Thursday, 15 August - I’m looking for a man in finance

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 15 August. In your Squiz Today…

• A stoush is brewing over visas for Gazans

• CBA reports a healthy profit

• And an NZ charity mishap with some dodgy lollies…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said grammar expert Benjamin Dreyer who was inundated with queries from journos fretting over correct apostrophe usage for Democratic presidential nominees Kamala Harris and Tim Walz when required. It’s a little dot that can cause readers to go off their head’s.  

Gearing up for a visa fight

The Squiz

Coalition leader Peter Dutton and PM Anthony Albanese have clashed over the Opposition’s calls for a blanket ban on travellers coming to Australia from Gaza. Dutton says people coming from a war zone “puts our national security at risk” - a response prompted by the Albanese Government’s work on a visa scheme for Palestinians. Yesterday, the PM accused his counterpart of “looking to divide” Australians and said his team will “listen to the security agencies when it comes to national security”.

Sounds like there’s more to it…

Yep. Mike Burgess, the boss of our security/spy agency ASIO, has spoken this week about the escalating threats in Australia - some of which are linked to conflicts like the war in Gaza. And what saw Dutton prick his ears up, was Burgess’ comment that migrants who express “rhetorical support” for Hamas might not be denied visas. Dutton said Australians “would be shocked that the government’s bringing in people from a war zone and that ASIO’s not conducting checks and searches”. But others say Burgess was taken out of context and of course ASIO considers full “contextual information” in its checks - something Albanese reiterated yesterday. “The role of ASIO, the use of the movement alert list, the processes that we use to vet visa applicants - all is unchanged,” he said. 

How many people are we talking about?

Interesting you ask because there’s some new data on that… Reports say 2,922 visas have been approved for people who hold Palestinian Authority travel documents since the 7 October attacks - but about 1,300 of those have actually arrived in Australia. The Home Affairs Department has rejected 7,111 other applications. And about 8,700 visas have been approved for Israeli applicants with 200 rejected. As for what’s happening on the ground in Gaza… Its Hamas-run health ministry says 39,790 Palestinians have been killed since the war started. The other update is that Iranian officials say only a Gaza ceasefire deal will stop them attacking Israel. Negotiators are due to meet today to restart talks - but that could be tricky given Hamas says it won’t send a representative…

Squiz the Rest

More young victims

Gold Coast woman Yingying Xu faced court yesterday after being charged with the murder of her 10yo daughter Sophie Wang, whose body was discovered at the family home on Tuesday night. Reports say Wang had several visible wounds, including a cut to her neck. Emergency services were called to the Emerald Lakes property after her father found her unresponsive. Queensland Detective Acting Inspector Kent Ellis says the crime scene was “one of the most confronting” he’s seen in 15 years. Reports say police are looking into TikTok videos posted by Xu where she speaks about “Satan…interfering with my soul.”… And in London, an Australian girl was attacked in the tourist area of Leicester Square on Monday. The 11yo was held in a head lock and stabbed 8 times by a man in what police say is a random attack - she was freed by a security guard who’s being called a hero. The girl needed plastic surgery but she’s since been released from hospital. Her alleged attacker, a Romanian man, has been charged with attempted murder.

Welcome cuzzie bro

Kiwi PM Christopher Luxon is in Sydney today, kicking off a 2-day trip for a series of political and business catch-ups, culminating in the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders' Meeting with PM Anthony Albanese in Canberra tomorrow. On the list for discussion are deepening our economic ties, strengthening security partnerships, and supporting Pacific partners. Albanese says our relationship is “one of the closest in the world, built on our shared history and generations of cooperation”. But it’s not all smooth words - the ongoing disagreement about us deporting Kiwi crims will also be a hot topic… Luxon will meet with NSW business leaders/investors today to go over best practice protocols for major infrastructure projects. As long as he steers clear of any attempts at humour labelling us “simple” he should be sweet as…

