Monday, 20 October - I want you to stay

Good morning, it’s Monday, 20 October. In your Squiz Today…

• Barnaby Joyce deals another blow to the Coalition…

• A jewellery heist at the Louvre

• And rowing into the record books… 🚣‍♀️

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said science teacher Gabe Dannenbring about the 6-7 trend (where ‘six-seveeen’ is uttered at every given opportunity by teens/tweens), making teaching anything numbers-related (and dance classes…) tricky. And then there’s working out what it means…

Nobody puts Barnaby in the corner…

The Squiz

Another chink in the Coalition’s thin armour appeared on the weekend with former deputy PM/Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce confirming that his relationship with current leader David Littleproud is bust. In light of the "irreparably broken down" nature of the situation (and that he’s been pushed aside in the House of Reps - literally…), he said he will not contest the next election in his seat of New England in northern NSW - and he might leave the party to sit on the crossbench for the rest of his term, saying he is “free to now consider all options”. Cue speculation that he could join Senator Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party - she says when it comes to their policy priorities, “we're on the same page”.

What’s led to this?

A former country accountant, he was elected as a Queensland senator in 2004 before moving to a different state and chamber in 2013 - but he's always been a political maverick with a tricky personal life. On his website, he celebrates that he’s “crossed the floor 28 times” (aka, voted against his own side) on issues he felt strongly about - he says that “made him both hero and villain but overwhelmingly respected by his constituency as a conviction politician”. Over the years, he took and fell out of the Nats’ leadership role 3 times - and last election, he was removed from the senior team altogether. The bee in his bonnet/Akubra is Coalition support for a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050. The policy is currently under review, but he says that while it’s on the table, staying in the tent is “untenable”.

What does that mean?

Well, hold your horses because Joyce is still a Nat… Littleproud has urged Joyce to stay put because he still has a contribution to make, and he underlined Coalition unity, saying that voices like Joyce's are "important to be in the collective". Just on the numbers, if Joyce were to split, it would lower the Coalition's representation to 42 in the 150-seat House of Reps - although you'd have to think it's unlikely he would start voting with Labor… As for a hook-up with Hanson, the Financial Review’s political editor Phil Coorey (paywall) reckons he’s heading back to the Senate and would become One Nation’s leader next term. All in all, it’s a soft ball for the Albanese Government - Treasurer Jim Chalmers said "you know the Coalition is bad if not even Barnaby Joyce wants to be part of it". Ouch…

Your holiday shop just got 10 times better

Skincare, perfume, gifts, whatever - Lotte Duty Free has 10x Qantas Points on online orders right now. Which means that the holiday shopping you were lining up is now working a lot harder for your next getaway. You can order from home or swing by any Lotte Duty Free location for the same duty-free prices - either way, the points stack up fast. Find out more here.

Squiz the Rest

Israel has resumed airstrikes on Gaza… 

…after it accused Hamas of breaching the terms of the ceasefire that’s been in place for just over a week. The Israeli military began striking the Rafah area in southern Gaza following alleged Hamas attacks on Israeli soldiers that it called "a bold violation" of the deal. Israeli officials said Hamas "fired anti-tank missiles and shooting attacks toward IDF forces", which were "operating to destroy terror infrastructure" in line with the agreement. They then retaliated with airstrikes to "neutralise the threat". Hamas denies that - it says it's unaware of any clashes in the area and is committed to the ceasefire. The new round of fighting raises questions about the future of the deal, with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the IDF to “take strong action against terrorist targets” in Gaza.

Prince Andrew has been moved on…

The Duke of York relinquished his royal titles this weekend after years of embarrassing scandals for the British Royal family. There was his friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and the allegations from the late Virginia Giuffre that he assaulted her when she was a teen - leading to that infamous BBC interview in 2019… There have been other scandals, too, but last week, excerpts from Giuffre's posthumous memoir picked at that poorly healing scab. Reports say it's become all too much, with William (who's all too familiar with brotherly disharmony…) pushing his dad to act. Andrew says the decision to give up his titles was made “in discussion with the King”. Just in time for Giuffre’s memoir release - it’s out tomorrow.

