☕️ Coles and Woolies being sued

Yesterday, in a big move, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was suing Coles and Woolworths for allegedly misleading customers.

In separate lawsuits, the consumer watchdog alleged the two supermarket chains breached consumer law by using “discount pricing claims” to mislead customers.

If you want to learn more about this fascinating move, listen to today’s podcast here.

“Our nuclear plan requires a significant upfront cost… We’ll release our costings in due course, at a time of our choosing.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton in a speech about the Coalition’s nuclear power plans.

5th
The latest Asia Power Index ranked Australia as the fifth most powerful country in the region. The Lowy Institute report measured 27 countries and territories' "relative power of states in Asia" based on their resources and influence. It found China's power has plateaued to reach a new "settling point," while the U.S. remains the most powerful country in the region.

1789
The first Supreme Court was established in the US. The President at the time, George Washington, signed the Judiciary Act that was passed by Congress.

Voting for the U.S. election is officially underway, with several states opening their early voting processes over the past two weeks.

The latest polls show it’s likely to be a tight race for the White House between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

The official election day is 5 November.

Voting rules vary across the U.S.

There are two main types of early voting: in-person and mail-in.

In-person voting involves people showing up to an official centre, like a school or government building, to cast their ballot.

Mail-in voting requires voters to send a postal vote. Some states, including California and Vermont, send ballots to every registered voter.

Over the past few days, polling stations have opened in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Virginia.

In the weeks leading up to 5 November, more states will open up early voting centres.

Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire are the only three states that don’t offer in-person early voting.

Voting in the U.S. is not compulsory. Turnout at the previous election in 2020 was 66.8%, higher than 2016.

Opinion polling shows the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris remains tight.

Online polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight averages out polling data collected by multiple companies. Their national poll shows Harris with an average lead of 2.9%.

However, the final outcome will depend on “swing states”, which have historically switched between voting for Republicans (Trump’s party) and Democrats (Harris’ party).

Out of the early-voting states, South Dakota has voted Republican in every election since 1964.

Virginia and Minnesota are both reliably Democrat states, with their latest polls showing Harris in a strong lead over Trump.

Pennsylvania is a key swing state. FiveThirtyEight’s aggregator shows Harris narrowly ahead (1.5%). The contest is expected to be very close.

In 2016, Pennsylvania’s vote for Donald Trump was a key factor in his win over Hillary Clinton.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

The Greens are calling on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to lower interest rates in exchange for the party’s support on reforms to Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

While it’s legally possible for the Treasurer to change interest rates, it’s never been done.

The Government has described the Greens’ request as “crazy”.

It’s the latest in a string of disagreements between the Greens and the Labor Government that have led to several key pieces of legislation stalling in Parliament.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is an independent body. Its main objective is to try to keep annual inflation within a “target range” of 2-3%.

To do this, its nine-member board sets the cash rate — how much it charges commercial banks for short-term loans. This rate flows through to other interest rates across the economy.

Inflation (rising prices) has influenced the RBA’s decision to increase interest rates from 0.1% to 4.35% over the past two and a half years. Higher interest rates make borrowing money more expensive, which discourages spending.

Traditionally, the Government determines fiscal policy — how taxpayer money is spent. They delegate responsibility over monetary policy (interest rates) to the RBA.

Legally, however, the Treasurer can order the RBA to change its decision on interest rates.

This tool has never been used.

The RBA will deliver its next cash rate decision today.

In 2022, Treasurer Jim Chalmers ordered a review of the RBA. It made 51 recommendations, some of which have already been implemented.

For example, the board now has longer, less frequent meetings, and must hold press conferences afterwards.

Some of the recommendations require changing the law governing the RBA, including giving it a new objective of keeping unemployment low.

Another recommendation was to create two RBA boards: one for interest rates, and one for organisational matters.

In order to pass its RBA reforms, the Government either needs the support of the Coalition, or the Greens and at least three crossbenchers.

Earlier this month, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Government and the RBA needed to limit inflation ”in a way that doesn’t smash an economy that is already weak”. Another Labor figure was anonymously quoted by the ABC calling the RBA board members “weirdos”.

In response, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the Coalition would not support the Government’s changes, accusing them of “bagging” the RBA.

Yesterday, Greens economic justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said: “We aren’t going to pass Labor’s Reserve Bank reforms until interest rates are cut.”

He called on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to use his power to cut interest rates if the RBA doesn’t do so today.

While this has never previously been done, McKim said it would be justified because “mortgage holders are getting smashed right now.”

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the Greens are “out of control” and ruled out their move to have the Government change the RBA’s interest rate decision.

She told ABC Radio the proposal is “crazy” and reflects a “populist approach” to policy decisions. Populism is a political ideology that positions the average person against established powers like the government and politicians.

“It’s economically irresponsible and we won’t do it,” Gallagher said.

The stalled RBA reforms are the latest in a series of failed negotiations between Labor and the Greens.

The Government’s proposed environmental and housing laws are stuck in the Senate, as the Greens call for more ambitious reforms.

Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese floated the possibility of calling a double dissolution election, where the entire Senate would be up for election instead of just half. The aim of this would be to change whom the Government negotiates with in the Senate.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Have you heard the big news?! MERIT Beauty (TDA’s fave make-up brand) has just landed on Aussie shores, and we couldn’t be more excited about it, genuinely. 

If figuring out which beauty products to buy feels overwhelming, MERIT is here to cut through the noise. Their minimalist, dermatologist-tested products have stripped beauty back to the essentials - so you can do more with less.

To celebrate their Australian debut, MERIT has released The Australian Set - a limited edition collection perfect for your beach-to-bar glow this summer. The Minimalist complexion stick and the Flush Balm are our absolute favourites.

And here's the best part: The set is currently 10% off, and if you spend over $150, you'll get a free compact mirror. Not only that, first-time purchasers also get a free Signature Makeup Bag with their order!

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill this week to ban thin, single-use plastic bags, as well as thicker multi-use plastic bags. The ban will be implemented across the state by 2026. One of the senators who voted in favour of the ban told lawmakers that the amount of plastic bags discarded per person increased from 3.6 kilograms in 2004 to 5 kilograms in 2021. Newsom signed into law the first plastic ban in the U.S. when he was Mayor of San Francisco in 2007.

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

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

Why does the ridiculous party game Cards Against Humanity (CAH) and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have to do with each other?

Well, it turns out that in 2017, CAH (the company) bought a plot of land in the U.S. state of Texas, on its border with Mexico. The plan at the time was to block then-President Donald Trump from fulfilling his election promise of building “a wall” between the two countries to keep out asylum seekers.

Now, CAH has launched legal action against SpaceX, alleging Musk’s rocket company used its land to store gravel and construction materials illegally. SpaceX has a launch base for its rockets on Texas’ border with Mexico close to CAH’s plot of land.

CAH is seeking a $US15 million ($AU22 million) payment from SpaceX.

A card game…suing a spacecraft. Sure.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking Coles and Woolworths to the Federal Court in two separate Cases. The consumer watchdog has alleged that the two supermarket giants misled customers with “discount pricing claims”.

This legal action comes amid a string of inquiries into supermarkets and price gouging, as well as the Federal Government’s plans to release a draft Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. In today’s deep dive, we’ll look into the legal proceedings against Coles and Woolworths, how they’ve responded, and what could this mean for consumers.