Media
Government moves closer to final news bargaining incentive
The Australian’s James Madden and Jack Quail report that the government is edging toward the final version of its news bargaining incentive, with stakeholders now preparing submissions on the draft legislation.
The overhaul is designed to fix loopholes in the existing bargaining code, which allowed platforms to dodge payments by threatening to pull news.
ABC pay talks heat up as probation clause sparks unrest
Aunty’s management’s latest bargaining offer has landed badly with staff, with new probation clauses prompting union warnings of the broadcaster’s first strike in about 20 years.
As Crikey’s Daanyal Saeed writes, employees will vote on Friday on the updated deal, which includes a 10 per cent pay rise over three years: 3.5 per cent upfront, then 3.25 per cent each year after.
Government stays the course on streaming quotas
Capital Brief’s John Buckley reports that Labor is pressing ahead with its streaming quotas, brushing aside renewed warnings from Hollywood’s top lobbyists as it prepares to pass the legislation in the coming weeks.
The Motion Picture Association flagged the quotas as a possible conflict with Australia’s US free trade deal in a submission to the US Trade Representative’s 2026 trade barriers report.
Social Media
Dating app loophole raises safety concerns ahead of teen social ban
A new criminology study has flagged a gap in the government’s teen social media crackdown, revealing that minors are still finding their way onto adult-only dating platforms and encountering serious risks.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Brittany Busch, researchers found kids accessing dating apps, fetish communities and matchmaking sites, with some then meeting adults offline.
AI
Senior security official’s AI use surfaces
Crikey’s Cam Wilson internal papers have revealed that one of Australia’s most senior national security officials has been leaning on an AI chatbot to draft speeches and internal messages, just as the government prepares to roll out a broader AI strategy for the public service.
The publication secured the material through an FOI request, uncovering two months’ worth of prompts and responses exchanged between Home Affairs national security chief Hamish Hansford and Microsoft’s Copilot tool.
Publishing
New Bourdain book emerges
A series of writings by the late great Anthony Bourdain will be released in a new book entitled, ‘The Anthony Bourdain Reader’.
The Australian Financial Review’s Finn McRedmond has read them and offered his take in this piece.
Oh, and it’s World Kindness Day. So, try and do something nice for someone.