☕️ RBA cuts the cash rate

Here is today’s riddle: I have a large money box, 10 inches wide and 5 inches tall. Roughly how many coins can I place until my money box is no longer empty?

Answer is in the titbit!

“This is my brand new album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl.”
Taylor Swift announcing her 12th studio album during an interview on her partner Travis Kelce’s podcast, ‘New Heights’. No release date, or any other details, have been shared.

63%
The drop in Seven West Media’s profits this financial year, from $45 million in 2023-24 to $16.6 million in 2024-25. The network saw declining TV advertising revenue, loss of a Meta news deal, and rising sports rights costs as the major contributors to low profits.

Ineffable [in-EFF-uh-buhl]
Definition: Too great or extreme to be expressed in words.
Used in a sentence: "The mother had ineffable joy when she first laid eyes on her new baby".

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut the cash rate to 3.6%, down from 3.85%.

The cash rate is what the RBA charges banks for short-term loans.

It affects how much interest banks charge customers on their loans, for example, mortgages. This is why changes to the cash rate are also referred to as the RBA changing interest rates.

The lower the interest rate, the less expensive it is to borrow money.

The RBA has announced it has decided to lower the cash rate by 25 points to 3.6%. The central bank called the cut “appropriate,” and said it was forecasting inflation to “continue to moderate”.

Despite the decision, the RBA said it “remains cautious about the outlook,” as “uncertainty in the world economy remains elevated.”

It comes after the RBA’s surprise decision last month, when it kept the cash rate on hold. At the time, the RBA said it needed to “wait for a little more information”.

The RBA partly bases its decisions on inflation, which measures the change in the price of goods and services overtime.

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that inflation fell to 2.1% in the year to June.

This is the lowest annual inflation rate since March 2021. When inflation falls, it does not mean prices are falling — it means they are increasing at a slower rate than before.

It is also within the RBA’s target range for inflation of 2-3%.

The number of Victorians who have died from overdoses has reached a 10-year high, according to new data from the state’s Coroners Court.

Of the 584 deaths recorded last year, almost three-quarters involved multiple drugs.

Drug and alcohol advocates say the findings highlight the failures of current law enforcement approaches, arguing that “the war on drugs continues to fail, badly.”

The Coroners Court report highlighted a “continuing rise” in illegal drug overdoses, including heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine.

A decade ago, illicit substances were involved in less than half of recorded overdose deaths. Last year, they accounted for 65.6%.

Methamphetamine-related overdose deaths have tripled since 2015.

Last year, 248 Victorians died of heroin overdoses, an increase from last year.

Anti-depressants, alcohol, and opioids were also among the top drugs involved.

Men are twice as likely as women to die from an overdose, with adults aged 35 to 54 most at risk.

The report also noted a continued decline in deaths from pharmaceutical drugs, though they remained the most common type of drug involved in overdose deaths.

Most overdose deaths (74.5%) over the past decade have been ruled accidental, while almost 20% were ruled intentional.

Around three-quarters of deaths consistently occur in the capital city, Melbourne.

The Coroners Court said the rise in overdose deaths highlighted the need for harm reduction education and prevention initiatives.

State Coroner Judge John Cain said: “Overdose deaths occur all across Victoria and no community escapes their impact.”

“The concerning rise in overdose deaths, especially those involving illegal drugs, is a stark reminder that we need to keep building on our harm reduction efforts,” Cain added.

The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA) described the report as a reflection of “a sad state of affairs.”

CEO Chris Christoforou attributed the findings to an “overemphasis on policing” and overstretched drug and alcohol treatment services.

“The importance and urgency of reducing this toll must be an absolute priority, because behind every fatal overdose there are families and friends left grieving,” Christoforou said.

A Victorian Government spokesperson told TDA: “Every overdose death is a preventable tragedy that has long-lasting and far-reaching impacts on loved ones and the wider community.”

The spokesperson pointed to efforts including appointing a Chief Addiction Medicine Specialist.

Shadow Mental Health Minister Emma Kealy called the findings the “tragic price” of the Government’s “neglect” of state drug and alcohol treatment services.

Lifeline 13 11 14

National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline 1800 250 015

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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🍊 Australia is taking on South Africa in a three-match T20 series.
🍊 The Boomers are continuing their flawless run at the FIBA Asia Cup.
🍊 A’ja Wilson has broken a single-game record.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: tennis, AFL, and more…

The not-for-profit aims to “transform the lives of people with intellectual disabilities,” empowering them “to realise their full potential in sports and in life.” Its annual Ducky Derby attracted more than 80,000 participants this year, who each paid $US10 to ‘adopt’ a rubber duck. Punters watched their ducks being dumped into the Chicago River for the 30 minute race, before each and every one was collected by volunteers and staff throughout the river.

Once collected, the ducks are washed “and packed up to head to their next derby.” Special Olympics Illinois thanked everyone who “adopted a duck, showed up, cheered loud, and helped us celebrate 20 years of racing for inclusion.”

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

India’s highest court has ordered the removal of thousands of stray dogs in Delhi to animal shelters, following recent cases of rabies in children.

According to the World Health Organisation, India accounts for more than a third (36%) of global rabies deaths each year.

The court said 20,000 cases of dog bites occur in India every day, with 2,000 incidents recorded in Delhi.

The judges want the Government to “ensure the safety of young children and aged citizens at any cost.”

However, local animal rights groups such as People for Animals have argued stray dogs are loved by the community, and that the order is “practically unimplementable and certain to cause… animal suffering,” as Delhi's stray dog population is estimated to be around one million.

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.

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Titbit answer: Just one, after which it will no longer be empty.

High-level officials from more than 170 countries are in Switzerland right now to finalise the first legally binding treaty on plastics. Negotiations began in 2022, when the United Nations Environment Assembly – the world's highest decision-making body on the environment – agreed on the need to address the environmental and health impacts of plastic pollution and waste.

Since then, five negotiation sessions have failed to reach a consensus. This time, protesters outside the UN are calling for “courage, not compromise”. But with a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists attending the latest round of talks in Geneva, there are concerns that global efforts could stall further.

Dr Nicholas Chartres is a senior research fellow with the University of Sydney’s faculty of medicine and health who is part of a group of experts who’ve made several recommendations for the UN Plastics Treaty. Dr Chartres joins us for today’s deep dive.