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Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , What factors are associated with never initiating smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16-24 years?: Evidence from the Next Generation Youth Wellbeing Study(2026) Rahman, Tabassum; Williams, Robyn; Davis, Katiska; Whitby, Justine; Fields, Ted; Eades, Francine; Gubhaju, Lina; Heris, Christina L.; Graham, Simon; McKay, Christopher D.; Macniven, Rona; Liu, Bette; Ivers, Rebecca; Joshy, Grace; Banks, Emily; Eades, SandraIntroduction Despite reductions in tobacco smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples since 2004, particularly among youth, smoking remains elevated in Indigenous communities -highlighting the importance of understanding why some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people never take up smoking.Methods Taking a strength-based approach and using data from 473 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 16-24 years joining the Next Generation Youth Wellbeing Study (Western and Central Australia, New South Wales), 2018-2020, age-, sex-, and family-adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) for never-smoking relative to sociodemographic, health, social, and other factors across socioecological levels were estimated through Poisson regression.Results Overall, 45% of participants had never smoked tobacco; 31% reported current daily/weekly/monthly smoking, indicating a normative shift. Among those who ever smoked, mean initiation age was 15. Never-smoking was greater with: younger age [16-17-years (PR = 1.9; 95% Confidence Interval = 1.5-2.5), 18-20 (1.3;1.0-1.8)]; completing >= Year 10 (1.8;1.1-3.0); no interaction with (1.9;1.5-2.5) or being charged by police (2.3;1.5-3.3); never being imprisoned (2.5;1.2-4.8); not having friends imprisoned (1.7;1.3-2.2); having non-smoker friends (1.8;1.4-2.2); never vaping (5.7;3.2-10.1) or smoking marijuana (7.9;4.9-12.8), never having tried alcohol (2.4;2.0-3.0); higher physical activity (1.4;1.1-1.7); and lower psychological distress (1.3;1.1-1.6), never being diagnosed with depression (1.5;1.1-2.1) or anxiety (1.7;1.2-2.4), and having "good-to-excellent" perceived health (1.5;1.1-2.1), compared with not having these attributes.Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of strengthening family, community, and social environments that protect against smoking initiation and support smoking cessation, and call for sustained structural and policy reforms to address systemic drivers of tobacco use.Implications Preventing smoking uptake and long-term use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth will continue to reinforce a tobacco-free norm and improve long-term tobacco-related outcomes for the total Indigenous population. Ongoing investment in tobacco control and effective smoking cessation initiatives and new initiatives that build on the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth are warranted. Tailored approaches should enable protective factors at population-, community-, and individual-levels. Initiatives may include programs to delay initiation, further promotion of youth-friendly, culturally appropriate cessation support, and a holistic focus on wellbeing embedded in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , Earle Page: Australian Developmentalist(Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd, 2026) Wilks, StephenA succinct biography of Earle Page, surgeon, federal MP and minister, and first great leader of the Country Party, with stress on his views on Australian developmentalism.Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander quantitative research(Cambridge University Press, 2026) Lovett, Raymond; Brinckley, Makayla-May; Jones, RoxanneItem type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , Modelling the impact of long-acting monoclonal antibody, maternal vaccine and hybrid programs of RSV immunisation in temperate Western Australia(2026-06-20) Giannini, Fiona; Hogan, Alexandra B.; Blyth, Christopher C.; Glass, Kathryn; Moore, Hannah C.Background: Two RSV immunisations products: a maternal vaccine, Abrysvo, and a long-acting monoclonal antibody, nirsevimab, both designed to prevent RSV illness in infants, have recently become available. Modelling evidence is required to inform how to optimally use these products in immunisation programs to reduce the burden of RSV in young children. Methods: We extend a dynamic transmission model calibrated to RSV-hospitalisation data of children aged <5 years in temperate Western Australia (WA) to simulate a range of potential RSV immunisation programs. Using our model, we estimate the impact of both single-product and hybrid RSV immunisation programs. The analysis considers timing of administration, coverage levels and targeting of high-risk groups. Impact on RSV burden is analysed in the context of the WA setting and the possible significant cost differences between the two products. Results: All programs analysed were effective in reducing RSV burden. Programs using nirsevimab for newborn infants at similar coverage levels to the Abrysvo programs, averted more RSV-hospitalisations annually. Seasonal programs that focused on protection during high RSV activity and programs targeting high-risk infants had the lowest number needed to immunise to avert one RSV-hospitalisation. When dose cost is considered alongside program impact on RSV burden, we find evidence to support further economic analysis of hybrid programs as they could mitigate the cost differential between the two products while remaining highly effective in reducing RSV burden. Conclusions: Our study is the first to comprehensively analyse hybrid RSV immunisation programs that use Abrysvo and nirsevimab. RSV immunisation programs can substantially reduce the burden of RSV in young children. Our modelling analysis provides evidence on immunisation type, timing, coverage, high-risk groups and dosage cost that will support decision makers and can be used in economic evaluations.Item type: Publication , Access status: Metadata only , The ADF Menzies built(Melbourne University Press, 2025) Carr, Andrew; Dean, PeterIn the early 1960s, in response to Indonesia’s Konfrontasi, the government of Sir Robert Menzies overhauled the Australian armed forces, in acquiring submarines, fighters and strike aircraft, and expanding both the surface fleet and army. Though this era is seen as the apex of the ‘Forward Defence’ period, Menzies’s decisions were driven by a need to provide for the direct defence of Australian territory, and the resulting force structure he ordered would form the foundation of the later ‘Defence of Australia’ policies. This force structure and its underlying strategic logic would endure across the rest of the twentieth and well into the twenty-first century. This chapter examines the Menzies government’s contribution to the structure of the Australian armed forces in response to the Konfrontasi crisis, and its enduring legacy for Australian defence policy.