☕️ Political donations to be banned in South Australia

Does anyone have too many meetings booked in at work today?

You’re not alone. And Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, is working on a solution for you.

In a recent interview with The Verge, Yuan said the future of work is to have a “digital twin” – essentially a digital version of yourself that you can send to meetings. Oh, and he says it can make decisions on your behalf too.

“Let’s say the team is waiting for the CEO to make a decision or maybe some meaningful conversation, my digital twin really can represent me and also can be part of the decision making process… That’s the future.”

Wild.

“It’s inconceivable you would allow your 13-year-old to go down to a park and start mingling with any random person who comes by, or you would have a magazine on the table with all sorts of explicit content in it and you would allow your kid to flick through that content.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on the Coalition’s plan to stop under 16-year-olds from accessing social media, if it wins the next election.

205
The number of days that passed without an official Cabinet in the Netherlands. Coalition negotiations ended this week, following a November 2023 election.

2002
An asteroid (named asteroid 2002 MN) narrowly missed Earth by 120,000km. If asteroid 2002 MN did make contact, scientists estimate it would have caused 2,000 square kilometres of damage.

Chris Dawson has lost a bid to overturn his murder conviction in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

The former teacher and rugby league player was found guilty of killing his wife Lynette in 2022.

Lynette Simms has not been seen since 1982. Her disappearance was the subject of The Teacher’s Pet podcast.

Yesterday’s ruling means Dawson will remain imprisoned until he’s in his 90s. His sentence was extended when he was found guilty of sexual abuse last year.

Police re-opened their investigation into Simms’ 1982 disappearance in 2015. Dawson was arrested in 2018.

In 2022, the 75-year-old was sentenced to a maximum of 24 years in jail for the murder of his wife. Her body has never been found.

Last year, Dawson was sentenced to an additional three years after he was found guilty of “carnal knowledge” (sexual abuse) of a student while he was a teacher in Sydney in the 1980s.

Dawson launched an appeal to overturn his murder conviction in May. His lawyers argued it was “unreasonable,” citing a lack of evidence to support the conviction. The NSW court rejected that appeal yesterday.

It means Dawson will continue to serve his full sentence for the murder conviction.

South Australia’s Government will introduce a law to ban political donations in state elections.

Currently, any person or organisation can give money to a political party or election campaign.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said draft legislation could see SA become a “world leader” in taking “money out of politics.”

However, the move could trigger a legal challenge in Australia’s highest court.

In the lead-up to federal and state elections, candidates and parties can spend significant amounts on advertising, social media, events, and travel.

In South Australia, anyone can donate to a political party for a state election. All donations and gifts above $5,000 are publicly disclosed.

The State Government wants to introduce a “widespread ban on electoral donations,” including “tough penalties” for breaches.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said he would ban political donations in the lead-up to the 2026 state election.

Malinauskas vowed to remove the “perception of undue political influence” — individuals and companies donating large sums of money in exchange for political decisions made in their favour.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said: “I don’t care if you’re a cigarette company or a shoe store. Whether you burn fossil fuels or you campaign against them. Whether you’re a business or you’re a trade union. Political donations are out, under [this] model.”

The SA Government has proposed public funding in place of private donations.

SA political parties would be entitled to one-off payments capped at $700,000, or $47,000 for each current MP (whichever is less) to fund state-level election campaigns.

Anyone found in breach of the proposed law would face up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to $50,000.

The SA Government’s donation ban would include an exception for independent politicians, who don’t have the backing of an established political party.

It would allow these candidates to raise money from private donations, with a limit of $2,700 per donation. This limit would also be applied to new parties running for election.

The Government’s plan would also see independents allocated a $15,000 publicly funded payment.

The High Court has previously ruled against spending limits for election campaigns, arguing this could breach political expression rights.

These rights are “implied” (not openly stated) in the Australian Constitution.

Premier Malinauskas acknowledged the reforms could face legal challenges in Australia’s top court but said: “That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t give this a red hot try, despite the difficulties — because what if we succeed?”

The draft law is open to public consultation for four weeks.

The Labor Government has a majority in the Lower House. However, the Government will need extra support to pass the measures through the Upper House.

If the Coalition opposes the legislation, the Government will need support from the two Greens in the SA Upper House and at least one other minority party or independent.

Greens Upper House MP Robert Simms said he welcomed the political donations reform legislation and would carefully consider its details.

“The Greens have long rallied against the corrosive influence of donations on our democracy,” Simms said.

However, Simms noted he wants to “ensure that any reform doesn't stifle small parties and independents — after all, this diversity is vital to our democracy.“

TDA contacted SA’s Opposition but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.

Navigating skincare terms on the back of a bottle can often feel like you're deep in code... You might have heard of ingredients like niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, but what about Melasyl?

Melasyl is the key ingredient in La Roche Posay’s new Mela B3 Dark Spot Niacinamide Serum. It is designed to target pigmentation, including sun and age spots. After 18 years of research, this formula has been shown to reduce dark spots by 85%.*

So, next time you encounter those perplexing skincare terms, consider Melasyl—an option for those hoping to address concerns of radiant, spot-free skin.

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17-year-old Catherine Laga’aia will star alongside Dwayne Johnson in the film.

Laga’aia said she felt honoured to have an opportunity to celebrate her Samoan and Pacific Island culture, and “to represent young girls who look like me.” Moana is set to be released in 2026.

These super spicy Korean Buldak noodles were too hot to handle for the citizens of Denmark.

The noodles, which come in different levels of spice, are known for being extremely hot. In fact, they’re so spicy the Danish Food and Drug Administration launched a recall of three versions of the product.

The noodles were brought to the attention of the administration by a customer who asked if it should be “legal” to sell something so spicy.

In a statement, the Administration said: “The content of capsaicin from chilies is so high that they can cause poisoning damage especially among children and weak adults.”

The Buldak noodles are widely available at supermarkets here in Australia.

This week, millions of Australians have tuned in to watch the Swimming Australia trials, as athletes compete for a spot on the Aussie Olympic and Paralympic teams. There have been record-breaking swims, inspiring returns to form, and outpourings of emotion from the stands and the pool.

But we’ve also seen disappointments — moments where a swimmer may have won their final but fell short of the Olympic qualification time set by Swimming Australia. In today's podcast, we look at why Australia is so good at swimming, and why the sport's national governing body sets the Olympic qualifying bar so high.