☕️ Splendour in the Grass cancelled

If you’ve already got dressed for the morning, can I ask you: How do you put your shoes on in the morning?

Sock, shoe, sock, shoe?

Or

Sock, sock, shoe, shoe?

We need help settling an office debate.

“I think everybody can agree I have the personality of a vegan.”
Actor Anne Hathaway in an interview with Vanity Fair, which touched on online backlash to her several years ago.

517,200
How many more people lived in Australia’s capital cities in June 2023 than June 2022, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It’s the biggest capital city population growth on record.

1949
The term “Big Bang” was first coined to describe how the universe was created. UK physicist and astronomer Fred Hoyle was the first one to use the term during a radio interview with the BBC.

Splendour in the Grass has been cancelled, festival organisers have confirmed.

Tickets went on sale to the public less than a week ago, with the three-day festival scheduled to go ahead in Byron Bay this July. However, a post on Splendour’s Instagram said: “Due to unexpected events, we’ll be taking the year off.”

It said: “We will be working hard to be back in future years.”

Ticket holders will be refunded automatically.

The Federal Government’s immigration bill, which would have made it easier for authorities to deport migrants, has been delayed.

Under the draft law, the Immigration Minister could force non-citizens to comply with efforts to remove them from Australia, or otherwise face up to five years in jail.

The bill was expected to rush through the Senate yesterday, but is now being delayed so it can go through a “proper inquiry“.

The legislation comes ahead of a ruling in the High Court, where a man from Iran is refusing to be deported due to fear of persecution.

The man, known as ‘ASF17’, has been held in immigration detention for more than 10 years. He fears persecution because he is bisexual and sexual intercourse between men in Iran can lead to the death penalty. He also claims to be Christian, a minority religious group in Iran.

The Government’s lawyers allege ASF17 hasn’t cooperated with their efforts to deport him.

The court dismissed his appeal, but his lawyers are escalating the case to the High Court on 17 April.

The High Court will now rule whether the Iranian man should be released from immigration detention, in a similar circumstance to its ruling last year that found indefinite detention is unlawful.

While no decision has been made, the Government is trying to stop the release of ASF17 and people in similar circumstances ahead of the High Court ruling.

A spokesperson for the Immigration Minister announced on Tuesday morning that Labor was bringing in these laws to “strengthen” the immigration system by “providing extra tools to deport individuals from Australia”.

If the new legislation is passed, it would become a crime for foreign nationals to not cooperate with a deportation order.

It would mean that “subjectively held fears” – including concerns about persecution in someone’s home country – won’t be considered a valid reason for failing to comply.

The change to the Migration Act would give the Immigration Minister powers to “do specified things necessary” to remove non-citizens from Australia.

Failing to comply with the Minister’s orders could carry between one and five years in jail and nearly $94,000 in fines.

Home Affairs officials said the new laws could affect between 150 to 200 people who are currently held in immigration detention and refusing to be deported.

The bill also allows the Immigration Minister to identify a “concern country” and block visa applications from that country.

The Minister would need to choose the “concern country” in consultation with the Foreign Minister and Prime Minister and would provide a statement to Parliament laying out their reasons for choosing the country.

There are some exceptions to the rule, including for people who are spouses or dependent children of Australian citizens.

On Tuesday, the Government presented the legislation to members of Parliament. It was quickly passed through the lower house with the support of the Coalition.

However, the Coalition’s Immigration spokesperson Dan Tehan criticised the Government’s “rushed” and “chaotic” process of getting the legislation through Parliament.

On Wednesday, Tehan indicated the bill will face a lengthier inquiry, meaning it could take weeks for the legislation to pass through the Senate.

The Greens and several independent MPs voted against the changes.

Greens leader Adam Bandt accused the Government of “trying to outflank the Coalition in a race to the bottom on immigration”, saying the laws would “whip up attacks on migrants and more racism in our community”.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel said the bill amounted to “knee-jerk legislation” that “criminalises refugees who've already been through a broken system”.

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This week, allegations were levelled against the AFL over recreational drug use being covered up by club doctors, and players being told to fake physical injuries in order to avoid game day drug testing.

This is a story that has the potential to rock the sport, so we deep dive into everything we know so far today on the podcast.

The University of Tokyo found the Japanese tit, a small bird species, uses its wings as a way of communicating.

For example, researchers observed a nest box filled with food, and found that when pairs of the birds arrived at the nest, one would perch itself outside the box and open its wings to signal to its partner: “after you.”

Hi! It’s Sam. I don’t come on here often, but when I do it’s for big news, and there’s some epic news today. Following the success of the 2023 initiative, TDA and Nike Australia are again partnering up to bring back The Training Squad - a three-month program helping ambitious female and gender-diverse journalists accelerate their careers in Australian sports journalism.

Women make up only 27% of all sports journalists in Australia - we need to shift the dial. Last year’s alumni having gone on to positions in broadcast television, content production for major sports tournaments and social media management and production for leading sports organisations.

Applications are now open. If you're a female or gender-diverse aspiring sports journalist under 35, we'd love you to apply. Click here and see you on the pitch.

Canada and maple syrup go hand in hand – Canada is the world’s number one producer of it.

But the country’s maple syrup reserve, the only one in the world, is facing a five-year low in production.

The reserve, located in Québec, recorded 35.6 million litres of maple in 2023, more than a 40% decrease from 2022.

According to Statistics Canada, maple production is at low levels due to “severe storms and temperature fluctuations”.

Basically, we might need to turn to lemon and sugar for our pancakes.