Cultural hub, alternative news source, platform for independent music and training ground for broadcasters and activists, Brisbane’s iconic community radio station 4ZZZ has just turned 50 years old and its colourful evolution has been chronicled in a new book.
Drawing on archival material, interviews with volunteers and staff, and rare audio recordings, People Powered Radio: Fifty Years of Australian Community Radio 4ZZZ, traced how the station shaped and had been shaped by Brisbane’s communities over five decades, from rebellious beginnings in the 1970s to its thriving presence today.
4ZZZ began as a student-led initiative at the University of Queensland in 1975, created by young people passionate about music and political change, at a time when mainstream media rarely reflected local dissenting voices.
“In 1988, a conservative student union cut funding and forcibly evicted 4ZZZ from UQ, and volunteers literally reconnected the transmitter to stay on air,” Associate Professor Anderson said.
“Early shows such as Gay Waves and Murri Hour gave space to underrepresented communities and today’s programming still reflects this tradition with shows such as Tranzmission, run by and for the trans community.”
4ZZZ was instrumental in uplifting Brisbane’s music scene long before commercial stations took notice, playing bands such as The Saints, The Go-Betweens, and countless underground acts that shaped local culture.
Despite many challenges, 4ZZZ has stayed independent and community-driven for over half a century, a testament to volunteer power and grassroots support.
Today, while commercial radio in Australia undergoes a radical transformation driven by the digital landscape, Associate Professor Anderson said community radio continues to thrive.
“Community radio is in robust health with more than 450 not-for-profit community broadcast services nationwide, drawing nearly five million weekly listeners,” she said.
“The sector’s significance is supported by new multi-year government funding of around $27 million from 2025–26, strengthening its capacity to amplify under-represented voices and sustain volunteer-driven media that enriches cultural life, empowers communities and reinforces media diversity across urban, regional and remote Australia.”
4ZZZ in Fortitude Valley today
National parks are public conservation assets, created to protect biodiversity and provide affordable access to nature for all.
But, new research published in npjBiodiversityhighlights a growing global issue: according to the authors, political decisions are increasingly favouring private tourism development inside national parks, undermining conservation, equity and public benefit.
“Nowhere is this more apparent than in Australia – particularly Queensland and Tasmania – placing the nation amongst the worst international examples of tourism-driven encroachment into protected areas,” lead author Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckley said.
Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckley.
Previous studies co-authored by Professor Buckley, from Griffith University’s School of Environment and Science, have found national parks played a vital role in public wellbeing, supporting mental health through recreation, family connection and access to nature.
“Park tracks, trails, and much of the camping infrastructure were funded by taxpayers, on the understanding that these landscapes would remain accessible to the public,” he said.
“Increasingly, however, governments are handing over publicly funded assets to private tourism operators, turning once-affordable experiences into premium products beyond the reach of ordinary families.”
High-profile examples included Tasmania’s Three Capes Track, costing $4,095 per person for a three-night twin-share walk; in the Whitsundays, the Ngaro Track was offered through a ‘preferred operator’ arrangement at $2,195 per person for two nights.
In each case, tracks and access corridors were publicly funded, with private lodges or exclusive camps established inside public parks – often supported by public subsidies.
While independent visitors could access some tracks, they were frequently excluded from prime campsites or facilities, effectively creating a two-tier park system.
These arrangements have sparked strong opposition from other tour operators and park advocates, who argued special deals distorted fair access and competition while diluting the public purpose of national parks.
“Granting exclusive rights to private operators excludes both public access but also small local tourism operators,” said co-author Professor Sonya Underdahl, from Edogawa University.
Outside of Australia, the research team also found large tourism interests increasingly influenced global conservation governance, including efforts to co-opt the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) tourism subgroup to promote private tourism development within protected areas.
Recent policy papers, proposed motions, and planned sessions at the 2025 World Conservation Congress raised concerns about conservation mandates being diluted in favour of industrial tourism.
“The ecological risks are well documented. Fixed-site tourism developments fragment habitats, damage vegetation, disturb wildlife, and introduce weeds, pathogens, and feral species,” Professor Buckley said.
“Even small developments can become bridgeheads for ongoing expansion, creating lasting public costs for private profit.
“Tourism has no inherent right to national parks; its role should be limited to carefully controlled support for public recreation, or in rare circumstances, to support conservation through adjacent communities. National parks must remain autonomous conservation assets, protected from political and commercial capture, and accessible to the public who fund and value them.”
