covid on the Mornington Peninsula, especially among school kids. Low cost anti-viral pills for the developing world. Pandemic winners - super yachts and private jets for the super rich…
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Two Worlds - The Vaxed And The Unvaxed
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Australia passes 80% fully vaccinated nationally. Further limits on the unvaccinated for non-essential retail shopping. Combining PCR and RAT tests for comparison of accuracy. State covid numbers compared. NZ and Russian covid situations.…
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Covid Update - As Victoria Opens Up, Its Government Moves To Cement Rule By Decree
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer.International students heading back to Australia as borders re-open; China's Delta crackdown; Pfizer profits soar as booster rollout gathers momentum; Emergency pandemic powers before Victorian parliament attract sharp criticism from top lawyers.…
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Remote Collaboration - Rick Springfield Discusses His Latest Album
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Piers talks with Australian-American musician and actor Rick Springfield about his latest album ‘Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz'. A joint project with singer-songwriter Russell Morris, the new album has been #1 on the ARIA Top 20 Jazz and Blues Albums Chart. In this wide-ranging interview Rick explains the album's 'Day of the Dead' inspiration …
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Lockdown Radio - Questioning The Media's Role In Victoria's Pandemic Response
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer.More freedoms as Victoria nears 80% double vaxed; Leunig fired after 55 years at The Age over censored cartoon; lack of transparency from Victorian government; controversial permanent pandemic powers set to pass into law.Af Piers Cunningham
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Lockdown Radio - Restrictions Ease As Victoria Achieves 70% Double Vaxed
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer. Victoria passes 70% double dosed; Mornington Peninsula vax rate well ahead of many other Melbourne LGAs. Booster jabs being rolled out in Europe, US and Israel as double dose protection wanes over time, but should 3rd doses be going to poorer countries instead? Boom times for Pfi…
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Lockdown Radio - Stark Contrast Between Victoria And NSW
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Live-to-air radio interview with Piers Cunningham and Brendon Telfer.Authorities lose control of Delta as lockdown fatigue intensifies in Melbourne. Who is dying of covid? Health system shortcomings. Sydney crisis management better than Melbourne's. New Zealand, world's last bastion of covid-free living, abandons its eradication policy.…
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