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Many of the largest protected areas on private land are operated by charities, which are already exempt from land tax.(ABC Rural: Maddelin McCosker)

People operating nature refuges that play a pivotal role in the Queensland government's conservation goals say having to pay land tax is "dumb", and a disincentive to others wanting to protect habitats on their property.

Nature refuges, also known as conservation covenants, are deals struck between the state government and landholders to protect their land in perpetuity.

There are 592 such refuges around Queensland, protecting 4,930,731 hectares of important habitat.

State land tax is applied to the accumulative property owned by an individual worth $600,000 or more, unless it is your home or subject to an exemption.

Charities and primary producers, who run a great deal of the state's refuges, already receive a land tax exemption, but Queensland is the last state charging private landholders with refuges.

The Herbertvale nature refuge, operated by a grazier, covers close to 30,000 hectares of land about 260 kilometres north-west of Mount Isa.(Supplied: Queensland Government)

Premier David Crisafulli last monthflagged an ambition to rapidly expand protected areas in the state, with a focus on nature refuges.

About 8.6 per cent of state has been protected, making the government about 14 million hectares short of its goal to protect 17 per cent of the state's land.

A statement from the the Department of Environment, Science and Tourism said nature refuges "play a critical role in conserving biodiversity, safeguarding habitats, and enhancing ecological connectivity across landscapes".

The federal government has set its own goal of preserving 30 per cent of the country by 2030.

Andrew Taylor operates a nature refuge west of Brisbane, adjacent to the D'Aguilar National Park, with his partner Gabby.

He said it was a "pristine" block that had never been farmed or cleared, which created a corridor between two parts of the national park.

In order to prove the block's worthiness, Mr Taylor said he had to engage a third-party consultant at the cost of about $13,000 to assess the values of the property.

"They identified that it was habitat for the black-breasted button quail, for scrub turpentine, and a few other species which are listed as vulnerable or endangered."

Andrew Taylor believes people who operate nature refuges should not have to pay land tax.(Supplied)

Mr Taylor said they paid around $3,500 in land tax every year — a price he believes will "inevitably rise".

The total cost of converting land to a nature refuge and the ongoing management can be a "disincentive" to people considering the taking the step, he added.

While some councils offer support and rate relief for nature refuges, Somerset Regional Council, where Mr Taylor's property is located, does not.

Mr Taylor said he had received a state grant of $25,000 in 2023 to help eliminate the invasive weed cat's claw, which paid for three workers for a week on the property.

"I think people weigh up the financial pros and cons of converting a property and one of those financial disincentives is having to aggregate that land for the purposes of determining the threshold for land tax," he said.

Andrew Taylor received a grant to remove the invasive weed cat's claw from a section of the property.(Supplied)

The ABC understands the Queensland government is considering a submission from the Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA) for the exemption to be expanded to private land holders.

ALCA policy lead Michael Cornish said because of existing exemptions, the change would come at a "low and reasonable cost" to the government.

"We're not talking about millions of dollars here," he said.

"For governments who might try to fund the entirety of their conservationist project themselves, it's a much cheaper lever to pull."

In research published earlier this year, Griffith University conservation planning expert Dr Michelle Ward found half of the habitat of 220 "highly imperilled" species fell outside of currently protected areas.

Dr Michelle Ward setting a wildlife detection camera following bushfires in 2019-2020.(Supplied)

Dr Ward was encouraged by the Queensland government's focus on nature refuges, and said a land tax exemption would be a "great first step and incentive" to encourage landholders.

"These landholders need to be adequately paid for taking land out of production and maintaining it as natural vegetation as well as managing the land," she said.

"Conservation actions are not cheap … it's not just a single point in time that it needs to happen, it needs to happen over many years."

There are calls for the state government to set a concrete timeline for its target of preserving 17 per cent of its landmass, with just 595,000 hectares protected since 2022.

In 2024, Victoria became the most recent state to introduce a similar exemption to what is being called for in Queensland.

The change caused a surge of interest in nature refuges, according to Trust for Nature, an organisation that helps landholders through the process of converting their land.

"In the past year we've had a record number of 53 covenants registered and 168 are currently in progress," Trust for Nature Victoria chief executive Corinne Proske said.

Trust for Nature Victoria CEO Corinne Proske says Victoria cutting the tax led to widespread interest in nature refuges.(Supplied)

Much of this interest has come in areas around Melbourne with high land tax, such as the Mornington Peninsula, Ms Proske said.

She said areas with high developmental value were often those that needed the most protection.

Queensland property owners tend to pay far less in land tax than in Victoria, but Mr Cornish from ALCA said an exemption for nature refuges would be a good opportunity for the government to "put their money where their mouth is".

On the Sunshine Coast, Deon Venter and his wife Jane have converted 32 hectares of a 35 hectare block to a nature refuge.

Many of the blocks around it have been developed, and the property provides part of a nature corridor directly into Tewantin National Park.

"The amount of diversity is stunning, at both the botanical and animal level. Every time you walk through it you notice something new," Mr Venter said.

Re-rehabilitated bandicoots on Deon Venter's Sunshine Coast property.(Supplied)

They receive support from the council for weeding, and spend several thousand dollars of their own money annually on upkeep.

Last year the couple had to pay $11,000 in land tax, despite the covenant meaning they legally cannot develop the site.

