If you were forwarded this email (Hi! Welcome!), you can sign up to the newsletter here.
Good morning!
It’s hard to believe that it’s been six years (yes, 6!) since Australia started shutting down because of a little-known virus called COVID-19.
This week, six years ago:
Mass gatherings with more than 500 people were cancelled.
State of emergencies were declared across the country.
Australia’s international border was closed to non-residents.
There was a national shortage of toilet paper.
How far we’ve come.
I’ve got 10 seconds
The quote: “There is no need to stockpile or hoard fuel – take what you usually need so that no one has to go without.”
Energy Minister Chris Bowen announcing measures to release fuel from Australia’s stockpile.
The stat: 5%
The percentage of flight services cut by Air New Zealand due to rising fuel prices, according to Reuters.
The big question:
When you want to make a big purchase, what do you do first?
Friday’s results: 52% of you said that you use texts most to message people. [2,106 votes].
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
U.S. President Donald Trump has urged allied nations, including China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, to send warships to secure the safe passage of oil ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran threatened further escalation following American airstrikes on its Kharg Island oil production hub. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said U.S. strikes had "totally demolished" most of the facility and warned more could follow. In response, Iran launched 9 ballistic missiles and 33 drones toward the UAE on Saturday. The conflict has killed more than 2,000 people since Israel and the U.S. began air attacks on Iran on February 28, according to governments and state media.
Five members of the Iranian women's soccer team who were granted humanitarian visas by Australia last week have decided to return to Iran, according to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. The players were among seven team members offered asylum after defecting from their squad during the AFC Women's Asian Cup (Asia's top women's soccer tournament) in Australia. After one player initially returned and disclosed the group's location to the Iranian embassy, the remaining women were moved to a safer location. The team had refused to sing Iran's national anthem before their opening match, and Iranian state media labelled them "wartime traitors." Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the women were "under extreme and extraordinary pressure," and expressed concern for their safety on return.
Together with AAP.
Recommendation of the day
Your pet can't read the label – but you can
Applaws Natural Pet Food is made with 100% natural ingredients and high-quality protein, with zero fillers or artificial nasties. Just real food, the way nature intended. Cat parent, dog parent, or both – there's a full range built around what pets actually need.
I’ve got 1 minute
Bluesfest, a popular music festival held annually in Byron Bay, has announced the cancellation of its 2026 edition.
In 2024, festival director Peter Noble announced the 2025 edition would be the last, but later confirmed it would continue for another year.
The 2026 festival was scheduled for the Easter long weekend (2-5 April). Bluesfest’s website now says: “Rising production, logistics, insurance and touring costs, combined with a challenging environment for major live events, mean it is no longer possible to deliver the festival to the [same] standard”.
2025
In August 2024, Noble announced 2025 would be the last Bluesfest.
At a Senate inquiry into the live music industry in November 2024, Noble said: “People can’t afford to go out as much, unless it’s something they really don’t want to miss... They’re going to sit on that money unless you find a way to make them spend it.“
“When we said, with Bluesfest, this just might be the last one, all of a sudden we’re selling more tickets”.
During the 2025 festival, tickets went on sale for the following year.
2026
On Friday, Bluesfest’s website was updated with a statement announcing the cancellation of the 2026 edition.
It said a liquidator had been hired “to manage all financial matters, including vendor and partner obligations.” Liquidation is the process by which a company sells its assets to pay its pre-existing debts before closing.
The liquidator will be tasked with contacting ticket-holders for “potential refund arrangements”.
Reporting by Lucy Tassell.
Quick hits
🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, Sam and Billi discuss AI job redundancies in the tech industry.
🏔 The Winter Paralympics have come to a close - for a wrap of how Australia performed, sign up to TDA Sport here for your afternoon briefing.
I’ve got 2 minutes
The Federal Parliament has passed a law allowing the Home Affairs department to stop some people with temporary visas from coming to Australia if there is a conflict overseas.
