Monday, 31 August - Run fast for your mother

August 31, 2026

Good morning, it’s Monday, 31 August. In your Squiz Today…

  • One Nation makes history in Secret Harbour

  • The cuttlefish mating ritual that wasn’t

  • And thousands hit the streets for Sydney’s marathon… 🏃🏼‍♀️

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Andrew Williams, Anna Pykett, Larissa Huntington and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“CRIKEY!”

Said former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen about this flyover of a stadium in Cape Town before a rugby Test between New Zealand and South Africa. One plane got within 12-14 metres of the stadium roof, leading Pietersen to go full Steve Irwin in response…

A seismic shift in Secret Harbour

The Squiz

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation made history in Western Oz on Saturday night, picking up its first lower house seat in the state’s parliament. Despite being a state byelection, this has made national headlines because Secret Harbour was considered a safe Labor seat, held by a state government with a huge numbers advantage in the parliament. So pollies across the board are taking stock of what it all means for them this morning…

Give me some stats, please…

With pleasure… As we mentioned on Friday, Secret Harbour is an outer-metropolitan seat that sits well south of Perth, between the hubs of Rockingham and Mandurah. One Nation’s Luke Herdegen claimed 39% of the primary vote - up from 8% in the previous election - easily beating the Labor candidate Georgia Tree, who saw her party’s primary vote drop from 46% to 24%. Herdegen said the “people of Secret Harbour had sent a message”, and that cost of living, housing and immigration had been the major issues in the seat. Western Oz Premier Roger Cook said it was a “reminder that Western Australians are doing it tough”, and One Nation’s state leader Rod Caddies said it was a huge win for the party - and it meant that the 2-party system in Oz (that’d be Labor and the Coalition) is dead.

So what does this mean for the future?

To date, One Nation has been seen as mainly a challenger to the Coalition parties on the right, but this election indicates it’s just as much a threat to Labor as well. So it’s making both major parties nervous - even though analysts have noted that byelections do sometimes throw up some unusual results (because the government as a whole is unlikely to change). Now, attention will turn to Victoria’s state election in November, because as pollster Kos Samaras pointed out: “Unless something changes, a swag of Melbourne seats with the same profile as Secret Harbour will go the same way.” And while it’s probably a while until the next federal vote, it’s the same story there - One Nation is still polling very well and has been for months, meaning that when the next election does roll around, Canberra could look very, very different - and decidedly more orange…

What teens want us to hear

Australian teenagers are exposed to gambling ads every day, particularly on social media, but they're rarely asked what they think. A new Deakin University study gave 12 to 17yos in Victoria and New South Wales that opportunity. Many want stronger restrictions on gambling advertising and a greater say in the policies designed to protect them. Read more about the research here.

Squiz the Rest

The search continues in the Himalayas

There are still more than 3,000 people missing following Wednesday’s glacier collapse, with the death toll nearing 800. Over 40 Aussies are still unaccounted for, and the Albanese Government has promised a further $3 million in aid and a 12-person crisis response team to help with the rescue and recovery efforts. One focus of those efforts is various hydropower tunnels in Nepal, where hundreds of people are said to be trapped - but the tough terrain and scale of the disaster are making the rescue effort difficult. Here in Oz, hundreds of people attended vigils organised by the Nepalese community to pray for those affected, and the Emergency Action Alliance has set up a donations page if you’d like to chip in to help…

So long to the Solomon Islands PM

Matthew Wale - who only came to power 3 months ago - has had to head home from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) before it begins in Palau today, to deal with a no-confidence motion on his leadership. Wale’s Home Affairs Minister Manasseh Maelanga says Wale had been “repeatedly making decisions of matters of national importance without proper consultation”, and so the PM has legged it out of Palau and will arrive back home today. It made for a less-than-spiffing start to the PIF, given Wale is the outgoing chair of the Forum (outgoing is right…) - and a bunch of countries, including Samoa, Vanuatu and Kiribati, haven’t sent their leaders this year. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be there, though - he’s flying out today and says we will have a “key role to play”. Just to boost the numbers, at this point… 