"We believe we should get an exemption on the tax for a substantial part of the property since it is not an economic asset in any way, it is actually an economic drain," Mr Venter said.

Wal and Heather Mayr have spent more than 40 years rehabilitating a former banana plantation.(ABC Gold Coast: Tom Forbes)

Wal Mayr, who runs a 25 hectare nature refuge in the Gold Coast hinterland with his wife Heather, said they were lucky to receive support from the council and state grants, outweighing the few thousand they pay in land tax.

But it still rubbed him the wrong way.

Steven Knight said being at the jail brought a "lot of memories" up for him.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

Steven Knight remembers his tiny cell, the "yuck" food, and a NAIDOC Week painting he worked on at Old Parramatta Gaol.

He was 25 when he served time and said there were a "lot of good people" but "a lot of bad people" inside too.

"A lot of people trying to do bad things to themselves. That's no good. Lot of fights," Mr Knight said.

A quarter of a century after his release, he still visits the jail in North Parramatta — not just as an ex-inmate but also as one of its owners as a member of the Deerrubbin Land Council.

The site costs the Deerubbin Land Council $500,000 annually to maintain.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

Old Parramatta Gaol opened in 1842 as a final bid to build a jail in Sydney's west, after previous attempts were either burnt down or poorly constructed.

It would eventually become the state's principal manufacturing jail, with prisoners making and supplying clothing, boots, food, and other products across New South Wales.

The medium-security facility housed thousands of prisoners over its operation, incarcerating infamous criminals such as prison escapee Darcy Dugan and underworld figure Neddy Smith.

Mr Knight painted this NAIDOC week mural with other inmates during his time in the jail.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

In 2011, the state government decommissioned the jail after changes to bail laws lowered prison population demands.

Five years later, Deerrubbin Land Council won it back in a successful land claim and has owned the jail ever since.

Yet, as nearly a decade has passed by, the land council has been put into administration.

Heritage advocates have raised questions on how the jail can be used in the future, as the area around it continues to grow.

Currently, if a land council wins a claim, they may be eligible for transitional funding under the state's Environment Protection Authority, which can ease the immediate costs.

However, in 2015, transitional funding was not an option, with the Deerrubbin Land Council having to fund any fixes to Old Parramatta Gaol itself.

"The significant pieces of land are returned to us with a range of refurbishment needs … the dollars needed to remedy lots of that are enormous," co-chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWLAC) Ray Kelly said.

The jail was decommissioned in 2011 after opening in 1842.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

Maintenance costs take a financial toll on local land councils, with sites often being handed back in disrepair.

Mr Kelly said historical sites were often given back with contamination problems like asbestos or hazardous waste, as well as annual upkeep payments.

Ray Kelly said land won in claims often had significant refurbishment needs.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

In 2021, the land council lodged a development application to Parramatta City Council to host music festivals, markets, educational seminars and weddings.

However, the application was rejected due to planning policy noncompliance and concerns surrounding heritage impacts and transport accessibility.

"There are challenges such as the legacy issues pertaining to a correctional centre with a very specific use and the size and composition of the site that requires extensive remediation, planning and also funding to optimise and activate," Tim Gumbleton, administrator of Deerubbin Land Council said.

Old Parramatta Gaol has a history spanning back 170 years.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

The land council's administration status presents another barrier to development; however, Mr Gumbleton said it would not impede the vision for the jail's future.

"Across NSW, local Aboriginal land councils continue to be major landholders, developers, employers, and economic contributors," he said.

"That includes this site, which remains of significant cultural, commercial and economic importance to both the Aboriginal community and the broader public."

An option to help with hefty costs could be turning the jail into a tourist attraction.

Cheryl Bates, spokesperson for the Parramatta region at National Trust Australia, said it would be "foolish" not to utilise its tourism potential.

"We can't just have buildings sitting idle without any purpose … I think we've got a really good opportunity to do something with the jail," Ms Bates said.

Cheryl Bates says the jail's closeness to other heritage sites makes it a desirable tourist spot.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

"The state government has put in a light rail, which is only a block from [the jail], so would be accessible by public transport."

She also pointed out its proximity to other heritage sites like Old Government House and the Parramatta Female Factory.

While a NSW planning department spokesperson said the jail was excluded in the government's rezoning plans, they said the development would benefit the jail in the future.

Historical sites can come with unique challenges for redevelopment.(ABC News: Ursula Malone)

"By activating underutilised land surrounding the gaol, the NSW government believes this will support opportunities to integrate the Old Parramatta Gaol within the broader Parramatta North precinct while protecting its heritage status," the spokesperson said.

The future of Old Parramatta Gaol remains unclear for now, but the land council has said it was open to working with stakeholders to identify its best use.

"I'd like to clean this place up and then put it back the way it was."

Near Mount Hotham, scorched alpine ash stands show the scale and toll of bushfires on forests.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)

Scientists say Victoria's mountain forests are on the brink of collapse due to frequent bushfires and a lack of regeneration support.

Key species like alpine ash are unable to recover because of short fire intervals and slow seed production.

Experts are calling for urgent action to prevent irreversible ecosystem loss, including a large seed bank and reforestation.

Vast tracts of Victoria's alpine forests are one major bushfire away from oblivion, according to a growing number of scientists.

Alpine ash, a tall eucalypt, is most vulnerable to fire because it takes at least 20 years to produce seed.

