4 October 2026
The Resilience Map: Tasmania Has Australia's Weakest Health Resilience and Strongest Community Ties
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RedBridge looks at the new Australian Resilience Index, which measures how well communities can absorb shocks like floods, job losses and rate rises. A quarter of Tasmanians live in low-resilience communities, the highest share of any state, so the data shows where future climate shocks are likely to hit hardest.
RedBridge writes on its Substack about the new Australian Resilience Index. The index was built by Zurich, Mandala, RedBridge and Accent Research, and it scores 2,261 communities on their ability to take a hit and recover, whether that's a job loss, a health scare, a flood or a rate rise. Read more on RedBridge's Substack.
The index scores communities on three things: financial, health and social resilience. It finds that low resilience comes in two forms. In the outer suburbs of the big cities, the problem is mostly money and weak social ties. In the regions, the problem is mostly health.
Tasmania shows the regional pattern across the whole state. A quarter of Tasmanians live in low or very low resilience communities, the highest share of any state. Tasmania also has the weakest health resilience of any state or territory. Fifty-nine per cent of Tasmanians live in a community with low or very low health resilience, compared with 23 per cent nationally. Bridgewater and Gagebrook have the lowest health score of any community in Australia. Braddon has the second-weakest health resilience of any electorate. Mid-life women are also exposed: 42 per cent of Tasmanian women aged 35 to 49 fall into a low or very low resilience group.
There is real strength too. Tasmania has the strongest social resilience and the highest volunteering rate of any state. As the piece puts it, a community with strong ties and poor health needs services. It does not need to be rebuilt.
Why it matters for climate action: Floods, fires, heatwaves and rising costs will not land evenly. This index shows, suburb by suburb, which communities have no buffer when something goes wrong. For Tasmania, building climate resilience means getting health and mental health services closer to people. It also means supporting the community networks that already hold our towns together, and putting the most effort into places like Bridgewater, Gagebrook and the north-west coast.
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22 October 2026
NSW Passes Landmark Laws for Human Composting
The Guardian writes on the environmental implications of new end-of-life laws in NSW. Read more on The Guardian.
In a significant step for sustainable living and circular economy principles, NSW has passed legislation allowing for natural organic reduction, also known as human composting. This process transforms a body into fertile soil over approximately 60 days, avoiding the energy-intensive emissions associated with cremation and the land-use requirements of traditional burial.
For Tasmania, this highlights the growing importance of finding low-impact ways to integrate human life cycles with the natural environment. As we move towards a more holistic view of sustainability, even our end-of-life choices can contribute to the restoration of local ecosystems rather than depleting them.
21 October 2026
"Wandering towards dystopia": CSIRO scientists call for open talk on climate impacts
Renew Economy reports on a frank internal CSIRO discussion about the threats of a warming world and how to explain them to the public. Read more on Renew Economy.
At a livestreamed internal workshop, Dan Metcalf, head of CSIRO's environment research unit, said scientists may need to take responsibility for raising ecosystem collapse openly, "because by the time it becomes the bleeding obvious, it's too late." He raised the prospect of northern Australia being depopulated because it becomes too hot, too dry and too fire-prone, and of corals in the northern Great Barrier Reef that "all turn white forever." A CSIRO spokesperson later said he was responding to a hypothetical, scenario-based question.
The discussion follows deep CSIRO staff cuts, including at least a third of its climate modellers. The article also notes that the first National Climate Risk Assessment was delayed until after the 2025 election and got little close attention from the media. Senator David Pocock and MP Zali Steggall both called for more investment in climate science. Pocock wants permanent, indexed funding for CSIRO. Steggall is pushing for a legislated National Climate Risk Assessment framework and a National Climate Risk Commission.
Why it matters: Communities can't prepare for risks that nobody talks about honestly. Tasmanians need strong, well-funded climate science and clear public advice to plan for adaptation and resilience. This piece also shows why cutting emissions quickly still matters, because it helps avoid the worst of these futures. The CSIRO spokesperson pointed out that climate change ranks only 11th among Australians' concerns. An open, honest public conversation is clearly overdue.
18 October 2026
Zali Steggall's Climate Resilience Action Plan
Zali Steggall, the Independent Federal Member for Warringah, has published a Climate Resilience Action Plan. Read the plan on Zali Steggall's website.
Tasmanians are already dealing with climate impacts like bushfires, floods and coastal erosion. That makes federal resilience and adaptation policy important to our communities, and independent MPs have played a strong part in pushing climate action in Parliament.
We encourage members to read the plan for themselves. Think about what it could mean for Tasmania, and what our own representatives should be doing to help communities prepare.
12 October 2026
Building Digital Resilience: Grassroots Alternatives to Big Tech
ABC News writes about the rise of digital sovereignty and grassroots efforts to build resilient, decentralized tech networks. Read more on ABC News.
As climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, our reliance on centralized, foreign-owned digital infrastructure becomes a significant vulnerability. For Tasmania, building local resilience—whether through renewable energy or decentralized communication networks—is a key part of adapting to a changing climate.
The article highlights how community organizers are using tools like the Raspberry Pi to create local, renewable-powered servers. These 'hubs' could serve as a lifeline during power and internet outages, ensuring communities remain connected even when the main grid fails.
"It does require a little bit of people saying, 'I'm going to set a boundary here and say no to some of those less ethical options.'"
- Digital Sovereignty: Taking control of your own hardware and software.
- Resilience: Building systems that can function independently of massive, centralized providers.
- Community-led: Moving away from surveillance capitalism toward ethical, local alternatives.