Monday, 10 November - I'm learning to fly

Good morning, it’s Monday, 10 November. In your Squiz Today…

• It’s climate crunch time for the Liberals

• Vale ‘Golden Tonsils’ John Laws

• And our newest reality stars to take off (nearly)…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said UK Celebrity Traitors’ participant/talk show host Alan Carr as the cult series wrapped, delivering the nation’s biggest TV audience of the year of 11.1 million viewers. All it took to get people to watch some free-to-air TV was some dastardly deeds and a superstar’s fart…

A change in the climate

The Squiz

The Coalition’s internal battle over net zero is heating up with members preparing to settle their climate policy position this week. And while we’ve heard a lot from conservatives in recent weeks, key moderate/NSW Senator Andrew Bragg has also spoken up… Yesterday he said the push from some of his colleagues to ditch the target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 - originally laid out by the Morrison Government in 2021 - is “absolutely ridiculous” and they should be setting targets that are “better than Labor”. He also said he’ll quit the Coalition’s frontbench if they do abandon it.

Yikes... How’s that going to be handled this week?

Liberal MPs will meet on Wednesday for talks, with Liberal leader Sussan Ley under pressure to get it sorted. This time last week, we were talking about the Nationals’ vote to dump their support for net zero… Leader David Littleproud said they’re “not walking away from reducing emissions” but think we should peg it to how the developed world is actually tracking. That upped the pressure on the Liberals to clarify their position before a joint party room meeting next Sunday - and the hot money is on the Libs following the Nats. Bragg is one who says that won’t fly with voters, particularly after the Coalition’s May election thumping. He reckons “the Australian people are worried about climate change and so are we”.

Once they get past this, is Sussan sweet? 

Well… This climate crisis is one of several headaches for Ley, who clicks past 6 months as Coalition leader this week - and who’s spent a lot of that time defending her leadership. Climate policy has been the thing that’s focused attention on her colleague management style and policy/political smarts - Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson highlighted that when she said Ley was “losing support” on Friday. Senior Liberal MPs pushed back, and Ley hosed it down, saying the party was “absolutely united behind the focus that we have right now” - but other recent gaffes have raised eyebrows, too. All that’s to say a bit is riding on how the Coalition’s climate conversations go this week…

For the person who's done with doom-scrolling

Some of the best gifts teach you something new and get you off your phone. Cardigang's DIY kits have everything you need to make jumpers and scarves (yes, even if you've never touched yarn before). Forget panic-buying another candle and consider the gift of a new hobby. It’s the ultimate anti-doom-scrolling device that comes with bragging rights. Take a peek at Cardigang's feel-good kits.

Squiz the Rest

NSW Police have some explaining to do

That’s because a neo-Nazi rally outside the NSW Parliament happened on Saturday - and it happened without the Police Commissioner or Premier being briefed... Around 60 protestors with anti-Jewish banners have set an early test for newly minted Commissioner Mal Lanyon, who blames a “communication error”. Jewish lobby boss Alex Ryvchin said it’s not just Jews who suffer - neo-Nazis identify “grievances and prejudices” and manipulate them for “evil purposes”. That’s a point that the new McKinnon Index - an annual look at our democratic health - has highlighted, with 9% of respondents thinking the use of violence to achieve political ends is appropriate. Former NSW Premier/McKinnon boss Mike Baird says it shows “Australia’s democracy is strong, but not unshakeable.” 

Two-times unlucky

Super typhoon Fung-wong has hit The Philippines overnight - the second typhoon in less than a week. At least 2 people have died and nearly 1 million people have been evacuated from the Aurora province in the country’s northern island of Luzon, as strong winds knocked down trees and power lines, and houses were flooded from storm surges. Winds of 185km/hr saw the storm upgraded to a super typhoon, and it comes just days after typhoon Kalmaegi left 224 people dead in the country’s central province of Cebu, before moving onto Vietnam, where another 5 people died. Experts tracking Fung-wong say the danger is its size - its 1,800km-wide band could cover two-thirds of the archipelago, meaning it could wreak more devastation on Cebu, or reach the densely populated capital city of Manila. Not surprisingly, after dealing with the typhoons on top of 2 earthquakes in the past 7 weeks, Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation President Butch Meily said that people are "a little shellshocked".

