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Good morning!
It’s Book Week – which I’m fairly certain is a children’s thing, but we are hijacking it.
Send us your favourite book you’ve read this year by hitting reply to this email, and later this week I’ll report back on TDA readers’ favourite book of 2026.
I’ve got 10 seconds
The quote: “The growth that we're enjoying is coming principally from Gen X, Gen Z and Millennials and so we're seeing younger generations now participating in our stores than they were before.” Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO of Endeavour Group (which owns Dan Murphy’s and BWS) says younger generations continue to drive alcohol sales after the company posted an FY26 net profit of $52 million.
The stat: 72. The number of people Indonesian police have arrested on suspicion of deliberately lighting fires in forests across the country.
The big question:
When choosing which airline to fly with, what matters most to you?
Yesterday’s results: 48% of you said if you had to keep only one of these apps, you’d choose Instagram, 46% said YouTube, 4% said TikTok, and 2% said Snapchat. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,692 votes].
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Police in Victoria have raided the headquarters of the CFMEU, one of Australia’s biggest unions. Five people, believed to be union organisers, were arrested and are being questioned. The CFMEU represents more than 100,000 workers in construction and shipping, and was placed under administration in 2024 over alleged links to organised crime. As part of ongoing investigations, detectives conducted searches at six addresses on Monday morning, including the CFMEU’s Melbourne CBD office.
Five suspended Sydney Swans players will be barred from next month’s Brownlow medal function, but will remain eligible for the AFL’s most prestigious individual award, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon has confirmed. Dillon spoke publicly about the Swans’ sexual assault allegations for the first time on Monday, telling reporters: “It doesn’t matter who you are… the way we treat women says a lot about who we are as people, as a community and as a game. Quite simply, respect for women is not negotiable.” The Swans have suspended Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice for the rest of the season for breaching club standards. A police investigation into sexual assault allegations is ongoing.
Together with AAP.
I’ve got 1 minute
Singapore’s Government has promised every child born there will receive more than $70,000* in support by the time they turn 17.
The country’s fertility rate is at a record low, with officials warning the population could start shrinking within two decades.
*All amounts are in Australian dollars
Background
In 2025, Singapore’s fertility rate fell to a record low of 0.87 children per woman. A decade ago, the rate was 1.24.
A falling birth rate today means a smaller working-age population down the track, while the number of older people needing support keeps growing.
Baby bonus
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled the new Child Support Package on Sunday.
The money is spread across multiple payments from infancy to age 17.
$11,000 baby gift, paid in two cash instalments in the child’s first year
$35,200 in child credits, paid as $2,200 a year from age one to 16
Up to $11,000 split across a Child Development Account grant and a Government payment
$11,000 top-up to a post-secondary education account at age 17
With existing supports, the total exceeds $70,000 per child by age 17.
Will it work?
Singapore has run some version of a baby bonus since 2001. Despite that, the fertility rate has slid lower almost every year this decade.
Researchers point to delayed marriage, career pressure and the cost of living as bigger drivers than money alone.
The new package will take effect in Singapore from April 2027. Around 610,000 children across 380,000 households are expected to benefit.
Subsidies will be extended to families regardless of whether the parent applying for them is working.
For more on this topic, listen to this morning’s podcast on Apple here or Spotify here.
Reporting by Elliot Lawry.
Quick hits
🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, features editor Emma explains Singapore’s new baby bonus. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.
💶 TK. You can sign up to TDA Finance here to make sure the explainer is in your inbox on Wednesday morning.
Good Finds
👑 Global sensation SIX the Musical is back! It’s a Tony Award® winner remixing five hundred years of history into an 80-minute electrifying pop-concert fit for royalty, and it’s now playing in Melbourne, before stopping off in Sydney and Brisbane over Spring and Summer. Book your tickets (and rightful place on the throne) today!
Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.
I’ve got 2 minutes
A long-nosed fur seal has tested positive to H5N1 bird flu in South Australia.
It’s the first confirmed case in a mammal since the virus reached the mainland in June.
The seal was found dead by a member of the public earlier this month.
Authorities are working to contain the outbreak and limit further deaths, including by vaccinating the colonies of little penguins in Victoria after one tested positive for the virus.
Background
H5N1 bird flu arrived in Australia in June 2026, the last continent to be hit by the strain that has caused mass die-offs worldwide.
Since then, it’s spread to wild birds in every state.
As of 22 August, 298 “events” had been confirmed nationwide. An event can range from one to hundreds of infected animals at one location.
Seals
A fur seal was found dead at Beachport, on SA’s south-east coast, on 19 August. Testing confirmed it was infected with the H5N1 bird flu.
Officials say the seal showed no signs of injury and its death doesn’t appear linked to any other sick or dead marine mammals.
The South Australian Government reported a suspected second seal infection on Monday.
It isn’t the first time bird flu has hit Australian seals.
Thousands of baby seals died on Heard Island, a remote Australian territory 1,500 km north of Antarctica, after the virus reached there in late 2025.
It is, however, the first case on the mainland.
On Sunday, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said of the mainland case: “While the development is concerning, it is not unexpected in areas where infection rates are high among wild birds”.
What’s next?
There have been no detections in poultry or Australia’s agriculture industry. Authorities say chicken and eggs remain safe to eat, and the risk to human health stays low.
No human cases have been recorded in this outbreak.
Most human cases are mild, causing conjunctivitis or flu-like symptoms, but severe illness and death can occur in rare cases.
National Cabinet (all state and territory leaders) will discuss the latest developments and Australia’s ongoing response later this week.
Reporting by Elliot Lawry.
A message from TDA Sport
Does the name Louise Hoskins ring a bell?
She recently made history as the oldest Commonwealth Games gold medallist, winning the accolade for Australia in the para bowls competition at 76 years old. Her words of wisdom? "Never give up."
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Give me some good news
In a world-first, a python has received a pioneering human cancer therapy.
Keepers at Chester Zoo in the UK grew concerned about a 4.5-metre reticulated python named Jodie Foster after noticing her appetite and activity had dropped. (Jodie got her name after she was marked as “JF”, short for ‘juvenile female’, when she first arrived at the zoo.) Tests revealed a jaw tumour, which was removed but later returned. This time, the zoo worked with specialists from the University of Liverpool to adapt a treatment called electrochemotherapy for Jodie – combining cancer drugs with electrical pulses to penetrate cancer cells more effectively, allowing lower chemo doses, often in one procedure. Jodie has already recovered from the procedure 🐍
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
Last week, there was a calamari catastrophe in the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
A truck full of squid tipped over, spilling the sea creatures all over the road.
In a post to Facebook, local police called it “Squidpocalypse of ’26,” adding that it was “the spill that put ‘slippery when wet’ to shame.”
Reporting by Lucy Tassell.
TDA asks
