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Good morning!
Time for a new Wednesday Tradition Trial™.
(If you're new here, I'm trying to find a new tradition for our Wednesdays. It was once riddles, but we stopped that after we did every riddle in the history of the world. So now, each week, I'm providing a new option, which we will vote on at the end. Anyhoo. No parentheses should be this long.)
Ok, today's option: A weekly recommendation from the TDA team. Today's recommendation is from TDA co-founder Zara. She recommends reading ‘The Names’ by Florence Knapp, which she said has made her obsess over what goes into naming someone.
I’ve got 10 seconds
The quote: “There is a significant Iranian community in Australia, and there are Australians who are in Iran… For those Australians who are in Iran right now, our advice is that if it is safe to do so, leave and leave quickly.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles speaking in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, as protests against the Iranian regime continue.
The stat: Three. The number of days of national mourning Spain will observe, after a high-speed train derailed on the weekend, killing 40 people.
The big question:
Yesterday’s results: 63% of you think the public holiday on 26 January should be changed. [5,069 votes]
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
NSW has now seen four shark attacks in three days, causing the closure of a number of beaches across the state’s coastline. On Tuesday morning, a 39-year-old man was taken to hospital after being bitten in the chest at Point Plomer, north of Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast. Two people are still in a critical condition from separate bites earlier in the week. NSW Premier Chris Minns has said he is open to a more robust system of warnings for swimmers and surfers. "Our warning system and communication needs to be beefed up, particularly during stormy weather," he told 2GB radio on Tuesday.
The Government’s hate speech laws passed the Senate late last night after a last-minute deal between Labor and the Liberals. The legislation aims to curb the influence of antisemitic hate preachers and neo-Nazis in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley put forward a series of technical amendments which were accepted by the Government, including tightening the definition of a hate preacher and setting up stricter parliamentary oversight. Liberal senators supported the bill but the Nationals voted against it, saying it could impinge on free speech. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the bill wasn't as strong as the Government would have liked, but it had to be watered down to win support.
Reporting with AAP.
Recommendation of the day
Because full bottles are overrated
Poco Vino has cracked the code with perfectly portioned 187ml bottles that fit in your bag, stack in your esky, and pour exactly one glass.
With six different styles to try (Sauv Blanc, Rosé, Pinot Grigio, and more), these pocket-sized bottles are the perfect drink for picnics, park hangs and beach days over summer.
I’ve got 1 minute
Australia’s largest coal-fired power station has had its closure date delayed by another two years.
The Eraring Power Station in Newcastle, NSW, was initially scheduled to close in 2025. A deal with the State Government then pushed its closure back to 2027.
On Tuesday, operator Origin Energy said Eraring would be kept open until 2029.
The company said the new closing date will not affect its goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Closure
Eraring Power Station is a black coal-fired plant which Origin says generates up to 25% of NSW’s electricity.
In 2024, the NSW Government struck a deal with Origin to delay the station’s planned 2025 closure until August 2027.
Under the agreement, the State Government committed up to $450 million in compensation to keep the plant operating until 2027.
The deal also allowed the Government to claim up to $80 million of Eraring’s profits over the two-year period, if it were profitable.
The agreement came days after the Australian Energy Market Operator identified Eraring’s planned 2025 closure as a factor that could worsen energy supply risks.
At the time, NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said keeping Eraring open would “ensure the lights stay on” and help the state avoid energy supply uncertainty.
She added the Government believed the move would reduce the risk of blackouts and power price increases in the years ahead.
Eraring
In a statement on Tuesday, Origin Energy said the decision to delay the closure again prioritises providing “reliable power to NSW households and businesses”.
Origin CEO Frank Calabria said the extension would allow “more time for renewables, storage and transmission projects to be delivered”.
Once it shuts, the site will house a large-scale battery for the National Electricity Market, charged by solar energy. The battery project is expected to fully connect to the grid in early 2027.
Politics
April 2029 is the latest the station can close to ensure the NSW Government remains on track to meet its 50% emissions reduction target by 2030.
