☕️ Hanson's burqa stunt

It’s officially one month until Christmas.

I think it’s time to pull out the ‘let’s circle back on this next year’ card in your work emails!

“Johnson Wen was deported to Australia on Nov 23, 2025 and has been barred from re-entering Singapore.”
A statement from Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, according to Channel News Asia. Wen jumped the barriers at the ‘Wicked: For Good’ premiere (and grabbed Ariana Grande) in Singapore two weeks ago. He was convicted on a public nuisance charge. The Aussie is a repeat offender, having previously grabbed Katy Perry and the Weeknd onstage at their concerts.

3 in 4
The number of Australian female transport workers who suffer health complications from not having access to “clean, safe or private toilets while on the job”, according to a new report from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

There is an underwater post office in Vanuatu. It is the only underwater post office in the world. The post office lets divers send “waterproof postcards” to friends and family.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has revealed it spent $96.5 million on its website refresh, weeks after initially saying it cost $4.1 million.

The BoM, which is visited by an average of 1.8 million Australians each day, launched a new website last month.

It prompted backlash from users who cited concerns with its new formatting and the radar’s functionality.

The national weather agency is still in the process of making changes to the website, with more updates to come.

The new BoM website launched at the end of October. It marked the first major update to the site since 2013.

The BoM said it conducted a 12-month testing period prior to the launch, which had positive feedback.

Despite this, users had issues with delayed radar updates, the new rain radar colour scheme, and not being able to enter GPS coordinates for regional properties.

The BoM restored the rain radar back to its original version following the backlash.

On Sunday, BoM CEO Dr Stuart Minchin – who started in the role this month – revealed the website revamp cost $96.5 million.

The BoM had previously said the new site cost $4.1 million. It now says that was just the amount “required to redesign the front-end of the website.”

Dr Minchin said the updated cost “reflects the significant investment required to fully rebuild” the website.

Changes are still being rolled out, but were delayed over the past week because of the NT’s Tropical Cyclone Fina.

On Sunday, Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said he “want[s] to see what the new CEO of the BOM has been able to establish as to the reasons for those cost increases”.

Nationals leader David Littleproud posted to social media on Sunday that “the sheer waste of money requires a review”.

Littleproud added: “The seriousness of this cannot be understated. This isn’t just a clunky website, the changes actually put lives and safety at risk.”

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

🌤️ A suntan doesn’t mean healthy skin. Nearly 2,000 Australians die from skin cancer every year, and most of those cases are preventable – Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, and Slide.

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The Federal Government will attempt to pass new environmental laws this week, as Parliament sits for the final time this year.

The laws were first introduced by Labor earlier this year, but require support from either the Greens or the Coalition in the Senate to become law.

Here’s what you need to know about the Government’s environmental laws.

The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) has been in effect since 2000 and is Australia’s main environmental legislation.

It was passed during then-Prime Minister John Howard’s second term in 1999.

It provides guidelines for environmental protection, and management of biodiversity and cultural sites.

Hundreds of projects are reviewed through the EPBC, such as mining and renewable energy sites, residential developments and water infrastructure.

A 2020 review commissioned by then-Environment Minister Sussan Ley found it is ineffective and outdated.

Since the review, successive governments have attempted to pass major reforms.

The Government is now trying to pass reforms in line with this review.

The Government says its changes are aimed at making approval processes for big projects more efficient and transparent.

Under the changes, National Environment Standards would be introduced, determining if proposals can be approved based on their offsets, restoration and overall impact.

It also aims to establish a National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) to monitor the legal compliance of gas and coal projects.

Some projects are exempt from environmental approval if they are “in the national interest”.

Environment Minister Murray Watt called the reforms “much-needed”, adding that Australia’s environment is “go[ing] backwards”.

The Business Council of Australia welcomed the reforms, calling them a “major step towards growth”.

The Climate Council said the changes will make “no material changes to protect our environment from climate harm”.

The Labor Party has a majority in the House of Reps (lower house) but not in the Senate (upper house), meaning it will need support from the Greens or the Coalition to pass legislation.

Watt said “we are going to pass these laws this week” with the party that is “prepared to come to us soonest with a package of amendments”.

He added that Labor is “prepared to make some further concessions in order to pass these laws.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said on Friday that "it's not [the Coalition’s] job to make a bad bill less bad … If Labor wants to rush, that is their choice.”

It comes as Watt threatened its “now or never” to pass the changes.

Ley told Sky News that environmental protection is “really important to me” and that the Coalition is “up for a sensible conversation”.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young told the ABC that she has met with Watt to discuss “more protections in this bill”, particularly for forests.

Hanson-Young said laws that allow for logging in native forests with endangered species should be addressed in the reforms.

However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said last week that Labor would prefer to work with the Coalition (rather than the Greens) on this reform, saying “it would be good if the major governing parties were able to get to an outcome here.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

Alright festival heads listen up:

If you’re not decking out your campsite to feel like home then you’re not doing festival season right. When it comes to camping equipment, Bunnings has got you covered.

From roomy gazebos and comfy camp chairs, to folding carts – because everyone knows you’ll need help lugging all your stuff from the campsite to the festival stage – Bunnings has your staples sorted for the summer festival season.

🍊 Italy wins a third straight Davis Cup title. They did it without Jannik Sinner.
🍊 The AFLW Grand Final is set. Here’s who’s playing this weekend.
🍊 Eze scores a stunning hat-trick. And Arsenal go six points clear on the ladder.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: cricket, rugby union, and more…

Oliver Chu, who is from California, has Hunter syndrome, a life-threatening genetic disease found mostly in boys, that impacts the brain and body’s development. Oliver’s family travelled with him to England, where he was treated with an experimental gene-altering therapy at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. A year since receiving the new treatment, which involves a patient being infused with their own genetically-engineered stem cells, and the toddler appears to be developing normally. Trial co-lead, Professor Simon Jones, told the BBC that he has “been waiting 20 years to see a boy like Ollie doing as well as he is”, while Oliver’s mum said she wants to “cry because it’s just so amazing.”

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

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

A judge in the U.S. state of Missouri who impersonated Elvis Presley in court has agreed to resign.

Judge Matthew Thornhill said he wore an Elvis wig and played the rockstar’s famous songs during court proceedings “to add levity at times when I thought it would help relax litigants.”

However, in a letter to the Missouri Supreme Court, Thornhill admitted: “I now recognise that this could affect the integrity and solemnity of the proceedings”.

A disciplinary commission has recommended he be suspended for six months without pay. After his suspension, Thornhill will be allowed to practice for eighteen months before retiring.

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

Matildas star Mary Fowler has alleged she experienced racism at her former French football club, Montpellier, in her recently published memoir. The club has strongly denied the allegation. Today, we're unpacking what Fowler says happened, the response from not only the club but the broader sporting world, and the mental health conversations her book has sparked.