☕️ Plan to prepare for the next pandemic

Here is today’s riddle: Four different people claim Adam is their brother. However, Adam says he has no brothers. How can this be?

Answer is in the tidbit!

“I don’t know him, someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is.”
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump talking about comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who caused controversy this week by describing Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” on stage at one of Trump’s rallies. The comedian was invited to speak by the Trump campaign. Trump also described the event as “an absolute lovefest”.

$950 million
The value of the acquisition of Apparel Brands, a clothing arm of Premier Investments, by Myer. Brands including Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Dotti and Portmans will be included in the acquisition. Premier and Myer shareholders will need to approve the deal before the department store can merge with Apparel Brands.

1908
The first cross-country flight successfully takes place in Europe from Bouy to Reims. The 23km journey took French aviator Henri Farman around 20 minutes to complete.

Japan’s ruling party has lost its majority after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called a snap election.

It follows recent controversy surrounding the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP’s main opposition – the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) - won an additional 50 seats.

However, no party has secured a clear majority. The PM has vowed to remain in office, as his party and the CDPJ look to negotiate with Japan’s minor parties.

The LDP has held power in Japan for all but four of the last 70 years.

Last year, several LDP members were charged with corruption over a fundraising scandal.

The Tokyo District Prosecutors Office accused 10 people, including lawmakers and political staffers, of failing to declare up to 940 million yen ($AU9.3 million) in political earnings.

Members associated with this corruption were removed from their positions.

Public support for the LDP began to decline as a result of the controversy.

By the end of 2023, support for then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had dropped to around 20% — Japan’s lowest approval rating of any PM in over a decade.

Polling showed support for Kishida’s Government had also dropped to 15.5%.

After three years as PM, Kishida resigned in August. Kishida’s successor, senior LDP figure Shigeru Ishiba, became Prime Minister in September.

Within days, he announced a snap election to determine the makeup of Japan’s parliament.

Japanese voters went to the polls on Sunday.

There are 465 seats in Japan’s House of Representatives. A party needs 233 to govern as a majority.

Before Sunday’s vote, the LDP and its coalition partner (a smaller party called Komeito) held 279 seats. After the election, the LDP and Komeito dropped to 215 seats — 18 short of forming government.

The LDP’s main opposition is the centre-left CDPJ. It won a total of 148 seats but remains 85 seats short of a majority.

The CDPJ has won two elections against the LDP since 1955.

The latest election result means the future Government of Japan remains unclear.

However, CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda said he would work with other minor parties to reach the required 233 seats.

Speaking to local media, Noda said a change of government was in sight. The CDPJ leader said he would seek to negotiate a deal with a smaller opposition party, the Democratic Party for the People (DPP).

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

An inquiry into the Federal Government’s response to COVID-19 has found it wasn’t “adequately prepared” for a pandemic.

The COVID-19 Response Inquiry released its final report today, finding that while the first stage of the pandemic was “characterised by decisive leadership,” Australia’s vaccine rollout was “slow to start [and] hampered by logistical challenges”.

In response, the Government has announced it will formally establish a national ‘centre for disease control’ by 2026.

The independent inquiry was set up in September 2023. Its scope was limited to actions taken by the Federal Government.

This decision was criticised by the Coalition Opposition, who were in Government at the onset of the pandemic.

The inquiry found that “trust in governments and in science has waned” as a direct result of the response to the pandemic. It recommended prioritising “rebuilding trust” going forward.

In terms of Government actions, the inquiry found that many COVID-19 measures “are unlikely to be accepted by the population again.”

It said that future pandemic responses must be “based on the Australia we are today, not the Australia we were before the pandemic.”

The inquiry raised concerns about Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics, because “many of the public health professionals, frontline community service and health staff... we relied on to get through the pandemic are no longer in their positions.”

The inquiry handed down nine recommendations, and 26 short and long-term actions, to improve Australia’s response to a future pandemic.

It recommended developing a national plan for the next pandemic that includes the possible “health, economic and social response”.

The report also recommended reviewing the effectiveness of some “economic support measures”, after it said a “health crisis quickly became an economic crisis“.

In a press conference yesterday, Health Minister Mark Butler said: “We are arguably worse-placed as a country to deal with a pandemic than we were in the early 2020s.”

Butler said that at the start of the pandemic, Australia “had not led a national pandemic drill for 12 years”.

He outlined plans to create a ‘centre for disease control’ by the start of 2026. This body will be responsible for ensuring Australia is prepared for a future pandemic.

The Opposition called today’s announcement “politically motivated”.

The Coalition noted that decisions made by State and Territory Governments were not included in the inquiry’s scope, despite these jurisdictions being responsible for most of the lockdowns.

Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said the Government is focused “on politics, and not on ensuring Australia is best prepared for any future pandemics.”

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Looking for flexible business support without the costs of hiring in-house?

A virtual assistant (VA) is a freelance contractor who can specialise in anything from admin, marketing, and business automation to executive assistant support.

The Virtual Assistant Lead Network connects businesses with skilled Australian VAs and online business managers (OBMs).

It is free to list your role with them, and you engage the VA directly - no commission fees. They even proofread your listing to ensure it's clear. Most of their members come from diverse corporate backgrounds, making them highly qualified for any project.

Download the 2024 Australian VA & OBM Rates Report to see what they can do for you!

🍊 The world’s best soccer players were named last night. Who won?
🍊 What event is known as the ‘Mother of all relays’?
🍊 Matthew Wade is retiring from cricket. More details here.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: baseball, rugby league, and more…

73 female candidates were successful after Sunday’s election. It means women will make up about 16% of Japan’s House of Representatives.

That’s compared to a global average of 27%. The main opposition party in Japan, the CDPJ, saw the most women elected of all the parties, with 30 female candidates securing a seat.

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

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Subway is being sued over allegations it’s skimping out on meat in its sandwiches.

The fast food company is facing a lawsuit in a U.S. court for misleading advertising.

According to court filings reported by Reuters, the ‘Steak and Cheese’ sandwich is depicted with layers of stacked meat, however the actual product shows more bread than meat filling.

The lawsuit cites inflated food prices and claims that Subway advertisements show 200% more meat on their sandwiches.

It’s not the first time Subway has faced more heat than its spicy mayo – the chain has previously settled a case over its foot-long sandwiches not actually being a foot long.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

*

*

*

Riddle answer: The people are Adam’s sisters.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of directly asking former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for free, undisclosed flight upgrades. The allegation has been detailed in a new book by former Australian Financial Review (AFR) columnist Joe Aston.

The Opposition has said it will consider setting up a Senate Inquiry into the matter, while the PM has suggested the claims come from a “person who is trying to sell a book”.