Friday, 29 November - It's been a hard day's night

November 29, 2024

Good morning, it’s Friday, 29 November. In your Squiz Today…

  • A busy day (and night) in the Senate

  • Wild weather’s heading for the east coast

  • And a cake we’ve always wanted to make… 🍰

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“The main advice I have to give is stay true to yourself and hit post.”

Said video of the year winner Leah Halton at this year’s Australian TikTok awards - very much a thing - which were attended by everyone from JoJo Siwa to Dr Karl Kruzselnicki. Halton won the award for her 12-second lip-sync video - not bad work if you can get it…

Cutting it short in Canberra…

The Squiz

If you think you had a busy day yesterday, it’s likely nothing on what went down in federal parliament, where 31 pieces of legislation were passed as the Albanese Government cleared the decks. That sent accusations flying that the government was curtailing good process - independent Senator Jacqui Lambie accused Team Albanese of forcing their legislation through “without us properly going through and actually having a good look at them and putting it under the microscope". But PM Anthony Albanese was upbeat, saying he's "determined to get things done to make a difference.”

What legislation are we talking about?

The social media ban for under-16yos, to start with… The world-first laws passed late last night with the Coalition in support. Well, almost all of the Coalition… Senators Alex Antic and Matt Canavan followed through on their threat to cross the floor and vote against it. But with (most of) the 2 major parties in support, kids won’t be able to sign up for a social media account from the end of next year… And for the bulk of the rest, a deal was done to get the Greens’ support on 27 bills. In exchange for $500 million to increase the energy efficiency of public housing, the government got support for its Future Made in Australia package (sans coal and gas projects), changes to the privacy act, Reserve Bank reforms, tough new migration laws, family law amendments, and so much more… Greens leader Adam Bandt said the deal shows that “Greens pressure works”. 

Do I feel an election coming on?

Of course you do - the question is whether that’s closer to March or May, which is the 3 year anniversary of the Albanese Government. Yesterday in Question Time, Coalition leader Peter Dutton was critical of how the final day had been handled and asked the PM: “Why not call an election now to put Australians out of their misery and allow a competent Coalition government to get our country back on track?” He also sharpened his campaign lines, telling Australians to ask themselves if they are better off now than they were 3 years ago while accusing Team Albanese of "undisciplined spending" that he says is behind the cost of living crisis. Albanese responded last night on ABC TV’s 7.30 where he pushed back against the notion of an early 2025 election. One thing we know for sure - a federal election is absolutely in our future in the first half of next year…

Your fresh market update…

At the Squiz, we’re all about giving you the useful stuff. So, we’ve teamed up with Woolies to share their top weekly fruit and veg picks. Here’s what to grab this week:

🥭 Honey Gold mangoes - Mango season is in full swing and these have a rich, sweet flavour. Get it in ya gob.

🥬 Iceberg lettuce - Prepare yourself for maximum crunch. That's all there is to say....

🍋 Lemons - When life gives you these babies, make a dressing to jazz up your iceberg salad.

🤍 White grapes - Sweet and juicy, they’re the perfect summer snack.

Squiz the Rest

A chapter closes…

Nearly 2 years later than scheduled, the final hearings for the coronial inquest into 19yo Kumanjayi Walker’s death wrapped up yesterday. You might remember his name - he was the Indigenous teen shot and killed by former Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe during an arrest in 2019. Rolfe was charged with murder before being acquitted during a Supreme Court trial in 2022. Yesterday, NT Police lawyer Ian Freckelton told the inquest it was “absolutely undeniable” that Rolfe was racist and that Coroner Elisabeth Armitage “should have no hesitation” in making a similar finding. But Rolfe’s lawyer Luke Officer argued he shouldn’t be “singled out” from other members of the police Territory Response Group who allegedly "engaged in highly inappropriate conduct" including handing out racist awards. The Coroner said she’ll likely hand down her findings in February next year.

Aunty starts a media beef

The ABC’s chair Kim Williams has landed himself in a global barney after labelling popular/controversial American podcaster Joe Rogan “deeply repulsive”. He did that in his National Press Club address on Wednesday, which we chatted about yesterday… The words didn’t take long to reach Rogan, who fired back on X with a "LOL WUT". Elon Musk joined the fray accusing the ABC of being like "Pravda" (aka a state-owned newspaper in Russia). And Aunty's chairman wasn't in the mood for walking back his criticism yesterday - saying Rogan did "enormous damage" during the pandemic by questioning vaccines… Williams reckons he’s copped “the most unbelievably vicious responses” since poking the Spotify king - nothing a hug from B1 couldn’t fix… 

Batten down the hatches

Eastern Australia is in for some pretty wild weather over the next few days, with thunderstorms, hail and big winds forecast everywhere from the Top End to Tassie… Melbourne's already had a drenching, Sydney's expecting big falls for the next 2 days - and Canberra could get up to 50mm tomorrow. And while your mates might be complaining about what the humidity is doing to their hair - the rain's a big relief for authorities dealing with heatwave conditions and increased fire threats across big swathes of the country… On that front, Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister reckons it could still be a bad bushfire season - with areas from Western Oz’s southern coast to the Northern Territory under threat… 