GCI’s Dr Dominique De Andrade (pictured with Professor Scott Harrison, Pro Vice Chancellor (Arts, Education and Law) has received the Pro Vice Chancellor’s AEL Mid-Career Researcher Award.
Griffith Criminology Institute (GCI) researcher Dr Dominique De Andrade has been recognised for her influential work tackling criminal offending, public health and alcohol-related harm, receiving Griffith University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor’s AEL Mid-Career Researcher Award.
An ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow, Dr De Andrade has built a national reputation for delivering policy-relevant research with real-world impact, using innovative multi-sector data linkage to better understand the drivers of violence, harm and offending in nightlife environments.
In less than three years at Griffith University, she secured more than $3.5 million in competitive research funding, including an ARC DECRA and a major Queensland Government consultancy.
Dr De Andrade’s research has helped shape reforms and policing responses to alcohol-related harm, with evidence of impact extending nationally and internationally.
“The award reflects the growing recognition of research that directly supports evidence-based decision making and it highlights the impact that research can have in the real world,” she said.
“My work focuses on producing evidence that governments and communities can actually use to reduce violence and prevent harm.”
Real-world impact of research
Dr De Andrade’s body of work spans more than a decade and includes more than 50 peer-reviewed publications alongside a strong global research footprint with 115 collaborators across 21 institutions.
She said her current projects are focused on building safer societies through applied research that bridges criminology and public health.
“Alcohol-related harm and violence in entertainment precincts is a complex issue, it involves policy, policing, health, industry and community attitudes,” she said.
“By linking data across sectors, we can better understand what’s driving harm and what interventions work.”
GCI’s Director Professor Rebecca Wickes, researcher Dr Dominique De Andrade and Deputy Director Associate Professor Lyndel Bates (L-R).
Dr De Andrade currently leads major research informing Queensland’s approach to alcohol policy and nightlife regulation and is the only academic member of the Queensland Nightlife Economy Commissioner’s Industry Expert Advisory Panel.
GCI Director Professor Rebecca Wickes said the award highlights Griffith’s commitment to research that creates meaningful change.
“Dr De Andrade’s research is rigorous, innovative and deeply impactful,” she said.
“Her work on alcohol-related harm and nightlife violence has led to significant changes in alcohol policy in Australia.
“She exemplifies the kind of translational research that strengthens communities and informs policy at the highest levels.”
Researchers have arrived in Peachester State Forest to collect environmental samples to help unlock new insights into how planned burns shape and support ecosystems.
Decades-long research in Peachester State Forest has proven planned burns can have a positive impact on environmental health if they’re conducted at intervals specific to the ecosystem.
The program, which began in 1969, is Queensland’s longest-running fire regime study, allowing researchers to analyse 55 years of data.
Following a planned burn in Peachester in December, researchers have returned to the State forest to collect soil, leaf litter and insect samples to assess chemical and biological changes.
The analysis of decades of data shows different frequencies of low intensity planned burns influence carbon storage, nutrient ratios, nutrient cycling and associated microbial and invertebrate communities.
The ongoing study facilitates the use of planned burns for landscape management – a practice used by Australia’s First Nations peoples for thousands of years and continues to be used by QPWS.
Professor Chen said as part of the study, dedicated plots of the State forest are burned approximately every two years, others burned approximately every four years with the remainder unburned since 1969.
“This study is allowing researchers to understand the long-term benefits of repeated fire frequency on ecosystem diversity and function, soil carbon and nutrient stocks and soil health,” Professor Chen said.
“This study has shown that significant fire regime improvements can be made by adjusting the frequency of these burns.
“In Peachester, planned burns every four years are highly effective in supporting healthy native wet sclerophyll forests by introducing phosphorus, calcium and potassium into the soil.
“Planned burns are important to mitigate the impacts of bushfire, but our research has shown that they can improve protected areas if they are conducted at intervals that best suit the ecosystem.”
Distinguished Professor Chengrong Chen
QPWS Maleny Senior Ranger Donna Haslam said studies like Peachester provide science-based evidence of the best time to conduct planned burns in similar environments.
“When we’re planning a burn, we consider how the area’s plants, animals and ecosystems respond to fire and we tailor our plans to suit those needs,” Senior Ranger Haslam said.
“It’s important we continue to look at how the landscapes and ecosystems we’re working in respond to fire and planned burns to ensure our work is supporting a healthy environment.”