"There's probably about 80,000 hectares which is young forest currently and will be young forest for the next decade or so," University of Melbourne scientist Tom Fairman said.

Dr Fairman, a future fire risk analyst at the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, has calculated that in the past two decades, half of the state's mountain forests have been ravaged by bushfire.

Tom Fairman says about half of Victoria's alpine ash range has been burnt in just 20 years.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)

After six high-intensity major fires in those years, government agencies have re-sown tens of thousands of hectares of burnt country, broadcasting seed from aircraft to reach impenetrable slopes and valleys.

With fires occurring on average every four years, young alpine ash that has not sprouted since then are at high risk of summer bushfires killing them all.

Dr Fairman called it a "ticking time bomb".

He and other leading scientists, alarmed at the precarious state of the mountain forests, have accused the Victorian government of not doing enough to address the problem.

Owen Bassett, a silviculture, or forest, scientist has spent decades working on the post-fire recovery of Victoria's 600,000 hectares of alpine and mountain ash forests.

Forester Owen Bassett says eucalypt seed supplies are dangerously low.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)

From a mountain near Mount Hotham he looks across ridges of dead trees rolling to the horizon.

Some are weather-bleached skeletons, others are strewn across the bare ground.

Devastating fires, not logging as some claim, are to blame.

The trees, which grow to 80 metres, once flourished here but this landscape is so degraded some want alpine and mountain ash declared a threatened species.

Mountain ash trees are some of tallest in the world.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)

Successive fires have thwarted attempts to re-seed the trees.

Mr Bassett said the sudden shutdown of Victoria's native timber industry in 2023, six years earlier than expected, had inadvertently further jeopardised this ecosystem.

Vic Forests, which was responsible for collecting and preserving vital eucalypt seed for forest regeneration, was closed.

"In their absence, DEECA [Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action] is attempting to put together a seed program," Mr Bassett said.

The government has just awarded tenders to seed harvesting contractors who scale the giant trees to gather the tiny pinhead-sized seeds at the tree's crown.

Landline can reveal the contracts are only for one to two tonnes of seed from alpine and mountain ash species in the next two years.

Mr Bassett describes the amount as "woefully low". In past years about three times that amount was collected.

He believes 17 tonnes of seed is now needed to ensure there are sufficient supplies to re-seed burnt areas after severe bushfires.

Pinhead-sized alpine ash seeds grow into one of the largest plants on the planet.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)

He said responsibility for the alpine forests should be broadened and favours the establishment of privately funded seed banks supported by corporate and community donors to assist the state.

Repeated devastating bushfires have destroyed vast tracts of alpine forest.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)

Victoria's native species seed bank was depleted following re-seeding efforts after the Black Summer bushfires.

Next to no seed has been collected since the timber industry shut down and seed-harvesting contractors were retrenched.

Brendon Clark, long regarded as the industry's best harvester, did not put in a tender for the latest seed collection contract.

Former seed harvester Brendon Clark once scaled Victoria’s tallest trees to collect seed.(ABC Landline: Tim Lee)

He said the amount of seed and the remuneration were both inadequate.

"Our forest is in serious trouble," Mr Clark said.

Watch ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm AEST on Sunday or stream any time onABC iview.

Endangered and Protected Species

James Ackerman's mother Sonya (right) and widow Saraa remember a cheeky, generous character.(ABC Sunshine Coast: Jake Kearnan)

It's been 10 years since her son's death and Sonya Ackerman still notices the poignant reminders of his presence, whether it's a random blast of James's favourite Uncle Kracker song, a rainbow or a confronting reminder of someone less fortunate.

"He always used to say, 'There's always someone worse off than us' when something went wrong,'" Mrs Ackerman says.

At that moment, she noticed a nearby grave for a five-year-old boy named James, which she took as a sign from her son: "That person, their families are worse off, Mum".

On June 20, 2015, James Ackerman took the field for Sunshine Coast Falcons in a Queensland Cup match against Norths Devils at Bishop Park, Nundah, in Brisbane's north.

Five minutes into the match, James was hit with a shoulder charge by an opposition player and died in hospital two days later. He was 25.

He is survived by his children, Milly and Ollie, who were two and three at the time, and his wife, Saraa Spaens, who has since remarried.

"I'm not sure what I expected but time hasn't healed anything," Mrs Spaens says.

James with his children, Milly and Ollie.(Supplied: Facebook)

"It's certainly gotten worse for [the children]. They have more of a concrete realisation of how long time really is."

The memories they made as a family are what the Sunshine Coast mother treasures.

"He was the first to come home after a long day of work and take the kids to the park," she says.

Sunday marks 10 years since James Ackerman passed away. For Mrs Ackerman, it feels like yesterday.

She relives the moment she ran to the other side of the field to check if he was OK after he was dealt the sickening blow. The "horrible" ordeal still keeps her up at night.

"I knew he was knocked out, but I constantly kept asking the guys on the bench, 'Has he come to?'" she recalls.

"Ackers" was known for his toughness and, because of his strength, Mrs Ackerman clung to hope he would get back up.

Mrs Ackerman wants her son remembered as a tough player who loved being on the field with his best mates.(Supplied: Ackerman family)

"He was just so tough, he would just bounce straight back up," she said.

"This day was different and I knew it straight away."

