Monday, 22 June - I do it for you

June 22, 2026

Good morning, it’s Monday, 22 June. In your Squiz Today…

  • Fuel relief is extended for a month at a reduced rate

  • British PM Keir Starmer is under pressure to resign

  • And an ancient tree linked to Robin Hood has died… 🌳

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Anna Pykett, Claire Kimball, Alice Dempster and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Don’t make me say it again. I’m not a doctor, mate.”

Said Socceroo Jackson Irvine when asked about teammate Mat Leckie’s fitness at a World Cup press conference, which had Oz journos in stitches. The lads need to be at full strength to win or draw their next game against Paraguay on Friday to progress to the next round…

Fuel excise extension half as nice

The Squiz

Since the start of last week, PM Anthony Albanese has been under pressure to reveal what would happen after 30 June, when the government’s fuel-relief measures were set to expire. Yesterday, he confirmed it will continue another month - but at a tapered-down rate. This means the fuel excise rebate will be halved to 16c from 1 July to 2 August. Despite the reduced rate, it will save drivers about $11 on an average tank refill. This will be discussed at a National Cabinet meeting today, because the Feds want the state and territory leaders to continue their support to help pay for it.

What’s that about?

So, how this works is the Commonwealth collects GST and then passes it on to the states and territories. Over the last 3 months, some of that GST revenue has funded a 5.7% portion of the fuel excise cut following fuel price hikes linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Yesterday, Albanese said he’s “confident” the states and territories will continue to “do the right thing” at today’s meeting with leaders from Victoria and NSW already saying they’re on board. The Coalition also supports the plan, and Albanese says he hasn’t ruled out extending the discount again while things remain all over the shop in the Middle East.

But the Strait of Hormuz is open, right?

Hard to say. Last week, the US and Iran signed an agreement to extend the ceasefire, kicking off 60 days of negotiations aimed at bringing the war to a permanent end, but one of the key parts of this was the reopening of the Strait. Yesterday, the Iranian military said it had shut the crucial waterway (again…) in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, but the US has disputed Iran’s claims, with President Trump threatening to “take over” the shipping lane if a deal with Tehran isn’t reached. If you want to see it for yourself, this tracker is handy/strangely addictive… Once things get going again, experts say global supply chains could take up to a year to recover fully, with petrol prices unlikely to stabilise for months to come. Note: US Vice President JD Vance is in Switzerland for talks with Iran to try and nut all of this out… 

Squiz the Rest

Leadership rumblings in the UK

Reports say the British PM Keir Starmer could be preparing to resign, after his Labour rival Andy Burnham won a crucial byelection in England’s north on Friday (also beating a man with a bin on his head - you’re welcome). US President Trump has posted online saying Starmer’s set to step down, and he “wishes him well”. Starmer’s had a shocker of late - his party recently suffered big local election losses, and his appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US went down badly... Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor/popular Labour figure, is heading to London today to take his seat as an MP. Speculation is that he could mount a challenge quickly if he reckons he has the numbers to topple Starmer. Popcorn’s at the ready…

Bird flu arrives in Oz

A deadly variant of avian influenza has been detected in 2 birds on the Western Oz coast - the first time the H5N1 strain has been recorded on the mainland. Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says “H5 bird flu is a low health risk to the public, as it rarely affects humans unless there is direct and close contact with sick birds.” These infections have Aussie biosecurity experts concerned about what an outbreak could do to our endangered species, with fears it could cause possible extinctions, as well as drive up domestic poultry prices if farms have to cull their birds. But to be glass-half-full for a sec - UNSW’s Professor Raina MacIntyre says we’re “very well” prepared to deal with these cases. H5N1 has infected millions of birds worldwide and has now spread to every continent on the planet.

Listen like thieves

A new database shows thousands of songs by INXS, Kylie Minogue, Midnight Oil and AC/DC (to name just a few) have been used without permission to train AI models - meaning artists could be missing out on millions in royalties. It also includes scripts by the Oz film director behind the Mad Max franchise, George Miller, and novels by award-winning Aussie author Peter Carey - and has been put together by US publication The Atlantic (paywall). Last year, the Federal Government announced it wouldn’t allow AI companies to use Oz music, writing, film and art to train their tech, and APRA AMCOS - the music watchdog - is not happy. CEO Dean Ormston says “We are ready to license. But it has to be a real licensing framework, not a carve-out dressed up as a compromise”.

Europe sweats through another heatwave

Get set to sweat if you’re reading this from your Euro Summer vacay (jealous? us?) with temperatures expected to reach 45C in some countries this week. It’s so hot, alcohol was banned at music festivals in France yesterday to keep people safe... The heatwave has been going on for days and has impacted several countries, including the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland. This latest weather comes after the World Meteorological Organisation says we could start seeing El Nino conditions soon, including here in Oz. Scientists say if waters off Australia’s northwest cool over winter, the rest of the year may be quite dry. But if the waters off northwest Australia get warmer, it’s less likely a drought will develop. What a cliffhanger…

Where’s Kevin Costner when you need him?

It's been a tough period for dendrophiles (which is a fancy word for tree-lover, don’t you know…). First, the Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall in northeast England was felled in 2023 by two blokes on a "moronic mission" during a storm. The pair were sentenced last year, though the question of "why" they did it remains a mystery. And now, Sherwood Forest's Major Oak - the 1,200-year-old giant said to have sheltered Robin Hood - has carked it. That’s down to two centuries of admiring visitors loving it sick by compacting the soil so much that rain couldn't reach its roots. Unlike the Sycamore Gap tree, which is showing some signs of a second life, there is no such hope for the Oak… It will continue to stand up dead for years to come, but we’ll have to make do with its genetic offshoots, grown from acorns distributed around the world. Bloody treehuggers…

Apropos of Nothing - World Cup oddities

Co-host nation Mexico continues to deliver the goods for World Cup-aligned animal mascots… Move over, Merlin the duck, Osito the poodle-mix is going viral thanks to his cool bike-riding dude vibe, all dressed up in his national colours… 

The US - another co-host of the tournament - is the fast-food OG, and it can also lay claim to being a condiment haven. But World Cup tourists’ discovery of ranch dressing has travel officials confused - the TSA has issued an advisory about how to pack it appropriately… 

And putting the Socceroos’ Saturday blip aside, the team’s officials know that certain comforts are essential to getting the best out of them. That’s why they’re travelling with their own barista… If we could, we would.

Squiz the Day

Federal Parliament returns for 2 weeks of sittings - Canberra

🐫 World Camel Day

Birthdays for actor Meryl Streep (1949), US Senator Elizabeth Warren (1949), singer Cyndi Lauper (1953), and author Dan Brown (1964)

Anniversary of:

  • Galileo Galilei being forced to recant his view that the Earth orbits the Sun by the Pope (1633)

  • Nazi Germany invading the Soviet Union during WWII (1941)

  • the deaths of performers Judy Garland (1969) and Fred Astaire (1987)

  • Adam Sandler joining the cast of Saturday Night Live (1990) 📺