Other fire regime research projects are taking place in Bauple State Forest near Gympie and Tagalaka National Park in Far North Queensland to paint a clearer picture of how frequent planned burns influence Queensland’s ecosystems.
Rock Art Australia, a leading philanthropic organisation dedicated to protecting and advancing research into Australia’s rock art heritage, has appointed Professor Chris Clarkson as the Rock Art Australia Professorial Chair in Rock Art and Archaeology at Griffith University.
A Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and researcher with Griffith’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), Professor Clarkson is known for landmark work at Madjedbebe in western Arnhem Land.
Professor Clarkson on the site of Malangangerr in the Manbuyarra area of Kakadu National Park for a smoking ceremony.
In partnership with Mirarr Traditional Owners, his team uncovered evidence of human occupation dating to about 65,000 years ago, including early axes, seed-grinding tools and ochre processing, published in Nature.
“This Rock Art Australia fellowship and joint projects in Arnhem Land bring cutting-edge archaeological science together with Indigenous knowledge to understand how people responded to extreme climate change over tens of thousands of years,” Professor Clarkson said.
“These insights are directly relevant to Australia today, as we work with Traditional Owners to protect and manage nationally significant cultural landscapes and rock art under growing environmental and social pressure.
“By combining scientific research with community-led cultural knowledge, we’re creating new and inclusive narratives of Australia’s deep history on Manilikarr Country, on the eastern edge of Kakadu National Park.
“This work strengthens Indigenous capacity to manage Country, supports heritage preservation, and ensures all Australians can better understand and value the world’s oldest continuing cultural traditions.”
Professor Chris Clarkson
In this new role, he will lead research into Australia’s early history, strengthen Indigenous partnerships in rock art protection, and train future researchers.
“Professor Clarkson’s international research experience and outstanding reputation significantly increases ARCHE’s standing, including as a place for students, including Aboriginal peoples, to study and learn from one another,” said Professor Michael Petraglia, Director of ARCHE and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transforming Human Origins Research.
Rock Art Australia is also partnering on a new ARC Linkage Project on post-glacial sea-level rise at Red Lily, co-designed with Traditional Owners and ranger groups, integrating archaeology, environment and cultural knowledge to support heritage management.
Professor Clarkson with Dr Faisal Al-Jibrin from the Heritage Commission, Saudi Ministry of Culture, in the Rub Al Kali of Southern Saudi Arabia.
“Investing in this Professorial Chair demonstrates Rock Art Australia’s long-term commitment to advancing rigorous, world-class research alongside Indigenous-led stewardship of Australia’s rock art and cultural landscapes,” said Rock Art Australia Chair, Hon Ken Wyatt AM JP CitWA MAICD.
“At a time when these nationally significant places face growing environmental, development and social pressures, this investment helps ensure they are not only better understood, but effectively protected, responsibly managed, and sustained for future generations.
“The partnership with Griffith University and the ARC Centre of Excellence enables research at a scale, depth, and interdisciplinary reach that no single organisation could achieve alone. By bringing together cutting-edge scientific methods, Traditional Owner knowledge and on-Country collaboration, this initiative strengthens the evidence base required for informed decision-making.
“Just as importantly, it builds skills, leadership and enduring partnerships that support Indigenous authority and capacity to care for Country, ensuring cultural landscapes are safeguarded in ways that are both scientifically robust and culturally grounded.”
Dr Blake Palmer
Vehicles are increasingly functioning as mobile workspaces, prompting Griffith University researchers to conduct a deep dive to better understand how and why workers multitask while driving.
Dr Blake Palmer from Griffith’s School of Applied Psychology is investigating the premise of work-related multitasking behaviours while driving.
“The study aims to understand how and why drivers engage in work-related multitasking while driving, and how organisational expectations and safety systems may influence these behaviours,” Dr Palmer said.
“Multi-tasking includes taking or making phone calls while driving, checking or responding to work messages, reviewing schedules or job details on a device, looking up addresses and navigating between jobs, and managing time pressures by eating while driving.
“Studies of this nature are vital in addressing a gap as there is a lack of information on how common these behaviours are.”
Work tasks can be time-critical, linked to productivity or performance expectations, and may be socially expected.
This means a person’s decision to multitask while driving could be managed differently by workers depending on different roles and job requirements.
The study is seeking participants who have driven a vehicle for work purposes in the past six months, and may include driving a personal or company vehicle to and from work, between jobs or sites, visiting clients, or making deliveries.
