☕️ How many of us gamble?

Overnight, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Instagram has passed a major milestone: it is now used by three billion people every month, bringing it in line with the OG social network, Facebook, for the first time. Pretty wild.

The company is notoriously secretive about the number of people who actually use the app; the last publicly announced figure was when it surpassed the two billion mark in 2021. Earlier this year, TikTok revealed it has one billion monthly users.

"I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!... I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative."
U.S. President Donald Trump in a post to Truth Social hours before Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show returned to TV. Kimmel’s show was taken off the air following his comments about the President’s reaction to the killing of Charlie Kirk. Trump referenced a previous defamation lawsuit with the network, which resulted in a financial settlement.

9%
The increase in reports of family violence during the 2024 AFL Grand Final weekend compared to 2023, according to information provided by Victoria Police. Police announced the finding ahead of the 2025 AFL Grand Final on Saturday.
1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732

"Not me. I’ve got a hundred million friends and all of them are awesome." A comment left on our post about the new HILDA survey, which found Australians have fewer friends and are delaying retirement more than ever before.

Changes to HECS debt repayments came into effect yesterday.

The minimum annual income threshold for repaying student debts has increased from $54,435 to $67,000.

The Government has also changed how much people must contribute to their HECS debt each pay cycle.

The increase to the minimum threshold means people with student debts will not have to start repaying them until they earn $67,000 a year.

Those earning up to $125,000 will pay 15 cents for every dollar over $67,000.

For those earning between $125,001 and $179,285, the repayment will be $8,700 plus 17 cents for every dollar over $125,000.

If you earn $179,286 or more, after super contributions and any investment losses, you will continue to pay 10% of your income.

The new system will be back-dated to 1 July 2025.

People who have overpaid this financial year will receive a refund in next year’s tax return.

The Government has also legislated a one-off 20% HECS debt discount, which is expected to come into effect later this year.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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Nearly two in three Australian adults gamble at least once a month.

The finding comes from the Australian Institute of Family Studies’ (AIFS) National Gambling Prevalence Study, which surveyed almost 4,000 adults.

People aged 18 to 24 were much more likely than any other age group to be at high risk of gambling-related harm.

The report surveyed 3,881 Australians.

The survey base was adjusted to be nationally representative, meaning its demographics reflect Australia’s population.

Participants completed surveys between August and October 2024, detailing their habits and experiences from the previous 12 months.

In the 12 months to October 2024, almost two-thirds of adults (65%) surveyed reported taking part in some form of gambling.

Lotteries were the most popular form, followed by instant scratch tickets and electronic gaming machines (pokies).

Around 32% of people gambled at least once a month, with men almost 8% more likely than women.

Men were also more than twice as likely as women to bet on racing and sport.

Estimates suggest there are more than 180,000 pokies in Australia. NSW accounts for almost half, with around 89,000 machines.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s most recent data, one-third of adults use pokies at least once a year.

The Australia Institute estimates Australians lose up to $16 billion on pokies annually.

According to the AIFS survey, one in five Australians gambled using a pokie in the 12 months to October 2024.

The AIFS found 15% of adults were considered at risk of gambling harm, with almost 3% at high risk.

First Nations Australians were at greater risk, with 27% considered at risk of gambling harm.

Almost one in five 18-24-year-olds who gambled regularly were at high risk of harm, more than any other age group.

Around one in 10 regular gamblers aged 25 to 54 were at high risk of harm.

Since coming to power in 2022, the Government has launched a gambling self-exclusion register, and banned the use of credit cards for online gambling.

In 2023, a federal parliamentary inquiry set out 31 recommendations to reduce gambling-related harms. One was a blanket ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling.

Ahead of the last election, the Government suggested capping the number of gambling ads on TV and banning them online. The Government did not respond to a question from TDA about the status of this proposal.

AIFS director Liz Neville said the findings should provide “a clearer picture” of the impact of gambling in Australia.

“Gambling is pervasive, and we need a more robust approach to helping families and communities, as well as the individuals themselves who are affected by their own gambling,” Neville said.

Gambling reform advocate Tim Costello warned that until the Government implements the 2023 inquiry’s recommendations, Australia “will continue to have the greatest harm from gambling in the world”.

Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Did you know your food scraps have superpowers?

Most Victorians now have a lime green food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bin – and they’re already proving to be pretty great at using it.

Here’s the deal: food scraps and garden clippings go in the FOGO bin. From there, they’re transformed into compost that helps local farms and gardens thrive – not sent to landfill.

The only catch? Rubbish doesn’t belong – the FOGO bin is just for food scraps and garden clippings. No plastics, containers or even sneaky fruit stickers. If they slip in, the whole load could end up in landfill, where they release methane.

The fix is simple: correctly sort your scraps into the FOGO bin, and you’ll make a real difference every bin night.

🍊 The Wallabies have now lost two starting fullbacks to injury. More details here.
🍊 The Ryder Cup begins this weekend. Here’s your guide.
🍊 England has named its Ashes squad for the November series. Read more here.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: soccer, a random fact, and more…

Rice is possibly the world’s most consumed food, forming most of the daily diet of more than half of the entire population. The production of rice has many negative environmental impacts, including the consumption of large amounts of water and the release of methane, a greenhouse gas, from the fields where it’s grown. Now, researchers say adding a tiny amount of the mineral selenium to rice plants helped them absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, allowing the plants to grow bigger and more nutritious. The same process also meant the rice plants absorbed more nitrogen from the soil, which led to them releasing less into the atmosphere. Plus, because the plants were able to absorb and use more of those nutrients, farmers can use less fertiliser to achieve the same, if not better effects.

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

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

A teaching assistant at a U.S. high school has been accused of causing more than $US55,000 ($AU83,000) in damages by spraying a “faecal odour” substance through the building’s air conditioning.

Investigators said the 26-year-old man used the spray on multiple occasions between late August and mid-September, causing health issues for students and staff and forcing expensive inspections.

He has since been arrested and charged with disturbing a school and malicious property damage.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

In just a few months time, four NASA astronauts will embark on the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.

Artemis II is scheduled to take off in February next year for a ten-day trip around the moon ahead of a crewed mission to the lunar surface in 2027.

It comes amid what’s been dubbed “the second space race,” as the U.S. and China push to get back to the moon first.

Today, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the Artemis mission, why NASA wants to go to the moon, and why it’s taken them so long to get back there.