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Youth vaping rates plummet after law reforms
Natasha May
Data shows vape use among young Australians has significantly reduced, meaning new laws are working, the federal health minister says.
At a press conference in Adelaide, Mark Butler cited data from the independent South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute which found 2024 vaping rates among 15- to 29-year-olds reduced by about a third compared with 2023, going from above 15% to 10.8%.
Vaping rates among the 30-to-59 age group also dropped by about half, from 6.7% to 3.6%, while overall, vaping rates for people aged 15 and above were reduced by more than a third.
Butler said suspensions relating to vaping at South Australian schools had dropped by 50%, with 388 suspensions in the first term of 2023 compared with 186 in 2024.
He said these South Australian figures were in line with the latest research from the Cancer Council’s Generation Vape study, which also showed the number of young people aged 14 to 17 who vape is in decline.
This data showed the largest proportion of “never-vapers” since the Generation Vape study began in 2022, with 85% of people aged 14 to 17 reporting they had never vaped.
Butler said:
These latest data shows the Albanese government’s vaping reforms are working to prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine.
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Amanda Meade’s Weekly Beast on all the news in the media sector is up now.
Police alert 5,000 Australians potentially targeted by overseas romance scam
More than 5,000 Australians could be victims of romance scammers allegedly using popular online dating apps to trick victims into a fake online relationship before deceiving them into transferring funds, a joint statement between the AFP, Anti-Scam Centre, Philippines Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and Bureau of Investigation said.
Australian authorities texted the potential victims – who are mostly men over 35 – today, urging them to not send money to people they have met online, and provided steps to take if they have already sent money.
An investigation by Philippines authorities into a scam compound operating in central Manila, in November 2024, uncovered more than 300 computer towers, 1000 mobile phones and thousands of sim cards. Evidence gathered was shared with international law enforcement partners to help identify potential victims.
The AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Collaboration Centre identified more than 5,000 Australian-based phone numbers linked to messages found on an end-to-end encryption platform on the devices. The statement continued:
It is alleged the scammers, using popular online dating apps, tricked victims into a fake online romantic relationship, before convincing them to purchase legitimate cryptocurrency. They would request a minimum first investment between AUD $300 - $800 dollars, before encouraging the victim to invest more money.
The suspected scammer would then deceive the victim into transferring funds from the legitimate crypto exchange account into the scammer’s account.
The fraudsters posed as either a Filipino female working in Australia or a local female resident in the Philippines.
More than 250 suspects have been arrested by Philippine law enforcement authorities under the investigation so far.
AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations Graeme Marshall said:
When it comes to romance scams, our message to the public is simple: protect your heart and your wallet. If it feels too good to be true, it probably is.
Weight loss drugs, Trump and conflicts shape agriculture outlook
The use of weight loss drugs could change what Australians eat, with the agriculture industry eyeing a possible decrease in food consumption.
Uptake of drugs like Ozempic, which suppress the appetite and make users feel full more quickly, have been listed among trends and drivers that may affect Australia’s agriculture sector in 2025.
“While it is unlikely to be a game changer in 2025 for Australian food and agri products, the impact of reduced food consumption by individuals taking these medications should not be overlooked,” the Rabobank annual outlook said.
People using the drugs have swapped processed and calorie-dense foods for fresh and protein-rich produce and yoghurt, according to US studies highlighted in the report.
Agriculture is broadly set to fare well, though US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imports were expected to keep markets volatile. Trump campaigned for the presidency on introducing tariffs of between 10 to 20% on products from other countries, along with 60% on goods from China.
He has since ordered US federal agencies undertake a review of various trade issues by April 1. The US is a key destination for Australian beef, creating some uncertainty for producers and exporters.
The conflict in the Middle East and rerouting of ships away from the Red Sea due to piracy were also behind continued market volatility, along with the war in Ukraine.
Despite the geopolitical tensions and drought conditions in parts of South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria, agribusinesses were generally set to do well.
- Australian Associated Press
Sarah Basford Canales
Moderate Liberals losing sway as hard right looms large in Senate fight
The Liberal party’s moderate wing is set to lose more influence in federal parliament with an Alex Antic-backed candidate tipped to take the Senate seat once held by Simon Birmingham.
