☕️ Teen arrested over threat to mosque

Here is today’s riddle: How can you go 10 days without sleep?

Answer is in the tidbit!

“[JD Vance is a] knob. Sorry, you've got to have one unprofessional moment, don't you? That was it.”
WA Premier Roger Cook during an interview with The West Australian in Perth last week, discussing his thoughts on the U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

30km/h
The proposed speed limit for local streets in suburban Victoria, under a new strategy to improve safety.

Velleity [vell-EE-ity] A wish or inclination not strong enough to lead to action.

The Coalition said it expects all public servants to “work from the office five days a week” if it wins the election, with some exceptions.

Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume described the current work from home (WFH) arrangements for federal public service workers as “unsustainable”.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher defended the current hybrid work policy and accused the Coalition of having “no idea how modern working families operate”.

365,400 people work for a federal government agency, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This includes the departments of finance, health, and education, as well as defence force personnel.

The most recent Australian Public Service (APS) survey showed 61% of public servants worked away from the office at least “some of the time” in 2024.

Coalition frontbencher Senator Jane Hume gave a speech on Monday night to Liberal-aligned think tank the Menzies Research Centre, where she outlined examples of WFH arrangements contributing to poorer work outcomes.

Senator Hume said the corporate offices of NAB, Commonwealth Bank, Coles, and Dell have mandated a return to the office post-COVID.

“It will be an expectation of a Dutton Liberal Government that all members of the APS work from the office five days a week,” Hume said.

She noted there would be “exceptions” on a case-by-case basis.

Speaking to media on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said: “Australian taxpayers [expect] government employees to be working as hard as they are. People refusing to go back to work in Canberra is not acceptable.“

Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher responded to Hume’s comments on Tuesday, saying: “If you listen to Senator Hume, people are going to be frog marched back into the office on day one.”

“The Opposition have no idea about how modern working families operate”.

Community and Public Sector Union secretary Melissa Donnelly said WFH can help “balance things like caring responsibilities for little kids and ageing parents.”

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

The U.S. has reportedly paused military aid to Ukraine, in the wake of a heated confrontation between the country’s leaders.

The U.S. has supported Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, committing more than $US65 billion ($AU105 billion) in military aid. Now, according to U.S. media, that aid will stop immediately.

Tensions have increased between the U.S. and Ukraine since President Donald Trump came to power, culminating in a public argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last week.

Zelenskyy visited Washington D.C. last week to meet with Trump and Vice-President JD Vance at the White House.

Addressing the media, Zelenskyy, Vance and Trump began arguing about how to end the war. The U.S. leaders accused Zelenskyy of not being “thankful” for their aid.

Following the meeting, Trump said: “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved.”

The meeting was meant to end with the leaders signing a minerals deal between the two countries.

Under the agreement, both countries would contribute to an investment fund that would be used to re-develop Ukraine.

Ukraine’s contributions would come from the profits from its deposits of important minerals, such as titanium.

Despite Zelenskyy leaving before the deal could be signed, both leaders have suggested it could still eventuate.

On Tuesday, U.S. outlets reported the Government would “pause” military aid to Ukraine.

Anonymous officials were quoted as saying aid would be suspended until Ukraine showed a “good faith” commitment to peace.

Congress has approved $US65 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine since Russia first invaded in February 2022.

It’s expected that an immediate suspension of aid would halt scheduled deliveries of weapons and ammunition.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the only senior American official to release a statement.

While he didn’t acknowledge reports of the U.S. suspending aid, Rubio said: “Every day that goes by the cost of rebuilding Ukraine gets higher and higher and higher.”

Trump is due to address the U.S. Congress this afternoon (AEDT), where he’s expected to provide an update.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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🍊 The AFL has postponed two games due to cyclone warnings. More details.
🍊 Ilona Maher played her last match for the Bristol Bears. Here’s what she said.
🍊 The Lakers are on a hot streak. And so is Luka Dončić.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: cricket, anti-doping measures, and more…

The series was set up to help develop women’s careers in motorsport. Ciconte, who will be racing with MP Motorsport, will be the grid’s youngest driver. She said the opportunity was “a dream come true,” and that she was excited to be racing in front of the sport’s stars at Grand Prix weekends.

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

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Australia’s most famous blood donor has died.

88-year-old James Harrison became known as the ‘man with the golden arm’ due to rare antibodies in his blood called Anti-D.

Anti-D is used to medicate pregnant women diagnosed with a disease where their blood rejects and attacks their foetuses.

Harrison donated blood from age 18 to 81. He held the world record for most plasma donated from 2005 to 2022, and saved more than two million babies across the world.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

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Answer: You only sleep at night.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) released its annual pay gap report this week, which found that - on average - men still earn more than women across all industries. The agency’s gender pay gap target range for all employers is plus/minus 5%. However, its latest findings show just one in five Australian employers is meeting this target. But, it’s not all bad news, with 56% of employers improving their gender pay gap in the 2023/24 financial year, compared to the previous year. In today’s deep dive, we’ll take a closer look at these findings to check in with where Australia is at when it comes to the gender pay gap.