☕️ NASA launches largest-ever spacecraft to another planet

At about 6.15am this morning, 25-year-old Nedd Brockmann finished running 1,000 miles. You might recognise Brockmann as the person who ran across Australia – from Cottesloe in Perth to Bondi in Sydney – in 46 days back in 2022.

This time, he was trying to run 1,000 miles (about 1,609km) as fast as he could. He did the whole thing in 12 and a half days – all done by running around a 400m track at Sydney Olympic Park.

In the process, Brockmann raised $2.1 million for homelessness in Australia.

One of his first words after he finished? “I can’t wait for a shower.”

In the spirit of Brockmann, we’re going to have a running-related riddle!

Here is today’s riddle: There were a group of runners in a race. Bob worked his way up from the back and overcame the second-place runner. What place is Bob in now?

Answer is in the tidbit.

“I understand I have been fortunate. I also know what it is like to struggle.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defending his purchase of a $4.3 million home on NSW’s Central Coast with fiancée Jodie Haydon. Albanese and Haydon have not yet settled the purchase.

73,000
The number of bags of blood being discarded per year from people with a genetic condition that requires blood to be taken from their bodies for treatment. Red Cross Lifeblood is urging Australians with haemochromatosis, which causes the body to hold onto too much iron, to donate their blood instead.

1793
Marie-Antoinette was killed by guillotine for treason against the French Republic. Her death sentence came less than a year after her husband’s execution.

Employees of companies that use non-compete clauses (NCCs) are paid less and promoted less than other workers, according to the e61 Institute.

The economic think tank analysed data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data as part of its research into non-competes.

Non-competes are a type of clause included in employee contracts. They are used to block employees from working for a competitor for a certain period after they leave a company.

e61 also found an increase in the number of Australian companies using NCCs over the last five years.

Non‑compete clauses are conditions in employment contracts that prevent an employee from working for a company’s competitor in the near future.

They usually dictate how long an employee must wait before starting a new job and can also prevent employees from working at companies within the same industry.

These agreements are used by companies to protect private business information an employee may take with them. However, they are not always legally enforceable.

e61 analysed employee retention rates at companies that increased their use of NCCs between 2021 and 2023.

It found NCCs were “successfully deployed” in response to high rates of turnover among employees.

However, it found this is more common in “lower-skill” roles (jobs that don’t generally require post-school qualifications).

By comparison, e61 said high-skill workers with NCC contracts experience “virtually no decline in switches within industries,” e61 said.

Workers at companies that use NCCs are paid an average of 4% less than other employees, e61’s analysis of ABS data found.

It found reduced wages are “particularly acute” among “lower skill occupations”

e61 Research Manager Ewan Rankin said NCCs can reduce “the workers’ power to bargain for higher wages by limiting their future employment options.”

After five years, they are paid about 10% less than similar employees who started on a similar wage.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

The Coalition is ahead of Labor for the first time since its 2022 election loss, according to a new national poll.

The latest Newspoll, published by The Australian, puts Labor behind on a two-party preferred basis of 51-49 (Coalition-Labor).

Analysts predict a hung parliament (where Labor nor Coalition have a majority) is likely at the next election, which is due by May 2025.

The most common polling number quoted in the media is the two-party preferred.

It gives you two percentages, adding to 100, which tell us who people prefer out of Labor and the Coalition.

Newspoll is one of the most recognised polls in Australian politics. Its surveys are conducted by Pyxis Polling & Insights.

The major parties have polled fairly evenly over recent months on a two-party preferred basis.

The latest Newspoll surveyed more than 1,250 people between October 7-11.

51% of respondents said they would prefer a Coalition Government compared to 49% who said Labor.

Labor won the 2022 election on a two-party preferred metric of 52% to the Coalition’s 48%. Anthony Albanese remains preferred Prime Minister, leading Coalition leader Peter Dutton 45 to 37.

It’s increasingly rare for an individual candidate to receive more than 50% of their electorate’s ‘first preference’ vote.

Instead, candidates rely on Australia’s preferential voting system to secure a majority.

For example, eight different parties ran in the Qld seat of Blair at the 2022 Federal election.

Labor did not receive a majority of first preference votes, but it did win the seat. How?

In the seat of Blair in 2022, Labor won 35% of first preference votes. The LNP received 29%, and the remaining 36% of first preference votes were split across smaller parties like the Greens (12.6%) and One Nation (10%).

Voters listed their preferences 1 to 8. Candidates with the fewest first preference votes get knocked out progressively. These votes are then distributed based on the voter’s preferences. For example, about 80% of people who voted for the Greens preferenced Labor ahead of the LNP.

Labor eventually won on a 55-45% two-party-preferred basis against the LNP after preferences from the six smaller parties were distributed.

The next federal election is due by May 2025.

For more on this, listen to TDA’s daily podcast on the topic here.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife (FNPW) gathered in NSW yesterday to plant the group’s one-millionth tree since 2020.

The ‘Landscape Resilience Program’ is focused on maintaining the health of natural areas threatened by bushfires and floods. Since the 2019/20 bushfires, FNPW has saved more than 600,000 hectares, 296 plant species and 25 threatened wildlife species. The group said it wants to plant eight million trees by 2030.

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

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Forget about looking for life on Mars — could there be life on one of Jupiter’s moons?

NASA has launched its largest-ever spacecraft headed to another planet, the Europa Clipper, to observe Jupiter and its moon Europa.

While the solar system’s biggest planet has lots of moons, Europa stands out because it has a large ocean surface that researchers believe could support life.

The mission launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, U.S, on a 2.9 billion kilometre journey. The Clipper is expected to begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, and fly past Europa 49 times.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

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Riddle answer: Bob is now in second place.

The Government wants to crack down on “unfair and excessive card surcharges” in Australia. It's announced plans to ban debit card surcharges from 2026.

The RBA estimates Australian businesses pay close to $2 billion a year to card networks, but the Opposition argues the Government's plan “won’t make a difference” for Australians facing a cost of living crisis.

On today’s podcast, we’ll explain how these charges currently work, why they're a problem, and what lawmakers want to do about it.