☕️ NT Govt police new powers

On Monday, The Daily Aus will be interviewing Katy Gallagher, the Minister for both Women and Finance.

We would love to hear any question suggestions you have! Just hit reply to this email.

“Commentary regarding body image is not acceptable and I am compelled to address this… Professional ballet dancers, like other aesthetic athletes, are identified as a high risk group for the development of body image concerns, disordered eating and eating disorders.”
Australian Ballet Artistic Director David Hallberg on a recent review in The Sydney Morning Herald that said dancers looked “unusually thin this season”.

30,000
The number of children who have migrated through the Darién Gap (a stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama) so far this year. UNICEF estimates as many as 160,000 will make the “arduous, dangerous” journey on their way from South America to North America.

1954
The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools.

The NT Government wants to introduce a new law to make it easier to implement curfews.

It comes after a recent three-week curfew for young people in Alice Springs, which followed a string of violent incidents in the town.

The Government hailed the measure a “success”, and said it showed curfews can be an “effective community safety tool”.

It’s now introduced a draft law to give police greater powers to call for and enforce curfews.

The Alice Springs curfew was part of an emergency declaration in the town.

A draft law tabled on Thursday would make it faster for a curfew to be declared. Under the proposal, the NT Police Commissioner would have new powers to announce curfews in any area where public disorder has happened or is expected to happen.

It means a curfew could be called after one disturbance, or a series of riots. Any extension of a curfew will require government sign-off.

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said the Government doesn’t expect the proposed law to lead to frequent curfews.

However, she said it would provide an “important option... as a circuit-breaker where [curfews] are needed”.

The NT Government’s proposal includes a review of the curfew powers to ensure they’re being used appropriately, a year after they come into force. This review would also consider if any changes to the law is required.

The Labor Government has a majority of seats in NT’s one house of Parliament, and won’t need additional support to pass the law.

However, the NT Country Liberal Opposition said it would support the legislation. It also backed the Alice Springs curfew and called for it to be extended.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro suggested targeted penalties for people who “continually breach” curfews, including mandatory community service.

A council in Western Sydney has reversed a ban on books about same-sex parenting in its public libraries.

It comes after Cumberland City Council voted to pass the ban earlier this month, sparking public outrage and criticism from the State Government.

Following a four-hour debate on Wednesday night, councillors voted to overturn the ban.

Cumberland is the local city council for around 240,000 residents of Western Sydney.

The council’s suburbs include Granville and Regents Park.

Two-thirds of the community speaks a language other than English at home, with a total of 67 languages spoken across Cumberland.

On 1 May, the council voted to ban books and materials on same-sex parenting at eight local libraries.

The move was led by local councillor Steve Christou, who said some “distraught” parents had contacted him after finding a book called ‘Same-Sex Parents’ by Holly Duhig in the children’s section of a local library.

The ban passed in a 6-5 vote, with some councillors absent. Labor councillor Diane Colman likened the ban to “book burning”.

LBGTQ+ community advocates voiced their opposition to the ban in the days after it passed.

Cumberland resident Caroline Staples – who describes herself as a “proud grandmother to a rainbow family” – launched a petition demanding the council reverse the ban.

National LGBTQ+ group Equality Australia said more than 50,000 people signed Staples’ petition, including at least 2,000 Cumberland locals.

Four Labor councillors put forward a motion to reverse the book ban.

One of the councillors, Kun Huang, said: “No one should be discriminated against based on their race, religion, or sexual orientation.

“No family should be discriminated against based on their family composition. No child should be made to feel they do not belong.”

As a result, the reversal was agreed to in a 12-2 vote this week.

For the 2023/24 financial year, the State Government allocated the council’s libraries more than $740,000 in funding.

In a statement to TDA before the ban was reversed, NSW Arts Minister John Graham said he was planning to withdraw some of this funding.

Graham said “it should not be up to local councillors” to make choices on behalf of residents about what they can access at the library”.

There were more than 500 protestors outside the council’s offices during last night’s vote.

This included members of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group ‘Pride in Protest’, and protesters who defended the ban.

Police also confirmed to TDA that nobody was arrested outside the council building. However, one protester was later charged for allegedly assaulting a staff member at a nearby hotel.

We’ve been writing a lot about endometriosis recently (you might remember this story) and there’s always so much interest from our audience. If you’re not someone who suffers from endo yourself, it’s likely there’s someone in your life who is suffering from the disease.

That’s why we wanted to introduce you to the viral heat pack brand, Kosi. Kosi’s heat packs offer 360-degree hands-free pain relief solutions. They provide heating the whole way around the tummy and back and have strong velcro. They can be worn under clothes and have a very soft luxurious fabric.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson said Australia was “profoundly honoured” to host the tournament, which the body reports will generate up to $260 million for the local economy.

It comes after the success of the Matildas in 2023 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, where they placed fourth.

What’s something you wouldn’t say to women at their university graduation?Well, I think we just learnt.

American footballer Harrison Butker, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, has been slammed online for his commencement speech at Kansas' Benedictine College.

"I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you," Butker said to the crowd.

"Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.

"I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother."

I’ll just leave that there. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You may have seen that it is currently Fashion Week.

It’s an exciting time for Australia’s fashion industry - showcasing the talents of some of the country’s best homegrown designers.

But with fashion trends coming and going faster and faster, we're seeing more textiles going into landfill and becoming a problem for the environment, our health and our wallets.

So, how do we reconcile the need for businesses to make money by new trends coming through, with the need for a more sustainable fashion industry.

We discuss this on today’s podcast.