What women are talking about today, Friday August 26.

Morning everyone, 

Welcome to you live news feed for Friday, August 26.

This week we asked 16 bosses to share the worst thing they've ever seen at work. And they did not hold back. 

You read their wild and incredibly awkward stories here. 

But first here are the top five news stories making a buzz this morning. 

1. "It was a really difficult time." Robodebt victim welcomes royal commission.

A robodebt victim has welcomed the announcement of a royal commission into the former federal government's controversial automated welfare debt recovery scheme.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday announced a royal commission into the scheme, which sent automated government notices to welfare recipients requiring them to reimburse what was claimed to be overpayments.

Robodebt was set up in 2015 by the former coalition government and discontinued in November 2019, after a class action lawsuit led to the scheme being labelled as unlawful. The government had raised more than $1.7 billion from more than 400,000 people through robodebt.

Robodebt was a cruel system that caused real human tragedy – and it should never happen again. Today we're announcing the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Robodebt.
with: @billshortenmp @AmandaRishworth @markdreyfusQCMP pic.twitter.com/3ydb9jJvs9

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 25, 2022

Andrea Russell, then a single working Tasmanian mother to six children, was placed under significant strain when her $12,500 bill landed days before Christmas in 2017.

"I was extremely stressed at how I was going to pay back the money. We lived from week to week, it was a really difficult time," she said.

"People have suicided, and no one has been held accountable, we have to make sure this never happens ever again."

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the royal commission is nothing more than a witch hunt.

"(The prime minister) should be concentrating more on how he can help families and less on how we can get square with Scott Morrison," he told reporters in Adelaide yesterday. 

"It's clear that this is nothing more than a political witch hunt. And Anthony Albanese is spending more time looking in the rear-vision mirror than he is looking ahead."

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

2. Government dismisses rental price freeze. 

The government is not actively considering a rent freeze proposed by the Greens, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says.

The Greens are calling for a nationwide two-year rent freeze to allow incomes to catch up with surging prices as well as an ongoing policy to cap rent increases at two per cent every 24 months.

The Greens are calling for a two-year rent freeze but how is this fair for landlords? We ask Greens MP @MChandlerMather joins us. pic.twitter.com/cYZtSP3bDw

— The Project (@theprojecttv) August 25, 2022

Dr Chalmers recognised skyrocketing rents were a major part of the inflation problem, and that employers in regional areas were struggling to attract staff because of a lack of available housing.

He said the government would focus on boosting supply to combat the housing crisis intead. 

"That's why we have the Housing Australia Future Fund that's building more affordable homes, and I'm working with the super industry and the states to see if we can build more stock," he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also said he was unsure how a national rental freeze would work in practice.

"It's not clear to me, short of nationalising property, how that could be achieved," he said.

3. Novak Djokovic won’t play in US Open.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has confirmed his US Open hopes are over after revealing he won't be able to travel unvaccinated to New York for the season's last grand slam.

The 21-time slam winner had hoped the US authorities might change long-standing rules to allow non-citizens without a coronavirus vaccine to enter.

He announced the news on social media just before the official draw for the tournament, which begins on Monday, was due to be made on Thursday.

"Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open... Good luck to my fellow players! I'll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again," Djokovic said on Twitter.

Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open. Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. ❤️ Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. 💪🏼 See you soon tennis world! 👋🏼

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 25, 2022

The Wimbledon champion, who was also banned from playing in the Australian Open due to his anti-vaccination stance, said after his SW19 success in July that he was waiting "hopefully for some good news from USA".

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) described Djokovic's absence as "unfortunate" but said it looked forward to having him back next year.

4. Details released of Australia's largest ever meth bust.

A massive haul of the drug "ice", with an estimated street value of $1.6 billion, has been seized in NSW in the largest discovery of its kind in Australia.

Last month, Australian Border Force officers homed in on a number of sea cargo containers that arrived at Port Botany in Sydney, where they found 748kg of methylamphetamine concealed in marble stone.

NSW Police strike force investigators later arrested and charged three men, aged 24, 26 and 34, who remain before the court.

ABF later examined more containers at Port Botany last week and found another 1060kg of methylamphetamine also concealed marble stone.

Drugs worth $1.6 billion seized in NSW https://t.co/Mk2cUXxSeY

— MSN Australia (@MSNAustralia) August 25, 2022

Police also found more than $150 million worth of ice and cocaine in a vintage Bentley in another shipping container in the port. 

The car underwent an X-ray and examination and authorities found 161kg of methylamphetamine and 30kg of cocaine hidden behind the headlights.

Yesterday, NSW Police executed a search warrant at Rooty Hill in Sydney's west and arrested and charged two men aged 20 and 23. A third man, 25, was arrested and charged in Ballina in the Northern Rivers region during a vehicle stop after police found 2.2kg of ice and more than $1.1 million in cash.

5. Australia in for dangerous heat. 

Babies being born in northern Australia in 2022 could face dangerous heat most days of the year by the time they are in their 70s, a new study warns.

Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Washington have projected billions of people in the world's tropical and sub-tropical regions could be contending with dangerously high heat, the majority of the time, by 2100.

For Australia that means a life of sustained heat stress in roughly the northern half of the country, 78 years from now.

Northern Australia could have dangerously high heat most days of the year by 2100, study finds https://t.co/PFJKpv3ePq

— Guardian Environment (@guardianeco) August 25, 2022

Even if the world succeeds in limiting warming to 2C, exposure to dangerous heat is expected to increase by 50 to 100 per cent across much of the tropics, and by a factor of three to 10 in many mid-latitude regions like southern Australia.

"Heat waves that have been deadly in the past will become much more likely, and in some cases annual occurrence, in parts - most of Australia - even in a 2C world," says Harvard climate scientist and study author Lucas Vargas Zeppetello.

"If we bypass the Paris agreement goals and, for example, end up with 3C of global warming by the end of the century, parts of northern Australia will likely experience heat waves that are without precedent basically anywhere in the world, almost every single year.

"It will almost certainly require very serious adaptation measures for people who live in these places."

That's it, you're all up to speed. 

- With AAP.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are the latest couple to have a double wedding, but plenty of other celebs are also having more than one ceremony. So are multiple weddings the new norm?

Today on The Quicky, we look at the entree wedding, and whether it's something us non-celebrity folk are getting into as well.

READ: 

• What women were talking about on Thursday
• What women were talking about on Wednesday
• What women were talking about on Tuesday
• What women were talking about on Monday

Feature Image: Martin Ollman/Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty.