Monday, 21 October - Kiss me quick

October 21, 2024

Good morning. It’s Monday, 21 October. In your Squiz Today…

  • The Royal tour gets underway

  • Labor returns to power in the ACT

  • And AI hits the catwalk…👗

🎧 Listen to the podcast

🤓 This email will take you 5 minutes to read

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“I’m so grateful to receive this recognition for doing what I love.”

Said Sydney’s Laura Enever, the newly-crowned women's Surfer of the Year at the 2024 SURFER Big Wave Challenge Awards in Portugal. After years of chasing big waves (and setting a Guinness World Record), she won after surfing a 13.3m behemoth in Hawaii. That’s swell…

A Royal g’day

The Squiz

After taking a day to chillax, King Charles and Queen Camilla kicked off their public Royal tour engagements in Sydney yesterday - much to the delight of hundreds of fans who turned out hoping to catch a glimpse. Some protesters turned up too, but most were there to greet the monarch - with one young Royalist practising her curtsy for days beforehand. The Royals have a packed schedule during their 5 days here, and yesterday, King Charles thanked Aussies for making him feel so welcome. “What a great joy it is to come to Australia for the first time as sovereign and to renew a love of this country and its people, which I have cherished for so long,” he said.

What’s been ticked off the list so far?

First up was a church service at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney. Fun fact: King Charles’ great-grandfather King George V unveiled the cornerstone of the church back in 1881… After the service, the Royals had a meet and greet with those lining the street before Charles was whisked to his next event - giving a speech at the bicentenary celebration of Australia’s oldest legislative council at NSW Parliament House. And despite perhaps being more accustomed to being on the receiving end of gifts, he presented one of his own - an hourglass that will “sit in the chamber and bear witness” to the hurly burley of the state’s upper house. He didn’t stay for the lunch reception as he paces himself through a pause in his cancer treatment during the visit, but Royalists were glad to share their well wishes.

And what are they up to today?

The dynamic duo will be on their way to Canberra and the Australian War Memorial this afternoon, where they’ll visit the ‘For Our Country’ memorial to recognise Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples' military service. It's timely, with the King also bestowed with a few honorary Aussie military ranks of his own over the weekend… They will then head to Parliament House for more pomp and ceremony, and then there’s a tour of the National Botanic Garden in line with Charles's green thumb tendencies. If you’re in town and hoping to squiz them, this guide has some good information. And for those in Sydney looking for another chance, they’ll be at the Opera House and Man O'War Steps for a navy fleet review and Defence Force fly-over tomorrow arvo.

Squiz the Rest

Hopes for peace after Sinwar’s death fade

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar briefly raised hopes that a ceasefire and hostage deal could be back on the table to fast-track an end to the war in Gaza, but neither Israel nor the terror group is backing down. Sinwar, known as the military leader who oversaw the 7 October Hamas terror attack on Israel, was killed late last week in Rafah in southern Gaza. And as fighting continued over the weekend in northern Gaza and Lebanon, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s house was targeted by a Hezbollah drone on Saturday. Netanyahu wasn’t home and no one was injured, but he says those who “tried to assassinate me and my wife made a bitter mistake.” And for your news awareness this week: leaked US intelligence suggests Israel is preparing for an imminent strike on Iran...

Labor’s ACT gets another extension…

The party won the ACT election on Saturday night, returning for a record seventh consecutive term after 23 years in power. Chief Minister Andrew Barr - now the longest-serving political leader in the country - claimed victory, calling it an "extraordinary achievement" despite a 3.3% swing to independents. There's still more counting to do, but his party has won 10 seats out of 25 and will govern with the support of the Greens (who will probably end up with 3 seats), taking them to the magic 13-seat majority. And 2 seats have gone to independents for the first time in over 2 decades… Meanwhile, NSW has its first teal state MP after Jacqui Scruby won the long-time Liberal-held seat of Pittwater in Saturday’s by-election. And get ready, Queensland… Labor and the LNP’s campaigns are ramping up ahead of this weekend’s vote…