NSW Energy and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the deal with Origin will not be extended, and has “not cost NSW taxpayers a single dollar”.
The Opposition called the announcement “a reprieve for the state’s energy security” following “dire warnings”.
Reporting by Achol Arok.
Quick hits
🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, TDA journalist Elliot Lawry talks to an expert on why there are so many shark attacks right now.
🎾 Struggling to keep up with the Australian Open and the Big Bash Finals at the same time? You can sign up to TDA Sport here to make sure the full rundown is in your inbox this afternoon.
I’ve got 2 minutes
A group of seven high-profile UK figures, including Prince Harry, Elton John, and Liz Hurley, have accused Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) of invading their privacy.
ANL owns news outlets including the Daily Mail UK and Metro.
The civil trial is expected to run for nine weeks. It is the last of three court cases Prince Harry has been involved with against UK tabloids since 2023.
Here’s what you need to know.
Claimants
There are seven claimants in the case: Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, former politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost.
It also includes British Jamaican anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence. In 1993, a group of white teenagers killed Lawrence’s 18-year-old son Stephen in an unprovoked, racially-motivated attack. No charges were laid at the time.
Lawrence’s activism led to an inquiry into racism in the police, and the 2012 conviction of two men for Stephen’s murder.
Case
The seven claimants allege ANL collected information about them illegally, and misused it.
The alleged time period is from “at least 1993” until 2011, “and even continued beyond until 2018.”
The claimants accuse ANL of “unlawful information gathering” techniques, such as intercepting voicemails, using private investigators, gathering information by deception, and tapping phone calls. This information was then allegedly published.
The BBC reports London’s High Court heard a statement from Prince Harry saying he felt “paranoid beyond belief” by ANL’s alleged “grave breaches of privacy”.
Barrister David Sherborne said there were 14 articles that allegedly included unlawfully obtained information.
Sir Elton John and Furnish accused ANL of “stealing” their son’s birth certificate.
Response
The BBC reported ANL’s barrister, Antony White, called John and Furnish’s claim “utterly baseless.”
White said Prince Harry’s network “was known to be a good source of leaks or disclosure of information to the media about what he got up to in his private life.”
Addressing articles with information gathered through alleged tapping, White said ANL “is able to call a witness or witnesses to explain how the article was in fact sourced.”
Other cases
In December 2023, Prince Harry won a case against Mirror Group Newspapers.
From a list of 33 articles submitted as evidence, the court found 15 included information obtained by phone hacking or other illegal practices.
Prince Harry also alleged NGN – the Rupert Murdoch-owned publisher of The Sun and now defunct News of the World – published stories with information gathered by phone hackings between 1996 and 2011.
The case was settled in January 2025, with no admission of fault from NGN.
Reporting by Emily Donohoe.
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Give me some good news
A citizen scientist in Queensland has found a small native flower previously thought to be extinct.
Horticulturalist and birdwatcher Aaron Bean stumbled across the species in June, when he "opportunistically" photographed a few plants while working on private property in the Gilbert River region. He then uploaded the photos to the citizen science platform iNaturalist, where they were spotted by Anthony Bean (no relation) at the Queensland Herbarium. Eventually, scientists at the UNSW School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences confirmed the plant’s identity as a rarely flowering shrub, last spotted in the wild in 1967. The researchers say the rediscovery highlights the growing power of citizen science data in research and conservation.
Reporting from AAP.
TDA titbit
Morocco’s football federation has launched legal action after losing the African continental championships earlier this week to Senegal.
On Monday, the Africa Cup of Nations final took a dramatic turn when Senegal’s players walked off the pitch, following a decision to award Morocco a penalty, only moments after Senegal had a goal disallowed.
Senegal then returned after about 15 minutes, going on to win 1-0 in extra time.
Morocco forward Brahim Díaz, who missed the penalty, said the episode left him shaken.
Morocco says the penalty was correctly awarded, and that it will “pursue legal action” to require FIFA to weigh in on the final.
Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.
TDA asks
