☕️ A Senator’s $100k baby plan

Get ready to see a lot of green – it’s Saint Patrick’s Day. May we all feel the luck of the Irish today.

"I can appreciate the double-take on Atlassian’s F1 sponsorship because… cars = fuel. I’ve had conversations with the [Formula One Association], and am impressed with their plans to get to net zero… F1 can set a global example for sustainability in sports — and I believe it will."
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, a leading climate action campaigner, has defended the company’s decision to sponsor a Formula 1 team in a LinkedIn post.

20.05 seconds
The time recorded by Australian 17-year-old Gout Gout in the 200m at the Queensland Athletics Championships on Sunday. It is the fastest time recorded for 200m anywhere in the world so far this year (in all ages). Gout Gout also recorded a time of 19.98 seconds in the final, but the time doesn’t count as a record because it was considered wind-assisted.

1905
Albert Einstein published his first scientific paper on his Quantum Theory of Light — one of the foundations of modern physics.

The number of Islamophobic incidents reported in Australia has reached record highs.

According to the Islamophobia Register, 675 incidents were reported between January 2023 and November 2024.

A significant spike was recorded in the three weeks following Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

The Register found Muslim women and girls are overrepresented among victims of Islamophobic attacks.

The Islamophobia Register is a not-for-profit organisation that tracks vilification, hate crimes, and discrimination against Muslim people.

Since its launch in 2014, the Register has published reports on the state of online and in-person Islamophobic incidents in Australia.

Researchers from Monash and Deakin University analysed the Register’s data for its latest report.

Over the 23-month reporting period, 675 incidents were recorded — the highest in the report’s history.

Of these, 309 occurred in person, while 366 took place online.

This was two and a half times the number of in-person incidents recorded in previous reports, and three times the number of online incidents.

Verbal intimidation and harassment were the most common forms of reported in-person Islamophobic attacks, accounting for 61% of all cases.

Muslim women and girls were the primary targets of Islamophobia, accounting for 79% of reports of verbal abuse and 95% of incidents on public transport.

Men and boys were identified as the perpetrators in 72% of all incidents.

The report’s authors believe this year’s findings are “just the tip of the iceberg,” citing “inherently low reporting rates” within Muslim communities.

They attribute this underreporting to a lack of awareness about how to report incidents, socioeconomic and language barriers, and concern authorities won’t take action.

The Register’s executive director Dr Nora Amath called the findings “irrefutable” proof that Islamophobia has reached “crisis levels” in Australia.

Amath called for political leaders to “move beyond denial to meaningful action” against Islamophobia.

“The costs of inaction are not just the continued suffering of Muslim Australians, but the erosion of Australia’s social fabric and its promise of a fair, inclusive society,” Amath said.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Coalition Senator Matt Canavan has proposed a policy to offer couples a low-interest loan of $100,000 once they have a child. This loan would only apply to families buying their first home and would be wiped if they have three children.

Senator Canavan told TDA this would help reverse Australia’s declining birth rate and increase home ownership for younger people.

While Canavan has put forward the idea, the Coalition hasn't formally adopted this policy.

Labor has called the plan “a 1950s” idea.

Matt Canavan has been a Queensland Senator since 2013. In the Senate, Canavan is part of the National Party, which is led by David Littleproud.

Federally, the National Party has a formal alliance with the Liberal Party – led by Peter Dutton – to form government together if they win enough seats at an election. This is called the Coalition.

Under the former Turnbull Government, Canavan served as Resources Minister. He does not currently hold any Shadow Ministry position.

In an interview with TDA, Canavan proposed a new policy to give first-time parents a $100,000 government loan. This would only apply to families buying their first home.

The loan would decrease by 30% after a second child, and would be wiped altogether after a third child.

He said it would apply to any de facto couple, including same-sex couples, and could involve adoption and surrogacy.

If a couple were to have one child, but then couldn’t have more due to unexpected complications, Canavan said their debt would not be wiped.

“It’s unfortunate in those situations, but you still get the low interest loan; you’re still better off than you were before,” he said.

Canavan said he raised the prospect in the Nationals’ party room and it has the support of “some” MPs and Senators.

Canavan admitted the issue wouldn’t be “high on the agenda” at the upcoming Federal Election, due by 17 May, but said he would advocate for the policy if the Coalition were to win government.

He added that he had the policy costed by the parliamentary budget office, which runs a cost analysis on policy ideas.

Canavan said he has based this policy over a similar scheme in Hungary.

In 2019, the Hungarian Government introduced a four-phase loan scheme to encourage more women to have children.

The policy involved women receiving a 10 million Ft ($AU43,000) low-interest loan once they got married. Once they had a child, they didn’t need to pay off the loan for three years. After a second child, one-third of the loan was wiped. After a third child, the loan was completely wiped.

The scheme was only available to married women under 40. The birth rate in Hungary has been rising since the 2010s.

Australia’s birth rate has been falling for decades. In 2008, the birth rate was 2.02 children per woman. In 2023, it was 1.5 children per woman.

Lower birth rates, combined with an ageing population, can lead to public policy challenges – such as smaller workforces and pressure on younger generations to care for older people.

A 2,000-person survey last year by the polling company Redbridge showed 18 to 34-year-olds are delaying having children due to cost of living pressures.

Many politicians have commented on the country’s declining birth rate in the past.

In 2004, former Liberal Treasurer Peter Costello famously urged families to have “one for mum, one for dad, and one for the country”. This came as he introduced a program to give parents $3,000 for each new child born.

Ahead of last year’s budget, Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Nine Newspapers that “it would be better if birth rates were higher”. He added: “There are a whole range of reasons people’s preferences are changing. It’s expensive to raise kids.”

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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🍊 Formula One is back for another year.
🍊 Richmond’s astonishing half-time comeback.
🍊 Socceroos coach names his World Cup qualifying squad.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: NRL, aerial skiing, and more…

Researchers from the University of Adelaide travelled to the Ross Sea on the coast of Antarctica, where they visited active and abandoned Adelie penguin colonies. They dug about a metre below ground to excavate around 156 samples. One of the researchers, Jamie Wood, said the dig was like “going back through time,” with the team collecting samples of penguin poo, eggshells, feathers, cells and DNA from other animal species. The samples generated more than 90 billion DNA sequences, giving experts new insights into 6,000 years of life and changes on the remote continent. 

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Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Donatella Versace has stepped down as Chief Creative Officer of her eponymous luxury brand.

Donatella is the sister of brand founder Gianni Versace, who was murdered outside his home in Miami in July 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

She has widely been considered Gianni’s creative partner, and took on the high level creative role following his murder.

Now, she’s stepping back, with the brand announcing Donatella will become Chief Brand Ambassador instead.

“Ms. Versace will dedicate herself to the support of Versace’s philanthropic and charitable endeavours and will remain an advocate for the brand globally,” the brand said in a statement to X.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

Mining billionaire Clive Palmer recently announced he’s launching a new Donald Trump-inspired political party. Palmer says his ‘Trumpet of Patriots’ party will seek to “make Australia great again”. It comes after Palmer lost a High Court bid to re-register his United Australia Party ahead of the next election. Today, we’ll unpack Clive Palmer’s presence in the Australian political landscape, from what happened to United Australia, to the policy proposal of his new party, the role of minor parties in Federal Parliament and political advertising.