☕️ UK lowers voting age to 16

Some big news out of the UK overnight: The British Government has announced it will legislate to lower the voting age to 16 for all elections. The voting age is currently 18, like in Australia.

The Government said about its decision: “Declining trust in our institutions and democracy itself has become critical, but it is the responsibility of government to turn this around and renew our democracy, just as generations have done before us.”

We’re fascinated to know what you think. Do you agree with the new voting age? Let us know by replying to this email!

“I know it's a hoax, started by Democrats... some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats work."
U.S. President Donald Trump calling the Epstein Files conspiracy theories a hoax. In recent days several Republicans have been vocal on their desire for the remaining Epstein Files, which have been marked by many conspiracies, to be released. Trump's administration have denied their release.

4.2%
The rate unemployment has risen by for the month of June across Australia, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Singer Justin Bieber released his first album in four years, called SWAG. The move sent shockwaves across social media, with self-proclaimed ‘Beliebers’ awakening from their four year slumber. One of Bieber’s songs ‘Standing on Business’ is a nod to a clip of the singer telling a paparazzo he is “standing on business”, it has subsequently gone viral in recent weeks with thousands using the video’s sound for videos.

In a world-first study, eight babies have been born using the DNA of three people.

A clinical program conducted by Australian and British scientists takes the genetic material from a fertilised egg and transfers it into a healthy egg donated by another woman.

The process is designed to prevent mitochondrial DNA diseases, a group of inherited, incurable illnesses that can, in some cases, be fatal.

The program resulted in eight healthy babies being born, including a set of twins. It has granted women who carry the disease a way to have children that are genetically their own, without passing it on. 

The result comes at the end of two decades of research. 

We could see Australian babies born this way, after Monash University received funding to pilot a trial here. 

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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More than 400,000 Tasmanians will head to the polls this weekend to elect the next state government.

A no-confidence motion against the current Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff triggered the state’s second early election in just over a year.

A proposed AFL stadium, growing debt, and the Spirit of Tasmania ferries have dominated the campaign.

The Liberal Party has been in power in Tasmania since 2014. Polls suggest the state is likely to return another minority government.

Rockliff has led a minority Liberal Government since the state went to an early election in March 2024.

It means he relies on the support of the crossbench — MPs who don’t belong to either the Labor or Liberal parties.

Last month, Labor leader Dean Winter narrowly succeeded in passing a no-confidence vote against Rockliff, citing concerns about a recent budget that estimated overall debt would rise above $10 billion within four years.

A successful vote of no-confidence means a government doesn’t have enough support from MPs to continue its work and stay in power.

Initially, Tasmania’s Governor Barbara Baker said she would “consider all options” before calling an election, but eventually said she believed there was no alternative.

Premier Rockliff called the Labor leader a “wrecker”, blaming him for sending Tasmania to an election three years early that he said “nobody wanted or needed”.

In 2023, the AFL and Tasmanian Government signed a deal to secure a team in the league.

As part of the deal, the State Government agreed to build a new waterfront stadium on Macquarie Point in the capital, Hobart.

The “no stadium, no team” provision of the deal sparked controversy over the venue’s cost, which is now expected to reach nearly $1 billion.

It was initially estimated at roughly $750 million, including $375 million of funding from Tasmania’s Government.

The major parties support the stadium, while the Greens and independents have strongly opposed the AFL deal.

Several protests have been held at Macquarie Point in opposition to the proposal.

A poll of 842 voters by the Australia Institute found 69% of them believed the current deal is unfair to Tasmania, and wanted the State Government to re-negotiate the deal with the AFL.

Rockliff has also promised to replace two Spirit of Tasmania ferries, which cross the Bass Strait, with two new ships built in Finland.

The ships were initially slated to arrive in 2024. However, the Devonport terminal (where the Spirit ferries dock) required reconstruction because the new ships wouldn’t fit.

The Government now expects the ferries to be operational from October 2026. Labor has accused the Liberal Party of trying to “gaslight” voters over the ferries’ delays and costs.

Health, public housing, and reducing Tasmania’s debt ranked as the most important issues to voters in a YouGov poll conducted at the end of June.

The polling company also asked 842 voters about privatising state-owned assets — 47% were opposed, 36% supported, while 17% were unsure.

Earlier this year, a Government-commissioned review advised against selling off state-owned firms, such as Metro Tasmania, to reduce debt.

Tasmania has a proportional representation system across five seats: Bass, Braddon, Clark, Franklin, and Lyons.

Seven MPs are elected in each seat.

Opinion polling shows it’s unlikely either side will receive enough support to achieve a majority by winning at least 18 of 35 seats.

YouGov’s poll in late June showed Labor ahead of the Liberals (34-31%), while a more recent survey by polling firm DemosAU showed a reversal (35-25 Liberal vs. Labor).

Polling shows an uptick in support for independents across the state.

One of the defeated Liberal MPs at this year’s federal election, Bridget Archer, is running as a candidate in the state seat of Bass.

The Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) ran in the 2024 Tasmania election, but the party will not feature on the ballot at this poll.

Meanwhile, the National Party is running candidates in three regional seats, including two former JLN MPs.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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🍊 Moesha Johnson swims to an Australian first. More details here.
🍊 An NRL veteran is in talks with a Saudi-backed rugby competition.
🍊 The Wallabies side to play the Lions has been named. Who’s the debutant?
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: soccer, tennis, and more…

Johnson, who won silver at Paris 2024, won in a time of about two hours and eight minutes. Fellow Australian Kyle Lee won bronze in the men’s event. Both titles were contested in ‘soupy’ conditions, with the water temperature sitting at over 30℃.

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

Reporting by George Finlayson.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was treated to a rendition of some classic Aussie rock songs during his official visit to China.

In a press conference from the Great Wall of China, he said a band at an official dinner had played Paul Kelly’s ‘To Her Door,’ Midnight Oil’s ‘Power and the Passion’, and at least one song by Powderfinger.

Albanese said: “That obviously took them a long period of time and those gestures matter… they did the full kit and caboodle and so it was a splendid occasion."

The PM has been in China to secure trade agreements and shore up the relationship with President Xi Jinping, following years of cooled relations.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

If you're a young person who's worked in retail, hospitality, or other casual jobs, you've probably wondered at some point whether you were not being paid fairly. Now, new research from the University of Melbourne suggests your suspicions are correct.

A major study surveying nearly 3,000 young workers has found that one in three have likely been underpaid, even when you account for junior rates. The findings are stark: around 10% of workers were paid just $10 an hour or less, more than half weren't paid overtime they were entitled to, and one in five weren't paid for work they'd done.

To help us understand these findings and their implications for young workers across Australia, we're joined on today’s podcast by Tom Dillon, Research Fellow at the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law at the University of Melbourne, who co-authored this report.