Stepping inside the office of Falcons chief executive Chris Flannery, it is quickly apparent that the Ackerman legacy will never be forgotten.

Framed pictures of the Falcons number eight sit next to the CEO's desk — a stark reminder who they are playing for.

He recounts the phone call he received while his team was playing away at Norths.

"I don't know why I wasn't at that game — I usually travel to most away games, particularly down in Brisbane," he said.

Falcons chief Chris Flannery says the Ackerman family has done a great job keeping James's legacy alive.(ABC Sunshine Coast: Jake Kearnan)

"I received the call and I think it was from our chairman, Ashley Robinson, and he said Ackers had been hurt and that it didn't look good.

"I got another phone call about 15 minutes later and basically they said he hasn't moved, he hasn't regained consciousness and it is looking very serious.'

The days that followed are a blur to the Ackerman family.

His mother recalls meeting three neurosurgeons who explained that James wasn't going to make it and, even if he did, he would have little quality of life.

James's widow Saraa Spaens (left) and his mother Sonya will celebrate his life on Sunday.(ABC Sunshine Coast: Jake Kearnan)

"It was in that moment — and I don't know why I asked because I never for a minute thought we were going to lose him — but it just came out of my mouth: 'Is he able to be an organ donor?'" Mrs Ackerman says.

"That was something we had spoken about."

At just 25, Mrs Spaens bravely maintained her composure as she signed organ donation waivers while caring for the couple's two children.

"We were always organ donation people but having to actually do that process was a great weight," Mrs Spaens says.

James's daughter Milly and her year level all wore "take a knee for Ackers" socks to school on Friday.(Supplied: Sonya Ackerman)

"[You ask yourself] 'Why is this happening to us?'

She said being a mother saved her life and gave her a reason to get up each day.

"I had to get up to make sure they were OK, so that gave me focus," she says.

"It took me a couple of days for it all to hit me and then for me to become incredibly emotional.

"I actually thought something was wrong with me and, I guess, it's just my body's way of protecting me from pain and from sadness and all the feelings that come at once."

In 2017, a coronial inquest found the Queensland Police Service made the right decision not to investigate the death as a criminal matter, but that the NRL and QRL should reconsider thestance of only sending players off in extreme circumstances.

It will be remembered as the darkest time in the Sunshine Coast Falcons's 19-year history.

"A lot of our trainers that were on the field that day and the things that they went through, they were the ones trying to revive him and bring him back," Mr Flannery said.

On Saturday, the club commemorated the 10-year anniversary by taking a "knee for Ackers" prior to their match against Wynnum-Manly Seagulls.

James Ackerman spent time at both the Sunshine Coast Falcons and Redcliffe Dolphins.(Supplied: Ackerman family)

It's just one of the many ways the club keeps the 25-year-old's legacy alive.

"Our team song that we sing after every victory, the last line is about Ackers, so there are lots of little things that continue to remind us about his legacy and just what James was to this club.

"He'll never be forgotten here."

For Mrs Ackerman, it's her son's contagious smile that she longs to see.

"He's a Gemini, so he had the two personalities: he was very quiet, as in didn't talk much, but at the same time he was a real cheeky character," she says.

Family and friends of the prop forward will honour his memory on Sunday at a Sunshine Coast pub — a few beers and a few bets, the way James would have wanted.

"It's going to be — as much as it can be — a big celebration," Mrs Spaens said.

"That's definitely the attitude that we're taking towards it and celebrating his life as opposed to still being weighed down by the time that has lapsed.

"Seeing everyone have a beer and a bet and do what we say is the Ackers way. It can't get more him than that."

Mahmoud Khalil was greeted by his wife, Noor Abdalla, at Newark International Airport.(AP: Seth Wenig)

After being released from immigration detention, Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil says Donald Trump's administration is trying to dehumanise anyone who disagrees with it.

Mr Khalil says the Trump administration and Columbia University, where he protested, are complicit in Israel's actions in Gaza.

The US government still wants to deport Mr Khalil, a permanent US resident, arguing his activism is detrimental to American foreign policy interests.

Palestinian rights activist Mahmoud Khalil says he will continue to protest against what he calls US government-funded genocide in Gaza.

Speaking the day after he wasreleased from immigration detention, he said Donald Trump's administration was trying to dehumanise anyone who disagreed with it.

Mr Khalil said the Trump administration and Colombia University, where he protested, were complicit in Israel's actions in Gaza.

"Not only if they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine again," Mr Khalil said.

"I just want to go back and just continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights, speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Mr Khalil's detention is "an affront to every American".(AP: Seth Wenig)

Mr Khalil, 30, was reunited with his wife Noor Abdalla, a US citizen, at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.

He was met by friends and supporters, including US Democratic congresswomanAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The US government still wants to deport Mr Khalil, a permanent US resident, arguing his activism is detrimental to American foreign policy interests.

Mr Khalil, who recently graduated from Columbia University in Manhattan, was a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement that swept campuses last year.

Federal immigration agents arrested him in the lobby of his Columbia apartment building on March 8, making him the first target of Mr Trump's effort to deport international students with pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel views.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, speaking alongside Mr Khalil at the airport, condemned the Trump administration for what she called "persecution based on political speech".

"Being taken is wrong. It is illegal," she said.

"It is an affront to every American."

