☕️ Pill testing in Vic: what we know

Here is today’s riddle: Which of these English words is odd in the set? Mood, stun, strap, straw, letter, and evil.

The answer is in the tidbit!

“Despite how hard this has been on me and how unfair it is… I won’t stop fighting for a brave and independent ABC”.
Journalist Antoinette Lattouf, in a post to X after it was confirmed her wrongful dismissal case against the ABC will proceed to a Federal Court trial. Lattouf alleges she was fired by the ABC during a short-term contract for sharing a social media post about Israel’s war in Gaza.

12
How many children X owner Elon Musk is now known to have, after he confirmed to U.S. outlet Page Six he and one of his employees at brain implant company Neuralink had their third child together.

1997
The first Harry Potter book, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’, was released in the UK.

Labor Senator Fatima Payman voted against her party during a motion brought about by the Greens to recognise the state of Palestine yesterday.

The Labor Government and Coalition tried to move changes to the motion of Palestine’s recognition.

Payman said she was told she risked being expelled from Labor as a result of crossing the floor. However, she voted with the Greens.

It’s the first time a Labor Government member has crossed the floor since 1988.

Fatima Payman was born in Afghanistan and elected as a Labor Senator for Western Australia in the 2022 election.

She was one of the youngest people elected to the Parliament and the first person to regularly wear a hijab.

Last month, she delivered a statement describing Israel’s invasion of Gaza as a “genocide”, which is different from the Government’s official position on the war.

Yesterday, the Greens presented a motion in the Senate. It called on the Senate, as a matter of urgency, “to recognise the State of Palestine”.

The Government moved amendments to the motion, calling for Palestine to be recognised “as part of a peace process in support of a two state solution and a just and enduring peace”.

However, it was voted down.

The Greens put forward their original motion after a series of amendments failed. Fatima Payman voted with the Greens and independent Senators David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe.

Afterwards, she said she was aware that she risked being expelled from the Labor Party as a result, although she wanted to continue as a Labor member.

When MPs and Senators vote against the party they belong to, it's called ‘crossing the floor’.

Liberal and National members are generally able to vote against their party’s bills if they don’t agree with them. However, the Labor Party, to which Payman belongs, binds members to vote with the party. Some Labor MPs have been expelled from the party for crossing the floor.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has announced that pill testing will commence in the state this summer.

It will make Victoria the third Australian jurisdiction to conduct pill testing, following similar trials in the ACT and Queensland.

The Victorian pill testing trial will run for 18 months, with a plan for it to become permanent.

The Victorian pill testing trial will consist of mobile and fixed testing sites.

Mobile drug-checking services will be at “up to 10” music festivals and events during summer, while a fixed site will open in Melbourne’s inner city in the middle of next year.

The centres will be able to check the composition of “most pills, capsules, powders, crystals, or liquids”. They will also be able to identify potentially fatal chemicals.

While illicit drug possession will remain a criminal offence when the pill testing trial begins, people will be able to submit pills for testing without facing penalties.

Those using pill testing centres will be told what is in the drug and will be able to have a conversation with an expert about the “consequences and choices they face”. The Government says no one will be told a drug is safe to consume.

The Govt hopes that as well as reducing drug harm, the trial will reduce pressure on frontline services.

The announcement follows a recent surge in drug-related hospitalisations and deaths in Victoria.

Paramedics also responded to more festival overdoses in the first three months of this year than they did all of last year.

Premier Jacinta Allan said this year’s ”horror festival season” was a key influence in commissioning the pill testing trial.

Allan dismissed suggestions that pill testing would encourage young people to consume drugs, saying it would instead offer an “opportunity to have an intervention” about the contents of a potentially dangerous substance.

“If [pill testing] has the potential to save just one life, then it’s absolutely been worth it.”

Allan said her view on pill testing had changed in recent years as she contemplated the safety processes available for her own children at music festivals and other events.

The Victorian Liberal-National Coalition opposed the pill testing announcement, with Opposition Leader John Pesutto saying it gives a “green light” to illicit drug use and “lays out a welcome mat” for drug dealers at music festivals.

Pesutto called for more awareness about the dangers of drugs, and raised concerns pill testing could send misleading messages about drug safety.

The Opposition said they won’t continue with pill testing if they win the 2026 election.

Australia’s first fixed pill testing centre was opened in Canberra about two years ago. It was initially operating under a one-year trial, but has been funded until the end of 2024 after initial success.

In Queensland, pill testing was first offered at a music festival in April, while its first fixed centre opened later that month.

Queensland’s fixed centre tested 51 samples in its first month, with MDMA, LSD, ketamine and cocaine all commonly detected at the site.

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The stars are part of a formation called the Cosmic Gems Arc, which has never been seen in such detail before. The lead author of the research said she saw a “chain of bright dots” and that without the Webb telescope “we would not have known we were looking at star clusters in such a young galaxy!”

Remember when Hobart’s MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) was sued over its women-only exhibit, called the Ladies Lounge?

Curator Kirsha Kaechele has pivoted since her court loss and will now display several Picassos in the women’s toilets, which she said complied with the court’s decision.

Before this, all toilets at MONA were unisex, Kaechele said on Instagram, but now there is a dedicated women’s bathroom with dedicated art.

Kaechele said she plans to re-open the Ladies Lounge once she’s sure it won’t be sued again, but until then, ladies are encouraged to enjoy the Picassos while they pee.

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Riddle answer: Letter, because this word is the only one that does not form a word when written backward.

Yesterday, there was a huge development in the saga of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange - after being held in a London Prison since 2019, a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department means he will plead guilty to one charge, and, if approved by the court, be able to return to Australia.

This is a significant update. In today's podcast, we’ll explain everything you need to know on who Julian Assange is, his multi-year legal saga, and what the plea deal will mean.