☕️ Unemployment system overhaul

In case you missed, seven villagers in Laos have been stuck in a flooded cave for the past week, but late last night rescuers revealed five have been found alive.

Bounkham Luanglath, president of a Laotian volunteer rescue association, told The Associated Press: “I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen.”

Two are still missing. We’ll keep you updated.

The quote: “It never occurred to me that there wouldn’t be other people of my race among the police. I can remember on the first parade – we all had to line up, and I took a glimpse to my left and right, and the ranks behind me, and I thought there’s nobody else like me. It was unnerving.” Australia’s first Indigenous police officer, Dr Colin Dillon, in an interview with Queensland Police for Reconciliation Week.

The stat: $26 million. The fine that the Federal Court ordered Westpac to pay for failing to respond to more than 200 online financial hardship requests between 2017 and 2023. Justice McEvoy called Westpac’s conduct “grossly negligent” but not "deliberate”.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 42% of you said that you buy new clothes “every few months”. 26% of you said “rarely” while 19% of you said “monthly”. Only 3% of you buy clothes weekly - go you. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [1886 votes].

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NASA has unveiled plans to build and operate a base on the moon.

The base is expected to serve as a home for astronauts involved in NASA’s future space exploration missions.

Construction of the base will happen across the next six years, with the goal of establishing a “sustained human presence” on the moon by 2032.

The space agency is currently partway through its staged plan to return humans to the moon in 2028.

NASA intends to build the base near the moon’s south pole across three phases.

Phase 1 (Now – 2029): Initiate a “major increase in lunar activity,” with 21 planned landings across 25 missions. Test new technologies and prepare for future long-term operations.

Phase 2 (2029 – 2032): Begin building semi-permanent infrastructure and start establishing solar and nuclear power capabilities.

Phase 3 (2032 and Beyond): Scale up operations to sustain “a true enduring presence,” with humans permanently “living and working on the moon”.

NASA also announced two contracts worth a combined $US439 million ($AU611 million) with manufacturers Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, which will build the rovers required for the project’s first phase.

Blue Origin (owned by Jeff Bezos) will deliver the rovers to the moon.

Rover designs will be finalised over the next 18 months. More than a dozen future missions are expected to be announced later this year.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said: “Every mission, crewed and uncrewed, will be a learning opportunity.”

NASA’s announcement comes amid what’s been described as the second space race.

The first space race was between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1960s.

This time, it is between the U.S. and China, which has also revealed plans to send humans to the Moon by 2030.

This week, China took another step toward that goal by sending three astronauts to its space station. One of them is set to remain there for a year – the country’s longest-ever space mission.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, co-founder Zara and multimedia journalist Elliot explain what a ‘death tax’ is.

📺 Thousands of Aussies are about to lose access to Channel 10. Read TDA Culture at 5pm today to find out why.

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Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.

On Wednesday, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth announced “major complex reform” to Australia’s unemployment system.

The changes, including a three-tiered system determined by the level of support a recipient needs, are the biggest in 30 years.

The Opposition said the announcement was an “acknowledgment” that unemployment was rising.

Here are the key changes.

In 1998, the then-Howard Government privatised its job-finding systems. From that point, the Government contracted non-government organisations to put people into jobs.

Today, the Government has an organisation called Workforce Australia, which pays job agencies to help people who receive the JobSeeker or Youth Allowance payments to find jobs or upskill.

JobSeeker is up to $404.35 weekly for singles with no children, and Youth Allowance is up to $338 per week for over-18s with no kids living out of home.

Under these schemes, recipients must partake in mutual obligation requirements.

This often requires agreeing to a Job Plan.

Job Plans can involve:

In 2023, Labor MP Julian Hill chaired an inquiry into Workforce Australia.

In the inquiry’s final report, Hill said: “Australia no longer has an effective coherent national employment services system”.

The report included 75 recommendations, such as making assessments, mutual obligations, and job plans more tailored to the individual.

On Wednesday, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth delivered an address at the National Press Club.

She said the Government believes the “fundamental flaw” of the current system is that it is a “one-size-fits-all approach to support jobseekers, who are at different distances from the labour market.”

Rishworth introduced four proposed changes to Workforce Australia, including a tiered system and new goal plans.

A tiered system will sort recipients into three streams based on the level of support they need, and how recently they last had a job.

An ‘employment goal plan’ will replace the existing Job Plan, to be developed during the recipients’ assessment period. These are aimed to be more tailored to each person.

In the Federal Budget, $312 million was allocated to developing the new system.

Rishworth said she “believe[s] significant reform can happen without adding huge dollars to the system.”

“These three distinct service streams will fundamentally reshape our employment services system... They go beyond anything attempted by any other government in a very long time,” Rishworth added.

Shadow Employment Minister Jane Hume said the announcement is “an acknowledgment that unemployment is rising under Labor,” referencing last week’s announcement that unemployment rose to 4.5%.

Hume called “a more targeted approach” a “sensible direction.”

“The Coalition has a serious concern about what this reform signals for mutual obligations, particularly for Australians who have been on JobSeeker for extended periods.”

Rishworth said the “detail design” of the new system will be informed by the public.

She announced a new advisory group and panel to help guide the revamp.

Current Workforce Australia providers have also had their contracts extended by 16 months while the Government legislates and finalises the scheme.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved teplizumab (sold as Tzield), a treatment that’s being heralded as the most important innovation since insulin was discovered more than 100 years ago. Administered as a once-daily intravenous infusion over a two-week period, Tzield can delay the onset of the autoimmune disease for patients with early stage type 1 diabetes. It works by binding to specific immune system cells to stop them from attacking the pancreas, allowing it to continue producing its own insulin. An estimated 25,000 Australians unknowingly live with the early pre-symptomatic stages of the disease. RACGP Specific Interests Diabetes Chair Dr Gary Deed welcomed the TGA approval, saying the treatment allows for “active surveillance, active intervention, and delay in progression”.

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Ferrari has launched its first electric car. The memes arrived before the applause.

Ferrari says the shell-like car is “engineered for balance,” adding that “the electric engines are the result of a design process that combines advanced materials with innovative architecture.”

The €550,000 ($AU900,000) model sparked so much backlash that Ferrari’s share price fell 8% after the reveal, wiping billions from the company’s value.

Ferrari’s chief marketing and commercial officer Enrico Galliera told the Financial Times the intent was to be “polarising”. Mission accomplished.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.