Birmingham, who was elected in 2007 and resigned on Tuesday, led the federal party’s moderate faction and was one of the few remaining senior Liberals in the faction after losses in the 2022 federal election, including inner city MPs Jason Falinski and Tim Wilson.
With the backing of the hard-right Antic faction, Leah Blyth, the party’s state president, is most likely to take Birmingham’s former seat in the upper house after the vote takes place on Friday evening, Liberal sources told Guardian Australia under the condition of anonymity, due to party rules.
Blyth will be challenged by moderate candidate Sam Hooper, a lawyer and former staffer for the now state opposition leader, Vincent Tarzia, as well as the unaligned Adelaide city councillor Henry Davis.
Liberal sources said Blyth would likely emerge the clear winner with Antic’s backing but suggested Hooper could win over some of the remaining moderate and centrist delegates in the state.
Read the full story from Sarah Basford Canales and Dan Jervis-Bardy here:
Mostafa Rachwani
Rights commission ponders discrimination complaint against Dutton
The Australian Human Rights Commission is considering a complaint that alleges Peter Dutton discriminated against Palestinians and Muslims in public comments after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and during the subsequent war in Gaza.
The complaint, coordinated by the law firm Birchgrove Legal, includes allegations that “Palestinian-Australian, Arab-Australian and Muslim-Australian complainants” reported feeling “dehumanised … and humiliated as an ‘Other’ who does not and should not matter to Australia” as a result of some of the Liberal leader’s public commentary.
The complaint also alleges that “as a national political leader” some of Dutton’s commentary has “created an environment of permissibility not only for hatred and racism directed at Palestinian-Australian, Arab-Australian and Muslim-Australian complainants but also other Australians who express solidarity with Palestinians, leading to many reports of feeling intimidated not to attend rallies in support of Palestinians and not to express support”.
Read the full story:
Youth vaping rates plummet after law reforms
Natasha May
Data shows vape use among young Australians has significantly reduced, meaning new laws are working, the federal health minister says.
At a press conference in Adelaide, Mark Butler cited data from the independent South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute which found 2024 vaping rates among 15- to 29-year-olds reduced by about a third compared with 2023, going from above 15% to 10.8%.
Vaping rates among the 30-to-59 age group also dropped by about half, from 6.7% to 3.6%, while overall, vaping rates for people aged 15 and above were reduced by more than a third.
Butler said suspensions relating to vaping at South Australian schools had dropped by 50%, with 388 suspensions in the first term of 2023 compared with 186 in 2024.
He said these South Australian figures were in line with the latest research from the Cancer Council’s Generation Vape study, which also showed the number of young people aged 14 to 17 who vape is in decline.
This data showed the largest proportion of “never-vapers” since the Generation Vape study began in 2022, with 85% of people aged 14 to 17 reporting they had never vaped.
Butler said:
These latest data shows the Albanese government’s vaping reforms are working to prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine.
Following on from the last post: Economist Lenora Risse told the committee mandating gender equality targets would raise the salience of gender equality as an issue in the minds of employers and create a prompt for action and accountability.
“Requirements are a way to embed gender equality awareness and actions into an organisation’s internal processes and structures,” Risse said.
This contributes to gender equality policies and aspirations for progress becoming a normalised part of Australian workplaces, rather than an exceptional feature of only some organisations or a variable factor where effort and interest wavers with time.
The committee recommended the bill include full guidelines on what the Workplace Gender Equality Agency would accept as a “reasonable excuse” for non-compliance.
But in a dissenting report, the Coalition argued the proposed laws would place “onerous financial implications on businesses that we rely on”.
“This legislation will affect over 1650 of Australia’s largest companies by potentially precluding them from supplying goods or services to the commonwealth government at or above $80,000 in critical areas including agriculture forestry and fishing, construction, education and training, manufacturing and mining,” the dissenting report said.
The provisions in this bill significantly undermine businesses and risk important procurement required for critical areas like national security.
