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Good morning!
Did you know that despite the fact that almost 20% of Australians live with a disability, only 1% of advertising campaigns globally feature people with a disability?
Well, former Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott is working to change that, and this week launched a new initiative to change the way people with disabilities are featured on screen.
We spoke to Dylan for today’s podcast, which you can find here. Enjoy!
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"Our world is becoming unhinged. Geopolitical tensions are rising. Global challenges are mounting. And we seem incapable of coming together to respond." – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in a speech to members of the UN this week.
The stat
$AU93 billion
Disney’s proposed spending on its theme parks and cruises worldwide over the next 10 years, according to a new document shared with its investors. The company’s theme parks are now making more money than they were before COVID.
Today in history
46BCE: Julius Caesar celebrated his first of four triumphal processions in Rome. A triumphal procession was a celebration in Rome to celebrate victories in significant military campaigns.*
*Consider this the time today you think about the Roman Empire. If you’re confused, so are we.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Qantas will enter negotiations with the Transport Workers’ Union to come up with a payout figure after the airline’s defeat in the High Court. Earlier this month, the union successfully argued that Qantas unlawfully sacked 1,700 baggage handlers during the pandemic. They will now enter mediation to agree on a compensation package to be paid to affected workers.
A Victorian fugitive has been shot dead by police, bringing an end to a three-day manhunt. Police found Stanley Turvey near the northern Victorian town of Shepparton on Wednesday morning after receiving a tipoff about his whereabouts. Turvey, who police say was armed, died at the scene. Earlier this week Turvey shot at police before authorities lost track of him, and he’d also been accused of assault and stealing a car.
I've got 1 minute
The Victorian Government has announced a raft of housing measures to tackle the rental crisis, including an Australian-first tax for short-term rentals.
There will also be new rules for rentals, including restrictions on when rent can be increased.
Airbnb tax:
In an Australian first, the Victorian Government has announced a 7.5% tax on money made by 'short-stay' housing platforms such as Airbnb.
Premier Daniel Andrews said this would apply to about 36,000 properties and would raise about $70 million a year.
The money would be given to the government agency Homes Victoria, which is responsible for maintaining social housing.
This will come into effect from 2025.
Opposition view:
The Victorian Opposition has criticised the Airbnb tax component of the plan, labelling it a 'holiday and tourism tax'.
Shadow Tourism Minister Sam Groth said it would make Victoria "a less attractive destination for international and interstate visitors" and make it more expensive for Victorians to travel away on weekends.
For more, read our full post here.
No Silly Questions in the wild!
We loved this feedback and photo we got from Mary, who said: “Just a big thanks for your incredible book. I bought it for myself and two teen girls! What can I say? Very helpful so far and it will be taking up prime real estate on our coffee table for the foreseeable future.”
I've got 2 minutes
Endometriosis hospitalisations among women aged between 20 and 24 have more than doubled in the past decade, according to a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The report also found that the condition is more prevalent than initially thought, with one in seven Australian women aged 44-49 experiencing endometriosis in their lifetime.
What is endo?
Endometriosis (or ‘endo’) is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body. It can also cause pelvic organs that are normally separate to join together.
People with endo often experience severe chronic pain. Symptoms include heavy bleeding, painful intercourse, digestive problems, and in some cases, increased difficulty falling pregnant.
The condition is primarily diagnosed through surgical intervention.
Who does it affect?
Previous research estimated that one in nine people with a uterus have endo.
The new report from AIHW estimates that one in seven women aged 44-49 have been diagnosed with endo.
However, endo also affects non-binary people and trans men, and AIHW didn’t specifically reach out to those groups for this research.
This means the number of people who experience endo could be higher than what’s captured in this study.
Hospitalisations:
The AIHW believes there has been an increase in endo-related hospitalisations due to increased awareness, which has also led to an increase in diagnoses.
The rate of endo hospitalisations doubled among 20 to 24-year-olds between 2012 and 2022.
Among the 3,600 people who presented to emergency due to endo in 2021-22, women aged 20-24 were the most common age group.
Diagnosis increase:
Endo is historically under-diagnosed. According to the AIHW, once a person first experiences symptoms, it takes an average of six to eight years to receive a diagnosis.
However, recent findings show more women are being diagnosed at a younger age.
The AIHW suggests this could be because the general public and health professionals have more awareness of endo than in previous years.
Give me some good news
The number of snow leopards in Bhutan has increased by 40% in the last seven years.
310 cameras surveyed over 9,000 kilometres of snow leopard habitat across the country, revealing numbers of the vulnerable-listed species are improving. Wilderness preservation advocates said the result should act as “continued inspiration for protection of this elusive species”.
A message from our sponsor
News flashback: GameStop. Remember that? That time ordinary people dared to flip the script on Wall Street and turn a humble video game store into a global sensation. Now, there’s a brand new comedy movie, ‘Dumb Money’ all about what went down.
It all started with Keith Gill, aka 'Roaring Kitty’ on Reddit and Youtube - an everyday guy, financial analyst and investor. When Wall St predicted that GameStop’s shares would go down, Keith Gill decided to pour his life savings into making sure they were wrong, by buying shares in his favourite video game store. He posted about it on Reddit, where he started to go viral. That's when the chaos started - Reddit users worked together to stop rich bankers getting even richer off the back of a collapsing company they loved.
Boasting a star-studded cast including Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, America Ferrera and Seth Rogen, mark your calendars for the cinema debut of Dumb Money on 26 October - or be one of the first to see it at preview screenings this week!
A TDA tidbit
An Australian journalist has named her newborn son ‘Methamphetamine Rules’ for a segment on ABC’s new show.
Kirsten Drysdale told The Guardian that she had submitted the most “outrageous” name she could think of to test the limits of what you can legally name a child in NSW.
Drysdale assumed the name would be rejected but was shocked to learn it had been approved by the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
The Registry told ABC that “[their] staff review all information, including names, provided by parents during certificate production”.
“Unfortunately, in this instance this name has slipped through,” they added.
Safe to say the baby’s name has since been changed… to Cocaine*.
*This is a joke. But the name has been changed. Drysdale did clarify the new name “has nothing to do with class A drugs”.
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