Labor MP Julian Hill said the “situation in the Middle East” has raised questions about whether people would overstay their temporary visas “should they travel here.”
Some independents and Greens parliamentarians have called the policy “racist”.
It’s a complex policy. Let’s unpack.
Context
On 28 February, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, killing the Supreme Leader and civilians.
Iran’s UN ambassador says the strikes have killed 1,348 civilians, while the UN refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people have been displaced.
Iran-backed, Lebanon-based group Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel last week. Israel has responded with strikes across Lebanon, killing almost 700 people and displacing at least 800,000 people.
Visa changes
Prior to this bill, the Home Affairs Minister could suspend individual visas for up to six months under certain circumstances:
If a person has not yet travelled to Australia but has a temporary visa,
and a major event happens outside Australia, which the Government believes will cause them to overstay their visa if they come here.
It also applies when the Government determines that if the major event had already happened when the person applied for their visa, it would not have been granted.
On 10 March, Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill introduced a bill to apply these rules “at scale” to whole “cohorts”. Decisions about these cohorts must be explained to Parliament.
This means citizens of a country at war could be blocked from coming to Australia on a temporary visa for up to six months at a time.
There is an exemption for people in these circumstances with immediate family in Australia.
Hill said it is not “controversial” that Australians “feel confident” that “when someone receives a temporary visa... they are coming for a temporary purpose, not for another purpose.”
Response
The Coalition supported the changes, with Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O’Brien calling them “reasonable measures to strengthen the integrity of Australia’s migration system.”
However, O’Brien said “migration numbers have been too high”. While the changes “are welcome,” he said they “cannot substitute for... strong overall migration management.”
Earlier this week, the Government granted humanitarian visas to some members of the Iranian women’s football team. In light of this, some crossbenchers questioned the consistency of the Government’s approach.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, independent MP Zali Steggall and independent Senator Lidia Thorpe each called the legislation “racist”.
Steggall said: “While clearly targeted at Iranians today, in the future it can be unfairly applied to any nationality”.
Thorpe said: “With this Government, the only way to protect yourself from this illegal war is to be an elite athlete.”
“There was absolutely no talk of this sort of legislation after Russia invaded Ukraine,” independent Senator David Pocock said. The current Labor Government came to power three months after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Asylum Seekers Centre CEO Elijah Buol called the changes “duplicity defined.”
“The Government has chosen to block people with valid visas from entering Australia, while offering selective access to a few in the public eye,” he said.
Reporting by Emily Donohoe.
A message from Swisse
Most of us are pretty good at looking after ourselves on the outside.
But it’s what's happening inside – at a cellular level – where things get interesting. Swisse Nutra, from Australia's most trusted vitamin brand, is a new range designed to support energy production, cognition, metabolism and healthy ageing from within. Clinically studied ingredients, two years in the making.
Find it exclusively at Chemist Warehouse.
Give me some good news
For the first time, scientists have grown chickpeas in soil designed to mimic the surface of the moon.
The experiment, run at the University of Texas Austin, shows how the members of future moon missions could sustain themselves without having to take all the food they’ll need with them on their rocket. To grow the chickpeas, researchers mixed a simulated moon soil with a nutritious compost, which they say worms on a space mission could create from astronauts’ rubbish. The news comes as NASA prepares to send people back to the moon for the first time in decades.
Reporting by Lucy Tassell.
TDA titbit
Credit: REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
What would you define as precious cargo? A baby, a signed Harry Styles t-shirt, or your emotional support water bottle?
What about more than 2,000 live ants? Well, Reuters reports a Chinese national was arrested in Kenya while trying to smuggle 2,238 ants out of the country. Around 2,000 were packed in test tubes.
The Kenya Wildlife Service told Reuters that a similar shipment of Kenyan-origin ants was seized in Thailand, suggesting an ant-smuggling network.
I guess one person’s literal pest is another’s treasure.
Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.
TDA asks