Mr Khalil was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and lawfully became a permanent US resident last year.

Nonetheless, citing an obscure part of federal immigration law that has not been invoked in more than 20 years, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had determined that Mr Khalil and several other foreign pro-Palestinian students at US schools must be deported because their presence could harm the government's foreign policy interests.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, said the government wrongly conflated their criticism of the Israeli government, one of the United States' closest allies, with antisemitism.

This month, US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey ruled that the government could not detain or deport Mr Khalil based on Mr Rubio's determination, finding the Trump administration was violating Mr Khalil's constitutional right to free speech.

The Trump administration has drawn pushback for attempting to deport a permanent resident under an obscure and untested Cold War-era statute. Here's what to know.

On Friday, he ordered the Trump administration to release Mr Khalil on bail while he continues to fight the government's deportation efforts and his lawsuit accusing the government of wrongful detention.

A spokesperson for Mr Trump said in a statement after the ruling that Mr Khalil should be deported for "conduct detrimental to American foreign policy interests" and for omitting or incorrectly describing his employment history on his application form to become a permanent resident.

Mr Khalil has said his application form was correct and the allegations of omission were spurious.

Also on Friday, an immigration court in Louisiana ruled that Mr Khalil must be deported.

He will now challenge the decision in the immigration court, which is run by the Department of Justice rather than the government's judicial branch, through the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The Trump administration appealed Judge Farbiarz's rulings on Friday evening to the US Court of Appeals.

Occupied Palestinian Territories

The "sidekick" parenting role often begins for practical and social reasons.(Pexels)

Parenting is an intense ride and always being the one in the driver's seat can take its toll.

And having someone firmly entrenched as passenger can actually be damaging for both partners and the relationship.

Recent research found that in heterosexual relationships, where it is mums most often taking the wheel, some dads can experience a phenomenon labelled "passenger parenting".

The term was coined by Norma Barrett, the study's co-author and lecturer in public health and health promotion at Deakin University in Warrnambool, on the traditional lands of the Gunditjmara people in regional Victoria.

She explains that while fathers are becoming increasingly engaged in daily family life, the persistence of a gendered norm means some feel on the "outskirts" when it comes to parenting decisions.

And parenting alongside a passenger parent isn't easy, says Carly Dober, a psychologist and policy coordinator at the Australian Association of Psychologists.

She says mothers who are carrying the lion's share of caring responsibilities because the men in their lives are not participating more may feel burdened.

"It can be really stressful if you do feel you are the default parent and wearing the emotional and cognitive load of all decisions," she says.

So, what can you do if you're stuck in a driver-passenger parent dynamic? And, because passenger parenting can look a lot like weaponised incompetence, we explain the difference.

Tasks such as breastfeeding are most often done by the birthing parent.(Adobe Stock)

While some dads Ms Barrett spoke to were "happy to go with the flow" and be led by their partner, most wanted to fully share the whole experience but felt "shut out" from doing so.

She says the "sidekick" parenting role often begins for practical and social reasons.

For example, it's most often mothers who take time off to care for the baby.

"There are physical reasons for that [being the birthing parent], and also if the baby is being breastfed then naturally it will be the mother that is going to do that," Ms Barrett says.

Dads may have little to no time off before returning to work, and the parent spending the bulk of the time with the child becomes "specialised" in the gig of parenting.

Ms Dober says dads might feel like they are not as equipped to do things like dress the child, how and when to feed the child, and what health appointments they need, for example.

Carly Dober says parenting with a passenger parent can be stressful.(Supplied)

Some men in Ms Barrett's research expressed passenger parenting had a negative impact on their relationships.

"They are trying to be more involved in decision making, like around caring for the baby, feeding the baby, trying to be part of it, and if struggles were arising, coming up with solutions — but not always feeling like they knew the right language or approach.

Fathers can get stuck in their passenger role beyond the transition into parenthood, explains Ms Barrett, because even when mothers might return to work and the caring load should equalise, dads haven't had the same "parenting boot camp", leaving them on the backfoot.

Do you feel like the passenger parent in your family? Or perhaps you're tired of always being the one in the driver's seat. Share with us atlifestyle@abc.net.au

Ms Dober says while some women may be happy to take a leadership role in parenting, others may feel there is a pressure to be the "expert parent".

Whether it's a role they are comfortable with or not, it can be a difficult one to fulfil, with consequences for their wellbeing,career, and financial future.

If current working patterns continue, the average 25-year-old woman today who goes on to have one child can expect to make$2 million less in lifetime earningscompared to the average 25-year-old man who also becomes a parent.

Research also shows twice as many women as men experience parental burnout, due to the fact women still carry70 per centof the family mental load.

"There are so many micro decisions in the day-to-day of parenting that really do add up — an infinite amount of decision to make," Ms Dober says.

The relationship can be impacted if women feel they aren't supported, she says.

"There might be resentment if you perceive your passenger parent is just deferring to you because they can't be bothered or prefer you managing it."

In intimate partner relationships, weaponised incompetence is often evident in the division of domestic tasks and caring labour.

It is when someone "demonstrates helplessness, real or false, in order to avoid certain tasks or responsibility, thus making other people [often their partner and/or co-parent] feel they have to step in and do it for them,"Ms Dober told us for a previous article.

What makes passenger parenting different is intent, she explains.

