☕️ Erin Patterson back in court today

Here is today’s trivia question: Only one Australian film currently sits among the 50 highest-grossing films ever at the Australian box office. Which one?

Answer is in the titbit.

The quote: “To see it just thrown to the side and discarded is incredibly disappointing. We could have made sweeping changes to stop these predatory practices we see so often.” Nationals MP Pat Conaghan, who was part of the 2023 Labor-led inquiry into gambling ads, speaking to the ABC about the Government’s gambling reform bill. Yesterday, Conaghan was one of two MPs who crossed the floor to vote against the gambling reform, arguing it doesn’t go far enough. The bill passed the Lower House yesterday.

The stat: 113. The number of confirmed cases of sexual harassment at the mining company BHP in the 2025-26 financial year, according to its annual report.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 63% of you think Australia’s gun laws should be stricter, 25% think they’re about right, 6% think they should be less strict, and 6% didn’t know. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,817 votes].

Together with AAP.

Meet Deakin graduate Emma Kornitschuk, Senior Digital Marketer at the Geelong Cats.

After originally studying psychology, Emma switched to Deakin's Bachelor of Communication, where hands-on experience and two internships helped shape her degree.

As Emma explains: “I wanted to study something that would give me a broad understanding of the space while letting me put what I was learning into practice. In this way, the course was pretty unique. Being able to apply your skills to different scenarios sharpens your critical thinking, and that's stuck with me ever since.”

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The Federal Government’s reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) passed the Senate last night, following a months-long review. It will now return to the House of Representatives, where it will pass with Labor’s majority.

The Government says the reforms will protect the scheme from fraud and rein in its growing cost, but advocates warn hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability will lose necessary support.

The NDIS provides support and services for Australians with disability. This includes access to community services, such as doctors, and assistance for necessary support, such as vehicle modifications.

It was launched in 2013, with the intention of supporting 410,000 people. There are now more than 760,000 Australians who receive support from the NDIS.

Under 25-year-olds represent more than 60% of active NDIS participants. Around 22% of recipients are aged zero to eight. The most common primary disability of NDIS recipients is autism (43%). The other most common primary disabilities are intellectual disability (13%) and developmental delay (9%).

In a press conference on Tuesday, Health Minister Mark Butler noted the widespread fraud of the NDIS by what he called “shonks and fraudsters”.

Butler confirmed that costs had “blown out by... $13 billion,” saying the reforms would bring that figure down to ensure the NDIS is a scheme that will “last for decades”.

The bill to reform the NDIS first passed the House of Representatives in July. A Senate inquiry then ran for months and received thousands of submissions, most opposed to the bill. It still recommended the bill pass.

Based on feedback from people with disability and advocates, the Government agreed to additional amendments including:

Disability advocates, including People with Disability Australia (PWDA), warn the changes will cause “foreseeable harm”.

PWDA chief executive Megan Spindler-Smith said the changes would force disabled Australians to work less, engage less with their community and rely more on family, eroding their independence.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the Coalition would only support the changes once the Government fixed the “widow’s tax”.

The “widow’s tax” is the name given to a rule affecting people whose spouse dies, leaving them the sole owner of property they owned together, causing them to lose certain tax concessions.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers agreed to fast-track a change in exchange for the Coalition’s support of the NDIS bill.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, multimedia journo Elliot explains what we know about the sexual assault allegation involving the Sydney Swans. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.

🎾 There’s a lot going on in sport right now. Sign up to TDA Sport here for a full run-down in your inbox at 4.30pm.

✈️ Every travel planner knows this line: "Why didn't we do this instead?" Klook found it's the #1 complaint Aussie planners hear - despite doing all the work nobody else wanted to do. Nominate the planner in your life who deserves a free trip to Switzerland, where for once, they're not in charge. Entries close 31 August.

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Erin Patterson will return to court today, almost a year after she was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years.

The 51-year-old was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for intentionally serving her estranged husband’s relatives death cap mushrooms.

Now, Patterson is asking Victoria’s Court of Appeal for permission to overturn her murder convictions.

At the same hearing, prosecutors will argue her sentence was too lenient and should be extended.

In July 2023, Erin Patterson hosted her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, and her husband’s aunt and uncle, Heather and Ian Wilkinson, for lunch.

Patterson served individual beef Wellingtons which she said contained dried mushrooms.

Following the meal, all four became critically ill. Don, Gail, and Heather died, while Ian spent several weeks in hospital.

In July 2025, Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

In September 2025, Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale handed Erin Patterson three life sentences, with the possibility of parole after 33 years.

Patterson was also sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder. Her sentences are being served concurrently (at the same time).

Beale said his decision to allow parole was influenced by the “harsh prison conditions” Patterson was facing, including the “likely prospect” of long periods in solitary confinement.

Patterson’s new legal team lodged an appeal in November 2025, setting out seven grounds.

One argument is that a “fundamental irregularity” occurred during the trial, because the jury unknowingly stayed at the same hotel as the lead detective and two prosecution members while they deliberated. Her lawyers argue this “fatally undermined the integrity of the verdicts” and that she should get a retrial.

They are also arguing some evidence should not have been put to the jury, such as messages to her Facebook friends.

Defendants in criminal cases are not required to testify. However, Patterson chose to do so. Witnesses and defendants in cases are questioned by both the defence (called examination-in-chief) and prosecution (cross-examination).

Patterson’s lawyers are set to argue the prosecution’s five-day cross-examination of her was “unfair and oppressive.”

Under cross-examination, Patterson admitted to wanting to lead her in-laws to believe she had cancer. She also said she was planning gastric bypass surgery at a Melbourne clinic, but admitted under prosecution questioning that the clinic did not offer that surgery.

Prosecutors are also appealing, seeking a tougher sentence. They argue the 33-year non-parole period was “manifestly inadequate,” and that Patterson should be given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors allege it was wrong for the sentencing judge to find it was likely that Patterson would be held in “solitary confinement for years to come,” and that this — in their view — wrong assumption shaped how the non-parole period was set.

The hearing is listed for two days before a panel of three judges.

The judges must first decide whether Patterson’s grounds of appeal have enough merit to grant permission for the appeal to proceed.

The court may not rule immediately. If it rules against her, Patterson could escalate her appeal to the High Court, which would first need to decide whether or not to hear the appeal.

Patterson is expected to appear by video link from prison.

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Researchers observed six Asian small-clawed otters at Adelaide Zoo over a six-month period. Their goal was “to better understand how zoo visitors and staff influence the animals’ behaviour and vocalisations.” The study found no evidence linking visitors with stress-related behaviours in the otters. Instead, co-lead author Paige Klingner said they were “generally more active and more visible when people were present.” The animals were more likely to make noises when people were around, and the findings suggest the species, the world’s smallest otter, may actually find humans entertaining.

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Elon Musk has threatened to roll out flying cars.

Per a post to X, the platform he owns, plus reporting from The Information, Musk’s company Tesla is apparently working on making its cars fly.

What are the rules of the road when you’re in the air, we wonder?

(This reporter also hopes Tesla is working on how easy it is to get carsick in the backseat of their cars.)

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

Trivia answer: Crocodile Dundee, according to Screen Australia.