☕️ The mental health policy proposals

Today, instead of a riddle, I have a story! It’s the story of how TDA has tried to get Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to sit down with us. Buckle in.

Once upon a time, we set out to try and secure the first-ever leaders’ debate hosted by a youth media company. The first (and only?) step was to get Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s campaigns to agree.

We sent out our first emails with our official pitch last September (we have the receipts! You can see them here!)

We got some leads, but then we decided to just ask the Prime Minister directly.

He agreed.

So now it was time to get Dutton to agree. We tried many, many times. We texted, emailed and called. We shifted to just asking for an interview, instead of a debate.

It was a no to both.

We’re three weeks out from the election. That’s why we’re now publicly calling on the Opposition Leader to sit down with us. Over to you, Mr Dutton.

“We have hit a tipping point where the civil rights of an individual need to be put aside for the civil rights of a community. When a community doesn’t feel safe, you have to act and you have to make sure there’s a deterrent and a consequence.”
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, saying the civil rights of an individual “need to be put aside” for the safety of a community, in response to concerns over youth crime.

10,000 years
How long it's been since dire wolves went extinct. The prehistoric creature was once the top predator in North America. Now, researchers aiming to bring back the lost species have confirmed they've used cloning and gene-editing technology to create three dire wolf pups.

Agog [ah-gog]
Definition: Very eager or curious to hear something.
Used in a sentence: I am just agog to hear about your date!

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Labor and the Coalition have both promised to increase funding for mental health services across Australia if they win the 3 May election.

Labor has pledged an extra $1 billion to expand mental health services, which includes opening an additional 31 walk-in clinics around the country.

Meanwhile, the Coalition will double the number of subsidised mental health sessions from 10 to 20.

Labor has announced it would roll out $1 billion to boost mental health services around Australia starting in January 2026, mostly building on existing programs and centres.

This funding would partly go towards opening 31 new Medicare mental health hubs and 20 dedicated “Youth Specialist Care Centres”.

Eight new headspace centres will also open, which is the national youth mental health foundation for 12-25 year olds.

The Government will also create an extra 500 psychology student places and upskill 200 medical professionals with a psychiatry qualification.

It will also match the Coalition’s recent pledge to set up a National Institute for Youth Mental Health, which would advise the government on mental health policy.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced the institute in his budget reply speech late last month.

The Coalition’s key policy has been to permanently double the number of subsidised mental health sessions from 10 to 20, which was the number offered during the pandemic.

This means up to 20 sessions with a psychologist per year would be partly or fully subsidised through Medicare, depending on the clinic’s fees.

Similarly to Labor, it has also committed to extra headspace sites and opening up youth-specific centres for complex mental-ill health, such as eating disorders.

Dr Pat McGorry, founding member of the organisation that later turned into headspace, said strong investment in mental health early intervention is “a bipartisan achievement of our country”.

The peak body, Mental Health Australia, has welcomed both funding pitches by Labor and the Coalition, urging all political parties and candidates to “prioritise mental health”.

CEO Carolyn Nikoloski is pushing for free mental health care for anyone under 25, noting that one in five people didn’t seek mental health support due to rising cost of living pressures in 2023-24.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on all countries.

The announcement has led to significant uncertainty across global stock markets, including here in Australia, where the ASX 200 fell sharply yesterday.

In this explainer, we’ll give you a refresher on what the tariffs mean and what’s happened since Trump’s announcement.

Simply, tariffs are a type of import tax. They’re applied to foreign-made goods brought into another country and paid by the importer.

Since coming to power in January, Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on imports to the U.S, including a 25% tariff on Australian steel and aluminium.

The goal of tariffs is to encourage a country’s companies and citizens to buy locally-produced goods, boosting industrial activity. Tariffs can also be influenced by geopolitical tensions and trade partnerships between countries.

On Wednesday (local time) last week, President Trump announced new tariffs on all products imported to the U.S.