It would involve completing a short 15-minute online survey.
Community leaders from urban, regional and remote communities in Papua New Guinea have joined Griffith University researchers in a study tour designed to strengthen knowledge and leadership in gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI).
The Australia Awards GEDSI Study Tour: Women in Leadership & Gender Equality for Papua New Guinea was delivered by the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research as part of a two-year program funded through a $1.18 million grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
GEDSI Short Course participant Veronica Payawi.
Program participants work across community organisations and government agencies in Papua New Guinea, engaging closely with their communities through initiatives such as family services and violence prevention programs.
Embracing a traditional Papua New Guinean knowledge-sharing approach called ‘Tok Stori’, Griffith researchers previously engaged with thirty of the participants during a two-week short course in November 2025 in Port Moresby, to explore areas of education, leisure, family and work through a GEDSI lens.
Participant Veronica Payawi is the program manager for a safe house that provides emergency assistance for women, and said the GEDSI Short Course had been transformative.
“For me, GEDSI is about transforming communities so everyone can thrive, live with dignity, and seize opportunities equally,” Ms Payawi said.
“While I have spent many years advocating for women and communities, I realised I lacked formal GEDSI knowledge — a structured approach that ensures everyone, including women, people with disabilities, and marginalised groups, is included and empowered.
Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research Director Associate Professor Adele Pavlidis.
“My vision is to create programs that not only include women and marginalised groups but also enable them to lead, make decisions, and shape the systems that affect their lives.”
Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research Director Associate Professor Adele Pavlidis said the GEDSI Short Course aimed to build the foundation for lasting impact.
“The course was designed to weave an understanding of Papua New Guinean cultural worldviews and perspectives in context to GEDSI concepts and Australian perspectives,” Associate Professor Pavlidis said.
“It seeks to weave together these worldviews in a respectful, mutually beneficial, and feasible manner”.
Papua New Guinea endangered language expert Dr Samantha Rarrick, Professor Barbara Pini and Research Fellow Dr Inez Fainga’a-Manusione were central to development and delivery of the GEDSI Short Course, which was designed to embed GEDSI principles into policy and practice across Papua New Guinea’s public, private, and community sectors, to build the foundation for lasting social impact.
Some men are resorting to obtaining testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) from underground sources due to significant barriers to accessing the therapy through formal medical channels, according to new Griffith University research
PhD Candidate Ben Bonenti
PhD Candidate Ben Bonenti from Griffith University’s School of Applied Psychology explored the experiences of men using TRT in Australia with a focus on access barriers, perceived health effects, and how men self-managed and regulated their testosterone use in practice.
“What we found was a complex picture,” Mr Bonenti said.
“Men found significant barriers in accessing TRT through formal medical channels, including bureaucratic delays, financial costs, and stigma.
“Despite access challenges, TRT was widely described as transformative, with reported improvements in both physical and mental health.”
The study tracked nine men, aged 18 years or older, who used TRT and documented their experiences via videoconferencing interviews.
The results raised many key issues, particularly for men who frequently described self-regulating dosages, with some even mixing prescribed testosterone with underground products to manage access gaps.
These practices reflected active, self-managed care rather than passive medical compliance.
“While TRT was framed as a medical treatment, participants’ experiences showed access and use were strongly shaped by social, financial and regulatory constraints,” Mr Bonenti said.
“The findings suggest the current models of TRT may not align with how men actually engage with testosterone use.
“It shows a need for adaptive, participatory harm reduction approaches which move beyond narrow biomedical frameworks and better reflect real-world practices.
“Improving access and reducing stigma may reduce reliance on informal and unregulated sources.”
The paper ‘Much easier to just buy underground from a guy at the gym: The politics of accessing testosterone among men who use prescribed testosterone in Australia’ has been published in Journal of Drug Issues.
Griffith University researchers are on the cusp of a new vaccine to prevent chikungunya, a global health threat which attacks human joint tissue.
Professor Bernd Rehm
Professor Bernd Rehm, from Griffith’s Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, said his team wanted to test whether they could engineer E.coli to assemble biopolymer particles which displayed chikungunya antigens and performed as a vaccine.
“The synthetic biopolymer particles, adjuvant-free E2-BP-E1, closely mimicked the actual virus and induced an immune response,” Professor Rehm said.
The immune system recognised the particles as a virus but without induction of the disease.
