☕️ Curfew in Alice Springs is extended

Good morning!

Here is today’s riddle: How do you go from ninety-eight to 720 using just one letter?

Answer is in the tidbit!

I’ve got 10 seconds

Quote of the day

“In 2013 when Prime Minister [Tony] Abbott put together his cabinet… I was the only woman in it… I was there in my own right as the elected Deputy [Liberal Party] Leader. So they had no choice but to have me in Cabinet. I suspect that had I not been Deputy Leader, I would not have been in Cabinet. So there would have been no women in the Cabinet.”
Former Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop reflecting on being the only woman in the Cabinet under Tony Abbott’s prime ministership, in an interview for the podcast ‘Too Much’ by Future Women.

Stat of the day

66.2 and 64.8
The average retirement age of Australian men and women, respectively, according to new data from KPMG. Over the last two decades, the retirement age has increased by around 3 years.

Today in history

1970
Paul McCartney announced he had quit The Beatles.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

• Last month was the world’s hottest March on record, according to the European Union’s climate change service. It marks the tenth consecutive month of record-breaking temperatures. March was 1.68°C warmer than estimated pre-industrial temperatures. The global average temperature for the 12 months leading up to March was also at its highest on record.

• A new report has found JobSeeker payments are not high enough to cover living expenses. Data from Anglicare Australia shows more than 70% of spending by the bottom fifth of income earners in 2023 was on essential items. Anglicare said Centrelink payments were “far too low”.

I’ve got 1 minute

Young people in Alice Springs will remain under curfew for another six days

The Northern Territory Government has extended a curfew for young people in Alice Springs for another six days.

An initial two-week curfew under 18-year-olds in the region was announced last month, amid concerns about growing violence and unrest. That curfew was due to end today.

However, it will now continue until 6am Tuesday 16 April, meaning the curfew will cover the entire school holiday period in the NT.

The curfew

The curfew prevents young people in Alice Springs from leaving their homes between 6pm and 6am. Anyone found in public outside these hours is returned to their home or taken to a safe facility.

Extra police officers were deployed to Alice Springs to assist with the curfew.

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said authorities had seen “very encouraging results” since the curfew was introduced, confirming it would run until “the first day back at school,” on Tuesday.

Response

Ahead of this afternoon’s announcement, the NT Opposition had urged the government to extend the curfew until the end of the month.

Shadow Treasurer Bill Yan, whose electorate surrounds Alice Springs, said that without updated laws and increased police powers, “youth offenders will continue to run the town”.

He also called for harsher penalties for those who break curfew rules.

I’ve got 2 minutes

The Government's response to an ADHD inquiry is now more than two months overdue

Last year, a Senate inquiry examined support services for people with ADHD.

It received more than 700 submissions and heard from nearly 80 witnesses before handing down a report in November.

It made 15 recommendations to improve the lives of people with ADHD in Australia. The Government was given three months to hand down a formal response to the findings.

Five months later, it’s yet to do so.

ADHD

ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, impacts around one in 20 Australians. It can make it difficult to concentrate or control impulses.

ADHD symptoms usually present in childhood and the condition is currently more commonly diagnosed in boys.

Diagnosis requires a thorough behavioural assessment. In most cases, medication is only prescribed by psychiatrists and paediatricians.

Inquiry

Last year, the Senate launched an inquiry into the treatment and diagnosis of ADHD in Australia.

Its final report found there were multiple barriers to Australians receiving adequate care for ADHD: limited healthcare services, high treatment costs, and inconsistent prescription guidelines.

It noted “thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket expenses” can bar young people from accessing diagnosis and treatment.

Recommendations

The inquiry had several recommendations to improve testing and treatment for ADHD.

It suggested the government put more ADHD medications on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which makes medicines cheaper through government subsidies.

It also recommended a public health campaign to reduce stigma and improve awareness.

Government response

The government is typically required to respond to inquiries within three months of a final report. For example, the government’s formal response to the ADHD inquiry was due on 6 February.

However, before an official response is submitted, a relevant government department will consider an inquiry’s findings and prepare a draft response for the Minister.

In this case, the ADHD inquiry fell under the Department of Health — MP Mark Butler’s portfolio.

In February, the Department confirmed it had presented its draft to the Health Minister.

TDA asked Butler why he hadn’t responded. He didn’t directly address TDA’s questions, but said the government is “considering its recommendations and will respond in due course.”

This ADHD inquiry was overseen by the Senate’s Community Affairs Committee. The Albanese Government has not responded to any of this committee’s inquiries on time.

Opposition

Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic, who was on the Community Affairs Committee, said it’s not “unusual” for governments to take longer than three months to respond to an inquiry.

However, she said the government should have prioritised its response due to the high level of interest.

“[The government] is very late on the homework,” Kovacic said.

“Unfortunately that means people who are waiting for the outcome of this ADHD inquiry have a lot longer to wait.”

Greens Disability spokesperson Jordon Steele-John called the delay “unacceptable”.

“The ADHD community in Australia put so much energy and work into the inquiry [and] engaged with it earnestly, in good faith.

“The federal government, with all of its resources, all of its supports, couldn't get its response in on time, while ADHDers actually did do the work to do that,” he added.

Advocates

National ADHD support helpline, the ADHD Foundation, said: “Delays protract the suffering of those within the ADHD community.”.

It said Australians with ADHD will “continue to face the burden of lack of access to cost-effective diagnosis and treatment”.

The Foundation noted that while it was disappointed in the delays, it would rather wait for a “well-delivered” and “sustainable” response.

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National arts council Creative Australia has handed down a landmark report into the state of Australia’s music festivals – and it’s not good news.

Over a third of Australian music festivals lost money last year, with the cost of putting on a festival rapidly increasing.

Today on the podcast we speak to the Managing Director of the Australian Festival Association, Mitch Wilson, to unpack the findings.

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Give me some good news

Beyoncé has become the first Black woman to take the number one spot on the country charts for her album Cowboy Carter.

It’s also her eighth album to top the overall Billboard 200 album chart.

The singer has sold the most vinyls of her career so far, with 62,000 Cowboy Carter vinyl copies sold in the first week of the album’s release.

TDA tidbit

A sniffer dog once fired for being too friendly has become a hero after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan last week.

Using his expert nose, Roger successfully led rescuers to a survivor trapped beneath rubble in Kaohsiung City, within an hour of beginning his search.

Local mayor Chen Chi-Mai said Roger put a smile on the faces of the exhausted search and rescue teams, especially when he immediately destroyed a toy he was given as thanks.

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Riddle answer: Add an "x" between "ninety" and "eight".

TDA asks