☕️ Minimum age for e-bikes?

And just like that, the Winter Olympics are over - Australia's best one yet.

Time to retire our very confident, very unqualified judgements over someone’s aerial form in the double-double pike quadruple jump tuck for now. Until the Winter Paralympics kick off on 6 March.

The quote: “We have consistently advocated against these unjustified tariffs.” Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell in a statement after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the tariff rate for all countries will temporarily increase to 15%. A tariff is a tax on imports. Don Farrell is in Washington this week for a pre-planned trip.

The stat: $270 million. How much Guzman y Gomez's value dropped on Friday, when its share price sank 10.3% on the ASX. It comes after the fast food company released lower-than-expected profit results.

The big question:

Friday’s results: 44% of you check your phone immediately after waking up. [1805 votes]

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The NSW Government plans to introduce a minimum age requirement for e-bikes to address safety concerns.

The exact minimum age has not yet been decided, but the Government said it will likely be between 12 and 16 years old.

The Opposition has raised questions about how the new age limit would be realistically enforced.

There is currently no age restriction for e-bikes in NSW. Riders are legally required to wear helmets, with fines starting from $410 for non-compliance.

Fines also apply for riding under the influence, using a mobile phone while riding, or riding dangerously.

Owners of illegal e-bikes can face fines of more than $818.

There are an estimated 760,000 e-bikes in NSW.

NSW Government announced on Friday it is in the process of determining a new age requirement for e-bike riders.

The move follows a Transport for NSW review, which considered whether teenagers and children have “the skills, maturity and awareness of potential dangers” required to ride safely.

The Government is now consulting with child development and road safety experts to set the minimum age.

From next month, the state government will shift the rules so e-bikes operate more like bicycles than motorbikes.

This includes cutting power assistance above 6 km/h if the rider is not pedalling.

Stricter battery, electrical, and fire-safety rules will also be introduced.

All bikes will be required to meet these new standards by March 2029, bringing Australia into line with European safety rules.

The NSW Opposition has called the move a “rushed policy,” raising questions about “enforcement, consistency, and whether the reforms will actually change rider behaviour.”

Shadow Transport Minister Natalie Ward said the announcement “doesn’t answer the most basic question: how behaviour will be enforced.”

“Police need a clear tool to enforce rider behaviour... This looks like another headline designed to sound tough, while practical enforcement questions remain unanswered,” Ward said.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, Billi and Zara explain the latest on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest and explain why he was released after just 11 hours in custody.

⛷️ For news on the last few days of Milano-Cortina, you can sign up to TDA Sport.

The Victorian Government is facing calls to hold a Royal Commission into alleged corruption in the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees’ Union (CFMEU).

A report released earlier this month as part of a Queensland Government inquiry alleges “violent, criminal, and greedy” behaviour by CFMEU members in Victoria under former boss John Setka.

The CFMEU is one of Australia’s largest unions, representing more than 115,000 members across construction, manufacturing, and shipping.

In 2024, it was placed under administration after a Nine Network investigation uncovered alleged links between criminal figures and the CFMEU’s construction division. Barrister Mark Irving was appointed to help the union “return to operating lawfully”.

Irving himself appointed another barrister, Geoffrey Watson, to investigate possible wrongdoing in the CFMEU.

The Victorian CFMEU was a registered member of the state branch of the Labor Party. It donated more than $3 million to the party during the 2022 federal election. (However, the union’s construction division has been suspended from the Victorian Labor Party since 2024.)

John Setka became the Victorian CFMEU State Secretary in 2012. In 2019, Setka was convicted of harassing his ex-wife. In the same year, he resigned from the Labor Party following pressure from Anthony Albanese over comments he is believed to have made about domestic violence prevention campaigner Rosie Batty. Setka has denied the remarks.

In 2015, the Victorian Government launched its $100 billion ‘Big Build’ road and rail infrastructure program. It includes projects such as the Metro Tunnel train line and major road upgrades.

The projects require a large number of construction workers, which is where the CFMEU comes in.

After the 2024 Nine reporting on alleged corruption in the CFMEU, the Queensland Government launched an inquiry. It is investigating possible misconduct by the CFMEU across the country.

The inquiry has heard from Watson, who has given evidence as well as submitting his reports on alleged corruption in different states’ CFMEU branches. Watson said the Big Build meant the CFMEU in Victoria was able to negotiate high salaries for its workers.

He added: “The flood of government money also made the Big Build ripe for corruption”.

Watson alleges the conditions of the Big Build, under Setka’s leadership, allowed for CFMEU “collaborations... with outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs)”. This included “building sites [being] converted by OMCGs into drug distribution centres”.

He cited evidence that “potential workers had to ‘donate’ $100 in cash” to CFMEU officials to be put on “lucrative” weekend night shifts.

“The impact of Setka as secretary was to create and entrench a corrupt leadership of the Union,” Watson said.

Watson added that he had reached out to Setka to respond to his claims. He said Setka’s response was as follows: “I warn you watson you should hope you never cross my path, so go and f**k your mum and Irving’s, and leave me alone, you f****n fat ugly c**t.”

The same week Watson gave evidence to the inquiry, Nine newspapers reported Irving had redacted some of the allegations from Watson’s report on the Victorian CFMEU. Irving told Nine he had redacted sections he was “not satisfied... were well-founded or properly tested”.

One redacted section alleged $15 billion of Government money had “been poured directly into the hands of criminals and organised crime gangs”.

Following Nine’s reports, Watson told the inquiry he had been unhappy with this being redacted, but backed Irving’s leadership.

The Victorian Coalition Opposition has previously called for a Royal Commission into the CFMEU.

Last week, the Opposition proposed terms of reference for the Royal Commission, including investigating the cost of alleged misconduct and funding to OMCGs, and examining the Government’s culpability and knowledge.

Upper house Labor MP member Tim Richardson called the $15 billion claim unfounded and untested”.

Addressing the Royal Commission calls last week, Premier Jacinta Allan said in question time that Labor does “not support the calls... for a royal commission.”

During a press conference, a journalist accused Allan of looking “disinterested”. In response, the Premier paused the presser and asked the journalist to “retract” the “observation.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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The groundbreaking series was first broadcast in 1979, and followed Sir David as he travelled to 40 countries to film 600 species. Ahead of the iconic broadcaster and natural historian turning 100 in May, the BBC said it will mark the “extraordinary milestone” with a week of special programming. ‘Secret Garden’, a new five-part series, will capture the rich diversity of life in British backyards. The presenter will also appear in a live event filmed in London, featuring an orchestra and special guests. The BBC said “it's impossible to overstate” what Attenborough has given us, and that his birthday is a moment to thank him “for his generosity, for his brilliance and for a lifetime spent bringing the wonders of nature into our homes.”

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

You know that song about looking so perfect standing there in American Apparel underwear? 

Were you, like millions of others, under the impression that the lyric is: “She looks so perfect standing there”? 

In another case of the Mandela effect, many have this week realised the 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) hit ‘She Looks So Perfect’ doesn’t actually contain the word ‘she,’ except in the title.

The lyric is actually: “You look so perfect standing there / In my American Apparel underwear.” 

5SOS member Michael Clifford responded to a tweet about the phenomenon, saying: “clocked us.”

We wish we hadn’t Michael, we wish we hadn’t. 

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.