John Holmes
@jhaue.bsky.social
On unceded lands of the Kulin Nations, Melbourne au
Climate, environment, natural sciences, social justice, democracy, health.
b, 313 ppm CO2, now 422
Climate, environment, natural sciences, social justice, democracy, health.
b, 313 ppm CO2, now 422
‘Mad fishing’: the super-size fleet of squid catchers plundering the high seas
Every year a Chinese-dominated flotilla big enough to be seen from space pillages the rich marine life on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned part of the South Atlantic off Argentina
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Every year a Chinese-dominated flotilla big enough to be seen from space pillages the rich marine life on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned part of the South Atlantic off Argentina
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Mad fishing’: the super-size fleet of squid catchers plundering the high seas
Every year a Chinese-dominated flotilla big enough to be seen from space pillages the rich marine life on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned part of the South Atlantic off Argentina
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:46 AM
‘Mad fishing’: the super-size fleet of squid catchers plundering the high seas
Every year a Chinese-dominated flotilla big enough to be seen from space pillages the rich marine life on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned part of the South Atlantic off Argentina
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Every year a Chinese-dominated flotilla big enough to be seen from space pillages the rich marine life on Mile 201, a largely ungoverned part of the South Atlantic off Argentina
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Worst heatwave since black summer forecast for more than half of Australia
Fire danger expected to reach extreme levels in South Australia, Victoria and inland NSW this week
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Fire danger expected to reach extreme levels in South Australia, Victoria and inland NSW this week
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Worst heatwave since black summer forecast for more than half of Australia
Fire danger expected to reach extreme levels in South Australia, Victoria and inland NSW this week
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Worst heatwave since black summer forecast for more than half of Australia
Fire danger expected to reach extreme levels in South Australia, Victoria and inland NSW this week
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Fire danger expected to reach extreme levels in South Australia, Victoria and inland NSW this week
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Tropical Cyclone Jenna the second system to lash Cocos Keeling Islands in less than two weeks www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Cocos Keeling Islands endure second tropical cyclone in less than two weeks
Residents of the islands clean up following heavy rain and winds brought by Tropical Cyclone Jenna, less than two weeks another system battered the region on Christmas day.
www.abc.net.au
January 6, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Tropical Cyclone Jenna the second system to lash Cocos Keeling Islands in less than two weeks www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Vic: Watch and Act - Bushfire - Leave Now - Thologolong
emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/?=&b...
emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/?=&b...
Incidents and Warnings - VicEmergency
Victoria's combined source of emergency information and warnings, helping the community to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies across the state.
emergency.vic.gov.au
January 5, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Vic: Watch and Act - Bushfire - Leave Now - Thologolong
emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/?=&b...
emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/?=&b...
As Victoria's grassland dries with warmer weather, the CFA warns of increased fire risk www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
As Victoria's grassland dries, the CFA warns of increased fire risk
Grassland in Victoria has dried significantly since September, including in the north-west of the state and in outer Melbourne, putting firefighters on edge.
www.abc.net.au
January 5, 2026 at 10:43 PM
As Victoria's grassland dries with warmer weather, the CFA warns of increased fire risk www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Who's fielding at deep square leg?
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Locals question whether North East Link caused sinkhole at oval
A sinkhole has opened up in Banyule Flats Reserve, close to where a North East Link tunnel boring machine is operating.
www.abc.net.au
January 5, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Who's fielding at deep square leg?
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
The Guardian view on the US seizure of Maduro: Trump has turned the world’s superpower into a rogue state
The illegal abduction of Venezuela’s president, and threat to ‘run’ his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the region
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The illegal abduction of Venezuela’s president, and threat to ‘run’ his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the region
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the US seizure of Maduro: Trump has turned the world’s superpower into a rogue state | Editorial
Editorial: The illegal abduction of Venezuela’s president, and threat to ‘run’ his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the region
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 4:01 AM
The Guardian view on the US seizure of Maduro: Trump has turned the world’s superpower into a rogue state
The illegal abduction of Venezuela’s president, and threat to ‘run’ his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the region
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The illegal abduction of Venezuela’s president, and threat to ‘run’ his country, is a dangerous act. Its repercussions will be felt far beyond the region
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by John Holmes
Remember when they renamed the forestry department that was meant to be disbanded sustainable forestry department and it commenced burning all the old growth forests in Vic?
It was only last year.
It was only last year.
A growing body of evidence suggests timber certification schemes aimed at minimising damage to the environment in Australia could be failing to protect forests.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Sustainable timber certification under fire
Questions are being raised about sustainable timber certification in Australia.
www.abc.net.au
January 5, 2026 at 12:50 AM
Remember when they renamed the forestry department that was meant to be disbanded sustainable forestry department and it commenced burning all the old growth forests in Vic?
