☕️ The Coalition break-up, explained

Do you like your skim cap extra-hot (and please don’t be shy with the chocolate powder)? Me too! Do you like talking about good news? Me too!

In the ultimate coffee x good news crossover, we’d love you to join TDA next Thursday morning (29 May) as we host our second Good News Brews Coffee Club with our friends at Up. Here are the details:

Where: Odd Culture in Newtown, Sydney
Time: 7:30-9am
What you need to know: There will be free coffee (of all types, not just skim cappuccinos extra hot, although those are superior), free breakfast, and we’ll chat about all the good stuff happening in the world right now.

Come along, grab a bite and enjoy the good vibes. Spots are limited (and ran out faster than you can say ‘more chocolate powder’ last time!), so register here!

“Peppa says she's an even bigger sister now, and I'm an even bigger mummy."
Mummy Pig from the British children’s show Peppa Pig in an interview with People Magazine, announcing she has given birth to a baby girl called Evie. (If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, don’t ask.)

128 votes
The margin by which Liberal candidate Tim Wilson has won the Victorian seat of Goldstein after the indicative count was finished yesterday by the Australian Electoral Commission. Next is a formal count, including a complete distribution of preferences. Incumbent Independent MP Zoe Daniel released a statement yesterday saying “any consideration of a recount will occur after that.”

Nibling [nib-ling]
Definition: a gender neutral term for niece or nephew
Used in a sentence: “I love my niblings so much!”

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has lowered its cash rate to 3.85%, the lowest it has been in two years.

This comes after it started lifting interest rates in 2022 to combat high inflation (rising prices).

The RBA noted in its decision yesterday that the inflation rate has now “fallen substantially since the peak” and “continues to ease.”

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

We usually refer to changes in the cash rate as the RBA changing interest rates, because the cash rate affects interest rates across the economy, including home loans. The higher the interest rate, the more expensive it is to borrow money (like having a mortgage).

The cash rate had been at 4.35% since November 2023 – its highest level in over a decade – before being cut to 4.1% in February this year.

The RBA board opted to cut interest rates from 4.1% to 3.85%, the lowest since May 2023.

The RBA partly bases its decisions on underlying inflation, which measures the rate of price growth once extremes on either side are removed (such as a sudden fall in energy prices).

The RBA’s target range for underlying inflation is 2-3%. The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed underlying inflation was at 2.9% in March.

This was the first time since 2021 that underlying inflation was within the RBA’s target range.

The next RBA decision will be handed down on 8 July.

The RBA said in its statement that “uncertainty in the world economy has increased over the past three months”.

It added that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent tariff announcements have caused “considerable uncertainty” and “geopolitical uncertainties also remain pronounced.”

It said it will continue to pay close attention to the global economy.

Yesterday, Nationals leader David Littleproud announced the Coalition will be ending its formal partnership with the Liberal Party.

This is extremely rare — the last time it happened was in 1987.

So what does this all mean? Let us explain!

The Coalition is a formal, long-standing alliance primarily between the Liberal Party and the National Party, which means they join forces in Parliament.

At the last election, Labor won 93 seats, while the Coalition (the Liberals and Nationals together) won 43 seats.

This was seen as one of the worst electoral defeats for the Coalition in recent history.

Littleproud said there are four policy positions on which the National Party cannot agree with the Liberal Party. They are...

Nuclear energy
The Nationals believe Australia needs to introduce nuclear energy. The Coalition promised to do this if it was elected earlier this month. The Nationals do not believe that the Coalition’s loss was because of its nuclear policy. Littleproud said the Australian economy cannot run efficiently on renewables.

Regional Australia Future Fund
This was a policy announced at the last election to create a $20 billion fund to provide better infrastructure for regional and remote Australia.

Divestiture powers
This was a Coalition policy that would require large companies to sell parts of their businesses if they demonstrated anti-competitive behaviour. It was specifically aimed at reducing supermarkets' powers.

Universal Service Obligation
This was a plan to better regional mobile and internet access.

Sussan Ley was elected leader of the Liberal Party last week.

In a press conference yesterday, Ley said the Liberal Party was not ready “to land on those four policies, or any for that matter, right now in the form they were presented to us”.

Ley emphasised in her press conference that she believes the Liberal Party needs to “modernise”.

“ The Liberal Party must respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia, and represent modern Australia” she added.

Both party leaders have made clear they believe the parties will come back together in the future.

They have positioned the announcement as a temporary break, not a permanent break-up.

Littleproud said:   “Hopefully before the next election we can reaffirm a Coalition agreement.”

Ley said: “The Nationals door remains open and our door remains open, and we look forward with optimism to rejoining at some point in the future.”

This is the third time the Coalition has split in its 80-year history, the most recent being in 1987.

That split was over which party should be the ‘head’ of the Coalition and which party’s leader should run for Prime Minister. The disagreement led to a split that lasted 100 days.

Every term of Parliament needs to have an Opposition.

This is the party or group that has the highest number of non-government seats.

The Liberal Party won more seats than the Nationals at the election, making the Liberals the official Opposition Party.

This also means the Shadow Ministry will only be made of Liberal Party politicians.

So what does this all mean for Labor?

Not much changes for them, except that their Opposition in Parliament is now just the Liberal Party.

If the Coalition stays apart, Labor is almost guaranteed to be re-elected for a third consecutive term. While Labor is on track to win 93 seats at the most recent election, the Liberal Party is set to win just 28 seats.

If the Coalition comes back together, it will be business as usual at the next election, which is not due until 2028.

It’s Australian Made Week (May 19–25), so here’s your friendly reminder to back the green and gold next time you shop.

When you choose products with the Aussie Made kangaroo logo, you’re supporting local makers, creating jobs, boosting the economy, and backing our communities.

How to spot an Aussie-made product: Look for the iconic kangaroo logo - it’s the only registered country of origin mark in Australia, so it’s your best bet for buying local that’s actually local.

No matter what you’re buying, when you buy Australian Made we all win! 

Findings published in the journal Nature have detailed the different attachment types of 50 wild chimpanzee infants aged 0-10. Researchers analysed the chimp’s “behavioural responses to… threatening events” in nature. The way the chimps responded mimicked human attachment patterns. For example, “some [chimps] sought maternal closeness, while others displayed independence.” The study supports the idea that humans' “organised attachment types” have adapted over a long evolutionary history.”

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

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

We’ve heard of humans smuggling things in and out of prisons, but what about a cat?

A feline was caught smuggling drugs into Pococi Penitentiary, a prison in Costa Rica.

Attached to its body were two bags, which the BBC reported were filled with over 300g of drugs.

In a video published by the Government of Costa Rica, the cat was quite calm whilst being handled and having the package removed, and is now safely in the hands of the National Animal Health Service.

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.

In a new three-part series, TDA is investigating the complex world of medicated weight-loss.

In part three, we examine how social media is reshaping the Ozempic conversation, from influencer endorsements to rising tensions around body image, shame, and access. We explore the cultural divide that’s emerging on and offline, and what it reveals about diet culture in 2025.