Bots in the news today

According to a study published this morning, AI is now as common a source of news for Aussie kids as mainstream news websites and apps. That was just one tidbit from a regular survey looking at the changing habits of our youngsters, which also found that they were less engaged with the news compared to 3 years ago - and that the recent social media ban might have had a hand in that. Report author Professor Tanya Notley is worried - she says Australia urgently needs better media literacy education so that kids are better equipped to tell fact from fiction online. This is of course something we’re also passionate about at The Squiz, so if you’re looking for a place to start, maybe stop, think and check Newshounds out…

No sex please, we’re cuttlefish

Ordinarily, around this time of year, we’d be bringing you the annual story of the world’s biggest cuttlefish mating event - but not this year. South Oz usually plays host to hundreds of thousands of giant cuttlefish that gather on the Cuttlefish Coast for some canoodling. But the turnout for 2026 was significantly down - 1,811 cuttlefish rocked up, compared to 63,000 in 2025. As for why, experts point to the ongoing (yep, it’s still technically going) algal bloom that has been devastating South Oz’s coastline for around 18 months. Giant cuttlefish are native and unique to Oz, so the fact they’ve given their usual hookup spot a wide berth is alarming scientists - and sparking calls for the local population to be listed as endangered. It’s an emerging issue to watch…

Throwing down the gauntlet

Ethiopian runner Addisu Gobena made short work of the Sydney Marathon yesterday, cutting almost 90 seconds off the course record on his way to the win. 21yo Gobena is a reasonable athlete - until 3 years ago, he was a javelin thrower before his aunt suggested long-distance running might be his go. That was a pretty good shout, it turns out - he finished in 2:04:42, 4 seconds ahead of Debele Gudeta in second. The women’s title went to Kenyan runner Peres Jepchirchir, who ran the course in 2:18:31 - over 3 minutes ahead of her nearest rival. Around 40,000 people took part in the race’s second year as one of the world’s marathon majors - and don’t forget, they received a - let’s call it unusual - participation medal featuring a German stadium for their efforts… 

Apropos of Nothing - oops all sports edition

Aussie boxer Tony Mundine has died aged 75yo, his son and fellow boxer Anthony confirmed last night. Mundine was the only Aussie boxer to hold the Oz titles in 4 different weight divisions - and fought for the world title once in 1974. And we’ve found the footage… 

South Sydney Rabbitohs player Jai Arrow took the field for his 99th Bunnies game on Saturday, despite retiring earlier this year due to a Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis. He’ll ‘play’ again on Friday night for his 100th, and if it’s anything like Saturday, good luck keeping your tear ducts closed…

The US Open tennis tournament is underway - the last of the 4 tennis majors for the year. Keep an eye on Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in the men’s singles, and Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff in the women’s. Plus, the hunt continues for Alex De Minaur’s first Grand Slam semi-final…

Squiz the Day

1.00am (AEST) - Tennis: First main draw matches of the US Open begin - New York City, watch on 9Now

9.00am (AEST) - The 12th International Penguin Conference (until 4 September) - Phillip Island 

11.00am (AEST) - One Nation is set to announce its Victorian energy policy - Yallourn Power Station, Gippsland

6.30pm (AEST) - A candlelight vigil will be held to remember those killed in the Nepal Floods - Federation Square, Melbourne

7.00pm (AEST) - Rugby league: NSW Origin Awards night, where the NSW Blues hand out gongs to the best players across the men’s and women’s sides - Sydney

NSW Premier Chris Minns and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey delegation to India (until 3 September) - New Delhi and Mumbai 

Australian Bureau of Stats data release: mineral and petroleum exploration, June 2026; business indicators, June 2026

National Days for Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan and Trinidad and Tobago

Birthdays for Van Morrison (1945), Richard Gere (1949), and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (1985)

Anniversary of:

• the Irish Republican Army (IRA) declaring a ceasefire in 1994, which led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998

• the deaths of Arthur Phillip (1814), boxing legend Rocky Marciano (1969), and Princess Diana (1997)

• 953 die in a bridge stampede in Iraq (2005)

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