It was only last year.
It was only last year.
A growing body of evidence suggests timber certification schemes aimed at minimising damage to the environment in Australia could be failing to protect forests.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Sustainable timber certification under fire
Questions are being raised about sustainable timber certification in Australia.
www.abc.net.au
January 5, 2026 at 12:47 AM
A growing body of evidence suggests timber certification schemes aimed at minimising damage to the environment in Australia could be failing to protect forests.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Reposted by John Holmes
for anyone who hasn't yet listened to Marc Fennell's excellent podcast "Stuff The British Stole" (or watched the acompanying tv series):
pca.st/podcast/a728...
pca.st/podcast/a728...
January 4, 2026 at 11:43 PM
for anyone who hasn't yet listened to Marc Fennell's excellent podcast "Stuff The British Stole" (or watched the acompanying tv series):
pca.st/podcast/a728...
pca.st/podcast/a728...
Rufous scrub-bird DNA project aims to safeguard ancient and elusive songbird
Fewer than 2,000 of the songbirds remain, with bushfire posing the main threat to their existence.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Fewer than 2,000 of the songbirds remain, with bushfire posing the main threat to their existence.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
DNA project aims to save ancient songbird
The Rufous scrub-bird is one of the world's oldest surviving species of songbird, but scientists believe fewer than 2,000 of the birds remain.
www.abc.net.au
January 4, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Rufous scrub-bird DNA project aims to safeguard ancient and elusive songbird
Fewer than 2,000 of the songbirds remain, with bushfire posing the main threat to their existence.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Fewer than 2,000 of the songbirds remain, with bushfire posing the main threat to their existence.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
‘It’s time for healing’: remains of Aboriginal ancestors traded as curiosities are on their way home to country
Returning the stolen bodies of Indigenous Australians is ‘the most important act of reconciliation’
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Returning the stolen bodies of Indigenous Australians is ‘the most important act of reconciliation’
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
‘It’s time for healing’: remains of Aboriginal ancestors traded as curiosities are on their way home to country
Returning the stolen bodies of Indigenous Australians is ‘the most important act of reconciliation’, but museums can’t keep pace with the rate of surrender
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:05 PM
‘It’s time for healing’: remains of Aboriginal ancestors traded as curiosities are on their way home to country
Returning the stolen bodies of Indigenous Australians is ‘the most important act of reconciliation’
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Returning the stolen bodies of Indigenous Australians is ‘the most important act of reconciliation’
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
A lot of food for thought about travel consumerism. What is it all for, given the environmental consequences of so much long distance travel?
January 4, 2026 at 7:25 PM
A lot of food for thought about travel consumerism. What is it all for, given the environmental consequences of so much long distance travel?
Why can’t we admit to not enjoying a bad holiday?
theconversation.com/why-cant-we-...
theconversation.com/why-cant-we-...
Why can’t we admit to not enjoying a bad holiday?
Admitting you didn’t enjoy your holiday is surprisingly taboo – even more so in the age of social media.
theconversation.com
January 4, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Why can’t we admit to not enjoying a bad holiday?
theconversation.com/why-cant-we-...
theconversation.com/why-cant-we-...
With thousands of feral horses gone, Kosciuszko’s fragile ecosystems are slowly recovering
theconversation.com/with-thousan...
theconversation.com/with-thousan...
With thousands of feral horses gone, Kosciuszko’s fragile ecosystems are slowly recovering
With feral horses gone, fragile alpine areas are no longer being trampled by hard hooves. But Kosciuszko’s landscapes will take decades to recover.
theconversation.com
January 4, 2026 at 7:06 PM
With thousands of feral horses gone, Kosciuszko’s fragile ecosystems are slowly recovering
theconversation.com/with-thousan...
theconversation.com/with-thousan...
