Monday, 25 November - Hey now, you’re an all-star

November 25, 2024

Fuel your future with Sydney Business School, UOW

Good morning, it’s Monday, 25 November. In your Squiz Today…

  • A Bali Nine deal is on the cards

  • Labor’s misinformation bill is dumped

  • And a Wicked box office boost… 🧙‍♀️

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“I said: 'Do not stop until you kill them', and then he said: 'Yes'.”

Said Philippines VP Sara Duterte, announcing that she’s told an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos if she is ever assassinated herself, amidst a growing rift between the pair. Security’s been heightened on both of them as a result. With friends like these…

A breakthrough for the Bali Nine

The Squiz

With Indonesian authorities confirming a deal’s been struck to return the 5 remaining Bali Nine members to Australia, their supporters down under are waiting for official word from Australian authorities… On Saturday, Indonesia’s Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas said President Prabowo Subianto had negotiated a prisoner swap with PM Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Peru earlier this month. Albanese and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have been tight-lipped, but Trade Minister Don Farrell has confirmed transfer talks are underway… 

Remind me who the Bali Nine are…

They’re the 9 Australians convicted of drug trafficking after being caught trying to get $4 million of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. It was a huge story at the time that saw the Federal Police’s role in tipping off Indonesian authorities questioned… The group’s ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed in 2015 despite Australia’s protests. As for the other members, Tan Duc Than Nguyen died from cancer in jail in 2018, and Renae Lawrence was released and sent home to Australia the same year. That leaves the 5 serving life sentences in Indonesian jails - they’re Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj. 

So what now?

Reports say the 5 men could be back on home soil before Christmas - but these negotiations are delicate... The question is whether they would be freed or transferred to Australian jails. Farrell spoke on that yesterday - he said the proposal isn’t “to release” the men. “They would continue to serve their sentence, except they’re serving them in Australia,” he said. In return, Indonesian citizens serving time in Australian jails will be sent to Indonesian prisons - they haven’t been named. We’ve also heard from a doctor at Kerobokan Prison who said when he spoke to Norman about the transfer negotiations, the Australian had cried “tears of joy”. The Coalition's spokesperson Michaelia Cash says they’re waiting for Albanese to “stand up and explain” the details.

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Squiz the Rest

Misinfo no mo

As the final sitting week of parliament for 2024 kicks off, the Albanese Government has wiped one item off its agenda - its controversial mis- and disinformation bill. Yesterday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said that the government was dropping it after failing to secure support in the Senate. The legislation would have allowed the Australian Communications and Media Authority to monitor mis- and disinformation on social media platforms, enforce a code of conduct and apply penalties if companies didn't do a good job of keeping harmful content off the internet. But with widespread concerns it could threaten free speech, it's over. With that off the table, there’s plenty of other legislation they’re rushing to get sorted this week - you can read up on that here.

COP until you drop

It took 2 days of overtime, but the COP29 climate summit has reached a $460 billion/year deal to help developing countries fight climate change. The last-minute agreement was signed after a tense week saw representatives from the Alliance of Small Island States walk out, criticising convenors for not being inclusive. But once the deal was done, attendees celebrated, and United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell called it an “insurance policy for humanity”- but also warned it will only work “if the premiums are paid” - aka if countries keep working to bring emissions down. But nations like India say the deal’s a dud - it reckons the money’s not enough. There’s always Rio next year, or COP31 in 2026 - which might be partly hosted by Australia… Stiff competition from Turkey has seen the decision punted to June. 

No room at the Donald Trump Inn…

The nomination of think tank head Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture yesterday is the last name in what has been an occasionally bumpy spree of nominations for the incoming US President. Some have been well received, like Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, and others have caused issues, like Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who is facing sexual assault allegations, to run the Defense Department. One nomination - Matt Gaetz for Attorney General - was withdrawn altogether after the controversy over his relationship with a 17yo girl caused too many problems. Longtime Trump ally Pam Bondi, Florida’s first female Attorney-General, has got the nod instead. You can see the full list of nominees here - and a reminder that with a Republican majority in both houses of Congress, most will likely have few issues being confirmed to take up their posts. 

You're up, then you're down

After a positive start to their Autumn Internationals campaign which reignited hopes of a British Isles Grand Slam, the Wallabies ran into a blue-and-white wall early this morning, losing 13-27 to Scotland… And it doesn’t get much better in the cricket, where the Aussies are being monstered by India - we’re 521 runs behind after a disastrous third day of the Perth Test. The next verse in our sad song is for our tennis blokes in the Davis Cup - despite beating the Americans in the quarters, we were no match for the Italians, led by World #1 Jannik Sinner. To finish on a bright note though, the AFLW prelims saw favourites Brisbane and North Melbourne win their games to set up a cracking grand final rematch this weekend. Phew…

You’re gonna be pop-u-lar

The swords, sandals and songs combo of Gladiator II and Wicked had the desired result at the American box office, with both movies making serious bank on opening weekend. After Barbenheimer dominated 2023, hopes were high for something similar, and it looks like ‘Glick-ed’ has click-ed with audiences, despite the awkward portmanteau. Wicked’s promotional blitz has worked wonders - it’s on track for a huge US$117 million start in the US, while Gladiator II (which opened in Oz last weekend) looks like it'll make US$60 million - big numbers for an R-rated movie. Both flicks have been well-received, particularly Wicked, with glowing reviews from critics and audiences. And Moana 2 is out next weekend, so it's good times for movie lovers of all ages…

Apropos of Nothing

Carmaker Jaguar has backed its eyebrow-raising rebrand as it goes electric. The original announcement vid didn’t feature any cars, which upset some folks online - including Elon Musk - but Jag execs say it got people talking about them, which was kind of the point.

A first edition of The Prince, the famous book by Italian diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli - the Shakespeare of scheming - is on the auction block. It’s so rare it’s expected to fetch around $500,000. It’s valuable, but not banana-taped-to-a-wall valuable….

A Jacob Elordi lookalike contest in Melbourne has been won by someone who didn’t even turn up to compete - the winner, Maxxie, was there to watch but ended up taking home the $50 prize. Maxxie reckons he doesn’t actually look like Elordi - he’s just tall... You can judge for yourself, but yeah, he’s pretty much right...

Squiz the Day

7.30am (AEDT) - The National Innovation Policy Forum - Canberra

9.00am (AEST) - Australasian Railway Association AusRAIL 2024 conference - Gold Coast

5.30pm (AEDT) - AFLW 'W Awards' night - Melbourne

Final sitting week - both houses sitting (until 28 November) - Canberra

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Statehood Day

🎄 It's a month until Christmas...

Anniversary of:

  • the debut of cartoon character Woody Woodpecker in Knock Knock (1940)

  • Marilyn Warren being appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, becoming the first woman to head an Australian superior court (2003)

  • the death of Cuban revolutionary and President Fidel Castro (2016)