It triggered a reaction in the body whereby immune cells very efficiently took up the biopolymer particles and engaged the immune system to mount an anti-virus response.
A person could become infected with chikungunya via an infected mosquito, causing the virus to enter the bloodstream and begin a multi-stage process affecting the immune system, joints, muscles, and sometimes the nervous system.
Symptoms included fever, chills, a feeling of intense illness, severe joint and muscle pain, headache, rash and joint swelling.
Professor Rehm said once the infection took hold, chikungunya would specifically target joint tissues, muscle fibres and connective tissue.
“Once this occurs, we start to see direct tissue damage, intense inflammation, and immune-mediated attacks resembling autoimmune responses,” he said.
“Even more concerning, is that the immune system continues to attack joint tissues even after the virus has left the body.
“Up to 60 per cent of patients experience long-lasting joint pain, which may persist for months or years, and can resemble rheumatoid arthritis.”
Following the success of the study, Professor Rehm and his team would progress to the clinical development of the vaccine.
The next stage would entail a clinical trial whereby patients would test the vaccine’s safety before moving on to efficacy trials.
The paper ‘Adjuvant-free biopolymer particles mimicking the Chikungunya virus surface induce protective immunity’ has been published in Biomaterials.
For more than a decade, a partnership between Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT) and global sustainability certification group EarthCheck has continued to help shape a more sustainable future for Australia’s tourism industry.
Their collaboration is now supporting the development of a new sustainability toolkit designed to help Australia’s tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) transition to more sustainable business models.
The toolkit is being developed for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission as part of the national THRIVE 2030 strategy, which sets a long-term vision for a resilient and sustainable visitor economy.
Professor Sarah Gardiner
Director of GIFT, Sarah Gardiner, said the partnership reflects the value of combining academic research with industry expertise to tackle real-world sustainability challenges.
“Collaborations like this allow us to translate leading research into practical tools that tourism businesses can use every day,” Professor Gardiner said. “Working with industry partners such as EarthCheck helps ensure our research delivers tangible benefits for operators, destinations and communities.”
Supporting small tourism businesses
Tourism in Australia is dominated by small businesses, which make up around 95 per cent of the sector. While many operators are keen to adopt sustainable practices, navigating the available guidance and standards can be challenging.
The new toolkit aims to simplify this process by providing concise, practical advice to help businesses integrate sustainability into their operations.
Nigel Russell
Nigel Russell, General Manager – Consulting at EarthCheck, said the collaboration with Griffith University adds significant value to the project.
“The ability to tap into a wide range of specialist subject matter expertise at Griffith complements EarthCheck’s experience working with destinations and businesses around the world,” Mr Russell said.
The toolkit draws on internationally recognised sustainability principles from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, including environmental management, cultural respect, social responsibility and effective sustainability governance.
Once released, it will help tourism operators improve resource efficiency, reduce energy use and carbon emissions, strengthen resilience to climate change and respond to changing visitor expectations.
The resource will also build on earlier national guidance, including the Sustainable Tourism Toolkit developed in collaboration with Tourism Australia in 2023.
A long-standing partnership
The latest collaboration reflects a relationship that has grown steadily over more than ten years.
Stewart Moore, founder and CEO of EarthCheck, has worked with Griffith tourism researchers since the institute was established and has long advocated for evidence-based sustainability frameworks across the tourism sector.
With more than three decades of experience in destination management, strategic planning and sustainability policy, Mr Moore is widely recognised as one of the Asia–Pacific’s most experienced tourism advisers. His contributions were recently acknowledged with the Marie Watson-Blake Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual at the Queensland Tourism Awards.
Through ongoing partnerships with industry, GIFT researchers continue to support tourism destinations and businesses seeking to transition toward more sustainable practices.
Looking ahead to the 2032 Olympic Games
The next decade presents a major opportunity for Queensland tourism as the state prepares to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
Mr Russell said planning for the Games is already encouraging tourism operators and destinations to think more strategically about sustainability.
“It will be great to see momentum building for the 2032 Olympics and the tourism industry starting to plan what’s required to fully realise the potential benefits before, during and after the Games,” he said.
For Griffith researchers and industry partners alike, the collaboration highlights the role that strong partnerships can play in building a more sustainable visitor economy.
The new small-business sustainability toolkit, expected to be released in 2026, is set to become another practical outcome of the long-standing partnership—helping tourism operators across Australia take meaningful steps toward a more resilient and sustainable future.
