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Happy hump day!
I hope you’re in the mood for some thinking.
Today’s riddle: There is a lightbulb inside a closet. The door is closed, and you cannot see if the light is on or off through the door. However, you know the light is off to start. Outside of the closet, there are three light switches. One of the switches controls the lightbulb in the closet. You can flip the switches however you want, but once you open the door, you can no longer touch the switches. How do you figure out without a doubt which switch controls the light?
Answer is in the tidbit!
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"I have to regret everything that has happened between a player and I... It seems a commotion has formed." – Luis Rubiales, Chief of Spain's Football Federation, apologising for kissing player Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s World Cup win.
The stat
$1.09 billion
Coles’ profits for the 2022-23 financial year. CEO Leah Weckert said the supermarket giant benefitted from customers opting to stay home for more meals, rather than going out.
Today in history
2005: Hurricane Katrina begins to form over the Bahamas. An estimated 1,833 people died in the hurricane and the flooding.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Mark Latham has quit One Nation, one week after he made public his removal by Pauline Hanson as leader of the party’s NSW branch. In a letter tabled in State Parliament, Latham accused One Nation of funnelling NSW taxpayer money into Queensland, for use in the party’s Brisbane office. One Nation now has one member remaining in NSW Parliament, after Rod Roberts also left the state party on Tuesday.
Ita Buttrose has advised the Government she won’t seek reappointment as ABC Chair next year. Buttrose’s five-year term as leader of the national broadcaster will end in March. The Federal Government will begin a selection process to find her replacement.
I've got 1 minute
Australian mining giant BHP says its profits fell by 37% in the last financial year, with a $US13.4 billion ($AU20.9b) profit.
This came after BHP's record-breaking profit of $US21.3b ($AU33.2b) for the 2021-22 financial year.
The revenue slump is being blamed on the decreasing value of BHP's key commodities like iron ore and copper, along with rising expenses due to inflation.
BHP – one of the world's largest mining companies – is the biggest company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
What’s actually in the book?
We’ve received a couple of messages asking us what exactly is in the book, so we thought we’d provide you with a short snippet from the politics chapter.
"We’re kicking off with politics. There are lots of good reasons to care about politics. The decisions made by politicians have enormous implications for our quality of life today. They also shape the world of tomorrow. And just as it’s your quality of life on the line, it’s also your money. If you earn money in Australia and therefore pay tax, your tax dollars pay for the policies announced in Canberra – not to mention the salary of the politicians announcing them. But, for us, the biggest reason you should care about politics can be summed up in one word: privilege."
I've got 2 minutes
Qantas is being sued for allegedly failing to immediately refund cancelled flights and instead issuing flight credits during the pandemic.
The national airline is facing a class action lawsuit, meaning it has been brought on behalf of multiple customers.
Qantas has rejected the claims, saying they have processed more than $1 billion in refunds from COVID credits.
The context:
The lawsuit claims Qantas customers were entitled to a full cash refund for cancelled flights, but the majority were instead given travel credits or vouchers. It also claims the airline misled customers about their rights.
The lawsuit states that Qantas "unlawfully benefited from customers by holding for years a very significant amount of customer funds that ought to have been refunded".
As of June, Qantas said it had distributed around $2 billion worth of flight credits in response to Australia's pandemic border closures.
About $400 million worth of flight credits remained unclaimed. They expire at the end of this year.
Qantas’ response:
Qantas rejects these allegations, arguing it has made it clear to eligible customers that they are entitled to a refund for their cancelled flights.
In a June update, it said: "About 80% of customers who have COVID credits have the option of a refund if they prefer."
Further details:
The law firm bringing the class action, Echo Law, says customers who have already used their Qantas travel credits may still be eligible for the class action.
It is seeking compensation for the affected customers.
Echo Law said they're also investigating similar allegations levelled at Jetstar, Qantas' budget airline.
Give me some good news
Australian sign language will be taught in NSW schools from 2026, with the release of the first-ever Auslan syllabus.
Auslan will be offered as an optional course, and decisions about how it's taught will be made by individual schools and the education sector.
A message from our sponsor
Now that the dust has settled on Dry July, Australians are pausing to think about their alcohol consumption - and the alternatives are more popular (and delicious) than ever. New data from Finder shows 42% of Aussies are drinking less alcohol than they were a year ago, and a whopping 400,000 of us are cutting or planning to cut back on alcohol by the end of this year.
So, what are the options? Well, we've gone out searching for the best alcohol-free cocktails - and we've landed at the range from Yes You Can. This home-grown brand has five flavours (Spritz, Yuzu Sake, G&T, Dark & Stormy and Peach Bellini) in some gorgeous cans that you'll feel proud to rock at the bar.
A TDA tidbit
Celebrities, they’re just like us…except when they demand no brown M&Ms in their green rooms.
These demands are called ‘riders’ – a list of requirements attached to their contracts for when they do appearances, perform concerts, or film movies and TV.
Now, a group of 100 actors in the UK have agreed to reduce the climate impact of their ‘riders’ in a new campaign launched by the UK entertainment union ‘Equity’. So what’s an example of how they can reduce the carbon footprint of their riders? By demanding less transport by private jet of course!
The cause has received the support of stars such as Bill Nighy, Bella Ramsey, Jonathan Bailey, Gemma Arterton, and Hayley Atwell.
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Answer: Flip switch number 1 and wait a few minutes. Flip switch number 1 back to its original position, and then immediately flip switch number 2.
Open the door. If the light is on, then switch number 2 controls it. If the light is off, then go and feel the bulb with your hand. If the bulb is hot, the switch number 1 controls it, and if the bulb is cold, then switch number 3, the one you did not touch, controls it.
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The Daily Aus acknowledges the Gadigal peoples of the Eora Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.