{"podcast":{"title":"Melbourne News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now!","slug":"melbourne-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7572838","podcast_index_feed_id":7572838,"rss_url":"https://feeds.fastcast.ai/washington-mystics-the-daily-news-now.xml","website_url":"https://thednn.ai/","image_url":"https://image.fastcast.ai/podcasts/washington-mystics-the-daily-news-now.jpg","author":"The Daily News Now!","episode_count":430,"summary":"Hosted by Corey with the Story, Melbourne News Today delivers fast, focused daily updates on the stories shaping Melbourne—from local news and business to culture, sports, and community developments. Designed for quick, on-the-go listening, each episode brings you up to speed in minutes. Produced by AI for speed, consistency, and global scale, the show is part of The Daily News Now network—bringing local news to every city in the world and keeping communities connected. Melbourne News Today is your daily snapshot of what’s happening in your city. Advertise on DNN: advertise@thednn.ai","last_synced_at":"2026-07-27T08:17:26.487596+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/melbourne-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7572838"},"episode":{"title":"NSW Government Spends Hundreds of Thousands on Defending Protest Laws | Melbourne News","slug":"nsw-government-spends-hundreds-of-thousands-on-defending-protest-laws-melbourne-news","published_at":"2026-07-09T15:23:10+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/melbourne-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7572838/nsw-government-spends-hundreds-of-thousands-on-defending-protest-laws-melbourne-news","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/melbourne-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7572838","url":"https://sources.thednn.ai/5805f3c1e77d3e70","audio_url":"https://api.fastcast.ai/audio/37574c77-1cda-467a-ae8a-8b23510154ad.mp3","summary":"New South Wales government and police are paying a steep price for defending controversial anti-protest laws—over $300,000 total—after courts struck them down as unconstitutional, ruling they violated political speech rights. The latest case, costing more than $117,000, involved laws enacted after a major attack and used during a February protest against the Israeli president. This isn’t the first blow: just six months prior, another government law expanding police powers near places of worship was also overturned, costing nearly $96,000. Internal Labor party debates had already raised concerns about legal viability. Activists call it a waste of taxpayer money and evidence of a crackdown on democratic expression, while the government insists it was necessary for public safety during a foreign leader’s visit. Some legal wins remain, like a case over major events declarations that cost $27,000, but protesters are still pursuing appeals to drop charges. Listen in comfort: Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN: advertise@thednn.ai This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting. Report issues to feedback@thednn.ai. View sources & latest updates: https://sources.thednn.ai/5805f3c1e77d3e70","meta_description":"New South Wales government and police are paying a steep price for defending controversial anti-protest laws—over $300,000 total—after courts struck them…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":131,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/melbourne-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7572838/episodes/nsw-government-spends-hundreds-of-thousands-on-defending-protest-laws-melbourne-news/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/melbourne-news-today-2-min-news-the-daily-news-now-7572838/nsw-government-spends-hundreds-of-thousands-on-defending-protest-laws-melbourne-news.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}