☕️ Floods in NSW

As I press send on this newsletter, a huge game of football (soccer? I digress) in the UK just wrapped up. And it has a strong Aussie angle.

Australian football coach Ange Postecoglou has led English side Tottenham Hotspur to their first major trophy since 2008, and first European title in 41 years, after they defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League final.

This means Postecoglou is the first Australian manager to win a European title.

You can guarantee you’ll be hearing about it today at the water cooler!

"Whilst this may not be the best direction to be heading with my changes, amazingly (to me), I still seem keen to keep living, loving and having fun, whenever possible... I feel like there are quite a few people on my team (including my family & friends) and they make me happy & proud."
Professor Richard Scolyer in a social media post on his recent brain scan which revealed his diagnosis of glioblastoma has advanced. Scolyer was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2023. From there, he and his colleague Professor Georgina Long began trials of pre-operative immunotherapy, which had never been done before. Scolyer and Long went on to become joint Australians of the Year for their work that experts say has progressed cancer research by 10 years.

47%
The percentage of young people aged between 16 and 21-years-old who indicated they would prefer to grow up in a world without the internet, according to a survey of 1,300 people by The British Standards Institute. Half also welcomed the idea of a social media curfew.

“We are never, ever, ever getting back together.”
A commenter on a TDA reel about the Nationals announcing their split from the Liberals — effectively ending the Coalition. The Nationals' leaders compared the move to a relationship breakup during the press conference. Although, to be fair, they did say they plan to get back together eventually! To learn more about the Coalition’s split, listen to today’s podcast here.

Americans who post nude images of others online without consent, whether real or AI-generated, will now face criminal penalties.

The new law was backed by First Lady Melania Trump and passed Congress with the support of both parties.

At a signing ceremony at the White House this week, Melania Trump called the law “a national victory that will help parents and families protect children from online exploitation.”

Under the new law, offenders could face fines, up to two years’ prison time, or both.

In March, First Lady Melania Trump hosted a roundtable to address concerns over the “emotional and psychological toll” of non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes.

The meeting brought together leading online safety experts, advocates, politicians, and victims of digital exploitation.

The bill received the support of more than 100 organisations, including tech giants Meta, TikTok, and Google.

Previously, laws targeting AI-generated explicit images applied only to those depicting children. The new legislation extends those protections to adults.

It also makes it a criminal offence to threaten to publish nude photos of another person.

Under the new law, online platforms are required to establish reporting systems to allow victims to request the removal of intimate images. Platforms must remove the content within 48 hours of being notified.

Melania Trump thanked politicians from both sides “for coming together to prioritise people over politics.”

She added that her husband U.S. President Donald Trump’s signature on the new law “is not where our work ends on this issue.”

The National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children welcomed the move, saying the new law “closes a dangerous gap.”

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Earlier this week, the federal Coalition split up for the first time in more than 40 years.

The Liberal and National parties cited differences over policy directions, but insisted the separation is not intended to be permanent.

There is some confusion about what this could mean for individual members, particularly those in Queensland.

That’s because Queensland has had a merged Liberal National Party since 2008.

Here’s what to know.

Australia’s political parties are usually made up of a national body, and branches for the states and territories.

The NSW Liberal organisation, for example, might operate differently to the Western Australian branch, but members of both are still part of the overall Liberal Party.

Think of it like school sport: athletes might play for their colour house at a carnival, but represent their school at a bigger event.

In 2008, the Queensland Liberals and Nationals decided to merge into one entity: the Liberal National Party (LNP).

At a federal election, Queensland candidates run as LNP members or senators.

Once elected, they choose whether they want to sit with the Liberals or the Nationals in Parliament.

Of the 16 LNP lower house MPs elected this year, 10 are aligned with the Liberal Party, and six are with the Nationals.

The federal leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, is in the LNP.

In the Senate, two of the four LNP Senators sit with the Liberals, and two with the Nationals.

Although the federal Coalition has split, the LNP is expected to remain the same merged party at the state level.

Those who sit with the Liberals will continue doing so, and likewise with the Nationals.

The main impact is that LNP MPs aligned with either side of the coalition will still have to go to the same state conferences.

Federal LNP MP Colin Boyce, who sits with the Nationals, told The Australian he was seeking clarity around attending party conferences alongside people who sit with the Liberals.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

It’s Australian Made Week (May 19–25), so here’s your friendly reminder to back the green and gold next time you shop.

When you choose products with the Aussie Made kangaroo logo, you’re supporting local makers, creating jobs, boosting the economy, and backing our communities.

How to spot an Aussie made product: Look for the iconic kangaroo logo - it’s the only registered country of origin mark in Australia, so it’s your best bet for buying local that’s actually local.

No matter what you’re buying, when you buy Australian Made we all win! 

🍊 The questions about William Goodge’s record.
🍊 Magnus Carlsen vs. 143,000 chess players.
🍊 How NFL players could compete at the LA Olympics.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: rugby, basketball, and more…

A group of scientists from the U.S, Italy and the Netherlands came together to develop “nanogel” capsules which mimic the smell of natural reefs. The light-sensitive slow-release capsules contain reef stabilising algae compounds released by some corals. During testing, researchers found coral larvae were six to 20 times more likely to settle on surfaces treated with the capsules. It means they’ve created a synthetic chemical that acts like a “welcome mat” to attract coral in its early developmental stages. It’s hoped the compound can be used to help boost genetic diversity in reefs to better protect them from future bleaching events.

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

A dispute over an alpaca entering an IGA in Tasmania has been escalated to the Tasmanian Magistrates Court.

In December 2023, Abbygail-Nigella Borst entered the store with her service animal, Violet, an alpaca. Staff asked Borst to leave the store, as they believed Violet to be livestock, and therefore not allowed to enter the premises.

Borst lodged a complaint with Tasmania's Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner alleging the store had discriminated against her service animal. The complaint was transferred to the state’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The tribunal noted Borst’s complaint that “Violet is used as part of [her] therapy,” and that “transferring these proceedings to the Magistrates Court is the appropriate order for [the tribunal] to make.”

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

In a surprise political development this week, the National Party announced it is splitting from its long-term partner, the Liberal Party, effectively ending the Coalition that has been a cornerstone of Australian politics for decades.

This decision marks only the third time in the Coalition's 80-year history that the parties have formally separated.

So what happens now? Who now makes up the Opposition? Does it just guarantee Labor will be elected again at the next election?

We’ll answer all the questions in today’s episode.