☕️ Australian-first alcohol laws

Have you wished your friends a happy birthday yet?

Chances are, it’s one of their birthdays, because today is the most popular birthday for Australians.

My birthday was yesterday, thanks for asking. My parents are original like that!

The quote: “I poorly worded that... We're against sex selective abortion and late term abortion… I spoke out of turn.”
One Nation NSW leader Mike Newman speaking to News24 after he told a rally this week he wants to “make sure… abortion is stopped” in the state.

The stat: €1 ($AU1.60). The damages Kim Kardashian requested a Paris court award her for being held at gunpoint and robbed in 2016. The Associated Press reports the court agreed to the “symbolic” amount this week.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 42% of you said you’d trust an unfamiliar brand if someone they know uses it. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [1,712 votes].

Together with AAP.

Travelling in Vietnam is the best kind of overstimulation.

And Contiki's 13-day journey takes you through it all, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, with iconic cities, limestone bays, way too many Vietnamese coffees and coastal towns along the way - all while you're making a bunch of new friends in your travel group. What's more, they're also running a giveaway right now with a $5,000 travel voucher on offer.

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South Australia has become the first state to introduce a two-hour delay on alcohol deliveries.

The reform follows recommendations from the state’s Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

The changes have been welcomed by domestic violence advocates but strongly opposed by the alcohol retail industry.

South Australia’s royal commission was called in late 2023, after six South Australians died in alleged family and domestic violence incidents, including four women in one week.

The commission heard alcohol is involved in up to 65% of reported domestic and family violence incidents around the country.

It handed down 136 recommendations in August 2025. Two of the recommendations specifically called for stricter rules around alcohol delivery.

The new reforms restrict same-day alcohol delivery to between 10am and 10pm, and introduce a minimum two-hour safety pause between when an order is placed and when it’s delivered.

They also amend the Liquor Licensing Act 1997 so that minimising alcohol-related harm becomes the law’s focus.

The bill passed Parliament on Tuesday.

Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education CEO Ayla Chorley welcomed the reforms, saying the measures are “common-sense and modest, but the impact they will have cannot be overstated.”

Retail Drinks Australia CEO Michael Waters criticised the changes, saying they lacked “credible evidence”, and warned they could push people towards unregulated or illegal delivery services and increase drink driving.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, co-founder Zara explains what’s been going on with Karl Stefanovic. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.

🍿 All of Ed Sheeran’s support acts have dropped out of his tour. Sign up to TDA Culture here for a breakdown in your inbox at 5pm.

🦸‍♂️ Three days left to vote for your Westfield Local Hero! Somewhere nearby, someone's been holding their community together, often without much recognition, and now's your chance to give them the spotlight they deserve. Vote for your Westfield Local Hero before Sunday; up to $1.25M in grants is on the line.

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This week, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the Australian Defence Force (ADF) workforce is the largest it has been in 25 years.

The ADF’s workforce is now 64,000 people, following a recruitment push and the introduction of a $40,000 continuation bonus in response to low enlistment and retention rates.

Marles said the Government is “focused on recruiting, retaining and skilling” the ADF workforce.

In 2022, the previous Coalition Government said it would commit to boosting the ADF workforce from 60,000 to 100,000 people by 2040.

The ADF has also sought to improve retention, after estimating 6,600 people would leave the force in 2022-23, with only 5,700 expected to join.

In 2024, the (now-Labor) Government expanded ADF eligibility to NZ, UK, Canadian and U.S. citizens who have lived in Australia for at least 12 months. It also announced a $600 million recruitment drive, including bonuses.

In 2023, the Government piloted a continuation bonus program, awarding $50,000 to eligible personnel who committed to three more years in the ADF after completing four years of continuous service.

By January 2024, the Government said 85% of eligible members had taken up the offer. The scheme was then extended to all ADF members as a $40,000 bonus, available to personnel after four years, and after seven years.

Also in 2024, the ADF launched a recruitment campaign on digital and traditional media platforms. At a Senate estimates hearing last year, ADF Chief of Personnel Lieutenant General Natasha Fox said they chose to advertise on entertainment news site LADbible.

Fox also confirmed the ADF worked with gaming streaming site Twitch to advertise via games such as FIFA and League of Legends. In total, the recruitment media strategy campaign cost $42 million.

This week, Marles said 8,100 personnel had joined in the past year, the highest intake in 16 years. Marles also noted that the number of people leaving the ADF is the lowest in 15 years, at 7.4%.

Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh said this was “thanks to” government “interventions”.

The ADF has faced scrutiny in recent years across a range of issues, including the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

The commission received more than 5,800 submissions about “systemic issues” in the ADF following 1,677 deaths by suicide between 1997 and 2021.

A class action lawsuit involving more than 1,000 former soldiers alleging systemic sexual violence, harassment, and discrimination in the force is currently before the courts.

In April, the Australian Federal Police charged former ADF soldier Ben Roberts-Smith over five offences relating to the alleged intentional murder and assistance to murder of civilians in Afghanistan.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

Aussie basketball starts Saturday - it's the fastest-growing league in the country for a reason.

Over 1.2 million fans saw games live last season, so it's got a reputation as one of the world's best basketball leagues. That energy kicks off Saturday in Melbourne: Adelaide 36ers v United at John Cain Arena, followed by a stacked night in Perth as the Wildcats host South East Melbourne Phoenix, fresh off signing former NBA star Brandon Knight, backed by a crowd cranking it up.

And that’s just the first few games - with 13 games over 9 consecutive nights to start the season it’s definitely time to PLAY IT LOUD.

Melbourne University geneticist Andrew Pask has been working with a U.S. biotech company on gene-editing and AI technology to piece together the full genome. With the thylacine’s genetic code now assembled, they’re now comparing it to its closest living relative, the Fat-tailed Dunnart, a tiny marsupial that shares 99.8% of its DNA. The plan is to edit a dunnart’s DNA to match the thylacine’s, then clone an actual animal from those edited cells using a donor dunnart egg. Pask believes a living thylacine could exist within the decade.

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

In an effort to get people off their damn phones, Singapore is paying its citizens to read.

Locals can join the ReadSG challenge, which involves reading for 15 minutes a day and logging your progress online.

Each time you log your progress, you earn digital coins, which can be exchanged for real money once you have enough. Happy reading, Singaporeans!

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.