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Good morning!
This week I’m interviewing Australia’s Education Minister Jason Clare.
I’d love to know if you have any question suggestions! Just hit reply to this email. And I’ll let you know when the interview is live.
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
“One of my sons said to me Trump was his hero. I had never spoken about politics before and I was a bit shocked by it. But upon discussion, it became clear he… doesn't think there's anybody speaking to him or representing him.”
Australian Nationals Senator Matt Canavan speaking on ABC’s Q+A last night.
Stat of the day
99
The number of Grammy nominations Beyoncé has received in her career, breaking the world record. Before the 2025 Grammy nominations were announced, Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z shared the top place with 88 Grammy nominations each.
Today in history
1966
A solar eclipse was photographed for the first time from Earth’s orbit by James Lovell and Edwin (known as Buzz) Aldrin.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
The trial of a NSW Police officer who fatally tasered an elderly woman has begun in the state’s Supreme Court. 95-year-old Clare Nowland fractured her skull after she was tasered at an aged care home in southern NSW in May 2023. Nowland – a dementia patient – died from her injuries a few days after the incident. Senior Constable Kristian White was charged with manslaughter but has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers argue White used reasonable force on Nowland, who was holding a knife at the time of the incident. They claim the officer made several requests for her to drop the knife before using his taser. Hearings are expected to continue over the coming weeks.
Ukraine’s military forces are expecting 50,000 Russian and North Korean soldiers to launch an attack in Western Russia this week. It comes after U.S. defence officials warned 10,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to Russia to support its war against Ukraine last month. Ukrainian Officials are now preparing for Russian forces to target the Kursk region in the coming days, after Ukraine seized control of the Russian territory earlier this year. Reuters has also reported that President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin after last week’s U.S. election, and advised him against escalating conflict in the region. U.S. President Joe Biden and Trump are scheduled to meet later this week, where Biden is expected to call on the incoming President and Congress to continue supporting Ukraine.
Recommendation of the day
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I’ve got 1 minute
Australia’s first Anti-Slavery Commissioner has been appointed
Australia has appointed its first Federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced on Monday that former Senator Chris Evans will take on the new role.
Evans will work with Governments, businesses, and non-government organisations to “fight against modern slavery.”
It’s estimated around 41,000 people in Australia are subject to modern slavery.
Modern slavery
Modern slavery describes a range of exploitative practices, including forced labour, human trafficking, and forced marriage.
According to a report produced by human rights organisation Walk Free – where Evans previously worked – 50 million people worldwide were subject to modern slavery in 2021.
Walk Free estimated more than 40,000 of these people were in Australia.
Commissioner
Labor proposed creating an independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner ahead of the 2022 Federal election. It based the proposal on an existing role in the UK.
In the 2023/24 Budget, the Government said it would spend $8 million over four years to “establish” the job.
This week, the Government said the Commissioner will work to raise community awareness and help businesses avoid practices that could lead to exploitation.
Chris Evans
Evans will also help to carry out recommendations from a 2023 review of the Modern Slavery Act.
He was a Labor Senator for Western Australia from 1993 to 2013, before working at Walk Free for several years.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said Evans was hired following “a transparent and merit-based selection process.”
Evans will officially begin his duties as Anti-Slavery Commissioner next month.
Reporting by Achol Arok.
I’ve got 2 minutes
More than a quarter of employers aren’t tracking sexual harassment in the workplace
Over a quarter of Australian employers aren’t measuring the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has found.
The latest WGEA report analysed data from across 7,000 medium and large businesses, which employ more than 5 million Australians.
It noted that nearly 99% of employers have implemented a policy on workplace sexual harassment. However, the WGEA said employers ”have a responsibility to stop sexual harassment before it starts”.
Methodology
The WGEA is a Government agency that regularly collects data on gender equality in workplaces.
Employers with 100 or more staff members are legally required to report to the WGEA anually on several gender equality indicators.
The WGEA said its latest report shows “an area for focus includes ensuring company leaders understand, and promote, expectations of a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace.”
More findings
98% of workplaces have processes for employees to disclose sexual harassment to HR or specific staff members.
68% have anonymous disclosure processes. WGEA said, “The ability to protect a reporter’s identity with anonymous disclosure is important, given widespread underreporting of these serious issues.”
Nearly 90% of workplaces offer sexual harassment and discrimination prevention training. However, “this training does not always occur at all levels of the organisation,” the report said.
One in four CEOs spoke about workplace expectations during new staff orientations.
One in ten explained these expectations to staff ahead of a work-related event (e.g. a Christmas party).
Key quote
The WGEA report said: “Workplace sexual harassment and discrimination is a gender equality issue that predominantly impacts women.”
However, less than a third of employers who collect data on sexual harassment in the workplace noted the gender of the alleged victim.
1800 RESPECT:
Call: 1800 737 732
Text: 0458 737 732
Video: 1800RESPECT.org.au
Reporting by Nandini Dhir.
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🍊 Sports journalist stood down for comments. More details here.
🍊 The Wallabies got off to a sizzling start. Who's next?
🍊 Coco Gauff became the youngest since 2004 to win what?
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: rugby league, diving, and more…
Give me some good news
A stem-cell transplant has restored the vision of four people with damaged corneas in a world-first trial in the U.S.
Corneas are the transparent outer surface of the eye. The trial participants all experienced “severely impaired vision” before undergoing a stem-cell procedure.
Three of the four patients reported significant long term improvements with their eyesight, one year after the transplant. The procedure restored the other patients’ vision, but for a shorter period. A stem-cell researcher from the U.S. National Eye Institute described the trial results as an “exciting development”.
Before this, there were few known treatment options for people with scar-tissue on their corneas. The procedure paves the way for a larger trial with more participants.
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Nandini Dhir.
TDA tidbit
The upcoming movie ‘Wicked’ has a PG rating, but the packaging of its Barbie dolls accidentally has an R18+ rating.
Dolls of main characters Glinda and Elphaba were released by Mattel for the movie. But instead of printing WickedMovie.com, Mattel incorrectly put another address (pictured above) that takes customers to… an adult film site.
Mattel issued a statement, saying: “We deeply regret this unfortunate error… Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children.”
Reporting by Nandini Dhir.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
As the world’s governments process what a Trump presidency could mean for them, much of the attention has turned to the impact of Trump's suite of economic reforms.
On today’s podcast, we’re going to look at how changes in the global economy could impact us here in Australia, and why crypto and shares have rocketed up on the news of Trump’s return.
TDA asks