The Coalition’s report also argued the laws provided “excessive ministerial powers” and were “government overreach”.
– Australian Associated Press
Gender equality targets on horizon for employers
New laws requiring employers to commit to achieve or make progress on gender equality targets could be passed when federal parliament returns for its first sitting week of the year.
But the government will have to work with the Greens and crossbench to pass the laws after the coalition labelled the proposal “government overreach”.
Under the proposal, employers with 500 or more employees would be required to pick three targets which could include gender composition of the workforce, equal remuneration between women and men and consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace.
Employers would then have a three-year period to achieve or improve on those targets.
The failure to either set a target or make progress towards it could result in an employer being publicly named, and impact their eligibility for government procurement and ability to be considered for funding and grants.
A parliamentary committee has published its final report on the proposed laws, with five recommendations from committee members.
– Australian Associated Press
More to come in the next post.
Investigation into suspicious death on NSW south coast under way
An investigation is under way into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 50-year-old man found in his home yesterday.
Officers were called to the home in Quickmatch Street, Nowra, about 11am yesterday when the body was found in the house by a neighbour, NSW police said in a statement.
A crime scene was established and examined by specialist police, and a canvass of the area was conducted.
Strike Force Ballidu has been established and detectives are investigating the incident with assistance from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad.
Senator Sarah Henderson calls for around-the-clock police patrols of Jewish schools
Caitlin Cassidy
The shadow minister for education, Senator Sarah Henderson, has labelled an antisemitic graffiti attack on Mount Sinai College in Maroubra on Thursday “domestic terrorism” and urged for around-the-clock NSW police patrols of Jewish schools.
In a statement on Friday, Henderson condemned the attack, labelling it “part of an escalating campaign of violence targeting the Jewish community which can only be described as domestic terrorism”.
I reiterate that every child attending a childcare centre, school or university in this country deserves to be safe. I support the call by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies for around-the-clock NSW police patrols of Jewish pre-schools and schools in Sydney until the current threat to the community has subsided.
After speaking with a representative of Mt Sinai College, I have made representations to the secretary of the federal Department of Education seeking immediate counselling and other support for the school.”
Henderson also linked the incident to universities, accusing campuses of promoting “anti-Jewish hate and incitement”.
Aussie shares hit record high as rate-cut hopes grow
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday finished up 46.7 points, or 0.55%, to 8,493.7 – just 1.5 points from its best-ever finish set on 3 December.
In early afternoon trading the index climbed as high as 8,515.7, beating by 1.2 points its previous intraday high on 3 December.
At 8,553.3 as of 11am today, the index is now higher than it has ever been.
Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said the market was gaining because of the follow-through from Wednesday’s lower-than-expected inflation readout, a Federal Reserve rates decision and earnings from a trio of the “magnificent seven” tech companies.
Early Thursday morning the Fed kept interest rates in the US on hold, as widely expected, with chair Jerome Powell signalling the central bank might leave interest rates where they are for a while given the strength of the economy.
This led Comerica economists to revise their expectations for US rate cuts, forecasting one this year rather than two.
Closer to home, all of the big four banks predict the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates in February, after NAB on Thursday revised its call after the cooler-than-expected fourth-quarter inflation figures.
“We still expect the cutting phase to be gradual,” NAB’s economics team wrote.
– Australian Associated Press
Grampians national park fires rage
A total of 18,000 ha of the Grampians national park are on fire, with two fires burning at Victoria Valley and Wallaby Rock.
Forest Fire Management Victoria and Country Fire Authority firefighters “continue to work extremely hard” in an effort to contain the fires before high temperatures expected across the state over the weekend and into next week, the CFA said in a statement this morning.
About 700 personnel are “working tirelessly” on the Grampians fires, and aircraft and burning out operations are being used in an effort to contain them.
Smoke will be visible across large parts of western Victoria due to these fires, as well as the Little Desert national park fire, CFA said. They urge residents to monitor changing conditions.
The national park is partially closed but Halls Gap and a number of nearby walking tracks are open.
Yarram Gap Road fire is under control and has burnt over 76,00 ha.
