☕️ Menulog to shut down

All eyes are on the Liberal Party today who are set to announce their new position on net zero, after a marathon five-hour meeting yesterday (I hope they had snacks).

If you want more context on this, listen to our podcast this morning here.

“The recycling and collection options currently available to consumers are limited, and we consider that the [new] scheme is an important way to expand those choices.”
ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh in a statement on the progress of a new soft plastic recycling scheme to replace REDcycle, which collapsed almost three years ago. The scheme has received approval to operate for eight years, and is run by plastic-producing companies including Woolworths and Coles.

$39.8 billion
The amount of money Australian real estate investors borrowed from July to September, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Loans for investors now account for two in every five new home loans.

“You just ask nicely pretty sure.”
Made in response to our headline: “How do you get nominated for a Grammy?”

Regional airline Rex will continue to operate under U.S.-based aviation company Air T following a deal approved by the Federal Government.

Rex entered voluntary administration last year.

A majority of Rex’s financial lenders voted in favour of transferring ownership to Air T this week.

Air T said it is committed to “providing critical services to regional Australians.”

Rex is a regional-focused carrier and was once Australia’s third-largest airline.

The company struggled to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2022/23 financial year, it reported a $30 million loss.

Last year, it entered voluntary administration, meaning it could no longer afford to pay its debts.

The Federal Government then gave the airline $80 million to maintain regional routes.

Last month, Air T put forward a bid to acquire Rex.

The proposal was approved following a majority vote by Rex’s administrators during a meeting with the American airline this week.

In exchange for the Government’s support of the takeover, Air T has agreed to continue Rex’s regional routes and improve the company’s organisational structure. The airline will also retain current employees.

Under the deal, the Federal Government has agreed to provide another $60 million loan. It has also approved a restructuring of the company’s current Government debt.

In a statement, Federal Transport Minister Catherine King thanked relevant stakeholders for their efforts to “keep Rex flying and maintain critical aviation links for our regional communities.”

Rex will continue to operate under a contractual arrangement agreed upon by administrators until the takeover is finalised.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has proposed measures to try children as adults for violent crimes.

Serious alleged offenders aged 14 and above would be tried in adult courts, allowing for harsher and longer sentences, including life in prison.

Similar measures were introduced in Queensland in late 2024, and now cover 33 “serious offences”.

Youth community legal centre Youthlaw said the changes are a “step backwards”.

In Victoria, the age of criminal responsibility is 12.

This is the age at which a child can be charged with, or prosecuted for, an alleged crime.

Those aged 12 to 17 at the time of their alleged offence face trial in a children’s court, provided they are under 19 when they attend court.

The exception is children accused of crimes causing death, such as murder, who are diverted to adult courts.

Maximum periods of detention in the children’s court are three to four years, depending on the number of offences and the court they are sentenced in.

Offenders aged 12 to 15 are detained in youth residential centres, while 15 to 20-year-olds are detained in youth justice centres.

Allan announced the proposed changes on Wednesday morning, calling them “serious consequences.”

Among the crimes included in the measure are home invasion, carjacking, violence causing intentional injury, and serious and repeated burglaries and robberies.

Young people who commit these crimes will face trial in adult courts, meaning they are subject to maximum penalties — up to life in prison.

The rule that judges must treat jail as a “last resort” would also be removed.

Since 2019, crimes committed by offenders aged 10-17 have increased by around 47%.

The proportion of total offences committed by young people (10-17) has increased by 20% since 2019, accounting for about 13% of offences.

In September, Victoria Police charged a group of teenagers aged between 15 and 19 with the murder of two boys in Melbourne’s outer-west.

The Government will put forward a bill before the end of the sitting year on 4 December, with a goal to have it in place by 2026.

The Queensland Government passed its ‘adult time, adult crime’ laws in December 2024 to address what it called the state’s “youth crime crisis”.

Under the legislation, young people face the same sentencing as adults for serious crimes including murder, manslaughter, robbery, and assault.

The reforms also permit courts to consider the criminal history of a young person during sentencing.

In May, the laws were expanded to include more crimes, such as rape, torture and drug trafficking.

Youthlaw CEO Lee Carnie condemned the measures, calling them “an alarming step backwards.”

Carnie said young people who commit crime are disproportionately from disadvantaged backgrounds and victims of crime themselves, and “need rehabilitation, education and support — not harsher punishment and longer prison sentences.”

RMIT University Social Equity Research Centre’s Dr Kathryn Daley said jail “does not reduce offending” and is “expensive and ineffective.”

Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the Government had “ripped a headline out of Queensland, but pulled away the substance.”

The legislation is still being drafted, which Battin labelled “an absolute joke”.

He added that if it wins the state’s next election in November 2026, the Coalition would “be tough on crime and smart on justice”.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

Black Friday = the perfect excuse to level up your home (and finally retire that dodgy couch from Facebook Marketplace)

Koala’s offering up to 30% off everything – bedroom furniture, sofas, the works.

The Wanda Sofa Bed is 30% off, which means one piece that covers movie nights, accidental naps, surprise mates-crashing-on-the-weekend, and hidden storage for your “I’ll fold that later” pile.

Plus, the award-winning Koala Mattress (queen) is $999 – with flippable firmness for indecisive sleepers – and 30% off the Kirribilli Bed Base for a proper grown-up bedroom setup.

🍊 Can athletes trademark their celebrations? Apparently yes.
🍊 England aren’t worried about their limited Ashes prep. Read more.
🍊 Ronaldo confirms the 2026 World Cup will be his last. Details here.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: tennis, athletics, and more…

NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a proposed telescope designed to look for signs of life on Earth-like planets.

Physics experts at Durham University in north-east England are part of a group of researchers building a high-resolution imaging camera for the HWO mission.

The camera would be used to measure the mass of suitable planets, and “inspect their atmospheres for the chemical fingerprints of life,” including water, oxygen, and methane.

Durham University said the observatory will also be able to stare into black holes, and solve the mystery of dark matter. HWO is expected to launch in the early 2040s.

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Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

Seemingly inspired by film diary app Letterboxd, Pope Leo has revealed his four favourite films.

The pontifex shared his list with Variety ahead of a Vatican conference on cinema.

In no particular order, they are:

Last year’s papal drama ‘Conclave’ didn’t make the cut.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

The Coalition is in the middle of a major internal showdown over its climate policy, after the Nationals recently announced they were dumping their support for net zero. 

Yesterday, Liberal MPs gathered in Canberra to discuss whether the party should maintain its commitment to net zero by 2050. Those talks will inform the Shadow Cabinet’s next decision, as it meets today to determine the party’s position. 

But it’s a joint meeting with the Nationals on Sunday where the Coalition's final stance on net zero will be hashed out. 

Today, we’ll bring you up to speed on what’s going on, and what it means for Australia’s future climate goals.