Dementia is also common, affecting three in ten people over 85, and one in ten over 65. A report on dementia in Australia states: ‘Dementia is not a single specific disease. It is an umbrella term describing a syndrome associated with more than 100 different diseases that are characterised by the impairment of brain function, including language, memory, perception, personality and cognitive skills.’

In Darwin on 30 November, the temperature reached 33 degrees. Two pregnant Iranian women, known as Maryam and Tahere, were flown from an immigration detention centre on Nauru to the Northern Territory to give birth in safe medical facilities. They exited the plane, perhaps moving gingerly, as you would imagine of women with ballooning bellies. They and their families hopped on a small bus. They expected to arrive at accommodation within the community, as they have been granted refugee status and now are settled on Nauru.