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Good morning!
In keeping with the theme of today’s newsletter, here is a U.S. politics-style trivia question for your Thursday morning: What's the minimum age someone must be to serve in the U.S. Senate?
Answer is in the titbit below!
I’ve got 10 seconds
The quote: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time 🤷♂️"
Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a post to X, the social media platform he owns, on the outcome of the U.S. midterms. Musk donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Republican candidates in Texas. For more on the midterms, scroll down!
The stat: 1,271. The number of staff members affected by Canva’s restructure. Canva co-founder and chief executive Melanie Perkins described it as the "hardest moment" in the company's history.
The big question:
How often do you shop in person in department stores?
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Australia’s highest court has found Uber liable for $81 million in NSW payroll tax. Businesses in NSW must pay the tax if they pay out more than $1.2 million in wages a year. Uber had long argued it was not eligible for payroll tax as it was merely a "payment collection agent" that passed fares on to drivers after taking its service fee. However, the High Court has dismissed the ridesharing giant’s appeal, upholding Revenue NSW’s assessments finding Uber’s payments to drivers did count as wages.
A 15-year-old girl has faced terrorism-related charges in a Darwin court. Police allege she planned a mass casualty attack on a school and broke into her family’s gun safe as part of the failed plot. She was charged with collecting or making documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts – an offence carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail. Her alleged conspirator, a 15-year-old boy, faced the NT’s youth justice court on Thursday. He was charged with possessing and sharing extremist material. Neither teen can be legally identified due to their age.
Together with AAP.
Recommendation of the day
Fewer than half of 18 to 24-year-olds believe the political system gives people like them a say, down from 58.8% in 2025, according to the 2026 McKinnon Index.
On Instagram, 86% of you told us you feel the same. The McKinnon Index reveals Australians continue to value democracy. But how satisfied are young Australians with the way it works?
Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.
I’ve got 1 minute
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has discussed tightening the rules for British backpackers working in Australia with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Since July 2024, British backpackers have been exempt from the regional work requirements that other working holidaymakers must meet to extend their stay in Australia.
The number of Brits has increased by 68% since the changes were introduced.
Background
Australia’s working holiday visa allows young people to live, work and travel here for 12 months. It’s generally for people aged 18 to 30, although some countries have a higher age limit.
To stay for a second year, most (though not British backpackers) have to complete three months of work in a regional area during their first year, with the Department of Home Affairs determining eligible locations by postcode.
To stay for a third year, backpackers must complete six months of specified work during their second year.
In 2021, Australia and the UK agreed to a free trade deal that allowed Australians and British citizens aged 18 to 35 to apply for working holiday visas, with the option to stay in each other’s countries for up to three years.
Changes
In August, Albanese ruled out forcing British backpackers to complete regional work to extend their visas.
However, this week he said he would revisit the UK deal following "very strong representation from regional employers". Any changes would need to be agreed to by the UK and written into the free trade agreement.
On Wednesday, Albanese said he had a "constructive" conversation with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham when they met at a Commonwealth summit in Antigua this week.
Why now?
As part of its efforts to slow migration, the Government has announced a ballot for non-UK backpackers seeking a second or third year. Second-year visas will be capped at 45,000 and third-year visas at 5,000.
Nationals MP Michelle Landry called the changes "the worst government policy decision," warning regional businesses rely on backpackers to fill seasonal jobs.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he supports the return of regional work for UK backpackers, calling it a "centrepiece" of the Coalition’s immigration policy.
Reporting by Elliot Lawry.
Quick hits
🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, we unpack the results of the U.S. midterms. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.
🍿 A music festival has been axed due to… new padel courts. Sign up to TDA Culture here for a breakdown in your inbox at 5pm.
Good Finds
🛏️ Fresh sheets, without the full price tag. Pillow Talk has 40% off sheets until 12 November, the first of a month of Black Friday offers. Shop here.
Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Democrats have won control of the U.S. Congress in a historic landslide victory in the midterm elections.
TDA has been in the U.S. travelling to swing states over the past week. We’ve been to Texas, Georgia, and Michigan. (To hear more about our experience you can listen to this morning’s podcast.)
Here’s what you need to know.
Background
Yesterday, Americans went to the polls for the U.S. midterm elections. They’re called the ‘midterms’ because they come halfway through the U.S. President’s four-year term. (Yes, it’s nearly exactly two years ago that Trump was elected president for the second time.)
These elections do not change Trump’s position as president, but they can impact his ability to pass laws.
That’s because the midterms are largely about the two houses of Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate. Coming into this election, the Republicans (the party Trump is from) held the majority in both. They held a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and a 218-214 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This Republican majority has helped Trump to pass laws during his first two years in his second term. That will change now that Democrats have won the House and the Senate.
Elections
All of the House of Representatives seats and a third of the Senate’s seats were up for re-election in the midterms.
Midterms are often seen as a reflection on how Americans feel about the President of the day. Trump has repeatedly told voters to "pretend [his] name is on the ballot".
One thing to note: it is quite common for voters to swing away from the President’s party during the midterms. However, the swing we have seen in this election is much larger than usual. Since the second world war, both the House and Senate have switched parties in the same midterms just three times.
House
The Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives. A party needs 218 seats to hold a majority. At the time of publishing, Associated Press has confirmed the Democrats have won 228 seats, with the party leading in many more.
Note: Not all votes have been counted yet. However, media outlets can ‘call’ an election before the official result is confirmed, based on mathematical projections using the votes counted so far.
Senate
Democrats needed to ‘flip’ four Senate seats to gain a majority. This means winning four seats that were held by Republicans.
So far, they have flipped seven. This includes Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kansas.
South Carolina is a surprise result – it was not considered to be one of the key swing states.
The result in Texas marked the first time in nearly 40 years that a Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in the state.
Trump’s reaction
Trump has blamed the Republicans’ widespread losses on the fact that his name wasn’t on the ballot.
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
He has also said he is willing to work with Democrats.
Want more? We explain our experience on the ground in today’s podcast. It’s available on Spotify here, Apple here, and YouTube here.
Reporting by Billi FitzSimons.
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Consider it attention well spent.
Give me some good news
A patient in Japan has received a breakthrough stem-cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
The groundbreaking therapy, developed by drugmaker Sumitomo Pharma, was conditionally approved in the country in March. It involves transplanting millions of lab-grown stem cells into the brain to replace the dopamine-producing cells that are lost in people with the condition. The transplant was performed at Kyoto University Hospital in October, the company said.
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
It’s that time of year again: dictionaries are telling us the word that defined 2026.
Hot on the heels of Dictionary.com naming "maxxing" – as in "I’m caffeine-maxxing (drinking coffee)" – Collins has picked "mogging".
Both words come from the manosphere-aligned "looksmaxxing" online space, and if you don’t know what any of those words mean, the dictionary can help. But maybe just continue in blissful ignorance.
Reporting by Lucy Tassell.
Trivia answer: 30 years old! Additional fun fact: It’s 25 years old for the U.S. House of Reps.
TDA asks
