☕️ Spain bans rental evictions

If you’re reading this newsletter with your cappuccino in hand, you may have noticed something different this morning: you didn’t pay a card surcharge.

That’s because, from today, card surcharges are no more. New rules mean businesses can no longer add that extra $0.07 (or however much it is) when you tap your card.

So, enjoy your cheaper coffee this morning! Until prices go up because the surcharge has just been absorbed into the price!

The quote: “They’re really going to be policing each other, and that’s the way it works.” U.S. President Donald Trump on the future of AI companies, after a meeting with tech CEOs including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. Trump also repeated his idea that AI be renamed ‘super intelligence’.

The stat: 157,957. The number of electric vehicles bought in Australia in the first half of the year, according to the Electric Vehicle Council. This is a record high for Australia.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 48% of you got rid of clothes you never wear this year. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,349 votes].

Together with AAP.

The Australian Greens have announced NSW Senator David Shoebridge as their new leader.

It comes after outgoing leader Larissa Waters announced on Monday evening that she was stepping away from the role over health concerns.

Speaking to media after being named leader, Shoebridge said: “We can feel that politics as usual is not providing the answers that people are desperately calling for now... Labor has created the circumstances for One Nation and Labor is not the answer.”

Here’s what you need to know.

On Monday evening, Waters revealed she has been managing chronic kidney disease, which has recently “taken a downturn”.

“I need to be honest with myself about not being invincible,” she said.

Waters has led the minor party since May 2025, after former leader Adam Bandt lost his seat at the federal election.

Bandt was one of three Greens MPs to lose their seat in the lower house, reducing the party to one House of Representatives spot.

Shoebridge served in the NSW Upper House from 2010 to 2022. He was first elected as a Federal Senator for NSW at the 2022 election.

Since the last federal election, Shoebridge has served as the Greens spokesperson for portfolios including Foreign Affairs, Defence, Immigration, and IT.

SA Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi also contested the leadership. Faruqi ran on a joint ticket with Senator Nick McKim. Victorian Senator Steph Hodgins-May was chosen to be Deputy Leader.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, co-founder Zara explains why the RBA raised the cash rate to its highest level in 15 years, and what it says about the state of the economy. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.

🍿 Want to know which movies to see this spring and summer? Sign up to TDA Culture here for a breakdown in your inbox at 5pm.

🤔 Can CBD oil help autistic children feel calmer and more socially confident? Dr Talitha Ford unpacks the study she led alongside fellow Deakin University researchers. Listen on The Daily Aus, wherever you get your podcasts.

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Spain’s Government has announced plans to ban rental evictions until 2030 after an 87-year-old woman was forced out of her home.

Maricarmen Abascal had lived in the property for 70 years, with her eviction sparking nationwide protests and renewed pressure on the Government to act on the country’s housing crisis.

The opposition has criticised the plan, which still needs to pass Parliament, where the Government lacks a majority.

Here’s what you need to know.

Last week, Maricarmen was evicted on a stretcher from her home in Madrid where she had lived since 1956.

The Madrid Tenants’ Union says the investment fund that owned the apartment raised her rent by 275%.

Maricarmen’s eviction sparked national uproar, with tens of thousands of people protesting across the country.

Hundreds of tents were set up in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol plaza as part of the demonstrations.

The movement adopted the slogan “Ni una Maricarmen más”, meaning “not one more Maricarmen”.

The investment firm has since agreed to let Maricarmen return home.

Spain has been grappling with a housing shortage for years, with rents continuing to rise.

The average asking rent hit $AU25 per square metre in August, up by 5.8% on the same month last year, according to property portal Idealista.

The rise has been linked to increased demand, limited supply and the growth of short-term rentals in popular areas.

The Bank of Spain estimates the country is in need of 750,000 more homes, projecting that figure will hit 1 million by 2028.

On Tuesday, Cabinet approved two decrees aimed at reforming Spain’s housing market.

A decree allows the Government to introduce measures immediately, but Congress must approve it within 30 days or it lapses.

The measures include extending the eviction ban for vulnerable people until 2030 and preventing investment funds from buying residential properties until 2028.

The latest reforms are expected to go to a vote on Friday (local time).

Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo criticised the decree, arguing the Government could not solve a problem it had spent eight years creating in a matter of minutes.

The Government does not have a majority in Parliament, meaning it will need support from other parties to pass the proposed changes.

In April, Parliament rejected an earlier decree that would have allowed tenants to extend their leases after the Government failed to secure enough votes.

Australia has no national eviction law, with each state and territory setting its own rules.

Several states and territories have moved away from “no-grounds” evictions, where a landlord ends a tenancy without giving a reason.

In NSW, landlords have needed a valid reason, such as selling the property, to end a tenancy since May 2025.

Victoria introduced similar laws in November 2025.

Western Australia has also announced plans to ban no-grounds evictions.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

Too busy for a catch-up? Try setting a hard stop

TAL’s Social Connection Survey found nearly 1 in 4 young Aussies (25–34) surveyed cancel plans from being too busy, while 45% are more likely to say yes when timing is convenient. Convenience is often the difference between a yes and a no.

Today’s Social Move: The 20-Minute Hard-Stop Coffee. Text a mate: "Quick coffee at 8:00 AM? I have to run by 8:20." A quick catch-up beats a postponed one.

Translation: A quick 20-minute catch-up is always better than cancelling.

Follow @TAL_Australia on IG for daily forecasts & real-life resilience tips. 

^{For further information about the survey, visit @tal_australia on Instagram.}

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The record stood from 2002 until Tuesday night at the Australian Short Course Championships in Sydney, where Crothers swam almost three seconds faster than the previous fastest time. Afterwards, Crothers said: “I did not see that coming at all. Not even close.”

Reporting by George Finlayson.

Someone at Fiji’s High Court is about to be in big, big trouble.

Police have discovered multiple bars of cocaine are missing from an evidence room at the court, and local media reports forensic tests confirmed the remaining drugs had been replaced with flour.

A person of interest in the case is now overseas.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.