☕️ Will the Coalition support a cut to student debts?

The 5th of November is finally here. The day of the U.S. Election. Sort of.

By this time tomorrow, voting will have opened in all American states.

With neither candidate leading in any of the swing state polls by more than two points, we know this is going to be an extremely tight race and a final result may not be known for days.

Strap in!

“There’s nothing progressive about turning a blind eye as men, women and children die in the [English] Channel.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a speech announcing he wants to increase border security funding to crack down on people smuggling. At least 56 people have died this year attempting to cross the English Channel to enter the UK. 

1,277
The number of dog safety incidents recorded by Australia Post in the last six months. AusPost said posties reported an average of 10 incidents per day, with the highest number of dog attacks recorded in Queensland.

1968
Richard Nixon was elected President of the U.S. after beating Democrat Hubert Humphrey.

Health experts and lawmakers visited northern NSW yesterday for day two of the State Government’s Drug Summit.

The summit is aimed at addressing the issues faced by people impacted by drugs and alcohol.

It launched in Griffith – in the NSW Riverina region – on Friday, with talks continuing in Lismore, ahead of a forum in Sydney next month.

Regional Health Minister Ryan Park said the summit “will cover a range of matters from prevention, to harm minimisation,” and treatment. However, community organisations say they’ve been excluded from the schedule.

The last time NSW hosted a drug summit was in 1999. Before the 2023 state election, NSW Labor committed to holding a drug summit if elected.

In July, Premier Chris Minns announced details of the 2024 NSW Drug Summit. Minns said it would be held across four days in regional and metropolitan NSW.

At the time, the State Government said the event would bring together “medical experts, police, people with lived and living experience, drug user organisations, families, service providers and other stakeholders”.

During the first day of the summit last week, the Government announced a $9.8 million package for treatment services in the southern NSW Murrumbidgee Local Health District (LHD).

Funding will go towards case management and counselling services, alongside youth programs.

On Monday, the State Government announced a further $21 million to fund drug and alcohol services in Northern NSW. This funding will go towards rehabilitation and counselling services.

Linking Communities Network (LCN) is a homelessness and domestic violence support agency operating in the Murrumbidgee LHD.

LCN Deputy CEO Kirrilly Salvestro said that while it was “pleasing” that the Summit was held in Griffith, “several agencies did not get an invite“ or a chance ”to provide feedback and localised solutions” to the Government.

“It is vital to get local perspectives and community agencies on the ground [to] provide valuable insights into the issues facing local communities,” she said.

NSW Shadow Health Minister Kellie Sloane told TDA that the Drug Summit should encourage “open conversation about drug policy and to shine a light on some uncomfortable topics.”

Sloane said the summit has “been disappointing” so far, and noted criticism “for its lack of transparency [and] the exclusion of key local voices”.

“I hope that this is simply a case of bad event management, and not censorship.”

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

The Coalition has accused the Labor Government of “picking winners” from the cost of living crisis after the Government announced proposed cuts to student debts.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced election plans to lower student debts and increase fee-free TAFE places.

Senior Coalition figures have argued against the Government’s plans, calling them “unfair” and urging Labor to urgently address high inflation (rising prices).

When you begin a higher education/university course, you can either pay upfront or apply for a Higher Education Contribution Scheme loan (HECS) under the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). Most students apply for this loan.

The system requires students to make payments on their loans depending on their income.

The repayment threshold is currently $54,435. This means if you earn above that amount on a yearly basis, you will start paying off your debt.

Over the weekend, Labor announced several higher education reforms and promised to implement them if it wins the next federal election.

This included a 20% discount on all student debts. The Government estimates this policy will cost $16 billion.

It also wants to raise the minimum income for compulsory repayments from $54,435 to $67,000 in the 2025/26 financial year. Additionally, mandatory annual repayments would be reduced for those who earn less than $180,000 a year.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor and Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson criticised the Government’s plans.

By changing the earnings threshold and lowering the rate of mandatory repayments, Henderson said lower-income earners would be signed up to a “lifetime of debt”.

“Higher student debt makes it harder for young Australians to secure a bank loan and buy their first home,” Henderson said.

On the 20% debt waiver, Taylor argued the Government is “picking winners” in a cost of living crisis.

“More than 24 million Australians struggling with Labor’s cost of living crisis will see no benefit from this policy,” Taylor said.

He added that the $16 billion cost of the policy would ultimately be paid by all taxpayers and do little to address high inflation (rising prices).

Annual inflation dropped to 2.8% in the latest reporting period, down from a high of 7.8% in December 2022.

The Government also announced a plan to legislate 100,000 fee-free TAFE spots a year from 2027.

TAFEs are run by state and territory governments. Albanese argued a similar policy under his current Government, working with state governments, has already been successful.

Albanese told Labor supporters in Adelaide over the weekend that he wanted to “lock in free TAFE and make it permanent, nationwide”.

Shadow Skills Minister Sussan Ley accused the Government of failing to consider the “ongoing cost” of 100,000 fee-free vocational training spots a year.

She called on the Government’s Skills Minister Andrew Giles to “be transparent with Australians about how he is spending their money”.

Ley also criticised the announcement for only applying to government-run TAFEs, excluding privately-owned colleges and training programs.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

If you haven’t guessed already, we’re big fans of Betty’s Burgers at TDA. So when we found out about the new Betty’s Bites menu, with every item just $9.90, we were pretty excited!

For $9.90 (which, let’s be real, is cheaper than an iced latte these days) you can try the Chicken Strips Burger, Three Cheese Burger, Calamari Bucket, or Crispy Chicken Strips.

They’re the perfect add-on for a beachside picnic with your besties or a quick boost to power through the afternoon slump.

Head to Betty’s Burgers to try Betty’s Bites, or order on the Betty’s app today!

🍊 A 16-year-old ran the 4th fastest 200m in Australian history. Who is he?
🍊 The All Blacks broke English hearts. More details here.
🍊 Has Max Verstappen secured the world title?
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: cricket, AFLW, and more…

Scientists researched fossils in ancient sediment to understand how vegetation changed over time compared to the increase in human activity. It found that growing First Nations populations in the south-east corner of Australia was linked to lower intensity fires.

Since colonisation, shrub cover has increased in Australia, lifting the risk and power of bushfires because shrubs allow fire to jump from the ground into the trees. Nottingham University researcher Dr Michaela Mariani said the study showed “Australia’s fire crisis can be tamed with the involvement of Indigenous practices in fire management.”

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

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Weeks after Olivia Rodrigo made headlines by falling through a hole in the stage in Melbourne, Coldplay’s Chris Martin had the same accident in the same city.

The ‘Yellow’ singer was talking to the audience at Marvel Stadium (not the same venue as Rodrigo) when he fell backwards through a trapdoor.

Martin thanked a venue staff member who caught him as he fell, and was unhurt.

The question remains: What’s going on with Melbourne’s stages?

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

Should Australians care about the U.S. Election?

A Trump Presidency and a Harris Presidency could look very different for Australia — from trade to defence, the economy, culture, diplomacy, foreign aid and beyond.

In today's deep dive, Chas Licciardello from the ABC's Planet America explains what the U.S. election means for Australia, and why you should care.