"Weaponised incompetence is when you might be trying to gain more spare time to rest, socialise, or just tend to your own needs versus those of the family.

"Passenger parenting is feeling like you have less agency. There isn't malicious intent — although it can look the same depending on some behaviours."

Weaponised incompetence in relationships can keep women "locked into" traditional roles, experts say.

Ms Dober says passenger parents will feel like they are missing out on something, and can "take a beating to their self-esteem".

Parenting expert and dad to six daughters Justin Coulson says while some dads are "happy to take a back seat", in his experience, men overwhelmingly want to be more involved.

While there are societal and structural barriers to reaching equality in co-parenting relationships, such as making itmore viable for dads to take parental leave, there are some ways individuals can work towards improvement.

Dr Coulson recommends couples have weekly check-ins.

"On a Sunday morning when things are relatively quiet, my wife and I sit down and ask three questions. First, 'What's going well?' And we just take a minute to bask in the sunshine of success."

Secondly, they ask "What hasn't worked this week?"

"It's not a finger-pointing exercise, rather saying 'I've struggled here', of 'I could have done with more support on Wednesday night when three things were happening at once'," Dr Coulson says as an example.

Lastly, "What could we work on this week?"

"And the critical part of that is put together a plan to make that happen," he says.

While Ms Barrett's research recommended couples have conversations early on about their parenting expectations, Ms Dober says those can change over time.

She says parents can regularly touch base on what they would like to do more, or less of.

For dads who feel like they don't have agency, that might be expressing what they would like to have more expertise in, or what challenges they think could benefit them in learning to do more?

Ms Dober says parents need to be kind to themselves, and each other.

"Understanding that parenting is hard — you're both on this journey together, and figuring out what parenting looks like for your family.

"And that might be different to others, and to how you grew up."

Tom Zdanius reads a book as he lies in a Japanese hospital bed.(Supplied: Lukas Zdanius)

Yamba man Tom Zdanius suffered a stroke while on holiday in Japan.

He did not have travel insurance, and his hospital bills are now estimated at $130,000.

His family is fundraising and trying to organise a medically supervised flight back to Australia.

Tom Zdanius recently spent his 57th birthday alone in the Iseikai International General Hospital in Osaka.

He suffered a stroke in Japan last month, and has been lying in bed racking up medical bills of about $5,000 a day ever since.

His brother Lukas Zdanius said it was a terrible situation for the family.

"He is partially paralysed, he has lost his voice and ability to eat, and a couple of other things," he said.

"He is conscious and able to listen, hear and understand.

"If you use letters of the alphabet, you can get him to write words."

Tom Zdanius and a friend in Japan.(Supplied: Lukas Zdanius)

Mr Zdanius said learning that his brother, who is from Yamba in NSW, had gone overseas without travel insurance caused the family "a lot of angst".

"It is a cautionary tale, for sure," he said.

"Some people seem to get away with it, but you don't drive a car without insurance, and you don't travel without travel insurance.

"But there is nothing we can do about that, and the next best thing is to pay it out of our own pockets."

Mr Zdanius said the family had already made one unsuccessful attempt to organise a medically supervised flight home.

However, his brother took a turn for the worse and wound up back in the hospital.

Yamba man Tom Zdanius suffered a stroke while on holiday in Japan.(Supplied: Lukas Zdanius)

Mr Zdanius said the failed attempt had cost about $30,000.

The family has started a crowdfunding campaign to cover that and other expenses, which Mr Zdanius estimates will eventually exceed $200,000.

"The issue is we need to get the medevac people to take out nine seats of a commercial plane so they can fit a stretcher in," Mr Zdanius said.

David Beirman, an adjunct fellow in management and tourism at the University of Technology Sydney, said research showed about 90 per cent of Australians took out insurance before heading overseas.

"I wouldn't go anywhere without taking out travel insurance, particularly in countries like Japan and the United States, where medical costs are high," Dr Beirman said.

"I know people often consider it a grudge purchase, and I don't blame them because travel insurance can be quite expensive.

Dr Beirman, who consults with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on travel advisories and tourism safety, said it would be wise for the family to seek consular assistance.

"On rare occasions, people can approach DFAT and ask for them to repatriate them in a case of dire need," he said.

"It will usually be treated as a loan."

The ABC approached DFAT for comment about Mr Zdanius's case.

It confirmed it was working to assist a man in Japan, but could not provide more details for privacy reasons.

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, pictured from Halligan Bay Campground on the lake's south-western shore.(ABC News: Sarah Maunder)

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is filling for the first time since access to the lake was restricted by a new management plan.

An outback boating club has questioned authorities' capacity to enforce the new rules.

Parks and wildlife and traditional owners ask tourists heading to the lake to adhere to access regulations.

Visitors to Australia's largest salt lake are continuing to walk on the lake-bed months after new rules came into effect that limited recreational access.

The usually-dry Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is flooding in what some locals expect to be themost substantial fill in decades.

It is also the first fill since anew management plan was adopted, which bans visitors from walking on the lake-bed and reinforces restrictions on driving and boating on the lake.

ABC News visited Halligan Bay Campground on Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre's south-western shore and witnessed several groups of visitors walking on the lake.

The ABC did not see any signage advising visitors of the changed rules.

An old sign that directed visitors to walk within 100 metres of the lake shore had been blacked out with tape by a local.