Indonesia gets a new President

After his landslide election win earlier this year, Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto has been sworn in as leader of the world’s third-largest democracy. The 73yo former special forces general won 60% of the vote in his third run at power, and he’s spent the past 8 months forming a coalition to become the country’s eighth president. Critics don’t like Subianto’s role in the Suharto regime that ruled the roost from the late 1960s to the late 90s - there were claims (which he denies) of human rights abuses which saw him barred from the US for 2 decades. As for his goals now, he wants economic growth of 8% and for Indonesia to take a more active role on the world stage. He was joined at his swearing-in ceremony by world leaders, but PM Anthony Albanese sent his apologies - he was busy entertaining royalty, as we’ve discussed… 

It’s been a big weekend for the Kiwis…

Our cuzzie bros across the ditch have a bit to celebrate after the Emirates Team New Zealand won the 37th America’s Cup this weekend… It cements the team’s spot in the sailing history books, becoming the first in modern times to win 3 consecutive cups. Even rival skipper Ben Ainslie from Great Britain’s Ineos Britannia had to admit the Kiwis are “the best team in the history of the cup”. It wasn’t the only win by New Zealanders… The Silver Ferns came out on top against our netballing Diamonds in the first Constellation Cup game in Wellington last night, winning 64-50 (but kudos to the Aussie men who downed the Kiwis 84-34…). And in cricket, the New Zealand White Ferns will be on a high after beating the South African Proteas in the Women’s T20 World Cup early this morning. Sweet as…

Fashion’s tech revolution

There aren’t many areas of our lives that artificial intelligence (AI) hasn’t touched, and now it’s reached the catwalk… As Melbourne Fashion Week kicks off today, designers are at a crossroads between traditional art forms of pattern making, drafting and draping and the ease and precision of AI-generated designs. Aussie designer Gwendolynne Burkin is one who’s finding AI helpful (paywall) with things like resizing her intricate bridal and couture patterns to fit more body types. She says without it, they “would simply not be feasible to be hand drawn every time”. Others are less certain, saying AI can contribute to dodgy design and manufacturing practices. Katie Somerville, the National Gallery of Victoria’s fashion and textile curator, reckons people “are still compelled to know about things from their handmade quality” - so as with many things in fashion, it’s layered…

Apropos of Nothing

Pigeons might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but breeder Kimberley Darling wants to give them a PR boost… She’s a regular on the country show circuit, where she shares “knowledge and interesting facts” about the birds and their hidden talents - such as “dancing”…

With the cost of housing a hot topic here in Oz - as well as places like the UK and US - some TikTok influencers are turning to abandoned houses in Japan for cheaper homes. The catch? They need a bit of a spit and polish before they’re move-in ready…

And New Zealand’s Dunedin Airport is cracking down on drawn-out goodbyes between travellers and their loved ones at the drop-off zone, imposing a 3-minute limit… The airport says, “for fonder farewells, please use the car park”.

Squiz the Day

6.00am (AEDT) - Motorsport: F1, American Grand Prix - Austin, and watch on Kayo

9.00am (AEDT) - AI leadership summit organised by CEDA and CSIRO (on until 22 October) - Melbourne

9.30am (AEST) - Queensland High School Year 12 exams start (until 12 November)

10.15am (AEST) - A Federal Court hearing for Hosni Imad, the first person from Gaza to challenge a cancelled visa on security grounds - Melbourne

12.00pm (AEST) - RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser to deliver remarks and take part in a Q&A at the CBA 2024 Global Markets Conference - Sydney

12.00pm (AWST) - The Critical Minerals and Energy Investment Conference and Exhibition is on in Perth

12.35pm (AEDT) - King Charles and Queen Camilla will tour the Australian War Memorial where they’ll greet crowds and visit the For Our Country Memorial before they head to Parliament House at 1.00pm - Canberra 

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) begins (on until 26 October) - Samoa

World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings (on until 26 October)

Energy & Climate Summit 2024 (on until 22 October) - Sydney 

Melbourne Fashion Week kicks off (until 27 October)

Start of Children’s Week (on until 27 October) 

It’s Back to the Future Day celebrating the day Doc Brown and Marty McFly first go back in time 

Birthdays for Judge Judy (1942), Benjamin Netanyahu (1949) and Kim Kardashian (1980)

Anniversary of:

  • English scientist John Dalton unveiling his atomic theory (1803)

  • China’s occupation of Tibet (1950)

  • the death of former PM Gough Whitlam (2014)

  • Australian newspapers blanking out their front pages in protest against press restrictions on the reporting of legal proceedings against Cardinal George Pell (2019)