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Good morning!
Question for you: Where do you think the name WhatsApp came from?
Rosa, who works with me on this newsletter every day, asked me this yesterday.
“Do you think it’s because it sounds like ‘what’s up?’” she pondered.
We looked it up, and she was right. Consider our mind blown. Use that as your ice breaker for your weekend social events!
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
"That's hard to be said to me as a young woman, but it's the job. All you can do is continue forward and know that you're doing it for the right reasons."
21-year-old Senator Charlotte Walker speaking to ABC radio about comments made about her age and gender. Earlier this week, fellow Senator Pauline Hanson said Walker was "no sooner out of bloody university and out of her nappies than she's telling me I don't know what the hell I'm talking about”. The two Senators disagree over Australia's net zero emissions policy.
Stat of the day
$2 million
The amount Kathleen Folbigg will receive from the NSW Government in compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned over the deaths of her four children for 20 years. Her lawyer called the amount “woefully inadequate and ethically indefensible”.
Viral moment of the week
Users of X have been sharing what they consider to be the worst songs of all time this week. It sparked a fierce office debate, with most agreeing that ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I takes the cake (I was the only that disagreed, but apparently I’m the only defender of that track!)
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the Victorian Government’s plan to legislate working from home (WFH) protections. State Premier Jacinta Allan announced Labor’s proposal over the weekend, which would give Victorian workers in the public and private sectors a legal right to work from home two days a week. Allan said the law would apply for workers who can reasonably complete their work outside of the office. When asked about the WFH legislation on Thursday, the Prime Minister called Allan’s proposal “consistent” with the Federal Government’s stance. Albanese told reporters that Premier Allan “is responding to what the community have said, which is that flexible working arrangements help workers and they help employers.” The Victorian Government will lead consultations to determine the specifics of its WFH proposal, before it introduces legislation in 2026.
Teachers in Queensland have resumed negotiations with the State Government after this week’s widespread strike action. Around 50,000 teachers walked off the job for the first time in 16 years on Wednesday amid calls for improved pay and working conditions. Educators from at least 1,200 state schools participated in the strike, with some 500,000 students told to stay home. The Qld Teachers’ Union (QTU) refused to rule out further strike action as it resumed talks with the Government on Thursday after months of stalled negotiations. Teachers have rejected an 8% pay rise offer, but Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said he’s “confident” a settlement will be reached, as he said the Qld Government continues to negotiate with QTU in “good faith”. It coincides with the release of a new report from the state’s Department of Education, which found 33% of Queensland public school infrastructure is in “poor or very poor condition”. The report estimates the required repairs will cost $441 million.
Recommendation of the day
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I’ve got 1 minute
Sydney Airport is trialling a digital travel declaration form on some flights
Sydney Airport is trialling a digital version of the paper declaration form for passengers flying into Australia from overseas.
The trial is currently limited to Qantas flights flying into Sydney from Auckland and Queenstown. It follows a trial of the same system in Brisbane last year.
Australian Border Force (ABF) Commissioner Gav Reynolds said the program is part of an effort to “enhance the passenger experience”.
Trial
The trial digitises the paper card that all passengers arriving in Australia must complete. It asks people to fill out their travel information and declare whether they have any biohazards.
Under the trial, passengers on Qantas flights from Auckland and Queenstown to Sydney can fill out the form digitally on the airline’s app before they board.
Brisbane launched a similar trial last year and now uses digital forms for all Qantas flights arriving from overseas.
Comments
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins told TDA the trial “is helping simplify traveller clearances while ensuring strong biosecurity protections at Australia’s borders.”
Shadow Agriculture Minister Matt O’Sullivan told TDA the Coalition “backs a faster rollout of digital declarations across all airports,” and wants more airlines to join the trial.
Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.
I’ve got 2 minutes
The NSW Govt wants to outlaw sexually explicit deepfakes
The NSW Government will introduce a bill to make sexually explicit deepfake images illegal.
It is already a criminal offence in NSW to create, send or digitally alter images of a person without their consent.
If passed, the bill would also criminalise the creation and distribution of “sexually explicit audio,” whether it is real or generated to impersonate a specific person.
Existing legislation
The NSW Government passed a law in 2017 criminalising the non-consensual production and sharing of sexually explicit images.
It is also illegal to threaten to record or send these images without permission.
The maximum penalty for this offence is three years imprisonment.
New legislation
The new bill introduced on Thursday is aimed at criminalising the creation and sharing of sexually explicit deepfakes designed to look like an “identifiable” person illegal.
Deepfakes are realistic fabricated or manipulated videos and/or images. They are designed to mislead viewers and can be made using AI.
The bill also says the production and distribution of “sexually explicit audio” without consent will be criminalised. This includes both real and digitally generated or altered recordings.
These new offences, if voted into law, will carry a sentence of three years imprisonment.
Comments
NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said the bill “closes a gap… that leaves women vulnerable to AI-generated sexual exploitation.”
The NSW Coalition Opposition is supporting the Government’s bill.
Shadow Attorney General Alister Henskens said: “No one should have their image or voice used against them like this. If it’s not your body, not your voice, it’s not someone else’s right to control.”
1800 Respect
Call: 1800 737 732
Text: 0458 737 732
Video: 1800RESPECT.org.au
Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.
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🍊 The world’s youngest surf star is beginning her biggest comp yet.
🍊 A major milestone for Steele Sidebottom.
🍊 Seven Aussies have been named to the Sport Hall of Fame.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: WNBA, NRL, and more…
Give me some good news
New research shows a bowel cancer screening initiative has led to an increase in lifesaving early detection rates.
It comes after the U.S. lowered its recommended colon cancer screening age from 50 to 45. According to findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, screening rates jumped 15% over a two year period. It led to a 50% increase in early-stage cancer diagnoses.
The survival rate for early-stage colon cancer ranges from 90 to 99%. Study author Rebecca Siegel said the increase in early detection means more “young lives are being saved.” As colon cancer rates rise globally among younger people, its hoped the results will encourage other countries to expand their screening programs to more age groups.
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
Did you know that cockatoos can dance?
A new study published in the journal Nature has revealed 17 new Cockatoo dance moves, after researchers from Australia and the UK analysed 45 social media videos of the birds dancing.
The researchers also went in person to Wagga Wagga Zoo, where they played six captive cockatoos Avicii's song ‘The Nights’ and podcast ‘She’s on The Money’ to see whether they would dance to music.
They also monitored their dancing behaviour for the same amount of time when nothing was played.
Interestingly, the researchers found music “does not appear to be critical to trigger dancing.”
Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
This week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced he's cancelling 22 vaccine development projects worth $500 million, specifically targeting mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The decision has sparked concern from infectious disease experts who say it could leave America vulnerable to future pandemics.
On today’s podcast, we’re going to dive into what these cuts mean, why we’re seeing such dramatic changes in US health policy, and whether similar changes could come to Australia.
TDA asks
