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Jan McDonald

Professor of Environmental Law, University of Tasmania

Jan McDonald specialises in environmental law, with particular expertise in the legal and policy dimensions of climate change adaptation.
Before coming to Tasmania in 2010, Jan was Director of the Griffith Climate Change Response Program and Professor of Environmental Law and Policy in the Griffith School of Environment. In 2007, she led Griffith University’s successful bid to host the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and served as NCCARF Establishment Director in 2007-2008. She also led Griffith University’s role the South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Intitiative (SEQ-CARI) - a partnership between the Queensland and Australian Governments, the CSIRO Climate Adaptation National Research Flagship, Griffith University, University of the Sunshine Coast and University of Queensland which aimed to provide research knowledge to enable the SEQ region to adapt and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Jan has consulted to local, state and national governments on environmental and climate change adaptation issues and has worked closely with Clarence Council to identify the legal issues arising from various adaptation options. In 2004-2005, Jan served as Environment Program Manager for the United Nations Development Program’s Pacific office, in Solomon Islands and has served as a consultant to the Government of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, as well as several environmental non-government organizations.

Since her arrival in Tasmania and the Faculty of Law in 2011, Jan has won three competitive grants relating to climate change adaptation and has recently been appointed to the Tasmanian Climate Action Council. Her current research spans the legal and policy dimensions of climate change adaptation, including urban planning and coastal management, liability and insurance issues.

Geoengineering the Great Barrier Reef needs strong rules

Aug 01, 2018 14:08 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The Great Barrier Reef has experienced extensive coral bleaching over the past two years. Faced with this reality, scientists are proposing a range of options to save the reef. A recent conference showcased new...

Economy

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

Politics

US Urges China, Russia to Reject AI Control in Nuclear Arms, Align with Global Norms

Paul Dean, a senior U.S. arms control official, emphasized the critical need for China and Russia to join the U.S. in declaring that humans will always decide on the deployment of nuclear weapons, not artificial...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’

Most American workers are hired at will: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party...

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Technology

Hyundai Motor Scales Up Hydrogen EV Truck Business in the US

Hyundai Motor Company is expanding its hydrogen EV truck operations in the United States to take the lead in this line of business in the region. As part of the initiative, South Korean vehicle manufacturers are offering...

Kakao Enhances AI Focus, Merges Kakao Brain Into Core Operations

South Koreas Kakao Corporation finally decided to absorb Kakao Brains AI unit. The tech and internet giant is taking over its AI research and development (RD) business, which will include all of the departments staff and...

Shiba Inu (SHIB) Team Insider Unravels Key Burn Mystery: Exclusive Details

In a revealing discussion, Lucie, a member of the Shiba Inu team, sheds light on the enigmatic key burns orchestrated by the projects founder, Ryoshi. Lucies insights, shared in response to community inquiries, clarify...

World's Largest Electric Container Ship Sets Sail with 50,000 kWh Battery Power

COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned firm, has unveiled what it calls the worlds largest river-to-sea electric container vessel. The Green Water 01 is a 10,000-ton+ electric vessel that sets a new standard for...

Tesla Drivers Get $4k Off 2024 Chevy Blazer EV; Costco Auto Slashes Prices on New EVs

Tesla owners rejoice as Chevrolet rolls out an unprecedented $4,000 discount on the 2024 Blazer EV, open to Tesla drivers and a quirky list of EV owners. The electric vehicle market got more enticing with incentives...