Yesterday, we asked our audience their thoughts about pill testing. It comes amid news the first fixed pill testing centre in Australia (in the ACT) has now tested over 1,000 samples in less than one year of operation.

I wish I could tell you the answers were surprising. But…

About 97% said they think pill testing services should be available – with the same share also saying they believe that pill testing services can minimise harm for people taking illicit drugs.

Roughly 80% disagreed that pill testing services would encourage more people to take illicit drugs.

The quote
“I have also had a miscarriage. I do know exactly what it’s like. It is horrific and stays with you for the rest of your life.” – Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in an interview with the Today Show yesterday. Palaszczuk was responding to a question about a woman’s harrowing experience that sparked an internal health review.

The stat
1 in 4
The share of properties bought in Australia’s eastern states in 2022 without a mortgage, according to new research by property settlement platform PEXA.

Today in history
2013: Edward Snowden, who revealed the U.S. National Security Agency was spying on millions of people, revealed his identity with The Guardian.

Some headlines from this morning:

The first fixed pill testing centre in Australia has now tested over 1,000 samples in less than one year of operation.

The centre offers a drop-in service for people wanting to understand what's in the drugs they are taking.

They are being tested by the Australian National University, and the ACT Government supports the service.

The results so far:
Samples believed to be MDMA were submitted to the centre 304 times. About 80% of the samples had MDMA in them. Some false samples of MDMA actually had ketamine, ice, or caffeine.

Ketamine was the second-most tested drug (129 samples). The drug was found in 59% of samples brought to the centre. Some false ketamine samples had cocaine and MDMA.

Cocaine was found in 80% of the 114 samples believed to be cocaine.

Almost 92% of ice samples (37 total) had the substance, but no amphetamine (speed) samples actually had the drug in them.

Forty samples of fentanyl were handed to the centre, but none were found to actually contain fentanyl (it did not specify what was found instead).

About 12% of the drugs tested were thrown away.

The big picture:
The latest data only accounts for the centre's first nine months of work.

It was initially only scheduled to be open for six months, but was extended to August 2023 by the ACT Government after it received positive reviews in an interim report.

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This week, Prince Harry became the first senior British royal to give evidence in court in over a century.

He is one of several high-profile people alleging that their privacy was violated by UK journalists who unlawfully obtained their private information to generate stories.

The main claim is that journalists used phone hacking (among other means) to illegally obtain their voicemails.

Details:
In London's High Court, the Duke of Sussex testified over two days that Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) relied on illegal sources for stories published from 1996 to 2010.

MGN publishes The Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People tabloids – all of which are implicated in this court case.

Prince Harry reportedly submitted 140 articles published by MGN where journalists allegedly relied on those sources.

Among the stories submitted by Prince Harry are private details about his relationship with his mother Princess Diana, alleged instances of illegal drug use, and phone arguments with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

He also alleges that journalists paid private investigators to manipulate sources into divulging confidential information, including financial or medical details.

Prince Harry says journalists' behaviour "affected every area of [his] life". He also claims that senior editors and executives at MGN knew of and approved of the journalists' alleged methods.

The defence:
MGN is denying some wrongdoing, while also arguing that some of the allegations have been brought to court too late.

MGN has previously been accused of phone hacking other people and has settled more than 600 phone hacking claims. However, it claims there is "no evidence" that Prince Harry was ever the victim of phone hacking.

There is one incident that MGN has admitted was unlawful, although that incident is not being examined in this case. MGN's lawyer, Andrew Green KC, has issued an apology to Prince Harry about this incident, admitting a private investigator was hired to illegally gather information about Prince Harry in 2004.

Green said: "It should never have happened, and it will not happen again."

He added that if the court finds further wrongdoing, "you will be entitled to, and you will receive a more extensive apology".

What’s happened in court?
During his appearance in court, Prince Harry was cross-examined by Green, who quizzed the royal on several of his claims.

Green referred to some of his claims as "total speculation". He also maintained that some information was sourced from senior Buckingham Palace aides.

Prince Harry said it was "suspicious that so much is attributed to a royal source".

The lawyer also asked Prince Harry whether he would be disappointed if the court found no MGN journalist had ever hacked him.

"I believe phone-hacking was on an industrial scale across at least three of the papers at the time and that is beyond doubt," he replied.

"Given that Mirror Group have accepted [previous] hacking... yes, I would feel some injustice."

Get all the news you need to know today in your ears on The Daily Aus podcast!

Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin has played his 350th game in the AFL, becoming only the 22nd player to reach this milestone.

Franklin’s 350th game came in the Sydney Swans match against St Kilda in Sydney on Thursday night. He has won two AFL Premierships and kicked over 1,000 goals.

Have you ever noticed a mate is struggling, but you're not sure what to say or how to help? You're not alone - navigating those conversations can be tricky. That's why R U OK? have launched their #FriendBetter hub, designed to help you support your mates through tough times.

The online hub is packed with tips and resources to help you support your mates when they need it most. Whether it's academic stress, cost of living, loneliness, procrastination, self-esteem - and all the stuff in between - you'll find useful advice on how to be there for your mates.

Click here to check out the #FriendBetter hub.

It’s not often a sports story makes it into my tidbit, but when you’re talking about one of the best football (or soccer, if you’re that way inclined) players in the world, they deserve a mention.

Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi has knocked back a mega-offer from a Saudi football club to take up a deal with Inter Miami – a team part-owned by David Beckham.

The Saudi team reportedly offered a mammoth $US400m a year - that’s $US1.1m a DAY, or $US763 a minute (even when he’s sleeping).

While we don’t know the terms of the Miami deal, we do know Messi’s motivations for moving to the U.S. – a chance to have a slightly lower profile, and spend more time with his family. And still earn (likely) hundreds of millions.