What women are talking about today, Friday August 19.

Morning,

This week our Executive Editor Clare Stephens interviewed former World No.1 tennis player Ash Barty. She now feels like a completely different person. 

You can read her full interview with the 26-year-old here.

But first, here are the top five news stories you need to know today, Friday, August 19.

1. Human remains found in New Zealand storage unit identified as children.

The human remains discovered in two suitcases at a storage unit in New Zealand belonged to two primary-school aged children, police have confirmed.

Counties Manakau district crime manager Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua gave the update yesterday, while confirming the homicide investigation had broadened to involve international agencies.

The remains, which police believe are of two children aged between five and ten years old, were discovered earlier this week by a family who purchased the contents of an abandoned storage locker in South Auckland at an auction.

Police say the family are "understandably distressed" by the finding and are not connected to the deaths of the children.

"Early indications suggest these children may have been deceased for a number of years before being found last week. We also believe the suitcases have been in storage for a number of years," he said, later suggesting the children's remains may have been stored for three to four years.

New Zealand police have revealed human remains that were found in old suitcases were those of 2 children. The pair were aged between 5 and 10, and may have been dead 3 or 4 years. https://t.co/3mesg7z0li #Auckland #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/KkY2LbBF69

— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) August 18, 2022

Police are working on a formal identification process, with the priority to contact the next of kin. 

Local media have suggested overseas links to the case. 

"All we can say is there are relatives of the victims who are in New Zealand," Vaaelua said. "We're working with Interpol and we've commenced inquiries with overseas agencies."

The crime has shocked New Zealand and particularly the Manurewa community in South Auckland, home to strong Maori and Pacific populations.

"I really feel for the family of these victims," Vaaelua said. 

2. Scott Morrison responds to secret ministry memes.

Scott Morrison has responded to the flood of memes that have been circulating the internet after it was announced he secretly appointed himself to five ministerial roles. 

Last night, the former prime minister joined in on the memes, sharing his own photoshopped image of him taking up a new job alongside comedy act Sooshi Mango.

"It’s been fun joining in on all the memes. But there are so many now I can’t keep up. As Aussies we can always have a chuckle at ourselves," he wrote alongside the image. 

"Glad to be also joining their team, along with all the other gigs you guys have given me today."

Morrison also shared a meme of himself photoshopped as the coach of the Cronulla Sharks.

"Don’t mind this one either. But that job is definitely filled and Fitzy is doing an awesome job. UpUpCronulla," he commented alongside the photo. 

While some applauded the Member for Cook for joining in on the fun, others called him out for making light of the scandal, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labelled a "trashing of our democratic system". 

Albanese is seeking advice from the solicitor-general on whether his predecessor's actions have legal implications.

3. Bomb maker convicted over Bali bombings expected to walk free ahead of 20th anniversary.

The bomb maker convicted for his role in 2002 Bali bombings is set to walk free from prison weeks before the 20th anniversary of the terror attack. 

52-year-old Umar Patek was sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping to assemble the bombs that ripped through the Sari Club and Paddy’s Pub in Kuta, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.

He has only served 10 years of his sentence after he was tracked down and arrested in 2012.

The bomb maker in the 2002 Bali terror attack that killed 88 Australians will walk free from prison within days. @SarahStewart_9 #9News

DETAILS: https://t.co/EnwxoayGsT pic.twitter.com/cRd2Kpf5ky

— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) August 18, 2022

Patek is now set to walk free from Porong prison within days after being granted an early release as part of Indonesia's Independence Day.

According to officials, he has been de-radicalised.

The news comes as survivors and families of the victims prepare to remember the lives that were lost 20 years ago.

4. Albanese to hear from Torres Strait women.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with leading women in the Torres Strait on the second day of his visit to the region to gauge community feedback on an enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament.

Albanese is in the Torres Strait with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Queensland senator Nita Green, as part of a two-day trip for talks on what an Indigenous voice might look like.

A lovely welcome by the Kaurareg people into the Torres Strait today! Anthony Albanese, Senator Nita Green and I are visiting to hear about what they want us to do for their community, and how we can progress the Voice to Parliament together. pic.twitter.com/fWw17ctNfj

— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) August 18, 2022

Yesterday, Albanese said the voice wouldn't lay the groundwork for financial reparations for First Nations people.

"There's nothing in the proposed wording of proposed constitutional change that would alter that at all," he said, adding that "misinformation" is being peddled by people who couldn't find "good reasons that stack up" to oppose the voice. 

He also vowed his trip would not be his last to the region as prime minister, telling community leaders he wanted to leave "permanent footprints" and see real change.

"That is why it is so important that Australians are given the opportunity to join that hand outstretched which is there in friendship," he said.

"I see this as something that won't just benefit Indigenous Australians, it will benefit all Australians."

5. Unemployment rate falls while weekly wages rise. 

The unemployment rate has dropped to 3.4 per cent, its lowest rate in 48 years.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday show Australia had more positions open than job seekers to fill them last month.

"The fall in unemployment in July reflects an increasingly tight labour market, including high job vacancies and ongoing labour shortages, resulting in the lowest unemployment rate since August 1974," the bureau's head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

Australia's unemployment rate is now at its lowest level since the 1970s. And, for the first time in our history, job vacancies have outgrown the number of people looking for work. It's forcing some bosses to hire those once deemed 'unemployable' in order to plug the gaps. #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/iqXFdhLOPC

— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) August 18, 2022

The July figures follow a sharper than expected drop in the jobless rate in June. They also reveal a fall in employment by 41,000 in July, which was below expectations of a 25,000 increase.

The lower unemployment rate was partly driven by the fall in the participation rate from 66.8 per cent in June to 66.4 per cent in July, he said, noting that COVID-19, school holidays and floods on the east coast dampened participation in the workforce.

The ABS also released data yesterday showing average weekly wage and salary earnings rose by 1.9 per cent in the year to May, to $1769.80.

That's it for your Friday morning news wrap up. 

- With AAP.

It's 2022 and the stigma around sex toys has well and truly lifted.

But how did we get here? Because until recently sex toys were often considered shameful and something that needed to be hidden behind blacked out windows in shops labelled 'XXX'.

The Quicky speaks to our resident 'sexpert' to discover the history and evolution of sex toys, which goes back thousands of years and covers pretty much every culture in the world - even if only behind closed doors.

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: AAP/Facebook@Scott Morrison (ScoMo)/Ulet Ifansasti/Getty.