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Good morning!
Here is today’s riddle: What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
Answer is in the tidbit!
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
“The Census is supposed to tell us who we are as a country, but the Govt’s decision to back away from including questions on sexuality & gender diversity is a shameful move that… pushes LGBTIQA+ Australians back into the statistical closet.”
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie on the Government’s recent decision not to include questions about sexual orientation, variations in sex characteristics, and gender identity in the 2026 Census. You can read more about this story here.
Stat of the day
1,600
The number of people arrested by Victoria Police following a drug seizure last week valued at over $93 million.
Today in history
1963
Martin Luther King Jr made his famous “I have a dream” speech in Washington. It became a symbol for the civil rights movement in the U.S. — helping the 1964 Civil Rights Act become law, which prohibits discrimination by race, colour, religion, sex, and nationality.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
The Federal Government said it has secured an extra 22 million bags of IV fluid, following a national shortage earlier this month. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said he had worked with local producers to secure the supply, which will be rolled out over the next 6 months. Individual states and territories told the Minister this week that the shortage has been easing, however “supply remains constrained”.
The Federal Parliament has set up a new inquiry investigating whether Australia’s alcohol and drug policies are working effectively. It’s also been tasked with looking at “treatment services and community programs”, as well as the workforce needed to staff these programs. Coalition MP Julian Leeser, who’ll be the inquiry’s deputy chair, said it was “a good opportunity to hear directly from frontline service providers about the challenges they are dealing with”.
Recommendation of the day
Transparency: This is a sponsored section of the newsletter. It's the best way we can keep this newsletter free for you.
What is it: Preppers, a new podcast about preparing for climate change.
Tell me more: Hosted by investigative humorist and climate action enthusiast Dan Ilic, Preppers asks - are we getting ready for the climate changes coming our way?
Why we love it: Because it challenges the doomsday prepper stereotype and reframes the idea of what it means to prepare for climate change.
I’ve got 1 minute
Coles has reported a $1.1 billion profit for the last financial year
Coles has reported a $1.1 billion net profit (after tax) for the 2023/24 financial year, up 2.1% from the previous year.
Revenue from sales grew by 7.6%, which the supermarket giant attributed in part to a boost in online shopping.
Revenue is the total income a company earns from selling its products or services. Net profit is the amount of money left over after paying expenses and taxes.
CEO Leah Weckert said Coles has “endeavoured” to help customers “balance the household budget” during a year of increased “financial pressures on households and families”.
Inquiries
Coles and Woolworths control two-thirds of Australia’s supermarket sector. Woolworths will release its financial results on Wednesday.
Multiple inquiries are currently underway into how supermarkets set their grocery prices, including by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Both Coles and Woolworths have denied allegations of unfair price setting.
An interim report from the ACCC’s inquiry is due to be delivered to the Treasurer by the end of this week.
Reporting by Chloe Christie.
I’ve got 2 minutes
The Govt wants to limit the number of new international students to 270,000 next year
The Government has announced it plans to limit international student enrolments to 270,000 a year.
Education Minister Jason Clare said universities and TAFEs will be able to enrol more international students if they build extra student accommodation.
The Government wants its proposed legislation, which still needs to pass Parliament, to come into effect by January 2025.
International students
In the year to May, there were more than 850,000 international students enrolled in Australia.
International education is one of Australia’s largest exports, worth $36.4 billion in the 2022/23 financial year.
The Government flagged earlier this year it wanted to limit the number of international students as part of a broader effort to reduce the rate of migration.
Student caps
In a joint statement, the Federal Ministers for Education, Immigration, and Skills laid out plans to cap international enrolments at unis and TAFEs at 270,000 in 2025.
The Ministers said the cap will bring international student figures back to “pre-pandemic levels,” and be updated every year.
The cap won’t affect international students attending primary or high school. Students on Government scholarships, from the Pacific or Timor-Leste, or enrolled in some Masters and PhD courses will also be exempt.
2025 student limits
Education Minister Jason Clare confirmed individual universities will have specific caps, which are not yet publicly available.
Housing
The Government said it “will encourage universities to create new supplies of student housing to benefit both domestic and international students”.
Clare said universities will get “incentives” to build more student accommodation, but did not provide further detail.
The International Education Association of Australia has previously criticised this move, saying state governments and local councils are responsible for housing approvals.
What next?
The cap will need to pass through Parliament.
The Government has a majority in the House of Representatives but will need support from either the Coalition, or the Greens and some independents, to pass the Senate.
Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson and Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan said: “While the Coalition welcomes student caps, we will examine the detail of today’s announcement.“
Chair of Universities Australia Professor David Lloyd described the proposed cap as a “handbrake to Australia’s second biggest export industry.”
“There will also be significant flow-on effects for other sectors of the economy that rely heavily on international students,” he said.
The National Tertiary Education Union called on the Government to protect jobs in the sector.
Reporting by Harry Sekulich.
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Give me some good news
A team of scientists in Scotland have won access to a huge dataset of brain scans — around 1.6 million images — that they plan to use to build an AI-powered dementia research tool.
It’s hoped the size of the dataset will help researchers identify common patterns in people at risk of dementia, ultimately leading to earlier diagnosis and tailored treatments.
The University of Edinburgh’s Professor Will Whitely said that “currently treatments for dementia are expensive, scarce and of uncertain value”, so “Better use of simple brain scans to predict [it] will lead to [a] better understanding of dementia.”
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Achol Arok.
TDA tidbit
Iceland is facing a cucumber shortage, and it’s because of the ‘cucumber guy’ on TikTok.
In case you missed it, Logan Moffitt has shot to viral fame with his cucumber salad recipes, where he thinly slices a cucumber into a plastic container and mixes it with various sauces, toppings, and MSG.
Moffitt’s cucumber salad obsession has led to viewers flocking to the shops to make some of their own, including in the small Arctic nation of Iceland.
So many people are now making it that local news and the BBC say Iceland’s farmers can’t keep up with demand.
Luckily for Moffitt’s fans, Icelandic farmers hope cucumber supply will be restored soon.
Reporting by Nandini Dhir.
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Riddle answer: Your left hand.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
SafeWork NSW is investigating allegations of workplace sexual harassment, assault and drug abuse against a Sydney-based hospitality group.
It comes after The Sydney Morning Herald led an investigation into Swillhouse, which owns several venues including Restaurant Hubert and The Baxter Inn. In today’s podcast, we speak to Nine journalists Eryk Bagshaw and Bianca Hrovat about the investigation.
TDA asks
