☕️ NSW to make pill testing permanent

Here is today’s trivia question: What is the name of the generation that comes after Gen Z?

(Gen Z are the ones born roughly between 1996-2009, so I’m asking for the name of the generation that followed!)

Answer is in the titbit.

The quote: “We’re incredibly thankful another Australian, who had been unaccounted for, has now been found. It’s hard to imagine the sense of relief their loved ones must be feeling after what will have been an incredibly harrowing few days.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong in a statement emailed by her office to media outlets on Tuesday afternoon, confirming another Australian has been found alive in Nepal after the landslide in the region.

The stat: 6,041. The number of confirmed cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the latest outbreak began earlier this year. The central African country has struggled to contain the disease for months.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 55% of you think smart glasses shouldn’t be legal, 32% think they should be legal with restrictions on their use, 7% think they should be legal, and 6% don’t know. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,978 votes].

Together with AAP.

A jury in Las Vegas, Nevada, has found Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis orchestrated the murder of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996.

Davis denied being involved in the murder, pleaded not guilty, and has said he will appeal the ruling.

At the time of his death, Shakur was signed to Death Row Records.
The Los Angeles-based record label had links to the Bloods, one of the city’s two major rival gangs that started in the 1970s.

Duane Davis and his nephew Orlando Anderson were linked to the Bloods’ rival gang, the Crips. The two gangs have a long history of conflict.

On 7 September 1996, Shakur was in Las Vegas for a boxing match with Suge Knight, the head of his record label. Afterwards, he and his group got into a physical fight with Anderson at the MGM Grand casino.

Hours later, Shakur was riding in a car with Knight when another car pulled up alongside them and someone opened fire, shooting the rapper four times.

He died six days later, aged 25. No one was arrested at the time. The gun and getaway car were never found.

Police questioned Anderson in October 1996 over Shakur’s death but there was little forensic evidence and he was never charged. In May 1998, Anderson was killed in an unrelated gang shootout.

The investigation into Shakur’s murder was reopened after Davis wrote a 2019 memoir detailing his alleged role in the shooting.

Davis faced one count of murder with a deadly weapon, with prosecutors arguing he ordered the killing and supplied the gun.

The jury took three hours to find him guilty of first-degree murder, meaning they believe the killing was carried out with forethought and intent, not by accident.

Before they went to deliberate, the judge in this case told the jury that under Nevada law, a person can be convicted of first-degree murder for organising the killing of another person.

The verdict means jurors agreed with the prosecution’s argument that Davis didn’t fire the gun himself, but handed it to the person who did.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry and Lucy Tassell.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, multimedia journo Elliot and editor-in-chief Billi discuss if the Nepal disaster was caused by climate change. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.

🎾 Sign up to TDA Sport here for a full rundown on the Aussies competing in the U.S. Open, dropping in your inbox at 4.30pm.

🦸‍♀️ Westfield Local Heroes shines a spotlight on the incredible people in your community making a real difference. Discover the finalists in your area and vote for your Westfield Local Hero to help award up to $1.25m in community grants – it only takes a moment but can make a world of difference to them.

🎶 Fancy a free festival? On 12 September, catch free live music from The Rubens, Drax Project, Holly Hebe and more at UC Open Day Fest! Get a feel for studying at UC, meet the people who'll support you along the way and enjoy a weekend away in Canberra.

^{Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.}

The NSW Government has committed to keep drug checking services running at up to 15 music festivals per year.

It follows a 12-month trial and an independent evaluation, which found pill testing reduced drug-related hospital and ICU admissions at festivals compared with previous years.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the Government “does not endorse drug use” but is “listening to those with lived experience.”

In 2019, a coronial inquest examined the deaths of six young people who died after taking MDMA at NSW music festivals, including 19-year-old Alex Ross-King.

Following the hearings, Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame recommended a pill testing trial start that summer, and a permanent drug checking facility be set up.

Grahame’s report also noted concerns from opponents that the practice “gives the green light to drugs,” and provides a false sense of security that condones drug use.

In 2024, the NSW Government announced a Drug Summit, the first of its kind in the state since 1999. One of the key recommendations to emerge from the summit was the establishment of a pill testing trial.

The Government announced the trial later that year. Under the year-long trial, attendees at certain music festivals had access to anonymous drug-checking services to find out the strength and contents of drugs they intended to take.

Staff were then able to give attendees harm minimisation advice. Amnesty bins were available for anyone who decided to safely dispose of their drugs after hearing the testing results and health advice.

The service was free of charge, and open to people testing drugs they intended to use themselves, not distribute to others.

More than 1,800 people used the service during the trial, and around 1,500 drug samples were tested.

Urgent drug-related hospital presentations and ICU admissions fell compared with previous years at the same festivals.

Most people who used the trial services had never engaged with a health or harm reduction service before.

Health and drug-reform group Unharm wrote to the Premier this week calling for testing to be made permanent and expanded beyond festivals, into the general community.

On Wednesday morning, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park announced that the drug checking services would become permanent.

NSW Health will work with the festival industry to choose up to 15 festivals a year for the service.

Festivals will be picked based on size, type, location and the likelihood of drug harm.

Park said: “Drug checking at music festivals can reduce harms associated with drug use, and it ultimately saves lives”.

Alex’s mother Jennie Ross-King said: “Young people take risks, that is the reality of life, but they do not deserve to die because of one decision. This will go a long way towards giving young people the information they need to make safer choices and, ultimately, ensuring they come home safely to the people who love them.”

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

When did you last have your eyes tested? If you're squinting at the answer, it's probably been a while.

Regular eye tests are more than just a vision check - at Specsavers, the optometrist checks the health of your eyes and may detect early signs of eye and other medical conditions. If you spend your days on a computer, mention it during your appointment: your Optometrist can tailor their advice to your visual needs and screen time. Even better, these eye tests are bulk billed for anyone with a valid Medicare card.

The kākāpō is a large, green, flightless parrot native to New Zealand. Numbers of the species fell dramatically with colonialism, which endangered the birds with hunting and introduced species. The NZ Department of Conservation announced on Tuesday that the current population of birds is up to 325, the highest it’s been in at least 75 years. The record is largely due to the biggest breeding season the department has ever seen, with 90 chicks making it to adulthood – a number that would previously have taken 16 years to achieve.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

Trivia answer: Gen Alpha.

WA Police allegedly found methamphetamine (also known as ‘ice’) inside a breakfast McMuffin last month.

Senior Constable Ben Lucas told the WA Police podcast he found a packet of ice “secreted between the bacon and egg” of a McMuffin when he was searching the contents of a car as part of an “ongoing investigation”.

Talk about a happy meal.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.