Yes we CAN…

The Commonwealth Bank has defied the cost-of-living crisis - and analysts' expectations - to post a whopping $9.8 billion profit…The figure is 2% down on last year’s record profit but nothing to be sneezed at given the slowing economy. The numbers mask the growing pressures on Aussie households as CBA now holds $17.6 billion in “overdue” home loans - up from $14.8 billion last year. The bank’s bottom line is something the wounded Seven network can only dream of… Its parent company just announced a 69% slump in full-year profits - ending the financial year just $42 million in the black. CEO Jeff Warburton says that means another round of cost cutting is coming - just a couple of months after the company already shed 150 jobs. It's been a brutal period in commercial TV, with advertising revenue across the industry down 8% on last year. 

Checking on the kids

The mental health of our youngsters has been in pretty sharp focus for a while now - but a new global study has found things might even be worse than we first thought… Australian psychiatrists led the 5-year study and reckon our youth have entered a “dangerous new phase” because of economic inequality, social media and disengagement with the world around them. Lead author Professor Pat McGorry says “this is the most serious public health problem we have” - calling out the figure that 50% of 16-24yo women have a mental health disorder. All Aussie ministers responsible for mental health are meeting on Friday - and experts have called on all levels of government to increase funding. Suicide is the leading cause of death for 15-44yo’s in Australia - and we’re 2nd only to the US in terms of declining mental health stats… 

If you or someone you know needs help, you can find a list of support services here.

Never take lollies from strangers…

…is a lesson a New Zealand food bank has learnt the hard way after it unwittingly handed out 400 parcels containing lumps of methamphetamine disguised as pineapple sweets. Staff at Auckland City Mission have been frantic, warning recipients not to consume them. Three people were hospitalised and others only avoided getting sick by spitting them out due to the "revolting" taste. The issue emerged on Tuesday when people reported the "funny tasting" candy. Mission staff say they don't know how the drugs got past their checks as they only accept commercially packaged donations. Local police are urgently trying to track down the drugs as each piece contains up to 300 hits with a street value of $608 - so far they’ve only recovered 16. They believe the donation was innocent but there’s no sugar-coating that it could be part of a wider drug-smuggling operation.

Apropos of Nothing

Our Olympic champs are back on home soil after an emotional welcome from family/friends and the PM at Sydney airport yesterday. Golden gal Arianne Titmus said while she “felt gross” after 24 hours on the plane it was magic to get the full red carpet treatment. 

Nobody likes finding that old freezer-burnt chicken breast at the back, but with this handy guide to freezing food like a pro, you’ll be a super organised, domestic god/goddess in no time with (ironically) hot tips like lettuce + ice don’t mix…

We’ve heard of money trees, but not golden cabbages… Green thumb ​​Alan Sandwell from Katanning in Western Oz went to plant his seedlings when he discovered a gold ring - and now he’s searching for its owner. From little things big things grow… 

Squiz the Day

5.00pm (AEST) - New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon will address the Lowy Institute in Sydney on foreign policy before flying to Canberra. He’s in Australia for a 2-day visit for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting.

The NSW Auditor General is set to release a ‘Threatened Species’ report listing more than 1,100 animals, plants and communities under threat in NSW

The Mundi Mundi Bash music festival begins (on until 17 August) - Broken Hill

The Indian Film Festival kicks off in Melbourne

Company results - Origin Energy, Telstra, Goodman Group, Cochlear

ABS Data Release - Overseas Arrivals and Departures, June

Independence Day in India

National days for Liechtenstein and the Republic of the Congo

Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day

Birthdays for Princess Anne (1950), Melinda Gates (1964), Ben Affleck (1972), and Jennifer Lawrence (1990)

Anniversary of:

• the first Rugby Test Match between New Zealand’s All Blacks and Australia’s Wallabies (1903)

• the end of WWII, after Japan’s surrender to the Allies (1945)

• 70 years since Sukarno proclaimed the Republic of Indonesia and became its first President (1950)

• the opening of Woodstock Music Festival (1969)

• the release of musical atrocity the Macarena by Los del Rio (1995)

• the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan after the capture of the capital Kabul (2021)