Thursday, 12 June - If you should ever leave me

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 12 June. In your Squiz Today…

• The Aussie Government fends off criticism over sanctions on Israeli ministers

• The US is reviewing the AUKUS pact

• And 2 maritime mysteries are solved… ⚓

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Squiz Sayings

Said rapper Pitbull about the hordes of fans that turn up to his shows dressed as him, complete with black aviator sunnies, a stick-on goatee and, of course, bald caps galore. He’s been a good sport - after all, imitation is the highest form of flattery...

Tension between allies…

The Squiz

The Albanese Government went on the defensive yesterday as it copped criticism from Israeli and US officials after Australia joined New Zealand, Canada, Norway and the UK in sanctioning far-right Israeli ministers for their “extreme rhetoric” against Palestinians. After Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the move, it didn’t take long for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to say the sanctions went against “US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire”. But PM Anthony Albanese held firm, calling the pushback “predictable” and saying “sometimes, friends have to be clear with each other… We've been clear with the Israeli Government about our concerns”.

I need a recap…

We’ve got you. Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, 2 high-ranking members of PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Government, have been handed travel and financial sanctions by the participating countries “for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”. It came a month after Israel announced dozens of new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have been accused of fuelling settler violence there and undermining efforts for a 2-state solution between Israel and Palestine - something the Albanese Government is in favour of. And although the Western leaders’ joint statement focused on actions in the West Bank, it went on to say the measures “cannot be seen in isolation from the catastrophe in Gaza”.

So that hasn’t gone down well with some…

Nope. Wong and her co-signatories were careful to point out that the move doesn’t take away from their “unwavering support for Israel’s security” and their continued condemnation of the 7 October attacks by Hamas, but that didn’t stop the Coalition from pushing back… Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg called the sanctions a mistake, and said "the Government has to explain exactly why they have chosen to use these types of measures against an ally". As for Israel, its Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said it was "outrageous that elected representatives … are subjected to this kind of measures". He's called for a special meeting of the Israeli government early next week to form its response.

Hacks to save cash (and energy)…

We’ve got the ultimate cheat sheet to a warm home this winter in the final episode of Origin’s So Watt? podcast. Wrapping up the best tips from the season to help you save money and use less energy, it offers ideas like using bubble wrap for window insulation and how to choose the right appliances for your home. Learn more about that here, or listen to the episode in your favourite podcast player now.

Squiz the Rest

The US is reviewing the AUKUS deal…

…putting Australia’s security pact with the US and the UK on shaky ground. Reports this morning say the Pentagon is reviewing the $350 billion agreement to make sure it aligns with US President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. Under the pact, which was agreed back in 2023, we’ve signed up to buy 3 nuclear powered submarines from the US and build 5 of our own - we made the first downpayment of nearly $800 million earlier this year. The review comes a day after the US criticised us over the sanctions we mentioned above, and a week after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged us to ramp up defence spending to ward off the threat of China in the Indo-Pacific. It’s another thing PM Anthony Albanese will add to his growing list to raise with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit, which kicks off in Canada on Sunday. 

An election date’s locked in

After a few days in political limbo, Tasmanians finally have an answer to if and when they’ll be heading to an election: yes, and on 19 July. It’ll be their second state election in 18 months, after a no-confidence motion was passed against Premier Jeremy Rockliff last Thursday. It's taken a hot minute to get to this point after the state parliament had to pass emergency budget bills (one of which had a typo) and Governor Barbara Baker didn’t immediately grant Rockliff’s request for a snap election. But, after chatting to both leaders, she says she’s "satisfied that there is no real possibility that an alternative government can be formed". And that means another delay for the contentious new sports stadium at Macquarie Point, which Tasmanian AFL officials are having a real devil of a time getting approved… 

Vale Brian Wilson

The co-creator of The Beach Boys, one of the biggest bands of all time, has died at 82yo. Wilson formed the band with his brothers, cousin and friend and together they wrote some of the most popular songs of all time, like “God Only Knows” and “Good Vibrations”. He stopped touring at 22 due to a fear of live performance and dealt with mental health and drug issues for decades, but in 2004 he made a comeback - like this concert of the lost Beach Boys album Smile. Last year, his wife Melinda passed away and he had been placed under a conservatorship. If you’re looking to catch up on his life, Wilson said he thought the 2014 biopic love & mercy, where he’s played by Paul Dano and John Cusack, was “pretty factual”. 

