Welcome one and all, to your favourite activity of the day. No, it’s not telling your loved ones how important they are, you silly goose. It’s learning about some of today’s biggest headlines! So I won’t keep you in suspense, here’s the info that you’re keen to know:
A Whack of Aussies Are Loving the Royals
In some buckwild news for the republic stans among us, a lot of Australians want this country to remain as a part of the Commonwealth’s empire. According to a poll conducted for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, 54% of a sample of 1607 Aussies would currently vote to stay under King Charles III‘s rule.
This means that if a referendum to become a republic was held today, it might flop. However, it’s worth noting that this would only be the case if said poll’s sample size truly reflects the sentiment of the entire nation.
Resolve Political Monitor’s Director, Jim Reed, believes that there’s a logical explanation for these pollers’ current sentiment. He stated, “This is very likely due to people feeling the time is inappropriate, either because they respect what the Queen has done or want to see what the King will do.”
At the moment, our Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, isn’t interested in sparking the republic debate or taking a referendum on this matter to the Australian public. He has recently said wants to focus on getting an Indigenous Voice to Parliament established.
He explained, “If you think about the counterfactual, it, to me, is inconceivable, that the next change that we need for our constitution is anything other than recognising that our national birth certificate, which is what the constitution represents, should acknowledge that our history didn’t begin in 1788.”
Australia’s Hybrid Subsidies Might Get Scrapped
Speaking of the Albanese government, this cohort wants to financially encourage the public to spend their dollarydoos on purchasing up electric vehicles. However, The Guardian has reported that the Liberals, the Greens, and at least one Independent aren’t totally stoked with the policy plan that could make this happen.
Now, the Liberals have basically stated that they won’t support any Labor subsidies that’ll strengthen the EV market. Meanwhile, the Greens and independent senator, David Pocock, don’t like the fact that Labor’s current plan froths over hybrid cars. This is because these folks don’t want any government resources to go towards petrol cars, even if they can also partially run on electricity.
As the Leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, noted, “Public money should be driving the electric vehicle revolution, not giving handouts for petrol cars. Instead of spending one billion dollars subsidising petrol cars that people are already buying, the government should spend that money building charging stations in regional areas, as well as supporting people to install home chargers.”
Pocock expressed a similar sentiment, explaining, “Analysis shows that around half of the kilometres travelled by plug-in hybrids use the petrol engine. This 50% petrol-powered travel time is with additional emissions from the extra weight of a battery and electric motor.”
Whether Labor sticks to its original guns or negotiates with these politicians is yet to be recorded in the tomes of history.
Related: Second-Hand Electric Vehicles — Should You Do It?
Related: Canberra Is Banning Petrol Cars — What Does It Mean for EVs?
Solar Backpacks Might Help Save Pelicans
The world would be a heaps worse place if pelicans didn’t exist. Have you ever imagined being a fish getting eaten by one of these bad boys? Want a horrifying yet majestic way to go.
Therefore, it’s a great thing that scientists have attached solar-powered GPS trackers to 16 South Australian pelicans. These researchers told the ABC that the location data that they gather will be used to inform internationally protected wetland policies.
Additionally, one of this project’s scientists, Rowan Mott, said, “We want to know what types of habitats the pelicans actually use so we can ensure there’s more of those habitats available into the future.”
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