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Quote of the day
"For the first time in history, all team sports will have at least the same number of women’s teams as men’s teams... Gender equality was a key consideration when deciding on the athlete quota and the number of events."
The International Olympic Committee has confirmed the 2028 LA Games will be the first Olympics where female athletes outnumber male athletes (5,333 to 5,167).
Stat of the day
61,000
The number of customers who were overcharged by Virgin Australia between April 2020 and March 2025, according to a statement from the airline. It has offered refunds to affected customers, who will be notified via email.
Today in history
2019
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he’d sought political asylum to avoid rape charges in Sweden and spying charges in the U.S. The Swedish charges have since been dropped. Last year, Assange was allowed back to Australia after a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
The White House has clarified overnight that the total tariff on China is 145% (not 125% as announced yesterday), making U.S. markets tumble further. Tariffs are an import tax applied to foreign-made goods brought into another country. They are paid by the importer. Since coming to office, U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on all countries, including Australia, in a move that has caused mass disruption to the global economy. Overnight on Wall Street, the top 500 companies in the U.S. saw a 3.5% fall.
New Zealand’s Parliament has voted to strike down controversial legislation to alter the country’s founding document. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by English officials and over 500 Māori leaders in 1840. Last year, New Zealand’s ACT party – one of the three parties that make up the coalition Government – introduced the ‘Treaty Principles Bill’. The legislation sought to change how the document is legally interpreted. It sparked widespread protests across the country. In a motion on Thursday, all parties except ACT voted against the bill, including other members of the governing coalition. The result was met with widespread applause from MPs and members of the public in the gallery. The bill prompted 300,000 public submissions to a parliamentary inquiry, 90% of which opposed the legislation.
Recommendation of the day
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I’ve got 1 minute
Australia has recorded almost as many measles cases this year as all of 2024
Australia has recorded almost as many cases of measles this year as the entirety of 2024.
Measles is a contagious airborne disease. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash.
In Australia, children are vaccinated against measles as infants.
Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared measles eliminated in Australia in 2014, people travelling here from overseas can still bring the disease back with them, causing community outbreaks.
Cases
In 2024, there were a total of 57 cases in Australia. So far this year, Australia has recorded 54 cases.
NSW, which has the largest population, has recorded the most cases, with 20. The state recorded 18 cases overall in 2024.
Victoria, the second most-populous state, has recorded 16 cases compared to 17 across 2024.
According to the Victorian Health Department, the majority of recent cases are in people who have not had the full course of the measles vaccine.
Why?
According to the WHO, the proportion of children receiving a first dose of the measles vaccine has declined from 86% in 2019 to 83% in 2023.
The WHO also said the COVID-19 pandemic reduced global immunisation efforts.
In a recent statement, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Anthony Lawler said: “Our historic high childhood immunisation rates offered strong protection against measles, but rates have recently dropped below targeted levels.”
Lawler
Lawler said Australians should monitor any exposure site listings and follow local health authority instructions.
NSW Health encouraged residents who are unsure about their vaccination status to get a dose, particularly before travel.
Individuals with symptoms of measles are encouraged to avoid public areas and seek medical care.
Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Can political ads lie?
On 3 May, Australians will head to the polls to elect the next government.
In the lead-up, TDA is cutting through the noise to help you understand the big election issues.
Right now, election ads are everywhere. If you look closely, you’ll see each one is authorised. Every piece of paid political communication during an election must be officially authorised. So does that mean they have to be true?
The answer is no. Here’s why.
Authorisation
Paid political content published during an election is legally required to contain an authorisation.
The authorisation clarifies who created the content, and informs voters that it may influence their vote.
The AEC says the authorisation process exists so political ads are transparent, accountable, and traceable.
However, while ads need to contain authorisation, they don’t need to be accurate.
The AEC says: “A federal election is a contest of ideas and it is the role of each voter to take the time to consider if the information is reliable, current, [and] safe.”
It means political advertising is not covered by the same rules that apply to commercial ads. Companies can be penalised for misleading customers, but political parties cannot be penalised for misleading voters.
Changes
There have been efforts to change this. In 2023, a parliamentary committee recommended empowering the AEC to enforce truth standards in political advertisements.
In November 2024, the Labor Government introduced a bill that would have penalised the creation of “inaccurate and misleading” electoral material, including deepfakes.
Neither of these proposals progressed.
Some independent MPs have said truth in political advertising could become a negotiating issue if there is a hung parliament. This occurs when neither major party wins enough seats to form government on its own.
In that scenario, independents can give parties their support in exchange for passing policies.
Independent experts have also called for changes to the system. Ahead of the 2022 election, The Australia Institute said the rules risk a “free-fall of fake news”. The Grattan Institute said it “hurts the democratic process”.
Who pays?
Political parties raise money to pay for their own advertising, and there are no limits on how much they can spend.
However, taxpayers pay for political ads too. After the election, the AEC – a Government body – reimburses any candidate or party who gets at least 4% of votes for money they spent on the campaign.
The more votes you get, the more taxpayer money you receive.
Reporting by Zara Seidler.
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Give me some good news
A new edible biofilm could be used to double the shelf life of perishable food and help reduce wastage.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil developed the film using pomegranate peel, as well as fishing and agricultural waste. During testing, they found strawberries coated in the film took between six and eight days to show signs of decomposition, compared to 4 days for uncoated strawberries. The film works by creating a barrier around the fruit, preserving its characteristics and protecting it from, “microorganisms, moisture loss and gas exchange.” According to the study’s lead author, the coating has no impact on “the taste, texture,” and compounds, “that give the fruit its characteristic aroma”.
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA tidbit
You’ve likely heard U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to ‘Make America Great Again’. Now, he’s promising to ‘Make America’s Showers Great Again.’
Trump has signed an executive order to end the “war on water pressure” by redefining the term ‘showerhead.’
Trump said that “the order frees Americans from excessive regulations that turned a basic household item into a bureaucratic nightmare. No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless.”
The Clinton administration restricted what kinds of showerheads could be sold on environmental grounds, based on how much water they spray per minute.
Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
In the lead-up to the federal election (three weeks away!) TDA has interviewed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, but we haven’t landed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
On today’s podcast, we break the fourth wall to bring you on our journey to interview the man who is trying to lead the Coalition to an election victory.
TDA asks
