☕️ New parliamentary term begins

It’s a big day in the nation’s capital: the first day of term 3 for school students, and the first sitting day of the new parliamentary term for politicians.

Canberra will once again become the centre of heated debates and schoolyard dummy-spits – though it might be hard to tell which group is behind which.

”In 2017 Mark Latham was expelled from the Australian Labor Party and banned for life. His actions do not accord with Labor values and failed to meet the standards we expect and demand.”
The note that will be displayed under the former Labor Leader Mark Latham’s portrait in Parliament House. The ALP has decided to keep Latham’s portrait on its caucus wall, despite current allegations of violence from Latham’s former partner. Latham denies the allegations.

$14m
The amount of funding the Federal Government has given to South Australia to assist with the ongoing toxic algal bloom hitting the state's coast.

The real name for a hashtag is an octothorpe. The 'octo' refers to the eight points in the symbol, Merriam-Webster dictionary says the 'thorpe' part is a unknown.

At least 85 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops while trying to access aid on Sunday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The UN World Food Programme said a crowd of civilians came under fire from Israel's attacks while it was trying to deliver aid, as it warns of widespread food insecurity in the Gaza Strip.

The Associated Press reports it was the deadliest day in Gaza for aid-seekers since the war started in October 2023.

Israeli forces have questioned the number of casualties being reported and deny intentionally targeting humanitarian aid trucks.

The United Nations-run World Food Program (WFP) said a convoy of trucks was trying to deliver aid to Palestinians “desperately” in need of food supplies in northern Gaza.

After crossing a final border checkpoint on Sunday morning (local time), the organisation said the 25-truck convoy “encountered large crowds of civilians”.

“As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,” resulting in the loss of “countless lives,” the WFP said.

Quoting Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Associated Press has reported that at least 79 Palestinians were killed in the incident.

An additional six people were killed trying to access aid near Rafah in southern Gaza, according to officials speaking to the Associated Press.

The WFP called any violence involving civilians seeking humanitarian aid “completely unacceptable.”

“There should never, ever, be armed groups near or on our aid convoy.”

According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Israel Defense Force (IDF) troops in northern Gaza “fired warning shots” to “remove an immediate threat” from the crowds.

The Ministry said “the details of the incident are still being examined,” but that “an initial review suggests that the number of casualties reported does not align with the information held by the IDF.”

The IDF rejects suggestions it intentionally targets humanitarian aid trucks.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has led to a humanitarian crisis.

The UN says one million people in Gaza are “facing emergency levels of food insecurity”.

The WFP said the latest incident goes against assurances from Israeli authorities “that humanitarian operational conditions would improve”.

This includes a guarantee that armed forces “will not be present nor engage at any stage along humanitarian convoy routes.”

Welcome to Country, an address by the Governor-General, and the swearing-in of elected members will feature in today’s opening of the 48th Parliament.

It marks the first Parliamentary sitting since Labor’s landslide May 3 election victory.

The Albanese Government has promised to legislate a HECS discount, penalty rate protections, and childcare crackdowns as its first measures.

Meanwhile, the Coalition and the Greens will return with new leaders who have promised different political styles.

At the 3 May election, Labor won 94 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives (the lower house), led by Anthony Albanese.

The Coalition was reduced to 43 seats from 55. Former leader Peter Dutton lost his northern Brisbane seat of Dickson.

Sussan Ley has since become the Leader of the Liberal Party and will return to Parliament as the first female leader of the Opposition.

The Greens’ representation also went backwards in the lower house, from four to one.

The party’s leader Adam Bandt lost his Melbourne seat.

Senator Larissa Waters has since been named leader of the Greens.

112 women and 114 men were elected across both houses, making the 48th Parliament the most gender-balanced in Australian history.

Labor promised to cut 20% off HECS debts when Parliament resumed.

The discount will be backdated to pre-indexation, which took effect on 1 June.

Indexation is an increase in value pegged to another measurement. HECS debts increase in line with the wage price index (WPI), measuring the growth of wages against inflation (rising prices).

The Australian Tax Office will automatically apply the discount.

TDA understands the legislation will be tabled on Wednesday, and the Government hopes to pass it on the same day.

The bill will need either the support of the Coalition or the Greens to pass the Senate.

Leading up to the last election, the Greens called for all student debts to be wiped.

The Coalition opposed the 20% discount during the election campaign. However, Shadow Education Minister Jonathon Duniam told the ABC the Coalition would not “stand in the way” of the legislation, while not fully committing to supporting it.

Legislation to guarantee extra protections for penalty rates, including public holidays and overtime, is also set to be tabled in Parliament.

It’s in response to a proposal brought in by the peak retail body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), which would allow bosses to offer staff higher pay in exchange for waiving some entitlements, including rest breaks and penalty rates.

The proposal is currently being debated in the Fair Work Commission.

The Government has since opposed the ARA plan. Its legislation would mean penalty rates can’t be scrapped if it leaves workers “worse off”.

Shadow Employment Minister Tim Wilson said the Coalition would consider the legislation, saying the ARA proposal doesn’t pose a “threat to penalty rates”.

The ARA criticised the Government’s plans as undermining “choice” and “flexibility” for businesses.

Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sally McManus told TDA workers deserved to be paid “fairly for staying back or working anti-social hours at night and weekends.”

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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🍊 Scottie Scheffler cruised to victory at The Open. Read more here.
🍊 We’re one week into Super Netball finals. Here’s what you missed.
🍊 Two Australians set national records at the London Diamond League meet.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: cricket, AFL, and more…

Jessica Hull broke her own record for the women’s mile, clocking an impressive time of 4:13.68 to finish second in the London Diamond League meet. The NSW athlete called it a “pretty special” event, and said “running my own race within a race was the biggest thing,” but she “felt very strong”.

Meanwhile, Rose Davies set a new Australian record in the women’s 5000m event. Davies finished third with a time of 14:31.45, shattering her previous national record by nearly nine seconds.

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

Reporting by George Finlayson.

A man wearing a nine kilogram chain necklace died last week after he was pulled inside an MRI machine in Long Island, New York.

Due to the magnets located inside the MRI machine, the man’s necklace drew him inside of it where he suffered a medical episode, according to the BBC.

International media alleges the man entered the room, where the MRI machine was located, without permission.

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

79 days after Labor’s federal election win, politicians are back in Canberra for the official opening of the 48th Parliament. Once the pomp and ceremony clears away, it’ll be back to business: as the Government plans to legislate 20% off HECS debts, childcare funding crackdowns, and penalty rate protections in the first sitting week.

The Coalition and Greens have new faces leading their parties, vowing to approach politics differently over the next three years. Today’s deep dive will look at how the new Parliament will differ from the old.