Parts of a safety sign on the lake's shore have been blacked out with tape by a local.(ABC News: Sarah Maunder)

A spokesperson for the Department For Environment and Water said signage would be installed at the site soon.

"New visitor infrastructure, including interpretive signage, will soon be installed at locations such as the Halligan Bay Point Campground to ensure visitors are aware of new restrictions to accessing the lake bed," the spokesperson said.

"Due to National Parks and Wildlife Service staff resources being required to assist the flood response at Innamincka and the re-opening of Witjira National Park, temporary signage advising visitors of the new restrictions has not been able to be installed to date."

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre was declared a national park in 1985 — a development that ensured the site was subject to various protections under South Australian law.

According to the SA government, recreational activities "including swimming, driving off designated tracks, boating and landing aircraft" were restricted as a result of the national park declaration.

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is a sacred site for the Arabana people, who were granted native title over land covering most of the lake in 2012.

Colleen Strangways says the traditional owners want people to visit the lake, but to do so in a mindful way.(ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)

The Arabana people co-manage the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

"Lake Eyre or Kati Thanda is our home," Arabana Aboriginal Corporation director Colleen Raven Strangways said.

"This is where my ancestors walked for over 65,000 years, this is where my ancestors lived, camped, had families.

According to the current management plan for the national park, the 2012 native title determination gave "Arabana people certainty, and a major influence on what happens on their land".

"Native title rights enable Arabana people to hunt and camp on their lands. They also have the right to negotiate with companies regarding any mining activities on their Country," the plan states.

"It gives legal acknowledgement of what they have always known: this is Arabana Country."

Arabana say their ancestors and spiritual beings live on the lake and it is where they get their law and spiritual learnings from.

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is a sacred site for the Arabana people.(ABC News: Sarah Maunder)

They wanted to limit foot and vehicle traffic to protect the lake-bed and surrounding ecosystem.

"We don't want boating on there, we don't want people walking on there because when you walk on that lake, it stays there until the next big flood," Ms Strangways said.

"It stays there, it doesn't go away … the ecosystem is so fragile and so important to the health of that lake and to the health of its people, my people, the Arabana people.

"We want you to come, enjoy it, but show respect."

Travis Gotch says the National Parks and Wildlife Service will be monitoring activity on the lake ahead of the fill.(ABC News: Guido Salazar)

National Parks and Wildlife district ranger, Travis Gotch, said restricting boating on the lake during floods will also protect wildlife.

"We've got a number of birds obviously breeding on the islands, they're there because they don't want to be disturbed," Mr Gotch said.

"You've got birds that are flying all the way from Siberia to undertake a major breeding event that are listed as endangered globally … they don't want to be being bothered and we're trying to keep that sustained for them and protected as well."

Additionally, the Arabana and National Parks and Wildlife Service say walking, driving and boating on the lake is a safety issue.

A person fishing at, and a boat on, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre during the flood of the mid-1970s.(Image courtesy of the National Archives of Australia/NAA: A6135, K11/7/75/6)

The vast size of the lake-bed and lack of mobile coverage means once visitors lose sight of land, there is no way to orient themselves.

"It's a safety issue and we're responsible as Arabana people, we are responsible for you when you're on our country," Ms Strangways said.

Lake Eyre Yacht Club members sail on usually-dry rivers and lakes in the outback during rare moments they are flooded with water.

The Lake Eyre Yacht Club is based in Marree.(ABC News: Sarah Maunder)

The club's commodore Bob Backway has been an outspoken critic of limiting walking and boating activities on Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.

Mr Backway says members adhere to rules to protect the wildlife and environment.

"Lake Eyre is a sacred spot for all Australians, it's a very big bird breeding ground, we don't want it to be environmentally destroyed," he said.

Bob Backway has been an outspoken critic of limiting recreational activities on the lake.(ABC News: Sarah Maunder)

The Arabana Aboriginal Corporation says they want people to visit Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, but to do so in a mindful way.

"We're not stopping people from coming, we invite people to come, we want you to," Ms Strangways said.

"We want people to enjoy it just as much as us, however, we are asking people not to go onto the lake.

Mr Backway would not be drawn on whether the yacht club had plans to sail on the lake once floodwaters had reached an appropriate level.

He did question the ability of National Parks and Wildlife Service to police the restrictions on the lake-bed.

"I can't imagine a ranger walking onto the beach at Halligan Point and ordering 100 people off a beach," Mr Backway said.

Mr Backway wouldn't be drawn on whether the yacht club has plans to sail on Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.(ABC News: Sarah Maunder)

Mr Gotch said the service would be monitoring activity on the lake ahead of the fill.

"There are expiations for people on the lake, for boating on the lake, and where people are caught, it will be enforced and there's further penalties as well for further non-compliance," he said.

Outdoor Recreational Activities

The Rubin Observatory has been in construction since 2015.(Supplied: RubinObs/NSF/DOE/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/W. O'Mullane)

The Vera C Rubin Observatory is starting operations in Chile, and will survey the southern night sky in detail every few days for 10 years.

Astronomers are hoping to use the observatory to learn more about dark matter, the nature of the universe, and closer objects like asteroids and Solar System features.

The observatory's first images will be unveiled very early on Tuesday morning, Australian time.

The Vera C Rubin Observatory is about to open its eyes.