Displaying a chart of tariffs imposed against the U.S. by other countries, Trump claimed he was charging “approximately half” of that amount in return.

For example, the chart showed the U.S. is imposing a 34% tariff on China, who Trump claims charges a 67% tariff on American products.

Trump claims that tariffs are needed to boost American manufacturing jobs and reassert the country’s economic dominance.

The U.S. President has emphasised his plan to encourage Americans to buy more domestically-made products, by making imported goods more expensive.

Trump also claimed trading partners have “ripped off” America.

After the tariff announcements, the U.S. share market fell rapidly in its two worst days since the COVID-19 crash of 2020.

It means U.S. markets have fallen by 15% since Trump‘s inauguration, with two-thirds of that decrease occurring since last week’s tariff announcements.

Australian markets followed, recording the biggest one-day fall in five years as roughly $100 billion was wiped from the market.

There are several reasons to explain why global markets have tumbled since Trump’s tariff announcement.

We’ll explain more in the following slides, but to put it simply:

Many U.S. companies rely on importing goods from other countries to build the products they sell to Americans (and consumers around the world).

For example, Apple. The U.S. tech giant imports computer chips from Asian countries. If a single computer chip from China, cost $5 last month, it costs 54% more today ($7.70).

Investors worry that higher prices will cut profits. If there’s less profit, a company is not as valuable — so investors look to sell their shares in a company at today’s prices, worrying that it’ll be less valuable next week.

Many companies will pass on increased manufacturing costs to consumers.

For example, if Apple products become more expensive to make, customers could face higher prices on products like iPhones and MacBooks.

This can lead to individuals buying less, lowering company revenue reported to the share market.

Reduced consumer spending can also slow the economy, making investors less confident to back new or growing companies - especially if a trade war looms.

Some countries may retaliate against Trump by introducing new taxes on U.S. goods, known as counter-tariffs.

That hurts American exporters, making their products more expensive and less desirable in other countries.

If the U.S. responds with more tariffs – as Trump did overnight by threatening a 50% hike on Chinese goods – countries could enter a ‘trade war’. If enough major economies join, it becomes a global trade war.

This one is simple: financial markets don’t like surprises. The tariffs were not a complete surprise, but their scope and scale was unexpected, so investors are nervous.

When investors are nervous, they are less likely to make investments into companies that they think are going to grow in the future (it’s that optimism and promise of future success that often drives up share prices).

Instead, investors are finding ways to pull their money out of stocks and putting it into safer investments, like gold, or simply holding onto more cash.

Reporting by Sam Koslowksi.

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‘Ramp Up Iceland’ launched in 2021, with a goal to improve building accessibility across the country. The organisation set a target to build 1,000 ramps by 2025. In March, the initiative's final and biggest project was completed, with ramp number 1,756 installed at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík. Ramp Up founder Halli Thorleifsson, a former student of the uni, said accessibility issues forced him to take some classes from home. In a post to X he said, “if the world doesn't change for us, we need to change it ourselves”.

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Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

A Belgium prince has lost a legal battle over his income.

Prince Laurent wanted to claim social security benefits in addition to his royal allowance, which totalled €388,000 ($AU705,000) last year.

He argued his work entitled him to benefits akin to that of independent entrepreneurs, claiming he only ever received a salary worth 25% of his allowance, due to professional expenses. He further explained, without Belgian social security coverage he was unable to claim reimbursements for things like medical expenses and sick pay.

The court ruled his arguments were “unfounded”.

Laurent told a local media outlet: “This is not about financial means but principle.”

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

A new study out this week has found the overall benefits of taking ADHD medications outweigh the risks. A team of international researchers examined ADHD medications in response to concerns around the potential cardiovascular impact of these treatments.

The study, which analysed data from more than 22,000 participants, has been called the largest and most comprehensive of its kind. In today’s deep dive, we’ll unpack the findings, and take a closer look at the world of ADHD medication and research.