Farewell to a legend

The Matildas paid tribute to longest-serving player Clare Polkinghorne last night as Australia lost 3-1 to Brazil in Brissy. The 35yo defender has played a record 168 games for her country since starting out in 2006 and got a ripper of a send-off from her home crowd… She's retiring in December after the next 2 games against Chinese Taipei. Switching codes for a sec - the AFLW GF will hopefully be a cracker, with favourites North Melbourne taking on Brisbane in front of a sell-out crowd in Melbourne. There's been some criticism aimed at the AFL that the game’s being played at a venue which only has 12,500 seats - when the record attendance for a women’s game is more than 53,000… And if you’re not footied-out by then, you can bookend your weekend with the 2nd Matildas friendly against Brazil on Sunday night… 

* If too much footy is barely enough, listen to our latest Shortcut on the AFLW

Big spending Fri-YAY

It’s been pretty impossible to ignore the zillions of shopping deals that have been piling up in our inboxes ahead of today’s Black Friday - aka the traditional US post-Thanksgiving sales. Heaps of retailers have been offering big discounts all week - which is now well and truly embedded in Oz as one of the biggest shopping events of the year. Research from the Retail Doctor Group suggests 3 out of 4 of us plan to buy something - and we’re on track to spend $6.7bn between now and Cyber Monday (aka an online shopping-focused day). And if you tend to get overwhelmed or go a bit cray cray in sale season - here are some handy tips from the experts about how to make the most out of the Friday frenzy - and not get scammed in the process…

Wanna be in the Saturday Squiz?

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s got us wondering…

What type of games do you like to play at Christmas?

Click to cast your vote and tell us what unique game you like to whip out at Chrissy. We'll share 3 responses in Saturday's newsletter.

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Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

December is Mariah Carey's time to shine, and this year marks a special milestone for the popstar - it’s 30 years since her Merry Christmas album, featuring, you guessed it, All I Want For Christmas Is You - was released. This article gives you the backstory to the iconic tune...

While we’re talking music, if you missed Aussie music legend Missy Higgins’s performance at the ARIA Awards last week, you might like to take a peek. She was joined by fellow performers Amy Sharp, G-Flip, Angie McMahon and Gretta Ray - we really enjoyed it.

To celebrate International Cake Day on Tuesday, we mentioned tres leches is a favourite. And thanks to baking extraordinaire Anneka Manning who's shared her Pastel de Tres Leches recipe with us, we’ll be cooking up a storm this weekend.

Squiz the Day

Friday
8.45am (AEDT) - A public hearing into antisemitism at Australian universities will be held as part of a parliamentary inquiry - Canberra

9.00am (AEST) - Directions hearing for Patrick Orren Stephenson, charged with the murder of Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy - Melbourne

9.00am (AEST) - Court appearance for Yingying Xu, the Gold Coast mother charged with murdering her 10yo daughter Sophie Wang in August - Brisbane 

6.15pm (AEST) - Women's Big Bash League challenger final, Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder - Brisbane and watch on Kayo

A review into Victoria's construction sector, ordered following the CMFEU scandal, is due to be handed to Premier Jacinta Allan

ABS data release - Labour Account Australia, June 2024 

🎉 We’re out to lunch for our Squizmas party 

Black Friday sales begin

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 

Birthdays for philanthropist Janet Holmes à Court (1946) and songwriter Don Walker (1951)

Anniversary of:

  • the birthdays of authors Louisa May Alcott (1832) and CS Lewis (1898)

  • physicist Erwin Schrödinger publishing his famous thought experiment 'Schrödinger's cat' (1935)

  • the release of the first commercially successful video game, Pong (1972)

  • the release of Michael Jackson's Thriller album (1982)

  • the deaths of actors Natalie Wood (1981) and Cary Grant (1986), and Beatle George Harrison (2001)

  • PM Anthony Albanese delivering a national apology to survivors of the drug thalidomide and their families (2023)

Saturday
10.00am (ACST) - Cyclone Tracy 50th anniversary commemorative event (although the actual anniversary is 21 December) - Darwin

11.00am (AEDT) - Freedom of Entry Parade in Canberra 

2.30pm (AEDT) - Cricket: Prime Minister's XI v India men's tour game (until 1 December) - Canberra, and watch on Kayo

7.00pm (AEST) - 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony - Gold Coast

7.45pm (AEDT) - AFLW Grand Final, North Melbourne Kangaroos v Brisbane Lions - Melbourne, and watch on Kayo

Independence Day in Yemen and Barbados

St Andrew’s Day

A birthday for Chrissy Teigen (1985)

Anniversary of:

  • the premiere of Schindler's List (1993)

  • the death of former US President George HW Bush (2018)

Sunday
2.10am (AEDT) - Rugby Union: Ireland v Wallabies - Ireland, and watch on Stan Sport

12.30pm (AEDT) - Women's Cricket Big Bash League Final, Renegades v the winner of Friday’s Challenger final - Melbourne, and watch on Kayo

5.35pm (AEST) - Women's Soccer friendly international - Australia v Brazil - Brisbane 

☀️ First day of Summer

First Sunday of Advent

Birthdays for Woody Allen (1935), Bette Midler (1945), and Zoe Kravitz (1988)

Anniversary of:

  • the invention of modern-day Bingo by American toymaker Edwin S Lowe (1929)

  • Hugh Hefner publishing the first edition of Playboy magazine featuring Marilyn Monroe as the centrefold (1953)

  • the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama (1955)

  • the signing of the Antarctic Treaty (1959)

  • the earliest traceable patient, a 55yo man, developing symptoms of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China (2019)

Monday
1.30am (AEDT) - Motorsport: F1, Qatar Grand Prix - Qatar, and watch on Kayo