The trillion-dollar man

The world’s richest man could be about to get a lot richer… He’s got some big KPIs, but if Elon Musk hits his targets at Tesla, he’ll take home US$1 trillion ($1.54 trillion). That’s a thousand billion dollar bucks/equivalent to more than half of Australia’s GDP last year. The deal was approved on Friday by 75% of Tesla’s shareholders, making it the world’s largest-ever CEO remuneration package. But there are some strings attached... You can read the conditions here, but they include staying with the company for 10 years and increasing its market capitalisation from US$1 trillion to US$7.5 trillion by 2035. Given his recent far-right political leanings, some are already wondering where all that extra coin might end up…

Vale Richo and Lawsy

It’s been a notable weekend for lost legends - Labor operative Graham ‘Richo’ Richardson died aged 76yo, and radio host John ‘Golden Tonsils’ Laws died at 90yo. To start with the politician, PM Anthony Albanese led the tributes for the powerbroker, describing his life as “often colourful, and sometimes controversial, but what lay at the heart of it was his sense of service”. Very long story short, he was Bob Hawke’s numbers man - until he transferred his allegiance, and the prime ministership, to Paul Keating… As for Lawsy, he was a giant of Sydney’s talkback scene who had a famous rivalry with Alan Jones. As audiences' preferences changed, he was dropped from the mainstream, but he only hung up the headphones last year after 71 years. Radio station 2GB is running a special coverage of his years on air today - signing off no doubt as he used to with “you be kind to each other”... 

So embarrassing… 

…is the sentiment behind a viral UK Vogue article posing the question: ‘Is having a boyfriend embarrassing now?’. Author Chante Joseph writes that women posting regularly about their boyfriends is “cringe” and “culturally loser-ish” in modern times - for several reasons. It’s struck a nerve, with some calling the article “sillier than the title” and others backing her up... Tawana Musvaburi is one of the content creators interviewed, and says her 33,000 Instagram followers don’t see her boyfriend much because her brand doesn’t include him - and “it brings me more pleasure to say, ‘I did this myself’”. Social psychologist Dr Gwendolyn Seidman reckons it’s not just influencers: people in general “are not posting as much stuff online [now]” because they’re realising the internet is forever. Words to live by…

Apropos of Nothing

Qantas has released a sneak peek of the new plane it’s building to fly non-stop from Sydney/Melbourne to London or New York. The Airbus 350 will shave 4 hours off the trip, which is set to take 22 hours, so pack a good book (or 2)...

Move over Labubus, there’s a new merch craze in town… The collectable ‘Bearista’ cup by Starbucks has sparked huge queues, with people waiting hours to get their paws on one. The chain has said sorry - they can bearly believe the level of demand…

And they’re not your average Aussie reality TV stars, but the fluffy peregrine falcon chicks practising to fly on the top of a Melbourne skyscraper have tens of thousands of fans tuning into ‘Nestflix’ every day. Tune in to see them take off here…

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEST) - Start of the retrial of Rajwinder Singh, charged with the murder of Toyah Cordingley in 2018 (his trial in March ended in a hung jury) - Cairns, Queensland

10.00am (AEDT) - ANZ full year results announced 

10.30am (AEDT) -  Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser will give a speech to the UBS Australasia Conference titled ‘On the Rails or Off to the Races? The Outlook for the Australian Economy’ - Sydney

6.00pm (AEDT) - Labor will host an online event to mark 50 years since the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975 - request to join here…

6.00pm (AEDT) - 2026 Australian of the Year Awards for NSW will be announced - Sydney

TASC written exams begin

Princess Anne will continue her tour of Oz. As Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, she’s here to mark its centenary and attend Remembrance Day services. Today, she’ll be at a commemorative parade and other events related to the centenary - Canberra

The UN’s climate summit COP30 begins (until 20 November). This year marks 10 years of the Paris Agreement and the first time a COP has been held in a rainforest. Here’s the schedule… - Belem, Brazil

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House - Washington DC

ABS data releases: Monthly Business Turnover Indicator, September 2025; Building Approvals, Australia, September 2025

Happy birthday to our founder Claire’s pooch and farter-in-chief, Tucker

Anniversary of:

• the birthdays of theologian Martin Luther (1483) and actor Brittany Murphy (1977)

• the Dutch formally ceding New Netherlands (New York) to the English (1674)

• German engineer Gottlieb Daimler unveiling the world's first motorcycle (1885)