Jetstar Asia comes in to land

The budget airline was shuttered by part-owner Qantas yesterday, which it says will bring some of the airline’s planes and jobs over to Australia. If you’ve never flown Jetstar Asia, it was launched back in 2004, is based in Singapore, and it flies to some popular holiday destinations like Bangkok and Bali, as well as Broome in Western Oz. But, in recent years, the airline has faced pretty stiff competition from companies like AirAsia and Scoot, so it’s closing down. Qantas says it’ll now bring 13 of the airline’s fleet over to support some of its Australian and New Zealand routes. If you’ve got a booking with them, flights will keep running until 31 July, but for anything after that, you’ll be offered a refund. 

Ahoy, me maritime mysteries…

Back in February, a couple of friends found a message in a bottle washed up on a beach in Sweden - and the mystery of who sent it has just been solved. It was pretty damp (you just can’t get good bottles anymore…), but key details were decipherable: a name, the year 1978, and a Scottish address. The friends passed it on to the BBC, which, 47 years later, managed to track down the sender - a crew member of a small fishing boat. You can read the full story here - and it’s not the only nautical tale doing the rounds… Scientists say a treasure-filled shipwreck called the San José, discovered off the coast of Colombia in 2015, is the real deal, containing $30 billion worth of treasure. That’d buy quite a few bottles…

Apropos of Nothing

Florence’s Uffizi Galleries is renowned for the famous art and sculptures inside, and now a large eyesore outside that’s bothered locals for 20 years is coming down. It’s prompted such a celebration that even Italy’s cultural minister will attend its removal ceremony… 

The Wicked Festival is underway in Melbourne, and one of the notable events is the Space-Out competition - where people try and do as little as humanly possible to become the winner. You can read about one competitor’s experience here - as news junkies, we feel like we would do very badly… 

And the latest show in the Aussie sky was last night’s Strawberry Moon - which has nothing to do with the colour and a lot to do with native Americans’ harvesting time for wild strawberries. This one was special because it was the highest the moon’s been in the southern sky for nearly 20 years. Here’s a peek if you didn’t catch it…

Squiz the Day

8.00am (AEST) - NSW Housing Summit - Sydney

9.00am (AEST) - First Nations and the Energy Transition Forum opens (until 13 June) - Brisbane

9.30am (AEST) - Stand Tall, Australia's largest community wellbeing forum for highschool kids from years 7-12 is on - Sydney

10.00am (AEST) - Former US Deputy Secretary of Defence and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, Dr John Hamre will join Dr Michael Fullilove for a conversation on ‘Trump and the West’ at the Lowy Institute - Sydney and online

12.00pm (AEST) - ASIC Chair Joe Longo will speak at the American Chamber of Commerce - Sydney

8.30pm (AEST) - It’s the $100 million Powerball prize draw 💰

8.30pm (AEST) - Golf: The US Open at Oakmont Country Club tees off (until 15 June), watch on Kayo - Oakmont, Pennsylvania 

Materialists is out in cinemas 

ABS data release - Corrective services, March Quarter 2025; Australian Agriculture: Livestock, 2023-2024 FY

World Day Against Child Labour

National days for the Russian Federation and the Philippines

🦸 Got a real life hero in your life? It’s Superman Day

Anniversary of:

• New Amsterdam legally becoming an English colony and renamed New York (1665)

• Anne Frank’s birthday (1929) – she received her famous diary as a birthday present in 1942

• Nelson Mandela being sentenced to life in prison in South Africa (1964)

• the premiere of the first Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

• a coroner’s report ruling that a dingo was responsible for the death of baby Azaria Chamberlain in 1980 (2012)

• Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsing after a bank run, marking the third-largest bank failure in United States history and the largest since the 2007–2008 financial crisis (2023)