Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

David Neate

@neatedavid.bsky.social

270 followers 270 following 230 posts

Retired teacher, living on the land of the Wadawurrung people near Ballarat, Victoria. Working with my local Landcare Group to restore and protect our environment keeps me grounded. Caring for creation is an outworking of Christian faith.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 12h

Still voting for Team #SpottedPardalote - with a couple setting up home on our back verandah, I have to be in their team for #AustralianBirdOfTheYear.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 13h

So that's how the Australian Parliament rewards a Senator with integrity and the guts to let us know how compromised things can be there. Pitiful. @davidpocock.bsky.social , thank you for all you do.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 17h

If only we could go back in time and say "No, please don't" to those who introduced the fox to Australia. Our quiet nights where once there would have been the energetic presence of little marsupials is their legacy. All so some faux land barons could have something easier to chase than kangaroos.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 1d

A full two months after our jonquils heralded the close of winter, their cousins the hoop petticoat daffodils (Narcissus bulbocodium) are brightening a grey mid-spring day. So "my heart with pleasure fills", etc.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 1d

Now it's apple blossom time. Chiming away in the background is one of the crimson rosellas 🦜 that will be back in autumn to strip all the crab apples. Just have to enjoy the flowers, and the summer shade ahead.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 1d

3. The sad fact is every extinction under their mad rush to clear & mine habitats will have Watt's name, not the Opposition's, on it. And, lest he beat all the blame, our generation's shame will be in the stewardship we failed to enact while we could.
Ah well, off to do #Landcare stuff again...

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 1d

2. I questioned the crazy decision to forfeit emu-wren habitat on Eyre Peninsula for rocket testing, of all things.
I think Labor are working on the 'Unicorse principle' ("Aaaand - whyshouldicare?") - that we fundamentally needn't care about the depleted ecology we leave to future generations. /3

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 1d

While Murray Watt is the latest in a long line of incompetent protectors of the environment, from both sides of politics, he is just the buffoon in the hot seat. The @australianlabor.bsky.social party is 100% behind him - I had confirmation of this when I contacted my local member a while back. /2

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 2d

Just finished my September buy: #TheImpossibleFortune by @richardosman1.bsky.social.
As ever, this #ThursdayMurderClub tale was superb. I loved Richard's wry insights into the human condition. From Ch. 46:
[Danny] "has what passes for pride in men who grew up with pride denied to them." #booksky

The cover of the latest in the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman - "The Impossible Fortune".

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 2d

3. So in the end we had to walk outside, rain or shine, so that we couldn't break the law by our kids walking past a gaming room.
There are provisions & 'protections' like that all around the public face of the many forms of gaming. Whether the Vine Inn or the AFL, it's integral to their profits.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 2d

2. So we set off down the corridor to the restaurant, past the gaming room. "Oh no! You can't take children past there!" Well no, I replied, I don't wish to take the kids gambling - we're walking along this corridor to get to our meal. Panic stations; threats that the police would be called. /3

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 2d

The normalisation of gambling runs deep.
Over 20 years ago, we were staying at the Vine Inn, Nuriootpa, South Australia, with our young family. The food at the Inn was great, & we were ready for dinner. In their wisdom, the proprietors had built a gaming room between the guest wing & restaurant. /2

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 5d

www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/mov...
Occasionally, you watch a movie that not only doesn't disappoint, but draws you in to imagine what the lives of the characters would feel like. Not finished yet!
#TheLivesofOthers is one such film. So fortunate to have it streaming on Australia's #SBS.

Watch The Lives of Others

Watch The Lives of Others for free with SBS On Demand, your ultimate destination for diverse entertainment. Stream now!

Reposted by David Neate

The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 6d

You said it, Ronni.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 5d

For a while, I've seen the role of the #ABC, in an age where the "big" sports are captured by commercial media, as being the chronicler of our smaller, but nevertheless more 'on-the-world-stage' successful, sports. Field #hockey is the most obvious. Many others, like #softball here, could be named.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 7d

Agreed! One of our photos of #TeamLab from last November.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 7d

Now, my esteemed @abcnewsbot.bsky.social , please go away & do some historical analysis. It'll be easier for you than me.
For instance, in Victoria, what was the effect on land values:
- the Latrobe Valley power stations were connected to the grid?
- Anglesea PS was connected to Alcoa Portland?

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 7d

OzCLO – The Australian Computational & Linguistics Olympiad share.google/YzH0z3DyvPkH...
There are some great para-school programs out there for students who are curious & eager to stretch their thinking. I was lucky enough to manage my school's involvement in #OzCLO. Much quirky, mind-opening fun.

OzCLO – The Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 10d

The gentle sunlight of a #spring day filters through wattle blossom and new leaves on the crab apple - soon to be in flower. My favourite spot for the Birdlife Australia #AussieBirdCount later this month. Trees are already full of chirping. #Ballarat

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 13d

In the background he's painted for #Costa's portrait, artist Rob McHaffie has captured perfectly Costa's and #GardeningAustralia 's support for Landcare and greater environmental understanding. And it's a great pic of Costa too.

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 13d

Loads of them here - #Floriade, #Canberra, on a glorious spring day with the floral displays at their peak and a superbly creative juggler entertaining us.

Reposted by David Neate

Resist 🕎🍉 @antizionistjew.bsky.social · 13d

#BREAKING | Greta Thunberg: “I'm not scared of Israel. I’m scared of a world that has seemingly lost all sense of humanity.”

David Neate @neatedavid.bsky.social · 14d

Congratulations to a most worthy recipient. Tony Rinaudo's book #TheForestUnderground is a marvellous record of a man of faith, perception & determination, and of the tremendous good that's been done around the world as a result. @worldvision.bsky.social

Reposted by David Neate

John Holmes @jhaue.bsky.social · 16d

Old-fashioned economic thinking is driving biodiversity loss—study calls for shift in how we value nature phys.org/news/2025-09... via @physorg_com

Old-fashioned economic thinking is driving biodiversity loss—study calls for shift in how we value nature

Old-fashioned economic thinking is driving biodiversity loss, according to a new international study led by Aberystwyth University academics, which calls for a fundamental shift in how nature is value...

Reposted by David Neate

mr dog @firstdogonthemoon.bsky.social · 17d

It's the return of First Dog on the Moon's Spoken Cartoons. Testing to see if it works... youtu.be/XCTyvpAvsG8

YouTube video by firstdog onthemoon