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Happy Friday!
Two truths and a lie is back by popular demand (precisely two people asked for it).
Here are three headlines from this month. But one is fake. It’s up to you to guess which one.
A couple from New Zealand have been refunded after they endured a 13-hour flight next to a farting dog.
A man in the U.S. has asked McDonalds for a refund after he vomited from eating 20 hotcakes in the space of an hour.
A woman in Canada had 1,000 condoms delivered to her house by Amazon and she doesn’t know why.
Answer is in the tidbit!
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"Regurgitated culture is no replacement for human art." – A statement from the U.S. Authors Guild. It filed a lawsuit on behalf of 17 American authors against OpenAI, alleging their copyright was infringed by their work being used to train ChatGPT.
The stat
900 years
The time it would take NSW Police to review all the unsolved murder cases it has on file at its current rate, according to a lawyer at the state’s inquiry into historic LGBTQ+ hate crimes.
Today in history
2009: A massive dust storm started to sweep across Australia’s east coast. By the morning of 23 September, parts of NSW and Queensland were waking up to an eerie red dawn.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Rupert Murdoch has announced he is stepping down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp after almost 70 years. His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will become the sole Chair of News Corp and continue as the CEO of Fox Corporation. Rupert Murdoch started in media by inheriting his father’s newspaper in 1952 in Adelaide.
A record number of Australians have enrolled to vote for the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. 97.7% of eligible Australians are now on the electoral roll, an increase of almost half a million people from last year’s Federal Election. About one in four of those enrolled are 34 or under. Nearly one in two are 50 or over.
I've got 1 minute
Western Australia will fully decriminalise abortion under legislation that was passed in State Parliament on Wednesday.
What’s changing?
The changes will mean abortion falls under the existing health legislation, instead of the Criminal Code.
The changes also mean abortions will be allowed up to 23 weeks gestation, instead of 20 weeks.
Previous abortion legislation also required that two professionals be present during an abortion. Under the changes, most abortions can now be performed by one provider.
Another change is that a doctor was previously required to offer counselling to their patient before performing an abortion. This will now be scrapped.
New patient support processes will also be introduced.
Further details:
Health providers who object to an abortion will be required to help patients access the procedure elsewhere, bringing WA in line with all other states and territories.
The legislation was backed by WA’s majority Labor Government, but also received some cross-party support.
No Silly Questions in the wild!
Hello from Melbourne domestic airport! Not sure how long we’re considered ‘new’ for, but hey, we’ll take it.
Where else have you seen No Silly Questions? Let us know!
I've got 2 minutes
The Federal Government has announced a 12-month inquiry to investigate the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the inquiry will not investigate actions taken by state and territory governments without federal instruction.
It will be independent of the Government. A final report will be submitted in September next year.
Federal response:
Health and safety matters, such as the decision to enter a lockdown, were mostly left to the states and territories.
However, the Federal Government, led by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, had several responsibilities to support Australians.
This included the $90 billion ‘JobKeeper’ payment, Australia’s biggest-ever one-off financial support measure. This gave eligible Australians a $1,500 fortnightly support payment.
Morrison also formed ‘National Cabinet’ during the pandemic. This is a regular meeting of leaders at the federal, state, and territory levels, which is still active today.
However, the Government faced significant criticism for what was seen as a delayed response to securing COVID-19 vaccines in 2021.
It was argued that the response led to many lockdowns staying in place for longer than necessary.
The inquiry:
The inquiry will investigate the Government’s vaccine supply deals, and the quarantine facilities (such as hotels) that were used to limit COVID-19 transmission across Australia.
It will also examine the availability of mental health support services during lockdowns.
It will investigate the responsibilities of state and territory governments, but not their specific actions, such as decisions to enter lockdowns.
Why does it matter?
The Government says the report will assist Australia with its preparedness for future pandemics.
The inquiry’s final report will likely include several recommendations. It will be up to the Federal Government to decide whether it implements those recommendations.
Opposition response:
The Opposition has called the inquiry a “copout” and a “witch hunt” against the Morrison Government.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said PM Anthony Albanese had previously promised an inquiry into all decisions made during the pandemic, including those by states and territories.
“The Prime Minister owes it to the Australian people to have a proper understanding of what happened at a state and federal level,” Dutton said.
Give me some good news
AFLW players are getting a 29% pay rise, effective immediately after a new collective bargaining agreement was finalised on Thursday.
The five-year agreement will see the AFLW season increase from 10 to 12 rounds in 2025, before potentially rising to 14 rounds in 2027. The average AFLW player will now see their wages rise from $46,000 to $60,000 this year.
A message from our sponsor
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A TDA tidbit
A couple from New Zealand have been refunded after they endured a 13-hour flight next to a farting dog.
This is true.
A couple confirmed to New Zealand Herald that they were flying from Paris to Singapore when they were seated next to a bulldog, who was a support animal for the owner who was in the next seat over.
But the couple apparently weren’t expecting to “spend the trip in a cocktail of dog fart, bad breath and saliva”.
According to The Independent, they have now been refunded.
A man in the U.S. has asked McDonalds for a refund after he vomited from eating 20 hotcakes in the space of an hour.
This is false.
A woman in Canada had 1,000 condoms delivered to her house by Amazon and she doesn’t know who did it.
This is true.
Joelle Angleheart told her local news that she received 30 boxes of condoms from Amazon and she didn’t know why.
Angleheart told reporters that she’d received a confirmation email for the delivery but assumed it was a scam.
After receiving the condoms, Angleheart discovered her credit card had been charged $670 for the purchase.
It took four months of negotiations to receive a refund from Amazon.
But she said did get to keep the condoms. You win some you lose some. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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