Monday, 1 September - Be runnin' up that road

Good morning, it’s Monday, 1 September. In your Squiz Today…

• A plan to send immigration detainees to Nauru

• Victorian fugitive Dezi Freeman’s estranged wife calls for him to surrender

• And when AI goes wrong…

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Said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella of having 2 drivers - Aussie Oscar Piastri and Brit Lando Norris - competing for the same prize. Piastri clinched the Dutch Grand Prix overnight - his seventh win of the season and ninth overall, while his teammate’s race went up in smoke…

The Pacific Solution 2.0

The Squiz

Parliament is back for another week, and the Albanese Government’s push to deport a controversial group of immigrants to Nauru is shaping up as a big-ticket item on the agenda. We’re talking about the NZYQ cohort, as they’re known - that’s a group of about 280 people who broke Australian laws while here on a visa, but were released from immigration detention following a High Court ruling in late 2023. Yesterday, senior Labor minister Murray Watt said they want legislation passed ASAP to remove the group from Australia after a $400 million deal with Nauru was unveiled on Friday.

Hang on… What’s the agreement with Nauru? 

It’s very similar to former PM John Howard’s ‘Pacific Solution’ where hundreds of asylum seekers were sent to the tiny Pacific island nation for processing - but we haven’t sent anyone there for ages. The offshore processing facility that we paid for still stands, and that’s where this NZYQ cohort would be sent. To explain a bit more about who they are… This is a group found to have committed crimes, some very serious, before travelling to Oz and/or committed crimes here, meaning the government wants them gone. But after being put in immigration detention, they were unable to be deported to their home countries for various reasons - and then the High Court ruled it was not legal to detain them without any prospect of release. Those individuals were released, and some have since committed more crimes. 

Immigration is a touchy subject, right? 

This saga has been a huge headache for the Albanese Government, but TBH, immigration policy has been a sensitive topic over the last 20 years. On this approach, though, the major parties pretty much line up on being ‘tough on border security’, and the legislation to green-light this plan is expected to sail through the parliament. But while we’re speaking about immigration and vehement views, things got heated at one of the anti-immigration protests held in our capital cities yesterday, with attendees clashing with counter-protesters in Melbourne. There was also a bit said about neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell from the National Socialist Network addressing that crowd. All up, police said about 5 protesters were arrested around the country.

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Israel turns its sights on Yemen

The Israeli military says it has “eliminated” the PM of the Houthi rebels Ahmed al-Rahawi and several of his government ministers in an airstrike on the capital city of Sanaa last Thursday. The Houthis are an Iran-backed militant group that controls most of northern Yemen after ousting the government in 2014, which started a civil war that’s still raging. They’ve been attacking Israel and commercial ships in the Red Sea since the war in Gaza began in support of Palestinians. Reports say al-Rahawi was more of a figurehead rather than a decision-maker within the Houthis, but the group has vowed to “take revenge”. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have continued strikes in Gaza City, where they claim to have killed Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida overnight…

The search continues…

As the hunt for fugitive Dezi Freeman enters its seventh day, his estranged wife Amalia has called on him to surrender and says she's given her "full support" to police. She's also extended her sympathies to the families of the 2 police officers her husband allegedly gunned down in an ambush in the Victorian Alpine town of Porepunkah last Tuesday, saying: "My children and I grieve for the loss of your loved ones".  And while Freeman is a self-described sovereign citizen, she says neither she nor their kids “hold anti-authority views”. With the tiny ski town suddenly in the media’s spotlight, those views aren’t something the locals want it to be known for. One of those is cattle farmer Colin McCormack, who said locals “don’t want to be put on the map for this tragedy. We prefer to be [known] as a tourist town”.

