☕️ Pope Francis dies

In case you missed it, early voting for the federal election begins today! That’s right, after talking about it for what feels like a million years, we’re finally at the pointy end of the campaign.

Early voting is an option for anyone who can’t vote on election day, for reasons such as working, observing a religious custom, travelling, or illness. A heads up that all voting centres will be shut for Anzac Day this Friday.

You can search for an early voting centre on the AEC’s website. Happy voting!

P.S. TDA is looking into the space tourism industry, and we want to hear your thoughts! Let us know via our anonymous survey here.

"It would be the worst Easter drowning toll that we have seen in New South Wales on our record.”
Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steven Pearce after seven people drowned in NSW over the Easter long weekend. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on Australians to “be careful” in a press conference on Monday.

5293
The number of days since an Australian led the Formula 1 world championship. Oscar Piastri brought that streak to an end when he rose to first place in the driver standings after winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix over the weekend.

The world’s oldest cat, Creme Puff, lived to 38 years and three days old. Creme Puff was alive from 1967 to 2005.

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has died at 88 following a stroke and heart failure.

He was elected Pope following the retirement of Benedict XVI in 2013.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina in 1936, Pope Francis trained as a chemical technician before becoming a priest in his 30s.

Francis’ election made history in several ways. He was the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere, the first to take the name Francis, and the first in 600 years to take over from a retiring Pope.

His papacy was marked by a more progressive attitude on sexuality than his predecessors.

Under his leadership, the Vatican allowed transgender people to be baptised and become godparents, and approved priests giving blessings to same-sex unions.

On Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced all Commonwealth flags will fly at half mast as a sign of respect.

He said: “The first pope from the Southern Hemisphere was close to the people of Australia. For Australian Catholics, he was a devoted champion and loving father…my sincere condolences to everyone for whom tonight, it will be a very difficult evening."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said: “I express my condolences to Australians of Catholic and Christian faith upon the sad news of the death of the 266th pontiff…Above all else, he was driven by Christ's values of mercy and forgiveness.”

Over the next few weeks, TDA is going to be explaining some of the key concepts and ideas that sit behind Australia’s political system. Feel free to hit reply and let us know which topics you want explained!

On 3 May, Australians will head to the polls to elect the next government.

One of the terms that continues to come up in media reporting on the election is a ‘hung parliament’. In today’s piece, we’ll explain what that means and why you’re seeing it so often.

Australia’s Parliament has two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The House of Reps is the one that determines which party will be in government (and who will be Prime Minister).

To form government, a party needs to reach 76 seats of the 150 seats up for grabs in the House of Reps.

But what if no party gets there? Then it’s a hung parliament!

If no party wins a majority, then they need to negotiate with minor parties or independents.

This does not mean they formally join forces, or that the minor parties or independents become part of the government.

Rather, it means the minor parties or independents agree to keep the government in power, and to vote to pass the budget so that money can be allocated to keep the country running.

This is called a ‘minority government’.

In exchange for this support, minor parties and independents may impose some conditions, such as support for particular policies that are important to them.

Confused? The long story short is this: When it comes to the House of Representatives, minor parties and independents are most important when there is a minority government.

But if you want more of the long story...

Here’s an example:

Let’s say the Orange Party is a major party, but it only has 74 seats. It needs two more seats to form government.

Then we have the Pink Party, which is a minority party, and they have won two seats.

If the Orange Party and the Pink Party came together, that would mean they have 76 seats, and that’s enough to form a minority government.

But in exchange for its support, the Pink Party might say: ‘I’ll only support you if you legislate free coffee for everyone.’

It’s then up to the Orange Party to decide whether or not they’re willing to make that compromise, since giving everyone free coffee wasn’t part of what they wanted to do.

A lot of the early polling suggested that neither party would be able to form a majority government, and so would need the help of minor parties and independents.

However, more recent polling suggests Labor could have enough support to win a majority government.

Either way, all the polling indicates it will be a very tight race

If shaving is something you dread, you’re going to want to hear about this

Meet Lui: The new razor and body care brand designed to elevate shaving - turning it into an act of self-care that you can actually look forward to.

NASA’s oldest active astronaut has celebrated his 70th birthday by returning to Earth. Don Pettit was in the Soyuz MS-26 space capsule that landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday morning (local time). Pettit has spent a total of 590 days in space across his career.

According to NASA, during this recent flight, Pettit conducted research to “enhance in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity”.

It’s certainly one way to celebrate another year around the sun!

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We all know the type of parent who takes their children's sport a little too seriously. It's often the 'parent participation' race where the competition can really heat up.

For former Olympic champion sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, winning eight Olympic medals simply wasn't enough - she needed to obliterate the competition at her son's sports day, storming to victory in the parents' 100m race.

It's good to see the Jamaican athlete can see the funny side - Fraser-Pryce reposted the clip on Instagram with the caption "They haven't banned me yet, so I'm at the line."

If you've spent any time on TikTok lately, you might have come across videos from people claiming to be Chinese warehouse operators selling products directly to consumers. These videos, part of a trend called "TikTok Warehouse," promise to deliver products from well-loved brands for a fraction of the usual retail price. In today’s podcast, we're going to explain what's happening with this trend, why it's controversial, and if it has fundamentally changed the relationship between retailers and consumers.