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Happy Wednesday!
Here’s today’s riddle: I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
Answer is in the tidbit!
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"It's 2023 and I think it's pretty reasonable to expect that the Herald Sun in-house cartoonist should be able to draw women without using sexualised imagery." – Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan's response to a newspaper cartoon depicting her naked as part of a spoof on the children's story The Emperor’s New Clothes.
The stat
87-89%
The estimated voter turnout for the 2023 referendum, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. This is lower than the 2022 election, which saw almost 90% of eligible voters cast their ballots.
Today in history
2016: Four people were killed on a theme park ride at Dreamworld, in Queensland.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be honoured with an official state dinner at the White House on Thursday morning (Australian time) as part of his diplomatic visit to Washington DC. Albanese will become the third Australian PM to receive a state dinner in the U.S. over the last 20 years, after John Howard and Scott Morrison. The PM arrived in the U.S. capital on Sunday night, for four days of meetings where he said the focus would be on the AUKUS defence pact, climate action and tech innovation.
The Federal Government will fund a three-year trial aimed at reducing the impacts of harmful social media messaging on young men. It hopes to combat a rise in gender stereotyping, spurred on by influential personalities like Andrew Tate. The trial will focus on boys as young as five, and seek to encourage healthy relationships among men with their female counterparts, as part of an ongoing push to end violence against women and children.
I've got 1 minute
The Australian Red Cross has made an urgent call for extra donations, amid a shortage of type O blood.
Lifeblood, the Red Cross blood service, says an extra 500 donations of O positive and O negative are needed every day for the next fortnight to boost supplies.
O negative is "the universal blood type", meaning it can be used to treat patients with an unknown blood type.
O positive – the blood type of 40% of Australians – is used for most patients who need a blood transfusion.
However, less than 7% of the population are O negative – the universal blood type often stocked in ambulances to treat trauma patients.
Despite more people donating than ever before, Lifeblood says demand has increased. It needs donations from an estimated 13 million eligible Australians, "to ensure we continue to meet the needs of patients across the country".
I've got 2 minutes
The national gambling self-exclusion register, BetStop, has received thousands of sign-ups since it launched in August.
The service allows gamblers to ban themselves from opening an account or placing a bet with licensed online and phone betting providers.
Self-imposed bans range from three months to a lifetime.
Since BetStop launched on 21 August:
Almost 10,000 people have banned themselves from gambling.
The majority of these are Australians under 40.
Lifetime bans are the most commonly chosen ban option.
How does it work?
Anyone who registers with BetStop will be blocked from all Australian licensed online and phone betting providers.
Providers are required to refuse services to customers on the register. Any gambling accounts held by a punter on the register should be closed by the provider, and any credit should be refunded.
Gambling companies are also banned from sending marketing material, such as promotional texts or emails, to anyone on the register.
Gambling service providers are required to promote BetStop on their websites and apps, and in any marketing material sent to unregistered customers.
Gamblers on BetStop can list up to five support people on their registration. These people will be contacted when the person on the register finalises their gambling ban, or if they attempt to cancel their self-exclusion early.
Only the gambler can choose to put themselves on the register.
Give me some good news
The Matildas are back on Australian soil for the first time since the World Cup.
They will play three Olympic qualifying matches in Perth, with their first against Iran on Thursday night.
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A TDA tidbit
Britney Spears has released her new memoir, ‘The Woman In Me’.
Spears’ book details what it’s been like to be one of the most scrutinised figures in pop culture history. The memoir tells the story of her life so far, from her rapid rise to fame as a teenager to her experience under the conservatorship.
It’s the biggest public platform Spears has had since the 14-year legal conservatorship organised by her father Jamie ended in 2021. Spears has said the arrangement, which her father said began out of concerns for her mental health, left her with no control over her own life.
The book is available to buy in Australia from today.
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Riddle answer: A map.
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