More tariff turmoil

Just when we thought things were settled on the tariff front, the US Court of Appeals has thrown it back up in the air by ruling that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal and an overreach of his emergency powers. For now, tariffs will stay in place while the case heads to the Supreme Court, giving Trump a chance to fight the decision. If they're turfed, it could mean the US is up for billions of dollars in taxes collected, which could throw markets and trade relationships back into turmoil… The chaos is seeing alliances formed between America’s rivals, with China and India putting aside differences at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to talk trade and security, along with Russia and 20 other nations. Chinese President Xi Jinping said it's "the right choice for both sides to be friends … and to have the dragon and the elephant dance together". 

Marathon milestones

A record 35,000 people got their huffy puffy on yesterday to take part in the Sydney Marathon’s debut as an Abbott World Marathon Major. It’s a big jump from 3,500 runners in 2022, and it wasn’t the only record set… Ethiopian Hailemaryam Kiros became the fastest person to ever run the distance in Oz, crossing the line in 2:06:06. And for the women, Dutch Olympic champ Sifan Hassan broke the record for fastest female, finishing in 2:18:22. Holding major status means we're counted alongside the world's biggest races for the 6-star medal, which is awarded to athletes and talented/determined amateurs who complete 6 majors. Race director Wayne Larden said Sydney's inclusion was "a milestone in Australian marathon history".

A taco-tastrophe…

Artificial intelligence adoption might be fast-paced, but Taco Bell in the US is hitting the brakes after a couple of super-sized blunders. The tech was rolled out in 500 stores to speed up orders/reduce mistakes, but in some cases it did the opposite... In one instance, a customer was able to order 18,000 cups of water. In another, a customer was repeatedly asked for his drink order (which reminds us of this classic…). Videos of the mishaps went viral, causing a rethink. And while the glitches get straightened out, experts say it’s a matter of time before AI helpers replace many fast-food workers - including here in Oz where Hungry Jacks is already on it. But at least there’s one group of workers proving irreplaceable - demand for working dogs is increasing, with their work worth $3 billion. Who’s a good boy/girl?

Apropos of Nothing

A ban on the little plastic fish-shaped soy sauce containers accompanying sushi comes into place in a world-first move by South Oz today. Environmentalists say it’s a win for local sealife that the little fish won’t be floating into waterways anymore…

Move aside, Aussie beaches in the summertime - Tassie in the wintertime is coming in hot cold. The Apple Isle’s tourist numbers have exploded, with June seeing the highest on record as thrillseekers/foodies/fun-time-lovers head south to embrace our cold weather capital. Nothing like a fireplace and a puffer jacket…

And speaking of those who tend to thrive out of the sunshine… Thousands attended the annual Redhead Days festival in the Dutch city of Tilburg over the weekend. One attendee says she went “just to see what it would be like not to stand out in the crowd”. There’s strength in numbers…

Squiz the Day

🌸 It’s the first day of Spring

Federal Parliament sits, both Houses (until 4 September) 

8.45am (AEST) - Tropfest 2026 Launch - Sydney

9.00am (AEST) - Farms for Climate Action will hold the Farming Forever Summit - Canberra

9.30am (AEST) - A woman will face the ACT Magistrates Court on foreign interference charges - Canberra

11.30am (AEST) - Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and CEO of Rappler, will address the National Press Club of Australia - Canberra

Guyana will hold general elections 

ABS data release: Business Indicators, Australia, June 2025; Mineral and Petroleum Exploration, Australia, June 2025; Building Approvals, Australia, July 2025

Committee on the Rights of the Child, 100th session 

Start of Sydney Fringe Festival (on until 30 September)

Property Summit, hosted by the AFR (until 2 September)

Start of Women’s Health Week

Start of Asthma Week (on until 7 September) 

Start of Social Sciences Week 

Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Birthdays for Dr Phil (1950) and Zendaya (1996)

Anniversary of:

• the opening of the Sydney General Post Office (1874)

• the start of WWII after Germany invaded Poland (1939)

• the US, Australia and New Zealand signing the ANZUS defence treaty (1951)

• the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic (1985)