A current affair: how ocean currents are shifting with climate change
They don’t call it the world ocean for nothing. It’s a massive, interconnected system with water moving in complicated patterns.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
They don’t call it the world ocean for nothing. It’s a massive, interconnected system with water moving in complicated patterns.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
A current affair: how ocean currents are shifting with climate change | News | ConnectSci
connectsci.au
January 4, 2026 at 10:41 AM
A current affair: how ocean currents are shifting with climate change
They don’t call it the world ocean for nothing. It’s a massive, interconnected system with water moving in complicated patterns.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
They don’t call it the world ocean for nothing. It’s a massive, interconnected system with water moving in complicated patterns.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
Ancient lungfish discovered in China is "missing link" to tetrapod ancestors
Fossils of an ancient lungfish in China could help explain how jawed fish nearly 400 million years ago (mya) evolved into the first vertebrates to walk on land – our ancestors.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
Fossils of an ancient lungfish in China could help explain how jawed fish nearly 400 million years ago (mya) evolved into the first vertebrates to walk on land – our ancestors.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
Ancient lungfish discovered in China is missing link to tetrapod ancestors | News | ConnectSci
connectsci.au
January 4, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Ancient lungfish discovered in China is "missing link" to tetrapod ancestors
Fossils of an ancient lungfish in China could help explain how jawed fish nearly 400 million years ago (mya) evolved into the first vertebrates to walk on land – our ancestors.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
Fossils of an ancient lungfish in China could help explain how jawed fish nearly 400 million years ago (mya) evolved into the first vertebrates to walk on land – our ancestors.
connectsci.au/news/news-pa...
Reposted by John Holmes
More and more AUKUS as a defence policy is essentially “our best way to stop being invaded is to keep bribing the USA”
January 4, 2026 at 1:52 AM
More and more AUKUS as a defence policy is essentially “our best way to stop being invaded is to keep bribing the USA”
Reposted by John Holmes
“The revenue recouped by winding-up the concessions should be redirected to developing Australia’s modular housing industry, it argued….without substantial and real changes to our mindset and to policy, a whole generation is going to miss out”
Union calls for end to tax breaks that make Australian housing ‘a vehicle for hoarding wealth’
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Union calls for end to tax breaks that make Australian housing ‘a vehicle for hoarding wealth’
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:50 PM
“The revenue recouped by winding-up the concessions should be redirected to developing Australia’s modular housing industry, it argued….without substantial and real changes to our mindset and to policy, a whole generation is going to miss out”
Top End dams overflow as parks come to life in the wake of Cyclone Fina www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Top End dams overflow as parks come to life in the wake of Cyclone Fina
The Northern Territory's Top End has been transformed into a lush green paradise by a cyclone and a monsoon that have brought an unusually heavy start to the annual wet season.
www.abc.net.au
January 3, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Top End dams overflow as parks come to life in the wake of Cyclone Fina www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Scientists, landowners working on Tasmania's Bruny Island to help forty-spotted pardalote species www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
'So, I had this idea': Scientists coat nest feathers with insecticide to fight parasite
Donning a helmet and a well-equipped harness, Dr Fernanda Alves looks like she is set to take on an extreme sport. Instead, she is climbing trees to check nesting boxes for a tiny and very rare bird.
www.abc.net.au
January 3, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Scientists, landowners working on Tasmania's Bruny Island to help forty-spotted pardalote species www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Mystery pink slime on secluded Tasmanian beach prompts fears of potential algal bloom
Environment Protection Authority says blooms are ‘natural occurrence’ as marine scientist warns it has grown ‘significantly’ in recent hours
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Environment Protection Authority says blooms are ‘natural occurrence’ as marine scientist warns it has grown ‘significantly’ in recent hours
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Mystery pink slime on secluded Tasmanian beach prompts fears of potential algal bloom
Environment Protection Authority says blooms are ‘natural occurrence’ as marine scientist warns it has grown ‘significantly’ in recent hours
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:27 PM
Mystery pink slime on secluded Tasmanian beach prompts fears of potential algal bloom
Environment Protection Authority says blooms are ‘natural occurrence’ as marine scientist warns it has grown ‘significantly’ in recent hours
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Environment Protection Authority says blooms are ‘natural occurrence’ as marine scientist warns it has grown ‘significantly’ in recent hours
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
(In short, no, but they will probabbly get away with it)
Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?
International law experts expect Washington to claim self-defence and face little serious pushback
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?
International law experts expect Washington to claim self-defence and face little serious pushback
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?
International law experts expect Washington to claim self-defence and face little serious pushback
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:50 PM
(In short, no, but they will probabbly get away with it)
Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?
International law experts expect Washington to claim self-defence and face little serious pushback
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Is there any legal justification for the US attack on Venezuela?
International law experts expect Washington to claim self-defence and face little serious pushback
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Union calls for end to tax breaks that make Australian housing ‘a vehicle for hoarding wealth’
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Union calls for end to tax breaks that make Australian housing ‘a vehicle for hoarding wealth’
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Union calls for end to tax breaks that make Australian housing ‘a vehicle for hoarding wealth’
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Manufacturing workers union wants capital gains tax discount to be reduced and then phased out and an effective end to negative gearing
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...