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Happy Thursday!
Today I’m interviewing Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
I would love to hear any question suggestions you have. Just hit reply to this email!
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"If you have something specific, if you have something relevant, you know, let us know - we are open to looking at it." - India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, describing what he told Canada’s Government after it alleged India killed a Sikh leader earlier this year.
The stat
11%
The proportion of speakers at the annual United Nations General Assembly who were women. Heads of state, foreign ministers, and royalty representing their countries spoke at the conference.
Today in history
2008: SpaceX launched the first-ever private spacecraft into orbit. SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
An independent review into PwC Australia has found several shortcomings across the firm’s operations and culture. It found the professional services firm had a “disproportionate focus” on revenue, a culture that restricted constructive change, and a CEO who had “excessive power". PwC says it will implement the review’s 23 recommendations. The review comes after revelations earlier this year that some PwC leaders misused confidential government information to help clients avoid tax.
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has defended the cost of the national carrier’s airfares, saying they are standard across the market. Hudson addressed a Senate inquiry on the airline industry, just weeks after taking over over from former CEO Alan Joyce. Senators also heard from Qatar Airways representatives, who said they were surprised by a Federal Government decision to block more Qatar flights coming into Australia.
I've got 1 minute
Inflation rose in August to 5.2% up from 4.9% in July, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This means prices were 5.2% higher in August than the year prior.
Inflation still remains below the peak of 8.4% last December.
Quick refresher:
The inflation rate indicates how much prices have increased over the past 12 months.
Like many countries, Australia has been battling high inflation in the past year.
Wednesday’s numbers:
Rent prices continued to increase in August, up to 7.8% from 7.6% in July.
Fuel is also up nearly 14% compared to a year ago.
The other main contributors to the rise include the increased cost of transport and food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The cash rate:
The Reserve Bank (RBA) began increases to the cash rate in May last year to ease inflation.
In doing so, the RBA aimed to slow inflation by limiting consumer spending.
It has kept the cash rate the same (4.1%) at its last three meetings. The next meeting is on Tuesday.
No Silly Questions in the wild!
Loved this photo from Belle, who shared a shot of her reading our politics chapter in ‘No Silly Questions’.
The politics chapter covers a wide range of topics, from how the Senate works to what a referendum is (it may be helpful to read up on that part over the next few weeks!)
We hope you learned something new from the politics chapter, Belle.
We’d love to see pictures of your favourite sections!
I've got 2 minutes
Jacinta Allan has become Victoria's new Premier, after a vote by state Labor MPs on Wednesday.
It follows Tuesday’s resignation announcement from Daniel Andrews.
Allan, Victoria's current Deputy Premier, will be the state's first female Premier in over 30 years and the second in its history.
Who is Jacinta Allan?
Allan was elected to State Parliament in 1999 as the member for Bendigo East. She's been considered a key figure of the Andrews Government during his nine years as Premier.
During the pandemic, Allan was appointed to Victoria’s COVID-19 crisis council.
She was named Deputy Premier last year following the resignation of Andrews' longtime deputy James Merlino.
Wednesday’s vote:
Allan was widely tipped to become the state's new leader after securing early support from key MPs.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll will serve as Allan's deputy.
Carroll challenged Allan for the leadership on Wednesday but withdrew his bid.
The challenges ahead:
Allan will inherit Victoria's over $100 billion debt.
Recent attempts to curb spending have seen several service cuts and increased taxes on big businesses.
Andrews blamed financial constraints for his decision to cancel the planned 2026 Victorian Commonwealth Games.
The next state election in Victoria is expected to be in November 2026.
Give me some good news
Pharmacies in NSW can now issue resupplies of the oral contraceptive pill, as part of a new trial.
Eligible patients can access the pill without a GP appointment at over 900 participating pharmacies.
A message from our sponsor
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A TDA tidbit
In today’s tidbit we’re talking about anal beads, chess and Piers Morgan…
You may recall from last year the story of a low-ranked teenager, Hans Niemann, who won against the world’s best chess player, Magnus Carlsen, causing the internet to speculate he had used vibrating anal beads controlled by his coach to cheat.
I know. I’ll give you a moment to process that information.
Niemann consistently denied the allegations at the time, and now he’s denying it again in an interview with Piers Morgan, who wanted the answers to his hard-hitting anal-bead questions.
"Well, your curiosity is a bit concerning, you know - maybe you're personally interested, but I can tell you, no,” Niemann said.
"Categorically, no, of course."
Who knew chess could be interesting without Anya Taylor-Joy?
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