Perched on top of a Chilean mountain, the US-funded observatory promises to "revolutionise our view of the cosmos".

Using the world's largest digital camera, the observatory will take images of the Southern Hemisphere over the next 10 years.

After a decade under construction, which cost $US810 million ($1.2 billion) alone, it is about to release its first snapshots to the public early in the week.

Australia is one of many countries contributing to the telescope's development, and astronomers such as Tania Barone from Swinburne University of Technology are gearing up for the wealth of information the observatory is expected to generate.

The Rubin Observatory, or officially the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, is built on the Chilean mountain of Cerro Pachón, 2,647 metres above sea level.

The high altitude and dry air gives it a view of the night sky with minimal interference.

The observatory is funded by the US, but located in northern Chile.(Supplied: Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

Inside, a telescope with an 8.4 metre-wide mirror will feed light into a camera the size of a car.

The 3,000-kilogram camera is the largest digital camera ever made, and each exposure will capture an area of the night sky about 45 times the area of the full moon.

The camera will use six different coloured filters to take images in different light spectra from ultraviolet beyond our vision, right through to infrared.

When combined, these filters will provide a spectacularly detailed view of the cosmos over time.

The camera will snap a picture every few seconds, and will be able to photograph the whole Southern Hemisphere sky every couple of days.

The 3,200-megapixel camera will be connected to the Simonyi Survey Telescope inside the observatory.(Supplied: Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

It is scheduled to do this for 10 years, building up a decade-long survey of space and how it changes.

But Dr Barone said that the observatory will also be able to provide astronomers with super-fast results.

"Every time it looks at the same patch of sky, it will immediately compare it to what it looked like before," Dr Barone said.

"If there's a change, it sends out alerts, and suddenly everyone can follow it up and see what's happening."

The observatory is named after the US astronomer Vera Rubin, who uncovered some of the first evidence for dark matter.

Vera Rubin, who lived from 1928-2016, did early work on the rotation of galaxies, which gave rise to the theory of dark matter.(Supplied: Carnegie Institution for Science)

The observatory was born out of a quest by astronomers to solve the mystery of dark matter.

Researchers started floating the idea for the observatory in the 1990s, discussing what type of telescope they would need to learn more about dark matter and how powerful it would need to be.

The observatory will be useful for understanding dark matter, but it will also be able to spot a number of other things.

Rachel Webster, an astrophysicist at the University of Melbourne, said that the telescope's ability to capture the whole night sky, several times a week, will allow researchers to view rare objects that were previously only captured by chance.

These include stars that explode as supernovas, or quasars that send out regular pulses of energy across the universe like clockwork.

"I've got experiments that I designed and thought about 30 years ago which I had never been able to do," Professor Webster said.

A particular area of interest is gravitational lensing: where the gravity of objects can warp and magnify light coming from more distant objects.

"We're going to be able to find a whole lot more of these incredible targets, which tell us a whole lot about, dark matter, the nature of the universe, and also the nature of these really distant galaxies because they are very brightly magnified," Dr Barone said.

The telescope's huge lens will also capture very faint light, allowing researchers to see distant large-scale objects.

"We haven't been able to really do that before, because telescopes tend to have fairly small scales," Professor Webster said.

Jonti Horner, an astrophysicist at the University of Southern Queensland, said the telescope would also be able to spot much closer objects.

The observatory will be able to spot many more asteroids, comets, and other close Solar System objects than any previous telescope.

Comets are not often bright or slow-moving enough for other telescopes to spot them, but the Rubin Observatory will notice them.(Wikimedia: Palonitor,NEOWISE,CC BY-SA 4.0)

Professor Horner said that the observatory will also give people a much better chance of seeing asteroids that could crash into the Earth.

"If we find something that's on a collision course, it gives us hugely more time to see that it's coming, giving us the option to do something about it — whether that's deflecting the object or evacuating the area," he said.

Earlier this year, NASAspotted an asteroid, dubbed 2024 YR4, that had a higher-than-usual chance of hitting the Earth within seven years. Experts now think it poses no significant risk.

"If Vera Rubin was operating 10 years ago, we would have found that object 10 years ago," Professor Horner said.

The observatory will also be useful for finding out if thethe elusive Planet Nine,a theoretical gigantic planet beyond Neptune, actually exists.

The Rubin Observatory's first pictures will be released early this week.

The official unveiling happens at 1am (AEST) this Tuesday, June 24.

If you are keen, you can watch the unveilinglive on the telescope's websiteor rug up and go to awatch party in Melbourne, Sydney or Perth.

The telescope's official mission will begin a little later this year, and researchers anticipate it will not be long before they see exciting information coming out of the observatory.

Australian researchers have arranged to get access to Rubin's information, by helping to process Rubin's information.

The observatory will be generating some 20 terabytes of data every night.

"The volume of data that will come off is beyond even the resources of the US," Professor Webster said.

Australian researchers have developed software that the observatory will run on, helping to process these vast torrents of data.

"We found that the most efficient or effective way that we contribute was to offer our brains," Professor Webster said.

"So we've had a number of IT people who've been working on the data processing."

In return, the Australian astronomy community has negotiated to get access to Rubin's information as soon as it is generated, allowing them to progress their research further.

"It was really impressive to see astronomers who come from totally different research fields with totally different research interests, all saying 'this is really important to us, we need to have access,'" Professor Horner said.