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All eyes on the White House 

PM Anthony Albanese will be the first Aussie leader to meet with US President Donald Trump since former PM Scott Morrison in 2019, who came with gifts. No word yet on what Albanese might take, but given Trump’s history of “entirely unpredictable” meetings with world leaders, here's hoping it's good... Albanese will be looking for assurances that the US is still on board with the AUKUS security pact, while also smoothing over some dings in our relationship after we recognised Palestinian statehood at the UN and were hit with Trump’s trade tariffs. It’s a tense time in the US for other reasons - millions of people turned out at the ‘No Kings’ rallies in major capital cities yesterday, protesting Trump’s policies. The US government is also still shut down. Fingers crossed for a smooth run, then…

Ooh la la… A robbery at the Louvre

It’s the kind of thing you see in movies, but the world’s most famous art museum in Paris was closed to the public yesterday after a daylight jewellery heist. French police are investigating the theft of “priceless jewellery” with “inestimable heritage and historical value” from the museum, which is home to around 35,000 art treasures, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Reports say 3 masked men carrying small chainsaws used a basket lift to reach a window, broke in with a disc cutter, and made their way to the Apollo Gallery. It’s the one with zodiac signs painted on the roof, where the remaining French Crown Jewels are kept. The thieves reportedly took 7 minutes to steal 9 items of jewellery before escaping on scooters. No injuries were reported, and Parisian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the “organised theft”.

Row, row (row, row, row, row, row) your boat…

It’s taken them 6 months, but Brits Jess Rowe (no, not that one…) and Miriam Payne have become the first female crew to row across the Pacific nonstop and unsupported. The pair finished their 15,000km odyssey in Cairns on Saturday, having set out from Peru on 5 May. Along the way, they crewed their boat Velocity in 2-hour shifts, caught fish, purified water in a desalination unit they named 'Salty', used a loo bucket called 'Dumpy', and even grew their own veggies. In the end, Team Seas the Day raised nearly $166,000 for charity during their 165 days at sea. Rowe reckons the blisters and salt sores were all worth it, saying "Mother Nature has been utterly brutal at times, but ultimately, she let us pass and we have loved our time living at sea". P.S. How amazing is it that one of 'em has the surname 'Rowe'...

Apropos of Nothing - Sporting ins and outs edition

LA Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani has left the baseball world in awe after Friday night’s World Series qualifier, hitting 3 home runs, pitching 6 scoreless innings and striking out 10 batters… He’s the second most expensive player ever, so you’d want him to put in what the experts say is the greatest single-game effort in major league history.

Aussie soccer coach Ange Postecoglou barely had time to tie his boot laces after he himself was booted as coach of Nottingham Forest after only 39 days in the job. The club called time after a streak of 8 losses on his watch, leaving no chance for his trademark second-season bounce back…

Speaking of timely bounces… this surprise pass by the Diamonds helped them on their way to a 69-52 win over New Zealand’s Silver Ferns in the opening Test of the Constellation Cup on Friday. The play even scored some laughs from the bench…

Squiz the Day

6.00am (AEDT) - Motorsport: F1 - US Grand Prix - Texas, US, watch on Kayo

9.30am (ACST) - The Northern Territory Coroner will conduct an inquest into the domestic violence related death of Kumarn Rubuntja - Alice Springs

10.15am (ACST) - A 7-day hearing begins with former Central Land Council CEO Lesley Turner suing Jacinta Nampijinpa Price for defamation - Darwin

10.30am (AEDT) - An appeal hearing begins for Jacob Hersant who was found guilty of performing a Nazi salute outside the Victorian County Court in October 27, 2023 - Melbourne

12.50am (AEDT) - Peru's Trade and Tourism Commission will host the PERUMIN 37 Mining Convention, with leaders in Australian and Peruvian mining, trade and investment sectors meeting to unpack opportunities for foreign investment - Sydney

6.00pm (AEDT) - It’s the opening night of Melbourne Fashion Week, which will feature more than 100 events including a Wicked costume exhibition - Melbourne

Financial disclosure return information from candidates, senate groups and election donors for the 2025 federal election will be released on the AEC’s Transparency Register 

World Osteoporosis Day 

👩‍🍳 International Chefs Day 

Birthdays for composer Thomas Newman (1955), former US VP Kamala Harris (1964), and muso Snoop Dogg (1971) 

Anniversary of:

• US President Abraham Lincoln formally establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday (1864)

• the publication of the third and final volume of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King (1955)

• the opening of the Sydney Opera House by Queen Elizabeth II (1973)

• Joko Widodo becoming President of Indonesia (2014)

• Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto being sworn in as President (2024)